ingredient in thy Cup of Judgment for it is the greatest Aggravation of thy sin for through it Gods Name is Blasphemed If they had not known they had not had sin Pagans sin is no sin in respect of Christians If ye consider Christs Sermon Matth. 11. Ye will say Isaiah is a meak and moderate man in regard of him Isaiah calls them people of Gomorrah but Christ will have them worse and their Judgment more intolerable then theirs And that not only the profane of them but the civil and Religious like who believed not in him VVell then here is the advantage ye get of your Name of Christianity of your priviledge of hearing his VVord dayly Ye who never ponder it to tremble at it or to rejoyce in it who cannot be moved either to joy or grief for Spiritual things Neither Law nor Gospel moves the most part of you I say here is all your gain ye shall receive a reward with Gentiles and Pagans Yea ye shall be in a worse case nor they in the Day of the Lord. The civil Christian shall be worse then the profane Turke and ye shall not then boast that ye were Christians but shall desire that ye had dwelt in the place where the Gospel had never been preached It is a Character of the Nations that they call not on God and of Heathen Families that they pray not to him Jer. 10. 25. And wrath must be poured on them VVhat then are the most part of you Ye neither bow a Knee in secret nor in your Families to God your time is otherwayes employed ye have no leisure to pray twice or thrice a day alone except when ye put on your Cloathes ye utter some ordinary bâ—blings Ye cannot be driven to Family worship shall not God rank you in Judgement with these Heathen Families Or shall it not be more tolerable for them nor for you And are not the most part of you every one given to Covetousnesse your heart and eye after it seeking Gain and Advantage more then the Kingdome of Heaven Doth not every one of you as you have power in your hand oppresse one another wrong one another Now our end in speaking thus to you is not to drive you to desparation No indeed but as there was a word of the Lord sent to such by Isaiah so we bring a word unto you That which ruines you is your carnal confidence Ye are presumptuous as this people and cryes the Temple of the Lord the VVork of the Lord c. as if these would save you Know therefore that all these will never cover you in the day of wrath Know there is a necessity to make peace with God and your righteousnesse must exceed the righteousnesse of a profession and external priviledges and duties or else ye shall be as far from the Kingdome of Heaven as Sodom and Gomorrah VVe speak of Rulers sins that ye may mourn for them lest ye be Judged with them If ye do not mourn for them in secret know that they are your sins Ye are Companions with them Many fret grudge and cry out against Oppression but who weeps in secret Who prayes and deprecats Gods wrath least it come upon them And while it is so The Oppression of Rulelers becomes the sin of the oppressed themselves Hear the Word of the Lord It were a suitable preparation for any Word that is spoken to make it take imprâ—ssion if it were looked on as the Word of the Lord and Law of our God And truely no man can hâ—ar aright unlesse he hear it so Why doth not this Word of the Lord return with more Fruit Why doth not men tremble or rejoyce at it Certainly because it is not received as Gods Word There is a practical Heresie in our hearts which rather may be called Atheism VVe do not believe the Scriptures I do not say men call it in question but I say ye believe them not It is one thing to believe with the heart another thing not to doubt of it Ye doubt not of it not because ye do indeed believe it but because ye do not at all consider it It is one thing to confesse with the Mouth and another thing to believe with the Heart For ye confesse the Scriptures to be Gods VVord not because ye believe them but because ye have received such a Tradition from your Fathers have heard it from the womb unquestioned Oh that this were engraven on your Heart thaâ— these Commands these Curses these Promises are Divine Truthes the VVords and thâ— Oath of the Holy One. If every word oâ— Truth came stamped with his Authority and were received in the Name of God himself what influence would it have on the Spirits and the practices of men This would be a great Reformer would Reform more in a Moneth then Church and Staâ—e hath done these many Years VVhy are Rulers and People not Converted and Healed for all that is spoken Here it is Who believes our report VVho believes that our report is thy own Testimony O Lord When Ministers threaten you in Gods Name if his Authority were stamped on the Threatning if men did seriously apprehend it were Gods own Voice would they not tremble When the Gospel and the joyful Sound comes forth if ye apprehended that same Authority upon it which ye who are Convinced believes in the Law would ye not be comforted Finally I may fay it is this point of Atheisme of Inconsideration and Brutishnesse that destroys the multitude makes all Means Ineffectual to them and retards the progresse of Christians Men do not consider that this word is the word of the Eternal and True and Faithful God and that not one Jot of it will faill Here is a Poynt of Reformation I would put you to If ye mind indeed to Reform let this enter into your Hearts and sink down that the Law and Gospel is the Word of God and resolve to come and hear Preachings so as the Voice of Jesus Christ the true and faithful witnesse If ye do not take it so now yet God will Judge you so at the end He that despiseth you despiseth me and he that hears not you heares not me If ye thought ye had to do with God every Sabbath would ye come so carelesly and be so stupid and inconsiderate before the Judge of all the Earth But ye will find in the end that it was God whom ye knew not SERMON IX Isai 1. 11. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me saith the Lord c. THis is the Word he calls them to hear and a strange Word Isaiah asks what means your sacrifices God will not have them I think the people would say in their own hearts what means the Prophet What would the Lord be at Do we any thing but what he Commanded us Is he angry at us for Obeying him What means this Word Is he not repealing the Statute and Ordinance he had made in Israel If
each striving for the place and were it not better to be under one settled Government If there be any tendernesse of God in your hearts or light it your Consciences they cannot but testifie againsâ— your lusts these strange Lords Your lusts again they drive you on against your Conscience Thus ye are divided and tormented betwixt two your own Conscience and Affections You have thus the pain of Religion and know not the true pleasure of it You are marred in the pleasures of sin Conscience and the love of God is a worm to eat that Gourd it is Gall and Vinegar mixed in with them Were it not more wisdom to be either one thing or another If ye will have the pleasures of sin for a season take them wholly and renounce God and see if your heart can endure that If your heart cannot condescend to that I pray you renounce them wholly and ye shall find more exquisit and sure pleasures in godlinesse at his Right Hand O what a noble entertainment hath the Soul in God The Peace and Joy of the Holy Ghost is a Kingdom indeed SERMON XII Isai 26. 3. Thou shalt keep him in perfect Peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee ALL men love to have priviledges above others Every one is upon the designe and search after some well-being since Adam lost that which was true happinesse We all agree upon the general notion of it but presently men divide in the following of particulars Here all men united in seeking after some good something to satisfie their Souls and satiat their desires Nay but they scatter presently in the prosecution of it because according to every mans fancy and corrupt humour they attribute that good unto diverse things And when they meet with disappointment they change their opinion of that but are made no wiser for they turn from one to another of that same kind in which their imagination hath supposed blessednesse to be And therefore they will return to that which they first loathed and rejected Is there then no such thing in the world as blessednesse Is it not to be found among men Are all mens unsatiable desires in vain Is a Creature made up and composed of desires to keep it in continuall torment and vexation of spirit No certainly it is and it is found by some All the world strive about it but the man only who trusts and believs in God he it is who carries it away from them who hath this priviledge beyond the world And why do so many misse it Because they do not see nor suspect that it is blessednesse indeed which he injoyes But on the contrair their corrupted imaginations represent godlinesse and a godly mans self-indigency and dependance on God as the greatest misery and shame The godly man hids not his blessednesse from the world No he proclaimes it when he hath found it He would that all enjoyed it with him And if there were no more to declare that it doth not consist in worldly things this might suffice they are not communicable to many without the prejudice and losse of every one But none will believe his report of his own Estate If ye would consider here is that which men toyl for compasse Sea and Land for here it is near thee in thy mouth It is not in Heaven that thou should say How shall I ascend to it It is not in Hell below that thou shouldest say Who shall descend It is not in the ends of the Earth No it is near thee in thy mouth It is not beyond the Sea but it is near in thy mouth even the word of faith which Christ preached Rom. 10. 6 7 8. And what sayes that word Believe with thy heart and thou shalt be saved Trust in God and depend on him and ye shall have peace and that perfect peace and this peace shall be kept by God himself Blessed then is the man that trusts in the Lord Psal 40. 4. Ye make a long journey in vain ye spend your Labour and Money in vain all the pains might be saved it is not where ye seek it ye travel about many creatures ye go to many doors and enquire for Happinesse and Peace but ye go too far off ye need not search so many Coasts it is nearer hand in this word of the Gospel the joyful sound It is this that proclaimes peace Peace is a comprehensive word especially in Scripture It was the Jews salutation Peace be to you meaning happinesse and all good things It is Christs salutation Grace and Peace Grace is Holinesse Peace is Happinesse and these are either one or inseparably conjoyned as one This was the Angels Song Glory to God peace on earth Luk. 2. 14. Bleslednesse was restored or brought near to be restored to miserable man by Jesus Christ and upon the apprehension of this Angels Sing It was this Christ came in the world with and when he went away he left this Legacy to his Children My peace I leave you Jo. 14 27. We lost happinesse and all men are on a vain pursuit of it since but it is found and found by one of our Kin our Lord Jesus our Elder Brother he hath found it or made it and brought it near us in the Gospel for the receiving and who so receives him by Faith and trusting in him receives that priviledge that peace He endured much trouble to gain our peace he behoved to undergo misery to purchase our Blessednesse and so it is his own and who so receives him receives it also The newes of such a peace might be seasonable in the time of warr and trouble if we apprehended our need of it It is not a peace from warr and trouble but a peace in warr and trouble My peace I leave you in the world ye shall have trouble Jo. 14. 27. and 16. at the end What a blessed Message is it that there is a peace and a perfect peace attainable in the midst of warrs confusions and calamities of the times publick and personal a perfect peace a compleat peace even compleat without the accession of outward and worldly peace that needs it not nay appears most perfect and intire in it self when it is striped naked of them all Behold what a priviledge the Gospel offers unto you Ye need not be made miserable but if you please This is more then all the world can afford you there is no man can promise to himself immunity from publick dangers or personal from many griefs and disappointments But the Gospel bids you reckon up all your troubles and miseries that ye can meet with in the world and yet in such a case if ye hearken to wisdom there is a peace that will make you forget that trouble Her wayes are wayes of pleasantness and all her pathes are peace Pro. 3. 17. I will undertake to make thee blessed says Wisdom the Fathers Wisdom When all the world hath given thee over for miserable when
so must they do in their lot Heaven only is one day one Spring perpetually blossoming and bringing forth fruit There is the Tree of Life that bringeth forth fruit every moneth that hath both Spring and Harvest all the year over Christians sit not down under the green tree of worldly prosperity If you do the leaves will come down about you The Gourd you trust in may be eaten up in â— night your Winter will come on so as you shall forget the former days as if they had never been We desire you to be armed for changes Are not matters in the Kingdome still going about All things are subject to revolution and change and every year hath its own Summer and Winter so hath it pleased the Lord to set the one over against the other that man might find nothing after him Eccles 7. 14. Therefore we would have you cast your accompts so as the former dayes of darkness may return and the Land be covered with mourning cloaths But would you know what is the original of the creatures vanity what is the moth that eats up the glory and goodliness of creatures enjoyments Here it is Sin and iniquities It was sin that first subjected the Creation to vanity Rom. 8. 19 20. This inferior world was to have been a durable house for an immortal soul but sin made man mortal and the world corruptible And from this proceed all the tempests and disorders that seem to be in the Creation It is this still It is sin that raiseth the storm of the Lords wrath which bloweth away the withered leaves of mens enjoyments Sin drieth up all the sap and sweetness of the creature comforts it maketh the leaves of the tree wither drives the sap away to the root hindereth the influence of Gods blessing to come thorow the veins of worldly prosperity For what is the vertue and sap of Creatures It is even Gods blessing and therefore the bread nourisheth not but the Word and Command of God Matth. 3. 4. That is a right unto the Creatures by Jesus Christ when possession of them is entered into by prayer and thanksigiving for all rightis sanctified by these and it is the iniquities of men that separateth between God and them Isa 59. 2. And when God is separated and divided from enjoyments they must needs be empty shells and husks no kernel in them for God filleth all in all is all in all And remove him and you have nothing your meat and drink is no blessing your table is a snare your pleasures and laughter have sadness in them at least they are like the vanishing blaze of thorns under a pot And therefore when God is angry for sin mens beauty consumeth as before the moth Psal 39. 11. When God beginneth to shew himself terrible because of sin poor man though of late spreading his boughs out yet all falleth and like Ice melteth as before the Sun which just now seemed as solid as stone O but David was sensible of this and could speak from much experience Psal 32. 3 4. The anger of the Lord did eat him up and dryed his moisture It might be read in his countenance all the world could not content him all the showres of creatures dropping fatness could not keep sap in him Gods displeasure scorcheth so nay is within him that no hiding place is to be found in the world no shadow of a rock among all the Creatures in such a weary Land Moses and the people knew this well Psal 90. 5 6 7 8 9. The Lords displeasure carried them away as a floud coming down carrieth all headlong with it it scorched them and made them wither as grass When God setteth iniquities before him that which is the souls secret beginneth to imprint it in visible characters on the rod and writeth his sin on his punishment then no wonder that dayeâ— be spent in vanity and grief since they are past over in his wrath Job 13. 25. Then doth a soul loath its dainty meat and then doth the Ox lowe over his fodder meat is laid before and he cannot touch it because of the terrours of the Almighty And that which before he would not once touch would not enter in terms of communing with as the Lords threatnings he must now sit down and eat them up as his meat how sorrowful soever Job 6. 5 6 7. But Secondly when sin hath prepared a man for judgement then if iniquity be added to sin this raiseth the storm and kindleth the fire to consume the combustible matter when sin hath given many blowes by preparatory corrections at the root of a mans pleasure and credit it will at length bring on a fatal stroak that shall drive the tree to the ground There are some preparatory judgements and some consummatory some withers the leaf and some bloweth it quite off some make men like the Harvest ripe to put the sickle of judgement into it The Corrruption of a land the universality of it and formality in worshiping of God ripeneth a land for tâ—e harvest of judgement exposeth it to any storm leaveth it open to the Lords wrath so that there is nothing to hold his hand and keep off the stroak But when the wind ariseth and iniquities have made it tempestuous then who may stand it will sweep away Nations and people as a flood and make their place not to know them so that there shall be neither leaf nor branch left There is often a great calm with great provocations and iniquities cry Peace peace But when once the cry of it is gone up to heaven and hath engaged Gods anger against a people or person then it raiseth a whilr-wind that taketh all away Now all this belongeth to you we told you the acknowledgement of sin was yours already and a wonder it is that the complaint is not ours also Alwayes this ought to be an admonition and example to us on whom the ends of the world are fallen Therefore we would declare this unto you that sin and iniquities have judgment in the taile Now you sit at peace every one in his own dwelling and spread forth your branches But is there not much uncleanness among you We would have you trouble your carnal peace and security trouble your ease with thoughts of this And we have ground to give this warning because if there were no more but the iniquity of our holy things the formality of our service the commonness of Spirit in worship this might be enough to raise the storm You know not for what reasons to be afraid of judgement look but on original corruption look on the defilement of your religious actions and then find ground sufficient of fading away Though now you sit still and seem to be so setled as you would never be moved you dream of an eternity here you cleave in your hearts to your houses and lands you stick as fast to the world and will not part with it as a leaf to a
outward Dispensation can fall on that can affect this generation We know not what the Lord can have behind that can work on us Judgement hath had as much terror Mercies as much sweetness and as much of God in the one and the other as readily hath been since the beginning of the world Only this we know all things are possible to him which are impossible to us And if the Spirit work to sanctifie the Rod a more gentle Rod shall work more effectually his Word shall do as much as his Rod. The case we are now into is just this None calleth on thee It is a terrible one whither our condition be good or bad outwardly our peace hath put us asleep and the Word cannot put men to prayers Now the Lord hath begun to threaten as you have been still in fear of new troubles and a revolution of affairs again yet I challenge your own Consciences and appeal to them whom hath the Word prevailed with to put to prayer Whom hath the rumour of approaching trouble put to their prayers Whose spirit hath been affected with Goâ— fâ—ouning on the Land And this yet more aâ— gravateth your laziness In the time that Goâ— doth shew terrible things to his people in Irelaâ— giveth them a cup of wormwood and to drink â— wine of astonishment Are not you yet at eâ—â— when your brethren and fellow saints are scaâ—tered among you as strangers yet your heaâ— bleed not Well behold the end of it you case is a sad prognostick of the Lords hideing hiâ— Face and consuming us Nay it is a sure token that his Face is hid already When Jâ— friends would aggravate his misery they sumâ— it up in this thou restrainest prayer from God Iâ— is more wrath to be kept from much praying nor to be scattered from your own house Therefore if you would have the cloud of Godâ— anger that covereth the Land with blackneâ— go over you and pour out it self on others you would prevent the Rod hearken to thâ— Word and stirr up your selves to much prayeâ— that you may be called his remembrancers Oâ— how long shall prayer be banished this Kingdom The Lords controversie must be greaâ— with us for since the days of our first love therâ— hath been great decay of the spirit of prayer The Children of God should be so much in it as they might be one with it David was so much in prayer as he in a manner defined himself by it Psal 109. 4. I gave my self unto prayer In the original there is no more but â— prayer I was all prayer It was my Work my Element my Affection my Action Nay to speak the truth it is the decay of prayer that hath made all this defection in the Land Would you know the original of many a publick mans Apostacy and backsliding in the cause of God what maketh them so soon forget their solemn ingagements and grow particular seeking their own things untender in seeking the things of God Would you trace back the Desertion up to the Fountain head Then come and see Look upon such a mans walking with God in private such a mans praying and you shall find matters have been first wrong there Alienation and estrangement from God himself in immediat Duties and secret approaches hath made mâ—ns Affections cooll to his interest in publick Duties And believe it the reason why so few great men or none are so cordial constant and through in Gods Matters is this they pray not in secret They come to Parliament or Council where publick Matters concerning the Honour of God are to be debated as any Stas-man of Venice would come to the Senate They have no dependence on God to be guided in these Matters They are much in publick Duties but little in secret with God Believe it any mans private walking with God shall be read upon his publick carriage whither he be Minister or Ruler There is yet another thing we would have you consider to endear this Duty unto you and bind upon your Consciences an absolute necessity of being much in it and it is this Prayer and calling on his Name is often put for all immediat Worship of God especially the more substantial and moral part of Service This people was much in Ceremonials and they made these their righteousness Nay but there was little secret conversing with God walking humbly with him loving him believing in him Well then prayer is as it were a compend and summ of all Duties It contains in it Faith Love Repentance all these should breath out in prayer In a word if we say to you be much in prayer we have said all and it is more then all the rest because it is a more near and immediat approach to God having more solid Religion in it If you be lively in this you are thriving Christians if you wither here all must decay for prayer sappeth and watereth all othes Duties with the influence of Heaven That stirreth up himself to take hold on thee This expresseth more of their condition under the Rod and while God was threatning to depart and leave them none took so much notice of it as to awake out of his dream to take a fast hold of God It was but like the grip a man taketh in his slumbering that he soon quiteth in his sleep None awaketh himself as a bird stirreth up it self with its wings to flight None do so spread out their sails to meet the wind This importeth a great security and negligence a careless stupidity To take hold to grip strongly and violently importeth both Faith acted on God and Communion with God so that the sense is no body careth whither thou go there is none that stirreth up himself to take violent hold of thee Men ly louse in their interest and indifferent in the one thing necessary do not strongly grip to it No body keepeth thee by prayer and intercession so that there is no diligence added to diligence there is no stirring up of our selves in security First when the Lord seemeth to withdraw and when he is angry it is our duty to take hold the more on him and not only to act Faith and call on him by prayer but to add to ordinary diligence it should be extraordinary First then I say when the Lord is withdrawing and seemeth angry we ought not to withdraw from him by unbelief but to draw near and take hold on him And the Lord giveth a reason of this himself Isai 26. 4 5. because fury is not in me It is but a moments anger it is not hatred of your persons but sins it is not fury that hath no discretion in it to difference between a friend and an enemy It is but at least a fathers anger that is not for destruction but correction The Lord is not implacable come to him and win him let bim take hold of me and let him make peace with me if he will make peace He is a God whose