Canst thou promise thy selfe to see the Sun againe when it s once sett though now thou bee in perfect strength But howeuer nature will end at length Sathan then is ready to come with his vtmost malice when thou art faint and loath to depart then he will lay open all thy sinnes and then the very next step is The Iudgement seat of Gods tribunall where God will declare what mercy hee offered thee and the Diuill will pleade to haue thee Then comes the eternall separation from God and possession of those torments which are easelesse endlesse and remedilesse Oh the tearing of the heart and the gnashing of the teeth that this will produce especially when you consider God euery Sabbath stretched out his armes to imbrace you and you would not Christ offered to make a plaster of his hearts blood to cure you but you trampled it vnder your feete The holy Ghost put good motions into your heart but you reiected them the Minister he pressed hard to haue you yeild but you withstoode him Oh the hellish cries that these will fetch from such an heart Wherefore let this betimes beget in thee a base esteeme of thy selfe consider Thou art worse then a Toad nay a Toad is a faire amiable creature in comparison of thee For a Toad following the instinct of nature serues the Creator in its kinde it suckes vp the venom of the earth which otherwise would poison vs but thou art a degenerate creature and Traitor who drinkest poyson out of Gods mercy to sin more against him Thou art a sworne friend to his most deadly enemy and breakest all his commandements Secondly the venom of a Toad kills but the body the poyson of thy sinne kils both body and soule When a Toade dyes its misery is ended but then thy woe begins then thou wilt wish thou hadst beene any thing but a man If thou hadst looked vpon that man in Mat. 8. possessed with a Diuill who dwelt among the Tombes went naked chaines would not hold him the diuell was so powerfull in him thou wouldst haue thought him a dreadfull spectacle of most extreame misery to haue a legion of deuils by computation 6666. but I tell thee thou hadst better haue a thousand Legions then one vnrepented sinne for The deuill hee can haue power but ouer the body and foe hee may ouer a Saint and had ouer Christ to carry him to the top of a Pinnacle but neuer sinne like thine of obstinate finall impenitency was found in a sanctified man Sinne made the diuell so vgly as he is being else of an Angelicall nature onely sin makes him odious therefore it is worse than a thousand diuels yea worse than either the tongue of men and Angels can expresse All the diuels in hel in thy body cannot doe thee one pinnesworth of hurt for the saluation of thy soule but one sinne wilfully vnrepented and so vnpardoned will damne it so that it were better to bee possessed with a thousand diuels then one sinne vnrepented of and vnpardoned Get an inward wounding of thine heart and bleeding of soule Where take these helpes First thy heart that hath beene the fountaine or rather sincke from whence haue issued many foule streames where all ill hath beene forged all euill words rageing passions and wicked thoughts Now then by the rule of proportion let thy heart bee a fountaine of sorrow for sinne If Christ open a fountaine of mercy for mourners let not vs be excluded for want of sorrow Consider the heart of Christ hee had no heart of flesh but for sinne which for thy sake was killed with that singular depth of sorrow and griefe that if all the godly sorrow of all the Christian soules from the beginning of the world to the end thereof in heauen or in earth dead or aliue were collected into one heart they could not counteruaile the depth of his anguish Shall then his blessed soule fall asunder in his blessed brest assaulted with all the wrath of God and the second death Shall his soule bee like a scorched heath and so pressed with the flames of Gods reuenging wrath which wrung from him those bloody droops and ruefull cryes My God my God why hast thou forsaken me The wrath of God so fierce on him that I say dropps of blood fell from him and shall thy heart bee as stone within thy brest and neuer bee moued Oh prodigious hardnesse and worse then the heathenish ingratitude If thy heart be not wounded in some measure truely it shall hereafter be filled with such endlesse horror that would grieue and breake 10000 hearts to thinke on it Is it not better then to mourne a little here for sinne than to haue our hearts inlarged to indure vnto all eternity the horror of hell Is any man so senselesse to thinke he shall goe to heauen as in a bed of downe and neuer bee touched for his sinne which is as impossible as for thee to reach heauen with thy hand When Hezekiah a man perfect in all his wayes complained chattered like a Crane Dauid roared al the day long Psal 32. 3. Iob complayned The arrowes of the Almighty are within me the venom whereof doth drinke vp my spirit Nay Christ himselfe cryed out in the Agony of the Spirit If thou get this broken heart into thy breast thou shalt bring downe the glorious maiesty of heauen God Almighty with his chayre of State to sit in thy soule for he hath two habitations 1. In heauen 2. In an humble heart Get this and get all Thou gettest true title and interest vnto the passion of Christ and all the comforts in the booke of God the promises both of this life and of that to come Get an outward bewayling with heart-piercing confession where Consider first the practise of the Saints of God They powred out teares as men water out of Buckets Mary washed Christs feete with her teares The Publican struck on his brest with a sorrowfull acknowledgement of his sinnes Consider secondly thy hands and eyes and tongue and heart haue beene instruments of Gods dishonour therefore by rule of proportion thou shouldst haue the workes of thy hands instrumentall demonstrations of repentance thy eyes fountaines of teares thy tongue should vtter and the heart suffer griefe Consider that for outward things men will weepe teares as for deiection from high places losses crosses in wife or children as Dauid for Absolon so it is with many what wringing their hands tearing their haire bitter crying c. Then the losse of Christ who is infinitely better than husband wife child or any thing in the world this this how should it breake thy heart If all Iobs troubles were on thee and could wring one teare from thee then one sinne should wring blood from thy heart Get a hatred and auersion in thy wil from sinne considering What sinne is in it selfe How God is prouoked with it Sinne in it selfe is fouler
than any feind in hell because it made that so as fire is hotter then water that is heat It s extreamly ill nothing comes neare it I consider of sin here in the abstract so it s a greater ill than the damnation of a mans soule for when two ills fight together that which conquers must needs bee the greater now when a man hath lyen in hell ten thousand yeares he is as far from comming out as euer for the eternall duration in hell cannot expiate sinne It s most infectious It s compared to a Leprosie for The first sinne that peeped into the world stayned the beuty of it no sooner sinne was committed by Adam but the Stars seemed impure in Gods sight the beasts were at variance the earth full of brambles and all things cursed Secondly it sowred all naturall religions and ciuill actions Thirdly if a man in authority bee sinfull all vnder him will bee infected Sinne is most filthy compared to the most vile things that can be named to menstruous raggs the vomite of doggs c. Nay not any dirt or filthy thing can staine a Sun-beame But sinne staines a more glorieus creature which is the soule of man Sinne is of that hellish nature that it takes in to it selfe the wrath of God Sinne is full of cursed consequences Priuatiue Positiue Priuatiue losse of Gods fauour the blood of Christ the guard of Angels peace of conscience c. Positiue it brings all misery spirituall hardnesse of heart blindnesse of minde horror of conscience despaire c. with all temporall losses and crosses here and hereafter eternall torments of soule and body God is prouoked with it Each sinne is the onely obiect of Gods infinite hatred His loue is diuersified to himselfe his Sonne the Angels the creatures but his hatred is confined onely to sinne What infinite of infinites of hatred hast thou on thy soule with all thy sinnes when each sinne hath the infinite hatred of God vpon it Each sinne is against the Maiesty of that dreadfull Lord of Heauen and earth who can turne all things into hell nay heauen and hell into nothing by his word Now against this God thou sinnest and what art thou but dust and ashes a bagg of filth and flegme and all that 's naught And what is thy life but a span a bubble a dreame a shadow of a dreame And shall such a thing offend such a God Euery sinne strikes at the glory of Gods pure eye Sinne is that which killed his Sonne the least sinne could not bee pardoned but by Christs carrying his hearts blood to his Father and offering it for sinne Each sinne is an offence to all his mercies This aggrauated the sinne vpon Eli 1 Sam 2. 29 Dauid 2 Sam 12. 8. 9 c. Mercy is the most eminent attribute of God and therefore the sinne against it is the greater What therefore are our sinnes in the time of the Gospell Consider how thou art hurt by it for Each sinne kills thy soule which is better then the world Each sinne bring it neuer so much pleasure in the committing leaues a threefold sting Naturall Temporall Immortall Natural after worldly pleasure comes melancholy properly either because it lasted no longer or they had no more delight in it c. That as all waters end in the salt sea so all worldly ioyes are swallowed vp in sorrowes bottomlesse gulfe Temporall Ther 's labour in getting care in keeping sorrow in parting with wolrdly goods Immortall God will call thee to Iudgment for it Each sinne robbs thee of aboundance of comfort What a vast difference do we see in conquering sinne and being conquered by sinne as for instance in Ioseph and Dauid the one raised after his conquest to much honnour the other scarce enioyed one good day after hee was conquered but as Ezekias walked heauily in the bitternesse of his soule all his days As some Diuines haue said of Guliacius Spira the one is honor'd in Caluins Epistles for euer the other after his backsliding liued a while in exquisite horror and after dyed in despaire Thy owne conscience wil accuse thee one day for euery sinne though now it seemes hid to thee and thy conscience is more then a thowsand witnesses therefore thou wilt certainely be ouerthrowne For the sinnes which peraduenture thou liuest now in accountest but petty and veniall many poore soules are at this instant burning in hell for What misery and hurt then attends on thee for the same Get a strong reasoning in thy minde against sinne as first these three grand reasons The horror of hell Therefore Christians wrong themselues that will not vse this as a motiue the vnquenchable wrath of God shall feed vpon thy soule if thou committest this sinne The ioyes of heauen I shall dwell with God for euer if beleeuing I make conscience of euery sinne as an euidence and fruit of sauing faith And aboue all the glory of God if Gods glory and the damnation of our soules were in a ballance his glory should preponderate and preuaile while we preferre Gods glory aboue our owne saluation although we cannot seeke it but in and by our saluation as the meanes is subordinate to the end From euery line in Gods booke His attributes as 1 His Iustice 2 His mercy His Iustice to terrifie sinners Hâ—s Mercy to allure vs to him His Iudgements His Promises Thirdly from logical places See Rogers on meditations As 1 The definition 2 The division 2 The causes 3 The effects 5 The subiect 6 The adiunct 7 The comparison 8 The contrary Fourthly from places of Scripture From examples in Scripture How shall I do this and so sinne against God saith Ioseph From your former estate Ye were darkenesse but now yee are light c. From the end of all things Seeing all things must bee dissolued what manner of men ought wee to bee Fiftly from thy selfe Thy soule is immortall all the diuels in hel cannot kill it Thy body is fraile all helps cannot long vphold it Sixtly from Christ. Looke vpon him weeping nay bleeding on the crosse and saying this Sinne brought me from the bosome of my Father to dye for it Seuenthly from the incomprehensible excellency of God against whom thou sinnest Get a sinceere opposition in thy life of sin Helpes thereto When any bait of Sathan or old companions would allure thee to sinne take this dilemma Either I must repent and then it will bring more sorrow than the pleasure did good or not repent and then it 's the damnation of my soule Consider thy madnesse which layest most desperately in one scale of the ballance heauen the fauor of God the blood of Christ and thine owne soule in the other a little dung pelfe base lust c. And lettest this ouersway which bringeth rottennesse to thy bones perhaps losse of thy good name c. And that thou maist yet be further armed to with stand the assaults
of thy three grand enemies the world the flesh and the Diuell which daily seeke the destruction of thy soule consider these twelue Antidotes Consider the shortnesse of the pleasure of sinne length of the punishment the one for a moment the other euerlasting Consider the companions of sinne for one sinne neuer goes alone but being once entertained it sets all the faculties of the soule also in a combustion and so procures a spirituall iudgment if not temporall vpon estate and person Consider thy life is but a span a breath a blast soone gone now if we had all the pleasure in the world yet being so soone to lose it it s not worth esteeming Consider sin causeth vs to lose a greater good than that can be as the fauour of God interest in Christ a guard of Angells right to the creatures c. Consider the vncertainety of repentance thou maist neuer haue motion to repent after thou hast sinned and so art damned Consider the nearnesse of death to thee some haue liued out aboue halfe their time others almost all of it young and old dye suddenly many times Consider one moment in hell will bee worse then all the pleasure in the world did good though it should haue lasted a thousand yeares twice told So on the contrary one moment in heauen doth more good than all the hardnesse and paines in good duties or persecution for them did hurt Consider the dignity of thy soule it 's more worth then a world Lose it not then for any sinne Consider the preciousnesse of a good conscience which is a continuall feast This thou losest by sinne Consider thou sinnest against a world of mercyes which God hath sent to thee as to soule body good name Estate and others that belong to thee Consider nothing can wash away any sinne but the blood of Christ. And wilt thou now pollute thy selfe againe as it were to haue him kill'd afresh to wash away thy sinne Consider the ancient Martyrs and Worthies chose rather to burne at a stake than they would sinne and thou so easily bee drawne to it or rather run to it Anselme said if the flames of hell were on the one side and sinne on the other side I would rather lye in those flames than sinne And others would rather be torne in pieces with wilde horses Wee haue as precious meanes as they and if our hearts were as good wee should haue the like affections Get a sinceere grieuing that thou canst do these things no better as considering Though thou hadst a thousand eyes and could weepe them all out and shed riuers of teares and a thousand hearts to burst yet all were not sufficient for the least sinne or vanity either of the eyes or heart How much more when our hearts are barren dry had we neede to labour for this sorrow Considering when thou hast made the best prayer or watched most diligently ouer thy selfe for the right and due sanctification of the Sabbath or spent thy selfe in a day of humiliatiō thou hadst need to cry and burst thy heart againe for the imperfections and failings thereof In this sorrow that thou canst performe good duties no better And thus to weaue vp the web what 's lacking in any of the rest here make it vp and to incourage thee thou hast this happinesse ioyned with it that though thy griefe bee small if it bee true to cause thee to sell all how much more in the first place to part from euery sinne for Christ and to take him as a husband and a Lord both for protection gouernment Then by the consent of all Diuines it is godly sorrow and certainly accepted in Christ. FINIS Luke 13. 3. 5. Point Instan Reas. 1. Reas. 2. 1 Act. Reuel 22. 21. Quest. Ans. 2 Helpe 1 Quic point 2 Quic point Chap. 4. 3 Quic point 4 Quic point 5 Quic. point Esa 9. 5. Eze. 13. 10. Ier. 14. 14. Iob 2. 9. Ephe. 6. 4 2 Chron. 20. 37. Esay 1. 23 Esay 5. 20. Wis. 2 9. 2 Sam. 11. 15. Act. 12 22. Acts 22. 20. Psal. 119. 136. Psal. 25. 13. Mar. 3. 5 6 Quic. point 2 Act. 1 Helpe Gen. 7. Eze. 16 49. 2 Helpe Mic. 6 7. 3 Helpe 4 Helpe 3 Act. 1. Reas. 2. Reas. 3. Reas. 4. Reas. 5. Reas. Eph. 2. 1. 6. Reas. 7. Reas. For present time 4 Act. 5 Act. Esa. 38. 14. Iob 6. 4. Esay 57. 15. 6 Act. 1 1. Sam. 7. 7 Act. 1 Mat. 16. 29. 8 Act. 1 Reas. 2 Reas 9 Act. 1 Helpe 2 Helpe 3 Helpe 10 Act.