full strength and cry out so strongly and immediately to give up the Ghost this is a great Miracle Truly this man was the Son of God This adds unto the greatness of his torment that he had his full and perfect sense that he was six full hours thus on the Rack and the extremity of pain took not away his sense He was as strong at the last as at the first These things seriously weighed Oh! how do they aggravate the depth of his humiliation Seriously weigh them they are miserable and lamentable matters yet in these lie our comfort Through these words is there a passage open for us into the Kingdom of Heaven When he had overcome the terrors of death he opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers these were now but the out-side of his sufferings which did belong to man for his sins He suffered not only bodily sufferings but sufferings in soul and that he did in a most unknown and incomprehensible manner But now may some say Object Did Christ suffer the pains and torments of Hell Sol. No He suffered those things that such an innocent Lamb might suffer but he could not suffer the pains of Hell The reason is because one thing which makes Hell to be Hell is the gnawing worm of an accusing conscience Now Christ had no such worm He had so clear a conscience as that he could not be stung with any such evil Another great torment in Hell is Desperation arising from the appprehension of the perpetuity of their torments which makes them curse and blaspheme God and carry an inexpressible hatred against him but Christ could not do so he could not hate God God forbid that Christ should be lyable to these Passions But it is certain God the Father made an immediate impression of pains upon his soul his soul did immediately suffâ—r Look on him in the Garden he was not yet touched nor troubled by men and yet he fell in a sweat Consider the season of the year this was then when they that were within doors were glad to keep close by the fire he thus did sweat in the garden when others freez'd within this was much but to sweat blood thick blood clotted congealed blood for so the words will bear it not like that in his veins and yet it came through his garments and fell to the ground this is a thing not to be comprehended Our blessed Saviours encountring with his Father he falls a trembling is overwhelmed as it were with the wrath beseeching God intensively saying Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me thou mayst give free pardon which affections in Christ are such a thing as pussels us all we must not say Christ did forget for what he came but he did not remember these words proceeded from the seat of passion which while it is disturbed reason suspends its Acts. Christ had Passions though no impurity in them As take a clean Vial full of pure water from the fountain and shake it it may be frothy yet it will be clean water still Christ did not forget only he had the suspension of his faculties for a time As a man in a sleep thinks not what he is to do in the morning and yet he is not said properly to forget He cryed My God my God why hast thou forsaken me He was contented to be forsaken for a time that thou mighst not be forsaken everlastingly and this was no faint prayer if you read the place in the Psalm He cryed out unto God And Heb. 5.7 It s said Who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cries and tears He cryed to the Almighty he made Gods own heart to pity He would break Isa. 53. yet his heart is repenting and rolled together so that he sent an Angel to support and comfort him Psal. 27. those strong cries are expressed with a more forcible word My God my God why hast thou forsaken me why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring Consider how it was with Christ before any earthly hand had touched him when he beseeched God for his life this shews the wonderfull suffering of Christ and for that point Why hast thou forsaken me Consider it was not with Christ as with the Fathers they suffered a great deal of punishment and taches and would not be delivered yet Christ was more couragious then they all He had a spirit of fortitude he was anointed above his fellows yet he quivers Our Fathers cryed unto thee they trusted in thee and were not consumed they were delivered but I am a worm and no man I can find no shadow of comfort Lord Why art thou so angry with me this speech came not from the upper part of the soul the seat of reason but from the lower part the seat of Passion My God my God these were not words of desperation He held fast to God Why hast thou forsaken me these are words of sense thus you see the price is paid and what a bitter thing sin is God will not suffer his Justice to be swallowed up by Mercy It must be satisfied and our Saviovr if he will be a Mediator must make payment to the uttermost farthing Consider what a time this was when our Saviour suffered The Sun with-draws her beams the earth shakes and trembles What aileth thee O thou Sun to be darknâ—d and thou earth to tremble was it not to shew his mourning for the death of its Maker The soul of Christ was dark within and its fit that all the world should be hung in black for the death of the King of Kings But mark when he comes to deliver up his life and to give up the Ghost the vail of the Temple rent in twain and that was the ninth hour which in the Acts is called the hour of prayer it was at three a Clock in the afternoon Hence it is said Let the lifting up of my hands be as the evening sacrifice The Priest was killing the Lamb at that time there was a vail that severed the Holy of Holies it was between the place of oblations nnd the Holy of holies which signifies the Kingdom of Heaven Assoon as Christ died the vail rent and Heaven was open the Priest saw that which was before hidden Our Saviour saith the Apostle entred through the vail of his flesh unto his Father and fit it was that the Vail should give place vvhen Christ comes to enter But vvhat becomes of Christs foul novv his soul and body vvere pul'd assunder and through the vail of his flesh as it vvere vvith blood about his ears he entred the Holy of Holies unto God saying Lord here am I in my blood and here is blood that speaks better things then the blood of Abel that cries for vengeance this for blessing and expiation of our sins FINIS JOHN 1.12 But to as many as received him to them gave he
But let me in this particular unrip the heart of a natural man What 's the reason that when God gives men a day and cries out This is the day of salvation this is the accepted time what in the name of God or the Devils name rather should cause them to put salvation from them to defer and desire a longer time Thus a natural man reasons with himself I cannot so soon be taken off from the profits and pleasures of the world I hope to have a time when I shall with more ease and a greater composednesse of mind bring my self to it or if it be not with so much ease yet I trust in a sufficient manner I shall do it wherefore for the present I le enjoy the profits and delights of the state and condition wherein I am I will solace my self with the pleasures of sin for a season I hope true repentance will never be too late This is well weigh'd but consider whether these thoughts which poise down our hearts be not groundlesse see whether they will hold water at the last and whether in making such excuses to great presumption we add not the height of folly To pretend for our delay the profits and pleasures of sin and yet hope for heaven at the last as well as the generation of the righteous it 's but a meer fallacy and delusion of Satan to fill our hearts with such vanities Can it be expected that we should have our good in this world and in the world to come too This is well if it might be But let us try the matter and begin with your first branch You are loth to part with your profits and pleasures But consider what a grand iniquity this is Can you offer God a greater wrong and indignity Do you thus requite the Lord you foolish and unwise Dost thou think this the way to make thy peace with God whom thou hast offended as long as thou mayst to be a rebel against him What an high dishonour is it to him that thou shouldst give him thy feeble and doting old age and the Devil thy lively and vigorous youth thy strength and spirits Dost thou think he will drink the dregs and eat the orts will he accept thee in the next world when thou thus scornest him here If you offer the blind for sacrifice is it not an evil If you offer the lame and sick is it not evil Offer it now unto thy governor will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person saith the Lord of hosts Mal. 1.8 But mark how he goes on v. 14. Cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male and voweth sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing Mark God accounts such service a corrupt thing Never look for a blessing from God in heaven when thou sacrificest to him such corrupt things We are to offer and present our selves a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God Rom. 12.1 Now judge whether they offer God the living who say when my doting days come my lame days that I cannot go my blind dayes that I cannot see I le offer my self a sacrifice to God Will this be acceptable to him Is not this evil saith the Lord to offer me such a corrupt thing Nay more he 's accursed that offers such an offering such a polluted sacrifice God will not like with it when we serve our selves first with the best and choise Do you thus requite the Lord do you think he will accept it at your hands Go offer such a gift to thy Ruler to thy Prince will he accept it or be pleased with it No a Landlord will have the best and the choise and it must needs provoke God when we give him the refuse I am King of Kings saith the Lord my name is dreadful and I will look to be served after another manner Let no man then thus delude himself with vain hopes but let him consider how dishonourable a thing it will be to God 2. And how unprofitable to him whoever thou art 1. It 's the ready way to thy destruction Heaven and happinesse and eternal life are laid up for those that embrace the acceptable time death horrour and eternal misery for those that refuse it and wilt thou hazard soul and body on this Moses on this ground did rather choose to suffer affliction in this world with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a moment When these things are past what profit will you have of those things whereof then you will be ashamed When a man comes to see truly and throughly into himself he will find no profit of such things as these death will certainly follow us both temporal and eternal if we repent not the more speedily that 's all the profit we shall find 2 But suppose thou prevent everlasting death by repentance yet what profit is there of those things whereof we are now for the present ashamed The best can come is shame 3. Thou art loth to part with the pleasures of sin for a season and hereafter thou thinkest thou canst amend all But consider the particulars and then shall you see how you are befool'd in your hearts and soules Believe it for an undoubted truth there 's nothing in the world by which Satan more deludes a man then by this perswading him to neglect his day and repent well enough hereafter That you may expel this suggestion out of your soule pray unto God that he would go along with his Word and cause you to lay this to heart that by his Spirit your understanding may be enlightned to see the truth Though I make this as clear as the Sun that it is a false supposition and meer folly on which we build in deferring our return to God yet God from heaven must teach you or you will be never the wiser Know therefore that this very day God reaches out the golden Scepter to thee and what folly were it to neglect it since thou knowest not whether he will ever proffer it thee again And assure thy self that he is a lyar that tells thee thou mayst as well repent hereafter as now and this will appear whether we consider the order of outward things in the world or the nature of sin 1. For external things every Age after a man comes into the world if he embrace not the present opportunity for repentance is worse then other and are each of them as so many clogs which come one after another to hinder it As for thy childish Age that 's meer vanitie and thy riper Age will bring many impediments and hindrances that youth never thought of Thou art then troubled about many things and perplexed how to provide for maintenance in the midst whereof know that thou hast not a body of brass but a corruptible and fading body and yet such is the folly of the heart of man that the less ground he hath to go the fewer dayes to spend the
and resolve to amend I shall not now stand to speak of that common aspersion cast upon Religion and the wayes of God that men must sail to Heaven by the gates of Hell of which many are so much afraid But yet we must not think that our Saviour came to heal those which are whole already he 's a God of wisedom and the Physician of the soul he comes to find that which is lost So that we must be lost in our own apprehensions if we will be found as David was Ps. 119. ult He first saith I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost then seek thy servant If now we are once lost we are lost for ever if he seek us not therefore we should first consider with our selves what estate we are in now how the case stands with us at present that if God should come and strike thee with death if thou wert now to come to Judgment what would trouble thee most what couldst thou then answer him Therefore since it is uncertain how soon God may deal thus with thee it is wisedom to be always ready Lam. 3.40 Let us search and try our wayes and turn again unto the Lord. Let us first try how the matter stands with us at the present let us examine our selves and our ways and see if all be well and then may we go on with comfort in the way wherein we are But when we have searched and find things not to goe as well as they ought or that we are not in a right way then after our searching we must Turn unto the Lord Thus the Prophet did Psal. 119.57 I thought upon my wayes and turned my feet unto thy testimonies First he thought on his wayes he considered whither he was going whether to Heaven or Hell then when he had thus thought he made haste and turned his feet unto Gods testimonies Here are both put together first he made haste and thought on his ways and then he turned I took this Text to shew that one of these is as dangerous as the other and how men are apt to deceive themselves in their search and examination 'T is as dangerous not to prove our wayes as to put off and defer our turning to God This is a dangerous disease that when men come to examine and try their spiritual estates they have false weights and unequal ballances to prove themselves by they are very willing to save themselves the labour though they be deceived A man is loth to be cozened by another but here is his folly that he is willing enough to deceive and betray himself Such fools the Devil makes many men because they take not right glasses to look on themselves in and so they deceive themselves For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing he deceiveth himself but let every man prove c. In the words here are 1. The Disease 2. A Remedy 1. The Disease is in the 3d. v. If a man think himself to be something when he is nothing c. this is a common and dangerous disease and a disease which is both common and dangerous is the more to be feared the more careâ—ul must the Physician be This is the most common disease for there is not a man but finds a snatch of it in his own heart And it is the more dangerous for who is in more danger then he that is blind and will be blind that is willing to be cheated by Satan and himself This is the patient Now what his disease is and the dangerousnesse of it the Apostle tells us He thinks himself to be something and is nothing This is the patient to be cured and that is his disease then which none more common for there is not the worst of men but will say I thank God I am something and I am not half so bad as the Preacher would make me I have some good thing in me Now this his disease stands in two things 1. That he is nothing 2. That he thinks himself to be something 1. He is nothing And for a man to be brought before Gods Judgment-seat and have nothing to answer how will it fare with him then but yet this man cannot but think he is something well then something he is but nothing to the purpose As we say of an Idol An Idol is nothing in the world that is Nothing that can help or succour those that bow to them and adore them nothing that they should have in them An Idol is something indeed for it is silver or gold or brass or stone c. but it 's nothing that is is nothing to the purpose nothing that can plead for a man when he holds up his hand at Gods bar 2. He thinks himself to be something though he be nothing He thinks he shall come to Heaven though he be not in the way as the foolish Virgins that thought they should be let in feared not the contrary till they came there So these men walk in their way all their life and yet fear not entrance into Heaven till they receive sentence to the contrary If these men knew themselves to be nothing they would seek something for themselves but now they are nothing though they think themselves something This is the Disease 2. The Remedy is in the next verse Let him proâ—e his own work Let him look himself in a true glasse and that is the point we shall insist on If then Satan shall not delude us in deferring and putting off our repentance so let him not deceive us with a false conceit of our wayes and estate that we may not make our selves something when we are nothing Therefore let us see what false glasses they are that men get to themselves If Satan bring us to have a good opinion of our selves and our condition and perswade us that it is not with us as precise Preachers tell us that it 's no such matter to go to Heaven but that it may be done with lesse paines and more ease when I say Satan lulls a man asleep with such plausible things as these he hath him where he would have him Why then no marvel if this man like his ways when he looks upon them with false glasses 1. The first false glass is self-love and the property of love is to make the good things in the party it loves very great and the vices very little Self-love represents nothing in it's true shape The Apostle speaking of the later dayes 2 Tim. 3. saith There shall be perillous times And wherein lieth the peril Men shall be lovers of their own selves As if he had said that is one of the worst perils for a man to have a great conceit of himself If one be sick of this disease it will so blind him that he shall never see a thing in its right place we may see it by the contrary in the want of love Suppose to a neighbour for example he
out his own sins in their weight and number Psal. 38.4 Mine iniquities are gone over my head as an heavy burthen they are too heavy for me The continual multiplying of them adds to their heap both in number and weight Thus I have shew'd you what the Law does in respect of sin the benefit of being under the Law that it makes sin appear in its own colours and sets it forth to be as indeed it is exceeding sinful But the Law does not yet leave sin nor let it scape thus But as the Law discovers our sinfulnesse and accursednesse by sin its wretchednesse and mans misery by it till his blessednesse comes from the hands of his Jesus so it layes down the miserable estate befalls him for it If he will not spare God with his sins God will not spare him with his plagues Let us consider of this accursednesse sin brings on us God will not let us go so but as long as we are under the Law we are under the curse and till we are in Christ we can expect nothing but that which should come from the hand of a provoked God Assure thy self thou thâ—t pleasest thy self in thy abominations that God will not take this at thine hands that by so base a creature as thou art so vile a thing as sin is should be committed against him But of the woful effâ—cts of sin which is Gods wrath we will speak the next time LAM 5.16 Woe unto us that we have sinned I Declared unto you heretofore what we are to consider in the state of a natural man a man that is not new fashioned new moulded a man that is not cut off from his own stock a man that is not ingrafted into Christ he is the son of sin he is the son of death First I shew'd you his sinfulnesse and now Secondly I shall shew you his accursednesse that which follows necessarily upon sin unrepented of I declared before what the nature of sin is And now I come to shew what the dreadful effects of sin are the cause the consequence that follows upon sin and that is woe and misery Woe unto us that we have sinned A woe is a short word but there lieth much in it Doct. Woe and anguish must follow him that continueth sinning against God And when we hear this from the Ministers of God it is as if we heard that Angel Rev. 8.13 flying through the midst of heaven denouncing Woe woe woe to the inhabitants of the earth The Ministers of God are his Angels and the same that I now deliver to you if an Angel should now come from Heaven he would deliver no other thing Therefore consider that it is a voice from Heaven that this woe woe woe shall rest upon the heads upon the bodies and soules of all them that will not yeild unto God that will not stoop to him that will be their own masters and stand it out against him woe woe woe unto them all Woe unto us It 's the voice of the Church in general not of one man but woe unto us that we have sinned That I may now declare unto you what these woes are note by the way that I speak not to any particular man but to every man in general It is not for me to make particular application doe you doe that your selves We are all children of wrath by nature In our natural condition we are all alike we are all of one kind and every kind generates its own kind 'T is an hereditary condition and till the Son make us free we are all subject to this woe By nature we are all children of wrath as well as others Eph. 2.3 Now that I may not speak of these woes in general I have shew'd how two woes are past and a third woe is coming God proceeds punctually with us And are not our proceedings in Judiciary Courts after this manner The Judge when he pronounceth sentence doth particularize the matter Thou shalt return to the place from whence thou camest thou shalt have thy bolts knockt off thou shalt be drawn to the place of execution thou shalt be hanged thou shalt be cut down and quartered and so he goes on And this is that which is the witnesse of Justice Thus is it here the Spirit of God thinks it not enough to say barely the state of a sinner is a woful estate but the woes are punctually number'd and this shall be my practice Now 1. The first thing that followeth after sin is this After the committing of sin there cometh such a condition into the soul that it is defiled polluted and becometh abominable And this is the first woe 2. The soul being thus defiled and abominable God loaths it for God cannot endure to dwell in a filthy and stinking carrion-soul he startles as it were and seems afraid to come near it he forsakes it and cannot endure it And that 's the second woe First sin defiles it then God departs from it there must be a divorce 3. When God is departed from the soul then the Devil enters in he presently comes in and takes up the room there will be no emptinesse or vacuum And this is a fearful woe indeed for as soon as God is departed from a man he is left to the guidance of the Devil his own flesh and the world There will be no emptinesse in the heart no sooner God departs but these step in and take Gods place 4. Then in the fourth place after all this is done comes sin and cries for its wâ—ges which is death That terrible death which comprehends in it all that beadroll of curses which are written in the Book of God and not onely those but the curses also which are not written Deut. 28. which are so many that they cannot be written Though the Book of God be a compleat Book and the Law of God a perfect Law yet here they come short and are imperfect For the curses not written shall light upon him which are so many as pen and ink cannot set down nay the very pen of God cannot expresse them so many are the calamities and sorrows that shall light upon the soul of every sinful man Now let us take these woes in pieces one after another 1. The first woe is the polluting and defiling of the soul by sin A thing it may be that we little think of but if God once open our eyes and shew us what a black soul we have within us and that every sin every lustful thought every covetous act every sin sets a new spot and stain upon the soul and tumbles it into a new puddle of filth then we shall see it and not till then for our eyes are carnal and we cannot see this If once we did but see our hateful abominable spots that every sin tumbles us afresh into the mire did we see what a black Devil we have within us we would hate and abhor our selves as Job did It would be
from his body those two loving companions that have so long dwelt together are now separated It takes thy soul from thy body This man doth not deliver up his spirit as we read of our Saviour Father into thy hands I commit my spirit or deliver their spirits as Stephen did But here it 's taken from them it 's much against his mind it 's a pulling of himself from himself This it doth 3. But then again when thou art thus pulled asunder what becomes of the parts separated 1. First The body as soon as the soul is taken from it hastens to corruption that must see corruption yea it becomes so full of corruption that thy dearest friend cannot then endure to come near unto thee When the soul is taken from the body it 's observed that of all carkasses that are mans is most loathsome none so odious as that Abraham loved Sarah well but when he comes to buy a monument for her see his expression Gen. 23 8. He communes with the men and saith if it be your mind to sell me the field that I might bury my dead out of my sight Though he loved her very well before yet now she must be buried out of his sight It is sown in dishonour and it 's the basest thing that can be Therefore when our Saviour was going near to the place where Lazarus lay his sister saith Lord come not near him for he smells Job 17.14 I have said to corruption thou art my father saith Job and to the worm thou art my mother and my sister As in the verse before The grave is my house I have made my bed in the darkness Here then he hath a new kindred and though before he had affinity with the greatest yet here he gets new affiniâ—y He saith to corruption thou art my father and to the worm thou art my mother and my sister The worm is our best kindred here the worm then is our best bed yea worms thy best covering as Esay 14.11 Thus is it thy Father thy mother and thy bed nay it is thy consumption and destroyer also Job 26. Thus is it with thy body it passeth to corruption that thy best or dearest friend cannot behold it or endure it 2. But alas what becomes of thy soul then Thy soul appears naked there 's no garment to defend it no Proctor appears to plead for it It is brought singly to the bar and there it must answer It is appointed for all men once to die But what then And after that to come to judgment Heb. 9.27 Eccles. 12.7 The body returns unto the earth from whence it was taken but the Spirit to God who gave it All mens spirits assoon as their bodies and souls are parted goe to God to be disposed of by him where they shall keep their everlasting residence Consider when thou hearest the bell rung out for a dead man if thou hadst but the wings of a dove to fly and couldst fly after him and appear with him before Gods Tribunal to see the account that he must give unto God for all things done in the flesh and when no account can be given what a state of misery and horrour wouldst thou see him in and this is a silent kind of judging The last day of judging shall be with great pomp and solemnity This is a matter closely carried between God and thy self but then thou must give an account of all that thou hast received And then when thou canst not give a good account then is thy talent taken from thee Why saith God I gave thee learning how didst thou use it I gave thee other gifts of mind how didst thou imploy them God hath given thee wisedome and wealth Moral vertues meeknesse and patience c. these are good things But mark whatsoever good things thou hadst in this world is now taken from thee If a man could but see the degrading of the soul he should see that those moral vertues in which his hope of comfort lay even these though they could never bring him to heaven yet they shall be taken from him As when a Knight is degraded First his sword is taken from him then comes one with a hatchet and chops off his golden spurs and then go Sr. Knave This is the degrading of the soul before the judgment is received the moral vertues are taken from him and then see what an ugly soule he hath he had hope before now he 's without hope he had some patience in this world but he made no good use of it and now his patience is taken from him And when thou shalt come to a place of torment and thy hope and patience be taken from thee what case wilt thou be in then Patience may stay a man up in trouble and hope may comfort a man up in torment but both these are taken away This is a thing we very seldome think but did we seriously consider of this first act of the Judgment before the sentence we would not be idle in this world 3. Then lastly he is put into an unchangeable estate So soon as ever death lays Gods Mace upon him he 's put into an estate of unchangeblenesse Such is the terriblenesse of it that now though he yell and groan and pour out rivers of teares there is no hope of change Consider now what a woful case this is If some friend of this mans should now come to him would he not tell him we have often been very merry together but didst thou but know the misery that I am in thou wouldst be troubled for me Half those teares that I now pour forth would have put me into another place had I taken the season but now it is too late Oh therefore doe thou make use of teares a little may doe it now hereafter it will be too late That 's the thing we should now come to speak of the second death But think not that I am able to speak of it now no that which is everlasting deserves an hour in speaking and an Age in thinking of it Therefore that everlasting torment horror and anguish which God hath reserved for those that make not their peace with him which is easily done God knows I shall speak of the next time REV. 21.8 Buâ—â—he fearful and unbelâ—â—â—â—ng and the abominable and murtherers and whoremongers and sorcerers and Idolaters and all lyars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death THe last day I entred you know upon the miserable estate of an unreconciled sinâ—er at the time of his dissolution when his soule shall be taken from him and be presented naked before Christs Tribunal there to receive according to the works which he hath done in the flesh And I shew'd that the wofulnesse of that estate consisted in two acts done upon him The one before he comes to his place before he is thrust away from Gods presence into hell fire which I
make that impression It 's another thing to judge of things by sense then by losse As for example a man is greatly troubled with the tooth-ach and he thinks his case more miserable then any and thinks no man ever endur'd so much misery as himself he judges of his misery by sense Another man is in the consumption and he hath little or no pain at all yet if a man come with a right judgment he will judge his condition far worse then the others So take all the pains in Hell though sense may say they are the greatest that can be yet discreet judgment can say that the losse of God the greatest good is the worst of evils Now if thou be a firebrand of Hell thou must be for ever banish't from Gods presence Thou base wretch dost thou thinâ— Heaven a place for thee not so 'T is without are dogs and sorcerers c. Thou art a damned dog therefore thou must out from God and from the company of the blessed Saints and Angels When Peter saw Moses and Elias with Christ in his Transfiguration though he had but a glimpse of glory yet he saith It is good for us to be here But oh how infinite good will it be to be in Heaven how shall we be then wrapt up with glory when we shall be for ever with the Lord in whose presence is fulness of joy and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore On the contrary how exceeding terrible will it be to be shut out from the presence of God when God shall say avaunt hence whip out this dog what doth he here let him not defile this room this is no place for such a filthy dog Oh the unspeakable horrour and dread oh the infinite shame of that man who is in such a case But this is not all There is yet one thing more the wicked shall not only be banished from Gods gracious presence and cast into Hell but this shall be done in the sight of Heaven The glorious Saints of God have continually a sight of Gods justice upon sinners that they may glorifie his mercy the more The Scripture runs much to this purpose Rev. 14.10 If any man worship the beast and his image the same shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of God and of his holy Angels This in the 9th verse is the portion of them that worship the beast that is the Pope and receive the mark of his name That is if any will be an expresse publick or private Papist if any one will be a slave to the Pope see his portion he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God and be banished from the society of holy Angels and be tormented with hell-fire in their presence Oh what a vexation will this be to the damned when they shall see others in heaven and themselves shut out of door This will cause weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth It will go to their very heart when they shall see Moses and Aaron and the Prophets and holy Saints in joy and glory and shall consider and remember that if they had made use of these means and opportunities of grace they might have lived in Heaven too whereas now they must be everlastingly tormented in that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone and that without any hope of recovery 2 Thess. 1.9 Punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power You know that by the Law of Moses whensoever an offender was to receive his stroaks Deut. 25 2 3. The Judge was to cause him to lie down and to be beaten before his face and he himself was to see it done So when God comes to give the damned their stroaks in hell for hell is the place of execution wherein he that knows his masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes he himself will see them beaten in the presence of all his holy Angels and if so how shameful will their punishment be when there shall be so many thousand witnesses of it when they shall be made as we say the worlds wonder These are they that shall rise to everlasting contempt Dan. 12. So in Esay ult Cap. v. ult it 's said of the damned their worm shall not die nor their fire be quenched but they shall be an abhorring to all flesh and the holy Angels and Saints shall go forth and look upon them those proud ones that scorned Gods people here shall then be abhorred and scorned of them 4. Adde to all this that he 's not only banish't from the presence of God for a while but from all hope of ever seeing God again with comfort Thy estate is endless and remediless Whilst thou art here in this life of a Saul thou mayst become a Paul and though thou art not yet a beloved son yet thou mayst come in favour Whilst thou livest under the means of grace there is yet hope of recovery left thee it may be this Sermon may be the meanes of thy conversion But then amongst all thy punishments this will be one of the greatest that thou shalt be deprived of all means of recovery and this shall be another hell to thee in the middest of hell to think with thy self I have heard so many Sermons and yet have neglected them I had so many opportunities of grace and yet have slighted them this will make the sinner rage and bite his tongue and tear himself to think how that now all meanes are past And this is the first penalty the penalty of loss That of the sense succeeds By the former we are deprived of all the joyes and comforts of heaven earth of Mount Sion shut out of the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem depriv'd of an innumerable company of Saints of the general assembly and Church of the first-born of God himself the Judge of all and the souls of the Saints made perfect This shall make a sinner curse himself Now follows the penalty of torments and sense When Adam was banished out of Paradise he had the wide world to walk in still but it is not so here Thou art not only cast out of heaven but cast into hell and art deprived of thy liberty for ever 1 Pet. 3.19 It 's said Christ preached to the spirits in prison them that in the dayes of Noah were disobedient and for this cause are now in prison Hell is compar'd to a prison and a prison indeed it is and that an odious one For 1. Look on thy companions If a man were to be kept close prisoner it were a great punishment but goe ye cursed saith God into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels To be among such companions is most infinitely miserable there is nothing but Devils and damned howling ghosts woful companions If there be an house possessed with an evil spirit a man will scarce be hired to live in it
is when we have made particular application by Faith God will put to his seal that I shall know that God is my strength and my salvation I shall know it John 14.21 He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will manifest my self unto him Christ comes and drawes the Curtains and looks on with the gracioâ—s aspect of his blessed countenance When this comes it cheers the heart and then there are secret love-tokens pass betwixt Christ and his beloved Rev. 2.17 To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knows save he that receives it that is there is a particular intimation that I shall know of my self more then any other more then all the world besides It s such a joy as the stranger is not made Partaker of such joy as is glorious and unspeakable such peace as passeth all understanding One minute of such joy overcomes all the joy in the world besides Now consider sure there is such a thing as this joy or else do you think the Scripture would talk of it and of the Comforter the Holy Ghost by whom we know the things that are given us of God There is a generation in the world that hath this joy though you that know it not do not nor cannot believe it there is a righteous generation that have it and why dost thou not try to get it do as they do and thou mayst obtain it likewise The secrets of the Lord are revealed to them that fear him These are hidden comforts do you think God will give this joy to those that care not for him No The way is to seek God and to labour to fear him The secrets of the Lord are revealed to such and such only as fear him do as they do and follow their example and thou mayst have it likewise Object Many have serv'd Christ long and have not found it Sol. It s long of themselves you are straightned in your own bowels or else Open your mouths wide and God will fill them No wonder that we are so barren of these comforts when we be straitned in our selves There is a thing wondrously wanting amongst us and that is Meditation If we could give our selves to it and go up with Moses to the Mount to confer with God and seriously think of the price of Christs death and of the joyes of heaven and the Priviledges of a Christian if we could frequently meditate on these we should have these sealing days every day at lest oftner This hath need to be much pressed upon us the neglect of this makes lean souls He that is frequent in that hath these sealing days often Couldst thou have a parle with God in private and have thy heart rejoyce with the comforts of another day even whilst thou art thinking of these things Christ would be in the midst of thee Many of the Saints of God have but little of this because they spend but few hours in Meditation And thus as this hour would give leave have we proceeded in this point FINIS 1 COR. 11.29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lords body I Have heretofore declared unto you the ground of our salvation and have represented unto you first Christ offered for us and secondly Christ offered to us Now it hath pleased Almighty God not only to teach us this by his Word but because we are slow of heart to believe and conceive the things we heare it pleases his glorious Wisdom to add to his Word his Sacraments that so what we have heard with our ears we may see with our eyes being represented by signs There is a visible voice whereby God speaks to the eyes and therefore we find in Exod. 4.8 God bids Moses that he should use signs saying It shall come to pass if they will not believe thee neither hearken to the voice of the first sign that they will believe the voice of the latter sign Signs you know are the Object of the eye and yet see they have it as it were a visible voice which speaks to the eye Now God is pleased to give us these signs for the helping 1. Of our Understanding The eye and the ear are the two learned senses as we call them through which all knowledge is conveyed into the soul and therefore that we may have a more particular knowledge of Christ God hath not only by his Ministry given us audible voices but visible also in his Sacraments by which as by certain glasses he represents to us the Mystery of Christ Jesus offered for us and offered to us And hence is it that Paul calls the eyes to witness as well as the ears Gal. 3.1 O ye foolish Galathians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the Truth before whose eyes Christ hath been evidently fet forth crucified amongst you that is before whose eyes Christ hath been crucified not by hear-say only but evidently before your eyes not in any foolish Crucifix with the Papists but in the blessed Sacrament wherein he is so represented as if his soul were before our eyes poured out to death so that by these Sacraments heavenly things are as it were clothed in earthly Garments and this is the first reason viz. to help our Understandings but besides this he doth it 2. To help our Memory we art apt to forget those wonderfull things Christ hath wrought for us And therefore verse 24. and 25. Of this Chapter we are bid To eat his body and drink his blood in remembrance of him To take the signs as tokens of him the Sacrament is as it were a monument and pillar raised up to the end that when ever we see it we should remember the Lords death untill he come It s said 2 Sam. 8.18 That Absolon in his life time had taken and reared up for himself a Pillar which is in the Kings dale for he said I have no son to keep my name in remembrance He would fain be remembred but he had no Child whereby he might live after he was dead therefore he raises it and calls it after his own name Absolons place as it is this day that so as often as any came that way they might remember him Christ doth thus by his Sacrament and erects it as a Monument for the remembrance of his death and as it were calls it by his own name saying This is my body and this is my blood that when ever we see them we may call to mind Christ offered for us and to us But that I may apply this my Doctrine to the ears also know that 3. These signs are for the strengthning of our faith and therefore it is considered as a seal Rom. 4.11 Abraham received the sign of Circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised