means though the Spirit alway is the great wooer and worker in this kind I say the Spirit by their word doth work to the revealing of a poor creature breaking that enmity that was in the heart to Jesus Christ So the Apostle I have espoused you to one Husband so we read it which Beza disalloweth not but he readeth optavi Erasmus adjunxi the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have joyned them to the Lord saith he Eras velâ—t ea quae glutine aut ferrumine comittuntur but yet me thinks saith Beza the the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that I might present you as a pure virgin to one Husband c. confutes is speaking afterward of a nearer joyning to Christ then now therefore he readeth it I have fitted you for the Lord wherein 1. Is a reconciling of the persons to Jesus Christ We beseech you saith the Apostle be ye reconciled to God In Christs stead we do it as if he did beseech you himself we pray you be reconciled and O that we could do this brethren but with such bowels as the Lord Jesus or as this Apostle did We are soon answered and take a denyal of you for you practice a denyal and we are too easie to take it O I beseech you saith the Apostle be you reconciled Alas poor sinners you are enemies to Christ and how will an enemy be marryed to an enemy while such you think you are not enemies and you are not so indeed in word and profession but in your deeds you are enemies You do nothing but wound and tear his name and are you not then enemies you hate the strictness of his ways and his people that walk in them and are you not enemies you are in love with your sins which were the very speare at his heart the knife that butchered him and are not enemies Ah! how many such here this day Now our work is to intreat you first to be reconciled as for his part he is ready to forgive and forget all and to look upon you as if you had never had offended him if you had but hearts given you towards him as his is towards you 2. Not onely but then there is the espousing brethren and that is when there is a mutual promise past between the Lord Jesus and the soul he will be a Husband to thee and marry thee to himself and thou wilt be faithful to him wilt never follow other lovers any more Thou wilt be his and his alone if he be pleased to be thine Now the Gospel which we preach is the word of this faith It is indeed the spirit brethren which is received by the hearing of faith by the word of faith as the Apostle spake that doth perswade a soul to this to close with him to take him upon his own terms He will be his virgin now for ever 3. There is yet further an adorning her when so espoused and so fitting her for him to be presented him a pure virgin That I might present you not only chaste but all manner of purity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and this is nothing else brethren but the integrity and uprightness of the soul the abounding of the soul with all the graces of the spirit wherein there is a growth by degrees And this is the work of the servants of Jesus Christ a part of their fitting of them for him To labour to carry on his work so in his peoples hearts that they may be adorned and meet for such a Bride-groom There are but two things more to be hinted before I come to the Application of this And the next is The manner of this espousing or betrothing but before that we must note That as there was a betrothing of virgins some time before the compleating of the marriage which custom is commendable you know Joseph had Mary espoused to him before he took her to his family as compleatly and fully So among the Heathens also placuit despondi nuptiis hic dictus est dies saith the Comic Terent. only to the faith of the marriage Now they were counted by the people of God and by the Law man and wife Husband and wife * It was death for them to violate that betrothing as well as if they had been never so compleatly and solemnly marryed whereby it appears God would have them look upon it as a perfect marriage though the consummation of it were not until afterward the taking of her home and solemnly engaging de presenti as they say So here the consummation of this marriage is deferred a while as you have it in the very Text at last at midnight the cry was Behold the Bridegroom cometh and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage that is to say into heaven Then when Isaac took Rebecca and brought her into his Mothers Tent and became one with her more neerly she became his wife indeed so hereafter when he takes us into his fathers house brethren when he takes us into Heaven there is the marriage consummated indeed But for the manner of his espousals First remember this in all He doth it freely For alas Brethren what can the Lord Jesus now if he come into the Congregation this day see in any of us that he would take for his spouse what can he see in us there is nothing desireable nor lovely in us we are like poor Infants cast out in our blood not washed nor salted but stinking loathsom the navel not cut nor bound up cast out to the loathing of our person Ah Brethren while poor sinners are in their sins they smell not the loathsomness of their souls they have stinking nostrils to which the savour of sin is suitable and therefore they smell it not we are as persons that have been long in a filthy Jakes or Dungeon and by continuance of it we feel it not it is so habitual or indeed connatural to us but now bring a man out of this place a little while and put him into it again O then how loathsom it is to him yea bring him to the door of it O it is ready to sink him so it is in this case you see it not poor creatures O that such of us as the Lord hath made sin loathsom to could tell how to pitty you but sure you will finde it so if ever the Lord Jesus do espouse you he will first let you know what you are to whom he doth this Alas what can he see in us brethren or hath he seen in any of us that he stands in this relation to for birth you have nothing but baseness The Devil is our Father and his works we will do I mean as to corruption that is within us whence is it but from Satan For Beauty there is none but all deformed wounds and bruises and putrified sores full of corruption that stink and are loathsom and what beauty can there be in such a
would have if it be in truth let the other accomplishments be less or greater so the soul O thy self thy self give me Christ or else I dye What wilt thou give me if I go Christ less wilt thou give me a name riches a portion in this world a fellowship with thy people in the Ordinances yea grace it self if it may be given without Christ O none but him none but him Well thus now thy Lord works a poor soul to close with him so that choosing Christ for himself while we have him we are well enough If a man follow him for Loaves when they cease farewell Christ or for riches or prosperity when that ceaseth all is gon They will not go to prison with him they will not suffer with him no they never intended it but to have such a Christ as to be kept from those things Well this is not sincere nor upwright which is wrought in every heart whom the Lord doth thus espouse to himself which may serve for a word of tryal to us all I have onely a word to speak to the solemnity of the Marriage-Feast you see Marriages used to be made with feasting it being a time of rejoycing so Sampson he made a Feast seven days that was the manner it seemeth and so Laban saith to Jacob fulfil her week the solemnity of the Marriage And our Saviour himself was at a marriage-feast at the first miracle that he wrought And though this feast it seems was rather at the compleat marriage then the espousal yet this Feast is at his espousal and continueth until the consummation and yet a greater feast to be expected The Kingdom of Heaven saith our Saviour is like a King that made a Marriage-Feast for his son and bid the Guests Here he speaks I take it of the administrations of grace in the visible Church of Christ for one was there that had not a wedding-garment O Brethren A Feast of Fat things of Wines on the Lees well refined a Feast the Lord maketh saith the Prophet Their Feasts were rather in drinking then eating and therefore they had their name in Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A drinking a Feast so Ahasuerus feast a drinking And so the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a drinking together so here brethen such dainties are provided as eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor can enter into the heart of man as a man that never tasted hony though he may hear speaking of it cannot conceive what it is Eat my friends and drink ye yea drink abundantly saith he in the song It is observed by some that Matthew calls it a dinner and Luke calls it a supper both indeed for we dine and sup with him and he with us in the Administrations of his grace and those sweet communions that we have with him while he sitteth with us at the Table as not long since you heard Yea we have continually brethren such as are believers indeed have continual meat at his Table as Mephibosheth at David his Table a dayly portion the things of the day in its day so we our daily refreshings from his presence so Jeconiah had his portioâ—n from the Kings Table dayly Some say the dinner is here but the supper in Heaven and this not comparable to that now we have flagons but there will be springs and Rivers or rather an Ocean of wine to all eternity here we drink and take in the comfort there the comfort takes in us we enter into the joy because it cannot enter into us O blessed is he that shall be brought brethren to the supper of the Lamb forever and forever Lastly The consummation of this marriage when the Bridegroom cometh to take his Bride to himself to take her now from among the pots wherein she hath lien to take her now nearer to himself to his bosom indeed now she hath had some smiles from him to keep the heart alive now and then a Kiss but then continual embraces Now and then he hath met with her here and there and then withdraw again but then we shall be alway in the glorious light of his countenance O Brethren If a smile from Jesus Christ will sweeten the bitterest cup of Affliction here below yea very gall and wormwood it will sweeten the mouth and fill us with comfort what will it be then when nothing but pouring out of love upon the soul to eternity and when there shall be no bitterness at all to abate it and no mixture no interruption no fear of losing that sweet and ravishing communion with him Oh heaven will be Heaven indeed But so much for the Doctrinal part Now for the Application First then I pray you let us be more serious in taking notice of the great transcendent love of Jesus Christ to such as we are that we should be made a spouse to him O brethren what condescention is this he being so high and we so low such poor abject creatures Alas conception fails us brethren comparison fails us for there is no proportion between an infinitely glorious God and vile dust and ashes Who regardeth a drop of a Bucket or thedust of the ballance they are poor contemptible things who desireth a poor worm or an Ant every one trampleth them underfoot and thinketh he doth them no wrong though he never gave them no being alas brethren we that are less then nothing in comparison of him that he should set his love upon us and become espoused to himself how shall we conceive of it much less speak of it You would think it much for one of you brethren one of us to have our hearts drawn out thus to a poor abject forlorn maid lying in the street that we must take her to a nearer relation to a bosom-communion and fellowship this were strange but for a â—rince to do so is yet more strange but all is nothing to this of the Lord Jesus to our souls It was Condescention for the Cedar to marry the Thistle as it was ambition for the Thistle to seek to the Cedar O such thoughts if they rise they are even stifled in the very birth A begger will not fall in love with a King she thinketh it is impossible to compass it there is no hope and therefore no desire and truly I think it is as rare for a King to fall in love with a begger he is so far above her and hath objects more suitable to himself to set his love upon so that it would be one of the wonders of the world if such a thing should be why brethren much more then this is acted dayly while the Lord Jesus the King of Kings the Lord of Lords maketh love to such poor worms as we are and yet it is not wondered at It is true we think our selves something and therefore we are the less taken with it Tell a Pharisee how great Condescention it is for the God of Heaven to set his love upon his soul he believeth no such things nor the Papists neither Nor many a poor hypocrite Alas they think they have somewhat that deserveth him I some beauty is in us that the Lord saw and
is he not upright and just and true hath he said it and will he not make it good hath he not said as many as come to him he will in no wise cast out and is â—is word worth nothing indeeed if a man fail once in his word we will hardly trust him the second time and if ever sinners or Satan can come forth and say that the Lord Jesus made a promise and was not as good as his word then you may indeed have a jealousie of him but they cannot they cannot the Devil will tell you his promise of the seed of the woman breaking the Serpents head he hath felt to his wounding and his promise of Satans falling down like lightning and there is not a sinner in hell can charge the Lord Jesus with breach of promise But it may be this is not enough to poor unbelieving souls therefore you shall have it written and sealed and witnessed there are witnesses in heaven and upon Earth and seals the Sacraments the broad seal and privy seal of the spirit yea there is an oath also to make it good what would you have more what can you desire more then this would you see the work done why is not the giving up of Jesus Christ to the death for sinners the greatest part of the work Sure if ever he would have baulkt there and yet you see it stuck not O therefore be not jealous of him who hath so freely and so largely laid out himself for sinners 3. Now then ye that are Saints indeed love the Lord Jesus O love the Lord ye his Saints None have such reason to love him as they that have tasted of his love if there be any ingenuity in us love will beget love as one flame begets another because he hath set his love upon me saith the Psalmist therefore I will deliver him if we could love the Lord Jesus more we should be delivered more from those evils we mourn under How lamentable a thing is it how much love have we for Creatures and how little love for Jesus Christ did Husband or Wife die for us ransom us from the pit and hell I hope there are some of his people believe it that have more affection for Jesus Christ then ever they had for the Creature Ah blessed souls how infinitely are you engaged to him for so fully seizing upon your hearts O who are you that you should be able thus entirely to love the Lord Jesus and admitted to it but thus it is and magnifie his Name But alas for the most part the complaint of the people of God is they cannot love him O labour to get those carnal affections mortified the fore-skins of our heart taken away and our heart circumcised and then we shall love him you have a promise improve it for that end If we could but spare time to set our selves to it to study his heart towards us and ours towards him his excellency and loveliness we could not but love him O beg the spreading abroad of his love sheding it abroad not only upon our understandings but our affections for no further then he sheds it will it spread it will stay in the brain in the understanding if the passages between head and heart be not opened by him we shall never be affected and warmed by it Alas you will say our distances are so great that kils our love No brethren that cannot be the distances are not so great now for the relation between Christ and thy soul if thou believest is the nearest relation he is one Spirit with thee and therefore there is not such a distance and though in respect of dignity and worth there be a distance yet remember now we are 〈◊〉 part of himself and partake with him of his dignities also but however love knoweth not that over-much aw and respect as to kill it but it will be working towards the person beloved Mary Magdalen loving him holds him by the feet and weeps over him If a Prince will marry a begger surely he will take it well and expecteth it to be loved of her and he would not be pleased with such a dejection in respect of her own vileness as to quash her love yea brethren me thinks the meaner we see our selves the more we should love him for what can we do else but love him we have nothing else lovely or desirable but our love our hearts therefore Oh love him and abundantly love him O ye Saints of his whom he hath so loved Alas But our love is little in comparison of his love to us and this discourageth us It is true What proportion between the drop of a Bucket and the ocean Some there is but there is none between the largeness of Christ his heart toward us and ours towards him But shall our love perish and dry up because there is not as much in the little limbeck as in the fountain in the river as in the sea He is love it self brethren and therefore we must be contented to fall infinitely below in love but let us love him according to our measure Again if there be the whole heart to love the Lord Jesus it is as much proportionably for us if we could reach it as it is for him to love us with his whole heart as he is pleased to express it The Creature is infinitely less then Christ and therefore must needs have infinitely less love to him then he hath to us but yet there is nothing wanting where there is Totum therefore rather it should provoke us He hath loved us first aâ—d loved us more abundantly then we can love him therefore labour to get our hearts as much enlarged as we can in love towards him though we fall short of what we might attain to he will make up imperfections there is love enough in him and there is the advantage of his love being above ours that he can cover those imperfections in our love to him which if he had not more abundantly then he could not do What shall I say more Love is that which commandeth all it draweth all the affections along with it which way ever it turns thither the desires are bent there is the hope fixed there the delights are quâ— amat amat nihil aliud novit She that loveth loveth and knoweth nothing else O how shall we not be able to do any thing against sin for Christ if we loved him so entirely then our hearts would be in Heaven we could not grufle as many of us do then we should be more tender of his name and of his honour then now we are but alas I am not able to press these things home the Lord set them home You must love him brethren else you will have little joy of your communion with him which is to endure to eternity Again Labour to rejoyce in him and in his love rejoyce in the Lord O ye righteous saith the Psalmist
of Jesus Christ there should be a greater desire to be with Jesus Christ knowing you are absent now where there is such a desire and such a groaning surely that day will not come upon them so unexpectedly and terribly If we have not this assurance brethren methinks then the fear of this day of Jesus Christ should hold us in such bondage all our lives-long it should so keep us awake we should have little mind to sleep if we labour to keep upon our hearts fresh our own Condition but we should be up and working to make our calling and election sure and so we might be found doing and surely brethren that poor soul trembling that thus follows hard after Christ if the day come upon him before he have this assurance yet shall it be more comfortable to him then to a man that hath had more peace and fals asleep in the lap of it and so is overtaken Verse 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. IN the former Verse we have a preparative Cry behold the Bridegroom cometh In this Verse we have the effect of it in part which is general to them all both wise and foolish then when that cry was made that dreadful sound was made in their ears it startled them rowsed them out of their sleep they arose from their bed of security and one as well as another all those Virgins those he had been speaking of all those that slept which were wise as well as foolish and foolish as well as wise And that it is thus generally taken it is further plain because afterward he cometh to divide them and the foolish said unto the wise while they were both asleep the one could not speak nor the other hear but now they were all rowsed they universally particle they all arose and trimmed c. It hath influence upon both parts of the Predicate The words are a plain Proposition the Subject is the Virgins the universality of the Subject all of them those Virgins that were asleep before That which is spoken of them is double they arose and they trimmed their Lamps And we have also the time when they did this then then when the Cry came they heeded not what Condition their Lamps were in before There are two things mainly noteworthy in the verse according to the two sorts of Virgins which divide this universal all those Virgins they were wise and foolish some of them were Virgins in deed the other in profession and appearance such now it is very considerable concerning them both That the Hypocrite should ever arise out of such a deep sleep considering that his heart was never awake is a matter worth our noting and that he that had nothing else but a Lamp and that even now wearing out yet should be trimming of it up for heaven On the other hand and it is as observable that the Child of God hath his Lamp to trim now at such a time as this is when the Cry is come he is summoned to meet the Lord Jesus who is near at hand Accordingly I shall take up a double Observation from the words That an Hypocrite a formal Professor may go very far towards heaven and salvation And I think this droppeth like honey from the comb without crushing or wrong to the Text. That a Child of God may have his Lamp to trim when he should use it The first of these A Hypocrite may go very far his Profession may carry him a great way and yet fall short at last You see here in the Text God doth not pluck away the vizard at first but letteth them proceed he could have discovered them when he pleased they take up their Lamps and they go forth to meet the Bridegroom more then many will be perswaded to that will hardly stir a foot for Christ they continue so doing until the Bridegroom tarried so long beyond their expectation then indeed they fell asleep then they rowsed again and trimmed their Lamps All these put together which are in the Text will make it appear that a Hypocrite may go far and fall short A Doctrine never more need for to be pressed then now And therefore though you have heard not very long since much concerning it and much more then I am able to speak and better for the matter yet let me also put you in remembrance of these things brethren and the Lord open all our eyes in a thing so nearly concerning us all I shall therefore propose what I have to say by way of proof of the Doctrine in several heads or degrees whereto a Hypocrite may reach the Lord give us all understanding in them First then a Hypocrite he may have much knowledge much light a head full of notion and this is one thing necessarily imported in the Lamps which the foolish Virgins had Some have thought their Lamps were dead they had no flame no light nor heat at all but I see no reason of it for it is said their Lamps were gone out which argues they were in before but I think this will hardly be denied but a Hypocrite may be a man of much knowledge do you not see it in the Pharisees were they not men of much knowledge and understanding able to teach others they had Moses's Chair and so the Scriptures the Doctrine of the Law men of great knowledge and yet our Saviour brands them for Hypocrites that is an aëry religion that lies in the head So the Jews the Apostle speaks to them by way of concession yielding to them what they had but shewing them where they fell short thou art a Jew and restest in the Law and makest thy boast of God as we do now make our boast of Christ that we are Christians and cannot bear it to be accounted otherwise and knowest his will and approvest the things that are more excellent being instructed out of the Law there is the principle of their knowledge not a light within them by nature but to the Law and to the Testimonies they had their light from thence and so well grown in knowledge that they were confident that they were guides to the blind and therefore had no need to be blind themselves a light to them which are in darkness an instructer of the foolish a teacher of Babes And not only he is confident of it but the Apostle yieldeth it that he had the form of knowledge and of the truth in the Law and then he reasons ex concessis thou which teachest another teachest thou not self c. We glory in these days as much in our light as ever they did never such times of light though for my part I cannot see but much that passeth for light is gross darkness but suppose it be so there may be light enough a shining Lamp and yet but a foolish Virgin surgunt indocti rapiunt coelum nos cum doctrinis c. I know it is true where a people are void of knowledge they
heightned it shall be so powerful as that we shall be like him indeed then shall we be like him this we know saith the Apostle I will instance in a few things Brethren Then will there be the love of Christ manifested to us It may be thou hast had thy heart touched with him and thou knowest not what aileth thee poor soul but follow him thou must thou canst not give him over thou art sick of love for him but thou hast scarce ever had a good look from him little of his love or as thou thinkest none Now Brethren will it be the Love of God in Jesus Christ to us that will be the feast indeed O thy love is better then wine it is better it is spirits it is life it is that which giveth life and keepeth life and fetcheth life again when it is even going this then is the feast the love of God in Jesus Christ to thy poor silly soul that thou lookest upon as neglected by God and neglected by men no man careth for thy soul Believe it Brethren you that follow Christ thus you shall have a time of making out his love to you and this will be the feast the Love of God will answer all the dainties that can be devised a compleat feast it is virtually all Even among men you see Love will turn a dinner of hearbs into a feast O how much more then where Love it self is the filling of every dish 2. The souls joy in this love not to speak of the souls returns of love again and praises hallelujahs to eternity which are the fruits but the joy in this Love it consists here in joy in that place to the Romans can it chose but be joy to a poor soul think you to see the heart of the Father opened to us in Jesus Christ his bowels of Love all shed abroad upon us therefore the Kingdom of heaven is so expressed by joy enter thou into thy Masters joy or the joy of the Lord. But to speak a little to soul-heightning considerations of this feast in those particulars that we might get our hearts in love with heaven with this feast First consider It is now Brethren to be more immediate then here below it is new wine the most excellent in its kind that is reserved until the last the excellency of this feast of wine in heaven will appear by this among other considerations That the Communion shall be more immediate Dulcius ex ipsofonte waters are most sweet out of the Fountain immediately now God shall be all in all when the Kingdom is given up to him he shall be instead of all Ordinances Now indeed the Conduits run wine and we may drink and that freely but yet it is not so immediately we are indeed not fit for such a condition we must make use of them until he come again use these shadows and types So that the communion is not so immediat 〈…〉 N 〈…〉 e see him not as he is but then we shall saith the Apostle 〈…〉 more through a glass darkly and sullyed glass by our polluted breath our corrupted hearts do sully Ordinances else we should see him much more brightly then we do but there shall be no more need but face to face If the beauty of Christ his love do take us so when we have but dark hints of it as a face in a dim glass O what will it be when we shall see him as he is we shall not need the pipes any more but even go to the Fountain the Rivers the Seas of Love 2. More sincerely it is now altogether without mixture Alas Brethren we now eat the Lord Jesus our Pass-over and feed upon his love but all the while it is with sowr herbs there is a mixture of grief when we look upon our crucified Saviour Crucified by us and for us and so his love is better then wine now to us but alas there is some gall or Vinegar mixed with it some sin some temptation some affliction without that weakens the comfort the soul might take in the love of Jesus Christ But in heaven there shall be none Brethren no mixture at all here the Lord giveth us a cup of trembling to drink a cup of mixture that is to say ready prepared wine and his people drink round of it usually and he seeth it necessary there must be some Acrimony some salt to keep us from corrupting before we come to our glorified state and so be able to bear that his love without any mixture at all of the contrary No anger the meat sweet the sauce sweet the wine sweet the bread sweet 3. More fully infinitely more fully if I may so speak of that which a finite though a glorified creature is capable to receive Now we have a drop or two Brethren but then our fulness then the narrow-mouthed vials shall be enlarged to receive more fully and to express more fully to Jesus Christ again in his high and everlasting praises What is that which cometh through the Conduit to the Fountain the Sea it self Ah Brethren here we are at a loss we do not know what the Lord hath to pour out upon us the fulness of his Love in Jesus Christ so as that we shall be swallowed up It is so much here that the Apostle admireth it behold what manner of love is this that we poor worms should be called the sons of God then they shall admire much more but alas the measure doth not appear it cannot enter into the heart of man it is too narrow and the love too great it cannot enter into his heart to conceive Some of the Saints have had so much of love manifested and joy in that love that they have been fain to beg of God to hold his hand they could hold no more and so great as to quench the flames that they could not hurt nor pain them they could feel nothing O sure this was a flood that could put out such flaming torments But yet this is nothing it appears not what we should be at thy right hand there is fulness of joy and so much as that the Saints are said to enter into it it cannot enter into them they are swallowed up O this will be a full feast indeed here there will be an abundant drinking And it must needs be so Brethren if we consider 1. What it is that maketh this feast or first that it is a feast it is not an ordinary meal Now you know men at a feast do more liberally provide for their friends here below it is a feast indeed but nothing to this 2. Who provideth this feast it is not a poor mans feast but the feast of a King such a feast you see Ahashuerus made for his Princes now a King will make a feast like a King Princes have their names from liberality and free with a free spirit thy Princely spirit all those as a
King did Arauna give to the King liberally freely it was a great gift freely given So here it is a King that maketh this feast Kings usually have larger more noble spirits as they have larger purses and therefore at their feasts they use to shew the Magnificence and glory of their Kingdom And so doth God here Brethren A King yea the King of heaven the King of glory the King of Kings and King of Saints he will shew the glory of his Kingdom and his magnificence the excellency of his greatness in making this feast therefore surely there must needs be fulness of love and joy 3. It is a feast not an ordinary but a Marriage-feast and such used to be more then ordinary also being a time of greatest rejoycing you see the Marriage feast at which Christ was what an abundance of wine there was turned from water by our Saviour if you compute it it will appear some 300. gallons full six water-pots holding three measures a piece or two and each measure an hundred pints very great store indeed 4. It is a feast a Marriage-feast not only for a servant or friend being married but for a Son the only Son a Son and heir of all a beloved Son most dearly beloved all these surely will exceedingly heighten the considerations of the fulness of the feast brethren the fulness of that love which shall there be manifested and of the Believers joy in that love these things are heightned to us in that place of Matthew Indeed the very feast here in the Gospel is heightned by these considerations but much more then this Yea 5. Consider yet further It is a Marriage-feast for which preparation hath been making from eternity God hath been providing for it Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you before the world in these things he would have us surely to understand the decree and purpose of such a thing And withal we may note the greatness and magnificence of the feast You know men if they would royally entertain a Prince they make provision long before and as long as they can to get all about them the rarities that the earth or Sea affords specially if a King be the provider O Brethren the Lord hath been laying in as I may say this wine preparing it for us from eternity therefore surely it will appear in an unspeakable fulness Lastly It will be more constantly without interruption and lastingly without any end No interruption at all here we have our vicissitudes now we have a sweet cup a draught a full draught a flagon it may be to stay us when we are sick of love by and by we have nothing but our wormwood and our gall to chew upon now we can behold him have a glorious view of him and our hearts ravished with it by and by he is upon the Cross nailed by our sins and we cannot but look upon him with a mourning eye But there Brethren shall be no interruption nothing but eating and drinking this Love of God in Jesus Christ All his thoughts will be love to us and all our thoughts love and joy no room for one sigh for one tear of sorrow for one groan any more and then it is not for a term and then to end but it is for ever at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore For the time when and the place where this shall be It will be at that day in the Kingdom of the Father It will begin at the souls going to the spirits of just men made perfect it goeth to Christ this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise it goeth to the bosom of the Lord Jesus to Abrahams bosom and beginneth this feast But the fulness of it is not until the glorified body shall be united to the glorified soul and then both together shall be filled with this fulness of love and fulness of joy to all eternity For the place It is in heaven where Jesus Christ sitteth at the right hand of the Father There Stephen saw him and there he abideth where he is there the Saints will be some think this is typified probably by the upper Chamber where they did eat the Pass-over and the Supper but no more of that Now the second thing cometh under hand that is to say That they go in with the Bridegroom to this feast Wherein these things will be considerable First How he brings them in unto the feast And then Secondly Why it is so And then somewhat to the Application First then he may be said to bring them in and they to go in with him into the feast because he is the meritorious cause of their entrance into glory As he is the entrance of a Believer into the grace wherein we stand as the Apostle speaks so also into the glory There is no acceptance with the Father no access but in and through Jesus Christ as a poor creature hath no admittance into the presence and table of a King but that the son takes him by the hand and leads him in the Lord Jesus then is the meritorious cause he went to prepare a place for us Secondly he doth now as I may say when a soul is brought to heaven after the manner of men I may say he doth receive it and so present it they go in with Jesus Christ But Thirdly And chiefly at the last day at that day he shall come again with his glorious Angels to gather all the Saints together and so to bring them to his Father to deliver the Kingdom up unto him to present them as a Spouse without spot or wrinkle or any such thing thus he shall appear the second time without sin to them that look for him and so they shall for ever be with the Lord. Fourthly He brings them unto the Marriage they go with him even into those joyes unto that eternal bliss and glory he leads them into and there sitteth down with them at the Marriage-feast eating drinking with him this new wine in the Kingdom of the Father It is not only his bringing of them or their going in with him into the place where these glorious manifestations of God shall be for ever but even into the very depth of those discoveries and there he sitteth down with them For the Arguments Besides that none else could do it for us as you heard First His faithfulness to them requireth it He hath promised he will never leave them until he had fulfilled for them all the good that he hath spoken now this is spoken that he will give them glory as well as grace that he will give them eternal life and raise them up at the last day else he were not a faithful High-Priest nor a faithful Saviour if he should leave them short you know it was his last Will and Testament in that place of Ioh 17. and will he see his own Will and
But now this strait Gate is shut against them and therefore they cannot enter But so much for the proof of this Doctrine I shall not stay long upon it nor indeed is it needful having spoken before to their surprizal Only a word or two brethren for the opening of the Point and then to confirm it and then some short application of it to our selves For the opening of it What is meant by the unreadiness here supposed for it is against them that the door is shut And then the shutting of the door what is meant by that First then What is meant by this unreadiness I hope you have not altogether forgotten what was spoken lately to the readiness of a poor creature to enter in with Christ to heaven which if you remember you may easily conceive what it is to be unready we will not speak to the readiness for an abundant entrance but only for an entrance into heaven and you remember they were such things as these 1. There must be a pardon of a mans sins a righteousness of faith in the blood of Jesus Christ else a man is never ready Every unbeliever therefore is unready let him be as specious in his shews and pretences as he may yet he is unready he is in his sins condemned c. Joh. 3. And though the Gate of mercy and the kingdom of Grace â—â—and open for sinners to come to Jesus Christ yet the Gate of Heaven whereby an entrance is made into Glory stands not open to any but such as are pardoned have the robes of their elder Brother the Lord Jesus upon them Ah how sad a word is that of the Jews ye shall die in your sins then surely brethren they are not ready for heaven the door will be shut against them 2. There must be a dying to sin as well as a pardon of sin before we can be ready as you heard the roots must be withered before the wall be tumbled down therefore every unmortified man or woman is unready Hear this word of the Lord ye whose Lusts are yet in their full strength your pride and hardness of heart and sensoriousness your looseness and wantonness you that walk with a froward mouth and perverse lips whose hearts devise mischief whose feet make haste to do evil it is an ill sign that the old man is mortified you are an abomination to God as the wise man speaks and will he not clap the door against all such workers of iniquity no evil can dwell with God Ah brethren you that cherish that old man of sin as I may say rub him and chafe him and pour wine and strong drink into him aqua vitae and spirits into him by your meditations of sin vain thoughts lustful proud passionate thoughts nourish your sins ordinarily and so blow up the coal into a flame you are far from mortifying your lusts instead of bringing water and the blood of Jesus Christ to kill your sins you bring to the flame well all unmortified persons are unready let our profession be what it will the door will be clapt upon such I mean such as are altogether unmortified have done nothing in the work I know a child of God may not be so mortified as he should and sometimes for some acts may cherish sin use the bellows to the fire within but it costs him bitterness afterward he liveth not in such a course If he do it is good for him to be jealous of himself how the case stands with him Thirdly He is unready that hath no real holiness put upon him without it none shall see God he knoweth his prima facie as I may say he can see the image and comeliness upon a soul if it be there If not he will not own any bastards any supposititious children changelings that Satan laies in the lap of the Church as I may say and rocks in the Cradle of security but the Lord will shut the door against them This real holiness you know what it is a conformity to the will of God in our understandings light as he is light and no darkness in him In our wills and affections conformity to his will revealed to us A holy disposition of heart to do his will suffer his will and delight in it which occasioneth our grief when we cannot well this is holiness Hear this then ye that never mind the will of God purblind ignorant creatures stubborn rebellious creatures you that have iron sinnews and brazen faces which refuse to return or to be ashamed though the Lord do blazen your iniquities before you continually by his Heralds which cry aloud and teach Jacob their transgressions and Israel their sins and spare you not nor spare themselves yet you refuse to return and to be ashamed to conform to the will of Christ you never were brought to that sweet submissive frame of Paul Lord what wouldst thou have me to do Well believe it thou art unready the gate will be clapt against thee Fourthly Then others are unready And who are those Such as have received work to do and they have not done it men of no action for Christ then the Apostle was ready and our Saviour when they had done their work he gave them to do Christ had wrought out a perfect righteousness for his people and therefore he went up to heaven and the world seeth him no more and this the Spirit convinceth the world of if he had not done that work perfectly heaven would not have held him Remember this then Brethren they are unready that have not done their work whether Magistrates Ministers or private people He giveth to his servants some five talents some ten some two some one mind you he that had but one haply out of envy at others who had more or dejection and discouragement or thinking he had little and therefore could do little good with it hid it in a Napkin and did not trade with it and therefore was the gate open to him No thou wicked and sloathful servant saith the Master to him c. and so he is cast off the merchandise os wisdom is better then the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof then fine gold that is to say the great gain and improvement that cometh by using the wisdom and knowledge the gifts and graces which God giveth us O the tongue of the just is as choice silver and the lips of the righteous feed many Do we do our work Brethren or have we never set stroke in it God hath given some charge of souls how little have they done in it Masters of Families have the charge of children of servants their souls you have done nothing you have gifts and parts enough for every thing else Well Brethren such shall be shut out also Now to shew you two or three sorts of persons who will likely be unready in some or all these respects First then all such as trisle
away their time in the world spending their strength for that which profiteth not labouring for the meat which perisheth which will not endure to eternal life you see the world was that which kept them from coming to the Feast in the Gospel one could not have while another could not have while a man cannot have two treasures except he had two hearts two contrary treasures earth and heaven both and where the treasure is there will the heart be also therefore Brethren while men are so altogether taken up with the world they cannot but neglect the main thing and so are found unready â—et worldlings hear this word and tremble if any others be likely to be found unready you are the men Even the people of God themselves if they be unready in part it is the world likely will put them out of order off the hinges take heed saith our Saviour your hearts be not at any time overcharged with the cares of this world because there is no time but that day may overtake you and then you will be taken unawares therefore much more a man that is drowned and buried in the world he will be sure to be unready Secondly Such as do but dally with God and Religion and the things of eternity they spend themselves and their strength to feed a formality to put forth broad and pleasant leaves and there is all but for faith and repentance and the great works of a Christian they scarse ever meddle with them at all they go to the creature here with the foolish Virgins go to the opinions of others to the graces of others to their flattering parasite Preachers to be seared and daubed up such as these are likely to be found unready none in more danger then a formal professor Thirdly Such as fail in the midst of their Christian course as you see these Virgins did usually such are hardly recovered again for you see how they wandered up and down from mountain to hill from creature to creature and come not to Jesus Christ So in the Gospel when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man c. Such are like to the Laodiceans spised out of the mouth of God which none returneth to again the Dog returneth to the vomit but not a man our time is fruitful in experiences of this kind you see the door is here shut against those Virgins which failed I mean it of a total Apostacy not partial declinings such the Saints themselves had the wise Virgins but the other lost all true saving grace they had none their form their profession it went out and then they were in darkness could not expect the coming of their Lord with their Lamps burning So much for the opening of it The door is shut the meaning of this is no more but that an entrance into heaven is denyed unto them that are not ready there is no mansion made ready for them that are not made ready for these mansions the Lord Jesus he is the door into the Church the Kingdom of grace and into the Kingdom of glory as you have beard they that enter must enter in by Jesus Christ have access by him now he will shut the door that is to say shut up his bowels and tender mercies for ever though they have been opened to poor sinners here upon earth then they shall be shut up he will have no more compassion on them but when they cry and call shut out their prayers they have clapt the door of their hearts and lockt them against him and now will he shut up his heart and lock it against them for ever Time was when the Jews might have found Jesus Christ but now saith he ye shall seek me and shall not find me but shall dye in your sins Indeed Brethren the door may be shut against a man here on earth after Gods waiting upon a people to be gracious to them he sware in his wrath they should never enter into his rest which was a type of heaven And so those that were invited to the feast they shall not taste of my dainties saith the King for they are not worthy If men refuse and reject the Gospel either professedly or in practise no marvel if the Lord turn the key of heaven gates upon them and they be shut out without any more hope for ever For the Arguments to confirm this a little First Because this feast in heaven admitteth no Guests without a wedding garment without holiness no entrance into heaven no man shall see the Lord except the Lord Jesus have known them and they have known him which is life eternal for so the Apostle puts them together we know that we know him or rather are known of him else Brethren there is no entrance he knoweth no man will acknowledge none then but with a wedding-garment here in the administrations of the Kingdom of grace a person may creep into the feast withont the wedding-garment indeed for the word preached it is for all but the distinguishing Ordinances men may be admitted to haply though they have no wedding-garment as you have it in that place of Matthew but he shall not abide there but shall be cast out he will bind him hand and foot and cast him out though he â—eaveth the admittance of them into the visible Church and visible communion in his ordinances to us who can judge but according to appearance and by the rules of charity yet himself cometh and vieweth the guests and who are fit to be owned as the guests of heaven that shall have entrance there he whose eyes are a flame of fire or like it piercing into the inwards of our souls to see what our spirits are cloathed with And if he takes it so ill of them that creep into the Communion of his Saints and Ordinances here below without a wedding-garment Surely then he will never admit any to this feast of new wine to eternity without such a wedding-garment Secondly Another Argument or Consideration to make this out may be this they that are unready shall not enter the door shall be shut upon them because they have neglected despised the Lord Jesus who is the door and hath the key of David and openeth and shutteth therefore now they shall be rejected the door hath stood open all the day long all the day long hath he stretched out his hands to a rebellious and gain-saying people he would have gathered them and they would not therefore now he will not now he will despise them as they have despised him and there is all the reason that can be that they that would have none of Christ by whom alone there is access to the Father and to this glory that he should have none of them neither they have resisted the motions of his Spirit the Holy-Ghost offering to convince them and now he will resist them clap the door against them Thirdly Because
just in the very harbour this is the saddest of all the rest many a storm they have ridden out they have indured many a wave and to split themselves in the very harbour within sight of the land as a man miscarrying just at the gate of the City of Refuge O how high must such mens hopes have been and how low will their hearts sink now when so â—adly disappointed hope so disappointed maketh ashamed confoundeth the soul as Esau his hopes were at the highest when he came with his Venison to his â—ather this will kill the heart O Brethren above all others hypocrites will be cloathed with the deepest confusion because they have been men of the fairest hopes for heaven Therefore it is said he went away sorrowful for it must needs be so for he was a man of more light then others and surely had a conviction that Jesus was the Messiah that it would be advantagious to have him and therefore coming so near to him and yet put back he went away sorrowful another man would have made nothing of such a repulse hypocrites have great enlightnings and they have had a taste of the heavenly gift as I may say as Israel had a bunch of grapes to taste the sweetness of Canaan and encourage them to go in to possess it O this when God turned them back into the wilderness for their rebellion that they should perish there was a great aggravation of their misery if they had never come so near it and never tasted of it they had not known what they had lost what they had deprived themselves of So here surely Brethren hypocrites have many a taste they have some glimmerings of heavens light and glory somewhat they have to draw them on to the very borders therefore for them to be turned off here and shut out O sure it will much aggravate their misery Ah wretch that I was to come so near take so much pains for heaven and yet that I should miss it will be the doleful ditty of hypocrites to eternity Thirdly It may teach all young beginners that are now as I may say starting in the race that is set before us that you look to it Brethren you be so furnished as to be able to run so as to obtain you are now launching into the deep O look to it there be not a privy leak somewhere though it be but small yet it may make a shift to sink you even at the very haven of heaven Ah dear friends it will be worth your pains to look into the truth of your condition though it cost you many an hour many a hot and cold fit yet give it not over be sure of this one thing that you be bottomed on Jesus Christ and have his Spirit to dwell in you his fear put in you according to the Covenant of grace and then you shall never depart from him you shall never fall short If once you be but in him you shall enter in with him the reason why these foolish Virgins entred not they were not in Christ they had nothing but their own account their own profession and what they could rap and rend and get from the creature alas this was nothing though it might carry them thus far it would not make way for their entrance into glory therefore let me beg of you to make this one thing necessary sure neglect this and all is nothing Fourthly It may teach all of us even such as have not only begun but gone far taken much pains for heaven to tremble and fear lest for want of a little more we fall short Ah dear friends if we would offer violence to heaven it must be while we are here when the door is shut it is too late therefore now let us press and spare no pains and look to these two things 1. That what we do we do it in Christ and for Christ else what do we differ in our work from the glistering Sinners among the heathens And 2. That our hearts be changed and made better and growing liker heaven every day then other else they will nothing avail us at all we shall be shut out notwithstanding all our prayers preaching gifts performances priviledges nothing but an interest in Christ and an heart sanctified by him will give entrance into heaven but so much for this Doctrine Another Note I will take up from the Virgins crying to God now when they saw the Gate of heaven shut against them That the hearts of sinners are full of self-confidence and presumption That they could have an heart to cry to Jesus Christ to open the door to them when it was shut it is strange presumption and boldness indeed for they had not one word to say for themselves why they should have entrance but only Lord Lord open c. in respect of any pleadings of Faith or the Covenant of Grace they were dumb not a word of this but if they had any thing to say it was such as those in Mat. 7. had to say for themselves he had preached in their streets and they had eat and drunk in his presence so here Lord Lord open to us why we had Lamps burning until a little before thy appearing we walked in fellowship with them that are truly admitted now into thy presence we have endeavoured to get some oyl to renew our Lamps though alas they found none but however they would have heaven this is very strong impudence and confident presumption that is in the hearts of Sinners the Lord Jesus turns them off and they will not be turned oâ—f now they will offer violence to the kingdom of heaven when it is too late Whence ariseth this Haply out of the ignorance whereupon heaven is to be had upon what conditions or else out of the presence of their eternal misery now they see they are sinking to hell they begin to cry out for opening of heaven Gate to them now the Gate is shut upon them they never cried before but I will not insist upon this Only a word or two of Application First then it is no marvel brethren if sinners are so full of boldness and presumption now let us tell them that we will set life and death before them as you have had it set before you many a time every Sabbath every opportunity almost alas they care not for it they hang out a flag of defiance against God they have made a covenant with death and an agreement with hell and this they make account shall stand let the Lord say what he will though he tell them he will break that Covenant he disanulleth it in the day he heareth it for both they and death are under his command and therefore he may disanull their Covenant he is Soveraign over them all yet they believe it not they rage and are confident for when the very overflowing scourge cometh upon them they are so confident to go and cry to God
of the inner rooms of the Text so full of sweetness and comfort Therefore first we shall speak to that promise of Christ unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and yet before we speak to the promise it self something we must say to the notion under which he is represented in this promise and that is a Sun of righteousness from whence we will observe this Note That the Lord Jesus is a Sun of righteousness There are two things Brethren here to be cleared First that he is a Sun to his people And secondly a Sun of righteousness and what is meant by that First then for that he is a Sun if it be granted that it s he who is here meant there need not much more to be said to make it good And that its a particular promise of Christ-God manifested in the flesh surely none will question for who else is it that 's that good Physitian that can give healing but he I am the Lord that healeth thee but that will appear better afterward Let me add for the present a Scripture or two more to back this with That Christ is held forth to us in Scripture under the Metaphor of a Sun arise and shine saith the Lord to his people in their low and afflicted state he commands Babylon to come down so he would have his people to lift up their hearts arise out of the dust wherein they had wallowed Why what is the matter thy light is come the glory of the Lord is risen on thee and who is this but the Lord Jesus is it not he that was given to be a light to lighten the Gentiles to be the glory of his people Israel the Sun is the glory of the heavens and earth when it breaks out it maketh a glorious day and every thing glorious whose beauty before did not appear yea puts glory on things that had none before its strange to see Brethren things how glorious even over-dazling the eyes they appear when the Sun shines on them which have little or no glory at another time And here in the second verse darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people But the Lord shall arise on thee Well it s he that is that light that is that glory of the Lord. Add but that place in Luke where he is said to be the day-spring from on high visiting us through the tender mercies of our God its true the word there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth either the rising of the Sun most ordinarily or else the place of the Suns rising the East or else some render it a branch that did arise out of the root of Jess But me thinks that is not so agreeable to the scope of the place for the next words are to give light to them that sit in darkness therefore we may here note that the day-spring or rising of the Sun is put for the Sun it self by a Metonymie and the Sun by a Metaphor put for Christ he is the Sun which rising maketh it day yea some there are that would have it understood of the Sun at noon-day of the rising of the Sun to the meridian where it shineth most gloriously and most hot according to that in Matthew where the Sun riseth they wither that spring up quickly and have no root that is the Sun arising to its height then it scorcheth and withereth And this I will not altogether reject here because this seemeth to be spoken then comparatively because the promise is made here to the comfort of such as did then fear the Lord and may afterward fear him which could not be except the Lord Jesus this Sun of righteousness had had some influence on them therefore this may seem to be meant of his rising to the height of the increase of his glory when manifested in the flesh I mean the glory of light manifested to us though it were his own diminution but haply more of this afterward Now I will consider it only absolutely that he is this Sun The Lord is a Sun and a shield and how can he so be except it be in Christ as God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself So of a consuming fire he becometh a refreshing Sun to his people in his influences on them But wherein is Christ said to be a Sun We might follow the Metaphor very far yet not too far neither We abhor that dotage of the Manichees who said Christ's body went no further then the Sun but there it was incorporated on which account they worship the Sun But we will a little instance in two or three particulars wherein the resemblance holdeth between Christ and the Sun First the Sun is one and therefore called Sol from Solus he only hath the ruling of the day ascribed to him And so Brethren the Lord Christ is one though he be two natures yet he is but one Christ one person though he be God and man truly yet he is but one Jesus one Mediator between God and man the Lord Jesus Christ he speaks of him as man not excluding the God-head but to suit to the weakness of poor unbelieving creatures we may go the more boldly to him the distance between us now being not so great he having taken part of flesh and blood whereof the children his poor people are partakers It s true many false Christs there have been and some there are now in our daies but these alas they are but blazing Comets make a little streaming light for a while and fall into a filthy slime at last There are also some Parelii as they call them images of the Sun made in a cloud fitly disposed for such a reflexion of his beams But alas how soon do these images and appearances vanish as soon as by any disturbance the clouds cease to be so disposed the Image of a beauty in a glass in water is far from the beauty it self So do all false Christs and false Saviours whoever vanish He is but one Secondly the Sun is the glory of the heavens Moon and stars have their glory but one star differs from another in glory but there is none like to the glory of the Sun O! the Lord hath put the excellence of glory on the Lord Jesus he is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the shining forth of his Fathers glory he speaks here of Christ as incarnate as the glory of God did shine in the face of Moses so that the people could not behold so now the glory of the Lord shineth in the face of Jesus Christ as the Apostle hath it so that we cannot behold it it dazles our eyes stedfastly to behold this his glory as it doth to behold the Sun in his glory Here is the glory of his grace the glory of his wisdom of his mercy his power and all in Christ he is the
glory as it were of divine attributes they all shine forth in him each with his peculiar glory The Temple the glory of the Lord filled it so that they could not stand before him to minister sometimes So Brethren now the Lord hath placed his name in Jesus Christ he hath filled him with his glory therefore saith the Prophet the glory of the Lord is risen on thee that is Jesus Christ is manifested to thee was not his glory so great as to confound John though a vessel fitted to be filled with those glorious revelations from-him He fell at his feet as one dead at the sight of him in that vision How glorious is an Angel that the very sight of him was an astonishment to John what is the Lord of the Angels If the Moon be so glorious what is the Sun Thirdly the Sun is full of light in it self and filsall things capable of its light and yet hath never the less the twinkling Tapers of heaven they have each of them their light some more some less and the Moon hath much light and giveth much but what 's borrowed light First she hath it not in her self nor in such abundance as the Sun hath So it s here the Saints they are lights of the Sun as our Saviour saith but alas like poor candles that burn dim and sometimes through the thickness of the damps of corruption in our hearts burn blew and are ready to go out for the most part 〈…〉 but as the light in the socket sometimes up and sometimes down and every moment a man would think it would go out the Angels and spirits of just men made perfect are like stars shining more gloriously and constantly But alas nothing to the Sun he sheds the light abroad throughout the whole hemisphere at once Set up many lights at once in a dark night they will give light but a little way and how poor and weak a 〈…〉 light so that when the Sun shineth they appear not at all and that the Sun should so long fill the world with his light and have never the less this is admirable But this is but a shadow Brethren to the light of Jesus Christ he is the true light that is such a light as that nothing else deserveth to be called a light in comparison of him as far as the subject is recipient a glorious spirit is before a vile body so far is the light of Christ in its own nature above the Suns light And then for fulness there is no comparison though there be hardly any thing obvious to ouâ— senses which are to â—et in light to the understand 〈…〉 that is more glorious and so is more â—it to set forth the Lord Jesus his fulness of Light by Light maketh manifest all things and that that maketh things manifest is the Light now the light of the Sun its true discovers much that before it arose appeared not but its possible to hide from its light Brethren in the depths of the earth in the bowels of man it discovereth not any of those much less the secrets of hearts there 's no suitableness between such a cause and such an effect But the Lord Jesus he searcheth all the deep things of men the very Marrow of their bones which is the deepest and hath the most coverings upon coverings he searcheth them So doth Christ the ends of men which are the most hidden usually in all their designs they are deep as the Marrow in the bones cloathed over with flesh and skin and bones pretence upon pretence but Christ this Light is so piercing that there is no hiding any thing from it Fourthly The Sun his Tabernacle is in heaven there he made a Tabernacle for the Sun there is the seat of the eye of the world from whence he views all that is under his Government there is his Palace and from thence he dispenceth light and influence So Brethren it s with Jesus Christ he hath his Tabernacle in heaven that is in his Church for so oftentimes the Church is called there the Lord placeth his Tabernacle as he saith of Israel of old I will place my Tabernacle among them and dwell in the midst of them He walks in the midst of the golden Candlesticks to behold them to be nigh them to dispence of his light to them and of his influence So doth the Sun communicate of his light to the Moon and to the Stars in heaven and to the inhabitants upon earth We are not to understand all this of Christ his person meerly but Christ as held out in his Ordinances in his Church therefore he is said by the Church to make manifest the mercy and wisdom of God his Ordinances are the raies and beams as afterward we shall speak when we come to open that part of the Text. But his Tabernacle is the Church thence he shines forth on many others as the earth is lightned by the raies from heaven Fifthly From the warming of the Sun how cold and frozen are those Northern parts of the world because remote from the Sun how cold is the hemisphere when the Sun is set for a time â—ow warm when it shines So the Lord Jesus it is that 's the Author of heat the Winter is past the Summer is come the rain is over the flowers appear on the earth and the voice of singing of birds heard that is Christ is revealed in the power of his love to poor sinners this is that which warmeth the coldest heart when we are frozen in our affections and as waters frozen up cannot run this way nor that way so we can do nothing nor move towards God Then Brethren it s a sight of the Sun of righteousness the Lord Jesus a hot gleamfrom him that thaws all and melts all warmeth all again and therefore in this respect also he may be compared to the Sun Sixthly because of influence which may be they say where there is no heat nor light at least and therefore Philosophers tell us that by the influence of the Sun the gold is concocted in the bowels of the earth whither its light cannot come And this is that Brethren that calls forth the fruits of the earth that in the winter for fear of cold were retired the sap recoiling to the root there to be preserved until a season for it Now the Sun the heat and warmth and influence thereof calls it forth again so that the grass and fruits plants and herbs put forth bud and blossom as we see it in the spring so the face of the earth is renewed And so it s in this case the Lord Jesus from heaven shineth forth and conveighing secretly the powerful influences of his Spirit and of the Word to poor sinners though they were as dead and dry sticks before as trees that are starven with the frost and seem dead then they put forth again then they grow green and flourishing then
that is our nature as soon as we are born yet alas the Lord Jesus would not have such as we to perish but rather then it should be so he himself would become our Physitian O here is rich grace Secondly In that the Lord Jesus like a Son of righteousness indeed doth not stay until the poor sinner the patient do send for him do come to him but he is the first in the motion you know Physitians of eminency and worth do not use to go up and down to bespeak their patients to proclaim it up and down who hath any work for them no they are too hi 〈…〉 that if any will have to do with them let them find the 〈…〉 out let them waite upon them Mountebanks use to do so they must hang out a bush else it will not be known that they profess they can do any thing pardon the comparison for our Saviour compareth his coming to the coming of a Thief and if a Mountebank be no better yet the comparison is tollerable by that of our Saviour himself I say he will rather come to sinners then that they shall misc 〈…〉 he came to seek and to save that which was lost for alas the lost creature never will seek him but wander and loseth it self more and more therefore we are compared to wandring sheep we all like sheep have gone astray yea the very Saints themselves when once they have been found yet will lose themselves again as David I have gone astray like a lost sheep seek thy servant else we should never find the way to Christ again dogs and such kind of creatures if lost will find the way home again but a sheep will not so when we are utterly lost Repent for the Kingdom of God is come unto you saith our Saviour O repent and turn for the Gospel and the grace of the Gospel is come to you the Kingdom of heaven goeth a begging as I may say cometh and knocketh at this door and that door at this family and that to see if they will give entertainment to Jesus Christ whether they will be healed this day is Salvation come to thine house saith the Lord to Zacheus it came to him before he came to Christ though he did indeed run a little for curiosity sake before Christ to see his person yea our Saviour inviteth himselâ— to him he invited himself to come to his house so did not the Lord Jesus come to seek Paul and where did he find him but in blood up to the ears even the blood of the Saints may we not set to our seals to the truth of this That he is found of such as never sought him may we not say truly that alas our own souls and our own families were poor dark ignorant hard-hearted creatures that never thought of Jesus Christ until he first came and brought healing to us the Son doth not stay until he be called up but he riseth of his own accord upon the world Brethren the Lord Jesus this day though by the mouth of a Babe and uncircumcised creature in heart and lips doth invite you all is ready and then he cals this is a part of the message I have from Christ this day and it is a sweet one to invite every poor wounded Sinner ev 〈…〉 poor diseased creature to come to Jesus Christ for healing and O that I could bespeak you as he himself would bespeak you were he upon earth with such a melting heart and sence of your condition O why will ye die is the expostulation of the Lord Jesus why will you die of your wounds of your plague-sores here is balm for you here is healing for you if you will but accept of it O do not slight it do not run away from the Physitian Hath the Lord Jesus been at all this pains to procure a medicine and shall we cast it away and slight it Thirdly Here is the riches of the Grace of God toward poor Sinners that though we cannot tell our Physitian what we ail yet he knoweth our diseases and from him it is that we are convinced of our condition in this respect Physitians are not able to see into the inward parts into the veins the arteries the liver the heart but they judge according to outward symptoms or according to the Patients relation of his disease and how often do they miscarry and mistake but here is such a Physitian he so heals as that he knoweth all our diseases he needs not feel our pulse to see how they beat he can tell where there is a poor burthened soul or a sin-guilty soul knoweth all the guilt and taâ—es notice of it first and from his own notice of it takes occasion to heal it I have seen his ways though he was walking on in the stubborness of his heart though he were smitten he saw not his own ways how froward they were nor his own heart how hard it was but saith the Lord I have seen his wayes and I will heal him Alas how long might Paul have been before he had known his disease except the Lord Jesus had opened it to him come and convinced him of it and so in the case of David and Peter Fourthly Yet further consider the riches of Grace Sinners herein to you herein held forth in that notwithstanding all our unkind dealing with him yet he giveth not over the work would not an able Physitian take it ill that his Patient should go away from him and run to a cheating Mountebank and prefer him before him were not this enough to lose a Physitian Alas do we not all do so He stretched on t his hands all the day long to a gainsaying and rebellious people one runs to one thing another to another The Prodigal to his husks rather then to his Father and the poor woman to her Physitian of no 〈…〉 lue rather then to Christ if Sinners can make a shift to lick over their sores with a good tongue a smooth tongue crying peace peace where there is no peace a sad condition when Conscience is quieted upon mistaken grounds if they can quiet it with a little duty they are well if they can skin over their wounds they are well enough they will stick any where rather then come to Jesus Christ and yet for all this he is ready to heal them O how do Persons beside themselves abuse their Physitian many times fly in their face and so do Sinners now the Lord Jesus cometh with his cordials in one hand his purgatives in the other hand ready to purge to cleanse to heal us and we fly in his face use him most unkindly and yet for all this he is not overcome giveth us not over until he hath healed us of this and all the rest of the distempers of our souls O how do you think the Lord Jesus can endure to be kicked in the very bowels to have his blood trampled under foot
But who may say to God what dost thou He is in one mind and who can turn him and what his Soul desireth even that he doth He performeth the thing that is appointed for us and many such things are with him But though we have nothing to say to God the most wise God about this dispensation yet this saith much to Man This saith much to Ireland whither God sent this burning and shining light Have not they much cause to consider how they prized it how they improved it seeing God put it out so quickly and gave them so short a season to rejoyce in it That he preached so few years to them should be to them an everlasting Sermon And this question should come thick upon the heart of that Church there which was the Candlestick in which God placed this light why was it so why was it so why hath the Lord removed our Teacher into a Corner the very Grave so that our eyes cannot see our Teacher who was also a Pastor after his own heart any more Was he enough in our hearts or was he too much there We may forfeit our enjoyments by too high as well as by too low an esteem of them and by looking too much upon means provoke God to hide it from us But whatever moved the Lord to take him from you it well becomes you to be thankful that you had him though but for a short season in person among you and that so much of him this mant le which fell from him as he was ascending is gathered up and left with you and other Churches as his Monument and Memorial for ever Joseph Caryl Good Reader IT is often seen that good men die soonest our translation to heaven is delayed only till our fitness to enjoy heaven assoon as we are meet for that blessed inheritance we are gathered in like a shock of Corn in its season some ripen for heaven apace and are taken out of the world sooner then others now it is pitty that all their fruit should die with them Christ saith to his Apostles I have ordained you to bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain Intending I suppose not only their reward in heaven and the continuance of Believers begotten by them to God who in a very commodious sense are the surviving fruit of their labours but also their Doctrine consigned to the use of future ages by writing The writings of the Apostles I confess are more necessary then those of private men as making up the Canon and rule of Faith but yet the explications of ordinary Pastors and Teachers have their use and benefit and it is a commendable diligence in them that gather up the fragments of good men that nothing be lost It pleased God to call up this worthy servant of Jesus Christ to heaven betimes it were pitty that the Sermons coming from such a warm and affectionate spirit should die away with the breath in which they were uttered as his fruit remaineth I hope in the hearts of many that heard him so is it wrapt up in these papers by the diligence of his surviving friends to preserve it from perishing and forgetfulness It s an happiness though not to be hoped for yet to be wished for that none would write in this publick way but very holy or very learned men who either from their profounder knowledge of the mysteries of godliness or inward acquaintance with the workings of the Spirit are most likely to improve or keep alive the Doctrine of God in the Christian world this worthy instrument thou wilt find to be a man by no means of dispicable abilities but chiefly excelling in a gracious heart and much inward experience in the things of God and though deep speculations and luscious language is not here to be expected yet many wholsom and heart-warming truths delivered in a grave and unaffected stile which if my hopes deceive me not will be of great use to quicken this dull and carnal age to a greater study and vigour of holiness and therefore being desired I could not but recommend these Sermons to thy best acceptance I am Covent-Garden this 19. of Jan. 1656. Thine in the Lords work Tho. Manton De. Authore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Per Tho. Gloverum Warwicensis Scholae Ludimagistrum De Eodem FAllor an ipse tuo Murcotte per omnia vives Saecula cum terris corpus inane jacet Dignus es aeterna qui laude feraris ad astra Cui novi terras vix peperisse parem Mortuus es Murcotte at saeva morte triumphas Quem non Lethaeis sors dare quivit aquis Membra licet jaceant tristi resupina sepulchro Facta tamen nolunt saecula sera mori Per Eundem CHristian come hither read and reading mind And thou shalt here a Directory find A light indeed but borrowed from heaven Which will direct to keep thy foot-steps even Whilest that a darksom wilderness we tread The fiery Pillar will us safely lead See here 's a Pillar on which who casts his sight Shall see a flame out-shining all false light Through which maugre the spight of mankinds foe He shall to the coelestial Canaan go Where that Star shines now in perfection Which sparkled here for Saints direction per me Tho. Glover Warwicensis Scholae Ludimagistrum The Table of the Scriptures opened and explained in this Volumn  Genesis  Chap. Ver. Page 4 7 120 17 12 487 25 8 329  Exodus  1 13 490 16 25 370 20 20 553 32 12 395 34 7 636  Leviticus  19 23 89 25 41 517  42 ibid.  44 487  45 530  46 ibid.  Joshua  1 5 430 18 3 296  2 Samuel  3 16 523 9 13 219  1 Kings  11 13 394 22 29 159  Nehemiah  8 10 341  Job  2 22 393 5 26 326 8 07 558 16 00 066 19 27 137 21 from 7 to 9 133 31 1 364  21 236 33 26 182  Psalms  1 3 245 4 3 091 18 23 235 36 08 340 40 6 532 51 17 281 75 8 344 76 5 193 84 7 561 92 12 560 94 7 402 111 10 p. 81 See this in the first subject Circumspect walking 119 59 76. See this in the first subject Circumspect walking c.  Proverbs  1 26 315 3 14 367 4 27 61 See this in the first subject Circumspect walking c. 9 1 353  2 ibid.  4 357 12 10 396 24 5 605 26 23 399  Eccles  2 9 558  Canticles  2 7 81 See this in the first subject Circumspect walking  11 419 4 10 350 5 1 ibid.  2 158 168 184  3 160 161  Isaiah  1 5 442 443  6 ibid. Â
endeavours His late journey to London heated his blood and disposed his already-wasting body to a dangerous distemper which discovered it self on the Lords day in his forenoons Sermon which after his return from the Congregation he laboured to conceal from his wife by endeavouring to eat though it were much against his stomach she perceiving some alteration in his countenance and carriage said You are not well pray preach not again to whom he replyed away away hinder me not Whereupon he retired to his study and adventured to preach again in the afternoon though with some difficulty and apparent symptoms of sickness in his very visage It was upon the spirits of some that this was the last time they should ever hear him One seeing and observing him in his return said Thou art almost in heaven I shall never see thee more The Text which he preached on that day is considerable Psal 4. 6. There be many that say Who will shew us any good Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us The former part viz. the enquiry Who will shew us any good he finished in the fore-noon and urged several arguments why men ought to sit loose from all things that are here below His expressions argued in him affections disingaged from matters dreggy and terrene One foot is off the earth already the other will be so too shortly He takes his flight from earth to heaven and in the afternoon made entrance on the latter part of the verse Lord lift thou up c. a suitable subject for him to speak to who was now about to enter into the gloomy horrours of the grave Those bright refulgent beams of heavenly light are never more seasonable then when we are upon the borders of the Land of darkness Ten glorious fruits and effects of the lifting up of the light of Gods countenance he held forth the heads of which because of the spirituality of the matter and being the words of a dying man and experienced Christian you will find in the Margin Judicious Christâ—ans plainly perceived him at that time to be wonderfully raised and his spreading sailes to be sweetly swelled with the powerful breathings of the Spirit for he spake more like one neer the Throne and in the company of Angels then one in a Pulpit and surrounded with mortalls At even the people according to their accustomed manner came crouding and thronging to Repetition His wife in vain perswaded him to dismiss the Assembly in repeating his Sermons Singing and Prayer he spent about two hours time At Supper he did eat a little with his wife and that chearfully yet complained of an unusual heaviness in his head and soreness in his eys when endeavouâ—ing to lift them up and took little rest the ensuing night The next morning seeing that he must be sick indeed he blessed the Lord that he found him in his work The Physitian being sent for and consulted with said he had got cold and was feavorish the second night is passed over with as little rest as the first A day of Thanksgiving in private for his own return from London and his wives late safe delivery was designed to be celebrated about this time the consideration of which occasioned some sadness whereupon to his wife he said This is sad love this looks as if the Lord would not accept of an Offering of praise from our hands And then he called for the Notes of a Thanksgiving Sermon preached long before by Doctor Jones on that passage of Hezekiah Who rendred not unto the Lord according to the benefit The third day as a choice Christian friend who came to visit him was discoursing with his wife he fell afleep and two or three hours after awaking he called for his wife who coming to him and kneeling down upon the beds side he fixed his eys on her and said dost thou know that place I will give them the Valley of Achor for a door of hope Who said yes He further asked her if she kâ—ew the meaning of it who expressing her apprehensions he said yea there it is and then a little nodding his head and pointing with his finger at her said Remâ—mber this Our valley of trouble shall be our door of hope About the fifth day in letting blood he fainted and with a low voyce said What means this it was not thus with me at Sir Roberts Kings To his wife looking upon him he said Now Love it is a weaning time He was more careful of Gods Service then of his own attendance causing the servants to leave him that so their duty to God in ways of worship might not be neglected The seventh day being the Sabbath he inquired who carried on the work and seemed to affect retirement and secret converse with God upon his own day Most part of the second week was passed over in a silent submission and quiet waiting on the Lord. The thirteenth day in the morning being Saturday his pains were very violent for an hour and half and extorted from him that doleful complaint Lord how long Ah my bowels my bowels I have grieved bowels this speaks much I have wanted bowels I have not been so pittiful towards others The Doctor being sent for and staying longer then was expected he said Lord give us help from trouble for vain is the help of man At night he was much refreshed chearful all night and prone to discourse and praised without any complaining and withall said I would have given the whole world for so much ease in the morning The Lords day in the morning the Doctor coming to him and looking on him wept to whom Master Murcot said How is it with me Doctor You may do well Brother I hope if you can get any sleep Master Murcot Tell me true how is my Pulse Doctor I confess it is but bad but you may do well if you can sleep which he indeavoured a while though in vain by closing his eys To his wife looking sadly on him he said Love canst thou pray for â—leep for me what saist thou to which her swelling grief permitted her not to return answer The rumouâ— of his weak condition being spread abroad a Doctor was sent from my Lord Deputy to see if there were any hope of life who speaking to him he said Doctor I am spent with sweating To his Sister he said and that without any amazement and peâ—turbation of spirit Sister I must now tell you I am not for this world and then lifting up himself he said Lord remember me how I have walked before thee in sincerity with all my might He wished the Sabbath were over that so he might do something about his Will though little were to be done His wife seeing hearing these passages said to him Now I see that you know that you must leave us He answered yes Love whereat she weeping he exhorted her to a Resignation to which she answered The Lord hath
true sound saving durable grace in their hearts the Lord grant Brethren this be not the case and condition of many a glorious professor among us our age hath given as large a testimony to this truth as ever time did Thirdly When the cry came and they went to trim their Lamps all of them the foolish Virgins Lamps were gone out verse 8. The wise their Lamps had need of triming as the Lamps of the Sanctuary were to be trimed every day every morning they gather some dross and filth which would dim the light but now the others they were quite gone out when they had most need of them they failed them And indeed such a thing is an empty profession it will not carry a man through all conditions as we shall have occasion to speak afterward O how sad a condition will every hypocrite be in when he falls under such a disappointment of his hope then which to a reasonable creature there cannot be a greater vexation he thought he was as fair for heaven as another and yet when all cometh to all in the hour of need the Lamps quite extinguished put out in obscure darkness the beginning of that utter darkness where their portion is like to be for ever Fourthly The foolish Virgins then are on the begging hand and the wise on the denying hand and they send them to buy of them that sell Here I know not that we are to press every particular as if the foolish were so foolish as to beg grace of the wise to have a part of others except the Papists who will have no other Church of Christ but themselves by no wise and then that to go to their Merit-mongers and Indulgencers and the Church-treasure for righteousness rather then to Jesus Christ Nor is it any harshness if the Saints deny them for alas brethren it is not in them to give lest they have not enough for themselves and them also there is no super-erogating 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Some say the speech is defective an ellipsis of the refusal and the reason only is here given others read it thus least there be not enough for you and us go to them that buy and so there is no such defect the sense is the same Who is it that selleth but Jesus Christ indeed and that without money and without price as you have it in that place of Isaiah But we may look upon this answer not as a monition or serious advice what to do but ataunt rather a derifion of them go to them that buy and so it suites wonderful well with the Papists now go to your Merit-mongers to buy So Eliah cry aloud he is a God either in a journey c. So the Prophet to Babylon threatning ruine upon her thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels let now thy Astrologers Star-gazers monethly prognosticators stand up and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee That which is plainly and undenyably held forth to us therein is that the foolish Virgins are to seek their grace when they should use it then they see they have none whatever they deceived themselves with before the Lord grant this prove not our condition to any of us Fifthly that while they are thus unready for the appearing of Christ and go to buy the rest that had oyl that are ready enter into the joy of their Lord when once the time cometh there is no longer delay but as many as are ready he takes in with him and then the door is shut it is shut against all those that are unready have their work to do when their time is gone when they expect 〈◊〉 glory they want their grace when they would have the Crown they 〈…〉 begin their race Ah Brethren if this prove the condition of our selves sad will it be with us that others shall enter in that we thought in no better a condition then our selves and our selves shut out because we are not ready he will not then stay any longer he hath waited upon us long enough Sixthly Yet the foolish Virgins though they have no oyl and their Lamps be out they come and they cry Lord Lord they cry with earnestness to have the door opened Ah Brethren you that now content your selves with a meer formality and nothing will stir you up to be zealous and to amend then you will cry either at your death-bed at that summons or at the judgement O Lord Lord open to us the strange presumption and confidence in poor sinners hearts though they know they have no oyl yet will expect to enter into heaven though they know they have loytered and trifled away their time of getting grace yet they would have admittance they would have heaven in the end though they care not for working out their salvation with fear and trembling they leave that to others to do yet expect the salvation in the end as well as they And see how far hypocrites may go they come to the very gate and there they cry Lord Lord open to us but all in vain Seventhly The answer the Bridegroom giveth them Verily I say unto you I know you not there is need of an asseveration to press it upon them their confidence was so high that they should enter in with the Bridegroom What take all that pains to provide Lamps to take them to go forth to meet him to raise themselves up to trim them yea afterward to go out to get oyl and yet shut one this will hardly down with them Verily saith our Saviour whatever you may presume upon and vainly hold up your hearts with be assured I know you not O this is a word will kill the stâ—uâ—est hearted sinner when it cometh to the pitch and the most swel 〈…〉 g confident hypocrite in the world it will make his heart sink within him like a stone I know you not and therefore there is no reason I should let you in I never knew you though they had neglected to acquaint themselves inwardly with Christ to procure his favour for that is the knowledge Words of understanding with the hebrews are pregnant and carry or are big with affection also I know you not so as to approve you to favour you so 〈…〉 y as to admit you Yea I never thus knew you 〈◊〉 have I known saith the Prophet concerning Israel that is to say so known as acknowledge owned favoured Now I say the hypocrites will scrape acquaintance with Jesus Christ O they are the people and they have served him and worshipped him and kept Sabboths to him and Preached in his name and heard him preach and now not know them This how strange will it prove to many a poor creature Aâ—blessed souls that know the Lord Jesus or rather are known of him And sad is the condition of such as shall thus be shaken off by Jesus Christ and shaken into hell indeed You have the Parable though many more
if you could as easily put by the coming of Christ as you can make a shift to smother the thoughts of it your hearts indeed might chear you and your condition were something like But he will come and though you be asleep in the Arms of your lusts know that your judgement sleepeth not and your condemnation slumbereth not And make what haste you can to be rich or to be honourable and such persons are not innocent make what hast you can in your career of sinning it travels as fast you and will be sure to meet you at the gates of death and hell if not sooner But it may be we think we have done this great work we are through grace acquainted with the Lord Jesus and his spirit which hath effectually wrought in us to believe in his name to love him the main is done with us and therefore sure we may have more liberty then others now Is it so but is this all that must go to watch for his appearing do we not find our hearts thrusting away from us that day and our hands fail and security setzeth upon us the Disciples were in danger to be surprized as well as others Is there any of us so liveth as that we could readily and cheerfully meet the Lord Jesus at an hours warning a daies 〈…〉 and who knoweth he shall have so much to set his house in order O there is need to press this duty upon us all brethren be our condition what it will we have yet somewhat to learn of it and shall have let us hear it as often as we can But I will leave what further may be said unto its proper place in the handling the Parable A word or two to the present occasion we are many of us now called to this sealing Ordinance And though we have been often stirrd up and taught our duty concerning it is there not need to chafe the oyl in upon our hearts our affections still Alas how often have we heard that what it findeth it sealeeth And yet do we not dare to come some of us with hard hearts with covetous hearts uncircumcised hearts I would not speak brethren to grieve the heart of any the Lord would not have grieved as they that have least cause will be most sadly assayling themselves with condemning thoughts but the Lord grant there be none found among us guilty kind As often as ever we come we hear how dangerous a thing it is to come unworthily prepared to it and yet the Lord knoweth how often we have thrust in here some of us without a wedding garment And that you have not been bound hand and fooe bound up in our grave-cloaths and cast out of his sight for ever it is unspeakable mercy O that this might melt us and humble us and though blessed be his holy name I believe there are many poor trembling souls who go about these things with trembling hearts least they should miscarry and grieve him and bring his blood upon their heads I doubt there may be some of us found whose hearts are far from such a frame had we not need then to be put in mind and remembrance again and again of these things It may be we have faith and love to Jesus Christ it may be we have humility and self-loathing it may be we have a mourning spirit over our sins that have grieved the Lord Jesus put him to all that grief for us it may be we have a thankful heart but are these graces now in action are they upon the wing how often have we been minded thereof that we must be actually prepared Alas alas haply some of us have not taken the pains with our hearts which we might and which others would have done if they had had the hearts which we have haply some of us have been striving but in our own strength and have done little haply others may have been helped in the preparing our hearts to seek him herein but by our pride or carnal confidence have lost our frame again It may be some of us brethren have not been very negligent but yet not so diligent as we ought O brethren how needful are these things bear with me if I do press you to them it is not tedious to me because I hope it is safe for you O! that I could do it with such a spirit and such bowels as the Apostle did the Lord set it upon all our hearts we are exceeding dull to believe and more dull to practise and do his will revealed to us Though the good be our own the glory onely his But I will not insist any further here the Lord give us understanding and believing hearts Now for the words of the Text. The Kingdom of Heaven is like to ten Virgins which went forth to meet the Bridegroom I shall begin according to the former method And first speak concerning Jesus Christ with respect to his Church And touching him there are many things in this Parable First he is the Bridegroom 2. His delay of his coming 3. The cry before his coming 4. The coming 5. The time of his coming at Midnight To begin with the first The Bridegroom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 However it be that the scope of the parable be to stir up all men that profess the Lord Jesus to a perseverance in watchfulness to stand ready for his coming which being apprehended there is no necessity of pressing each particular in the parable yet I conceive according to our Saviour His opening of other parables we may insist upon the chief things therein as where HE would let us see what need we had to take heed What or How or Whom we Hear by the parable of the several sorts of Ground receiving the seed of the Word he not onely tells us the difference of the Grounds but what the seed is and who the Sower is or else in that parable of the good seed and the Tares he tells us particularly what is meant by each And therefore I must not here pass over this of the Bride-groom The Virgins went forth to meet the Bridegroom The note will be The relation between the Lord Jesus and his people He is the Bridegroom and stands in that relation to his people that this is so we need go no further then this parable for who else is it that cometh and with whom they that are ready do enter into the Mâ—rriage then Jesus Christ who is our life who appearing we shall appear with him in glory Again the foolish virgins cry to him Lord Lord open to us Who is the Lord but Jesus Christ as will appear by comparing this with that speech of our Saviour Not every one that saith to me Lord Lord shall enter but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven Many will say to me Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name in whose name but in the name of Jesus Christ and in
and ruddy the chief among ten thousand either his divinity and Humanity or his fulness of Grace and his bloody Merits in a sweet exact mixture O how beautiful do they make him he is fairer then the sons of men If that beauty will carry it he is the very Paragon of Heaven 3. For Riches there is none like to him This is a great allurement you know indeed for the most part men do marry the gold and riches of the world rather then the person though this be a madness an Heir to a great estate likely will not need a wife Why the Lord Jesus is heir of all things all things in Heaven and Earth He is the onely Son of God the heir apparent of heaven he is being the Son of God so that what ever we want it will be abundantly supplyed in him Abraham his servant wooing saith his Master was rich and had onely one Son and he heir of all Gen. 24. 35 36. 4. If Honours will do it for that is somewhat which much takes with men he is no less then a King and no mean one he is the King of Glory a glorious King indeed as he is called in that Psalm Yea the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Rev. 17. 14. A most high and eminent Kingdom who hath all other Kings at his command a hundred seven and twenty Provinces were a great Dominion but not onely all the Kingdoms of the earth are the Lords and his Christs but by him Kings rule and Princes decree Justice it is by his permission any of them exercise their power 5. For Power as well as Authority and Majesty he it is that can do what he pleaseth he is indeed the Mighty God and what then can stand in his way He is our Maker and there is much in that thy Maker is thy Husband thy Redeemer the Lord of Hosts is his name thy Maker he that gave thee thy beeing when thou haddest none by a word of his mouth O here is power indeed he that could give us a spiritual being by the same word there is yet more power for in the first there was no repugnancy but here there is he is the Lord of Hosts It was much to Israel to consider who was their Husband even the Lord of Hosts he that could Redeem them out of Egypt sink all their enemies in the Red-Sea go as a Captain before them drive out the Canaanites notwithstanding their Iron Chariots the Anakims that were a terror to them He now was their Husband He is a man of war and a most mighty man of valour for that Goliah himself which defies the Armies of Israel is nothing in his hand the roaring Lyon is nothing in his hand he can tear him in pieces and bruise him under his feet even as a Lyon tears a Kid. It is very much brethren this to commend the Lord Jesus to us he can fight our battels for us so that if we can but stand still we shall see the salvation of the Lord. 6. For a lovely sweet disposition which is none of the least desirable things in a Husband O never was there like to Jesus Christ for disposition he is love it self and tenderness it self bowels and compassion it self there is many a one though they have beauty and riches aâ—d honours and birth and power in an Husband yet if there be an unsuitable disposition there be rigidness and harshness it imbitters all O do but observe how sweet a disposition he was of so far from harshness to his people that he melteth over his very enemies that refused him Ah that thou haâ—st known in this thy day c. O how he is touched with our infirmities afflicted in our afflictions A woman that hath such a husband what a sweetning is it to all her afflictions If love will do he â—â—ll never take any other course never any estrangement of himself from a soul here is a Bridegroom indeed But I will not speak any further Brethren you have heard much and much better of the excellencies of Jesus Christ then I am able to speak to you this onely for the second thing There are yet to be considered the Causes which according to their several influences concur to the making up of this relation between Christ and the Church of a Bridegroom and a Bride whichwhen I have spoken somewhat to I will proceed 1. Then The Father he giveth them to his Son and the Son to them This is above comparison though the Father of the Virgin give her give his consent and so the Parents of the Son they give their consent But here is God the Father who doth all he giveth his son for his people and to his people as you have it in that place he so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him might not perish but might be brought in to the nearest unity with him might have life everlasting in communion with him If thou hadst known the gift of God saith he to the woman of Samaria and who saith to thee give me drink or And he giveth us to his Son that is to say as many as were in his purpose of grace thine they were and thou gavest them to me they were thine not so much by Creation for he speaks of many that yet were not created nor are to this day likely created but in the purpose of grace they were hâ—s and as absolute soveraign over all so they were his to do with them as he pleased to have made them vessels of dishonor if he had pleased as Ananias was it not thine own mightest thou not have done with it what thou wouldest So here we were the Fathers as Soveraign all of us and his Christs not onely so but in his purpose of grace he gave them to his Son to be his Spouse his wife 2. But yet Alas they would be under the hands of sin and Satan inslaved in an Iron Furnace hard bondage he must redeem them if he will have them they are sold under sin and Satan the Prince of this world therefore he must pay the price they were obnoxious indeed to his Justice or would be in time and therefore he must provide a satisfaction or else they could not be set clear It was the manner in some Countries brethen to give Dowries for their wives to buy them before they had them quite contrary to what is among us Ask me never so much dowry saith Sechem and I will give it he was now in love with the Virgin and nothing was too much for her now so here the Lord Jesus as well as his Father he before the world was foresaw what a happiness it would be to poor Creatures and what a glory and joy to himself and them for ever one in another and therefore he delights now in the habitable parts of the earth in the sons of men O now what
Rejoyce in the Lord saith the Apostle and again I say rejoyce it is a duty of that moment he cannot leave it he goeth over and over with it do not think I am mistaken when I bid you rejoyce because happily your condition may be afflicted other ways again I say rejoyce I am still of the same mind The Lord Jesus rejoyceth over you as sad thoughts as you have concerning your selves he rejoyceth over you he is glad to communicate his love and shall not we rejoyce then in the receiving of it Can the Children of the Bride-chamber mourn while the bridegroom is with them saith our Saviour it is not sutable to their condition when he shall be taken away then they shall mourn I deny not Brethren but if the Lord do withdraw himself we should lament after him and seek him sorrowing as Mary the Mother of Jesus did and the more love we have received if we grieve him this will be the more grief of heart but if you that have his presence in a sweet manner and yet hang the head and droop as if our joyning to the Lord had been the undoing of our souls So pensively and sadly we many of us walk that indeed we are a shame and dishonour to the Lord Jesus If you should see a Virgin espoused to a man and should from that day forwad never hold up her head but walk heavily what would you think sure she apprehends she hath made an ill choice her expectations are frustrated therefore Brethren look to it that we rejoyce if the Children of the Bride-chamder cannot mourn but rejoyce to hear the voice of the Bridegroom much more then the Bride The Lords takes pleasure in the prosperity of thy soul and why shouldst not thou â—ake pleasure in the prosperity of thy own soul being made one with Jesus Christ 5. Look to it that you be faithful to the Lord Jesus as a Bride when once espoused if she turned aside to another it was death they were looked upon as in a marryed state and condition indeed the truth is when the Lord hath truly espoused his soul to himself he hath done it in faithfulness and maketh the soul faithful to him that in the great Article of the Covenant they never deal falsly with Jesus Christ that is to say they choose not another Saviour another Lord under whose dominion to put themselves constantly yet there may be sometimes to Jesus Christ even in his own people If that once it cometh to this that we imbrace sin and consent to it and take any delight in it this is to play the harlot with Jesus Christ O take heed of this brethren indeed the heart is all that he looks at how we stand affected to those evils which yet remain if Paul have a body of death yet he delights not in it but groans being burtheued this he accounts not unfaithfulness but when a mans heart beginneth to sit loose from the Lord Jesus to be almost indifferent he could sometimes in a fit of wretched carnality be content to have another Lord to rule over him to be free from Christ O! this the Lord looks at and he will search out this will move him to jealousie therefore take heed of this a woman may do as much service and seemingly as readily to her husband as before but yet her heart be gone and she could be contented to be loose this is heart-Adultery this the Lord Jesus in us brethren looks at as such if we serve him and do duties but in such a manner that we could even be contented to be at liberty it is not right take heed of provoking the Lord Jesus lest it prove in the end that he never knew us indeed Labour to be faithful then in this in the main Again In managing all he puts into our hands be faithful The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her It is the commendation of a woman of a thousand in the Proverbs she will be improving It may be you have not so much to turn as others have others have ten times more parts and opportunities to do good let them look to it they have ten times as much to answer for and must do ten times as much but thou mayst be as faithful in a little as they in a great deal One servant is a Steward in the family hath all under his hand and another he is a poor under-servant hath some mean service committed to him why now he may be as faithful in his place as the other in his Moses was faithful in all the house of God he had a great command Caleb might be as faithful for what was committed to him following God fully as the Text hath it say not then If I were a Magistrate a Minister a publike person had such opportunities to do good I might do much but I am an obscure person Well be thy condition what it will be thou mayst do good and be faithful in thy place according to what thou hast received thy lips may drop like a hony-comb and feed many and like choice silver and inrich many though thou be never so mean and so for the Family and up and down where ever thou comest look that thou be faithful to do all from Jesus Christ and to do all to him that thou rob him not of the glory of what he hath done for thee and by thee for then thou art not faithful 6. Another Exhortation shall be then to desire the coming of the Bridegroom the Spirit and the Bride say come the spirit in the bride breathing in her as it is in the Revelation they say come We looke upon the day of death as if it were the day of divorce from the Lord Jesus for the most part truly for them that are out of Christ it is no marvel if it be a King of terrors to them but to the Saints me thinketh who look for the appearing of the Lord Jesus to consummate the marriage between them it should not be so terrible as it seemeth to be to the most of us and to this end take ye here brethren at the marriage feast he turns our water into wine but in heaven our wine into spirits and setteth them a flaming our love flaming to all eternity 7. Exhortation which is to look to our Ornaments to get them ready why do we hang back but because we are not ready we have somewhat or another unready still our work is not done can a maid forget her Ornaments or a Bride her attire yet my people have forgotten me As a Bride adorneth her self with her Jewels so he hath cloathed me with the garments of salvation he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness Eleazer put jewels upon Rebecca before she came to Isaac and therefore the spouse is called Callah in the Original because of her perfect adorning therefore look to this brethren that you be adorned O every
again in the Resurrection a pledge and an earnest whereof they have in heaven not onely Christ the head his glorious body but Enoch and Elias Now there may be much desire happily for this coming of Christ that this may be made up but as the Apostle saith in another case God hath provided a better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect so they without the rest the fulness of Christ should not be made so compleatly perfect Well then the fulness of Christ must come in that day shall not come until there be not one soul more to come in which belongs to his fulness that is the fourth This reason indeed onely concerneth the great day of Christ his coming 5. To give time and space to men to repent and to work out their salvation in I gave her space to repent saith the Lord to that woman and she repented not Whether we understand this of a mans particular day or the great and general day it is true Why is not Sentence speedily executed upon sinners Why is it that they might repent despisest thou saith the Apostle the riches of his goodness and long-suffering to thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not knowing the goodness of God his long-suffering hath his tendency in it to lead to repentance being given for that end Mora sponsi poenitentiae tempus est Hilar can 27. So our Annot. So that this will leave sinners without any excuse If there had not been such a delay they had had no time to repent and they might have said so for themselves but now they have no pretence they shall be all of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 condemned of themselves And for the Saints and people of God it is that they might have time and space to work out their salvation with fear and trembling to work it out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alas they must be converted and become as little children or else they cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven now there is much industry and pains required to bring the heart to this meetness for heaven and therefore he delays his coming As for instance If a Bride-groom too soon come upon his spouse that he knoweth hath a house full of filthiness and nasty places to trim and make handsom and her self to trim and deck and adorn he will stay a while give her time to make all pure and clean and fit for him and then he cometh and this is another 6. That the measure of sin and sinners may be filled up there is a fulness of Satan as well as of Christ a fulness of sin as well as of holiness you know he would not give Canaan a type of heaven to his people Israel because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full he could not give them Canaan but he must destroy them and therefore he would first have their measure full their Ephah full and then sink them with a talent of lead So here there is a fulness of Satans kingdom a fulness of sin upon which when he cometh he will come to pour out the fulness of his wrath and to tread them down in his fury for ever therefore he stays a while until they have filled up their measure He did not cast the Jews out of sight until they had filled up their measure by persecuting of the truth and the Saints which is a wonderfully filling sin indeed that quickly fills the bag to the mouth and then it is sealed they persecuted the truth that they might fill up the measure of their sins always and then you see he came against them Now when all the vessels of wrath are formed and they are fitted to destruction then he cometh as to receive his bride so to slay his enemies with a flaming sword and furious indignation that would not close with him This another 7. That the promises may be fulfilled which are many of them yet to come and to be fulfilled as the prophecy of Babylons falling the tenth part of the City even Rome which some judicious compute to be just the tenth part of what formerly it was The ruine of Antichrist the bringing in of the Jews the seed of Abraham his friend from all corners of the world whether they are driven through his displeasure and the fulfilling those many glorious things which are spoken of the City of God the new Jerusalem which cometh down from heaven which many of the Saints do expect yet to be fulfilled when Satan shall be bound for a thousand years surely a tittle of this word shall not fall to the ground not the word of promise heaven and earth may fall but this word of God cannot fall it must be fulfilled The Lord Jesus will be contented to be without his fulness until then and the glory of that fulness until then and therefore for this cause his coming shall be delayed he came once out of heaven with much readiness Lo I come I come though to dye to lose his life his peace his comfort the savour of his father rather then the prophesies should not be fulfilled as we have it often that it might be fulfilled c. He will be without his bride in fulness for a time and they must be without him in fulness for a time until the rest of the prophesies be fulfilled O how he glorifieth his word above all his Name 8. Lastly Happily to edge our desires after the day you know the withholding of a desirable thing for a time doth much draw out the desires as the drawing away the bait from the fish draweth it after it and truly all the ways the Lord takes with us are little enough to put us on to desire that day But so much for the confirmation of the Doctrine before it was said therefore it seemed long because we desired it importunately Now therefore we desire it because it seemeth long and so our desires after his appearing do feed themselves by adding this oyl to the flame even the length of the tarrying which doth partly arise from themselves so some things are mutually causes one of another as the Ice resolveth it self into water and again the water into Ice the vapours ascending into Clowds and the Clowds into vapours again after they are emptyed upon the earth So The Use of the Doctrine shall be first by way of reproof to convince us of sin in abusing this truth which nothing is more ordinary among men they dare not utter it with their mouths but this they speak in their hearts the Lord delays his coming and therefore they begin to eat and drink with the drunken to beat their fellow-servants they will neither work themselves nor let others work that would Mark how the Evangelist brands such a man calling him an evil servant or an hypocrite and indeed brethren It is not as if there were any thing in the nature of a delay to work such
proceedings with me Though he did well to retain his integrity and justifie that before men yet it was too much boldness to offer to enter into judgement with God and so earnestly to desire that day Alas brethren when he shall bring to light the depths of our hearts that we never saw who shall stand before him at his coming thus to lay us open if he enter into judgement with us indeed 5. It reproveth another sort and those are they that when their Consciences are a little galled happily by the Word or some other way they are ready to cry out for the day of the Lord they think mans judgement and mans day is very hard and harsh and hope to be relieved by this day of Jesus Christ doth the Lord make his Ministers sometimes sons of thunder and is not he the Father the God of thunders then is your day brethren so dreadful that you cannot bear it if while he sitteth to purge as a refiners fire you be scorched with that so that you cannot abide the day of his coming do you think to help your selves by putting yourselves upon the everlasting burnings It is true the word of God is a fire and if it get into a sinners Conscience it will scorch and burn and make the soul even fâ—y again but what is this to the flaming vengeance wherewith the Lord Jesus shall be clothed when he appeareth and his coming is you think we handle you roughly sometimes and you shall find more tender usage from the Lord Jesus O he is more merciful full of bowels indeed he is so infinitely more merciful but you will find him to be infinitely just as well as merciful Sinners he hath a Go ye Cursed as well as Come ye blessed to pronounce he will handle you more weightily then Creatures can if you be not ready for his appearing If you cannot bear the smoke of the bottomless pit over which you are held it may be sometimes will it be a mending your condition to leap out of the smoke into the fire It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God therefore it may serve to reprove such as would hasten this day of the Lord and yet can have no hope the Lord knoweth in the Evil day The next Vse shall be then to stir us up every one to wait for this day this coming of Jesus Christ specially the people of God You that hope for mercy in that day as he prayeth for the house of Onesiphorus what should we do but wait for it Yet indeed it may reach the Condition of all whether good or bad If he delay his coming then wait for his coming Onely the waiting of the people of God is somewhat of a different nature And therefore let me speak a little distinctly to the waiting of the Saints of God for that day wrerein there are two or three things included as several branches of this duty 1. There must be a love and desire to this coming of Jesus Christ and this presupposeth that that day and the coming of it will be good to the people of God for we cannot love or desire or will any thing evil under the formality of evil be a good day a day of transcendent gladness of heart when the Bride shall be taken by the Bridegroom presented to his father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing when there shall never be any estrangement between the Lord Jesus and the soul any more never any withdrawing any clouding any disturbance of peace any more will not this be a good day when our grace shall be all glory then shall we appear with him in glory And therefore Job speaks after this manner I know that my redeemer liveth c. in my flesh I shall see God whom I shall see for my self and mine eyes shall behold and not another therefore it is the same body by the which and not a new one which never had union with the soul before though my reins be consumed within me so we read it that is to say though inwards as well as outwards are consumed in the grave yet I shall see him but though is not in the Original and therefore it may be read without my reins are consum'd within me the reins are the s 〈…〉 of the desires therefore I have such desires after that day that even my reins are spent in them and consumed by them this is going forth to meet him indeed It is not every Christian that can desire this but such as are ready for his appearing whereof afterwards But then Secondly 2. In this waiting there is an Act of faith also to be put forth cast not away your confidence that believe there will be such a day it is certain though it be future though we see it not yet because he hath said it therefore believe it and if we so believe we shall not make hast that is to say more hast then is meet press hard forward toward the Mark Phil. 3. 13. 14. we ought to do but we should not take any indirect course to bring our selves to it so much the sooner as some by a dispatching themselves under a temptation when faith is overwhelmed or else by such cruel macerating of the body to beat it down that the frame of it should be quickly be dissolved though we should be weary of the body of sin and we cannot well be weary of it yet faith now should eye that glorious liberty of the sons of God and it maketh it present It is the substance of things hoped for it giveth it a being already and therefore this also is implied in this waiting And then 3. In this waiting brethren for his appearing which is proper to the Saints there is a patient continuance in the waiting a patient continuance in well-doing the Apostle mentioneth there should be desires not a fit and start but a Continuance in them and so a drawing out the acting of faith believing that day will come which shall put an end to all our fightings without and terrors within when we have need of patience when we have done all that we might receive the recompence the promise of temptation whether inward or outward our patience is put to it very sore yea and in a fit of ravishment with Christ then we would have no delay but in heaven we would be even that very moment and those holy flames are sweet but yet if the Lord see it good for Paul to continue in the Body and he must yet undergo more for Christ before he come to raign with him why he is satisfied and so ought we to wait patiently for this his appearing The Virgins waited it should seem and were forward and ready but their patience held not out as it should therefore labour for this But then Secondly For the waiting of Sinners Wait for this day for it will it come
Joseph and therefore God brought them into that distraction they were never awaked until now If men will not awake with calling we use to take them and shake them and use them more hardly The Lord cals brethren you have the voice of the Turtle the joyful sound of the Gospel among you If we awake not what will he do he will take you by the Neck and shake you awake and truly brethren the Lords shakings are terrible shakings he will shake the soul into a trembling and astonishment What was the reason that the Lord followed Jonah with a storm he was asleep his Conscience and Soul asleep and no easie means would awake him the Lord was fain to let loose his hand upon him and by a terrible tempest to awake him sure I am this will not be comfortable 3. Afterwards It will not be quietness nor rest to your souls the Disciples you see when they had slept their sleep had so many reproofs how were they ashamed of what they had done they wist not what to answer him were fain to hang the head It is a disquâ—eting to a mans spirit to be covered with shame and confusion O when shall he come and upbraid the soul with his slothfulness What is this thy love to me now is this thy kindness to thy friend is this thy faith and zeal for me that thou hast fallen asleep and slept so long as thou hast done was my Love and my Communion no more worth is this the esteem thou puttest upon it to fall asleep in the midst of it will you have a word to say to Jesus Christ now in such a case will it not be confusion to us O brethren It may be we may bear the shame and reproof of such a sleeping fit upon our backs all our days Besides can it chuse but be a very great distraction to us that when we are awaked and slept out our time and see then that now Christ is at hand the day of his coming is here and we have our work to do in a great part our Lamps to trim will not this be a distraction to us if we do escape the destruction of that day when a servant that hath a house to make ready sleepeth away his time and by and by tidings come his Master is at hand and the house is unready to receive him O what a hurry and confusion and distraction is he in then and what fruit hath he then of his sleeping it ends in bitterness and trouble and disease and therefore Brethren as we tender our peace our Comfort take heed of sleeping Alas you will say what should we do to keep our selves from this sleeping since it is so dangerous I shall propound a few 〈◊〉 to you 1. Then take heed of the beginnings of declinings Aristotle reports the Lyons of Syria bring forth the first year five whelps the next four the next three and so on until they come to a barrenness like Mandrobulus in Lucian who offered to his god the first year gold the second silver and the third nothing See Trap upon Mat. 24. 13. If we would avoid sleeping we must take heed of slumbering of heaviness of any thing inclining to it Do you not mind whether your Love be as hot in prayer as fervent as heretofore if there be a rebatement of it fear it you are going to sleep Observe your selves brethren Is not your Love grown much colder then it was because iniquity doth abound so that you have prejudices so many love is eaten out O that the Lord would help you to look to it at the beginning 2. Take heed of composing or setling your selves too easily this will provoke to sleep O do not put off your Garments with the spouse Men that would not sleep will hardly put off their Clothes nor lay themselves upon a bed Not as if Saints did lose the habits of holiness or grace But the Acts the outward garments they may say aside and so setle themselves to sleep It is vain for a man to hope to be kept waking in such a case O take heed of loving ease wo be to the n that are at ease in Sion Brethren If you be any thing acquainted with the times or your own hearts you will find enough to exercise you Keep in Action acts dispel the vapors which perswade sleep O brethren time shall come when we shall have our graces continually in act why should we not breath after this even upon earth get as near to it as we can 3. Take heed of putting off the day of the coming of Jesus Christ that seemeth â—ere to be the immediate cause of the Virgins slumber and sleeping while the Bridegroom tarryed they thought they might have time enough likely they might take a nap 〈…〉 unbend a little if we would avoid sleeping labour to keep fresh that upon our spirits the appearing of the Lord Jesus a love of that appearing and a fear of an unsuitableness to that appearing when it shall be O brethren that we could once attain to Jobs pitch to wait for our change every day all the dayes of our appointed time I doubt some of us can scarce say that we â—ait for it any day we put it off and therefore no marvel if we sleep It is that which is present which must affect us such is our Constitution things though never so certain and though never so desirable on the one hand or never so dreadful on the other yet they affect not except they be present some way or other present in our thoughts in our expectations present to our faith which is the evidence of things hoped for as once King James said such a man Preacheth as if hell were at his back ready to swallow him up that will keep a man awake either the joy of heaven set before us and as I may say continually present the coming of Christ Or else the terrors of everlasting burnings the immediate Consequent of this day O who can sleep that hath the coming of the Lord fresh upon his spirit 4. Take heed of Pride and self-confidence You see brethren that hath laid the very Watchmen themselves asleep the three chief Apostles If Sampson had not rested upon his own strength would he when he had so many warnings have committed himself again to the Lap of his Dalilah surely no. 5. In the next place take heed of excess in the use of lawful things O saith our Saviour take heed your hearts be over-charged with surfetting or drunkenness and the cares of this life that will quickly lay a man to sleep You know the thorny ground went far and yet though it endured Persecution and the Cup of trembling could not carry away the soul the Cup of delights in the world it laid them asleep the Sun did not burn them but the thorn choakt them Licitis perimus juvenes the time is short saith the Apostle it is rowled up as
no more to do then will give you leave to maintain your communion with God and make sure of the main thing to get your souls ready and keep them ready for the appearing of Jesus Christ O that we would be perswaded to this end to have every day some converse with this his coming and to labour to work the thought of it upon our hearts that accordingly we may be affected with it as we find our selves ready or unready and so be carried out to make provision for it And how should we willingly submit to any dealings of God with us that tend to make us ready Therefore the Apostle would have them count it all joy when they fell into many temptations or trials this is the knocking of the torch this is the snuffers which must take off the wick of our Lamps and so trim them up we shall find one day we have more cause to be thankful for our afflictions if sanctified then for the contrary dispensation I do verily think there is nothing here below helpeth us forward more And labour to see all working together for this great end that we may be found ready at the appearing of the Lord Jesus And labour for a readiness for an abundant entrance into Glory As the Apostle exhorts them And though at present thou canst not find thou art ready be not discouraged for thou mayst be ready in a good part and for the main and yet not know that thou art ready only stick not here let not fear so overcharge thee as to hinder thee and weaken thy hands but make it thy work with thy whole might to make ready for his coming pray hard study thy heart much stir up thy soul and the graces that are there though much corruption do appear the ashes fly about their ears in this searching yet search and try and yet not so much blow the little spark as to blow it out but labour to cherish it increase it O Lord increase our faith then corruption will down then communion with Christ will rise higher and higher for it is with us indeed according to our faith therefore whatever we do take heed of what weakens our faith of discouraging desponding thoughts study promises the necessity of God in Christ O the unsearchable treasures of comfort that are in every promise in every letter of his Name Labour to live by faith brethren and as that groweth all the rest will come on and thou wilt come at last to be sensible that thou dost believe to feel it and know it and then thy readiness for Christ will be more then ordinary and thy entrance abundant into this Glory The next thing we are to consider in this coming of Christ is that they went in with him to the marriage 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The note will be this That such as are ready for the coming of Jesus Christ they go in with him to the Marriage with the Bridegroom Here is to be noted then 1. The Marriage and 2. The going in with Christ the Bridegroom to the Marriage and some what said for the opening of them And then we shall confirm the Doctrine and apply it First The Marriage here what is meant by that Here then by Marriage we may understand a Marriage-feast the consummation of the Marriage and the Marriage-feast made in token of joy nothing was more ordinary then this at Marriages to make feasts As in the example of Sampson at his Marriage they made a feast And so Laban made a feast of seven daies long for the Marriage of his daughter fulfill her week and then I will give thee the other also And so again in Cana of Galilee you see they were at a Marriage-feast So now at the Mariage of the Lamb of the Lord Jesus there is a feast a Marriage-feast Yea but you will say this is not ground enough to understand here by the Marriage a Marriage-feast for they are distinct things It is true they are distinct but yet in ordinary practice they were not separated one from another but went so together that usually in Greek and Latin the Feast is comprehended under the word for Marriage if not principally signified in many places So in that of Laban he made a Feast saith the seventy Interpreters he made a Marriage So there was a Marriage in Cana of Galilee that is to say a Marriage-feast was made there And so it seems the Syriach renders it usually in the New Testament by a Feast as Grotius upon this place and Matthew in the beginning noteth Therefore here by Marriage we will understand a Marriage-feast So Esther 1. 3. The King made a Marriage-feast Now the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a Feast both the kingdom of Grace and the kingdom of Glory The kingdom of Grace is a Feast and a rich Feast full of royal dainties as you may find by several Scriptures In that of Matthew The Kingdom of Heaven shall be compared to a certain King who made a Marriage for his Son which the Syriach well terms a Marriage-feast or Banquet which Matthew cals a Dinner and Luke cals a Supper and indeed it is both for the Father Son and Spirit do come in and dine and sup with us they do continually eat bread at his Table as Mephibosheth did at Davids Table 2 Sam. 9. 7. So it is clear Behold I make a Feast of fat things of wine on the Lees a Feast to all Nations what is that but the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Ordinances thereof and Christ held forth in them to be a Feast to every one that will come to him as the carkass is to the Eagles as the Lord sometimes in Scripture invites the fowls of heaven to a Feast he maketh for them that is to say to the dead carkasses of his enemies but here to the carkass of his Son who is slain for Sinners a crucified Christ is the carkass he is the fatted Calf indeed he is the kidneys of the wheat the fat the finest of it his flesh is meat indeed and drink indeed Now this must be spiritually understood not carnally the Kingdom of Heaven is not in meat and drink much less in eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Christ carnally as the Papists say but spiritually It is joy peace and righteousness joy in the holy Ghost here is the Feast If here below we must know that this Feast may be lookt upon either according to the externals or else the internals of it and yet in both respects spiritual The Jews that fell in the wilderness did all eat the same spiritual meat and drink the same spiritual drink and yet they fell in the wilderness The ordinances the word the sealing ordinances baptism and the Lords supper sitting at the Lords Table these are the externals of the Feast that many Carrion-Crow may come to And you see there in the Gospel He
the evil savour of their sins upon them such as have their prison cloaths their rags by the exactest righteousness that ever creature performed upon them no no you must first come to Jesus Christ have these bolts knockt off He it is that looseth the prisoners you must first have your â—ilthy garments taken away from you and be robed with the royal apparrel such as is put upon them whom the King of Heaven delights to honour with so near an aporoach to himself for ever you must have the savour of his Oyntments anointing â—our head his Spirit poured out upon you first brethren as they used to annoint their heads with sweet oyl at their seasts before you can come to that feast sinners do not think you shall croud into heaven in the condition you are in but be perswaded in the Name of Jesus Christ first to come to him to get your hands and hearts and all washed in innocency it self in the blood of the spotless Lamb else believe it there will be no entrance for you 2. There is an external communion also which men that have no more but a profession may have eating the spiritual bread and drinking the Sacramental feast brethren which the Saints ought to come to have communion with the Lord Jesus and his people will until he come again it is not an indifferent thing Do this in remembrance of me and as often as you do it ye keep in remembrance the Lord his death until he come Now brethren we do immediatly invite you to come to Jesus Christ to close with him that you may be washed and cleansed through faith in his blood and have your hearts purified by faith in him and then to this Sacramental Communion with Jesus Christ which is a sign and pledge of this Marriage-feast in heaven as plainly our Saviour tels his Disciples I wâ—ll henceâ—oâ—th drink no more of this fruit of the Vine until I drink it new with you in my Fathers Kingdom Well this is but the first Secondly brethren that by your now coming in to Jesus Christ you do as I may say take up your room in your places before hand at his Table in his heavenly Kingdom In which respect the Saints now are said to sit together in heavenly places and hereby you will come to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus in his Resurrection and Ascention and his Work in heaven which is to prepare a place for his people and as I may say to keep it for them and as one sweetly expresseth it wriâ—ing as I may say every ones name over his Mansion over his Place even with his own blood that none shall take it from them over their heads If Jesus Christ prepared not a place for you in heaven now brethren you will find no room at his Table Therefore now brethren Let me press this Exhortation upon you that you would come to him now even now while it â—s called to day it is his voyce brethren that speaks to you O that your ears were bored to hear the fatted Calf is killed the Lord Jesus is Crucified for sinners the Wine is mingled all is ready there wants nothing now but your coming to Dine and Sup with Jesus Christ yea indeed but your opening to him he knocks he will come to you to feast with you bring his royal dainties with him and his wine of the Kingdom his Royal Wine with him O his love which is better then wine if you will but open to him O do not nectere moras now can the Lord Jesus brethren find in his heart to have his blood poured out to become royal Wine indeed full of spirits sweet and cordial to a poor fainting soul to give his own flesh to eat which is bread indeed it is virtually all dainties therefore the Scripture setteth it forth by Wine and Milk and Honey and Bread and Marrow and Fatness the fat of the Kidniâ—s of the Wheat by Apples and Flagons Is he willing brethren to be the Feast to be fed upon and shall we not come O therefore come where the Carkass is follow not your Carrion any more the stirâ—king loathsome delights and pleasures of sin for a season Be ye no more drunk with wine but be ye filled with the Spirit of Christ saith the Apostle be Inebriated as some read it abundantly satisfied with the goodness of his House and with the flowings of his heart towards you poor sinners But me thinketh now I hear the returns that sinners make to Jesus Christ to this invitation say some I have a feast already Stoln waters are sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant and shall we forsake these delights we have in the world for we know not what Ah poor souls you know not what you say if this be the language of your hearts If you mouths were not much out of taste you would never judge sin a sweet thing a poor child of God that hath his taste healed though but in part he drinketh nothing in the world so bitter to him as sin that which goeth down so merrâ—ly with many Were not the Israelites mouths much out of taste when they preferred their Onions and Garlick stinking things of Egypt before their sweet their heavenly Manna their Angels bread fit for them to eat or which came by their Ministry 2. Remember this brethren though it be sweet to the taste it turns to bitterest gall as the Wise man speaks of wine that moveth it self aright it sparkles is lovely sweet to the taste at last it biteth like a Serpent and stingeth like an Adâ—er Behold such are all the delights of sin and whether you believe it or no now you shall be sure to feel it after a little season for your pleasures are but for a season So that you know not what you say if any thus excuse himself for coming Again Shall you change for you know not what Indeed you do not know for eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither can it enter into the heart of man to conceive before he hath had experience of it himself O that I might but perswade you brethren to make a tryal and if you do not find one days communion of Jesus Christ be not worth a thousand with your companions in sin then believe not this Gospel any more there is much sweetness indeed in the breasts of the world to a wordly Pallate O what drink golden drink do poor Earth-worms drink and this is their Nectar Believe it brethren if the Lord do but bring you and set your mouths to the wounds of Jesus Christ set your mouths to the sweet promises of pardoning grace and purging mercy to draw from them strong consolation you will find the other but Gall and Wormwood to you O let them perish saith Galeac and his money with him that preferreth all the world before an hours communion with Jesus Christ I pray you therefore do not
excuse your selves with them in the Gospel I have bought this and that and I cannot come I have so many Custodiums I cannot mind these things I have so much to do in the world and it is to be minded A poor ditch-water that is preferred before this Wine of the Kingdom will dross and dung meat and husks which is Swines meat nourish your souls to eternal life make as much account brethren of these things as you will to slight now the matters of eternity time will come when you would give all the fruit of your labours if it were a thousand times more for one sight of Jesus Christ one taste of his love one hours communion withhim before you go hence and be no more Alas But some will say I am a poor sinner the vilest filthy creature lame and blind and have all my life time been feeding with Swine upon husks and swill and trash these delights of sin and pleasures of the world O my days are consumed in sin and doth he invite such as I and may I come Yea brethren you find the poor lame and blind from the hedges and high-ways side were invited to his feast if you come but to Jesus Christ he will open the eys of the blind he hath eyeâ—alve for you and he will be legs to the lame and cloathing to the naked if you do but come to him put on Christ It is not any other infirmities which will abide upon the best of Gods people in part that can exclude us or cast us out but only the want of the wedding Garment if a man be never so well furnished otherwise as he thinketh O therefore come Brethren the Feast is made for such as you you are invited to it the simple the man void of understanding that is to say the sinner for sin is folly in Scripture-phrase you are invited to turn in this day to the Feast the Marriage-feast which is begun here upon earth but will end in heaven therefore be not discouraged Ah but you will say I have no such appetite to the Feast to hunger and thirst and is there any invited to come to it but such as have an appetite what shall they do there I answer no marvel thou hast no great appetite until thou hast more communion with him if thou hast had any And no marvel if thou hast no appetite if thov hast never been with Jesus for thou hast so long lived upon trash that it takes away the stomack to the sweetest and wholsomest food in the world But withal remember this who ever will is invited to come brethren and take freely It may be thou dost not find poor sinner such a strong desire such a breaking of soul for longing but hast thou a Will wouldst thou have Christ wouldst thou have his body this meat indeed this blood this drink indeed this wine of the Kingdom and begin this Feast this Marriage-feast upon earth why dost thou not take him then come and take it freely O that this might be the day of his power to many of your poor souls that you might become a willing people that you might have a heart to close with him to take him upon his own terms that you might begin your heaven upon earth your communion with Jesus Christ I will but add one word more and that is this It is no indifferent thing whether you close with this invitation or no there is a necessity lies upon you to come to the Marriage-feast except you resolve upon it to perish for ever God he was wroth and sent forth his armies to destroy c. Ah what gnashing of teeth will there be to poor sinners in hell when they shall see their neighbours who heard this Gospel with them sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob at the table of Christ in his kingdom and themselves cast out Ah brethren I beg for you a believing heart you must either feast with Christ or starve for ever with Satan and his Angels and then not a drop will be had to cool your tongues now flagons are tendered you now wine and milk without money and price now rivers of pleasures at Gods right hand and fulness of joy is promised you is held out to you cometh a begging to you Ah then then brethren shall you beg for a drop and shall not have it rivers of burning brimstone will be your bathing when the Saints are swallowed up of those rivers of pleasures at his right hand then will you be chewing upon your gall and wormwood then will you be breaking your teeth upon your gravel when the Saints are drinking this new wine in the kingdom of their Father with Jesus Christ Ah think of it brethren think of it you have now your good things many of your eyes stand out with fatness you spend a world upon your lusts live like Epicures wantonizing in the abundance of your enjoyments how woful will that sentence be Son remember thou in thy life time hadst thy good things and now thou art tormented hadst thy wine and drinking unto drunkenness now the stings of it abide upon thee the Saints have their worst first and the best kept until the last but you have your consolation in this world and the wine of astonishment will be your portion for ever if you will not be perswaded Therefore take your choice brethren I set life and death before you and consider of it How will you escape if you neglect this great salvation you may now be received to the Feast the door stands open it will not alway be so it will be shut against you O how will you answer it another day before the Lord Jesus if you now trample under foot his blood and precious offers of his Grace though by the hand and mouth of a poor worm like your selves Thirdly Then Brethren let as many as have received power to believe in the Lord Jesus and so are admitted to the beginning of this Marriage-supper upon earth to inward fellowship with Jesus Christ in the Graces of his Spirit and merits of his death and resurrection labour brethren to prepare your selves for this Feast in heaven by feeding heartily upon these dainties upon earth the more men eat and drink the more their stomacks are extended usually and the more they will receive surely it is so in spirituals the more a soul feeds upon Christ and the more abundantly he drinketh the more he may it enlargeth the desires Hitherto saith our Saviour you have asked nothing little or nothing Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full the more abundantly the soul is satisfied with the goodness of the house of God the more will the mouth be opened to receive now as our capacities do enlarge so much the more fitter are we for this Marriage-feast O therefore let us not come to the table of the Lord brethren this sign and
pledge of that Marriage-feast in heaven but with mouths opened souls enlarged that we may eat and drink abundantly he that cometh hungry will hardly go away without his fill we come with narrow hearts mouths half-opened and therefore go away with little or nothing Fourthly This should much edge our desires after Heaven and the glory that is to be revealed it is a feast who is not willing to go to a Feast if he be hungry and pinching and yet alas how backward are we for heaven how do we hang back it is a sign we have little desire after that fulness of communion with Jesus Christ all is not right with us we are not ready when we can be contented to sit down by the pipe and may go to the fountain to the rivers the ocean of unspeakable delights in the Lord. O therefore brethren eye heaven more and the Glory of it this Marriage-feast the eye affecteth the heart though it is true it doth not appear distinctly what we shall be yet some hints are given whereby we may conceive how transcendent the delights of heaven will be above all we enjoy below What Solomon dehorts men from as an occasion of lusting after wine look not upon the wine when it is red when it giveh his colour in the cup moves it self aright when it sparkles and hath a pure colour if you look you will be enticed by it But here is a feast of wine of new wine more excellent transcendent full of spirits and vigour look upon it brethren with the eye of faith and serious contemplation sometimes behold how it sparkles what a spirit there is in this wine that to all eternity maketh the Spirits of the Saints to exult and triumph in his glorious praise a duty so far above our cold and heavy frames here below O methinks this should somewhat quicken us and raise our desires to heaven to be with Christ drinking this wine new with him in his kingdom that here we drink only sacramentally and these are not deceitful meats your expectations cannot be so high of heaven but you shall find abundantly more to admire Fifth Use shall be a word of comfort and encouragement to the people of God according to the necessities of their various conditions if so be that the Saints shall enter in with Christ unto the Marriage unto this Feast First then Here is matter of encouragement against the troubles and afflictions the Saints meet with in the world and from the world It is true this is a time wherein at present the world smiles upon Religion but they are but like the Crocodiles smiles ready to devour them notwithstanding yea indeed her very embraces are killing But if times should but turn a little the world would be the world still it hates the Saints and it would discover it self what it is more plainly then now it doth the times will not bear hostility against the people of God but suppose such an hour of temptation may come upon us this may encourage us against it brethren What though the world may give you gall and vinegar to drink as they did to Jesus Christ before you are now going ready to enter in with the Bridegroom to the Marriage-feast of new wine and drink with him at his Table in the Fathers kingdom to eternity Indeed brethren there is so much refreshing to a poor creature in this Feast of wine on the lees upon earth in the Church in this poor and dark communion with him that it is enough to allay the bitterest cup which God puts into his peoples hands to drink witness this comfortable Prophesie Though you have the bread of afflictions and water of adversities yet will I not remove your Teachers any more into a corner give wine to him that c. Prov. 31. 6. This will sweeten all one taste of honey and sweetness at the end of the Rod and all wicked men are but Gods rod to chasten his people I say this taste enlightneth the eyes reviveth the poor drooping fainting soul Ah what are the joys of Heaven then Again suppose it be not a persecution for righteousness sake but it is from the hand of God for thy sins that thou smartest yet this brethren methinks if our hearts were more upon it would allay the smart there will be a time when there will be no room for one sigh nor one groan more no interruption will be in your joy Yea suppose it be sin that most troubles thee now and temptation and this is a bitter thing indeed to a gracious heart O remember brethren that in the Marriage-feast there will be a swallowing up of all these things Secondly It may be encouragement to a poor soul that longs and presseth hard after a fuller communion and fellowship with Christ and cannot reach it but still let them attain to what they can their desires are higher and reaching after more and that desire speaks emptiness in part and hunger and that hath pain the soul must needs be restless in such a condition O remember brethren there will be an entrance into the Marriage-feast where you shall ever be with the Lord you shall be ever drinking with him this new wine in his Fathers Kingdom at his Kingdom suppose there be not that to satisfie and fill thee in the pipe though the Conduits run wine and the Ordinances be a feast of fat things still thou wouldst have more there brethren your desires will be swallowed up your enjoyments will be above your desires I know it is a sight of Christ crucified sitting with us at the Table which is the reviving of the poor soul but alas he quickly loseth that poor imperfect glimpse he had of him but there shall thy eye be satisfied with seeing him in his glory and thine ear with hearing his blessed voice there shall thy soul be filled indeed and alway filled because alway swallowed up in this fellowship and communion with the Lord Jesus 3. It is matter of encouragement to such as it may be are not admitted to every dish or every course in this Feast of fat things this Marriage-feast upon earth it may be the people of God may not be satisfied in some to admit them though the Lord have received them it appears not to them it may be their own spirits are not free to enjoy them in such a way as they are to be had in the places where they live some stumbling block or other is in the way which they cannot get over and so they mourn after them but cannot enjoy them O that God would remove all stumbling blocks and help his people so to prize them as not upon every slight matter to be kept from them but suppose thou canst not come poor soul and yet thy soul longs for them and haply more then many that do enjoy them if thou couldst without sin Be of good comfort though it is true thou maist lose
now the time of our working and Gods waiting is at an end God hath long waited to be gracious to us but now there is an end of waiting he seeth it would do no good as long as sinners could for sorrow or pain or death hold their vanities keep their sins their sweet morsels they would never spit them out therefore now he will wait no more though men were unready when Christ cometh yet if he would stay a while longer wait a year longer O if it might be but a Sabbath but a day what new creatures would men become they will promise fair No no the time of waiting is done he will not stay a jot they have had warning enough the cry hath past before him often enough Behold the Bridegroom cometh go ye forth to meet him but you have not taken the warning now when he cometh and receiveth his own which were ready for him no more waiting the door is shut Though here in the Kingdom of grace God may be intreated to spare a barren tree or Vineyard a year or two longer yet when the time of waiting is at an end and he seeth nothing will do he will down with them by the roots into the fire with them so it is no time for us to work then to think of puting on Christ then if we would gather Manna it must be upon the six daies there was none to be found upon the seventh If we understand this of the day of the resurrection from the dead then it is clear as the tree falleth so it lyoth either hell-ward or heaven-ward But if of the time of death truly Brethren how ever this may sometimes through the exceeding riches of his grace be a time of repentance and faith to some yet ordinarily it is not so Alas they have enough to do to bear the weakness upon them they can mind little else or if they do return it is but feignedly for the most part with Judas and usually when a sinner hath so long trampled under foot the blood of Jesus Christ the Lord giveth them up to hardness of heart that they shall never repent or believe seeing they shall see and not perceive c. least they should be converted and he should heal them as it is there in the Revelations Let him that is filthy be filthy still let him that is an hypocrite be an hypocrite still this is fearful indeed So much for the Arguments For the Application Then Brethren What have we all of us to bless the Lord for that yet the door is not shut against us as we may hope indeed if God have sealed up any heart under hardness because of its long resisting the Holy-Ghost woful is his condition but doth he not breath now and then and stir and strive that is a good sign he hath not done with thee yet his waiting and striving time is not over he hath not given thee over yet c. What have we to bless the Lord for what are our lives Brethren good to us for in any respect besides but that we might work out our salvation make sure of God and Christ and heaven get our wedding-garment on put on the Lord Jesus for righteousness and holiness that our nakedness may not appear for heaven will not bear the nakedness of a sinner now though sinners have neglected this opportunity alas how many of us have we are exceeding busie making provision for our lusts our pride our luxury our backs our bellies provision for our wives our children but none for our poor souls and yet notwithstanding this he waiteth the door standeth open If you had many of you been cut off a year or a moneth ago and the grave had shut her mouth upon you would you not have found heaven shut against you and hell opening her mouth wide for to swallow you up Yea Brethren if this day he should come Ah I fear I fear Brethren as secure as many of us are now and sure of our conditions we should find the gate clapt against our souls O therefore Brethren bless the Lord admire his patience and long-suffering that yet draweth out our day of grace that yet holdeth his bowels open his arms open to receive us This is the first Secondly Then it may serve to lay before us the doleful condition of poor trifling creatures trifling professors that notwithstanding all the ado they make with their Lamps trimming of them and going up and down to buy they are found unready the door is clapt against them the Lord grant that none of your poor souls may ever see that woful day Brethren you will then know to your bitterness and sorrow what it is to sin away a day of grace an opportunity while the door stood open to receive you Ah surely there will nothing wound poor sinners more then this the time was I might have been happy I might have had heaven the bowels of the Lord Jesus stood open to me as well as to others but now alas it is past did it make the Lord Jesus weep for Jerusalem and was not her condition sad then and will it not make your hearts bleed O sure it cannot be but every such thought to Esau prophane Esau poor Esau when the blessing was gone he sought it with tears every thought sure of this time was I might have had the blessing but wretch that I was I sinned it away I despised it preferred a mess of pottage before it and therefore now there is no recovery of it Every thought sure in hell that heaven gate did stand open to you sinners you had as fair offers of grace and as long a season and opportunity to close with Christ as others but now they are gone will fetch blood from your very hearts and souls O the condition is sad and doleful Thirdly It shall be a word of Exhortation to us all that we would lay these things to heart It may be we have not so much minded them If this be true Brethren What need had we to look to it that we be found ready to enter which is an Exhortation I have already prest upon you there is a promise left of entering a threatning also that some shall not enter even as many as are not ready you see it here by the wise Virgins who enter and the foolish against whom the door is shut and the Apostle to the Hebrews Take heed lest any of you fall short through unbelief as those fell short the Apostle maketh that use of it to warn the Hebrews though Disciples in profession and many of them doubtless in reality such so here from this example I desire Brethren both mine own and your hearts may be quickned to look about us lest when all comes to all we have the gate of heaven clapt upon us 1. Then you that are yet in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity have yet your filthy garments upon you your rotten
they will they think if they have but time to cry Lord Lord though it be when the Gate is shut as these foolish Virgins it will do Ah brethren if the foolish Virgins had been acquainted with this that they must have their oyl from Christ or else they should never hold out nor enter with him would they not instead of those trifling impertinent endeavours made some application to him all that while but they saw it not it was hid from their eyes The Lord will give Grace and Glory and never will he give Glory sure if he give not Grace O for hearts to believe this it would be a cure of this disorder Fourthly Because of the enmity that is in our hearts against Grace nothing is more contrary wherevever Grace cometh there is a continuall quarrel between it and sin the holy Ghost when he cometh to dwell in a heart he knoweth he must have no peace there but continually lust against the flesh and endure the lustings of the flesh against it self O brethren then where a heart is altogether in sin what an enemy is it to Grace and to Christ as the Author of Grace so saith the Apostle you while you were enemies in your minds through wicked works hath he reconciled now a man will hardly come to an enemy to help him except he be in very great straits indeed as when men are sinking into hell then they will come to Christ for entrance into heaven for then their misery is present and imminent they see there is no avoiding of it hell is at their backs the avengers of blood are now upon them ready to hurry them away to destruction therefore now it is high time for them to cry Lord Lord open to us but while they can but keep these things at a distance put off the thoughts of heaven and hell they care not for coming to Christ at all yet as great as their enmity is it may be overlaid by the present apprehensions of their necessity and danger they are in if they come not to him and this is that brings in any soul to Christ for Grace here while he is dispensing Grace until the Lord let the Sinner see his sins in order before him see the hand-writing upon the wall against him Mene Mene until God write his condemnation upon his Conscience in bloody Characters and visible that he that runs may read it he careth not for coming to Christ for Grace and so for heaven if a man neglect all this yet when God sheweth him the rivers of burning brimstone sheweth the teeth of the worm which is ready to fasten upon him opens a mans ears to hear Satan come jingling with his chain to fetch his soul to tear it away whether he will or no O then though he hath no mind to go to Christ now he will go and cry Lord Lord open to me Why But you will say If he be such an enemy to Grace and to Christ as dispensing Grace is he not much more an enemy to Christ as glorious and receiving sinners to Glory Yea brethren I believe for my part that they are such enemies to an heavenly work a glorious state that if they were admitted with such hearts as they have it would be a weary place to them they cannot endure the reflection of the sun upon a burnish'd soul how will they endure the face of the Son of righteousness himself but the sence of their danger and looking upon heaven as a place of freedom from the torments of the condemned not as upon an holy place wherein Grace is made glorious therefore they desire to enter alas what would these foolish Virgins have done there if they had entred in this unready condition heaven would have been too hot to hold them but freed they would be from misery happy they would be poor creatures though they mind not that the happiness of heaven is such as if they had not had Grace first to make them meet for it it would have been no happiness to them What is more tedious to them then the Glory of Holiness upon the Saints then spiritual communion with God they cannot bear this All delight ariseth from suittableness between the object and faculty and all grief and trouble from the unsuitableness of the object and faculty and truly Grace glorified is so much the more unsuitable but yet I say they apprehending that misery is approaching would go any wihther for shelter Fifthly and lastly Because now they can keep their lusts no longer therefore now they would have heaven as long as the sinner can keep his lust he will be for no other Master nor Lord he cares for no other pleasure the pleasures of sin are the fools paradise to the wanton and so is sport and pastime to the young gallant they care not for any thing serious If men could keep the world for ever they would never desire to come to heaven they could be contented to have their heaven upon earth their inward thought is they shall continue for ever they call their houses after their own names and they think as they would have it now when they see they can hold the world no longer now they would have heaven therefore they care not for Grace so long as they can have their fill of these delights if men be Hypocrites close Hypocrites have no open prophaness or lust yet some secret Dalilah they have that they delight themselves with but when the pangs of hell begin to catch hold upon men when their consciences do catch of the fire of hell and this to flame they see they are going and there is no other way with them but one and being at the brink as I may say the flame catcheth upon them as it did those Executioners in Daniel then O for heaven Lord Lord deliver us save us For the Application This may serve then in the first place to justifie the Lord Jesus let him be for ever clear when he judgeth and justified when he speaks though he speaks condemnation and everlasting separation from himself to many men at the last day or at his coming to Summon if you call then and he answer you not if you cry Lord Lord open to us and he give you this answer I know you not blame your selves you cannot but justifie him why because you might have had heaven and salvation in his ways If you had sought early you should have found but you never seek him until the Gate be shut against you as long as you can keep the world and your lusts you will not come unto him that you might have Pardon might have grace that you might live for ever now your sins leave you the world leaves you or you must leave the world they are ready to take away your souls from you now you will come and cry Lord Lord open to us is it not just and righteous if he cast you out Secondly It
the heart of a sinner that was little worth before becometh a golden Vial full of odours it s concocted then the spices flow forth in the garden inclosed Seventhly the Sun dispels the mists and fogs which are unwholsom would poison the air yea and thick clouds which would muffle up the Sun from us we know this by daily experience So doth the Lord Jesus Brethren all the mists fogs and clouds of sin he dispels them for his name sake he blots out the transgressions of his people as a cloud It s the very heat Brethren of the love of Jesus Christ that consumeth as I may say melts away those clouds that they intercept not our communion and fellowship with him O! there is not a day but the streamings of our filthy hearts would gather into a thick cloud and cover his face from us were it not that the warm beams of his love did continually dispell them and scatter them we should never enjoy the light of his countenance an hour together if it were not for this and for his names sake he doth it And so the cloud of sorrow let the diseases of the people of God be what they will never so great and black clouds they are compassed about with their day is a day of gloominess and thick darkness how come these to be dispelled is it not the Sun of righteousness breaking forth on poor sinners that doth it one sight of Christ as reconciled to him puts an end unto all Eighthly the Sun is the cause of the sweet intercourse between the earth and the clouds and the clouds and the earth for its the Sun that exhales the vapours from the earth and draweth them up into the middle region of the air and there with the cold of the air its condensed into a cloud and hangs until it be dissolved and render it self to the earth again to make it fruitful and so the dew is in like manner begotten only is not far lifted up above the earth and with the cold of the night is congealed into little drops and so sweetly distills So the Lord Jesus he draweth out the hearts the affections of his people in prayers sweet breathings after himself and these prayers come down again sometimes on the same soul sometimes on another place they fall but abundance of sweetness and blessing and mercy is poured out by this means on poor creatures whereby they become fruitful Ninthly The Lord Jesus may be compared to the Sun for that the Sun Giant-like rejoyceth to run his race and who can turn him back alas all the clouds that gather about the Sun that to our apprehensions might haply seem to threaten a blotting of it out a clogging of it they are all below it It s true prayer once did hold him in his course and it looks like a word of command Sun stand thou still and so prayer may do much with Jesus Christ but not hinder him in his course riding on in his triumphant charriot conquering and to conquer enlightning poor dark places and people Before we come to the other we will a little apply this to our selves First then Brethren if the Lord Jesus be a Sun then they that have this Sun risen on them they are children of the day if the Sun be up it must needs be day and is not the Sun up Brethren among us is not the Lord Jesus gone forth as a Gyant to run his race among us we now have a day of Grace among us and how long or how short it may be I know not Brethren it seemeth to be declining in some respects and the shadows of the evening growing low O that we would be perswaded and stirred up to do the work of our day in this our day our great work which is to work out our salvation with fear and trembling I doubt if the Sun should set and the night come on you wherein no man can work you should have this work yet to do many of you especially brethren you into whose hearts the Lord Jesus this Sun of righteousness hath shone O how should you walk as children of the day not in surfetting and drunkenness I mean not with meat and fire only but with any creature-comforts and delights on this side Christ away then with all the works of darkness all practices which did suit better with the times of ignorance and blindness and now walk as becometh the light and the day that the Sun may not be ashamed to behold you Secondly Such as the Lord Jesus then hath not risen on they are yet in darkness children of the night and walk at uncertainties know not whither they go Alas many a poor soul thinketh he is as sure to go to heaven as he is to die when he is in the very rode to hell only some go in the broad trodden path open prophane impudent sinners some steal thither behind the hedge they are going to hell but in a closure walk hidden from others and from themselves Many night-Birds there are among us children of the night indeed though in one respect many of us may be said to be children of the day because Jesus Christ in the dispensation of the Gospel is held forth unto us as they are said to be the children of the Kingdom yet in respect of the inward revealing of Christ in the heart I doubt many of us are strangers to it though we fly about in the light yet we are but Owls and Bats darkness agreeth better with us our souls are full of darkness our works are nothing else but works of darkness How sad a consideration is this Brethren that in the midst of light we should be children of darkness 〈◊〉 noon-day when the Gospel is at the heighth and Christ the Sun as it were at the meridian we should be stumbling and groping as at midnight not knowing whither we go Then thirdly As there is this difference of persons where Christ cometh from them where he cometh not so it is in families and people Brethren what a sad people and family is that where they are all in Egyptian darkness Jesus Christ is not risen unto any soul among them they know him not experimentally but they are all in blindness Alas none can help another the Israelites and Egyptians though they dealed among one another in one family there was light in the other there was nothing but gross darkness that might be felt O who would live in such a family who would not haste out of such a condition you would think that a sad conditioned house that the light of the Sun and warmth of the Sun never entreth into of all places you would not live in it this is is nothing brethren to the total absence of Christ where neither Husband nor Wife nor Fellow-servant nor Children none of them have had the Lord Jesus shining into their hearts Gross darkness shall cover the earth saith the
Prophet But on Zion shall the Glory of the Lord arise Look into what families brethren you put your selves no man would content himself to live in a dungeon continually that family is worse where Jesus Christ hath never come Fourthly Then take notice how sweet a condition it must needs be to have an union and fellowship with Jesus Christ especially where that fellowship is constant truly light is sweet And it is a pleasant thing to behold the Sun saith Solomon but alas that is nothing to a sight of Christ poor sinners in a dark condition when they become sensible of it will tell you what its worth to have a glimpse of Christ of the light of his countenance poor creatures that for half an year together are without the Sun will tell you how sweet a condition it is to have the Sun shining on them Mary Magdalen will tell you when she wanted her Saviour her Lord with many tears what a want it is and what a joy to have his presence O what light is there in that soul what joy what peace what comfort what warmth what melting over the Lord Jesus it is a little heaven on earth indeed this enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Fifthly We may hence learn then brethren whence cometh all our light and all our warmth and all our fruitful influences whereby we spring forth and bring forth abundantly it is from the Lord Jesus Thy heart was as very a dungeon as any full of darkness and bugs frogs and serpents and how came it to be lightned but that the Sun of God was pleased to shine on thee yea into thy heart more then another and freely with his presence to scatter those lusts thy soul was full of before Art thou enabled so much as to bud to think a good thought its from hence because that the Sun of righteousness hath arisen on thee thou hast received some influence from him doth it come to a blossom a good word holy communication its from the same principle doth the fruit knit and grow up into a ripeness increase into an holy action an holy walking with God whence is it but from the Sun of righteousness doth the Marigold open its according to the heat of the Sun do our hearts open are our hearts enlarged hence it is Brethren forget not the fountain we are apt to think the sparks are of our own kindling c. Sixthly Then Brethren we should hence learn to whom to your all give the Praise the Glory of all Let the Moon and Stars then fall down before this Sun as it was in Josephs dream they shine but with a borrowed light and the borrower is servant to the lender How do the Birds each morning chant and chirp when their little spirits are revived by the Sun rising on them and shall our mouths be sealed up when the Sun of righteousness hath visited our hearts quickned them enlightned them The Stars you know appear not when the Sun ariseth in his Glory O dear friends so should we when the Name of Christ cometh in competition with our names not appear be content to be nothing to decrease so he may increase Let him have the Glory of all Seventhly Then Brethren learn to prize the Lord Jesus set a true esteem on him should we want the Sun for one moneth what a value should we set on it it is true worth indeed brethren to value things by their enjoyment rather then by their 〈…〉 an t now thou hast the Sun-shine it may be many a sweet refreshing warming from the Lord Jesus O prize it every one is looking at and admiring a Comet but who considereth the Sun who admireth that prizeth that how much ado hath the Lord Jesus with us to bring us to this he is fain to put us in a dungeon to make us bear the iniquities of our youth to hide his face to make us walk in darkness before we will prize it what a grief is this to him is it not a trouble to our selves and what a folly is it Brethren to grieve the Lord Jesus and grieve our own souls when we might save all this O labour then to do it beg such a heart of Jesus Christ Eighthly Then Brethren shut not the windows against the shinings of this Sun of righteousness sometimes the Lord Jesus getteth within a sinner for all his fence and guard light cometh in at some chink beginneth to discover the condition in which he is sheweth him the filthy vermine that are ready to run away with his soul that the heart swarms withal that he saw not before and yet alas he maketh a shift to clap to the window to smother the light with both hands puts it away he desires not the presence of it this is a sad condition when men are ignorant and will be ignorant when the Lord Jesus would have healed them and they would not be healed O how canst thou tell whether ever thou shalt be healed till thou die O take heed Brethren of this it is the way to bring the blackness of darkness on you to provoke God to clap the everlasting chains of darkness on you wherein you may be reserved to the last day Oh it is a sad saying that Let him that is ignorant be ignorant still the time may come when the hour of darkness shall fall on your souls at the day of death that you would give a world then but for a glimpse of that light you now shut out and fence your selves against when your works of darkness and secret pleasures of sin for whose sake you have done it do fly in your face buffet you ready to tear your throat out hale you before the judgement-seat of Christ O then for a sight of Christ but he is far from you no he would have enlightned you but you would not Therefore now the things which belong to your peace are hid from your eyes He might pitty Jerusalem and weep over her but alas her condition was past cure I would the condition of many a poor soul here were not such yea Brethren the people of God themselves take heed of sh 〈…〉 ing out the light of this Sun of righteousness for what will become of the light in the room when its fullest of light if the windows be clapt too will it not be cut off will it not become a dungeon we complain many times of a dark and sad and dead condition the truth is Brethren we have shut him out we have thought Oh now we are full now we have knowledge and heat enough we have been so warmed with the influence of Christ on us now it matters not for altogether so strict a walking now we have gotten the light of his countenance this is a secret frowardness of our hearts and then he is provoked to withdraw and alas we are in darkness again Therefore take we heed Brethren how we hide the face of God in
Christ from our selves by such wantonness under the beams of Grace Ninthly Then Brethren learn we not to rest in the common influences of this Sun the Lord Jesus he shineth on the good and bad Brethren but he shineth only on the heads of some but into the hearts of others as the Apostle saith the passages between the head and the heart are opened and the light seizeth on the will and affections as well as the understanding the Sun may shine on thee thou mayst have much knowledge and an head full of notion and yet be but a weed for it shines on the weeds as well as on the flowers on the dunghill as well as on the garden the dunghil never savours so bad as when the Sun beateth most on it O what steams are there then enough to poyson a man Ah Brethren the shining of Jesus Christ on some poor sinners what doth it but raise steams of lust within men are more vile more wicked their guilt greater their condemnation surer their sins more loathsom to God then any others therefore stay not here Brethren except we find that the light we receive from Jesus Christ do scatter our lusts for they will not endure the light that is saving indeed except thou find that it change thee indeed and transform thy heart into his image from Glory to Glory if thou find thou art rather changed from dishonour to dishonour from one vile affection to another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Apostle cals them all the light thou hast received is nothing Tenthly They are not friends to Christ then Brethren that would make more Suns then one what is not the Lord of Glory a glo 〈…〉 s Sun enough is there not a fulness of light in him sufficient for us all a fulness of heat and influence in him for us all but we must be flattering our selves and others into a rivalship with Christ how gross are the Papists in this point making the Saints their mediatour of satisfaction and intercession both I do them no wrong they are the words of their Missall praying for pardon by the merits of their Saints and praying to them to intercede for them yea and to the Virgin to command her son O horrid but in them it s not so much because either they are in Egyptian darkness and denied the means of light or given up to strong delusions to believe a lye but for us that have the light of the knowledge of Christ in such a rich manner among us and yet have a Pope in our bellies the indignity is much greater to Jesus Christ how prone are we to set up our own works as our Saviour who can say his heart is clean and throughly purged from this evil O that we were but ashamed of it and were able to say that we do it not in our hearts for then it s not so deeply chargable on us as I doubt it s on many of us Therefore take heed of this Brethren of setting up any spark of our own kindling or of his kindling in us in defiance to the Lord Jesus in opposition against him or partnership with him in our salvation in our comfort or peace or joy of faith if we do and give him not the whole we do much dishonour him and shall find that we much wrong our own souls No readier way Brethren to bring an eclipse then when the Moon wil be interposing between the Sun the Earth Eleventhly What enemies are they then to Jesus Christ and to Mankind that would pluck the Sun out of the Firmament would we not account him a desperate enemy that would endeavour it and are they any better are they not much worse who would pluck away our Christ from us whether they be sins or lusts within which do indeed rather cloud or eclipse at most But there are some who would even pluck him out of his throne that the Father hath set for him in Heaven in his Church such as deny the Lord that bought them such as will not yield him to be the most high God equal to the Father though Christ counted it no robbery they count it a robbery for him be equal with him Can a creature-Christ be a sufficient Christ to give light and life and healing to poor sinners will this ever satisfie any tender conscience quiet any trouble 〈…〉 ul let it go then for a damnable heresie and let us abhor it and beware of it for nothing is so gross but in these times Sathan finds some vent for it and bewail it Brethren that ever any poor creatures that expect salvation by Jesus Christ should attempt such an high indignity against him what is it but to kiss him with Judas and yet to betray him with Joab to kiss the Son and yet to stab him he that would bring the Sun down to the light and condition of the Moon were a wretched man but this is nothing to the case in hand Twelfthly Then admire Brethren the tender mercy of the Lord that would give us such a Sun the Lord Jesus the Sun of righteousness if he had left the world in a Chaos at first and never commanded the light to shine out of darkness never set any Sun in the Firmament who could have charged any thing on him But he knew what a miserable world it would it be without the Sun and how little of the beauty and excellence and perfection of his works and wisdom would appear if there were no Sun But here Brethren shining forth more of his â—enderness and bowels unto poor Sinners in a dark and dead condition through the tender mercy of our God whereby the day-spring from an high hath visited us here are the soundings of his bowels toward us indeed when we were forlorn and helpless in our selves to cause this day-spring from on high to visit us And truly for us in this Land how long have we had the Sun of righteousness risen on us and that yet it is not set that he is not altogether eclipsed by the world of iniquity that he hath stood still as it were and not hastened to a setting this is unspeakable mercy admire it bless the Lord be filled with his praises Thirteenthly Brethren Then let us be exhorted to set our selves in the warm Sun I mean to wait diligently on the Lord Jesus in his Ordinances for these are the Orb in which he moveth in his Church the Heavens and doth as it were wheel about the Church in them as the Sun in the Orb to communicate his light and heat and influences and therefore its observable that David saith I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of God then dwell in the tents of wickedness why saith he The Lord is a Sun and a Shield Glory and a Defence round about them therefore he would be a door-keeper in the house of God because there and then and to them he
our selves with a hope-well which we ought not to do we should strive to this of Thomas My Lord my God my beloved is mine and I am his canst thou say so upon good grounds thou mayst be a justified and a sanctified person which is done by the direct act of faith which is acted upon the Word of Promise and Christ in that Promise which the poor soul doth close with taking Christ for better for worse but now this is by the reflect act of faith and is grounded upon experience of our own condition ordinarily I see I feel that I do believe that I have chosen the Lord Jesus for my portion and therefore he is mine and I am his I have many sealings of his love to me many kisses of his lips it is given to me to believe to be upright with him I can approve my soul to him as Peter Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee thus the soul by laying up those experiences that it hath of God and laying them together doth from all come through grace to be able to conclude that the Lord Jesus is his to a full assurance of hope and faith and what an heaven upon earth is this Well labour after it though your conditions may be safe without it yet not so comfortable to your selves nor so honourable to him nor so profitable likely to others all which considerations if well weighed and improved I presume are motives enough to it You have the first thing in this general Exhortation and that is wherein we are to labour to grow and increase Now for the Motives in a few particulars and truly the first shall be that in the very Text we must labour for it because he hath promised it therefore we must pray for it and use all other means for prayer is one as afterward we shall speak God had promised he would bring Israel into Canaan but they must fight for it first to dispossess the Canaanites and so he promiseth health and strength to his people as choice mercies but they must eat and drink and use Physick as often as occasion serveth and it is an encouragement so to do because God hath promised us those things so far as good for us therefore use the means he promiseth fruitfulness to the earth what shall the plough-man therefore cast the plough in the hedge and never strike stroak it is true if God bid them stand still and only see the salvation of God it is somewhat else they must work and serve providence in the use of means so here it is promised O saith the Apostle work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is he that worketh Labour to be more spiritual in prayer to grow therein for it is his Spirit that beareth the heavier end of the burthen he helpeth our infirmities let this be an encouragement to stir up our souls to it because it is promised think not Brethren it is enough to sit still and wait when this will fall into your mouths or that an idle complaining will do it no no you must be up and doing and labouring to use the means and the more because he hath promised Secondly Every man would grow and come on in other things therefore we should much more labour to grow in the best things you would your selves and have your children come on and thrive in body you think their meat is not well bestowed as we use to say if they should not prosper at all but should devour like Pharaohs lean kine and be never the fatter you would grow in your names and in your estates and every man would be adding bag to bag house to house land to land and here they never think they are come to a full growth O that the Lord would but make you half so dilgent in taking half the pains to grow in grace as they do that grow in the world how should we prosper It is observable that the Apostle saith of Gaius that good man he wisheth he may prosper even as his soul prospereth it seemeth the good man his inward man was renewed though haply his estate or his body might wax old and decay yet his soul prospered and he maketh that a pattern of the prosperity of his outward man may we not say on the other hand O that your souls did prosper even as your bodies prosper You are fat and flourishing and feed your selves without fear much pampering of the flesh but the poor soul O how lean and thin and consumpsit it is what fat purses and lean souls Brethren whatever you profess while it is thus I must tell you there is much preposterousness in your endeavours that all this ado should be made for a lump of clay and the soul the precious soul the price of the blood of Jesus Christ neglected men can rise at midnight and with endâ— to follow their business set it forward if need so require and other occasions c. O if we could be perswaded to use but the like diligence for the soul upon the like occasion Thirdly Consider if you grow not you decline either you increase or decrease either you ebb or flow wax or wain for it is like a man that rows against the stream if he go not forward he is carried backward So it is here we have a stream of lusts to row against and if we go not forward be sure we go backward and therefore if you observe it the Apostle doth threaten the Hebrews upon this account because they went not forward with Apostacy they were in danger of falling away quite from God that go not forward therefore consider this seriously and surely it will put us on to look to our growth there is not an Ordinance wherein we appear before the Lord but either we soften or harden we get something or lose something by it it returneth not in vain not the Word nor any other appointment of his Fourthly Another shall be this we cannot else withstand enemies bear crosses alas a child is over-born by a touch he cannot withstand a potent enemy therefore we must labour to be strong men whom resist saith the Apostle stedfast in the faith there is no stedfastness but by faith nor any resisting but by this stedfastness if we give ground the Devil will pursue the victory if we turn our backs upon him now we cannot keep our ground except there be some strength It s true every child of God is born with his armour on him as is fabled of the race of those Giants so the Saints have their breast-plate of faith to keep the heart and the shield to preserve the body but as they grow in strength so are they able to weild their shield yea it groweth stronger and more able to bear off a blow Alas our Saviour saw his Disciples were not able to bear a temptation at that time John 18. 8. therefore let them go
alas they are but bottles themselves if Christ be not in them and there found to a soul and sought by a soul they are dry and sapless when many a rich man in hearing a Sermon hath a qualm cometh over his heart and he beginneth to be a little sick of sin which the Word hath lanced and it strikes to the heart what doth he do alas he chears himself with this Surely if I were such a sinner God would not regard me God would never have blessed me as he hath done therefore this is but a foolish melancholly fit The drunkard and the wanton can eat and drink and sing and dance down twenty such pills as these though they troubled them a little at the first they make a shift to claw it off The civil good-natured man though he see and know himself to be a sinner yet he is none of the worst he doth much good in the place where he is yea he prayeth and heareth and keepeth Sabbaths and thinks this shall make amends for all and so walks in the sparks of his own kindling but alas the end of these things will not be rest for they shall lie down in sorrow and shall have it from the hand of God too then who can resist it when lifted up or heal his blow when it is given I tell you Brethren I doubt this is the grand imposture of most of our hearts for it can hardly be but we must sometime or another be convinced our condition by nature is very sad and forlorn and men are not men if they be not carried forth to seek some course-for their escaping and how few alas reach the Lord Jesus therefore we mnst needs stick somewhere short of him Ah the Lord grant that none of us who think upon more probable grounds then others and others think so of us too that we are such as come to Jesus Christ that we sit not down in any thing on this side him for if we do we perish Therefore I say the soul that cometh to Jesus Christ goeth out of all alas if he have never so much of the world profits pleasures at will he is as rich as another and hath as much content in relations suitable to his hearts as another and it may be as much in praying fasting hearing using of the Ordinances as another and yet all this is nothing to him satisfieth him not he cannot take up with it they are but husks they will not satisfie however they may fill Thirdly There is a coming unto Jesus Christ it is not a going towards him but a coming to him this is builded much what upon the willingness of Jesus Christ to receive them this desire after him haply more fitly may be annexed to the power of Christ to save to the utmost O when the soul knoweth this O then that I had him that I were in him but now when the soul cometh to understand is perswaded he is willing to receive all that come Well then the Spirit quickning perswading the soul resolves I will venter upon him I will go and cast my self upon him and bear my self upon him hang all my weight upon him and this also he is taught of God this is imprest upon his Spirit by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus this is the drawing nigh yea not nigh to him but coming unto him this is the touch of faith if it be never so secret a touch of faith that others take no notice of yea that a poor soul through the fears and troubles that are upon him and earnestness of Spirit to have all quieted and cleansed and done away forthwith thinketh he doth not he hath not touched the Lord Jesus yet he may have touched him and be come unto him if he be carried out in his affections indeed and in truth beyond all count all as nothing as dung and dross as an hungry man would prefer a piece of bread before much riches he cannot eat nor drink gold nor silver and so it is here he is resolved upon it that he will lie at the pool of Bethesda his eyes shall be up and are up to him he will hang on him not let him go except he shake him offâ— into hell O this is a soul indeed that cometh to Jesus Christ Fourthly He cometh to him with words too at least heart-words if not words of confession I will wrap up these things as fast as I can I doubt I stay too long in the first part words of confession and words of petition of confession so the poor Prodigal I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son O I have sinned from the womb conceived in sin born in iniquity I have sinned before thee not regarding thy all-seeing eye desperately against light against knowledge against mercy against the blood of the Lord Jesus against all that grace whereby thou hast waited upon me to be gracious O I am no more worthby to be called thy sun O I am not worthy to lift up mine eye toward heaven saith the poor Publican I am not worthy to come near to the Temple to come among the company of the people of God but stands afar off and there acknowledgeth his vileness Ah so it is with many a poor soul he deserveth not to be owned by the Lord nor by any of his if he fall upon me as a mill-stone to grind me to power he doth me no wrong Secondly With words of petition to him that he would have mercy upon us that he would pardon and heal and give himself to us indeed that he would be our God a soul that is throughly sensible of his want of Christ cryeth our after him not with a still listless desire but the heart maketh a noise unto the Lord O give me Christ or else I dye Lord Jesus save my poor soul else I perish O sin is ready to swallow me up O the grave and hell are ready to shut their mouths upon me save me or else I perish as they to Christ the waves and billows of thy displeasure are the shaking and breaking of many poor souls O what mone many times will a poor soul that wants the Lord Jesus make to him lead me to the rock that is higher then I O how he sucks the promises and every argument he can fetch out of them he cometh with it and laies it before the Lord yea every letter of his name the Lord the Lord God gracious and merciful c. he pleadeth to the Lord O thy name is great to the ends of the earth therefore pardon me O mine iniquity is great therefore pardon thy faithfulness thy mercy thy promise thy dear Son the highest pledge of thy love that came to save sinners the price is paid the greatest part is done already all that a poor soul can find he will then make use of before the Lord and
See Coming Deliverance whence doth it come 156 Discouragements of the world are to be armed against 251 252 Dividing upon every occasion take heed of it 98 To Do what a man knows he is slow 23 Door of heaven will be shut against all such as are not ready to enter in with Christ 363 Door is twofold ibid. Door that it is not shut against us what have we to bless the Lord for 371 Dulness we are to be humbled for it 26 E Entrance abundant into glory as a preparation unto it what is required 328 Espousals the manner of it between Christ and his people 46 Espousals of Christ The difference between this and those espousals between men and women 86 F Faithful the soul must be unto Christ 8 Fall away from grace is to be reproved 254 Favourites of heaven that we are made so let us admire it 351 Feast what is it taken for 339 Feast may be looked upon two waies 340 Feast in it the Communion of the Saints shall be heightened in heaven p. 343. and it must needs be so 345 Feast how Christ brings the Saints in unto it 347 Feast into it none else can bring but Christ 348 Feast to it sinners are invited 353 With two cautions ib d. Feast the sinners that say they have it already answered 355 Feast to come to it laies a necessity upon you 357 Feast as many as are admitted to the beginning of it labour to prepare for it in heaven 358 Feast to those that enter in with Christ to it comfort 360 Fellowships See Admissions Folly of formal professors wherein it appears 111 Folly as many as are guilty of it reproved 290 Folly wherein it doth consist 299 See Wisdom Formality if no more doth fail a man 263 Formalists to all them a terrible word 402 G God for his own glory comes in a time unknown 210 God the Father giveth his people to his Son and giveth his Son to them 41 God and the world are of two minds 114 Gods goodness to his people is to be taken notice of in awakening them 204 Gospel its preaching to all the world understood to be a cry 199 Gospel if men refuse and reject it no wonder if they be shut out of heaven 369 Grace distinguished 99 Grace its largeness to sinners 97 Grace its act Saints may loose but not its habit 172 Grace its throne what need there is to ply it 194 Grace is not to be abused 255 Grace if once in the heart it is never lost ibid. Grace for it what shall be rendered to the Lord 256 Grace its getting being put off till the last day is very great folly 286 Grace the going to the creature for it is a note of great folly 298 Grace they that go to the Saints for it are like to be denyed 302 Grace there are none that have any surplusage of it or more then will serve their turn 309 Grace to as many as think they have enough of it a reproving word 311 Grace to such as think they have but little a word of Comfort 313 Grace its day such as do trifle away the time will come when pity shall arise from none 315 Graces must be had gotten and kept in a lively frame 218 Graces how they must be acted 219 Grow how to do it 249 H Heart of man is unconstant 23 Heart must not be trusted in the highest frame 194 Heaven men may come very neer it and yet be shut out 379 Heaven what will become of them who never set foot towards it 380 Heaven in it the Saints Communion will be heightned 343 Holiness real what is it 366 Honoured wherein Father and Son are 69 Hypocrisie deep may lie in the hearts of men 95 Hypocrites Christ coming to judge at midnight is like an evil snare 212 Hypocrites when Christ comes upon them unawares it will be a Terror 215 Hypocrites may go very far towards heaven and Salvation from 122 to 231 Hypoctites how many men know whether they be such or no 234 Hypocrites never have respect to all Gods Commandments 236 Hypocrites profession will not carry them through all conditions 262 Hypocrites lean upon two Pillars that will fail them 266 Hypocrites may long lie hid from themselves 268 Hypocrites ordinarily are not diligent or laborious in searching within 272 I James King what once he said 173 Jealousie what is it 68 Jeroms resolution 297 Jerusalem had her day of grace 279 Jesus is to be magnified we to be humbled and convinced of folly from 389 to 391 Infants of Believers are external Saints 94 Justice satisfied See Christ Justice and Mercy upon what account they are to be magnified 322 K Kingdom of heaven what is it taken for 87 Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a Feast 339 Know such as Christ doth not shall never enter into his Marriage-feast 396 Know them not Christ will declare this at the day of Judgment unto Hypocrites 399 Knowledge of God in Christ what is to be said of those that have none 231 Knowing of a soul by Christ what is 〈◊〉 understood 393 Known of Jesus Christ many never are that profess him and profess to know him 392 L Lamps what is meant by it 11 103 Lamps of the wise Virgins though they burn low yet are they not put out 244 Lamps must be trimmed every day 254 Lamps what is it to trim them 257 Lamps their Motives to stir us up to trim them 258 Lamps our own what we should do to trim them 260 Law requires absolute obedience 69 Long-sufferance of God what they treasure up that despise it 134 Look unto two things 383 Love transcendent of Jesus Christ 54 Love of Christ to us should ever keep us low 59 Love of Christ the souls objections against it answered 78 M Magistrates who are the keepers of the Lords vineyard have slept 155 Man in him Christ sees nothing desirable 47 Man in him a double principle 146 Man or Men though they will not come to Christ for Grace yet will they come to him for Glory 385 Marriage what is meant by it 338 Marriages used to be made with feasting 53 Measures that are false take heed of being deceived by them 251 Members of Christs visible Church to be one of them is a great priviledge 98 Members unregenerated in a visible Church is a sad condition 99 Memory in man is a leaking vessel 21 Metaphor what is it 2 Midnight what is meant by it 208 See coming of Christ Ministers plea for putting the People in remembrance 24 Ministers wisdom in pressing truths 25 Ministers what they do 44 Ministers duty 67 Ministers have slept 156 N Novelties take heed of affecting them 28 Number our days labour so to do 117 Ordinances of Christ must neither be neglected nor slighted 253 Ordinances many that think they can get grace from them reproved 300 Ornaments look unto them and get them ready 81 Oyl what is meant by it 14 104 Oyl there is need
Chapter then to love and walking in love not in heart only but it must be expressed actually as Jesus Christ expressed his love to us in giving up himself for us then he dehorts them from several vices as fornication uncleanness covetousness filthiness foolish speaking and jesting which are not convenient yea these are things will exclude from the Kingdom of heaven Let no man deceive you with vain words as if there were no such danger in such a loose walking those are vain words believe it saith the Apostle For these things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience therefore it is no light matter I deal with you about therefore the Apostle concludeth be not therefore partakers with them partake not of the sins of the children of disobedience lest you taste of the wrath which cometh upon their heads for these their iniquities The Apostle goeth on to back this his Admonition that they be not drawn away with the error of the wicked with many arguments As because now their condition was changed they were men of other principles no marvel if heretofore while they were darkness they walked as children of darkness and did work and had fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but now they were children of the light and therefore must walk as they were and they were fruits of the Spirit now they must bring forth they were goodness righteousness and truth besides it is the part of godly men and good children to approve themselves to God and submit to him in all things besides the works of darkness are unfruitful and shameful it is a shame to speak of the things they do in secret they were such in themselves and they will at last be revealed to the confusion of the authors of them to all which he addeth a testimony from Scripture that God doth generally every where call upon men to arise from their sleep and death in sin and he is ready to enlighten them he speaks no more but what the Scripture of old did speak some difficulty is in this Verse but it is beside our purpose Now the words of the Text are as I may say a Repetition and re-inforcing the general Proposition That the Saints ought to have their conversation adorned with every vertue or grace and the fruits of them and to keep themselves pure and innocent and free from the corruption of the world From all the former Arguments he laies down by way of Inference and Conclusion this charge in v. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therefore because so and so as you have heard See to it That you walk circumspectly the Argument inforcing it is in the following words not as fools but as wise It is a part of great wisdom to walk circumspectly And from the general in the 16. verse the Apostle descends to a particular and special piece of this circumspect walking and a notable evidence of this wisdom and that is the redeeming the time and backeth this with a strong argument because the days are evil Without any further stay in the Porch let us now enter the House and view some of the rooms of it there are many things note-worthy in the words the first that I shall take up at this time is this It is a duty Christians are strictly charged with to walk circumspectly Here it will be requisite to enquire what is meant by this Circumspect walking and then Secondly to make it good that it is a duty so strictly charged upon the Saints and Thirdly why it is so and then Fourthly Apply it For the first What it is to walk Cirrumspectly Here we have the Maâ—ter and the Manner of a Christians conversation the Matter that is expressed by a Walking which indeed doth comprehend all the actions of a Christian life in conformity to the Law and Will of Jesus Christ which is the Way nothing more ordinary then to express a Christian course by a walking and sometimes by a running in a race but by a walking here it is expressed and indeed this doth include all a mans actions his spiritual actions towards the Lord they are a part of this walking their praying meditating hearing receiving conferring living by faith all these are his spiritual actions Secondly A mans civil conversation also cometh under this walking for the Rule and Will of Christ hath an influence over that to bound it and limit it There is no calling which is lawfull but a man may therein abide with God if it be never so mean and this is another part of the walking while men are diligently imployed in their particular Callings out of obedience to his holy command they are in their way and walking to heaven as well as when they are in the spiritual part of the walk and so much the more while they have spiritual hearts in this walk ever and anon taking a turn in heaven and having their civil conversation in heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Apostle saith Thirdly even mens natural actions are a part of this way also of the Matter of this walking as eating drinking sleeping c. when they are used with moderation and an end to befit us only for our spiritual and civil conversations when men eat and drink for strength and not for lust for drunkenness and eat in due season as to whet when the Sythe is dull so that even these actions are a part of the walk also and that it is to be taken in this latitude will appear if we consider the particulars the Apostle presseth them too here as parts of that walking Now to walk you know speaks a motion it is opposed to standing or lying or sitting still the whole world lieth in wickedness and moveth not hand nor foot they have their grave-cloaths upon them are bound hand and foot and are melting away in their lusts and therefore they walk not towards heaven there is a sitting in the seat of the scornful when men have taken up their rest in sin and are at the height that they scorn the Travellers Zion-wards with their faces thither indeed there is a contrary walking to this walking in the counsel of the ungodly in the way of sinners a walking with sinners hand in hand having fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but that motion is from other principles even the flesh and this from the Spirit and by other rules the custome of this world to which they are conformed the examples of sinners the commands of their tyranical lusts and for other ends both of the Walk and the Walker in it the Walk the end of those ways is death there is a way which seemeth right to a man but the end thereof are the ways of death and the end of the Walker is to chear his heart and to satisfie his lusts but this walk we speak of is a contrary motion to that of the world 2. There is a terminus à quo from
whence they walk and that is from sin and self and Satan and sinners and the wrath which is to come but specially from sin they walk this is the scope of all their ways to get above sin 3. There is a terminus ad quem and that is to God in Christ as a holy God and a blessed God that we might enjoy him as such from hell to heaven and therefore conversion when men are first turned their posture is turned it is called a turning them from the power of Satan unto God 4. This motion is a progressive motion that is to say a man goeth forward in it not round about as a horse in a Mill and is at night where he was in the morning but as a horse or Traveller upon the Road which rids his ground he getteth ground every step and so should we go on toward perfection daily die to sin daily get somewhat further off it and to the world and get nearer to heaven daily we should see to it that we grow from strength to strength 5. It is a constant motion for a man that walks to such an end of a Journey he giveth it not over until he come to the end of it so should we constantly be moving until we come to the end of our faith the salvation of our souls 6. A pleasant motion to a man that is cured of his lameness and is no longer a Cripple as by Nature we are the way is pleasant Walks are for delight and sure the ways of Wisdom are pleasantness and her paths are peace the yoak is easie the burthen is light and so much that though the Saints by reason of the souls dependance upon the body in its actings and its being bound up as I may say under sences which are weak and cannot hold out long I say by reason of this they are weary in the ways of God yet not weary of them but they are pleasant to them his commandments are not grievous to them but this is not the thing which I intend to speak to from the words but rather the exactness and circumspection in walking See then that ye walk cicrumspectly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 First then to this exact walking there must go a rule he that walks exactly walks by a rule ad amussi◠as the Carpenter if he work accuratly doth all by rule and measure when men walk as I may say in a frame and cut by a thread not rove out their lives they have a clue in this dark world and by that they walk saith the Apostle to the Galatians As many as walk by this rule peace be on them and on the Israel of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hence the Scripture the Law of God which is the rule of holy walking is called Canonical being a straite rule they are right words words of righteousness given by one Shepheard such as will not lead us crookedly so then this is the first that of a mans own conscience at the best is but regula regulata and at the worst is but a blind guide and a leaden rule that is easily bowed and set to countenance the crookedness of a mans own ways to the Law and to the Testimonies if he would walk exactly Secondly There must be knowledge to understand and know this Rule and Wisdom rightly to apply it to the direction of our ways else we cannot walk exactly to walk exactly is to walk wisely as you have it here not as sools but as wise of which afterward but for the present we may note That a fool cannot walk cirumspectly and therefore the Apostle so often presseth it upon the Saints that they should walk wisely Walk in wisdom saith he towards them which are without be wise as Serpents saith our Saviour I say there must be a knowledge of the way of the rule else how shall our steps be measured by it how shall a man tred and keep to the path he knoweth not and therefore sottish ignorance of the Will and Way of Christ is an ill preparative to this exact walking can a blind man walk exactly or circumspectly that cannot see which way he goeth it is an hundred to one but he turneth and goeth another course but this is not all there must be a right application of the rule to our actions it is not every one that hath his rule that knoweth how to use it it is a good part of the Architects skill to use his Rule well and his Plum and by them to discern exactly the frame of his building yea to direct it when he is building so here there must be wisdom how sadly do men and women of lively affections for God miscarry for want of wisdom Zeal without Knowledge is no exact walking it hurrieth a man violently not giving time to consider whether right or wrong so Saul had a zeal for Israel and Judah and in that zeal slew the Gibeonites which were of the Amorites but now in Covenant with Israel his zeal out-ran his wisdom and so the Iews had a zeal of God but not according to knowledge and so had the Apostle himself concerning zeal persecuting the Church he thought verity he ought to do many things against that way Acts 26 9. and the time shall come men shall think they do God good service if they kill you so then there may be a being righteous over-much which is forb dden not as if the Lord did in his Word allow a loathsome lukewarmness a detestable indifferency and neutrality in the ways of God so as that men should abate something of their strictness and stoop and accommodate themselves to the exigence of the hard times they live in but the meaning is that a man should moderate his zeal and temper it with godly wisdom whereby knowing how to apply the rule to his condition and walking with caution he may avoid much danger which otherwise he would unnecessarily involve himself into as some of the Martyrs that would thrust themselves upon suffering when they need not they are as Sheep in the midst of Wolves therefore be wise as Serpents and yet innocent as Doves a hard lesson I must needs acknowledge and great need of a more then ordinary help of Gods Spirit to discern their duty here in particular cases and actions you see how Paul insinuates into Foelix he would not make him his enemy if he could avoid it keeping a good conscience and so Iacob to his brother Esau how much Courtship he useth he stands not now upon the terms with him but how humbly he submits himself to him and was it not better then to have ruffled with him and provoked him to his hurt Thirdly To walk exactly circumspectly is to keep close and not to warp from the straight path because others do err 1. He will not do as the most do to follow the multitude is no rule to him though the greatest part of
to vvalk if a man be taken up vvith other things in his mind and it be intent upon them how unevenly doth he vvalk he is sometimes upon this side and then upon that side of the vvay up and down and many times loseth his way and heedeth it not but now if a man make his Journey his business he is intent upon it and looks about him at every turn and every turning lest he should go vvrong so to vvalk exactly then doth imply a vvatchfull eye a trembling heart fearing at every turning lest he should miss hâ—s vvay so David I said I would take heed to my ways lest I should go wrong so then to vvalk exactly is to lay our strength our might our vvisdom and all to it to keep our vvay so the word is used of Apollos he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being fervent in spirit diligently he taught the things of the Lord there it noteh not so much the exactness accurateness of his skill but of his diligence and industry for he knew only the Baptism of Iohn that is to say the Doctrine of Iohn and his Administration and so Herod is said to inquire Go and search diligently for the young child c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 search exactly diligently pry into every corner turn every stone use all means search from bottom to top to find him so then to vvalk exactly is to make it a mans vvork business to lay out his industry in this vvork if he can but keep in the vvay of Jesus Christ the vvay to heaven it is enough Now for the second thing to make it good that it is a duty so strictly charged upon the Saints me thinketh this Scripture it self is a full testimony there needeth no further proof but yet a word or two more you find in that of the Hebrews the Apostles exhortation make straite paths to your feet straite steps or make straite paths with your feet which may appear to others that are to follow you as you follow Christ tread with a straite foot and by a straite rule and in that of the Proverbs Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established weigh your steps before you take them weigh them every grain and scruple in the ballance of the Sanctuary walk you Suspenso pede Look before you leap look and look again this is the way to have your goings established and here in the Text see how it is charged upon them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 see to it it is a word of strict charge as we use to say to men Well see you do such a thing see you fail not then so saith the Apostle see to it that you walk circumspectly it is not an indifferent thing nor of small moment but of great concernment see to it look to your selves and then that particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 increaseth the charge also See how ye walk exactly or how exactly you walk it is not the reflect act that is here commanded that they should view their ways and see how exactly they did walk this is not directly here commanded and immediatly though more remotely as it conduceth to this exact walking it may be here commanded but that particle doth intend the charge and heighten it but so much for the proof The third thing is why this duty is thus charged upon the Saints to walk so exactly circumspectly First because they are children of the light and therefore should walk as children of the light they should walk exactly without rowling out of the way without stumbling in the way because they have light they that are in the darkness and know not whither they go no marvell if at any time they stumble into the way of God yet they as easily stumble out again it is but suitable to them not to keep their way but now ye are in the light and therefore see that you walk accurately you have a light to your paths and a lanthorn to your steps therefore order your steps aright make them straite therefore saith Erasmus he well saith videte because nothing is seen in the dark but Beza thinketh this is more subtilly then need Secondly Because their steps are more eyed and taken notice of then other mens both by God himself and by other men first the Lord himself his eye runs to and fro beholding the evil and the good but specially in his own people he takes notice of them how they carry it and he takes notice of the most inward spirituall part of their hearts of the frame of their hearts and therefore let them look to it walk circumspectly in regard of him Secondly In regard of men 1. There are many out of the malignancy of their hearts do seek some advantage against the people of God they watch for your halting as the Prophet speaks they would have somewhat to accuse the brethren with to bespatter Religion with and therefore like their father the Devil if they cannot be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 accusers they will be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 false accusers But oh how glad is Satan and what sport is it to sinners to trap the people of God to take them halting and walking with an uneven foot though it is sport to none but devils and devilish sinners take that by the way they were enemies of the Lord that did blaspheme though David had given them cause report say they and we will report it concerning Ieremy some evil or other against him how much more if any thing fall from them which is justly blame worthy O a Candle upon an hill cannot be hid a spot upon white is easily seeâ— Secondly in respect of men who are scandalized by their uneven walking and those either good or bad men 1. Some of the Saints they are scandalized that is to say there is a stumbling block laid in their way whereat they stumble either thereby they are incouraged and imboldened to follow their steps though they sin against the Lord and so they fall and this is sad though a child of God cannot sure be so wicked as to intend the falling of others or drawing others into sin but his example as Balam did who put a stumbling block wittingly and wickedly before Israel taught the King of Moab to intice Israel by their women and they would draw them to Idolatry whereupon great wrath came forth against them this is hardly to be found but in aâ—â— Balaam and better a Millstone were hanged about his neck that shall do any such thing and he sunk into the sea never to rise again or else the thing in its own nature is matter of offence and occasions them to sin as the strong brohers eating things offered to Idols in the presence of the weak hat made scruple of it yet thereby were imboldned to sin but if it draweth not to sin yet it may be a grief to the hearts of them that
fore-runner or harbinger of death that cry from the Rod hath a voice and that voice is Gods voice he speaks in it and it is not an ordinary voice but a crying voice the word it whispers the loud crying of the word is but a whispering in comparison of the voice of God in the Rod it cryeth hear the Rod and who hath appointed it Mind it if a Judgement be upon a City is there any evil in a City and he hath not wrought it it cryeth to the whole City louder then Jonah did repent repent for you may perish and come to the tribunal within less then 40. daies or hours So every disease in a family cryeth to the family cryeth to the person prepare make ready that we need not such a message as the Prophet Isaiah brought to Hezek the voice of God in the Rod cryeth prepare make ready for he is coming here is a blow that the Tabernacle of Clay is ready to tumble and then soul where wilt thou appear if thou be not ready Or else Thirdly by cry it may be meant as Chrysost Theophyl Jer. Hilary Aret. and others understand it of the last trump of the arch-Angel Arise ye dead and come to Judgement this will be such a cry Brethren as will make all the world ring of it indeed that will pierce to the bottom of the deep to make it give up its dead to the bowels of the earth to make it give up its dead Then shall all arise the dead in Christ shall rise first Well this cry goeth before or accompanyeth this coming of the Bride-groom Fourthly Then he cometh For the heavens now must contain him until the Consummation of all things and then he will come to judge quick and dead he that shall come will come though he seem long to the people of God he that shall come will come then mockers shall know where the promise of his coming is they shall know their Judgement lingers not nor damnation slumbereth not He will come soon enough for all too soon for many poor creatures the Lord grant none of us be found in our sinful condition Fifthly The time is at midnight The Jews have a tradition that the coming of Christ to Judgement will be at midnight and hereupon the Primitive Christians it should seem did use to watch all night the Eve of the Pass-over expecting his coming as Jerom reports saith Beza but to be wise above what is reason you see whether it leads men in the dark for what is more directly against our Saviour his own words Of that day and hour knoweth no man no not the Angels in heaven but my father only At midnight with respect to the solemnity of the marriage that is to say later then usually and therefore unexpected when all was silent nocte intempestâ when deep sleep useth to seize upon men The man of the house at midnight his eyes are sealed up with sleep and when he least dreameth of the thief then he cometh and surprizeth him So the Lord Jesus like a thief in the night when men usually are least aware most uncomposed and unfit for his coming for the most part The rest of his actions in this Parable will come in under the other part which is the Church for you have in the general First the subject of this comparison the Kingdom of heaven and what that is I shall not need here to speak much of it hath various expressions in Scripture It is not I conceive here taken for the Kingdom of glory for there are no foolish Virgins members of that Kingdom No nor the Kingdom of grace which is within the Saints for the same reason Nor yet for the Administrations of the Kingdom as sometimes it is taken But it is taken here for the visible Church of Jesus Christ wherein some are wise some are foolish Some hold out some fall short of heaven and the glory of God and some are crowned enduring to the end and thus much for the opening of that expression Second thing in general to be noted is the time Then shall the Kingdom of heaven be likened compared or shall be like then when even when the Son of man shall come Brethren to solemnize the marriage with such as he hath here espoused to himself then when we come to appear before him all together it shall most evidently appear to be so But in a sort it is so in every mans particular Judgement at his death or dissolution there is a Specimen given to the truth of this parable and this appears from the connexion of this Chapter with the former the last ver of the former Chapter he speaks of cutting in sunder that evil servant that presuming upon the Masters delay should beat his fellow-servants and eat and drink with the drunken he shall cut him in sunder and give him his portion with hypocrites where is weeping and gnashing of teeth for ever Then shall the Kingdom of heaven be likened to ten Virgins And though then the spirits of many just men be already made perfect and many hypocrites already in the everlasting chains of darkness yet because they have been members of the visible Church in a sort all such may come under such a consideration at the great and terrible day of his appearing when the sheep shall be set upon his right hand and the goates on his left hand as you have it in the latter end of this 25. Chapter Now for the Church visible compared to ten Virgins There are two sorts brethren in a visible Church such as are Saints indeed and do enjoy the Lord Jesus and have that Kingdom of God even righteousness peace and joy in the Holy-Ghost within them and such as are only so nomine tenus they go for such with men who cannot search the heart ought not to judge the heart immediately but tenderly and alway with the greatest favour to judge of men Now such is this Kingdom of heaven here mentioned And therefore we will consider what is said of them two waies cast it two waies haply it may appear the more clearly and distinctly to our understanding First We will consider what in the parable is common to them both to Hypocrites and Formal Professors with real Saints who possess and enjoy Jesus Christ Secondly We will consider what is peculiar to either of them and set contraria juxta se they wil give light each to other and this briefly First then for the things wherein they agree or which are common to Saints indeed with Saints in appearance only or seeming and real Saints They are all of them called Virgins not in commendation of virginity as Jerom did childishly conceive as Calvin noteth But to Virgins they are compared either only because in the marriage solemnity the Virgins used to go forth to meet the Bridegroom and bring him to his Chamber So here they must go forth to meet the Lord Jesus Or else
there is more in it and I know not but we may consider Virgins according to their state and condition here Now the Church is so called or compared to Virgins not in respect of their glorious unconquered outward condition as sometimes in Scripture even strange Nations yea Idolaters are called Virgins as Zidon thou shalt no more rejoyce O thou oppressed Virgin daughter of Zidon arise pass over to Chittim there also shalt thou have no rest So Babel Come down and sit in the dust O Virgin daughter of Babylon thou that as a Virgin hast hitherto abode in thy fathers house in a glorious beautiful condition thy pomp and glory now come down And so Egypt go up to Gilead and take balm O Virgin daughter of Egypt in vain shalt thou use many medicines thou shalt not be healed though the Papists make this a note of the Church the glory and outward splendor of it that is quite cross to that of our Saviour in the world ye shall have tribulation and how often have they been scatterd by Persecution Nor yet are they called Virgins because of their priding themselves and setting forth themselves as Virgins with their Ornaments Nor yet in respect of the first Constitution of the Church of Christ when they were all or most of them Virgins There were 12. and but one of them a Devil But I conceive It respects the condition of the visible Church as then it shall be specially And what is that how are they compared to Virgins Specially in these two things First Because all that profess the Lord Jesus and become visible S t s they profess to renounce their Idols the Apostle saith that he turned them from Idols to the living God Now Idolatry in Scripture is counted you know whoredom if they have been married to the Lord owning his Covenant or else fornication nothing more ordinary it is enough to hint it to you and therefore when there is a renouncing of Idolatry there the Scripture looks upon them as Virgins So when Judah and Israel had played the Harlot that is to say had worshipped and served Idols God chargeth their spiritual whoredom upon them But when they reformed as Judah did you know in many Kings daies Jehoshaphat Hezekiah c. And in the daies when Sennacher came up against them and blasphemed them the answer the Lord gave to Hezek by the Prophet was this the Virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee now having renounced her Idols he so calls her and having betaken her self to the shaddow of his wings alone from thence from the hole in the rock she despised the Assyr And secondly Because also now taking upon them the profession of Christ they escape and forego the pollutions of the world then gross scandalous sins they forsake even Hypocrites as well as others in which respects they may be called Virgins though their hearts be not right with God Secondly they had all of them Lamps they took their Lamps saith the text they have all of them a Profession of Christ they make a shew before men The Lamps I cannot take for any thing inward but meerly somewhat outward appearing unto men they are Christians outwardly all of them Even those really believers with the heart they do confess Christ with the mouth to salvation they are not ashamed to own him before men and their light of good works and knowledge shines before men that the world may see it there is the light of the Lamp And truly herein hypocrites may go far they have a form of godliness and as glorious a form as any others and they do as many good works materially good as others do and so they have a light shining before men as well as others So the Pharisees you know they made as many prayers did as much Alms fasted as often as others made a glorious shew here are Lamps Thirdly their lamps it seemeth were burning all of them Concerning the wise Virgins there need be no Question of it But for the foolish I think it will be gathered from that where they complain that their Lamps were gone out extinguished though it is true they were not fed with a right principle and therefore they went out yet they did burn they made a shew of heat and light also before men as Jehu you know did he seemeth to make a greater blaze in his zeal for God then Elijah himself did And so for light also knowledge aboundeth many times brethren in an hypocrites head a clear head and a muddie heart a sound head as the notion and a rotten heart may be together well this is the third I hasten Fourthly They all took them and went forth to meet the Bride-groom they all have their faces Zion-ward heaven-ward to meet Jesus Christ only the hypocrites they have faces one way and row another way as the Mariners do this I take to be their seeming to make for heaven all of them and the one to be as fair for it as the other for they go as it were hand in hand to meet the Bridegroom yea a hypocrite may go far indeed in externals as far as a child of God as afterward we shall have occasion to say you may have your faces Zion-wards and seem to go forth to meet the Lord Jesus and yet miscarry Fifthly When he delayed his coming until midnight they all slumbered and slept We must not understand this of giving up themselves to security and the wallowing in the sinful pleasures of the world the pleasures of sin for a season For this cannot sute with the truth of grace and therefore cannot agree to the wise Virgins he that is born of God sinneth not cannot 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not work sin but his work is righteousness though he may have many by-blows in his work many mis-carriages yet his work is righteousness Nor can it for a great part stand with the very profession of a hypocrite to return again to the pollutions of the world which once he had escaped secretly haply he may rowl a sweet morsel under his tongue and be loth to part with it but the pollutions of the world which are open like wallowing in the myre will not stand with their profession therefore this is not meant by slumbering and sleeping but either Secondly Is meant by it the sleep of death in part for death is no more to the Saints though it be a sleep and a killing sleep to hypocrites our friend Lazarus sleepeth or else Thirdly Also partly a security and heaviness which groweth upon the Saints on this side death and me thinks the words seem to carry much for this there are two words they slumbered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and they slept 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the latter seemeth to be more then meerly Expository of the former The former signifieth only a little drowsiness when a man doth nap or nod a little as a man
longing after so on the other hand there are many will say If this be all it is an easie matter we are all willing to have Christ O that you were brethren if you were willing to have him sure you would make more after him then you do many of you he may go whither he will you never miss him never troubled for want of him Believe it you are not willing to have him there goeth more to a willingness in sincerity then you are aware of And then on the other hand those which are willing are ready to think Alas they cannot finde their hearts willing they are afraid they may deceive themselves But what is it man that maketh thee walk so heavily so carefully so droopingly is it not the want of Jesus Christ what is it that thy soul cryeth out for to God early and late so that heaven and earth is full of thy sighs and groans and tears is it noâ— for Jesus Christ What is the reason that thy soul followeth so hard after God if thou be not willing to have him What is the reason else that all comforts wherewith thou aboundest yield thee no satisfaction they are nothing to thee No thou must have Christ or else thou dyest and yet thinkest thou are not willing to have him O surely brethren here is a willingness take him take him then poor soul Behold his arms are open to embrace thee his heart is open to receive thee O embrace him close with him and take the comfort of it that thou maist walk cheerfully before him for ever 2. Again Be sure Brethren that you choose Christ and not somewhat else instead of him Choice is an act of the reason and judgement and so must we proceed upon judgement mature consideration of things else it will never hold we shall mistake the object take somewhat else for Christ Or else if we pitch upon the Object it will be so slightly as not to make a Marriageclosure The Apostle saith the Love of Christ constraineth us because we thus Judge if Christ dyed for all then were all dead there is an object of Judgement going before the constraining of that love of Christ so some understand that I will espouse or betroth thee to my self in Judgement not only on his part but on our part it shall be in Judgement usually the Affections or passions these are violent like a Land-flood yet having not a spring to feed them they are quickly dryed up 1. Then Be sure you choose not the prosperity you expect to accompany Christ instead of him How many followed him for the loaâ—es they were not in love with Christ but the loaves they loved their own bellies and not the Lord Jesus as the Apostle speaks And therefore our Saviour deals plainly with men At the first you dream of outward felicity if you have me you are deceived saith our Saviour the Foxes have holes the birds of the Air nests c. If that men did certainly know they must suffer persecution for the name of God the name of Christ as all that will live godly in this world must do it more or less I doubt this would quench those wishes and velleities that sometimes they have towards Jesus Christ Do not mistake if you have him you must expect trouble with him troubles within and troubles without such as you never likely met with before and if you cannot be willing to take him with his reproaches his poverty his nakedness his imprisonments you are not worthy of him 2. Be sure you choose not his graces or any thing but himself primarily many would have him but what is it they mind or eye that they might have peace and comfort and pardon of sin and this and that priviledge but they do not pitch upon Christ himself primarily as the fountain Well then labour to fall in love with his person to see some excellency in Christ that you apprehend not before O! when the soul hath his beauty loveliness to know him that the fulness of the Godhead is in him that he is the express image or Character of his Fathers Person then to chuse him upon such grounds and deliberates is likely to hold This is the rooting Brethren which the word of grace hath in the heart the depth of earth whereupon a well poysed judgement we choose the Lhrd Jesus that we see so much in him of worth that we are now satisfied come life come death come poverty come persecution come what can come there is enough in him to make up all until we come to this Brethren explicitly or implicitly it will hardly hold O therefore Brethren labour to study Christ and his excellency whereby he is the chief of ten thousand Beg of him to manifest himself to you that you may judiciously choose him Use 6. Shall be for exhortation to the people of God such as the Lord hath given â—ower to believe in the Lord Jesus and close with him he hath made you willing to have him and upon his own terms you should be exhorted in that 1. To labour to make itâ— sure that you have the match made up between Christ and your souls for he loseth much of his honour and your souls the comfort of your condition in a great part because you are not sure it is so Surely he is willing to seal it up to you with the privy seal the seal of his Spirit witnessing to your spirits that you are his Yea and he hath promised too in that place where he betrotheth his people to himself I will say to them you are my people and ye shall say thou art my God Thou canst not say he is thy beloved or thy beloved is thine and thou art his but observe he hath promised that he will speak first to thy soul and say thou art mine and then the soul shall say thou art mine my husband my God for the thing expressed by both is the same There are many othe promises of the like kiâ—d why do not we let them lye dormant and do not put them in suit more earnestly in the Court of heaven were we not much wanting to our selves herein it would be much more comfortable for us then it is 2. Yea though thou hast not thus far assurance that it is so and the match made up between thee and the Lord Jesus yet take heed of a iealous heart of him as if he were unwilling to match with thee or as if he were off and on and did but mock thee because thou findest it not in so full a measure as thou wouldest what will more grieve him then this what could he have done more then he hath done to manifest his willingness to receive all that come to him that are made willing through grace to receive him You have his promise which usually among honest men is as good as their Bond and we build upon it And what do you make of Jesus Christ
your husband if you believe in him But I will not stand any longer upon this Doctrine I had now thought to have gone on with what is spoken concerning Jesus Christ according to the first proposal of a method But it may happily be as well if not better to many understandings to take things as they lye in the Text and therefore I shall so do Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened to ten virgins which took their Lamps and went forth to meet the Bridegroom For the Adverb of Time Then I shall happily speak somewhat afterward The Kingdom of Heaven that is to say the visible Church I might inâ—ist upon it and shew you that the Church visible is a Kingdom and that Christ is the head of this Church the King of the Saints and not onely ruleth the Saints which really believe by his word and spirit which abide and dwell in them but also he ruleth his Church visible by his word and spirit and Ordinances all the Administrations of the Kingdom But that Kingdom hath been lately spoken to by a brother therefore I will wave that I might also speak something to the heavenliness of the Kingdom the Kingdom of Heaven and shew you how it is heavenly in its Original in divine Laws Institutions and many other ways But you had it held forth largely by a better hand therefore I will not trouble you again with these things so soon It shall be likened to ten virgins There is another Note which floweth clearly I think from the words and that is this The visible Church for the matter is made up of visible Saints that this is so will appear from the very Text it self First It shall be compared to ten virgins he saith not to a mixed multitude or to 10 women five wherof are virgins and 5 harlots or strumpets but to 10 virgins and what that word doth import I believe you remember since the words were opened to you such are turned from Idols to the living God as he speaks of the conversion of the Thessalonians according to the judgement of Charity for else so far as a professed subjection to Jesus Christ and renouncing them reacheth he spake according to a judgement of verity for that they did profess and so escaping the pollutions of the world forsaking gross and loose courses and professedly subject themselves to the rule of the government of Jesus Christ To such the Church visible is here compared and the most the Lord speaks of his relation to his people it is after the manner of men under such similitudes as we can conceive of and as we may be led by as by a clew into the understanding of the deep mysteries of faith and salvation But if any will think or say this is not a sure bottom to build such a truth or point upon because the virgins here are not considered as virgins but as persons accompanying the Bride going forth to meet the Bridegroom I shall first say That as they are not onely considered as virgins so neither is the consideration of their virginity to be waved for as in the similitude usually they were those virgins which did accompany the Bride so I suppose in the Apodosis now of the comparison we are to look for somewhat which may answer that virginity And you finde it in Scripture to be answered by those things I have proposed that is to say their forsaking Idolatry turning to the true God and their renouncing their former prophane conversation And then secondly I say this is not the only bottom in the Text whereupon it is builded For in the second place besides that they are called Virgins or compared to virgins they are also said to take their Lamps and surely if we must expound what is meant by the Lamps we can understand and nothing less by it then a visibility of Saintship But if this will not carry it neither methinketh the Third should be undenyable they went forth to meet the Bride-groom that is to say they went forth from home and forlook their fathers house and mothers they set upon their journey heavenward Zion-ward to meet Jesus Christ who is the Bridegroom who will ere long come to take the Bride unto himself There are many Scriptures will speak fully to the proof of this Some prophesies there are as that in the Prophet Isaiah there he speaks of a high-way shal be cast up and the unclean shal not pass over it Again none uncircumcised in heart or flesh shall enter into his Sanctuary this applyed not only to the times of their returning from Babylon but to the Gospel-times What can it speak less then this Brethren that no visible unclean creature shall ever enter into the Church of Christ It should consist of visible Saints This is plain by the tares and the wheat which while in the blade are are so like they hardly discernable in those Countries as Jerom saith And so by the Apostles wherefore else do they call them holy to the Saints which are at Corinth at Ephesus c but either they were all such visibly and in the judgement of charity or else ought to have been such Mistake not I say not that none should be a member of a Church but he that is a real Saint and shall be saved for then there could be no Church wherein we could walk or administer or receive any ordinance de fide because we know not who are such nor cannot know as I conceive nor have any rule to make an infallible judgement of any man but only probably to conclude concerning the state and conditions of men that which is invisible to us it is true its visible to God and that which is visible to him is invisible to us But visible Saints surely they ought to be Now for the further opening of this what I mean by visible Saints and Saint-ship I shall endeavour to lay it down in these particulars as plainly as I can to your understandings First Then it is requisite to Saint-ship that there be a separation to God from the world that is holiness whether in things or in persons when they are separated to God for any special use of his they are called holy Common and unclean are convertible tearms as you have in it in the Acts and as appears by the sanctifying of the Vineyards and Orchards when the Lord had had the first-fruits of them then they themselves and others had the free use of them the word in the original is they polluted or prophaned them the common use of them is distinguished thereby from the holy use whereby they were separated before from them to the Lord whether persons separated to themselves to the Lord acti agimus the Lord turns them and they are turned or whether they be altogether passive as in the first work of God we all are if it be a separation to God this is a Holiness a Saint-ship he
genera vari he is truth itself as well as being it self and other things are no further true then they have some proportion to him which they also have from him therefore the mind having gotten such an Object as this to dwell upon wherein it may be swallowed up and satisfied with truth it hath its perfection 2. The will that hath for its Object good and it is not content with a partial good here and there a little but it would receive all good now the Lord he is good and there is none good but God he is the supream good the greatest good and the last in genere boni all goodness in the Creature whether honour proportionable or delightful or pleasant good alas what is it but a little reflection of his glory upon the Creature a little spark of his kindling a little drop to the ocean but this is but answerable to the capacity and comprehension of the soul Secondly there is also the everlastingness of the soul it liveth for ever and therefore a short good though never so full is not commensurate unto it there must be certitudo aeternae fruitionis which as well as fruitio incommutabilis boni to make up a blessedness which is the end the soul proposeth to it self So Aug. de Chro. for fuisse selioem miâ—erum It is the depth of our misery we are now cast down so low because we were once seated raised so high in honour so near to God and yet if we might spend but a time in hâ—aven and enjoy God and afterward forsake that habitation this world would be the â—ell of hels unto such a soul but there is an everlastingness in the good itself we enjoy and in our enjoyment of that good We 〈…〉 this then is the great end â—o know and to propound to a mans self to set as his 〈…〉 as his mark is a part of wisdom he that doth great things takes much pains for poor ends is a fool the end speaks a man a wise man or a fool as much as any thiâ—g But 2. Then there are the means to be used for the attaining of that end that is the next thing If a man have never so right an end and yet know not what means to use for that end or use them not aright he is a â—ool not a wise man As now a man would have health and he knoweth not that physick will avail him it is all one to him a cup of poyson or a purging potion is all one to him or if he have the means and use them not or not aright and so in any other thing whatsoever I briefly wrapt up the other two in this place Now to this great end the enjoyment of God the means what are they but more immediately the closing with Jesus Christ by faith in his blood for he is not received but in Jesus Christ nor to be enjoyed but in him and through him Now since we have lost the image and glory of God it would not prove good to us to enjoy him if it were possible for us so to do that is to say it would not be suitable to us as we are corrupted heaven would be hell to a wicked man if he could enter into that holy place a while And therefore there is a necessity that we close with Jesus Christ that in him we may be brought near being reconciled through the blood of his cross and the enmity slain that is in our hearts against God and a new nature put upon us the heart changed and made conformable to God that image and likeness restored which consisted in knowledge righteousness and true holiness that now to enjoy God in the fulness and holiness and joy it is suitable to this new man wrought in us by Jesus Christ suitable to that spiritual Christ which is founded in us and so is good to us therefore this is the great means I say the closing with Jesus Christ for righteousness and reconciliation and holiness that heaven may be suitable unto us that we may also by him be changed and made fit and able to bear the weight of glory which is there to be put upon us More mediately and remotely now the means of grace the Gospel and ordinances thereof wherein God is revealed in Christ therein he is revealed for righteousness for holiness he is preached therein in the Covenant and that sealed up to us in the other ordinances And all the means of grace are helpful for this end Well now before I go any further Let us see the wisdom and folly of a pretender and a real Saint that is a virgin indeed 1. Then for the end though miserable man would be happy yet we miss it in the end and if we miss the end all our endeavours are nothing Now a child of God his end is God as he is a glorious God and as he is a good God and here is wisdom indeed that is to say he aimeth at this to glorine God to exalt him that he may be glorified in him as well knowing that the glory of the Lord is that wherein his own good and salvation is wrapt up for wherein are the riches of his glorious grace manifested but in the pardoning and subduing of iniquity O for thy names sake pardon mine iniquity for it is great for his names sake Who is like unto thee a God pardoning iniquity transgression and sin And then the salvation of his soul he is wise that is wise to salvation that is wise for himself indeed in the main thing You see a man wonderful industrious takes great pains runs and rides is very earnest and what is his end in this to have a flea to catch a butterfly You would judge this man a sool the end will recompence the laborious use of the means Now a formal professer he will keep as much a do as another happily be at as much pains in duty spend as many hours in private happily some may be of Jâ—hu his stamp and strain as long as it will hold but what is it for Alas they seek a poor empty self they would have a name they would have their zeal for God seen they would have their ends satisfied it is the way to flourish What pains did they take to follow Jesus Christ up and down and all was for the loaves a poor end Suppose the end be a little stopping the mouth of a clamarous conscience for the present a poor end Is not this folly to shoot so high and aim so low But happily it will not be so easie to convince hypocrites that they miss it in the end though for my part I think it is that which we ordinarily miss it in did you at all feast to me saith the Lord or fast to me did you not bring forth fruit to your selves which are infinitely too low to be our own end for when we enjoy the most we can in our selves
as our end we grasp no-thing but sin and emptiness wind and misery to eternity 2. Then for the means which you see what they are immediately Jesus Christ closed with mediate the ordinances wherein he is held out Alas herein they do fearfully miss it though they profess him As will appear in many particulars 1. They do not choose the right means for the attaining the end wherein a great part of their wisdom lies this is life eternal to know Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent this is the means and the way to it and indeed a part of it the suburbs of heaven Now alas brethren there are so many things which are so like to Jesus Christ and so many acts like to the embracing of him that they are deceived and so they miss of the main means and fall short of the end simile mater erroris A man misseth his way and takes another way lay near it and was like it and he runs and takes pains to come to the journeys end but alas it never will bring him thither he is out of the way Jesus Christ is the way as wel as the life now there are false Christs which men make to themselves there is much bad like to good and much error like to truth one man he thinketh a drunken Christ will serve his turn a covetuous man he thinketh Christ and his secret lusts will stand together though his profession and open sinning will not stand together he thinketh he may have Christ in his heart and sin regarded there though he cannot have holiness in his profession an appearance of it an open prophaness there as if sin would better agree with Christ then his profession Some think they have a Christ made up all of pardons no matter for holiness at all let them live as they list no matter for walking in him yet he is so merciful if they can but cry have mercy it will do the deed though they wallow in their uncleanness all their lives some they are on the other hand that make to themselves a holy Christ not minding his pardoning mercy O if they can but do this and that they walk uprightly with men they serve God none more constant at the ordinances then they private and publike and therefore surely Christ is theirs not remembring with Nehemiah the Lord spare me according to thy great mercy or multitude of mercy even when he had done so eminently for God Alas brethren what pitiful mistakes are these Many are ready to think if they have but now and then a little affections stirring at a Sermon O sure they have Christ if they have but a little velleity sometimes a wishing and woulding this must go for Christ how prone are we to substitute any thing in the room of Christ Now a man that would live and shall eat dirt or coles instead of bread you would think that man a fool or a man that would be rich professeth that is his end and he bags up indeed but what is it dung and dross stones and trash would you not count this man a fool this is the condition of every formal professor of Jesus Christ they do indeed fix upon something but it is trash it or if any thing better their duties their holiness it is trash it is dung instead of Christ this is the first Now for the secondary means the means of getting Christ which is the more immediate means and way to his enjoyment of God which is the happiness of the Creature herein indeed most ordinarily the folly doth appear and therefore I shall here consider several particulars 1. To use means to get any thing and not seasonably is folly to use them too late for a man that is deadly sick he will not be perswaded to take Physick untill he be past recovery such a man is a fool that so long will lean to his own understanding and so for meat a man that will fast so long until he cannot eat at all this is the very case in this place you see they did not ever neglect to get oyl in their lamps in their vessels they were very inquisitive sought it of the wise virgins and went to buy it of them that sold but alas it was too late Would you not count that man a fool that hath provisions to make for his family the week following at the Market and he goeth but it is when all is done and shops shut up and there is no more place to buy any thing So here and so the Manna if they went to seek Manna upon the Seveath day there was none to be had yea if daily they went not to seek it in the morning but staid until the Sun were hot there was none to be had it was gone there is a season for every thing the wise man saith and every thing is beautiful in its season he that gathereth in Summer is a wise man saith Solomon he that maketh hay while the Sun shineth It is a sad piece of folly that a man should have his grace and his Christ to get when he should use them when we come to dye and have five times as much need of Christ as in our life-time for the most part that then we should be to get Christ and have triâ—led away the day of grace in flourishes and shews in taking of Christ and had him not in our hearts 2. To have means for the getting of Christ and never make use of them there is folly indeed wherefore is there a prize in the hand of a fool and he hath no heart to it he is a fool that hath an opportunity to make himself for ever and hath no heart to it to improve it redeeming the time saith the Apostle that is to walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise what would many a poor Creature in hell give for such an opportunity of grace as we have Yea if the Gospel were preached to Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago saith our Saviour but you have the opportunity in your hands but you have no heart to it at all this is sad To see a man feed upon husks and dirt and so perish when he hath no bread to eat is a pitiful sight but this is necessity not folly but here is bread to eat that we might live and yet we neglect to gather it or to eat it content our selves with husks and trash is not tl is folly and this is the condition of every formal professâ—r 3. They rest in the means short of the end and that is grievous folly the means of grace whereby Christ is to be gotten and Christ in us revealed to grow and increase if we rest in these means whether we have Christ yea or no it is great folly what man is there that would so do But there is more in this for this preferring and prizing and lifting them up above Christ will be our condemnation setting
that this is folly but the world counteth this the greatest folly that can be to make so much ado about the soul-affairs to trouble themselves so much about the interest in Christ they are the wise men that have heads deep and large to compass their designs for the world and to have a profession of Christ the thing may be of some use but the thing it self it is but a burthen they will never trouble themselves with a Lamp and a Vessel full of Oyl besides it is enough to have a Lamp But surely Brethren the Lord judgeth otherwise you see who is the fool in Christs sense and what will it avail if a man the world account him a wise man and he himself deem himself a wise man and Jesus Christ accounteth him a fool he never giveth names for nothing they are sure to answer them sooner or later the easiest course Brethren is not the wisest then the Sluggard were the wisest man 2. It may serve to reprove and convince us of much folly then that is among us Stultorum plena sunt omnia all Proressions are ful of fools and none more then the Profession of Jesus Christ for the higher the end the greater the folly in pretending to it and missing of it I doubt brethren all the Congregation are full of such fools as these are it appears to be so in the Prophets time Who is wise saith he and he will consider these things c. and Prudent and he shall know them Who is wise by this interrogation there is implied a paucity of them as in that Who is there among you that walks in darkness and seeth no light they are not very ordinary so again Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed May I not take up the Prophets complaint now and say who in this Congregation is wise who so wise as to consider their latter end to provide for it not to rest in a name in a profession Some I doubt not but there are who are able to produce their Evidences Christ in them the hope of Glory but are they so many as were to be wished brethren do you not take up short of Jesus Christ rest in the means as you have heard before 3. Then it shall serve to stir us up to awaken us to look about us for that is one thing also which that interrogation imports to stir us up to Consider our wayes and our Condition and State Whether we have this oyl in our vessel as well as in the Lamp surely Brethren For Motives 4. This is a very pressing one which our Saviour covertly giveth in the Text they were foolish virgins which took no oyl and the Prophet Who is wise and he will consider these things for men would not be counted fools of all things men had rather be wicked and counted so then be counted fools and will rather shew their wit in froth and jests and over-reaching then be counted fools you know the affectation of wisdom was the first temptation and ever since vain man would be wise though he be born like a wild Asses Colt we are most stupid Creatures and yet would have a name to be wise and are indeed contented to be fools in Gods account rather then we would not be wise men in our own account and the account of the world desperate fools this is cum ratione insanire if any thing be O brethren if we would be wise indeed take the advice of wisdom it self or the wonderful Councellor take heed of resting in this Condition without oyl in your vessels he is wise indeed that is wise in the latter end that thou mayst be wise in the latter end he that liveth in reputation of a wise man he thinketh himself so and dyeth a fool in the account of God himself and all others this is the fool in grain the more care to get and keep our vessels full of oyl the more wiser we shall approve our selves 2. Dear friends Consider seriously now You think you follow Jesus Christ and your Lamps are burning but what a sad disappointment will it be and confusion For hope disappointed confounds a man as it is in Job they are confounded because they hoped you hope for heaven now if you be disappointed and your Lamps go out in obscure darkness just when you have the most need of them O how will you be able to bear it O therefore whatever you do labour to get this oyl make sure of this brethren never give the Lord over follow him up and down in all the wayes of grace until thou have gotten thy vessel full thy heart filled with grace with his fear his love with humility self-denial O look to it that thou close with Christ that you do not mistake somewhat else instead of him beg the Spirit Brethren to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith and you may have all grace to abound towards you and in you that having an al-sufficiency alway in all things you may abound in every good work your hearts being ful there being a Spring to eternal life that your Lamps may never be put out but you may appear wise in your latter end which trieth indeed which are the wise and which the foolish Virgins O be diligent in improving all the Ordinances for that end received ye the Spirit by the works of the the Law or by the hearing of Faith You have heard it is the dew wherein the Manna descends it is the vehiculum we come to hear all of us O take heed how you hear with what hearts you come before him and how you attend to this word do you know in what part of it the Spirit will descend will come upon the heart at which Sermon in which part of the Sermon O brethren if we come with vessels full conceited with Pride full of Earth stopped up with the world how can we expect this oyl should be poured into us therefore Come labour to bring your empty vessels to the Lord in his Ordinances for it is observable as long as there was an empty vessel the oyl run in the widows case and so it would be here he never sent a poor empty broken Spirit a poor Creature poor in spirit to come humbled and trembling in sense of its wants and worthlesness he never sent them away empty when the vessel is full he will not pour out the oyl it would be lost there is no room to receive it Again Labour to number your days brethren that you may apply your hearts unto wisdom to this wisdom to salvation this is a rich piece of skill that is not to be learned but in the school of Christ to number our days Consider the shortness of our time how short we cannot tell for ought we know this night he was a fool in grain
a carelesness in us for if he came more speedily what is the language Let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall dye whether he be a swift witness against men or whether he tarry all is one if he do not speedily execute the Sentence which is past upon men evil doers their hearts are fully set in them to do wickedly and if he do threaten to come speedily and avenge himself upon them let us eat and drink for to morrow c. forgetting the after-clap that after death cometh judgement do not then pretend brethren this for your selves and lay the fault upon God as Adam did and all the sons of Adam are ready to do Say not then If God had threatened as he did Niniveh Yet forty days and Niniveh shall be overthrown yet forty days and thou shalt come to judgement sinner thou wouldst have repented as well as they did no but as Abraham speaks to the rich man in the parable if they will not believe Moses and the Prophets they will not believe though one rose from the dead So in this case if thou wilt not repent and believe though the coming of Christ do tarry a while I will be bold to say thou wouldst not repent if thou shouldest know that within forty days or forty hours thy soul should be taken from thee the fool in the Gospel when he thought he had many years before him and goods laid up for them he nourished his heart as in a day of slaughter and when it was told him that this night his soul should be taken from him do you think the fool had so much wisdom to repent we read it not nor do I see any cause to think it A second sort which are to be reproved or convinced of sin are such as mock at the coming of Christ It is a prophecy of the last days in the last days there shall come scoffers walking after their own lusts saying where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were since the beginning of the world That these are the last days if we had no o her Argument the impudence of many now adays denyinng resur ection and judgement and any such things as these are are too clear a proof of it Observe Where is the promise of his coming a promise to the people of Christ for he cometh to give them the Crown of righteousness having fought their fight and finished their course c. but a threatning to the sinners of the world as that the seed of the woman shall break the Serpents head Well you tell us of a glorious appearing of Christ but where is it we see no alteration all things continue as they were there is no sign of such a coming O what wretched Athiesm is in the heart brethren that because the hand of God doth not presently seize upon us therefore we make a mock at it thinking there is no such thing O this unbelief is the ground of all departing from God do not your actions proclaim this that you expect not his coming you rather make a mock at it you make so light a matter of sin of the most horrid sins Yea some that seem not to Question his coming though I think that is the ground of it their secret unbelief that there will be any such or no they do even provoke the Lord and pluck him out of his place they challenge the God of heaven that say Let him make speed and hasten his work that we may see it and let the counsel of the holy one draw nigh and come that we may know it that we may feel it for we fear it not this is the language of the men that declare their sin like Sodom heed it not stout-hearted sinners that set God at defyance bid him do his worst they will abide all that cometh rather then they will part with their lusts wherein they walk as the Apostle hath it they would fain see who shall controul them who should cut their Cart-ropes and Cords of vanity wherewith they draw iniquity and toyl and tear themselves like horses in the drudgery of sin Well I will speak a word or two to all these it is a terrible one indeed the Lord give us trembling hearts at it First However long it seems to stay it will come before thou art ready for it and for all this gallantry of spirit that sinners cloath themselvs with the stoutest-hearted sinner that heareth this word when that cometh shall quake and tremble What cared Belshazzar for the God of Israel he thought it was nothing to carouse in the vessels of the Sanctuary but you see with two or three words writing what an Agony it wrought him into Amos 5. 18. You desire the day of the Lord poor creatures you do not know the day of the Lord is darkness and not light your hearts will dye within you like stones when it cometh upon you Observe it brethren usually those that are the most stout-hearted in setting the Lord at defiance are most dejected when it cometh I will the Atheist say if this were true that this day would ever come it were something but we see no appearance of it Why Brethren are you such Atheists I hope there is none such here but will own the Scriptures to be the word of the living God and how often have you it there written he hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world by Jesus Christ and God is not slack as men count slackness as some count it as if he would never come believe it believe it Sinners your judgement lingers not and your damnation slumbereth not but travels as fast as you do and it will meet you one day and seize upon you O if God should send such a hand to write upon the wall of the Taverns where men are carouzing c. mene mene thou art weighed c. this night shall thy soul c. Deut. 5. 5. He that believeth not these things is an Atheist indeed worse then the Devil himself who believeth and trembleth James 2. 19. But me thinks reason it self should evince it and teach us that the first Principle of all things made himself the end of all things He that is first must also be the last and therefore such as would not serve that end and honour God here he will honour himself upon them he must needs be righteous and give every one according to his works Now Sinners do not receive according to their works many times here but they are lively and grow old and are mighty in power their seed are established before them c As it is in that place of Job their houses are safe from fear neither is the rod of God upon them they have no changes and therefore they fear not God they spend their days in wealth and in a moment go down to the grave
heart of the Lord is most widely opened This should be matter of deep humiliation to us all that we are so apt to sleep when we have most need to be awake The other Doctrine gave us a humbling word but this much more If we consider these two things 1. The more grace we have received the worse we grow turn the grace of Christ into wantonness for usually at the first when the soul is awaked out of its dead sleep O how hard it followeth after God it giveth no sleep to its eyes nor slumber to his eye-lids until he find out a place for the Lord an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob in the soul Well it is true the Lord hath done something for that poor soul he hath opened his eyes to see the want of Christ and touched his heart so that now he followeth him and cannot but follow him this is unspeakable mercy But now when the Lord hath done much more for the soul hath poured upon it his Spirit given the oyl of gladness as well as of grace that then it should fall asleep the more engagements of Love the Lord Jesus lays upon the soul the more liâ—tless the more lazy it should grow The Apostle took it unkindly and well he might the more he loved them the less he was beloved and this could not but shame them if they had any ingenuity and may not the Lord Jesus take it as unkindly that the more he loveth us the less he should be loved of us as his love groweth hottest our love should grow coldest O for a spiritual ingenuity that we might lie down in shame before the Lord continually for this O what ungodly hearts c. and how unkind may poor creatures be and are they who have received greatest kindness from him Paul labored more abundantly because grace bad more abounded toward him then others We are prone to it if we be not left to it the more grace we have received the more listless to grow which ariseth noâ— from the nature of grace but from self-confidence and resting in our receivings which lays us fast asleep a man that hath one talent improveth it but he that hath ten lays it to sleep c. 2. What a shame is it for us that when we have most need to act our grace we have the least use of it for what was grace given us for brethren but for action not to lie idle and rust for want of using but to exercise it for his glory our own comfort and others good Now how do we fall short of these ends when we cannot use it in our greatest need is in those times before mentioned how would a man be ashamed that is or should be a man of his hands and when there is not such need he can sence and use his hands exactly to defend himself or offend his enemy but when he cometh to it indeed that his life is in danger he is in a deep sleep as the Psalmist speaks and none of the men of might find their hands A man is very rational at all other times only at a pinch when he hath more then ordinary need of it he is a very child and can do nothing this is a great shame The Saints that have received much grace and therefore should act strongly for God what a shame is it that when temptation cometh or when any more then ordinary occasion to exercise their grace they are like Children sleeping in their Cradles can do nothing Then If this be so Let us learn never to trust our hearts when they at the best in their highest frame most spiritual most enlarged Alas they are like a deceitful Bow it seemeth firm until you come to draw it but when you have need of it draw it it will deceive you fall asunder he that trustoth in his own heart is a fool saith the wise man and who more likely to know then he who beside the Spirit whereby he spake had had experience what a sad thing that self-confidence and security had been how fatal it had proved to himself be sure brethren if there be any time more then another that we need our hearts to be present or graces to be in act they will be asleep our corrupt part will cloud them and bear them down Do but observe it if it be but to watch one hour with Christ in an holy duty as prayer or the like It is strange but it is true our hearts will be less present then then at any thing else Let the duty be done or before it begin and you shall not be troubled with such a stream of vain and impertinent if not sinful thoughts but once go about this duty and O how do they thrust upon the soul and how lively sometimes when there is not so much need are the affections and how dull and flat are they then therefore trust not any frame you have at any time received for indeed it will prove a broken reed even grace it self if you lean upon it it will fail you and pierce you also Then what need had we brethren to ply the Throne of grace to sit down by the fountain and fulness of life and quickning influence even Jesus Christ David did even when he was at the best frame as in penning the 119. Psalm when do we find more flaming affections towards God and Heaven and his Law and Worship so strong as to break through all oppositions of men and Satan and Corruption and yet how sensible was he of his falling flat even in the midst of such a rapture O quicken thou me quicken thou me according to thy Word saith he alas this vigor will not continue except thou supply it with continual refreshing and renewing of strength And so in that place O that thou wouldst keep this upon the imagination of the thoughts of their hearts for ever alas else he knew if there were a like occasion for a free spirit in the service of God and his Temple it would be far from them O therefore ply the throne of grace brethren live by the faith of the Son of God Faith will draw water out of the wels of salvation And O what need had we to keep in with the Spirit of grace lest he leave us in a time of need It is true when we aprrehend a danger or an hour of temptation coming and the soul be any thing awake O then what mean it will make for the presence of the Spirit but brethren he deals with us as we deal with him If when we have peace and a calm and in our ordinary waking we slight him and sit loose to him believe it in our time of greatest need he may justly stand at a distance from us and let us see what our own strength is and what can we do without him O therefore let us take heed of grieving this holy Spirit which is that Spirit
2 Tim. 4. 14. And have we not too much sad testimony of it in our days such as indured much affliction and persecution from the opposers of Gods people yet now have turned their backs upon that truth for which they suffered 2. Consider yet further they may continue so long as though they fall asleep with the wise Virgins yet to rise again with them they may be deeply seized on by security and a man would think that then an hypocrites profession should come altogether to an end he should never open his eye more and yet you see the foolish Virgins after this the Cry awaketh them as well as the wise Virgins and they bestir themselves as well as the wise to trim their Lamps their Consciences had been awaked before though their hearts were never throughly awaked Some Will and Affections they â—ad but never through and prevailing against the â—lesh well that which was awake fals asleep and yet it holds out to be awaking again and trimming up their Lamps again as if none were more likely nor fairer for heaven then they until they find upon the tryal alas they were going out Well then brethren we may continue through changes of times through changes of our own hearts we may have sleeping fits and rise again out of them and sâ—ir up our selves trim our Lamps and yet prove but foolish Virgins Eighthly a foolish Virgin or an Hypocrite may carry it so as that the Saints have a good esteem of them yea the most searching of Gods people as some have a more piercing eye and can see further into an Hypocrite then others can as the case may stand but indeed some hypocrisie is of so fine a thread that it doth eâ— fingere aciem oculorum some Hypocrites are double and treble guilt so that they are not so easily discerned to be copper until it come to wear off and it holds long the Disciples of our Saviour even he that lay in his bosom could not discern who was the Traitor by any thing that appeared they had as good thoughts of Judas as they had of themselves there was their simplicity and love and yet he proved but a Judas he walked with them ate the Passover with them if not the Supper with them Thus we may have a name to be alive among the people of God and yet be but dead as it is said of that Church in the Revelations And so the wise Virgins you see walked hand in hand with the foolish they pass for all alike and no marvel when a man hath so much knowledge such good and stirring affections so full of action for Christ walks so unblamably suffer for Christ hold out so long no marvel if the people of God in love which thinketh no evil do judge well of such persons Ninthly and lastly they may also upon all these grounds foregoing have a very great confidence of the goodness of their own condition the foolish Virgins had admittance into the fellowship of the wise walked with them with their Lamps burning and shining we find not that they suspect themselves at all until at last they awake out of this sleepy condition of theirs and then they see their Lamps are gone or going out I deny not but an hypocrite may sometimes be self-condemned as the Apostle speaks of Hereticks after the first and second admonition reject for fundamentals are so clear that if he â—earken not to the first and second admonition according to the Rule of Christ in clearness and meekness held forth then he must needs be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 condemned of himself If our own hearts condemn us saith the Apostle God is greater then our hearts But yet others may go on and not suspect themselves There is a Generation saith Solomon that are pure in their own eyes as they judge of themselves yet are not washed from their filthyness It is worth the noting that all the Disciples were more forward to doubt their conditions then Judas for they all asked Is it I Lord is it I and our Saviour was fain to set it on with a terrible threatning It were better for that man that he had not been born and then he cometh out with it Master is it I thou hast said it saith Christ if he suspected himself before yet he kept it close however The hypocrite may hold fast his duties gifts and performances as his house when it beginneth to totter he may hold them by his teeth as it were as the godly man holds the practise of them and will not let them go so a hypocrite holds his confidence in them and will not let it go The world giveth him a good testimony the Saints they bear witness to him Satan he applauds him his own heart flatters him no marvel if he build a confidence upon all this and therefore the foolish Virgins here how confident were they not only not suspecting their condition all this while but when they saw that their Lamps were out yet they go and cry for mercy with what confidence Lord Lord open to us though now they saw they had been hypocrites all their daies yet so high were their hopes and confidence You see then Brethren a hypocrite may go very far So much for the Doctrinal part For the Application then of this Doctrine How sad is their condition if a man reach to all this and yet fall short of heaven What shall we say of many of us that have nothing almost of all this to say for our selves have not so much as Lamps so much as a profession of Christ It is true we have the name of Christ upon us but what have we else If a man may have so much knowledge and fall short what shall we say to such as have no knowledge of God in Jesus Christ as sottish and ignorant as if they never had heard of Christ of heaven or hell almost It is true a less measure of knowledge for the quantity may prevail more upon a mans heart then a greater sometimes but where there is no knowledge of God Jesus Christ will come in a terrible manner against such as know him not as well as those that obey not his Gospel It may be you have some knowledge yet alas where is your affection you fall short of hypocrites in that how many in this Congregation that never knew what one heart-pang for sâ—n meant do not dissemble before the Lord didst thou ever mourn either Legally or Evangellically And so for desire have you thus desires toward the Lord and his waies are they such a delight to you thou hast heard his word many a hundred times and didst never taste any sweetness any savour or relish in it at all Say are not many of us so far from delighting to draw nigh him it is the most burthensom day in all the week the Sabbath is we care not how seldom it cometh but I hope better things of you in
this particular for the most part If you have such affections do you not many of you wallow in your filthyness Indeed it is strange to see how some men have a tongue to speak for Christ seem to be wonderfully affected with any dishonour put upon him and to be great disputers for his Ordinances and Sabbaths ready to flie in the faces of them that speak against these things and yet themselves are very Sinks and Puddles of uncleanness will be drunk will be filthy will swear and lie and come and stand before the Lord as if they were delivered to do all these things what will become of thee if a foolish hypocrite shall perish where wilt thou appear It may be if thou avoid these gross sins thou makest nothing of a secret lust so be thou canst hide it from the eyes of men thou despisest the presence of the Lord with thee in thy secret place Again it may be thou hast done something for Christ but thou couldst not suffer for him but turn and shift and deny him before men O far before thee have many gone and yet perished never reached heaven It may be thou art so gross that even the people of God themselves can discern thy hypocrisie and thy own heart may condemn thee Well if others that have out-stript thee in these things fall short where wilt thou appear thou comest behind the Pharisees far enough and they enter not they fall short what will become of thee If the Virgins because foolish Virgins are not thought meet to enter into the Marriage-Supper the door is shut against them What wil become of thee that art an arrant strumpet-soul that hast thy gods thy Idols to worship thy gold and thy belly thy sport and pastimes to which thou devotest thy self so that thou canst not come under the notion of a Virgin O that the Lord would make men sensible If such as take all this pains for heaven fall short what is like to befall them that never set foot forward towards it Then It may serve to stir up every one of us that heareth this word this day to take heed be not high-minded but fear as the Apostle saith You see how far a hypocrite may go It may be further then many of us have gone what need then had we to look to it that that we have and that we do be in sincerity and uprightness for then it will hold out with the wise virgins To you that make a profession of Jesus Christ and of his waies I direct this Exhortation to you especially And I shall back it with these two or three arguments and then propound some few considerations to be made use of here in the tryal 1. Then consider brethren What ever men judge of you or you judge of your selves through mistakes sometimes yet God he seeth through all It may be the cobweb is so thick woven that the piercing eyes of the most judicious child of God cannot see through it but God can see through it And so the foundation of the house he seeth to be upon Sand when it may be the people of God cannot discern it We are exceeding apt secretly to bless our selves when the people of God think well of us and if we may be but admitted into their fellow ship we are well it is a thing to be eyed in its place but to make this our rest is desperate alas they have so much to do at home with their own hearts they cannot have so much time to pry into the actions of others nor if they do to enter into the heart of any and charity binds them to think the best where there is no discovery to the contrary but what if all the Saints should admire thee and look upon thee as a most precious glorious creature Yet the Lord sees thee to be but dung and dross and rottenness Men look upon the out-side of the Sepulchre God pierceth to the rottenness within his eyes behold the evil and the good let it lie never so deep the ends God discovers them Did you at all fast unto me saith the Lord no but to your selves So the Pharisees they had covering upon covering to hide their rottenness with but all would not do they had their long garments long prayers and many good actions which they did and much zeal which they seemed to have and yet God seeth through all this and calls them wretched hypocrites when all is done and tels them for what end they did it to devour widows houses and to be seen of men So God saw the Idols of their hearts though the Prophet could not Our Saviour knew their hearts and would not trust himself unto them Would it not be a confusion to you if the people of God should see your hypocrisie how would you hold up your heads before them Ah brethren how will you lift up your faces before the Lord then who searcheth the hearts If you be found with no oyl in the heart in the vessel only a Lamp a shew he can he will search it out and that your souls shall one day know And therefore it concerneth us now to search 2. The great danger of hypocrisie in profession in these daies now the times smile upon it for indeed let hypocrites pretend what they will they are sensual and it is their belly they serve and not the Lord Jesus and therefore as the times sway you shall have them bow where the loaves were there those hypocrites would be they followed not the Ordinance the bread of life for it self but for the loaves they subjected it unto their bellies the Bull-rush will not grow except it have much mire and water no more will an hypocrite except he hath his advantages ordinarily though sometimes they may go through persecution yet that is somewhat more then ordinary O how Judas loveth the bag more then the Master it was that that kept him so close to Jesus Christ he had a sweet place of it while he had the bag WelL If ever mens souls were in danger of being undone by hypocrisie now is the time Brethren And now it is the more hard to discern whether we follow Christ for the leaves yea â—r no therefore upon that account also we had the more need to search and try our hearts whether we be sound at the bottom or no. 3. The danger of the cure if we be pocrites Indeed in this respect the condition of a prophane man is better then a close hypocrite his distemper is more apparent and his own conscience cannot but judge him of many things but now many times a hypocrite seeth not his hypocrisie though sometimes he do it may be at the first if he had hearkened to the voice of his conscience charging him with hypocrisie in this and that he might have kept it tender but smothering it at last it groweth silent and harder seared and the eyes by degrees are blinded so that he
thee for the time past yet now sure I am I love thee and that love preferred Jesus Christ before his life If the heart be but upright if there be never so little at first yet it will grow it will continue the Seed of God will abide And if never so much if the heart be not right it will fall short of heaven as these Virgins they went far Well the Lord give us understanding in these things Verse 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 WE have done with the former member that is to say the foolish Virgins trimming their Lamps going so far in a profession of Christ and yet fail when all is done Now we are to consider the second member included in this general and that is that Believers are now to trim their Lamps the wise Virgins were now to do it as well as the foolish the real as well as the formal professor I will only briefly note two things from this clause of the Verse First That though a Believers profession may decline and grow low and that towards his latter end or after he hath long professed Jesus Christ yet it is not altogether extinct it wants trimming indeed but it is not out with the foolish Virgins 2. When this profession groweth thus low it is the Believers duty to renew it to trim up his Lamp Of the first in the first place wherein are comprehended three notes which for brevity sake I wrap up into one partly because some of them have near affinity with what hath been already delivered and partly because I would not dwell too long upon the Text. First then That a Believer his profession may decline and grow low and need a renewing 2. That it may come to this pass after he hath long professed or near the time of his Calling for And 3. That yet notwithstanding it is not extinct altogether as the profession of the foolish is of which afterwards A word or two briefly to each of these First That a Believers profession may decline which is somewhat of kin to what we spoke before and therefore the less here The Lamp may grow low First then The light which appears to be in the Saints may grow low It may admit of mixtures sometimes of darkness which much dimmeth the light I mean they may be much corrupted in their judgements and turned aside from the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ this is clear in the Galathians their â—ase ye did run well who hindred you what was the matter It was an errour and a gross one crept in among them to set up the Law and Moses with Christ as necessary to Justification and Salvation What aâ—mist is here about the Lamp this made it twilight with them 2. The lightsomness and joy of faith this also may wear away in great measure yet not altogether the faces of the Saints do shine by a reflexion of the countenance of God upon them as the face of Moses did when he had been with God in the Mount but alas though they walk long in the light of his countenance may it not be lost as we find the Psalmist complaining Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation he had it before but now he had lost it both which are implyed in that word restore And do we not find it in that 50. of Isaiah Who is there among you that walks in darkness and sâ—eeh no light Where is the lightsomness of the Lamp then the pleasant paraphrase upon the works of the grace of Christ in their souls so that they can see nothing at all Look what comfort it is to have a â—ight or a Lamp in the darkest night such comfort it is to have the smiling presence of the Lord. But now this is lost thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled Gods face was clouded and his face was covered 3. Believers as they may lose in a great measure their joy of faith so may they lose their confidence of hope so that they may be ready to say many times their hope is even perished from the Lord and hath God forgotten to be gracious and will he be merciful no more this you may see in many cases of the Saints David I shall one day perish by the hands of Saul O I shall never see through this world of wickedness that is in mine heart but sooner or later I shall be swallowed up by it 4. A Believer may lose the degrees of those graces which are radical and which indeed more principally are like the oyl in the vessel yet that may grow low and then no marvel if the Lamp which is fed by them do grow low also As that of their faith how low may they grow in faith Indeed our Saviour hath prayed that their faith fail them not altogether but in a great part it may decline We see it in Asa one while he could trust in God when a great hoast of the Ethiopians and Lybians come against him By by when he was not so hard put to it he rests upon the King of Assyria for which the Lord reproveth him by the Prophet Where was Petersâ—aith â—aith when a little carnal fear turned him aside in so sad a manner and indeed it is the want of faith in the people of God that is the very root of all those turnings aside from the Fountain to the broken Cistern from God to the creature And so that of love as well as faith faith works by love and this also may deâ—line You find the Church of Ephesus She had left her first love and that Angel of the Church also he had it may be heretofore been full of love to Jesus Christ and that love very laborious in feeding the Flock of Christ but now his love was remitted May not every mans heart Seal to this that the Love of his Espousals to the Lord Jesus the love of our youth those springing affections are gone 5. Another is this A Believer may lose the fervor of all those holy affections that he hath had his desires his delight and joy his anger and hatred against sin loathing and abomination time hath been we could have cryed out for the living God their souls break for the longing they had to God but now the Chariot wheels drive more heavily We have felt sometimes the babe springing in the womb but now we can hardly feel in our affections languish towards Jesus Christ Solomon once had a zeal for the house of God when he laid out himself in building a house for his name but what was become of that zeal when he could build a house to Chemosh the God of the Moabites in favour of his Moabitish wives where was his zeal then So Laodicea was grown luke-warm theywere hot at first 6. The outward acts of grace they may be remitted which indeed are a great part of the profession It is not a bare confessing Jesus Christ the Lord with
owned as eminently as any of the rest and more for his Comfort The lost groat was found again and the lost sheep was found again And so the Prodigal Son he ran far and lavisht away his Patrimony and yet he is restored again the winter may deform the face of the earth but the Spirit of God can renew it again in the Spring now he hath promised to give this Spirit and he sendeth forth his Spirit to find out the lost Child the lost sheep and therefore there is encouragement 2. Consider until this be done you are not fit for Heaven nor to enter with him you are not ready the wise Virgins trimmed their Lamps and then they were ready saith the Text and they that were ready went in with him happy creatures that are found ready with their Lamps burning at that day of his appearing which we know not whether it may be at hand A wicked man is not fit for heaven upon any terms it would be a place of no rest unto him no more then the Air is to the fish or the water to a man they are not con-natural and truly no more is a gracious man fit for heaven while his Lamp wants trimming Heaven is the inheritance of the Saints in light and is he fit for it that is even going out in darkness O no the Lamp must be shining and burning bright or else there is no suitableness to heaven 3. Hereby God will have much more glory by you then otherwise he is like to have for minde you it is the shining of our Lamps the glory of our conversations suitable to our profession that giveth occasion to the men of the world to glorifie him so saith our Saviour Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your father which is in heaven This is all the Lord expecteth that he may be acknowledged and have the glory of all his grace of us we have the sweet and comfort and everlasting advantage of it and it cannot but be upon every believers heart to glorifie God it is indeed the end of our coming into the world now we cannot glorifie him so while our Lamps burn so low we are under declinings but when we are fruitful and abound in it as our Saviour saith herein is my father glorified that ye bring forth much fruit this is that which God is glorified by It may be we have some few good works but they are but a few and so few that scarce any can take notice to glorifie God for them methinks this should stick much with us Specially the nearer we come to glory our selves the more should we mind the glory of God the more zealous should we be for it O begin to lay about us to glorifie him here learn the work of heaven for ever if not before yet at least now we are ready to reap the wages of heaven the glory and joy unspeakable and Rivers of pleasures for evermore 4. Consider Is it not a shame for us brethren whose salvation is much nearer now then when we believed began to believe that our light should not be more dim our heat more abated our zeal for God the fervor of our affections surely it is a very great shame as if the nearer we come to the enjoyment of God the less desirable he were time hath been when we have some of us followed hard after God it is well if we have mended or held on our pace the time hath been haply when our Conversations have been bright and a beauty of holiness appeared in them and others have taken notice of it and glorified God it is well if we be not grown Luke-warm O what a shame is this the nearer we come to the Sun to be the colder hath not the Cry passed and awaked us and do we not finde that our Lamps are dim and we are in our profession very low O look to it that our last days be our best days and we go not out like a snuff But you will ask me what should we do to trim up these Lamps of ours First You must remember from whence you are fallen look up to the top of the hill where once you were and now you are undiscernably tumbled to the bottom you know not how O how much ground have you lost search and try brethren Commune with your hearts Consider your ways as David did and turn to the Lord. It will exceedingly shame us and that shame be a spur to us to consider how far short we are of that love that zeal that diligence and closeness of walking Secondly We must repent of it we must be humbled for our former miscarriages our declining to lose our first love the more love we have received the less we return to him again Is not this unworthy Besides how much might we have honoured the Lord if our light had shone before men if there had been a Majesty of holiness alway upon our conversation such as sometime haply there hath been and is not this matter of humbling Thirdly Then we must do our first works It is not a sorrow only for our miscarriage that is enough but we must do our first works If we have been zealous before and now are become Luke-warm be zealous and amend do our first works we have been more diligent and close in our walking with God now we are more remiss we must remember whence we are fallen and do our first works O why should we not labour to exceed the love of our espousals when we followed so hard after him our souls panted as the chased Hart after the water-brooks and this it may be before we had many hints of his love some sight of him likely else we should not follow him some touch upon our hearts as in Elisha his case and Sauls the people whose hearts God touched they followed but did one taste of his love then draw thee out so earnestly and now thou hast had many a smile many a sweet refreshing from his presence many a Ring broken between Jesus Christ and thy soul and wilt thou not now be as diligent and as earnest in following after him it is the nature of true Grace that as it cometh from heaven it will never cease until it reach to heaven again Fourthly We must beg earnestly of the Lord to work this and all our works in us and for us It is he that restored David his soul when it was even lost and so he doth ours he maketh them to return when they are even giving up O give him no rest until he send forth his spirit and give thee to be filled with that spirit with might in the inner man that thou maist burn and shine and the fulness and fruitfulness the burning and brightness of thy conversation may be a witness to all that behold it that of a truth the Spirit of Jesus Christ is in thee He
and from the power of Satan to God while they are under darkness they are under the power of Satan he can lead them whither he pleaseth for they know not whether they go as the wise man speaks And that is the reason surely that Antichrist that first-born of the Devil by might and main keepeth his Proselytes in the dark takes away the Key of knowledge from them he knoweth if once the light should break in upon them it is very great hazard but they would break out from him from that bondage and slaverie that they are in to him therefore Satan will be exceeding industrious and how will he fill a poor creatures heart with false reasonings concerning his Condition O if there be any stirring or conviction at any time how doth he labour to lick them whole again to make up the breach the Word hath made in their consciences himself will turn Preacher and pretend to the tongue of the Learned to speak a word in due season and put on the garb of an Angel of light and preach peace peace O he is a cunning dauber specially having our hearts on his side and therefore as ready to be beguiled as he is to deceive us 3. From the similitude of a form of godliness to the godliness it self It is true life cannot be pictured but yet a man may be drawn so to the life as by a dim sight or by the help of a mist cast before the eyes and wires whereby such poppets may move we can scarce discern it from a man Similitude is the mother of mistakes therefore the Romans made their Ancilia so like to that which they say fell from heaven that if any might steal it he might seem to one to be mistaken how like brethren is gilded brass to gold how like may a Bristoll-stone be to a pearl how like to a Saint was Judas the Devil is Gods Ap◠and he will imitate his work And therefore for sincerity it self he hath a◠counterfeit which looks as like it as can be As when men shall seem most self-denying for Christ or forgo all and give away all they have to the poor as if they would become mendicants indeed this is very much and yet they might do this give all to the poor and give their body to be burned and yet not have love to Jesus Christ can there possibly be more love shewn then in this and yet you see there may be counterfeits in that also This is the third Argument And they do from hence deceive themselves Such as will run from Sermon to Sermon and with much seeming delight hear the word of God are affected moved but they do it not deceiving themselves with a paralogism a false reasoning for they are ready to conclude O surel should not have such a desire to be up early and seeking after Christ as they think though indeed they seek him not nor his face but somewhat else in the Word they should not delight in approaching to God as you have heard if there were not theroot of the matter in us but they look not at the doing of the Word the main thing and therefore they delude themselves with this self-reasoning So the fool building his house upon the sand from the foundation upward they are as like one another as can be and as likely to stand out a storm and therefore they reason from hence surely they shall hold out if the wise mans hope will shelter him theirs will shelter them But alas here is a paralogism they look not at the different foundations the one upon the rock the other upon the sands the one receiving Jesus Christ but as Jesus it may be the other as Jesus and Lord the event sheweth that a deceived heart was their undoing Fourthly Because alas the hypocrite usually is not much in searching of himself Surely if Gods knowledge of the heart be set forth to us as a searching of it it will imply so much we should search our hearts else we shall never know them for he speaks after the manner of men with a special respect to the heart-knowledge there they search as men do for hid treasures for what they would find and lyeth secret A cunning cheat looks like an honest man until he be searched into and throughly 〈…〉 ed a slight examination will not find him out and so truly will many a rotten heart go for an honest and good heart until there be a search Hypocrites are like Sepulchres which appear not they are fair and beautiful being painted without but it appears not what they are within if you would see what a Sepulchre is indeed you must break it up and down into it with a Candle search it out there you shall find loathsom rottenness dead mens bones Now I say an hypoerite oridinarily is not diligent in this work and therefore his heart deceiveth himself and this ariseth from several grounds Haply 1. He is too sloathful he is not one of the diligent laborious Christians that will take pains in this work If an overly view of mens hearts would do every one would search but to rifle every corner of their hearts and when the heart turns the back tergiversatur is loath to answer to the Queries which are put to it but flings an hundred waies up and down and no hold of it at all now in such a case he is a diligent Christian indeed that will not be bastled but will urge it home upon the heart and will have an answer better or worse and thus from time to time an hypocrite will hardly take pains in this great work and therefore no marvel if his heart deceive him and he be hid form himself 2. Haply he is confident of himself as in the place of Job and who almost are men of more flourishing hopes then the hypocrites were there any deadly doubt of their condition then the Pharisees and yet were there any more rotten then they were they thought if there were any men should go to heaven they were the men men of such knowledge as they were and such duties and strict lives as they were was it possible they should miscarry and you see how bold they are to plead it at the last day as in that 7. of Matth. Now that which a man thinketh he hath already or thinketh he is sure of he will not trouble himself to enquire after it it is but needless labour If a man be sure as he thinketh he hath his groat he will not light a Candle and seek it 3. Because haply they have sometimes some of them misgivings of heart sometimes hypocrites may and therefore they may be loath to come to search they suspect themselves some do and yet not so strongly but that they have a false hope to ballance their fear and to prevail A Bankrupt he that suspects it hath no mind to cast up his accounts he had rather do any thing they may I
but be a grief and wound to you then to remember how you have spent your strength in sin and upon your lusts now have little or no time remaining little strength to lay out upon his service to testifie your love to the Lord Jesus surely this will be a burthen And therefore brethren as you tender your souls welfare as you would not be cheated out of your souls and held in a sools Paradise until it be too late or at least untill you lose your comfort much of it which otherwise you might have O now while it is called to day will you hearken to the voyce of him that speaks from heaven even Jesus Christ hast thou not as much need to make haste as David had I made hâ—ste and delayed not to keep thy righteous iudgements haste not thou as much need as Paul he went presently consulted not with flesh and blood but â—orthwith went to preach the Gospel the Disciples forthwith saith the Text Left their Nets and followed Jesus Christ if they had lingered who can tell whether c. O therefore let me bespeak to you in those words of the Prophet If you will inquire inquire return come those that either mockingly or else fearfully asked Watchman what of the night what of the night c. when will this burthen come upon us we see it not yet your morning cometh and also the night though you have a morning of flourishing and light yet the night as surely followeth it as the night doth the day therefore if you will inquire inquire return come how many expressions here are to shew the vehemecy of the call O come now now now away come away come away the dulness of them to whom it was made if you will inquire inquire every man will pretend a willingness to have Christ and grace and they will inquire after heaven if you will inquire inquire then saith he now or never if you mean to escape lay hold upon salvation before it be past and no recalling of it the word Inquiring signifieth an earnestness this inquiring like the bubling up of a Pot through heat so then it may be that God puts fire under thy conscience and it beginneth to bubble thou art restless now if thou wilt ever inquire inquire after Christ and grace for this is the expected time this is the day of salvation while he thus moveth by his Spirit there is hope he will be found therefore as you love your souls trifle not away such a precious season There are three or four Considerations that I would propound to you at tending to the furtherance of this work First That you labour with God and your hearts to shake off your â—loathfulness men would have grace and heaven but they would have it drop into their mouths they would have Christ but they will not follow him nor follow hard after him you see many of the Israelites when they were on the other side Jordan could have been contented for their ease sake to have continued where they were if God would have let them alone they had so many enemies to encounter and such a Jordan swelling to pass through they had little mind to it and when they were on the other side gotten over Jordan what did they do Up saith Joshuah Many years after they came over Jordan some say seven years after Judah had their lot as long as the whole Land was in conquering and had conquered a great part of the Land why are ye slack to go up and possess the Land they were contented now to have sitten still and taken their ease and truly I doubt it is so with many they are afraid if once they begin to stir and to close with Christ O they shall have their lusts their sins about their ears temptations thick and threefold it may be some have found some such thing when they have begun to stir and therefore they are willing to take their ease Secondly Be sure you miss not an opportunity you might enjoy do you know where or when the Spirit of Christ will breath Lie at the house of mercy thou knowest not when it may come to thy turn to be put into the water O hear and hear as for your lives and think with thy self when thou hearest that this voice of God sounds in thy ears O to day to day if you will hear his voice Thirdly Take heed of hardening your hearts as the Psalmist speaks harden not your hearts It is said of the people to whom that Evangelical Prophet was sent that they made their ears heavy God said make their ears heavy because they themselves had â—hut their own eyes clapt to the windows and would not admit the light like the deaf Adder which they say stoppeth one ear with her tayl and closeth the other to the ground lest they should hear the Charmer and so be taken Ah Brethren are we not guilty in this kind we stop our ears if we come to hear we fill them full of prejudice or else we resolve what we will do before we come we resolve not to be taught by any Minister of them all we are at a period concerning our souls and some are so desperate as to speak such words as these are haply or think so if they speak them not all the arguments in the world shall not perswade them to leave their profitable sins or their pleasant lust they will put it to the venture O Brethren how just is it with God when men harden thir own hearts especially if they have any stirrings and convictions within how just is it with God to say Amen to such resolutions you will not hearken to my voice well you shall never hearken to my voice you will have your lusts well you shall have them and judgement and damnation to boot Acts 7. 51. they alway resisted the Holy-Ghost and Ezek. 7. and 9. and 12. they hardened their hearts like an Adamant 4. Cast away from you Brethren those nets and snares which intangle you and hinder you in this great work as the Disciples did their nets when Christ called them they left all and followed him I mean not that every Christian is called to leave his imployment but such as are called to be Ministers of the Gospel I think are called to cast away worldly incumbrances altogether but thou must take heed they hang not so fast upon thee as to hinder thee be sure thou sit loose to the world it will else sooner or later be a pull-back to thee O for such a resolution as Jerom had If his Father were weeping upon his knees his mother hanging about his neck his Brethren sisters and kindred all with lamentation intreating him to forbear he would cast down his Mother and trample upon his Father run over them all to go to Christ Do as Bartim then Doth he call thee off with the Cloak away with that which hinders thy running
according to the meaning of the wise and foolish Virgins here but for that I shal leave it If that may be the meaning of the wise Virgins surely the foolish Virgins understood it not for it appears not that they went to him to buy but used some other impertinent endeavours as they went to the wise Virgins before and not to Christ Here is little ground for Papists to bottom their Doctrine of perseverance to be attained by their own industrie and pains for alway his price is not comprehended from being if it be from God from Jesus Christ it is alway excluded Come buy without money or without price as before except they purchase it of men But we may understand these words as many godly learned do for an upbraiding a mocking an Ironical consent as there are many instances in Scripture Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee but remember that for all these things God will bring thee to judgement And so that of Elijah he is a God cry aloud he is either in a journey or talking or some such thing that he cannot hear And so Micaiah spake to Ahab Go and prosper and the Lord shall deliver it into thy hand And that of Jesus to his Disciples sleep on now take your rest which is Ironical So as when Ahab would be humoured the Prophet speaks after his mind if so as it should seem he might perceive he spake not as he meant how long shall I adjure thee to speak nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord So these foolish Virgins they would have their grace from a creature and the wise answered them according to their humour and Ironically yield to them to send them to others though themselves had none to part with Aug. Ep. 120. and Calv. so understood them and so doth Beza and our Annot. The Note I would briefly hint to you from hence is this That such as trifle away the day of grace and are not serious in the work of getting grace the time shall come when they shall have none to pitty their misery If men may expect pitty or compassion from any it is either from the Lord who is a God of bowels and unspeakable unsearchable compassions Or else from the people of God who as the children of God do put on bowels of compassions as the Apostle speaks they are cloathod with bowels so that their compassions are eminent and to be seen by them that have to do with them but yet the time may come brethren if you now neglect so great salvation as is offered to you held out by Jesus Christ himself the Son of God speaking from heaven not froÌ„ the earth that you shall have no pitty from the Lord no nor from his people from God that is plain I will but name it because it may seem impertinent to the Text yet if it serve to no other purpose it may serve to shew us that the Saints if they do not pitty in some cases where it is evident the day of grace is past and men have wretchedly sinned it away that they have the Lord for their pattern for it therefore I mention it Then shall they call saith the Lord and I will not answer they shall cry c. I will mock when their fear cometh and laugh at their calamity Prov. 1. 26. It is spoken after the manner of men and sheweth the heavy aggravation of their misery that the Lord shall be so far from pittying them that he shall laugh at them So in the 2. Psal where the Annointed of God is lifted up upon Zion there are some that will not be bound will not have him to reign over them count it a bondage and a grievous one indeed the Lord shall laugh at them he shall have them in derision But for the people of God they expect it may be to be pittied in such a condition by them but they may meet with nothing but a mock though a holy one and indeed there is need of much holiness and in act too to mock and not to sin So here you see and so the Prophet by a spirit of Prophesie go and buy of them that sell But lest this may seem to be ground enough to build it upon because it is of doubtful interpretation therefore take another Scripture where he speaks of the Destruction of persecutors of the people of God such as Doeg was and there is the like reason for hypocrites when discovered undenyably and their Lamps gone out as here the righteous shall see it and fear and laugh at him when God should destroy him for ever and pluck him out of his dwelling place and root him out of the Land of the living then the righteous should see it and laugh at him have him in a holy derision yet with an holy awe of that glorious and fearful God who was so just in his judgements upon him And is it not just with God it should be so When such hypocrites have in their hearts despised the long-suffering and patience and tenderness of the Lord waiting upon them and made a mock and a jeast it may be at the intreaties of God at the earnestness of the Saints and their pressing so hard forward that now themselves in extremity should be mocked at by the people of God themselves This may be then in the first place a warning-word to all such trifling professors as all the while Jesus Christ stretcheth out his hands to them even all the day long they will not come to him they will sit under the shadow of their own gourd while it is green and not under the shadow of Jesus Christ they will sit by their own bottle their own cistern and not come to the Fountain which is opened for sins for uncleanness Remember Brethren there will come a day upon you wherein to the cutting and wounding of your souls you shall be sent to those empty things for comfort Papists will not now be perswaded but there is enough for them in their Church-treasurie and lay out their money upon them but when the Lord shall shew them their treasure is empty there is nothing in it it will not reach to pay the uttermost farthing no noâ— one farthing will it reach to pay then will the Lord and his people send such poor deluded souls to their Merit-mongers to their indulgences Now go to your treasurie of Merit for some sucker and râ—lief now go to your dry bottles see if there be any drop of water there to cool your tongues your inflamed souls with the displeasure of the Lord. As the Lord in the day of his peoples deistruction sends them to their Idols which they doted upon in a mocking way at their callings I will save you no more go to your Idols your gods that have eaten the fat of your sacrifices c. You have made lies
your refuge now go and shelter your selves under them now go and see whether your gourds will shade you from the scorching of the everlasting burnings O how this will grate and gall a guilty conscience every such word will speak confusion and hell to the very heart of a sinner and this is that you must expect You that now cannot down with a searching powerful Ministry can abide the shining but not the burning of a John Baptist that will deal faithfully with you but you must be daubed and bolstered up you must have such as will speak peace peace to you right or wrong the time will come when God shall shew you that this hath been the ruine and undoing of your souls and then in contempt and scorn you shall be sent to them Go now to your Parasite-Preachers when the consoience is all on a flame and you see your Lamps are gone out and the Bridegroom is ready to come and there is but a step between you and hell Ah the woful condition of such a soul then may the Lord and his people say Now go to your daubers now see if they can heal your breaches see if they can bind you up if they can cool you and quench you you shall have it of Gods hand to lye down in sorrow and then see whether your daubers with untempered morter shall lull you asleep O how grievous will this be from the Lord when they shall have nothing but derision from him and from his people Now the people of God will pitty you and pray for you but the time may come if you know not the things which belong to your peace in this your day that they shall laugh at you they shall in a mock a holy scorn send you to your false refuges for help Go to them that buy go to your flatterers see if they can comfort you 2. This then is a comfort to the people of God that are now guided by the holy Spirit to go to Jesus Christ to the Fountain indeed to hang their souls upon him replenish themselves still from his fulness as it is in that first of John because Brethren there will come a day of distinguishing between such as have made the Lord their hope their strength and such as have dallyed and trifled and as the one shall have a mock from God and from his people the Believer that hath been used to make the name of the Lord his refuge he shall then find acceptance find a free access What time I am afraid saith the Psalmist I will trust in thee dost thou not love to be flattered wouldst thou have thy soul dealt faithfully with and not gently as is said concerning Absolom happy art thou when others shall be sent to their broken Cisterns thou shalt be admitted to the Fountain to the fulness of Jesus Christ to which thou usually hadst recourse as the wise Virgins here they trimmed their Lamps they got a new supply of oyl but the foolish are sent to them that sell to their flatterers their Mountebanks their money-changers to see what they can afford them In such a time as this thou shalt come to the true Physitian to the high-treasurer of heaven c. Verse 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HEre it seemeth they had no more wit then to go to buy of them that sell How difficult is it to beat a man off his creature-confidence and refuges which he hath for his soul For these foolish Virgins here they had kindled sparks of their own and walked in the light of their own sparks a great while and all that while it was an exceeding hard matter to perswade them to the contrary but their penny was as good silver as other mens to perswade a painted hypocrite while his paint lasts that he is but a Sepulchre and full of rottenness and no resting in that conditlon is as hard as to perswade a man that looks upon his money baggs he is a beggar But now a man would have thought when this Lamp had gone out and they saw their sparks of their own kindling would not endure to eternal life that then they should have bethought themselves of a higher born flame a higher principle that would endure to get that oyl and that fire from heaven that would aspire and never rest until it reached heaven my meaning is that when they saw the profession and form which they could by their industrie and parts work out of themselves went out and failed them they should have thought of going to a higher principle but what do they do they go to the creature you see to the wise Virgins for oyl there they have another repulse they had none to spare for them By this a man would have thought they might have taken a hint that sure it is not to be had then from the creature we must look higher if any creature could furnish us tht wise Virgins the Saints indeed could furnish us but we have knockt at their doors and it is not to be had there And do they now bethink themselves of going to Christ no not at all Let it be considered yet further that they had a very sharp blow to rap their fingers off the creature which a man would have thought should have made them afraid of ever laying hold upon an arm of flesh again for this Irony or holy mock of them go to them that sell if they understood it so was a reproof as full of Vinegar as can be As that of our Saviour sleep on now saith he take your rest now they are at hand let us go hence they had little list to sleep after such a reproof as that and yet we see these foolish Virgins are so stupid that this mock of them it beateth them not off at all but to the Creature they go still to try whether there be any oyl to be had among them that sell the flatterers and merit-mongers they think not of going to Jesus Christ And whence doth this appear brethren but first From our corrupt nature which hath departed from the Lord and is now ful of enmity to him and is loth to return to him so proud we are that as long as we can find any thing in our selves we will go no further but when we see our own gourd is withered our torrent is dried up such is the enmity of our wretched hearts to God in the way of his Grace that we would go any whither for succour rather then to God to Christ the Jews would not come to Christ that they might have life they might have it for coming for but they would not they would take any pains in their own works men will rather put themselves to any pennance mortifyings and maceratings of the flesh as the Papists some of them do will be at any charge for their indulgences from men rather then they will go to Jesus Christ Thus the Lord complains of his
no their own promises may fail but Gods promises never fail nor a lively hope founded upon them 4. That the poor weary tossed afflicted people of God may have rest in the bosom of the Father and the Son and holy Spirit there remaineth a rest to the people of God they have not their rest here expect it not but either from within or without or both we have our troubles the world casteth them out as the off-scouring of all things they are the despised hated mocked people the song of the drunkard the laughing-stock of the world and therefore because they cast them out the Lord will receive them If we have not persecution without we shall have our exercises what between corruption and temptation and sometimes the terrors of God and sense of his wrath sometimes breaking bones hiding his face from us there is no rest until we come to enter with him now we lie among the pots but then we shall indeed be made glorious like the wings of a Dove in sulness Now this is agreeable not only to the truth but the goodness tenderness bowels of the Lord to his people that his poor afflicted People should rest with himself when he hath by these filings and scourings and siftings and turnings up and down made them meet for the inheritance of the Saints in light So much for the Arguments For the Application of this that they that are ready do enter into Glory First it serveth to shew the blessed condition that the diligent lively prepared soul is in heaven Gate is ready to receive such a soul the bosom of Abraham of Christ opened ready to receive him he shall enter they have this priviledge that many that profess Jesus Christ have not many shall seek to enter but shall not be able that strive not as he doth Blessed is that servant saith our Saviour that his master shall find watching shall find ready for his coming why he will not leave any such soul behind they shall all enter into glory how blessed a condition this is may appear by many considerations more 2. Such a soul as this cannot be surprized so far as he is ready he is never surprized surprizals are terrible if Jesus Christ had come without any warning upon the wiâ—e Virgins while sleeping it had been terrible to them though they might have entred with him also but if we be ready that day will not take us at unawares indeed if a child of God be once ready he cannot be altogether surprized more though in part he may if he carry it not the better he will be still habitually ready if not actually so the foolish Virgins were not They still have the root of the matter though it may be under ground and hid from their eys and is not this a blessed thing as often as you think of the coming of Christ to think now let my Saviour come when he pleaseth I am through rich grace ready for him A servant when his work is done a Spouse when her ornaments are put on and the house trimmed and all ready for her Bridegroom now come when he will I am ready for him before the thoughts of his coming are troublesom and painful now they are pleasant and delightful 3. When death comes how shall they lift up their heads with comfort because their Redemption draweth near O how will they be able to welcome death welcome Jesus Christ welcome the kingdom of heaven it is their entrance into a kingdom though it be bitter indeed and terrible to the wicked and though there be some reluctancy in nature against death and a Paul would rather be cloathed upon then dissolved and since it is the birth of sin that brought it into the world no marvel if Grace it self have no delight in it yet considering that it is an entrance though narrow and pinching into Heaven into Glory the Saints that are ready for it they can bid it welcom As a poor weary tossed Marriner can bid his Port welcome though there may be some fear of Rocks or the like in his landing 4. Are they not blessed souls that shall enter that now all their distances between them and Jesus Christ shall be done away now he whom your souls loved and longed for yea your souls have many times broken within you for the longing for him now he cometh to take you to himself that you may be with him near him alway in his bosom Is not this a blessed Condition what tends all your striving and running and fighting your wrestling praying and weeping to but this now the end of your hope the salvation of your souls cometh upon you blessed yea for ever blessed is such a soul if Christ and heaven the Father Son and Spirit enjoyed in an unspeakable bosom-communion will not speak a man blessed nothing will but thus much for this first 2. Then methinks brethren now we should be putting the question to our own hearts now whether we be ready or no O here is blessedness indeed you cannot but judge that man or woman though a man of sorrow while in the world haply through temptations and a heavy body of death yet that shall enter in Glory when all is done sure you cannot but judge this man a blessed man that is ready for it for he and he only shall enter And can it be but you should reflect now and enquire of the Lord and of your own hearts Lord am I ready for this coming of Jesus Christ or am I not for one of the two I am Dear friends I shall not use any more arguments to you but these two or three considerations 1. How uncertain this coming of Christ to you to call for you is do you know when he will appear do you know brethren whether you shall be warned again called upon again to prepare for his coming this may be the Cry it may be the Cry is past with many of you already is it not high time to awake to look about you to consider whether you be ready or no 2. To consider That there will be then no time given to prepare If you be ready well and good you enter if not you are shut out as afterward we shall speak O then how can we satisfie our selves and quiet our Consciences with an ignorance how it is with us It is high time surely brethren to enquire 3. Except we do enquire we are not likely to take a course to make ready he that thinketh he is ready or careth not whether he be ready or no if he be unready now he is like to be unready for such a man will not set about the work O that the Lord would therefore perswade you this day to consider with your selves are you ready or are you not 4. There is very great need of this enquiry because alas many are ready and think they are unready and then cannot have the comfort of their Condition except
that had no wedding garment upon him yet came to the Feast Sure he went no further then the externals you see he is cast out into utter darkness Now this may be called the Marriage or the Feast because here below they are necessary for us as signs of that spiritual communion the Lord seeth it good we have these royal dainties thus represented to us by visible sensible things because of our weakness and to magnifie his own condescending Grace to us to make that mysterie of salvation by a crucified Christ which all the reason in the world cannot fathom and that which neither eye hath seen nor ear heard yet in a sort visible to the eye and to be perceived by the ear that we might even in this sacramental sense even touch and taste and handle as I may say the word of life 2. As they are seals and pledges of this spiritual communion being seals of the Covenant of Grace whereof Jesus Christ is the sum and substance it sealeth it up to a believers Faith and so stands us in great stead And 3. It is a means of our spiritual communion the Conduit-pipe that runs wine the dishes that hold the dainties though but gold as Kings and Princes use to be served up in such State yet it is not them we feed upon they are but the means the vehicula and therefore because they have such a respect to our spiritual communion with Jesus Christ they may be so called But secondly the internal communion with Jesus Christ is that indeed which is the Feast the Marriage-feast even here below to eat and drink the flesh and blood of the Son of God which giveth life and maintains life this is the Feast Eat and drink yea drink abundantly saith the Lord I shall be satisfied abundantly with the goodness of thy house abundantly satisfied watered inebriated with the fatness of thy house what is that not meerly with the Ordinances no but with Christin them beholding his might and glory in the Ordinances the mighty prevailing of the Spirit of Christ against our unbelief to quiet all our doubtings O it is this to see the good of the chosen of the Lord those choice inward refreshings which the poor believers have from the presence and powerful workings of Christ in them to the joy of faith and to strengthen against corruption to strengthen for action for suffering his will this is that they cry out after even after the living God to enjoy him And all this is but the Kingdom of God below this is but the first course as I may say of this feast For secondly The Kingdom of glory as well as the Kingdom of grace which is that now I am to speak to this is a feast a Marriage here called that is to say a Marriage-feast for what is the Kingdom of grace here below but a foretaste of heaven as Grotius upon Matth. 22. saith As in the Marriage-feast at Cana of Galilee contrary to the usual manner our Saviour kept his best wine last so it is here as by and by we shall see here the wine the spirits indeed But a little to prove this by a Scripture or two that it may appear plain ye that have continued with me in my temptation I appoint to you a Kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me that ye may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom So many shall come from the East and from the West and shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven sit down 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their table jesture Joh. 12. 2. they that sit at the Table are Guests But now eating and drinking in Scripture many times do signifie a feasting and so it is here to be taken and let it be noted by way of further proof that the Jews did not ordinarily drink wine except at their feasts and then they did drink abundantly if the observation of some be true as Piscator in his Schol. upon Math. 26. 29. cited by Mr. Brinsly but whether so or no sure we are they did use to drink more liberally then eat the fat and drink the sweet when it was a good day or a merry day to them for his heart was merry his heart was good and the sadness of the heart was called the evil of the heart in the Hebrew often insomuch that the ordinary word in the Hebrew for a feast is a drinking 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So in Ahashuerus his feast is called and Labans feast is called a drinking and it appears by the abundance of wine our Saviour made at the Marriage-feast at Cana of Galilee Therefore you shall find that the feast which Christ maketh is a feast of wines on the Lees well refined come and buy wine and milk without money and without price And so for this Kingdom of heaven this Marriage-feast at the height is called a drinking of new wine with them in the Kindgom of the Father that is to say the Kingdom of glory called his Fathers Kingdom because at that day that is to say at the day of the resurrection he will give up his dispensatory Kingdom to his Father that God may be all in all And for other reasons but I must not stay upon that Well here he will drink new wine with them which is nothing else but a periphrasis of this feast this Marriage-feast in heaven The cup of blessing the cup of consolation the cup of health or salvation is the feast of Christ here below but this now must be drunk new in the Kingdom of his Father there will be a new feast of wine a feast of new wine And so much for the proof of this Now we must understand Brethren that this feast in heaven is not any corporal thing I hope it is needless to tell any of you this the heathens dream of an Elysian-field and the Mahometans of their carnal delights after death those are poor husks that will not satisfie a soul of a child of God here they are sordid and infinitely below a heaven-born spirit no it must be somewhat of as high a nature as the spring from whence they come Why you may judge what it is in the General Brethren though particularly we know not what we shall be What is the Kingdom of heaven here below but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy-Ghost the sweet and spiritual communion with Jesus Christ the fellowship of his death and sufferings life and resurrection whereby we are in part changed into his Image that a man liveth upon will change him ordinarily therefore the King you know would have the children in Dan. fed with a portion of his meat generous-spirited wine will beget more and better spirits then course and cold c. So here by this communion we are changed in part though alas in how little a part But now in heaven Brethren the same communion
Table as his Spouse for ever as the poor man in the Parable his wife is compared to an Ewe Lamb which did lie in his bosome and eat and drink with him so shall the Saints surely because of this relation of theirs to the Lord Jesus Ah blessed are ye Believers ye that are ready for the appearing of the Lord Jesus Again Now the Saints are made ready for this glory now we are not able to bear it old Bottels will not hold this new Wine that he will drink with them in his Fathers Kingdom strong Duties were too strong for the Disciples then in their minority as I may say how much more the Duties of heaven everlasting Hallelujahs and admiring of God in Christ therefore they must be changed before they can be fit for that feast a little joy now would swallow us up so as to unfit us for any thing Alas the Apostle like a wise Nursing Father would not give strong meat to babes they could not bear it and so our Saviour when upon the earth they could not bear many things therefore he fed them with milk if you should give strong meats to children and wine what would sooner ruine them therefore saith the Apostle I speak the Wisdom of God in a Mâ—sterie among them that are perfect yet he had some things which he saw in his Vision that he could not or might not utter to them likely they could not bear them You see Israel could not indure to behold Moses face when it had but a beam of the divine glory within the cloud reflected upon him and the glory of the Angel astonished Iohn so eminent a man in saith and love and holiness therefore I say we shall then be fitted for this Communion the old Bottles be made new the capacities of soul inlarged the mouth opened wider then we can conceive and the body raised in power It must be an extraordinary stomack brethren that can continually sit at a Feast and dâ—gest it and never be satiated therefore it is that the Marriage feast the fulness of it is reserved for heaven and heaven is so compared in Scripture For the Uses of the Doctrine First then Behold what maner of love the Father hath loved us with that we should be made the Favorites a people so near to him that he will take any of us with him into the Marriage The Apostle admireth the condition of the Saints for what they have in hand already What manner of love is this that we should be called the Sons of God that is to say made such his Word is operative he cals things that were not as if they were but saith he this is not all it doth not yet appear what we shall be until Christ who is our life appear then shall we appear with him in glory the Saints in heaven though their apprehensions as well as the rest of their capacities shall be inlarged heightened perfected yet shall not be able to comprehend the depth of the river of pleasures at the right hand of God no more then a Vessel that is put into the Sea can comprehend the Ocean and therefore they shall admire it then the Lord Jesus shall come to be admired in all the Saints their fulness will be unspeakable greater then that of the Saints here though sometimes they are filled with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory yet alas in both conditions far short of comprehending it therefore we should admire it Such things as eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor can enter into the heart of man God hath prepared Do you not see how Haman glorieth in it though he had little cause if he knew all that he among all the Courtiers was invited to the feast of Wine to the Queen he accounted it an high favour a significative testimony of his especial love to him above others Ah brethren you that are Saints indeed let me speak to you all in the words of the Angel to Mary you are highly favoured of God you shall all be admitted to this Marriage Feast be thou as poor in outward condition as may be and as poor in Spirit as may be never so low in thine own thoughts thou shalt enter into this Marriage Feast thou thinkest with the poor Publican Thou art not worthy to come near the place where his honour dwels nor lift up thy eys towards heaven nor be reckoned among his people nor come to his Table here below Well be thou as vile as thou canst in thine own eys thou shalt enter with the Lord Jesus into the Marriage Feast if thou be ready for his coming O admire this Love the Lord help poor weak creatures unbelief in this point that they may admire it what will he admit such a one as I such a vile creature such a grieving creature to his holy Spirit yea such as he hath once pitched his heart upon to love them they shall enter with him into this feast Saith Mephihosheth What is thy servant thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I c. 2. If this be so that the state of Glory or Kingdom of glory into which the Saints enter with Christ is such a Marriage-feast it shall be an invitation then to poor sinners to this Feast this Marriage Wisdom hath builded her house hewn out seven Pillars killed her beast mingled her wine made it ready a cup of mixture that is to say a cup made ready and now sends forth her Maidens to cry turn in ye simple ones c. O that the uncircumsicion of our hearts that are the Messngers may not hinder but the Lord Jesus by us brethren doth invite you sinners to this feast he would fain have his Table full of guests how welcome would he make man woman and child if they would but come he would cast out none that cometh to him no no in any wise whatsoever as I have told you sometime from the Text. But for the better understanding of this Exhortation I will note two things and then a little further press it upon us First then That we do not invite you to this Feast this Marriage in heaven to enter in with Christ continuing such as you are in your blood and uncleanness but we do first invite you to come to Jesus Christ here on earth that so you may enter in with him into the Marriage your union with Christ and your communion with him must begin upon earth though it end in heaven and this communion here is two-fold though both spiritual it is internal and external internal a fellowship with the Father in the Son a fellowship with Christ in his death the power of it that we may dye to sin and be free from the condemnation God will not have this Marriage-Feast for his Son in heaven filled with Goal Birds condemned creatures such as have their bolts and fetters upon them the nastiness of the prison upon them
sinners to come Your ears they hear the joyful sound now you are called upon and intreated to be reconciled to believe Well you cannot say sinners another day but that the Lord gave you space to repent space to make sure of heaven but you neglected it 3. This opportunity and season it is headlong it staies notâ— maketh haste and to keep pace with your season of grace you must make haste and if it be once lost it is never recovered again O therefore Brethren with the greatest haste I beg of you to set about this work lest at last you cry out all too late all too late as it is said of a Lady that likely spent her time vainly but when she came to her death-bed O then she lamentably cryeth out O time time a world of wealth for a moment of time an inch of time Opportunity is bald behind there is no hold to be taken of it only by redeeming it double your diligence if you have lost a great part of your season have you been idling and loytering a great part of the harvest Now therefore lay about you so much the more earnestly for the opportunity cannot be recalled when once it is past that is the third O what would the damned that have been damned from under such means and mercies as you enjoy give for one of their Sabbaths for one of their Sermons for one of the many daies you enjoy but it is past help 4. Consider Brethren If the door be shut by Jesus Christ none else can open it and he will not himself open it any more and what will become of you then It may be sinners think this is not so sad a word that the door shall be shut they think they can bring a golden key of their own that shall open it No no believe it Brethren it is the key of David only that can open and shut this door and this Jesus Christ alone hath the Wards of your keys are not fitted for this lock he shutteth therefore and no man openeth none else whatsoever openeth Nor will he open it himself any more to them he knoweth full well upon whom it is that he shutteth the gate he knoweth who are and who are not his who are ready and who are not O therefore Brethren I beseech you consider it now while you have time before it be too late while there is hope concerning this thing O let not the world Brethren nor your sinful pleasures eat out all your time consume your season of grace except they could open the gate of heaven for you if they could it were somewhat indeed for men to baffle so with Christ and trifle away their souls as they do but if you will not believe nor be perswaded by any thing which in so much weakness can be said nor by what is delivered in a better manner by others you shall see it to your sorrow when you come to heaven gate and find it shut against you O then you shall know Brethren what it was to have such a warning to flee from the wrath to come and not have a heart to embrace it Thus much for this Application and this Doctrine Verses 11 12. Afterwards came also the other Virgins saying Lord Lord open to us but he answered and said to them verily I say unto you I know you not I Would take up two or three brief Notes from these words That men may come very near to heaven and yet be shut out never enter into heaven Which though it be much what the same with a former observation I will speak a few words to it here if it were nothing else but to refresh your memories and but a word or two of it It is plainly taken up from the Parable here the foolish Virgins they kept their Lamps burning long until the very point of the Bride-grooms coming yea not only so but when the door was shut and others received which whether it be at the day of judgement or at each particular souls particular day we will not now enquire but yet they come mind you after all this and they bounce against heaven gate as I may â—ay they cry Lord Lord open to us they would have heaven and come to the very gate as I may say and they seek it of Jesus Christ too and they are very earnest in it the doubling of the expression imports it is not a cold frozen prayer such as many an hypocrite yea sometimes many a child of God puts up but an earnest cry Lord Lord O Lord save us shut us not out save us we perish we sink hell opens her mouth to swallow us up O quickly open to us or we are gone Did not Israel come out of Egypt and march through the wilderness and through many difficulties and enemies and temptations there and come to the very borders of Canaan and yet fell back again were turned into the wilderness again the Lord sware they should never enter into his rest Many run saith the Apostle but all obtain not yea some do run to the very last until they be even within sight of the Goal and yet there sink and perish So Joash did he ran far and yet fell short when all was done And when many fell back from Christ Judas continued with him the Bag its likely kept him more then Christ but he continued until the very last and then perished There was but one step as I may say between the young man in the Gospel and heaven he went very far did much he had kept all those things from his youth yet there was one thing wanting which he could not reach too our Saviour convinced him thereby how short he was and had need of a Saviour but we find not that he came to him any more How near was Ananias to the Kingdom of God he professed Christ in those persecuting times owned him but it seems his love of the world and distrust was not killed he went far as well as others to sell all he had and to lay it at the Apostles feet a very great piece of self-denyal only a little reservation in hypocrisie you see carried him aside and he perished To make this a little better appear consider First That the light and principles of nature will carry a man very far how far did many of the Heathens go how Saint-like would they speak and how heroically and self-denyingly would they act many times Yea and some of them in their whole course to the shame of most Christians the sparks of our own kindling will rise and flie upward but yet they fall short Because alas 1. It leads us not to Jesus Christ and by his own strength no man shall prevail for heaven but he must lay hold upon the strength of God in Christ The Doctrine of Jesus Christ is a mysterie hid from ages from all people but where the Lord is pleased by the preaching of the
Gospel to make manifest the savour thereof Now there is no other name but the name oâ— Jesus Christ whereby men can be saved 2. Because alas there is not any of them but they hold the truth in unrighteousness though they do much yet they have a light more abundant in them then they walk up to It is imprisoned in their understandings not shed abroad upon their hearts so that they could see nothing but folly and that which is worse And so every one must needs be condemned of his own heart Secondly Common grace and gifts of grace that will carry a man very far there is a taste of the heavenly gift and the powers of the world to come and this will seem to enliven and warm the affections and carry out a man to do great things as those foolish Virgins had and so Ananias and others Thirdly with all these a mans secret false ends concurring help to carry on a man far Judas had the bag which he loved more then Christ and as long as he had the bag he was well enough he could follow on so long as there were loaves to be had by following Christ what multitudes follow him and throng upon him Our Saviour knew their deepest ends though haply they saw them not their hearts were too deep for themselves but not for him So many ends so many springs and weights there are upon a man which will add somewhat of strength to him in his course they are indeed the marrow of the bones that moysten them and give life and vigor to his actions So it may be a man cannot keep his conscience quiet it is roused a little and is dogged and snarls and it will not be quiet except he stop the mouth of it with some duty and service and following the waies of God as to the externals And so a mans glory and honour specially when Religion is in repute it is a dishonour to be esteemed otherwise mens reputations will carry them further then we are aware of Yea if the waies of God were discountenanced yet a man may go far in them upon this end to have his name much set by as a couragious heroical spirit he may suffer much and yet not love Jesus Christ It is then love to himself to his honour or somewhat else that is the ground of it but alas Brethren when all this is done it may carry a man near the Kingdom of heaven but he shall fall short And that upon these two considerations First because though they may come near Christ and haply delude themselves and think they have him yet they never were ingraâ—ted into him and historical faith and temporarie that will comply with the times a man may have and miraculous too and yet never implanted into Christ and then though a man may come near the Kingdom of heaven yet if be he Christless he is undone he must needs be shut out The Lord will in giving those gifts those common gifts of the Spirit to men honour himself by them he will have glory but they may never have the comfort of them they may tend to their further sinking and condemnation Secondly because that all those things though precious in themselves yet they never change a mans heart it remaineth the same still so they never do him real spiritual good Judas a traytor a Devil though it appeared not to men because cloathed over with so many common gifts and graces And so Ananias his heart was not throughly changed Alas Brethren the giving of these gifts to men whereby they do much as a gift of prayer or a gift of prophecying or preaching whereby they do much and pass for eminent persons with men they are but like flowers laid in a window as Doctor Preston compareth them they grow not Or else as outlandish plants removed into another Countrey they grow not they prosper not because the soil is not changed the grace they have doth not redundare in personam make their persons good no more then a pearl in a swines snouâ— changeth the nature of the swine the pearl is a pearl and precious but the swine is a swine and filthy in her disposition And so beauty in a whorish woman it is beautiful and lovely but she is nevertheless whorish and abominable and therefore notwithstanding all the Attainments of a man by nature by common grace by his own ends which will carry him very far put a great lustre upon him seem to bid fair for heaven carry a man after the things of God to the very last it may be yet it will not change a man and therefore no admittance for him he is shut out when all is done First then Brethren If a man may go so far and yet fall short What will become of them that never set foot forward toward heaven to this day It is true many come to hear the word now and then or constantly I make account this is but little when it cometh to the doing the practising What have you done to this day many of you the young man in the Gospel did all those things he thought and that from his youth and yet you see he fell short Thou never didst any of those things thou never didst love the Lord thy God worship him as thou oughtest makest nothing of renting his name in pieces of prophaning his day what else meaneth so many idling so many sporting themselves so many walking up and down so many drinking upon the Sabbath-day thy parents thou never didst honour them thou hast been an unclean wretch injurious thy tongue taught to tell lyes and speak folly a covetous wretch Brethren what do you mean sure you will never come so much as near the Kingdom of heaven If any perish you are the sinners are sure to perish They fell short that came to Canaan what will become of you that never came out of Egypt if you are yet by your flesh-pots your Garlick and Onions of Egypt and will not be beaten off your loathsom delights of the flesh your mirth and company and gaming and dicing and drabbing and drinking Must a mans righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees or he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God Do you believe this Brethren What will become of thee then that art so far from what they did they prayed often much and long they fasted often they gave much alms paid tythe of all they were no extortioners nor unjust but thou art such a one they were no drunkards but thou art a drunkard they were no unclean adulterers but thou art one and yet they fell short and where wilt thou appear the Lord shew you how unlikely you are for heaven Secondly this sheweth also the woful condition of hypocrites they carry a sair sail and seem it may be to be driven with as fair a gale as any only there is a Leak sprâ—ng in the bottom and they sink or rock themselves
may serve then to humble us brethren all of us before the Lord for this is the frame of all our hearts by nature though the Lord Jesus so loved sinners that nothing was too dear for them even to his very life and blood and yet we are all of us so unkind to him again that we would never come to him we would not be beholding to him through the pride of our hearts until we cannot subsist without him and then we will come though it be too late so that upon the matter Brethren we do but make Jesus Christ our sinning stock all the dayes of our lives and yet when we can sin no more we would serve our own turns upon him meerly we would have entrance into heaven by him we desire him not for any loveliness that is in him or in the Grace which is revealed by him Is not this great cause of humbling As suppose a Prince that deperit virginem a poor ragged filthy creature and he even dies for love of her so be that she will but come and take him she shall have all the priviledges of a wife his honour shall be hers his crown hers his beauty hers she shall be like him also be she as uncomely as she may he will put off his comliness upon her no she will not hear of coming to him at all until at last she is even perishing and then cometh and would have his Glory but not himself meerly to serve her self upon him O this is great unkindness do you thus requite the Lord ye foolish people and unwise And thus it is with all us until the Lord mightily change us Thirdly It may serve to convince us of our folly herein folly is a thing we cannot endure the imputation of But what greater folly is it then brethren to dis-joyn the end from the means specially where the end is so necessary to be had to happiness and the means so absolutely necessary to that end surely then this is gross folly he is a fool that would have health and strength and yet will not eat nor drink nor sleep nor recreate will not use the means well brethren you would have heaven every one of you you would have this blessed slate after death we are carried to it with a natural impetus the end is necessary we must enter or perish for ever 2. This means is as absolutely necessary to come to Jesus Christ when the door stands open while his bowels and bosom are open and ready to receive us for when the door is shut there is no remedy we may enter if we come while the door is open afterward we cannot Now is not he a fool in grain that will trifle when the door stands open and even goeth a begging to poor sinners and yet think to enter when the door is shut Ah Brethren this folly fils every sinners heart What is the reason else so few are perswaded while it is called to day to come to seek him early that they may find him You are wise for the world and men will speak well of you if you do well to your selves but you are fools in Gods account in the account of Saints and Angels they speak not well of you witness the Fool in the Gospel that spent himself for vanity and neglected his soul which that night was to be taken from him O that the Lord would so convince us that we might not dare to linger and trifle away our day of Grace lest when we come to cry the door be shut against us 4. Hath the Lord so far shewed us this our folly as now while the Gate stands open to make ready to get our oyl not to put it off until it be too late O bless his name magnifie that Grace of Jesus Christ towards us when others are mourning ye may rejoyce when others howl for sorrow of heart you may sing for joy of heart when others are crying Lord Lord you shall be singing everlasting Haleluâ—ahs Thou wouldst have Grace as well as Glory thou wouldst have Christ and none but Christ with him all things else shall be given in and thou wouldst have him poor soul thou thinkest it long before thou have him why whence isit that thou art not trifling away thy time going to them that sell whence is this but from the free mercy of the Lord towards thee magnifie him give him the glory of it for ever and ever Verse 12. But he answered and said verily I say unto you I know you not HEre is the sad Catastrophe of all the hopes of the Hypocrite in the Parable and that wherewith I shall conclude my thoughts upon this Text they would not be beaten off though the door was shut against them they come and bounce against it with a Lord Lord open to us to you who are you that I should open the Gate now it is shut upon you upon what acquaintance shall I do this for you you are strangers to me verily I say unto you I know you not In this similitude is held out to us the doom of Hypocrites and such as are not found ready for the coming of Christ Or if you will rather the reason of the doom the door was shut upon them before they are excluded heaven there is no entrance there is a repulse and here the reason of it is given as there in Mat. 7. Depart from me saith he which is equivalent it is as much as the shutting the door at least if not more the same reason is there given for it I know you not So that here seems to be two or three things note-worthy in these words I will speak briefly to them and dismiss all winding it up in one application First That many that profess to know Jesus Christ and to be his people yet are not known of him he knoweth them not Secondly Such as he doth not know shall not enter the door is shut against them and when they plead to have it opened they have a denial which is presupposed and as I may say included in the exceptive particle but Lord Lord open to us But he answered I know you not therefore I will not open the door to you Thirdly Whatever formal Professors may delude themselves with as if known of God then it shall be declared to them that he knoweth them not For the First That many that profess Jesus Christ and to know him yet are never known of Christ That this is so I think the Text is as clear as the noon-day as for these foolish Virgins they did go forth to meet the Bridegroom had their Lamps took pains to trim them when they were out and you see they have a Lord Lord in their mouths at the very last and yet saith our Saviour saith the Bridegroom I know you not do but add that other Text and there will need no more proof and that is in Mat. 7. Many shall say unto me at that day Lord Lord open
think it is for carnal end for your corn and wine and oyl that you howl upon your beds you little think when you pray and seek after God it is for ends meerly that you might spend these things upon your lusts that you may appear to be some body be esteemed among men be of esteem among the Saints Well Brethren carry it as covertly as you can so that your own souls are juggled into a delusion it may be yet be not deceived God is not mocked men are apt to be deceived and think that their secrets of sinning their bread eaten in secret their morsels under the tongue shall never be discovered but the Lord seeth all this he knoweth you throughly he searcheth the hearts and tryeth the reins of the sons of men Secondly because he knoweth you therefore he doth not know you he approveth not of you it may be men do approve of you your praise may be among the Churches among the Saints but yet your praise may not be of God he loveth you not savours you not with that favour that he bears to his people indeed some love Jesus Christ had to the young man in the Gospel that was but near to the Kingdom of God he doth not disallow of a form and profession it hath its use the leaves of the trees of righteousness they may be for healing to others an holy profession and walking to the appearance of others may win others to Christ and yet a man may perish when all is done and a profession may serve as a Motive to quicken up themselves to look to the power if the power of godliness be not good and necessary why do men take up a form and if it be good why rest they in a form and neglect it but if there be no more he will not know such a man he doth not know him Thirdly What ever you dream of now he will pronounce that sentence upon you at that day O that dreadful sentence that he knoweth you not he never knew you Ah dear friends if the Lord would but single out any one of us and tell us we are the men what agonies would it put us into Ah Brethren this will make sinners ears tingle to hear this word from the Lord Jesus O let fearfulness surprize the hypocrites yea I tell you this will make your hearts to bleed and your heart-strings crack within you this will pierce you through with the sorrows of hell Ah dear friends if the voice of his Messengers discoursing of righteousness temperance and Judgement to come be so great as to make a Foelix a great man a stout hearted sinner tremble that was not converted O what will it be when the sentence is pronounced against them from the Lord himself for while you hear Preachers though it be terrible when the conscience is opened yet there is a Cordial at hand but when once pronounced by the Lord Jesus there is no more remedy if one word from the Lord Jesus when the Souldiers came upon him and he asked them whom they sought I am he saith he this struck them to the ground souldiers in such Garrisons in Countries kept by the sword they were won by use to to be men of stoutest spirits that would dare sometimes the very Devil himself and yet one word from Jesus Christ's mouth struck them to the ground O Brethren surely this word of sentence will speak men not to the ground but to the lowermost pit It will speak them dumb forthwith that they have nothing to say for themselves It will speak them into confusion and amazement it will speak them into the flames of hell in a moment O this roaring of the Lyon of the tribe of Judah who may abide If the Law was so terrible in the giving what will it be in the execution You read how the Mountains shook Moses himself trembled but the sentence of the Law is nothing to the sentence of the Gospel as this condemnation of hypocrites will be it is to men that have in appearance owned Christ followed him done much in his name and yet he will profess he never knew them they pretended acquaintance with him now but he will never own them You then Brethren that have only a semblance of holiness you seem to have somewhat and have nothing then shall be taken from you that which you seemed to have then your vizard will be pluckt off you pretend to be friends of Christ and of his people to be his Father Brethren and Mother but now will he profess he knoweth you not you that preach in the name of Jesus Christ and do not preach for his name for his glory but for your own he will not own you he will say to you he knoweth you not you rest in this your form this you are ready to plead and not stay your selves upon him he will not know you O but we do lean upon the Lord so you say but mark that of the Prophet you lean upon the Lord and say the Lord is among us and yet they build up Sion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity the heads thereof judge for reward and the Priests teach for hire that is to say their tongues may be hired to say any thing pass any judgement right or wrong and yet lean upon the Lord say you lean upon the Lord and yet will be drunk swear lye cheat over-reach be filthy and unclean allow your â—elves in c 〈…〉 mplative wickedness be sure the Lord will not know such You that regard any iniquity never so little never so secret in your hearts believe it the Lord will not own you he will not know you he will not here own you much less will he when it cometh â—o the judgement It may be thou mayest soar a higher pitch in respect of parts and gifts and confidence and pretend to live higher then other men as many men of higher dispensations they say now do but yet as the Eagle when at the highest pitch hath a learing eye after her prey below so have they such a learing eye a lingering heart after their iniquity and their mouths water at it but for shame O surely Jesus Christ will never own such fear and tremble at this word as many as it concerneth O how will such souls be filled with amazement when they made no other reckoning but to come to heaven if any men in the Countrey should be saved a man would have thought they should have been the men they have done much suffered much wrought wonders c. and yet when all comes to all the heart was never right with God and therefore the heart-searching Judge will never own them never care for them become of them what will he will never know their souls Secondly then it may be for a searching word to poor creatures O be not deceived God is not mocked he knoweth a Balaam to be a Balaam
springing in and trembling and the three thousand in Acts 2. To such as these the Promise may be applyable That Christ will arise on them with healing in his wings though I know not that it s to be taken in any equal latitude with this fear for there may be such a conviction and fear and yet haply never any healing for them 3. Such as fear the Lord and his Goodness as the Prophet hath iâ— Such as fear his Name though he himself be in Heaven and they cannot see him face to face as Moses did they seek not 〈…〉 t sâ—gns of his presence though they see him but darkly and through a glass though they see him not being invisible â—et by his 〈◊〉 they know him and the greatest part of his name is Mercy as you have it in Exodus and his name speaks his nature the Lord the Lord God gracious and merciful long-suffering c. O! such as these they shall have the Sun of righteousness arise on them if they have but little yet they shall have more Some they have had else they could not be fearing him in such a manner as this is for this indeed is a part of the Covenant of grace made good to them already that he will put his fear into their hearts and this here is nothing else but the displaying of the same Covenant of grace to his people Alas many times the people of God that fear his name are under cloudings sometimes in respect of temptation to sin they are sore pestered with them Sometime the prevailing of sin over them to the darkning and disquieting of their souls Sometime they are in darkness and see no light and yet fear the name of the Lord. Now to such as these the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings But secondly what is meant by the Sun of righteousness That Christ the Covenant is meant I told you before but for a reason of this title why a Sun you have heard at large But the Sun of righteousness why so called is a further question and for answer to this let me speak a few words First One reason may be because of his perfection there should nothing be wanting in him he should have all perfections which were just and fit for such a Mediator to have and so some think there is a Hebraism in the words the Sun of righteousness the righteous Sun the absolutely perfect Sun and this is a truth in this Sun there was no spot no wrinkle no darkness no deficiency of glory of light of heat of influences of pains in wheeling about his Church continually for their supply and refreshing but this is not all Secondly Because in him the righteousness of God was eminently conspicuous therefore he may be called the Sun of righteousness Some imperfect footsteps of righteousness there are in the creature of holiness and conformity to God some lineaments of his Image but very naked they want their filling up and garnishing with colours and will do while we are in the body and there are so many blots and blurs and stains that it scarce appears many times witness the choicest examples of the Saints as 〈◊〉 Moses if you look on him at the water of Meriâ—ah you would scarce have thought him so meek a man and so David in the matter of Vriah and his dealing with Mephibosheth These were shadows cast on the beauty of Christ in them that it was not so conspicuous the glass is dimmed and defiled and so not so transparent but now the Lord Jesus is a pure glass of divine attributes and perfections and therefore of this righteousness here spoken of And secondly conspicuous in him was the vindictive righteousness of God it is true his justice is manifested in calling sinners to an account as he did the Angels the Sodomites the old world and us in our times his dealings do speak him to be a just God but never any so much as his dealing with Christ though a Son and equal with him in all essential glory yet if he will be surety for poor sinners he must as it were for a time vail his glory with raggs of flesh because the children partake of the same and though the Son of his incomprehensible love yet if he will so appear under the sins of his people he shall find them like a poisoned garment inflamed with wrath he must drink up the cup to the bottom though he were amazed at it and compassed about with fear surrounded with fear as the Evangelist hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though it cost him a bloody sweat put him into an agony A strong potion Brethren that casts the Lord of Life and Glory into such a sweat as this though it lay him under reproach and shame cloud Gods face from him cost him the very blood of his heart and all the joy of his soul for a time though he put up strong cries and tears God will not be intreated to let the cup pass from him not spare him at all O! here the Justice of God is conspicuous in him Brethren never was there such a pattern of righteousness in God as this that he would not spare sin though in his dearest Son of his love O then shall sons by adoption think to make bold with sin and not smart for it in some measure Take heed you watchless careless walkers before God O! what shall become of poor sinners then that are never the better for all this whose sins shall be charged on their own account Did it amaze the Lord Jesus With what hearts do you think sinners you shall be able to look an angry God in the face when his flaming indignation shall stream forth on your souls to all eternity O! think on it sinners and tremble but this by the by Thirdly He may be called the Sun of righteousness as I conceive as he is the fulfilling of all the promises that were made of him The Lord made many promises as the seed of the woman shall break the serpents-head and that in Abraham in his seed all the Nations of the earth should be blessed and that a Virgin should conceive and bear a son whose name should be Immannuel God with us signifying the union of natures in his person Now if Christ had not come according to the promise where had been the truth of God his righteousness and therefore saith the Apostle it was to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God when all the Fathers had believed in him to come and to be revealed they dyed in faith not having received the promises that is not having seen Christ come in the flesh for the accomplishment of their redemption though afar off they beheld them and embraced them Abraham saw his day and was glad Now what had become of the faith of all these grounded on the faithfulness of
say some of them lave such misgivings which though they be not so clear as to amount to a knowledge condition and to put them on to a recovery out of it yet they may be enough to make them loath to search A man is loath to search his coyn he suspects he shall find many bad pieces there and haply thereby prove himself but a beggar finding all brass instead of gold A man is loath to take up the grave-stone he may suspect what he shall find within which he is not very willing to see it may be nor to endure the stench of it and therefore pleaseth himself with the paint and outward beauty of it and therefore no marvel if it be hid from his eyes Fifthly It is a righteous hand of God upon hypocrites they are even paid in their own coyn that since they have deceived others with fair shews and pretences and endeavoured as I may say to deceive the Lord himself that they should deceive their own souls and should be hid from themselves that they may go on the more securely until they see by woful experience that they are tumbled into the pit And surely this was one of the things which were hid from Jerusalems eyes the things which belonged to her peace the first iâ— not the chief thing was the knowledge of her self Luke 19. 42. is a choice place of saving as well as moral knowledge now they had neglected their time implyed the hypocrites drew near God with their mouths when their hearts were far from him thinking to put off God with such Idol-worship as if he had not been a God which searched the heart and could find it out therefore the Lord tels them well saith he now the things which concern your peace are hid from your eyes and this is one of them among the rest the knowledge of Christ the remedy is the other main thing O it is a fearful hand of God brethren when he giveth them up to blindness of mind so that they shall discern nothing which concerneth them and so not know their own conditions if the Lord hide who can find as if he search who can be concealed But so much for this first thing Secondly At last he shall be discovered to himself He shall see himself to be but an hypocrite this is many times so I mean not only in hell mens eyes shall be opened but at death or before death many times the hypocrites eyes are opened to see himself what he is It is true sometimes he may go down in peace to the grave such a peace as Satan and an hard heart and seared conscience gives but yet you see here in this Parable that before the coming of the Bridegroom they saw their Lamps were gone out and that they wanted oyl the great work the grace in the heart which before they cared not for I will not press it too far and say that because all the foolish Virgins here see that their Lamps were gone out therefore all hypocrites and formal professors before their death are discovered to themselves as well as to others that they are but hypocrites but it is so many times and ordinarily surely else I know not what can be the meaning of this part of the Parable was it not so with Judas was it not discovered to him when he was detected and his conscience so wounded that he could not but go and proclaim himself a wretch a traytor to his Master before all the Court if he were so blinded before by lust by covetousness as not to see what he did yet now his eyes were opened he saw what his condition was and the terrour of it was such that he went and hanged himself But how and when doth the Lord discover hypocrites to themselves Why truly brethren haply in the hour of affliction then the Alchymie gold being not able to endure the seventh fire discovers it self what it is so the hypocrite will he pray alway Or in the general by any other means whereby the Lord blasts their profession and maketh it wither then they come to see it was but a gourd under whose shadow they delighted themselves so you see God doth blast their profession Here it was not until their Lamps were gone out that they saw it that they wanted oyl while they could sparkle walk in the light of their own sparks think all is well with them while they can maintain their profession and keep up duties c. haply they see not the hypocrisie lies hid under those broad leaves but when they wither they become as trees twice dead then haply they come to see it Not that alway those whose professions wither do see theÌ„selvs to be hypocrites neither for they may turn down right prophane as many poor creatures have done and returned with the swine washed to the wallowing in the mirâ— and grow past feeling the conscience much seared and hardened but yet many times this is a means whereby God doth discover hypocrites to themselves sometimes they have had somewhat of a presence of God and now they have none now their leaf fals now as Saul they have no answer from God neither by Vision nor Prophet and now they see the woful case they are in now they are pluckt as I may say of their plumes their nakedness appears Not that a child of God may not want his presence and a great while too but there is then a sickness of love for him a mourning after him ordinarily or a sad complaint that they cannot mourn after him but an hypocrite he findeth a want of the former presence and his heart is little or nothing troubled for it he is contented to let it go Secondly It may be sometimes without any such affliction yet the Lord may discover to an hypocrite that he is no better that he is rotten at the heart though the guilt wear not away yet he can shew the soul that it is but Alchymie though the paint of the Sepulchre continue and be not washed away he can shew a man that he is an Hypocrite not but that a Child of God may think himself an Hypocrite sometimes under temptation but he is not so but when God revealeth it to the soul he setteth it on with an evidence indeed that it is so But why doth the Lord then discover Hypocrites before the day of the discovery of all things why truly it is First That they might have a taste of that bitter Cup which they are to drink the dregs of to all eternity the Hypocrites Cup if any be more deep then other this is it and if any more deadly dregs in it this is it Now God will kindle a beginning of hell in their consciences that as the Saints have some fore-tasâ—s of heaven and the joyes to be revealed to sweeten their Cup of affliction so Hypocrites might have some of the gall and worm-wood to imbitter all their delights in this
world What comfort had Judas of his thirty pieces of silver when God opened his conscience and let him see his condition what an hypocritical dissembling wretch he had been to betray the Lord of life and glory with a kiss a sign of love and a bloody traiterous heart to sell his Saviour whom he had followed so long and acted by commission from him so long and his Master that had never done him hurt but good to sell him the Lord of life and glory for thirty pieces of Silver O this could not but gall and cut him to the heart the Devil helped him to a booty indeed but God added this sorrow with it Indeed of all sins God hath not revealed himself so terribly against any in Scripture as this and therefore when the soul cometh to see it that hath any knowledge of the terrors of the Lord displayed against it he must needs be for the present in a hell above ground this shall they have of my hand saith the Lord they shall lie down in sorrow Yea and sometimes he anticipates their death and they live in sorrow and wo and misery God doth as I may say set a mark upon them as upon Cain Secondly That they might be warnings to others for ever to take heed of Hypocrisie for when men that regard the work of the Lord and consider the operation of his hand shall behold a Judas hanged up in Gibbets being made a Magor Missabeb to himself doth it not preach aloud this Caution to take heed and beware of hypocrisie these things saith the Apostle were written for our ensamples that we might not do as they did so are these things acted for our ensamples that we might take heed or if they have not such terrors but their professions are blasted only and wither and they prove fearful creatures their latter end worse then their beginning is not this a warning written in Capital Letters that he that runs may read O take heed of rottenness at the root for all our fruit will give up as the dust as the Apples of Sodom we shall wither and come to nothing and go out like a snuff as well as them if we be not sound at the heart Thirdly It may be a stumbling block to some others who are ready to receive any prejudice against the ways of Christ and therefore they shall have a block to stumble upon O here you see what becometh of this preciseness and flourishing profession of Religion it is all but rotteness at the root it is better to take on fair and softly a soft pace in religion saith the Moralist or civil honest Man as good continue in a meer wallowing as being washed to enter into it again yea better saith the profane man and therefore he satisfieth himself in his carnal state which is wosul for suppose some professors wither yet do all Some they keep their leaf it shall never fail some lose their verdour but recover it again and what if some wither will you therefore offend against the generation of the upright saying they are all of the same stamp God forbid It is a sad thing to consider how many poor hearts are hardened in sin upon this very account which addeth to the Hypocrites doom but what if a discovered Hypocrite be so vile the condition so dangerous is not their own as dangerous if thou be prophane and a worker of iniquity there is no more entrance into glory for a Dog or Swine then for a Goat no more for workers of iniquity that professedly commit iniquity then for them who profess longer do much in his name and yet when all cometh to all they are found but workers of iniquity though secretly but so much for the second The third and last thing considerable in the Observation is That many times it is too late when Hypocrites are discovered to themselves this is plain in the Parable for the foolish Virgins all the time of the getting oyl in their vessels they complain not not see their want of it nor the going out of their Lamps but only when it was too late for before they could get it the gates were shut We must not here understand it generally of all Hypocrites as if none might be discovered to themselves while there is hope and so as to recover themselves for then it would follow they should none of them be pardoned for the Lord Jesus is the Prince exalted to give repentance and remission of sins Now if they never come to know themselves to be guilty of this great evil even their hypocrisie how should they repent of it and if they repent not of it how should it be pardoned It is true indeed there may be hypocrisie in a Child of God which he may acknowledge only in the general among his secret sins which he knoweth not of but I think where hypocrisie is so raigning a sin as to denominate a man an Hypocrite he must surely come to the knowledge of it and acknowledge it before the Lord or else how can he hope of pardon for it now I say there is pardon for all manner of sins only that against the Holy Ghost excepted and therefore sure some Hypocrites God doth uncase and unmask and rip up and shew them the abominations of their hearts that they may mourn over them and mourn after Jesus Christ and loath themselves for it and so be pardoned therefore remember this lest if God should come now and open any painted sepulchre any rotten-hearted Hypocrite among us when we see our wound we should faint away for though many times it is so that God discovers it not to Hypocrites until it be too late yet sometimes he doth and the sin in it self is pardonable therefore there is hope concerning this thing in Israel But for the making good this assertion consider either they are discovered not until judgement or else not until death or else not until their day of grace â—e expired many times though it be before death 1. If they be not discovered to themselves until judgement God never reproveth them of their hypocrisie and sets it in order with all its circumstances and aggravations until the day of judgement when the secrets of all hearts shall be displayed and all the nasty corners of sinners souls all the hidden things of darkness then surely you will all acknowledge there is no remedy it is past help there remaineth nothing then but a fearful looking for of their doom and some may go down in peace to the grave that is to say not a peace of God but of Satan a security and stupidity of conscience knowing nothing of their fearful condition which others also which are not so much as Hypocrites may do 2. If it be not discovered until the day of death or the time of deaths approach then though not alway yet ordinarily I believe it is too late and that is not a time that ordinarily God is