was once a Child of Wrath and Disobedience I am become an Heir of God and a Joint-Heir with Christ unto that inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled and which fadeth not away Nay my Lord who has loved me and washed me from my sins in his own blood hath made me a King and a Priest unto God and his Father and I must reign for ever for of this Kingdom which I have now a Title to and a sure promise of there shall be no end Oh rich Oh free Oh glorious Grace I am at a loss for an expression high enough to set forth the thousandth part 〈◊〉 my Lords incomparable kindness my shallow Conceptions cannot reach what is incomprehensible Therefore I must be silent in a joyful admiration MEDITATION LIII What shall I render unto the Lord My All is due my All is too little and by rendring my All I secure my All and so am still more benefited and I become more my Lords debter I find my self most happily puzzled with my Lords goodness He gives himself to me and requires that I should give my self to him but in so doing not He but I receive the benefit All the retributions thou requirest O my God and Father are but to do my self more kindnesses Duties are my priviledges All thy precepts are for my profit and my peace and pleasure to obey them Thou art beyond all compare the very best Master Oh let my ear be boared for I will serve thee for ever let my Heart be circumcised that I may love thee Eternally There is a sweetness in the acting of every Grace There is great peace in keeping of thy law there is an amiableness in thy Tabernacles thy power and thy glory are seen in thy sanctuary and though that word Suffering may sound harsh yet upon experience suffering will be found the most delightful paâ—â— of Christian obedience MEDITATION LIV. My Lord did not stick at suffering and why should I Why should the Cross daunt me If I will be indeed Godly Persecution is to be expected The old Serpent is full of hatred and so are his seed and their hatred is implacable But when I consider my Lords love and power and presence Hells Malice and the Worlds Rage become contemptible times of suffering are times of the sweetest solace Those are not unreasonable injunctions Count it all joy when ye fall into divers Temptations and Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven The Spirit of glory and of God does rest upon his suffering Saints so that they glory in tribulation they rejoyce in it as a dignity when they suffer shame for the name of Jesus they are gainers by their losses they gain an hundred fold in this World besides the Kingdom in the other World MEDITATION LV. O my soul follow thy Lord though he lead thee in rough ways and paths of great affliction If sufferings abound consolation shall abound and grace shall be sufficient The Cross of Christ though the outside of it be affrighting yet it is lined with love and easily born And if it should come to pass that Life must be taken away What better use can Life be put to then to lay it down for the Testimony of Jesus The painfullest deaths have proved many times most pleasant What raptures of joy have the Martyrs had at the stake and in the flames Prudentius of old observed Mors Christianis ludus est That Death was but a sport unto the Christians Remarkable is that passage of Bainham the Martyr when his arms and legs were half consumed by the fire he spake these words O ye Papists you look for miracles and here now you may see a miracle for in this fire I feel no more pain then if I were in a bed of Down it is to me a bed of Roses Resolve therefore O my soul undauntedly to undergo whatever tribulaon thou meetest for the sake of Righteousness Rely upon thy faithful God who will not suffer thee to be tempted above what his Grace shall enable thee to bear with joy as well as patience MEDITATION LVI Thy death O Lord is to be shewn forth till thou comest 't is proper for me to think of thy coming and to rejoyce at the thoughts of it My Lord and Redeemer will certainly appear the second time without sin to Salvation And when he shall appear I shall be like him and appear with him in glory Time and days do fly away apace and the comming of my Lord draweth nigh That will be the day of my open absolution of my full and compleat Redemption of my joyful and triumphant Coronation How full of glory and of love will be the face of Jesus then Ah! where shall the ungodly and sinners then appear How will the greatest and the stoutest of them even the Kings and Cheif Captains and mighty men tremble and call to the Rocks and Mountains to fall on them and cover them from the face of him that sits upon the Throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb But though most of mankind be full of horror I if I am a true Believer shall be full of joy and after I have been openly acquitted own'd and crown'd before Men and Angels Whither Oh whither will my Lord carry me Into those Mansions he is gone to prepare into the presence Chamber of the King of Glory Where God himself will be All in All. MEDITATION LVII I find some sweetness in the way and means of grace what shall I find in the end if in vale of Tears such joy be found what will be enjoyed in a paradise of delight if in the midst of labours and fightings and temptations I find so much satisfaction what contentment will an Everlasting rest afford me Augustine speaks excellently Soliloq cap. 35. Intra in gaudium sine tristitia ubi erit omne bonum et non erit aliquod malum ubi erit quicquid voles et non erit quicquid noles O gaudium vincens omne gaudium laetitia sine dolore lux sine tenebris vita sine morte ubi juventus nunquam senescit ubi decor nunquam pallescit ubi amor nunquam tepescit gaudium nunquam decrescit ubi dolor nunquam sentitur gemitus nunquam auditur ubi triste nihil videtur ubi malum nullum timetur quia summum bonum possidetur Enter O my soul into joy without sadness Where there shall be a presence of all good an absence of all evil where there shall be every thing which thou desirest nothing at all that thou dislikest O joy surpassing all other joys Gladness without Grief Light without Darkness Life without Death There Youth shall never grow old Beauty shall never fade Love shall never wax cold and Joy shall never be diminished there sorrow shall never be felt one sigh shall never be heard
blesses them they shall be blessed and promises they shall be filled Mat. 5. 6. Righteousness imputed is and that with very good reason prized by Believers and Righteousness inherent is earnestly desired they long to be made more holy more holy in heart more holy in all manner of conversation to have cleaner hands hearts purer they groan earnestly to be sanctified throughout in Body Soul and Spirit and to be established unblameable in holiness to the end Doest thou vehemently desire to be bettered by every mercy To be refined more and more every time thou art cast into the furnace of affliction And to become more holy by every Ordinance thou engagest in This Sacra Fames holy hunger is in thee and thou art blessed 6. Those are in a State of Grace who prize the Word of God at an high rate All that are born again desire as new born Babes the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2. 2. Hark to our Lord. Joh. 8. 47. He that is of God heareth Gods words ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God With good reason do gracious Souls value the Word of God for it is the incorruptible seed whereof they are born again 't is the Food whereby they are nourished 't is the Physick whereby they are healed 't is the Cordial whereby they are revived 't is the Weapon wherewith they defend themselves against their spiritual Enemies Finally 't is the main Deed they have to shew for the heavenly inheritance If this Word of God be understood believed and received by thee in the love of it if thou desirest to be cast into the mould of the Word and in all things to conform to it if Davids language be thine Psal 119. 33 34 35. Teach me O Lord the way of thy Statutes and I shall keep it to the end Give me understanding and I shall keep thy Law yea I shall observe it with my whole heart Make me to go in the path of thy commandments for therein do I delight This will argue that thou hast a good and honest heart indeed 7. Those are in a state of grace who have the Spirit of Prayer The Apostle Paul assoon as ever translated into this state has this Character Behold he prayeth Act. 9. 11. 't is more than probable he had spoken the words of prayer many a time before while he was a zealous Son of the Jewish Church but now he prayed in Gods account now he prayed in the holy Ghost They that are hypocrites may excell in the gift of Prayer God may be much in their mouths and their expressions may be fluent and seemingly affectionate when yet he is far from their reins But the Spirit of grace and supplication is peculiar to the Saints Now such as have the Spirit of prayer their desires are drawn forth with greatest strength and fervour after Spiritual and eternal blessings They intreat the favour of God and fellowship with him with their whole heart they beg for the increase of Faith Fear and Love and every other grace and that they may be filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God and that being delivered from every evil work they may be preserved to his heavenly Kingdom Thus the Spirit makes intercession for them according to the will of God Rom. 8. 26 27. 8. They are in a state of Grace who love the brethren 1 Joh. 3. 14. Hereby we know we are passed from death to life because we love the brethren Now right love to the brethren is love with a pure heart and a good conscience 't is a fervent love 't is love to all the Saints though but poor in the world though of a different persuasion The image of God is loved wherever 't is found and the more of it is found 't is lookt upon as more lovely 'T is one thing to love the Saints because they are good natured because they are beautiful because they are bountiful because they are wise and discreet and 't is another thing to love them because they are holy And truly if the more holy they are the more we love them and the more plainly they deal with us by reprehension and advice in order unto our progress in sanctification and holiness the more and better we like them this is a clear and solid evidence of our being Saints our selves Moreover true Saints are of a publick Spirit they are concerned for the whole Church Militant and cry aloud that she may be preserved in purity unity and love and may more than conquer all enemies and come at last to be Triumphant 9. They are in a state of Grace who endure to the end and are not weary of well-doing He that endures to the end shall be saved says Christ and If ye continue in my word then are ye my Disciples indeed Joh. 8. 31. The sincerely Righteous ones not withstanding all difficulties oppositions trials tribulations hold on their way and they that have clean hands do wax stronger and stronger Job 17. 9. They fight the good fight of Faith to the last breath and by patient continuance in wel-doing they seek for glory honour and immortality and at last lay hold on eternal life Rom. 2. 7. Thus you have the Touchstone of the Word to prove your selves by And what this Word binds on earth is bound in heaven what this Word looses on earth is loosed in heaven If you continue in a state which this Word pronounces bad you will certainly be condemned but if your state be such as this Word declares good you will as certainly be acquitted rewarded and crown'd at the great approaching Day In the sixth place I am to inform you of the special seasons when this duty of self-proving is to be performed and the seasons are these 1. We ought to prove our selves before we engage in the ordinance of the Lords Supper There must be a Spiritual life or else there cannot be a fitness to be a guest at the Lords Table A dead Corps set at a Feast would be a frightful Spectacle to all there neither could a dead body eat any of the dainties prepared He that is dead in trespasses and sins is not a worthy Communicant for he wants the grace of Faith which is as the eye to discern the hand to receive and the mouth to eat the Lord Jesus who is the bread of life The Lords Supper is not an Ordinance designed to work the first grace for if 't were then none ought to be excluded the greatest Sinners are to be admitted to converting Ordinances and there would be no such thing as Excommunication in the Church of Christ But the design of it is to increase and strengthen and make more and more evident that grace which is already wrought Therefore we must prove what we are before we engage 1 Cor. 11. 28 29. But let a man examine himself and
stranger upon the earth Psal 39. 12. I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were 8. If we are indeed in the Faith our faith will make the next world evident and desirable 'T wil prove the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Heb. 11. 1. Faith is the good and true Spy which searches the heavenly Country which is promised and brings back word That that Celestial Canaan is very glorious that an innumerable company of Angels are there and the Spirits of just men and all made perfect that God the Judge of all is there seen face to face and there is Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant crown'd with and in his Fathers throne that there is no need of the Sun or of the Moon to shine for the glory of God doth enlighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof Rev. 21. 23. finally that sin and sorrow are eternal strangers but there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore And Faith giving such a report of the world to come no wonder that 't is judged worth seeking and that with an holy violence Mat. 11. 12. The Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force 2. We are to prove our selves whether Christ be in us yea or no Christ and Satan divide the world all that have not Christ in them Satan has possession of he is the Spirit that works in the children of disobedience Now whether Christ be really in us may be thus proved and discerned 1. If Christ be in us he has entred by the door of the understanding we cannot be totally ignorant of him True Faith cannot be without knowledge Rom. 10. 14. How shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard We must know who and what he was that undertook the work of our redemption how else can we rely upon him He is near a kin to us as Man and is a merciful and faithful high Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people Heb. 2. 17. and surely he was able to finish that work which he undertook for he is over all God blessed for ever Amen Rom. 9. 5. We must also know the benefits of Christ that we may know what to rely upon him for now these benefits are most necessary suitable and excellent as pardon of Sin adoption to be the Sons of God sanctifying grace and endless glory Nay Christ is all in all and Christ being given nothing will be denied Rom. 8. 32. He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things 2. If Christ be in us our very hearts have been opened to receive him When Christ has knockt at the door we have given him admission it has been our souls language Come in thou blessed Lord wherefore standest thou without And this receiving of Christ is indeed believing in him Joh. 1. 12. To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his Name The heart has been convinced that 't is most highly rational to give entertainment to this Lord of life and glory He uses the strongest arguments for admission makes the greatest offers delivers all out of the depths of misery and advances them to be Saints Sons Priests Kings who shall Reign most gloriously and happily to Eternity that do indeed embrace him 3. â—f Christ be in us the dominion of Sin and our Idols have been thrown down When Darius the Persian Emperour offered half his Empire to the Conquering Alexander Alexander gave this Answer That in the Firmament there was but one Sun and there must be but one Emperor in Persia and therefore continued his Wars till Darius had lost both Life and Kingdom In like manner there cannot be two Rulers in one heart If Christ be there no iniquity has the dominion any longer Where Christ is he works a change so that persons are no longer foolish disobedient and deceived they no longer serve divers lusts and pleasures Tit. 3. 3. And whatsoever has been idolized be it profit pleasure applause now 't is disesteemed that Christ alone may be exalted 4. If Christ be in us we approve and value his Kingdom as well as his Priesthood We shall like and love the Lord. Jesus as a Prince upon the Throne consenting that that Throne should be our hearts as well as a Priest upon the Cross and shall be very desirous to be more fully subdued to him His Yoak is judged easie and his burthen light Mat. 11. ult Christ is really no hard Master though the World think him to be so They that are in Christ and experience what kind of Ruler he is and that he rules by a Law of Faith and Love and Liberty are very glad of his Kingly Office It was matter of praise and thanksgiving to the Apostle that he and other Believers had been made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light and also that God had delivered them from the power of darkness and had translated them into the Kingdom of his dear Son Col. 1. 12 13. 5. If Christ be in us his Word is entertain'd and abides in us also We cannot slight that Word which discovers Christ and was the great means to bring us to Him Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly says the Apostle Col. 3. 16. And hearken what Christ himself speaks Joh. 15. 7. If ye abide in me and my Words abide in you ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done to you Oh with what gladness do Believers give entertainment to the Word since they may have what they will if the Word abide in them and this Word will rectifie their judgments and regulate their wills so that they shall will nothing but what is truely for their good and what is really for their good shall most readily be granted Now Christ and his Word abide together But Christ is rejected if his Word be not received Joh. 12. 48. He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my Word hath one that judgeth him the Word that I have spoken the same shall judge him at the last day 6. If Christ be in us we have the Spirit of Christ Rom. 8. 9. The Apostle does so plainly intimate this truth that he asserts the want of Christs Spirit undoubtedly shews there is no interest in him If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his As all the Members of the Natural Body are animated and acted by the same Soul which in a special manner shews it self in the Head so the same Spirit which is without measure in Christ the Head does animate and act all the true Members of his Body mystical Now where the Spirit of Christ is he enlightens the mind opens the eyes of the understanding he makes a
and Gold that ever was created is but dross in comparison of these riches To go to Ordinances and from them as the Door turns upon the Hinges and to remain just as we were will turn to no account nay to an ill account We are not to rest therefore in opere operato the work done but examine what light what heat what strength what grace what peace we gain by attending upon God or else we may live and dye like lukewarm and mistaken Laodicea who said she was rich and increased with Goods and had need of nothing and knew not that she was wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked Rev. 3. 17. 7. 'T is not amiss if there be some Self-proving every day that keeping of the heart with all diligence Prov. 4. 23. implies a daily watching and calling it to an account and that pondering the path of our feet required vers 26. implies both wariness before and a tracing our Steps afterwards to see whether they have been right or wrong step towards God or from him Pythagoras an Heathen advises every night to ask our selves such Questions as these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where have I sinn'd What have I done What duty have I let alone Thus bad and good deeds every night Will be thy chiding or delight In the seventh place I come to the Arguments persuading all to this examination and proving of themselves 1. Satan is very subtle he does endeavour to conceal and hide both Sin and Grace Sin in the wicked that they may not perceive the evil nature and tendency of it till it has actually and utterly ruin'd them and Grace in them that do believe that their hearts may be tormented with doubts and fears and straitned in thanksgiving unto God Satan is a lying Spirit and upholds his Kingdom by deceit and falshood His work is to fill Gods Children with false fears and his own with false hopes and he has many wiles and stratagems to do both 'T is good therefore to be aware of him and to be the stricter in searching of our selves that he may not impose upon us nor make us call evil good and good evil Let us take great heed for Satan is the Accuser of the Brethren Rev. 12. 10. and will accuse them to themselves as well as accuse them before God he will transform a true Saint and make him look in his own apprehension like a meer reprobate And as he is the Accuser of the Brethren so he is the Excuser of the wicked and makes them say they shall have peace till the anger of the Lord and his jealousie smokes against them and eternal Vengeance overtakes them 2. The heart is deceitful above all things Jer. 17. 9. as it is unknown to others so it hides it self from the view of the man himself Need there is then of Self-examination The heart of man will represent Sin as profitable as pleasant as creditable and in fashion and that there is no such danger in the commission of it but that 't is time enough hereafter and easie enough to repent and obtain a pardon The heart will extenuate sin after 't is done and take notice of the mercy of the Lord but shut its eyes against his justice and holiness 't will call any thing almost by the name of saving-grace and from very weak and insufficient premisses conclude the State is safe Such cheats therefore must be more narrowly eyed and we must bring them to the Heart-searcher that they may be discovered 3. There is no Grace but has its counterfeit When abundance of Brass and bad Money is abroad there is the greater care to try before we take There is a world of counterfeit Grace at this day Many take themselves to be something when they are nothing and so deceive themselves every one therefore should prove his own work that he may have rejoycing in himself alone and not in another Gal. 6. 3. 4. that is that he may have not only the good word of others but the joyful approbation of his own Conscience that his work is good and wrought in God There is a precious faith that ends in the salvation of the Soul and there is a counterfeit faith that dures only for a while and in time of temptation fails There is a saving knowledge which is life eternal and there is a notional knowledge which only puffs up him that has it and makes sorrow and stripes at last to be the more There is a sincere love to Christ that has a vehement flame which many Waters cannot quench which no Floods can drown and there is a love which is only a painted Fire a love in word and shew and not in heart and deed and truth There is a Zeal which God is mightily pleased with as that Zeal in Phineas and there is a Zeal not according to knowledge There is a true Humility which makes us like to Christ and gives the Soul rest and there is a shew of Wisdom and Humility to be found even in the Synagogues of Satan and Antichrist All grace therefore whether in pretence or true must be tried by the Word which if rightly applied is infallible in its decision 4. Many do actually go out of the World mistaken in themselves surely then we should be serious in Self-trial The foolish Virgins because their Lamps were burning and neatly trimm'd that is they profess'd and talkt high and made a glistering shew came with full expectation of admission into the Kingdom Therefore with confidence they knock and with confidence they speak Lord Lord open unto us Mat. 25. 11. But the answer is I know you not The Door contrary to their expectation is shut for ever against them and they are sentenc'd to burn too in Hell though their Lamps on Earth did burn and blaze in a glorious profession of Religion Some are brought in pleading with the Lord Jesus when He says He knew them not We have eat and drank in thy presence and thou hast taught in our Streets Luk. 13. 26. As if they should say Lord 't is very strange thou shouldst not know us None more flocked after thee than we did none were more forward to hear thy Word we were Guests at thy Table many a time and yet dost thou not know us Hear their pleas see their confidence of being let in and yet behold them thrust out unto Eternity 5. Hypocrites may go very far and yet remain but Hypocrites and miscarry Therefore we should examine and see that we go farther An Hypocrite may have a name that he is alive he may bend his Knee and lift up his Eye and speak as it were with the tongue of an Angel he may pray and prophesie so as to gain mans approbation but yet that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God Luk. 16. 15. How far did the Apostle Paul go before his Conversion
he was of the straitest Sect and touching the righteousness of the Law blameless and yet though his life was without blame his heart was without grace Hypocrites how far soever they go do either allow themselves in sin or place a confidence in their own righteousness If we would therefore go beyond them we must grieve for all sin and hate it We must worship God in the Spirit and rejoyce in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the Flesh Phil. 3. 3. 6. To be unwilling to Try and Prove our selves is a very bad symptom The decay'd Tradesman cares not to be at home for fear of being dunn'd by his Creditors neither does he like to look into his Books because he suspects that he owes more than he is worth So unsound Professors like not to dwell with themselves for fear Conscience should fill their Ears with a dreadful sound and reproach them with their offences and they are loath to study the volume of their own hearts because they suspect they shall find little but what is stark naught there Sin is a work of darkness where the light is fear'd and shun'd 't is a sign that sin bears sway and where it reigns it will ruine Joh. 3. 19. This is the condemnation that light is come into the World and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil 7. Though it be very bad with us yet 't is really good to know the very worst of our selves Hardness of heart and unsensibleness of sin is a very great plague the infliction of which argues God to be very angry but conviction of sin is the work of Gods Spirit When the Comforter is come he shall convince the World of Sin Joh. 16. 8. Indeed if a bad condition were unchangeable and there were no difference between an unregenerate Sinner and an Apostate Angel 't were another matter But the truth is though our state and hearts are both bad yet both may be alter'd for the better And if we are sensible that we are under the power of darkness we shall be the more importunate that God would deliver us and translate us into the Kingdom of his dear Son If we perceive that our hearts are old and evil 't will make us to cry with more fervency that the Lord would give us the new heart and the new spirit promised in his new Covenant 8. There may be great disconsolateness where there is truth of grace if it be unknown The children of light may walk in darkness the heirs of salvation may complain as if they were near lost and the friends and favourites of Heaven may think and speak as if God accounted them his Enemies Hark unto Heman Psal 88. 7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me and thou bast afflicted me with all thy waves And vers 15. 16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me and while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted Believers being made alive are also endued with Spiritual Sence and cannot be indifferent as to Gods love and hatred as others are If they have not some assurance of the one they cannot but have some dread of the other they should therefore prove themselves that they may know the love that God has to them and that they may joy in God through Jesus Christ by whom they have received the atonement Rom. 5. 11. 9. There is a day of Trial and Judgment appointed and very near at hand God has appointed a day in which he will judge the World in Righteousness Act. 17. 31. and truely the Judge standeth before the Door Jam. 5. 9. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh And if we cannot abide the Trial of our own Consciences now how shall we abide the Trial of him who is greater than our Consciences and knoweth all things It concerns us to call our selves to a severe account and believe in Jesus that we may be justified and then at that day we shall not be condemned Let us watch and work that our Lord when he comes may find us so doing Let us store up Scripture evidences that we are his Children and then we shall have boldness in the day of Judgment and not be ashamed before him at his coming Gods Judgment hereafter will be according to truth names and shews how insignificant will they be at the great day Therefore let us look to it that our graces be true that as such they may be found and own'd at last 10. A well grounded assurance is possible to be obtained Let us never give over Trying our selves till we have it We are commanded to give all diligence to make our calling and by our calling our Election sure 2 Pet. 1. 10. We must not cast away our confidence when once we have gotten it but hold the beginning of it firm unto the end Assurance of the love of God of what value is it What a relish does it give to every Mercy What sweetness does it put into the bitterest Cup of Affliction How undaunted does it make us at the approach of the last Enemy And with what courage and confidence to commend our departing Souls into the hands of him that has redeemed them Before I come to the Application I am to resolve several Cases of Conscience concerning the Subject I am upon Now the Cases will be of two sorts some relate to Sir and a State of Nature and others relate unto a State of Grace I begin with those Cases relating to Sin and a State of Nature Case 1. And the first is this Is it not better for Sinners to continue ignorant of themselves than by an over-strict search to fill their souls with trouble and horrour Is it not a wiser part to keep themselves quiet while they are so than to raise a storm and tempest that may not be laid in hast Now they receive their good things now they receive their consolations now they can take their ease eat drink and be merry they can feast and laugh and sing and time runs very swift being spent in carnal jollity Why then should they look into the state of their Souls and put an end to all their peace and joy and comfort Ans 1. Sinners ignorance of themselves and the wretched condition they are in does but add to their misery Secure indeed they are in a sence but farther off from safety It was the misery of Ephraim that Strangers had devoured his strength and gray hairs were here and there upon him and yet he knew it not Hos 7. 9. Self-ignorance and carnal security makes the hearts of the Sons of Men fully set in them to do evil and causes their state to be nearer a kin to desperate Such will fearlesly add Sin to Sin and draw iniquity with cords of vanity and treasure up more and more wrath unto themselves against the day of wrath 2. Their peace and joy can be but short at longest Pleasures for evermore can be found alone in Gods Prefence The pleasures of sin and sense
18. Turn thou me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God Ephraim had the seal of the Covenant administred to him in infancy which was Circumcision and therefore he calls the Lord his God and has the greater encouragement to cry to him to circumcise and turn his heart unto himself And surely under the New Testament the Covenant is not made more narrow nor our arguments and encouragements fewer to plead for converting grace Let Sinners therefore beg that as they have been baptized with Water in the Lords name so they may be justified by the blood of Christ sanctified by his Spirit and effectually turned unto God Till the Lord does turn you you must needs remain unconverted And when once you are made earnest that you may be sincere Converts you are earnest for that which is most agreeable to the will of God and 't is a sign that the work is already begun There could never be strong desires to be turned if the heart were not in some degree turned to desire it Case 6. The sixth Case is this How far may Sinners go and yet fall short of Grace and Heaven This is of great concernment to be fully resolved that we may not be mistaken in our selves therefore I shall be the larger upon it Many with Agrippa are almost persuaded to be Christians that are not Christians altogegether Many with him in the Gospel are not far from the Kingdom of Heaven who yet never come thither the case such is sad for they are miserable after they were near to happiness they are like a Merchant that is Shipwrackt and loses all and himself too within sight of shore they sail as it were by Heaven to Hell and their being once so near Heaven will make Hell the more doleful and intolerable Now how far Sinners may go and yet still remain but in a State of Nature I shall shew in these particulars 1. They that have no true grace may own and acknowledge the Christian Faith to be true 'T is affirmed of Simon Magus that he believed Act. 8. 13. The miracles that were wrought by Philip for the confirmation of the Gospel gained his assent that it was the Gospel of God and of undoubted truth In like manner Nicodemus while a Stranger to Regeneration was convinced and did confess that Christ was a Teacher sent from God Joh. 3. 1 2. Now as I go along I shall shew wherein such as have no grace do fail that the unsound may be convinced of their hypocrisie and the truely gracious may be the better able to discern their sincerity Though the forementioned persons believe the truth of the Gospel they do not apply it to themselves nor heartily embrace the goodness of the Gospel but prefer their lusts their pleasures and their profits before Gods Kingdom their assent is weak and does not influence their Consciences affections and conversations and so proves ineffectual to Salvation Jam. 2. 14. What doth it profit if a man say he hath Faith and have not Works Can Faith save him And v. 26. As the Body without the Spitit is dead so Faith without Works is dead also 2. They that have no grace may solemnly be admitted into the visible Church Simon the Sorcerer was baptized and yet Peter tells him afterwards that he was in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity Act. 8. 13 23. Multitudes of the Jews of old were circumcised in their flesh whose hearts were never circumcised Jer. 9. 25 26. Behold the days come saith the Lord that I will punish all them that are circumcised with the uncircumcised Egypt and Judah and Edom and the Children of Ammon and Moab for all these Nations are uncircumcised and all the House of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts How many by Baptism are admitted into the Church of Christ and rest herein not caring to partake of the Blood of Christ and least of all to partake of the Spirit of Grace and Holiness which are signified by the Water in that institution What did it profit the Jews that they were circumcised in their flesh if after they did not answer their infant Cirumcision by a circumcised ear and heart and an holy and obedient Conversation And in like manner what will the being baptized with Water avail if the filthiness of Sin be not purged but loved and there be not an answer afterwards of a good Conscience towards God 1 Pet. 3. 21. 3. They that have no true grace may be forward in profession and by talking at an high rate attain unto some reputation for Godliness thus Sardis had a name and fame that she liv'd and yet was dead Rev. 3. 1. But these forward Professors when unsound drive on some carnal design as the ravenous Birds when they soar never so much aloâ—at have their eyes downward and are looking after something that they may prey upon Under all their profession their hearts they neglect and suffer them to be full of pride and passion and love of the World they have no desire after inward purity and besides they wilfully and wofully fail many times in their dealings with men and in regard of those duties which in their capacities and relations are incumbent upon them 4. They that have no true grace may engage in all the publick Ordinances that Christ has instituted they may pray and hear and be admitted unto Communion and Church-fellowship and yet not be the real Members of Christ and be shut out of the Kingdom Those persons had eat and drank in our Lords presence and had heard him teaching many a time unto whom he speaks after this terrible manner There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of Heaven and you your selves thrust out Luk. 13. 26 28. These hypocritical engagers in Ordinances seek not the Lord himself in his Ordinances His favour and the communications of his sanctifying Spirit they prize not they desire not and though Ordinances leave them as proud and wanton and unbelieving and earthly-minded as they found them they are unconcerned for to have better hearts than they had is not any piece of their design 5. They that have no true grace may attain to a great measure of notional knowledge That Servant who was beaten with many stripes did know the will of his Master Luk. 12. 47. We all have knowledge says the Apostle 1 Cor. 8. 1. unsound as well as sincere An Hypocrite may have great light in his understanding but that light makes him high-minded his knowledge is without affection to Spiritual things his head is very clear but his heart is very cold He is acquainted with the truth but he holds it in unrighteousness Is it not a sad sight to see Children that have the Rickets with great Heads but Arms weak and unable to do any thing and Legs small and feeble and unable to go Here is
sorrow when the heart is grieved it is so hard and can sorrow no more for Sin Such an heart will carefully shun whatever has an hardning effect and oh how is that promise prized and the accomplishment of it longed for Ezek. 36. 26. A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh And when once Sinners are sensible so as to inquire and seek unto the God of Israel to do this for them here is a good work begun in them I grant such may fear sometimes they are judicially hardned but that very fear plainly shews the contrary if they were under such a judgment they would cease to be afraid of it 2. It argues a beginning of a work of Grace when a Sinner is troubled to see such an opposition in his corrupted nature against God and desires to be turned indeed Thus Ephraim bemoans himself that he was as a Bullock unaccustomed to the Yoke and he cryes to be instructed and that God would shew his power and grace in the turning of him Jer. 31. 18. and vers 20. we find the Lord owns Ephraim as his dear Son as a pleasant Child and says he does earnestly remember him and will surely have mercy upon him It argues a new nature when we are weary of the old and that the bent and inclination of the heart is really changed when backwardness unto what is good begins to be burthensom 3. There is a work of Grace where there is a resolution to go unto God and confess all Sin unto him without hiding any through a desire to keep it When David thus without guile does resolve upon Confession God resolves upon Remission and forgives him presently Psal 32. 5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee and my iniquity have I not hid I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin Selah Hark what Solomon says He that covereth his Sins shall not prosper but he that confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy And the Apostle speaks a great word 1 Joh. 1. 9. If we confess our Sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness O thou sensible and drooping and trembling Soul who comest unto God with black Bills of Indictment against thy self Is all thy wickedness down there that thou knowest Hast thou not left out one or other that is a darling Oh no here are all down and the darling sins in a special manner acknowledged and aggravated and I am willing to forsake all as well as to have the pardon of all If it be so chear up for Confess and be saved is the Gospel language When David said I have sinned against the Lord Nathan answers The Lord hath put away thy Sin thou shalt not die 2 Sam. 12. 13. 4. There is a work of grace where there is a desire to believe He that searcheth the heart takes notice of the desires which are there and as a desire to kill is Murther as a lusting after a Woman is Adultery so a desire after that which is good is accepted A desire to repent is repenting and a desire to believe is believing Abraham is said again and again to have offered up Isaac because he had a will to do it at Gods Command though actually he never did it Heb. 11. 17. which shews the truth of that passage of Augustine Coronat Deus intus bonam voluntatem ubi non invenit facultatem Where there is a defect of ability God does own and crown a real willingness Such desires must needs be very pleasing unto God who willeth that his grace should be earnestly desired and therefore says the same Father Desiderare auxilium gratiae est initium gratiae Grace is begun when Grace is desired When once a Sinner desires with his heart to believe and cries out with the man in the Gospel Lord help my unbelief Mar. 9. 24. When he desires that his heart may be set wide open that Christ who knocks there may enter in when he desires to receive Christ just so as Christ is willing to be received and to rely upon him as the onely Mediatour and Saviour renouncing all other Confidences Here is saving faith most certainly 5. There is a work of Grace where there is a weariness of other Lords and a willingness to submit unto Christ the Lord of Glory 'T is a good sign when there is a consent to cast off the yoke of Sin and to take on us the easie yoke of Christ for none but they that are truely gracious are willing to be delivered from the power of darkness and to be translated into the Kingdom of the Son of God Col. 1. 13. If we dislike the bondage of corruption and are unwilling to be led captive by Satan at his will if we look upon our selves as foolish and deceived while we were disobedient and served diverse lusts and pleasures Tit. 3. 3. If we count the Service of our Lord Jesus freedom and freedom indeed and lust against the Flesh which counts his Commands grievous certainly the Spirit of the Lord has begun to set us at liberty our eyes have been opened our hearts changed Voluntas non esset libera nisi liberata The will would not be thus free to be subject unto Christ unless it had been made free by Him 6. There is a work of Grace where there is a desire to fear the name of God Neh. 1. 11. Let thine ear be attentive and so it was unto the prayer of thy Servants who desire to fear thy Name That Soul is renewed that would fain stand in awe of God and of his Word and has a will to do good though evil is present and the Flesh is weak The weakness of the Flesh Christ excuses as long as he saw the Spirit of the Disciples was willing to have done their duty Mat. 26. 41. That which was Gods wish concerning Israel of old is it thy wish concerning thy self Oh that there were an heart in me to fear the Lord and to keep all his Commandments always that it may be well with me for ever Deut. 5. 29. This is certainly the breathing of the new creature In such there is a consent to be the Lords and to serve him and a trouble when they are overpowr'd by sin and temptation and a jealousie lest they should be deceived which shews that their desire to fear and obey the Lord is the more honest and sincere 7. There is a work of Grace where there is an uncontentedness without God before the Sinner was without Christ and liv'd without God in the World as he thought well enough Eph. 2. 12. but the heart being savingly changed cannot be put off with the World or any thing therein for its portion as the Needle being toucht by the Loadstone
sin deserves thy hatred does not thy Lord deserve thy love What and where hadst thou been if he had not loved thee and given himself for thee Thy Lord is every way excellent the chiefest among ten thousand altogether lovely the most admired among the visible Creatures the finest Gold the richest Jewels nay the shining Sun in the Firmament are but poor similitudes and faint shaddows to set forth his incomparable perfections The Heavens are not clean Angels themselves are black when compared with Jesus who is the image of the invisible God! This high this glorious and beautiful One became flesh and sin and a Curse for thee so that his love is incomparable as well as his loveliness O my soul set open all the flood-gates let thy love even all of it run in a strong and undivided stream towards him Love this Lord Jesus in sincerity love him with greater ardency love him with the greatest constancy Here is no danger of excess no danger of defilement or a snare in thy loving Christ as there is in loving of the Creatures Study him better and thou wilt see new beauties in him daily grow in knowledge that thou mayst grow in grace and love Let thy desires grow stronger and stronger his fulness can easily satisfie them Rejoyce in Him with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory and cry out with an affectionate and holy impatiency Come Lord Jesus come quickly Appear the second time without sin unto Salvation MEDITATION XLIII How much is mine if Christ my beloved is mine What unsearchable riches have I an interest in No match comparable to that with Christ either for the excellencies of the person or the largeness of the estate What poor offers doth the World and the God of the World make me They talk much of honour and wealth and mirth and pleasure but these afford no true contentment for that short time they are enjoy'd and they perish in the very using Death does quickly come with a convincing demonstration and proves the richest man a meer beggar the greatest Prince a contemptible clod of the Earth the fairest and most admired beauty a skinful of dirt Can Satan offer any thing that is Everlasting No good thing I am sure that is so Indeed Everlasting pains Eververlasting burnings Everlasting wrath he will bring all unto that are led Captive by him at his pleasure but these Eternal evils he does most studiously conceal and hide But this is the commendation of My Lords Benefits that they are permanent and durable The Treasures wax not old the one thing needful cannot be taken away the inheritance is incorruptible and the Kingdom he will give his followers cannot be moved MEDITATION XLIV If Christ is mine the Father is mine How sweet were those words which come out of my Lords mouth quickly after he came out of the Grave Go tell my Brethren I ascend to my Father and your Father unto my God and your God All the Attributes of God are engaged on my side His wisdom will be my guide his power and truth my guard and shield His presence will be with me wherever I am and his Grace sufficient for me in all my troubles and Temptations All my desire will be before him and my groaning will not be hid from him and he can easily furnish me with the good things I desire and deliver me from those evils which make me groan before him I shall not want while the All-sufficient God is my Shepherd my state is secure and safe for my God is unchangeable He will never turn away from me to do me good and his Grace will establish me and hinder my departing he will uphold me with the right hand of his Righteousness and guide me with his Counsel and afterwards receive me to his Glory Be not thou cast down or discouraged O my Soul be not disquieted within me Hope thou in God and continually praise Him who is the health of my countenance and my God MEDITATION XLV If Christ is mine the Spirit is mine The same soul does animate and Act the Head and the Body the same Spirit is in Christ and in all his true and living Members The Spirit of Wisdom and Illumination will enlighten me and make me able to judge all things after a right manner The Spirit of truth will lead me into all necessary truth so that I shall be ignorant or mistaken in nothing which is needful to be understood and known in order unto Salvation This Spirit will make me hold the Head and from him I shall derive not only a directing light but a vital influx which will quicken me and make me alive more and more abundantly Glorious Spirit Thou art the Lord and Giver of Life without thee the Word of Life is dead and proves a savour of Death unto Death Without thee Ordinances are without efficacy without thee my Heart is cold and comfortless I grieve that I have grieved thee Oh let me be thy Habitation and thy Temple let me see thy blessed light let me feel thy glorious power and know by more abundant experience what thy peace and joy means The lusts of the flesh which defile thy Temple let them be destroyed mortifie the deeds of the Body fill me with Grace and make me fit for Glory Let the least check of thine restrain me every motion of thine let it be obeyed Let me perpetually have an ear to Hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches MEDITATION XLVI If Christ is mine the Creatures are also mine The Sun was created to give me light and to make me admire the God that made it The Stars observe their courses for my good The Ordinances of the Heavens which alter not at mans pleasure may serve as an instruction to me that Gods Covenant when Earth and Hell have done their worst shall be kept and stand fast for ever the Earth is Fruitful the Sea does Ebb and Flow the Rain descends the Beasts and Fish and Fowl do multiply to do me a kindness The Ground was made for me to tread on the Air for me to breath in and though such mercies as these are vouchsafed to wicked men yet they are given to me in another way My Lord has bought them for me with his blood for with him they are given to me they are not a trap a snare to me as they are to others but they are truly blessed to me as well as given The higher Creatures are also mine Paul and Apollo and Cephas nay the very Angels are said to be ministring Spirits and are ready to Minister to me and to guard me Those loving humble Spirits have a charge given them concerning the Members of Christ and willingly look after them that are the Heirs of Salvation MEDITATION XLVII If Christ be mine Death is also mine as well as Life Death is terrible indeed to Nature and causes the frame thereof to be dissolved but my Lord has reconciled this last Enemy 'T is really mine
reason they should despair of mercy Ans 1. Despair is one of the greatest sins that can be committed dishonouring the grace of God making light of the blood of Christ and very opposite to the Spitit of Grace It is good says the Prophet that a man should hope Lam. 3. 26. Surely then 't is bad that a man should despair This sin thwarts the very design of the Gospel And Satan being hopeless himself would fain hinder sensible Sinners from hoping though he cherishes vain hopes in such as are presumptuous 2. There is a despair that is a Duty that is a despair of help from self and a despair of help from God if there be a resolution to continue in Sin Thou mayest as well hope to get no harm by the fall in throwing thy self off from the top of Londons Monument Thou may'st as well cast thy self into the Fire and hope not to be burnt as go on still in thy Sins and hope to escape everlasting Flames 3. But yet the door of hope is really open to the greatest Sinners that are willing to return to God and become Saints Blasphemous persecuting Saul was let in at this door And 1 Cor. 6. 9 10 11. you read of a sad Crew that if Hell were to be raked worse could hardly be found Fornicators Idolaters Adulterers effeminate abusers of themselves with Mankind Thieves Covetous Drunkards Revilers Extortioners and yet these were washt and sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God Such instances of the rich and free grace of God should hinder the worst from despairing when they come to themselves and are minded to come home to the Lord. 4. That conviction of sin and misery which sensible Souls have is the common road to Christ and grace and comfort He gives rest to the weary and heavy laden he gives liberty to the captives and binds up the broken hearted Mat. 11. 28. Luk. 4. 18. When Sinners are brought to the brink of Hell in their own apprehension this is an hopeful sign they shall be delivered from that place of woe and sorrow and that they shall not feel what they fear Case 5. The fifth Case is this What course must Sinners take after they have prov'd themselves and found how bad they are to be brought into a better and safe Estate Ans 1. They must not oppose conviction but be willing nay earnestly desirous that it may be thorow that their humiliation may be the deeper they must not only be sensible that their actions have been bad but that their hearts are a great deal worse that their very nature is corrupted and their state most miserable Slight convictions soon wear off and a little sense of Sin is followed only with such goodness that is as the morning cloud and as the early dew it goeth away Hos 6. 4. The deeper the humiliation commonly the stricter the holiness afterwards Piscator ictus sapit the burnt Child dreads the Fire And he that hath tasted the Wormwood and the Gall that is in Sin will be the more alienated from it and afraid of contracting new guilt and defilement Let not the pangs of contrition go off too soon for fear there be an abortive instead of the new birth the more you are burthen'd with Sin the more sincere Conversion will be and Christ is the readier to give you rest 2. They must consent to cast away every transgression and cease to be the companions of Transgressors Let not any Sin be kept and rolled as a swee morsel under the Tongue for 't will prove as bitter and deadly as the very gall of Asps at last That promise Iniquity shall not be your ruine is annexed to a command Cast away from you all your transgressions Ezek. 18. 30 31. The wicked man is required to forsake his way which intimates the reformation of his life and also to forsake his thoughts which shews his very heart must be renewed else there cannot be a returning unto God indeed nor mercy and pardon obtained Esa 55. 7. It is reported concerning Agrippina the Mother of Nero Caesar that it was foretold her That her Son should be Emperor of Rome but afterwards kill his own Mother She said Occidat modo imperet Let him kill me so he may but Reign Oh let not any Sinner say so concerning any gainful delightful darling Sin Let it damn me so it may but Reign Let me die by it so I may but live in it And as sinful courses must be abandoned so also sinful company Save your selves from an untoward generation Act. 2. 40. was the advice of Peter to those awakned Souls that askt him what they should do If you would turn to God and go to Heaven you must leave that company that are resolved to go on in Sin and unto Hell 3. They must attend upon prophecy and beg that the Spirit would accompany it The Word of God is the incorruptible seed of which Sinners are born again 1 Pet. 1. 23. and the Word is made effectual by the Spirit 'T is a very encouraging asseveration of Christ Joh. 5. 25. Verily verily I say unto you The hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and live A meer man might have cried long enough and to no purpose at Lazarus his grave But when our Lord says Lazarus come forth there went out a power along with his word that raised him Let Sinners attend upon the Word of Christ Christ himself may speak to them as well as man and then the Spirit of Life will enter into them and the dead in sin shall live 4. They must look unto Jesus for righteousness and strength Esa 45. 24. The righteousness of Christ is necessary unto Sinners reconciliation therefore God does not impute their own sins to them upon their believing in Christ because he does impute the righteousness of his Son That 's a notable place Rom. 4. 6. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord imputeth righteousness without works Here is an imputed righteousness and lest any should think it a putative or imaginary righteousness 't is called a righteousness of the Lords own imputing Further 't is a righteousness that does not consist in any works or obedience of ours Finally this Doctrine of the imputed righteousness of Christ is asserted by David under the Old Testament as by Paul under the New In Sinners Approach unto God this righteousness is to be relied on for pardon and justification And as his Righteousness is necessary unto Reconciliation so is his strength and the power of his Spirit unto Conversion None will be made free from the power of Sin and Satan none will be delivered from the power of darkness till the Son of God does make them free indeed and translate them into his own Kingdom 5. They must cry unto God to be throughly turned So did Ephraim Jer. 31.