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A59669 The sincere convert discovering the paucity of true beleevers and the great difficulty of saving conversion by Tho. Shepheard .... Shepard, Thomas, 1605-1649.; Greenhill, William, 1591-1671. 1641 (1641) Wing S3118; ESTC R9618 105,576 306

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secret hypocrisie whoredome prophannesse and with shame in thy face come before this God for pardon and mercy Admire and wonder at his patience that having seene thee hath not damned thee 8. Hee is a True God whereby he meanes to doe as he saith Let every Child of God therefore know to his comfort that those things which hee hath not under feelings but under a promise shall one day be all made good and let all wicked men know what ever threatning God hath denounced whatsoever Arrowes are in the bow-string will one day fly and hit and strike deepe and the longer the Lord is a drawing the deeper wound will Gods arrow that is Gods threatning make 9. Hee is an holy God Be not ashamed therefore of holinesse which if it ascend above the common straine of honesty the blind and mad world accounts it madnesse If the righteous that is those that bee most holy bee scarcely saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appeare 1 Peter 4. 18. Where Not before Saints and Angels for holinesse is their trade Not before the face of the man Christ Iesus for holinesse was his meate and drinke Not before the face of a blessed God for holinesse is his Nature Not in Heaven for no uncleane thing crawles there they shall never see God Christ Saints Angels or Heaven to their comfort that are not holy weare therefore that as thy crowne now which will be thy glory in Heaven and if this bee to be vile be more vile 10. He is a just and mercifull God just in himselfe and so will punish all sinne mercifull in the face of Christ and so will punish no sinne A just GOD against an hard-hearted sinner a mercifull God towards an humble sinner God is not all Mercy and no Justice nor all Justice and no Mercy Submit to him his mercy embraceth thee Resist him his justice pursues thee When a Child of God is humbled indeed commonly hee makes God a hard-hearted cruell God loth to helpe and saith can such a sinner bee pardoned a wicked man that was never humbled makes God a God of clouts one that howsoever he speaks heavie words yet he is a mercifull God and will not doe as he saith and hee findes it no difficult worke to beleeve the greatest sinne may be pardoned conceive therefore of him as you have heard Thirdly God is glorious in his Persons which are three Father begetting Sonne begotten and the Holy Ghost the third person proceeding Here the Father is called the Father of glory Eph. 1. Christ is called the Lord of glory 1 Cor. 2. and the Spirit is called the Spirit of glory 1 Pet. 4. the Father is glorious in his great work of Election the Son is glorious in his worke of Redemption the Holy Ghost is glorious in his work of Application the Father is glorious in choosing the house the Son is glorious in buying the House the Spirit is glorious in dwelling in the House that is the heart of a poore lost sinner 4. He is glorious in his Works in his works of Creation and in his workes of providence and government wonder therefore that he should so vouchsafe to looke upon such wormes such dunghils such Lepers as we are to provide protect to slay his Sonne to call to strive to waite to give away himselfe and all that he is worth unto us O feare this God when you come before him People come before God in Prayer as before their fellowes or as before an Idoll People tremble not at his voyce in the Word A King or Monarch will bee served in state yet how rudely how slovenly do men goe about every holy duty Thus much of the first Principall Head that there is One most glorious God Now we are to proceede to the second viz. CHAP. II. THat this God made all mankind at first in a most glorious and happy estate like unto himselfe For the opening of which Assertion I have chosen this Text Eccles. 7. 29. God made man righteous which clearely demonstrates That GOD made all mankind at first in Adam in a most glorious happy and righteous estate Man when he came first out of Gods mint shined most glorious There 's a marvellous glory in all Creatures the servants and houshold stuffe of man therfore there was a greater glory in man himselfe the end of them God calleth a Parliament and gathers a Councell when man was to bee made and said Come let us make man in our owne Image as though all the Wisedome of the Trinity should be seene in the creation of man Wherein did the glory or blessednesse of man appeare In the impression of Gods Image upon him Gen. 1. 26. Can there be any greater glory for a Ioseph for a subject than to be like his Prince What was the Image of God The Schoolmen and Fathers have many curious yet some necessary though difficult questions about this I will omit all theirs and tell you only what is the APOSTLES judgement Colossians 3. 20. out of which this generall description of GOD s Image may bee thus gathered It is mans perfection of Holinesse resembling GODs admirable holinesse whereby onely man pl●aseth God For all other inferiour Creatures did carry the workes and footsteps of GODs power wisedome goodnesse whereby all these Attributes were seene Now the most perfect Attributes of God that is his Holinesse that hee would have onely appeare in and be made manifest by man his best inferior creature as a Kings wisedome and bounty appeares in managing the affaires of all his Kingdome but his Royal Princely and most eminent perfections appeare in the face and disposition of his Sonne next under him But more particularly this Image of GOD appeared in these foure particulars 1. In mans understanding this was like unto Gods Now Gods Image here chiefly consisted in this particular viz. As God saw himselfe and beheld his owne infinite endlesse glory and excellency so man was privie to Gods excellency and saw God most gloriously as Moses though a sinfull man saw him face to face much more Adam a perfect man God loving man could doe no lesse than reveale himselfe to man 2. In his Affections the image of God chiefly appeared in two things First As God seeing himselfe loved himselfe So Adam seeing God loved this God more than the World more than himselfe as Iron put into the fire seemes to bee nothing but fire So Adam being beloved of God was turned into a lumpe of love to love GOD againe Secondly As God delighted in himselfe So did Adam delight in God tooke sweete repose in the bo●ome of GOD. Mee thinkes I see Adam wrapt up in continuall extasies in having this God 3. In his Will the Image of God chiefely appeared in two things First As GOD onely willed Himselfe as his last end So did Adam will GOD as his last end not as man doth now Secondly As God willed nothing but
gaspe have but an idle thought commit the least sin that one rocke will sinke thee downe even in the haven though never so richly loaden one sin like a pen-knife at the heart will stab thee one sinne like a little fire-stick in the thatch will burne thee one act of treason will hang thee though thou hast lived never so devoutly before Ezek. 18. 24. For it 's a crooked life when all the parts of the line of thy life be not straight before almighty God Thirdly suppose thou shouldest persevere yet it 's cleare thou hast sinned grievously already and dost thou think thine obedience for the time to come can satisfie the Lord for all those Rents behind for all those sinnes past as can a man that payes his Rent honestly every yeare satisfie hereby for the old rent not payed in twenty yeares all thy obedience is a new debt which cannot satisfie for debts past Indeed men may forgive wrong and debts because they be but finite but the least sin is an infinite evill and therefore God must be satisfied for it Men may remit debts and yet remaine men but the Lord having said the soule that sinneth shall die and his truth being himselfe he cannot remaine God if he forgive it without satisfaction Therfore duties are but rotten crutches for a soule to rest upon But to what end should we use any duties cannot a man be saved by his good prayers nor sorrowes nor repentings what should wee pray any more then Let us cast off all duties if all are to no purpose to save us As good play for nothing as worke for nothing Though thy good duties cannot save thee yet thy bad workes will damne thee Thou art therefore not to cast off the duties but thy resting in these duties Thou art not to cast them away but to cast them downe at the feet of Jesus Christ as they did their crownes Rev. 4. 10 11. Saying if there be any good or graces in these duties it 's thine Lord for it is the Princes favour that exalts a man not his owne gifts they came from his good pleasure But thou wilt say to what end should I performe duties if I cannot be saved by them For these three ends 1. 1. To carry thee to the Lord Jesus the onely Saviour Heb. 7. 25. he onely is able to save not duties all that come unto God that is in the use of means by him heare a Sermon to carry thee to Jesus Christ Fast and pray and get a full tide of affections in them to carry thee to the Lord Jesus Christ that is to get a more love to him more acquaintance with him more union with him so sorrow for thy sins that thou mayest be more fitted for Christ that thou mayest prize Christ the more use thy duties as Noah's dove did her wings to carry thee to the Arke of the Lord Jesus Christ where onely there is rest If shee had never used her wings shee had fallen in the waters so if thou shalt use no duties but cast them all off thou art sure to perish Or as it is with a poore man that is to goe over a great water for a treasure on the other side though he cannot fetch the boate he calls for it and though there be no treasure in the boate yet he useth the boate to carry him over to the treasure so Christ is in heaven and thou on earth he doth not come to thee and thou canst not goe to him now call for a boate though there is no grace no good no salvation in a pithlesse dutie yet use it to carry thee over to the treasure the Lord Jesus Christ. When thou comest to heare say Have over Lord by this Sermon When thou comest to pray say Have over Lord by this prayer to a Saviour But this is the misery of people like foolish lovers when they are to woe for the Lady they fall in love with her handmaid that is onely to leade them to her so men fall in love with and doate upon their owne duties and rest contented with the naked performance of them which are onely handmaids to leade the soule unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly use duties as evidences of Gods everlasting love to you when you be in Christ for the graces and duties of Gods people although they be not causes yet they be tokens and pledges of salvation to one in Christ they doe not save a man but onely accompany follow such a man as shall be saved Heb. 6. 9. Let a man boast of his Ioyes feelings gifts spirit grace if he walks in the commission of any one sin or the om●ssion of any one knowne duty or in the slovenly ill favoured performance of duties this man I say can have no assurance without flattering of himselfe 2 Pet. 1. 8 9 10. Duties therefore being evidences and pledges of salvation use them to that end and make much of them therefore as a man that hath faire evidence for his Lordship because he did not purchase his Lordship will he therefore cast it away no no because it is an evidence to assure him that it is his owne and so to defend him against all such as seeke to take it from him he will carefully preserve the same so because duties do not save thee wilt thou cast away good duties No for they are evidences if thou art in Christ that the Lord and mercy is thine owne Women will not cast away their love-tokens although they are such things as did not purchase or merit the love of their husbāds but because they are tokens of his love therfore they will keep them safe That God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ may be honoured by the performance of these duties therefore use them Christ shed his bloud that he might purchase unto himselfe a people zealous of good workes Tit. 2. 14. not to save our soules by them but to honour him Oh! let not the bloud of Christ be shed in vaine Grace good duties are a Christians Crowne it is sin onely makes a man base now shall a King cast away his Crowne because he bought not his Kingdome by it No because it is his Ornament and glory to weare it when he is made a King so I say unto thee it 's better that Christ should be honoured than thy soule saved and therefore performe duties because they honour the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus use thy duties but rest not in duties nay goe out of duties match thy soule to the Lord Jesus take him for better for worse so live in him and upon him all thy dayes Fourthly By reason of mans head-strong Presumption or false faith whereby men seeke to save themselves by catching hold on Christ when they see an insufficiency in all duties to helpe them and themselves unworthy of mercy For this is the last most dangerous rock that these times are split upon