world takes up their hearts and engrosses their affections when we see how all their Plots Designs Contrivances Desires are for the world and when they mind onely fleshly things as the Apostles phrase is Phil. 3.19 What I mean by the world none can be ignorant of that hath either read what wise men have written concerning it or hath heard the Word of the Gospel sounding in his ears For indeed it 's not the least part of our Commission to dehort and dissuade men from fixing their Affections on these sublunary objects and but that continual inculcating of the same thing would make our Auditors nauseate the most wholsom Lessons we could not do them greater service than by making such Dehortations the perpetual Subject of our Sermons All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life saith the great Divine 1 Joh. 2.16 Whatever outward object serves to gratifie sense whatever here below is most commonly desired and lusted after whatever makes for satisfaction of the flesh or of our sensual appetite all is comprehended under this name And indeed it is with these worldly comforts as it was with the garden of Eden some are for food some for tryal some to keep our bodies serviceable to our souls some to prove our souls whether they 'll rest on these broken Reeds or seek their rest and acquiescence in him that is the Creator of all And accordingly the Almighty thought fit to limit the use of these terrestrial felicities and to signifie in his Word that his intent in giving them was that they should be our servants not our masters that he design'd them as advantages to us not hinderances in admiring and adoring the immense goodness and bounty of God and that he appointed them for our use no farther than they would serve to promote his glory and the eternal felicity of our immortal souls But here we find men generally live the reverse of Gods designs and intentions and instead of using these visible comforts in order to a greater end make that their home which was intended only for their Inn and are for erecting Tabernacles to dwell there which God design'd only as a thorow-fare And to this unhappiness preposterous education which most men are subject to doth very much contribute For whereas we should be educated into Reason and a right apprehension of things we are usually educated into sense and deceptions and those that have the care of us and should teach us self-denial in these outward things and by that means engage our souls to fix on nobler objects do commonly present us with nothing but sensual satisfactions All their Discourses to us are of the World and of the magnificence greatness splendor and ravishing aspects of these outward gayeties and the first principles they teach us are how to please sense and to pamper our appetite and though now and then they teach us some little Notions of Divinity yet it is in such a sensual way that it amounts to no more than a formality and divertisement and being a thing that 's taught by the by it makes little or no impression upon our affections But whatever disadvantages men lie under upon the account of their sensual education one would think when they come to the full use of their reason and are capable of understanding the vanity emptiness unconstancy of these lower objects and of apprehending that they were only intended as Ladders to raise us into contemplations of our great Benefactor in heaven when they arrive to this ripeness of understanding come out of their apprenticeship set up for themselves become as it were their own masters and enter upon the possession of that estate which before was managed by others one would think I say they should then begin as there is commonly an alteration of our temper upon the alteration of our fortunes to rectifie those sensual principles which their Nurses and Tutors have shed into them and wash away the stains those fond Masters as indeed men may be kill'd by kindnesses and like that Olympian Victor be stifled with Posies have unluckily imprinted on their souls But alas there are so very few that having gone thus far stop and attempt to captivate their appetites to the obedience of Reason and Religion or seek to elevate their souls above the dung and trouble of the World according to the intent of their Maker that most men sink deeper and deeper into the gulf of sensual desires open the gates wider make the door larger for sensual satisfaction to enter in nay if it be modest and loth to enter compel it to come in and to give their spirits an infusion of carnality to water and keep warm the seed of worldly inclinations and find out wayes to encrease their Thirst to add heat to their Fever to provoke their sensual appetite to enlarge it self as Hell and fearing they have not been sufficiently or faithfully enough instructed in the enjoyment of these worldly felicities they try experiments and conclusions to find out new satisfactions and thus plunge themselves into the main Sea being charmed by the Sunbeams playing and glittering upon the water and the curling of the waves And the impressions which were made on the wax when soft and tractable remain when it 's grown harder by a continual hurry of worldly cares and businesses which they are content to admit of they make their souls the least object of their solicitude and were they ask'd as that profane Duke What they think of Heaven it's like they would answer in his language or think so or at least act as if they thought so That they have so much business on earth that they cannot think of Heaven Thus their very spirits become flesh and their souls turn to earth as well as their bodies Whence it comes to pass that their minds being altogether sensual impregnated with worldly cares and satisfactions and all their faculties employ'd in contriving how to get a greater share of earth than they have already or at least to keep and preserve what they have there is no room for this Consideration of their spiritual estate or condition They hearken to nothing with any zeal or attention or life that doth not carry either some worldly profit or pleasure with it and that which charms or wins them must be the musick of temporal interest Consideration how they shall be saved hereafter there is no Lands to be bought with it no Mannors to be purchas'd no Houses to be built no Countries to be conquer'd no Honours to be got by it It brings in no Riches it fills not their Coffers with gold and silver it doth not give them respect and credit with Princes and Men of Quality it doth not cover their Tables with dainties and delicacies it doth not furnish them with portions for their children It doth not feed their bellies nor put them into a condition to lie on beds of
Body A Soul that can build it's Nest among the Stars of Heaven walk through yonder Mansions and taste of the Rivers which make glad the City of God A Soul which can wing it self into the Clouds and survey the Crowns and Scepters laid up for those that dare despise the World and have their Conversation in Heaven A Soul which can enjoy a Paradise while the Body is in trouble and rejoice in him who is All in All while the fierce Winds are whistling about her ears The vast reach of these Souls we have their fitness to receive Divine illumination their strong desires after Immortality their secret actings without the help of a Body their hopes of Heaven their fears of Hell all proclaim the certainty of an eternal state or condition they are intended for This eternal state imprinted on our Natures discover'd to the Gentiles proclaim'd by the Son of God preach'd by Angels confirm'd by Apostles reveal'd to Christians believ'd in the World as it relates either to Bliss or Misery to Joy or Torment to Honor or Dishonor so how to enjoy the one and avoid the other must in all probability be the great object which God design'd Mens Souls should be chiefly employ'd about For as there cannot be a thing of greater moment than Eternity so he must be a Sot a Beast that can imagine that God who ever intends the noblest Creatures for the noblest Ends will give Men leave to busie themselves altogether about picking of straws and pleasing a few sensual Lufts when he hath given them Souls capable not only of labouring and seeking after but obtaining a Kingdom which fades not away And when we sweat and toyle and labour to make provision for twenty thirty forty years what do we do but proclaim our obligation to be infinitely more concern'd how to provide for that state which must never have an end And as it was the goodness and wisdom of God to make us capable of an everlasting duration so we should be injurious to both if we did not suppose that God hath order'd and appointed means whereby it 's possible to save our selves from the wrath to come He that takes a view of Gods proceedings and dealings with Men ever since the Creation of the World cannot but stand amaz'd at the cost and labour and pains and means and motives and arguments God hath us'd to make Men sensible of their everlasting interest and to engage them to a serious preparation for that World they must live for ever in This serious preparation must necessarily be a holy blameless spotless life for the means must ever be sutable and agreeable to the nature of the end And Heaven being a holy place perlect holiness reigning there it 's not to be imagin'd how perfection of holiness can be enter'd upon without a considerable progress in holiness here no man reaching the highest step of a Ladder without the lowermost and one might as well flatter himself that his Trade by such a time will bring him in Ten thousand pounds when he is so far from minding his Trade that he contrives only how to run with others into excess of Riot And indeed to plant this holiness in Men the means have been so various so numerous so potent before the Law under the Law and under the Gospel that one may justly admire the whole World doth not stand candidate for Heaven and all the Inhabitants of the Earth do not take the Kingdom of God by violence Before the Law the continual pleadings of the long-liv'd Patriarchs with sinful Men to improve the light of Nature that Primar of Divinity the many Visions Revelations Dreams Signs Wonders Voices from Heaven the Ministry of Angels Gods Patience Forbearance Long-suffering and sometimes Exemplary Justice the Examples of holy Men Gods love to those that honour'd him the signal blessings he bestow'd on those that made him their highest and chiefest good what were all these but so many calls and entreaties that Men would by holiness prepare for a future happiness Under the Law God was so far from being weary of using means and taking pains with Men in order to this end that he seem'd to have reserv'd those Ages for larger and fuller Demonstrations of his Power and Munificence and if the people of Lystra had any ground for their exclamation the Jews had far greater reason to cry out That God was come down to them in the likeness of men For while other Countries were left in darkness and like Moles suffer'd to wander in the shadow and vally of death they as if they had been made of purer Clay seem'd to be the Darlings of Providence and the Favourites of Heaven Heaven bow'd to them and under its protection they went as under a Canopy of State and might with greater reason than the Sultan have challeng'd that lofty Title The shadow of God And with that Persian Emperor stiled themselves Kinsmen of the Stars Their eyes saw Miracles almost every day and with their daily Bread they receiv'd daily Prodigies and in the midst of their Rebellion God like the Sun when smiling through a Cloud shew'd them a merciful Face not that he approv'd of their Impiety but because by these Beams he would warm their hearts into obedience Their Blessings came down upon them not in drops but in showers and their Prosperity like the Cinnamon Tree was so fragrant that strangers might smell it a great way off before they saw it The Waters of Life were continually flowing into their Bosomes and though God now and then frown'd upon them what Father would not sometimes chide his Son yet his Indignation which like Flints sent out Fire upon their penitential Tears strait way return'd to its former coldness The Rocks poured them out Rivers of Oyl they wash'd their Feet in Butter and one might say of their Land as he of the Isle of Rhodes They were bless'd with a continual Sunshine Their Prophets what mighty what powerful Men were they Men that like Lamps consum'd their own Oyl to light their Auditors to Heaven or like Silkworms spun out their own Bowels to deck their Hearers with Garments of Righteousness Where words could not prevail Tears were the means to supple and affect them and it seems there is not stronger Rhetorick in the World than these Here one Prophet spoke like an Orator there another like a Logician Here one endeavour'd by Eloquence to charm them there another by clear Reason to convince them Here one threatned there another promis'd Here one wooed there another thundred Here one came with a Scepter of Love there another with a Trumpet of War Here one offer'd his hand to save them there another made bare his arm of revenge Here one offer'd an Ark to those that desired mercy there another rain'd down floods of Curses to drown the obstinate Here one represented God with his Sword drawn a smoke going up out of his nostrils and devouring fire out of
upon our minds by shadows of virtues as it is his interest so it is a thing as common as our yielding to temptations of that nature Daily experience is a sufficient witness how men deceive themselves with a varnish and paint of Piety and flatter themselves that they are ordain'd to eternal life and in a way to those Regions of bliss when they are not Because they acknowledge and profess that God is infinite perfect glorious and the Supreme Governor of the world and that in him we live and breathe and have our Being and that it 's he that rules the great wheel of Providence they conclude they love him better than their riches or pleasures here when they do nothing less indeed no more but what Parrots may do which being taught can repeat the same words and be never the nearer that wisdom which makes men wise unto salvation We see how men because they have no inclination to some gross notorious sins that other men are guilty of are apt to conclude that they mortifie their lusts and put off the works of darkness walking soberly as in the day-time and because they frequent the Temple of the Lord they are presently true hearers of the Word Because such a man is not drunk every day but is sober now and then he believes himself to be a very temperate man Another because he doth not cheat so notoriously as his Neighbors concludes he is just honest upright and fair in his dealings Another because he works hard in his Calling and doth no body wrong fancies he doth all that 's fit for a Christian to do Another because he hath sometimes a good thought of God and can send up a short ejaculation to Heaven is very confident he meditates and contemplates the Almighty Another because he hath some faint breathings after him knows nothing to the contrary but he is as zealous for Gods glory as any of his acquaintance can be Another because he hath now and then a melancholy thought of his sins and confesses them to Almighty God concludes he doth repent as well as the best and because he often wishes for salvation and hath a good opinion of holiness and goodness he doubts not but he is made partaker of the Divine Nature That these are Cheats and Delusions is evident to any rational man The Gospel doth not offer Heaven on these terms and it is not partial but universal obedience that Christ requires of his followers He is resolved Heaven shall cost them more than these little services come to and they shall not impose upon God however they may deceive themselves But then how shall these or any other Cheats be discover'd and avoided but by Consideration True Conversion consists in resisting and conquering such Delusions but how shall they be resisted if they be not known how shall they be known if men consider not whether the course they take be either agreeable to the way God hath prescrib'd or like to bring them to that happiness they aim at It 's Consideration must manifest which is God and which is the Cloud which is Gold and which is but Guilt which are the waters of Jordan and which are the rivers of Damascus which is Corn and which are Tares which are the fiery tongues and which is the Glow-worm light which are Jacob's hands and which are the hands of Esau. There are not a few sins which look very much like virtues complying with mens impieties looks so like Humility Flattery so like that Charity which bears all things and hopes all things and believes all things and endures all things reviling again when we are revil'd so like doing justice worldly mindedness so like providing for our Families lying for profits sake so like a work of necessity and self-preservation and bearing a grudge to him that hath offended us without discovering it in our actions so like curbing our passions that few men will think themselves concern'd to part with them except they consider which is the pure and which the sophisticate mettle How like saving knowledge doth that knowledge of God look which puffs up the Soul and tempts men to despise others that are not arriv'd to the same measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. There is no distinguishing of them but by the effects and how shall the effects be discriminated but by Consideration I cannot avoid being deceiv'd if I do not sit down and reflect Lord I pretend to knowledge of the Cross of Christ but doth this knowledge make me humble and vile in mine own eyes Doth it discover to me my spiritual poverty and make me prefer others before my self Doth it make me prize Christ above all And doth it engage me to count all things Dross and Dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Doth it make me stand under the Cross of Christ and breathe and pant after his precious blood like a man truly sensible both of the worth and want of it Doth it produce that mind in me which was in Christ Jesus Dost thou feel this O my Soul How happy art thou if thou art sensible of these operations Do not deceive thy self doth not this knowledge thou pretendest to make thee secure and careless Doth it not make thee sit down contented without the life of Religion Doth it not persuade thee to believe that thou art a Christian though thou dost not imitate Christ in his holy life and conversation Does it not make thee proud and self-conceited and think more highly of thy self than thou oughtest to think and like the Pharisees look between anger and scorn on those that know not the Law if so how is the knowledge of Christ Jesus in thee The same may be said of Faith it 's Consideration must separate it from presumption and satisfie me whether it be of the true Eagle-kind or no it 's impossible to know whether my faith be of the right stamp or no without I make such inquisition as this Faith is a gift or fruit of the Spirit which I am apt to believe God hath blessed and enrich'd my Soul withall and I thank him that I am not born an Heathen or Infidel But what power hath my Faith upon my Affections Doth it purifie my heart and drive away those lusts that have taken up their residence there Doth it make me cut off my right hand pull out my right eye when they do offend me Doth it make me live like a person that believes the Omnipresence and Omniscience of God Doth it make me cautious and afraid of offending that God whom I believe of purer eyes than to behold iniquity Doth it make me embrace Christ both as my Redeemer and Governor both as my Saviour and my King Doth it engage me to resign my will to his Will and to receive the Kingdom of God as a little child without disputing his commands or contradicting his injunctions Doth it work by love And doth it drive me to give God my
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
mind his Trade but lies in Ale-houses and Taverns must you necessarily make him your pattern Because such a man disregards the favor of his Friends that are both able and willing to assist him is that an argument that you must learn his wayes Because such a one lets his Garden run to Weeds must you therefore fill yours with Bryars and Thorns Because such a one imbezles his Estate must you therefore spend yours in riotous living And will you storm the gates of Hell because others are so desperate as to do it Will you howl with Devils because others delight in that Musick Will you scorn the offers of salvation because others will not be drawn by cords of Love Will you run the hazard of losing the light of Gods countenance for ever because others know not how to prize it O my Soul be not thou tempted by these weak Arguments follow not a multitude to do evil Let not the way that leads to destruction invite thee because many there be that find it Company whatever refreshment it may be in Chains or Prisons here can afford but little consolation in eternal flames Company there will rather increase Mens Sorrows and Society heighten their Woes and Torments in that one will not be able to help the other and the shreeks of him that was seduced into sin will but aggravate the groans and anguish of the Seducer when he must remember that he was that Devil that drag'd the other into endless tortures Strive strive O my Soul to walk in the strait way Let not the small number of Travellers fright thee it 's the likelier way to Heaven because the great the mighty the wise men of this world will not stoop to this narrow Gate for Gods wayes are not our wayes nor are his thoughts as our thoughts what the world admires he despises and what sensual Men make light of he crowns with glory and splendor and immortality so thou canst but be saved no matter how small the number is of those that arrive to happiness As small as it is to these belongs the promise Fear not thou little Flock for it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom of Heaven Luke 12.32 XI Impediment XI Neglect of consulting with the Ministers of the Gospel about this necessary work It was Gods command of old The Priests lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the Law at his mouth for he is the Messenger of the Lord of Hosts Mat. 2.7 How mean soever the Age we live in thinks of this Function of Men as if they were needless Members of a Commonwealth yet there was never any Nation so barbarous bur after they were Civiliz'd into Societies and Government judged these Men most useful and most necessary for the preservation of their Commonwealth for Kingdom And indeed the great eternal God ever since he hath vouchsafed to plant a Church in the world hath been pleas'd to make it one great character and mark of his favor and bounty to Her to give Her Teachers and Prophets and Evangelists And the Commission he hath granted these Men the Titles and the Honours he hath confer'd on them and Love and Reverence he hath commanded all Men to express towards them evidently declare That they are Ambassadors of the great King of Heaven which in Christs stead beseech men to be reconciled unto God and that he that receives the Word they deliver from the mouth of God receives him that sent them In these Gospel-dayes it 's true there is shed abroad a larger measure of Gods Spirit than was formerly known under the Jewish Oeconomy and men under the New Covenant are promis'd to be taught of the Lord. They shall not teach every man his Neighbor and every man his Brother saying Know the Lord for all shall know me from the least to the greatest Hebr. 8.11 yet that doth not make this function of men needless but enforces rather the absolute and indispensable necessity of their office and authority For besides that this promise doth eminently relate to the Primitive Christians who were made partakers of the miraculous effusion of the Holy Ghost and had their knowledge and learning from above thereby to fit them the better for the propagation of a new Religion if we suppose that the Prophecy must extend to all that profess themselves Christians the meaning of it can be no more but this that God will use a more gentle way in converting men under the Gospel and in that Conversion or inclining their hearts to his commands give such lively representations of the reasonableness of them and so convince them of their agreeableness to the Law of nature or the Law written in their hearts that they shall not need to be put in mind by their Neighbors of their justice and equity and spirituality But then this gracious promise doth not exclude but presupposes still the means of Conversion of which the Ministry of the Word is not the least and if the Ministry of the Word be intended as a standing Ordinance in order to those kindly operations of Gods Spirit in the heart of those that shall be converted and God be peremptorily resolv'd by the preaching of the Word to work on the Souls of men none hath reason to find fault with the contrivance of the Almighty but rather to admire his wisdom and goodness that shines through this dispensation not to mention that as God under the Gospel obliges men to greater knowledge than formerly so it 's fit there should be men eminent for knowledge and piety to instruct others and who like Candles set on a Candlestick may light the rest and by the Vrim and Thummim of their doctrine and purity lead them and encourage them to prepare for Heaven And if notwithstanding the prodigious gifts of the Holy Ghost poured out in the primitive Times upon all flesh God thought it necessary to give Apostles and Teachers and Pastors when the illapses of the Spirit could teach men what their Pastors were to teach them how much more necessary may we think must the Ministry be now when those extraordinary gifts have ceas'd and the generality of men are sunk into monstrous ignorance inconsiderateness and stupidity Indeed these are the men whom God hath plac'd in the Church to direct others in the way to salvation these are the men with whom the ignorant are to consult what they must do to be happy for ever And as upon a wrong information given by the Teacher God is resolv'd to require the seduced parties blood at his hand so no man that hath a tongue in his head to enquire can with any justice excuse himself from enquiring of these men what it is that the Lord his God requires of him And were this method follow'd in the case before us and did men seriously demand of them which way to compass an effectual Consideration of their Soul-concerns here they might be inform'd and instructed and undeceiv'd in the
errors of their wayes The truth is some are so civil as to send for us when the breath is going out of their body and give us leave to come and teach them what they must do to be sav'd when the Physitian gives them over and they ready to be summon'd to appear before the great Tribunal they are contented we should give them an Epitome of their Duties when they are past working in Gods Vineyard and furnish their minds with thoughts of Heaven and Eternity when their understandings are as weak as their bodies and their inward man as languid and feeble as their outward But there needs no great store of Arguments to convince any rational man That this is meer mocking of God and his Messengers It 's a sign they have a pitiful low esteem of another world who think Heaven worth no more than a feeble thought when they can serve the Devil and sin no longer It 's a sign they look upon eternal glory as some poor beggarly happiness who cannot vouchsafe it a serious look till their eyes grow dim and the Sun and the Moon and the Light and the Stars are darkned Eccl. 12.2 Would they but send for us or come to us while marrow is in their bones and blood brisk and lively in their veins their reason strong and their understanding in its full vigor and glory and advise with us about these everlasting things we would then tell them what eternal life means and how no man can be a man or be said to act with common prudence that doth not with all diligence make his Calling and Election sure we would then let them see how many thousands perish for want of thinking of Eternity We would let them see how miserable those mens condition must needs be who have their portion in this life who after this life must look for nothing else but everlasting chains of darkness We would prove to them that these are not things to be laught at but deserve their most serious contemplations and that the saving of a Soul is not so light a thing as they may imagine We would let them see that the pious Kings and Princes and Philosophers Confessors and Saints and Martyrs of old whose memories we adore were no Fools when they kept under their Bodies and brought them into subjection lest they should become Castawayes when they look'd upon all the losses and troubles and miseries that could befall them for Righteousness sake as things not worthy to be compared with the glory which ere long should be revealed in them when they did not count their own Lives dear for the Gospel of Christ and were ready to pass through the most daring flames to Heaven We would let them see that those men had brains and were men of wisdom and discretion as well as they and living so near the time of Christ and his Apostles could not possibly be ignorant of what was to be done in order to everlasting happiness and if they had not been very confident of the truth of Christs promises and known for certain that without strictness and contempt of the World and watching against Temptations there was no entring into their Masters joy they would never have striven so much to enter in at the strait gate as they did We would let them see how different mens thoughts are when they come to dye from those which they have while they enjoy strength and health and liberty and that a melancholy thought now and then concerning their sinful life is not repentance nor leaving such sins which would blemish their credit and reputation in the World doing whatsoever Christ commands them nor talking now and then of the vanity of the World using the World as if they used it not We would let them see what the Scripture means by working out their salvation with fear and with trembling and how dreadful that saying is If the righteous be scarcely saved where will the wicked and sinner appear We would let them see That the expressions the Holy Ghost uses concerning our Travelling to the Land of Promise imply very great care and industry and do plainly intimate that God will not part with his Heaven to men that do not think it worth seeking or being at any trouble about it We would let them see that if any thing in the World deserves their pains and care Heaven deserves it infinitely more as it is of infinitely greater consequence than the most boundless Empires or Principalities We would let them see that God is no respecter of persons and that as he hath fitted Religion for all mens capacities insomuch that though all cannot be wise or learned or great or rich yet all may obey him and keep themselves unspotted from the World so he will one day summon every man to give an account of his stewardship and bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or evil We would let them see that what satisfies men now will not give them any great content or satisfaction then and though now some sprinklings of Piety may lull them into good conceits of themselves and of their worth yet these like blown Balls will then be all upon the least touch shatter'd into Atoms By such discourses as these we might by degrees engage them to a serious Consideration of their spiritual Concerns and warm them into resolutions to lay by for some time their Farms and Oxen and ruminate on things which carry so much Terror and Majesty with them And indeed such things were they heard without prejudice they would in some measure confound and startle men in their courses and if they are not given over to a hard heart or to a reprobate mind rouze their spirits into nobler thoughts and contemplations But alas they shun our company except it be to talk of worldly affairs or to ask us about some nice Points of Divinity and are ashamed to make their condition known and to own themselves ignorant of the path that leads to glory They either excuse themselves with this that their Neighbors and their Friends will laugh at them for making Ministers their Oracles or plead that they know as much as the Man of God can teach them would God they did and that all the Lords People were Prophets But if they did is there not some difference between knowing these sacred Truths and having them set home upon the Conscience That shall stick in a familiar discourse which in reading we take no notice of and a word in private conference may drop from a holy man and may be spoke with that zeal and honesty as shall strike the Soul into a change or renovation of mind which perhaps many years study or a large stock of knowledge would not have effected so that if the question be ask'd Is there no balm in Gilead Is there no Physitian there Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recover'd We may truly say
Earth they enjoy a perpetual Sun-shine we are allow'd no more but Moon-light we see as it were through a Glass darkly they face to face their light like that of the Sun never lessens ours like that of the Moon is sometimes greater sometimes less and sometimes we have none at all How often doth the afflicted Beleever walk in darkness God hides the Light of his countenance from him and he is troubled sometime he is all joy by and by all darkness again sometimes he is like St. Paul wrapt up into the third Heaven sometimes like Men that see God's wonders in the deep he goes down again to the depths and his Soul melts because of trouble how cleer are the apprehensions sometimes he hath of the love and mercy of God! and he seems to be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the depth and breadth of the love of God how often on the other side is a vail drawn over all these bright Conceptions and he groveling in the dust What flouds of Consolation doth God sometimes pour out upon his Soul whereas at other times those comforts come down in drops which use to come in showers how great sometimes is his strength against temptations how weak his courage at another how chearfully sometime can he cry out I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me how mournfully is he forced to express himself at another I see a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bringing me into captivity to the Law of Sin Behold O my Soul the vast number of the Stars and Lamps of Heaven how wise how powerful is that God that made them who can look upon those curious Lights without admiring their Creator Behold they rise and goe down at his command and do not fail one minute of their appointed time how should this teach thee obedience how chearfully shouldst thou run at the command of thy God these glorious Stars though their number be vastly great yet they never clash or disagree one with another how should this engage thee to unfeigned charity and peaceableness how should this put thee upon promoting peace and concord and agreement among thy neighbors and doe not these Stars put thee in mind how e're long thou shalt shine as the Stars in the firmament for ever Happy hour Blessed day when thou shalt be cloathed with splendor and immortatity when thou shalt see night no more and shalt need no candle neither light of the Sun but the Lord shall give thee light and thou shalt reign with him for ever Come down lower O my Soul I have not done yet with Gods wonderful Works reflect upon the Air in which all sensitive Creatures breathe without this Air the whole Creation would dye it 's this that keeps Men and Beasts and all Plants and Herbs alive and is not the Holy Spirit of God O my Soul the very same to thee that the Air is to all creatures without this spirit of God to enlighten to move and to direct thee thou hast the name that thou livest but thou art dead it 's this spirit must give thee life it 's he that must warm thee into a practical Love to God it 's he must teach thee how to pray it 's he must help thy infirmities and bear witness with thy Spirit that thou art a Child of God beg this rich gift at the hands of God and thou shalt have it seek it and thou shalt find it knock at Heaven Gate for it and God will open and grant thee thy hearts desire Behold O my Soul how vain and foolish these men are that will not believe the Being of Angels or of Spirits because they never saw any can they see the Air and why do not they question whether there be such a thing as Air or no this Air supports all Creatures so doth thy God much more The Eyes of all do wait upon him and he gives them their meat in due season he opens his hand and fills the desire of every living thing Psal. 145.15 16. When this Air yields to all gross Bodies and lets them pass without opposition how doth it read to thee Lectures of Patience and Humility in that flexibility thou mayst see the sinfulness of thy inexorable temper the odiousness of thy revengeful desires and reviling again when thou art reviled and giving the offender as good as he brings the Air reproves thee when thou art deaf to all entreaties to be reconciled to him that hath injured thee when thou wilt not yield to the humble supplication of distressed creatures and when thou opposest thy own humour to all the rational perswasions of wiser men than thy self Look upon the Fire 0 my Soul and behold how differently it acts upon Bodies it meets withal how it consumes the Hay and Stubble and cleanseth and purifies Gold and Silver doest thou not see here as in a Glass how thy God destroys the workers of iniquity and advances and encreases and purifies the desires and affections of a devout and religious Soul thou seest how hard and black Iron is when it is not near the Fire and how bright and tractable it becomes in the fire and is not this the true picture of a sinner while he is a stranger to the Law of God he hardens his heart as Flint and Adamant no threatenings pierce him no promises prevail with him no judgements fright him no providences move him no mercies melt him he feeds upon Gods Blessings as Swine do upon Acorns without minding the hand that throws them down he hears Sermons but they awake him not he is intreated and he slights the invitation he is reproved and laughs at the reprehension but when that Holy Fire the love of God enters into his heart how flexible how tractable doth he grow how doth the love of God constrain him to avoid sin and to bid defiance to all the works of Darkness he that before scorn'd to hear the glad tidings of the Gospel how doth he now submit to Christs easy yoak he that before thought such a duty unfit and improper for a person of his quality how cheerfully doth he now bow and yield to it he that before had a thousand excuses why he could not do what Christ enjoyns him how doth he now lay all those idle apologies by he that before was churlish becomes now affable and courteous he that before was apt to be very angry at the least affront now bears it more quietly he that before put off the Eternal God with the meanest of his endeavours now is willing to give him the fat and strength of his affections he that before could hear Ministers call to him and call again without effect now cries out Sirs what must I do to be saved he that before could not be perswaded to walk in the strait way now runs in the way of God's Commandments Blessed Fire which consumes not but illuminates never suffers the heart to be harden'd
displeasure thou art in pain but what is this to Hell-fire thou art in torments but what is this to the Agonies the unhappy Spirits in the burning Lake endure how great a mercy is it that it is not worse with thee The Waters of Marah which are but to the Ancles now how soon might God increase them to the Knees and make them a River that could not be pass'd over and he that doth but frown now how easily might he thunder Consider O my Soul thou art not call'd to Persecution to Gibbets to Fire to the Sword to Grid-irons to wild Beasts as the Martyrs of old were if thou complainest now what wouldst thou do if thou wert call'd to Martyrdom Look upon Jesus the Author and Captain of thy Salvation who was made perfect through sufferings art thou better than the Son of God look upon the Apostles look upon the Primitive Saints that were torn assunder stoned slain with the Sword wandred about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins were destitute tormented afflicted and art thou a greater Saint than they why shouldst thou expect better dealing at Gods hands than they thou art not alone in misery thou hast whole Armies of Holy Men to bear thee company canst thou look upon yonder Heaven and repine canst thou behold that Glory which God hath prepared for thee and think much of these fiery Trials the hopes of a Kingdom makes a Captive Prince merry though he is in prison and shall not the hopes of yonder joys keep thy heart from sinking when a Socrates can chearfully submit to the unjust Sentence of the Athenians upon no other account but this because it was God's will shalt thou who art a Christian lye fretting at thy trouble as if thou meanst to resist and controul God's will wilt not thou give God leave to use that priviledge in his great House the World which every Peasant uses in his Cottage and lay what burthens he pleases on his Servants Shall he say Suffer thou this affliction and wilt thou answer with that ill-natur'd Son in the Gospel I will not Look O my Soul look upon the benefit thou wilt receive by this providence thou wast proud before stay awhile and this calamity makes thee humble thou didst despise thy God before have a little patience and this trouble will drive thee hence to thy Fathers house thou didst play with the bread thy Father gave thee this cross will teach thee how to prize it thou didst trust too much to thine own strength this calamity will make thee relye altogether upon him who hath promis'd not to leave us nor forsake us God knows what thou wantest and how thy wants must be supplyed He prosperity would undo thee he therefore takes it away and like a tender Father cries Do thy self no harm He sees such a blessing would make thee surfeit he therefore wisely prevents thy disease by depriving thee of that mercy He sees such a comfort would be but a Knife or Sword in thy hand and kill thee he therefore snatches it away because he would preserve thee from Eternal ruine he sees thou art too much in love with this world he therefore embitters thy sweet morsels to make thee weary of this barren wilderness and in love with that Kingdom which fades not away Dost thou blame a Physitian because he gives his Patient a bitter potion and wilt thou blame thy God for not pleasuring thy pallate with dainties which would encrease thy distemper wouldst thou followthy Saviour in Sun-shine only and not go with him into the Garden of Gethsemane wouldst thou inherit his Crown of Glory without wearing his Crown of Thorns here wouldst thou be with him on Mount Tabor only and not accompany him to Golgotha wouldst thou be about him only when he rides in triumph into Jerusalem and forsake him in the Desart wouldst thou follow him only while the loaves doe last and abandon him when he wants bread for the multitude wouldst thou own him only when men cry Hosanna and run away from him when they cry out Crucify him wilt thou eat of the same Bread he doth and not drink of his Cup too God would save thee by that burthen which lies upon thee and dost thou prefer a little froth before an Eternal weight of blessedness hadst thou rather enjoy thy good things here than lye with Lazarus in Abrahams bosom God sees thou canst not be happy without this affliction and wilt thou prefer living deliciously for a few days before the rich Banquet God hath prepar'd for his favourites in Paradise O my Soul it s but a little while yet and thy Prison will be changed into a Palace thy Poverty into Eternal Riches thy Bondage into perfect Liberty thy Persecution into endless Joys thy mourning Songs into Halelujahs thy Sorrow into Rivers of Delight Alas what is a Prison God's Presence can make it a Heaven Walls cannot keep out the Smiles and Glory of the Highest What is poverty it may consist with being a Favourite of God and he that hath nothing in this world to boast of may have an incorruptible Crown to lay hold of and be really richer than the weakliest of Mankind What are slanders and reproaches they cannot hurt the Soul whatever injury they only do the Body they come sometimes from Men whose tongue is no slander and this may consist with honour from God and reputation in the Court of the Almighty What is persecution a Cloud which soon passes away and he that chearfully endures it great is his reward in Heaven Despair not O my Soul thou hast to deal with a God who will lay no more upon thee than thou art able to bear but with the temptation will make a way to escape that thou mayst be able to bear it one that doth not afflict the children of men willingly one that will certainly if thou obstruct not his operation by thy unbelief cause all these troubles to work together for thy Eternal good May be thy troubles are altogether Spiritual and thou dost not complain so much because thou art destitute of outward conveniences as because thy God is departed from thee a deep sense of thy sins afflicts thee thou seest the wrath of God hovering over thee and God hides his face from thee thou art afraid thou dost not belong to him thou seest not thy former tokens nor feel'st those Gracious influences which formerly water'd and enriched all thy faculties but hast thou such low conceits of the everlasting kindness of thy God O my Soul why shouldst thou believe he hath forsaken thee when he doth give thee daily testimonies of his Love what greater assurance canst thou have of Gods love to thee and of Christs kind thoughts towards thee than thy weariness of sin Hast not thou heard thy Saviour call Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy loaden and I will give ye rest Art not thou weary of iniquity hadst not thou rather be rid of that burthen than keep
have no longings at all after external comforts and conveniencies but in Heaven all perishing sublunary objects are forgotten there those Friends and Relations those Children those Honours those Riches which too often made too great an encroachment on thy Love will be no attractives there thou wilt be contented without Bread satisfied without Drink the want of Cloaths will not trouble thee thou wilt have nobler friends than Father and Mother and Brethren and Sisters to converse withal nobler Food than the Delicacies of this world nobler attire than Silk or the softest Down can make there will be no need of contriving how to get a livelyhood Palaces will not tempt thee Gardens will not entice thee Gold will not dazle thee the greatness of the world will affect thee no more than Pebles the glittering Diamond will make no impressions on thee and all thy wants and necessities will be fully supplyed by an immortality of Joy and Glory Here the warm Sun of Prosperity makes thee sometimes forget and neglect the great work of thy Salvation makes thee apt to grow weary of Fasting and Prayer and mortification and self-denial and apt to yield unto Satans temptations but there the tempter must tempt thee no more he dares not fully those Christalline Walks with his steps he dares not come near that Holy place it 's past his skill how to incommode or molest a glorified Spirit Here often like Jonas thou fittest rejoycing under the Gourd or Vine and while thou art solacing thy self the Gourd withers and the Sun scorches thy Body and thou growest faint there this annoyance will have an end there thou wilt live above the Sun and that which is now thy Ceiling shall be then thy Footstool On Earth when Christ is pleased to communicate himself unto thee it s here a little and there a little and he gives thee but sprinklings of his Grace for while thou art in this Tabernacle of Flesh thou art not capacious enough to receive or entertain that stupendious Light in its full vertue and Power and Majesty but when thy Vessel of Clay thy Body shall be shatter'd into Dust and Atomes and thou shalt be freed from thy Prison and live like thy self all Understanding all Intellect all Spirits the Sun that shines in the highest Heavens and irradiates the Throne of God even the Lord Jesus Christ will then reveal himself to thee in his full splendor and Glory thine Eyes will then be strong enough to look upon that glorious and immense Globe of Light and thou shalt be like unto the Angels of God thy extravagant passions will then cease forever thy grief thy sorrows will have no admittance into those Seats of Bliss thou 'lt be refined then from all those turbulent motions which do now so often discompose thy rest Here the death of a near Relation troubles thee there thou wilt be above all trouble and vexation here thine anger like that of Moses doth often wax hot because thou seest thy God dishonoured and his Commands trampled upon there thou wilt see no such dismal sights here a sin thou fallst into against thy will makes thee wish for rivers of Tears there thy grief will be buried in eternal exultations there thy passions will all be calm'd and like water after a storm look smooth and quiet there will be no disorder in thy affections but like a Quire of tuneable Voices they 'l meet in everlasting harmony there no affliction must come after thee Here with Moses thy Body may be thrown into the Water with Joseph cast into prison with Shadrach Meschek and Abednego flung into a fiery Furnace with Daniel hurried into a Lions Den stoned with the Prophets crucified with St. Peter thrown down from a Precipice with St. James cast into a Kettle of boyling Oil with St. John thrust through with a Lance as St. Thomas bound to a tree with St. Andrew flead with S. Bartholomew burnt with Polycarp torn by wild Beasts with Ignatius in all which afflictions thou canst not but sympathize with thy individual companion for it 's by thee that thy Body feels the torments it endures but in that Heaven that glorious Heaven no Enemy can reach thee no Devil fright thee no storm surprize thee no Monarch frown on thee no sickness break thee no distemper crush thee no age waste thee no danger shake thee no Tyrant threaten thee no Lions meet thee no Tyger tear thee no Sword pierce thee no publick commotions startle thee the Sun shall not light on thee nor any heat for thou art secure under the shadow of the Almighties wings for ever The Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed thee by his everlasting saciety here it is A little while and you shall not see me and again a little while and you shall see me but there with open face and without a glass thou wilt look upon his Majesty for ever here Christ comes and departs there he will never remove out of thy sight there his everlasting love will support thee there his kindness will be subject to Clouds and Eclipses no more there thou wilt not be able to turn thy Eyes away from him This is that Lamb that will give thee to drink of his everlasting Springs Springs which can never be drawn dry Springs which can no more decay than the Son of God decays he is the everlasting Fountain of Delight and in this Fountain thou shalt bathe and recreate thy self forever his Attributes his Kingdom his Beauty shall charm and ravish thee for ever there thou shalt be in an everlasting extasie of joy there thou wilt not need to cry out with St. Bernard Hold Lord for my heart is not able to contain those joys which thou dost so liberally pour out upon me that everlasting Fountain of joy and content and satisfaction shall both fill and enable thee to bear that fulness of joy and light which shall then appear unto thee the remembrance of Christs merits and benefits and what Christ hath done for thee will then transport thee into everlasting Praises and Celebrations of his Goodness Songs as endless as thy duration will be The Rivers that water that Garden of God shall be a perpetuum mobile running and flowing to all Eternity In this Paradise are living no standing waters when millions of ages are past thy Glory shall be still green and lively and after many thousands of years thy happiness like Aaron's Rod shall bud and blossom and bear Fruit. O my Soul when that inexhaustible Fountain fades then and not till then need'st thou be afraid that thy delights will fade there God will put an end to all thy Tears what Rhetorick can reach the favour the Tears thou didst shed for sin the Tears which a deep sense of thy Spiritual poverty did force from thee the Tears which Tribulation and Anguish did command from thine Eyes these will all then be wash'd away How amiable are thy Tabernacles Lord God of
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
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
the same manner all other exceptions nay be answer'd and the sinner finding that the reasons he formerly thought invincible are so easily dash'd and blown away is most likely to hearken to the far stronger arguments of God and his own Conscience the rather because he retired on purpose to have a clearer sight of his ways than before he had and since God doth vouchsafe him so distinct a prospect of his Folly and preposterous Love he justly thinks that not to yield to God's reasonings is to mock him and savours of such ingratitude as admits of no excuse Indeed without retirement our Thoughts and Considerations flow at large like Water in the Sea and we can make no great observations concerning them but in retirement they are much like Water in a Weather-Glass and by them we may guess what temper our souls are in whether hot or cold more exactly than men do at the warmth or coldness of the weather by the rising and falling of the liquor in those Glasses In such retirements a Holy awe and reverence seizes on the Soul and when I see men can retire to drink to play to sleep and to debauch themselves I see no reason but they may I am sure they have greater reason to do it retire to consider the good and welfare of their immortal Souls I have already proved that Consideration must be frequent and consequently this retirement must be so too not that a man must never reflect on his actions or mind whether they be good or bad but when he retires No Consideration is either occasional or a solemn and set Duty either a habitual guide or an extraordinary remembrancer the former as it is universally useful and a great means to prevent sin in a true Believer to check him when he would commit it to engage him to repentance when he is fallen to direct him what he must do and to encourage him to those Duties which are proclaim'd in his Ears as necessary to Salvation so it is a necessary companion where ever we are or what ever we are doing and these occasional Considerations need no retirement but then where the stream of man's life must be turn'd or the actions of the day reviewed how far they have been agreeable to the will of God how far they have been contrary to it or where a strict mortification of sin must be used or where a long neglected duty must be made a familiar guest in thy Soul in a word where the work to be done is of some more than ordinary difficulty there those occasional reflections will not serve turn but more solemn considerations must be called in and these solemn considerations are properly the things which require retirement and as its fit they should be used once a day at least so he doth truly mind the interest of his Soul that some time every day retires and considers how he hath behaved himself that day towards God and Man whether his heart hath not been too much carried out after the comforts of this world what incroachment they have made upon his love to God and how they will fill the garden of his Soul with weeds if he do not stop their progress betimes and root them up what company he hath been in that day what he hath done in his Closet what his thoughts words desires actions affections have been that day whether he hath not been more concern'd for the trash and perishable riches of this life than the Glory of God and the Salvation of his Soul and how necessary it is for him having had a fall that day to be more careful and cautious and circumspect the next This Consideration is the pulse of the Soul which while it is beating it 's a great sign that there is life in the Soul and a good argument that God will increase and enlarge that life And as edification and progress in goodness ought to be the real design of retiring from the World so it doth necessarily import that men ought to chuse the liveliest hours or the hours when their Spirits are most active and freest from drowziness for so great a work When men are drowzy and sleepy Considerations may often come in but they are so weak and faint that they leave the Soul as cold as they found it and put it into the circumstances of that man in the Gospel who took Men for walking Trees saw something but knew not what to make of it or what name to give it While I am discoursing thus methinks I see the sensual Reader smile retirement thinks he this were to make my self a prisoner in the soft times of Peace and to deprive my self of that freedom which God and Nature have given me This were to goe into a Monastery and submit to the se verities of a Convent this at the best can only befit a Priest but can be no qualification of a Gentleman indeed if Gentlemen had no Heaven to gain no Hell to avoid if God had made them Beasts as too many doe make themselves we should not be displeased at this rambling talk but it 's an old trick where men have an aversion from a Duty to represent it in a dismal dress and to take off the burthen from their own Shoulders and to bind it upon others If they could satisfy God with these shufflings as easily as they doe their own Consciences they were safe but that the great day must decide and when the Archangel shall sound his Trumpet to gather the dead from all parts of the world and God who prescribed to all Men but one way to happiness shall make a strict examination how every one hath observed the Rules and Statutes of that way it will appear that this retirememt in order to a serious pondering of our actions was a duty incumbent on some people else besides Ministers He that retires upon this account doth indeed imprison himself but it is that he may attain to true and perfect liberty triumph over the slavery of sin lead his corruption captive and free himself from the dreggs and dross which corrupted Nature hath brought upon him Little doth the sensual man think what felicity he robs himself of by scorning this retirement Here Heaven would look more beautiful to him than in a croud here he might in a manner with St. Stephen see the Heavens open and his Saviour standing at the right hand of God here he might truly enjoy himself and look with pity on those men who like Spirits which are sometimes seen in Mines with great labour doe nothing at all to any purpose and when they have tired and wearied themselves in the world like Flies burn themselves in that candle about which they have been hovering Come sinner prepare thy Pencil mingle the richest Colours thou canst get Draw thy sinful careless life give it a beautiful Virgins face Draw all the charms that thy fancy can find out here Draw the Adoration the world pays unto her there
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
pull'd out betimes How shall I be crown'd if I strive not How shall I strive if I have no temptation I cannot strive without an enemy and without striving there can be no victory the Workman doth not pull the Gold out of the fire till sufficiently refined and shall I murmur that God lets the Fiery Trials continue upon me when it is certain that my Gold is not yet fit to be receiv'd into the Sanctuary I am full of dangers but my greatest danger is security Men fear and quake and tremble if they are in the midst of an hundred enemies I have all the Devils in Hell against me and a whole Army of Lusts bent to ruine me and am not afraid And when there is nothing can rouze me from my security but affliction ought not I to kiss the rod In the greatest troubles I may be assured that God loves me and that it is not his Anger but his Love that follows me with chastisements and why should I fret under the yoak especially when fretting and strugling to shake it off before Gods time doth but make my neck more sore and the yoak far more uneasy I brought the cause of suffering with me into the world which is sin and how can I expect I shall be freed from suffering till I am freed from sin God might have placed me in Heaven immediately upon my coming into the world without any of these outward troubles he could as easily produce Bread out of the Earth as he doth the Ears of Corn but that man may sweat and labour and relish his bread the better he causes only the Ears of Corn to spring and of them Bread must be made so by labour and suffering God leads me unto Glory that I may the better relish his bounty and liberality and my rest may be the sweeter after my toil and tempests here Affliction I know cannot hurt me for my Saviour hath been my taster there can be no bitterness in these herbs when my God hath season'd them Why should I love God less than dogs do their Masters These poor brutes are beaten and struck and chid and pelted with stones and yet the more they are beaten the more they love their owners and cringe and bow and humble themselves before them shall I be worse than a beast and shall I carry a rational Soul in my Breast and kick against those pricks which God hath set to guard me from Eternal Flames All my sorrows and bitterness will shortly be poured out into an ocean of sweetness and how little of it shall I perceive then it will then be all lost in a Sea of Glory and I shall forget that I was poor and wretched and naked and miserable when I shall be Eternally enriched with God bounty enamoured with his perfection decked with his Majestick Robes comforted with his Consolation delighted with his love enriched by his wisdom and satisfied with his beauty in whose Presence there is fulness of joy and pleasure at his right hand for evermore These are some descants upon that Picture of Retirement with such consolations can he that retires refresh himself while the man that wearies himself with the vanities of this world finds no solid peace and when he comes to dye must look back upon his former life with horror and anxiety But II. Another great help to Consideration is Prayer this is the Ambassador that must goe to Heaven and fetch the assistance of Gods Spirit from thence Consideration shews me my danger and my happiness but it 's the Spirit of God must blow upon my affections that they may actually shun the one and reach after the other and this Spirit must be had by Prayer not by Lip-labour not by Prayer unto which the heart is a stranger and knows not what the tongue means in making such a noise but by Prayer which expresses the real desires of the heart by Prayer that flows from a deep sense of the absolute necessity of the grace of God and hath Fire and Flames enough to bear it up into Heaven For if you which are evil can give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him saith Christ Luc. 11.13 and what kind of asking this is appears from the parable immediately preceding for which of you saith Christ v. 5. shall have a friend and shall goe to him at midnight and say unto him Friend lend me three loaves for a friend of mine in his journey is come unto me and I have nothing to set before him and he from within shall answer and say Trouble me not for the door is now shut and my children are with me in bed I cannot rise and give thee I say unto you though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs And then it follows immediately Ask and it shall be given you i. e. Ask for Gods Holy Spirit with the same importunity with the same fervency and earnestness that this man did the Loaves follow God with incessant cryes resolve not to be denied and it shall most certainly be given you The truth is importunate and fervent Prayer shews a man is in good earnest and that he doth not come to God out of formality or meerly to satisfy the motions of a fearful Conscience but that a great sense of the goodness and mercy of God and of his Spiritual wants and necessities puts him upon Prayer and such Prayers God cannot despise because he hath promised to hear them and of this the Evangelist gives us a very illustrious example in the woman of Canaan crying unto Christ Lord help me the answer is rough It is not meet to take the Childrens bread and give it unto dogs yet this doth not terrify her she doubles her cryes and seems to catch our Saviour in his own words Truth Lord yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters Table and now God can hold no longer but from his mouth drops the joyful word O Woman great is thy Faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt Matth. 15.25 26 27. Prayer sanctifies Consideration and where the Soul begs hard of God that God would set home the reflexions she hath had and work her into a willingness to close with his Will that he would increase that light which Consideration hath given her give that light fire too to warm as well as cleer her and drive and force those Convictions Consideration hath afforded her into a serious conversion terrify her so with that sight of sin which Consideration hath darted into her that she may remain no longer in the suburbs of Hell but come out of Sodom and so allure her with that beauty of Holiness which Consideration hath let her have a view of that she may not be able to resist the splendor but submit to the power