never tasted of the shameful death of the Cross for me and shall I flie into his Arms How often hath he disappointed me in my hopes and desires and shall I fawn upon the Enemy lay force upon his Kingdom of darkness in despight of all the Bars and Bolts and Guards which the great King of Heaven puts between me and Damnation I have been abused and cheated by Sin these many years and shall I be cheated still Does not my blood rise at the very thoughts of it I that will not be cheated in my Trade or Dealings with men shall I suffer my self to be imposed upon by a lying Devil And when I study how to be revenged on him that hath sold me a Peble for a Pearl a Bristol stone for a Diamond and endeavour to prevent the like deception for the time to come shall I in these great concerns of my Soul where the Cheat is so apparent where to discover it I need do no more but open my eyes where God and his holy Angels and all the Ministers of the Gospel assure me of the fallacy where the Cheat is of that dangerous consequence too borders upon eternal Damnation shall I be so disgenerous so base so low-spirited as to suffer my self to be thus grosly abused and deceiv'd O Monster Why so cruel to my own Soul Why so barbarous to my immortal part Why so inhumane to my spiritual interest Why so mad to run into the fire Why such an enemy to my own good Have not I enemies enough but I must make my self my greatest Foe Shall I join with that roaring Lyon and teach him how to devour me Shall I give him advantages against my self first let him deceive me and then laugh at me first let him seduce me into the Net and then punish me for being taken I believe my Children if they tell me that they have seen such a House on fire and believe my Neighbors if they assure me there are Thieves broke into my House and believe a Physitian who affirms That such a Powder or Herb is perfect Poyson and shall not I believe that God who hath prepar'd and fore-ordain'd these everlasting burnings I hear and read of and must needs know the terror of them shall not I believe him when he tells me and protests upon the word of a God that if I do not betake my self betimes to another course of life I shall assuredly fall a Prey to those endless burnings Shall not I believe that God that feeds me and protects me and knows all things and can do all things and never intended me any harm but hath given me such evidences of his kind inclinations to me that I must deny my own Being if I question his willingness to have me come to the knowledge of the truth I choose a present Agony to keep off an After-evil and am content to prolong torment so I may but prolong this mortal life and shall not I to avoid those endless tortures mortifie a silly Lust subdue my extravagant Desires and inflict so much Pennance on my self as to cashier all darling and bosome iniquities What means my Conscience it 's not quiet under all the pleasures of sin it 's ready to accuse me when it gets me alone it twitches me I find it is a hard matter to rock it asleep and when I think it 's fast like a Gyant it awakes again and frights me with flashes of the next Worlds flames and shall I break through all those Funeral Torches to invade Damnation Such Expostulations if the heart be not all Rock and Adamant cannot but startle the Sinner in his Licentiousness make him stamp with his feet and force him into other resolutions which is the third ingredient of this great Art Consideration III. Strong Resolution This is the necessary consequent of the preceding Expostulations if they be serious and not used only out of formality and the Soul that is by this time stung into a sense of its danger and cryes out Lord what have I done will soon fall from thence into such resolutions as these Does the case stand thus and must my sinful life expire into the Worm that dies not must my Frolicks dye into endless howlings and must my sport of sin be crusht into never dying anguish and my wilful contempt and neglect of Gods Will be turned into Chains of Darkness for ever Is it so as God hath told me And why should he tell me so if it were not so Why should he fright me with painted fire And how could it consist with his Wisdom and Integrity to deceive me with Bugbears and Chimera's If this be the fate of a sinful life then tell me no more of Dalila's tell me no more of Impediments or Excuses or Delays If this be the fearful Exit of Sensuality and Irreligiousness there is no dallying with sin I 'll get rid of it whatever it cost me I 'll hearken to its soft Airs no longer I 'll be charm'd no more with the lovely looks of that Harlot its curious Dresses its trcacherous Glances shall commit a Rape upon my Affections no longer I will not for a few jolly hours neglect my eternal safety Eternity is not a thing to be made light of I believe there is such a thing and why should I be such a Changeling as not to provide for it with all imaginable care and industry I am gone Farewell Applause and Greatness of the World Farewell ye little shooting flames of sensual pleasures which serve only to delude not to revive or enlighten an immortal Soul Farewell my old Acquaintance that cocker'd and helpt to please those Lusts I now abhor Farewell ye dangerous Friends that would have drag'd me into Hell and would have had me kind to you even into eternal fire Farewell unhappy men who would have had me venture on that burthen of Gods anger which Devils cannot bear and tempted me to be miserable for companies sake I must either have no peace with God or none with you The friendship of God and the World are incompatible and would you have me leave my God my happiness my joy my comfort my refuge my hiding place my riches my treasure to follow you to a place of endless torments I see I see what all your follies will come to I am convinc'd that if there be a happiness hereafter as I am persuaded there is the course ye take cannot be the way to that Paradise Molest me no more I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep Gods righteous judgments I see a City which hath foundations whose Builder and Maker is God I behold afar off a House made without hands eternal in the Heavens Farewell temptations farewell corrupted deceitful heart I 'll believe thy false suggestions no longer I have a surer word of Prophecy to lay hold of How often hast thou taught me to cover my sins with plausible names that I might not be forc'd to leave them
and promis'd all my Estate to after some few years service and should that Servant instead of honouring me despise me where ever he comes instead of obeying me laugh at my reasonable commands instead of Working play his time away instead of going to the place I send him to run to Brothel-Houses or Taverns instead of loving me hate me and affront me slight both my actual kindesses and my future smiles and notwithstanding my continual exhortations to another course of life continue wilfully in the way he hath begun meerly to gratify his foolish Lusts and when he is convinc'd too of the unreasonableness of his doings knows it is Ingratitude in the highest Degree and yet will be guilty of it and when he might do otherwise only out of malice and to vindicate his own humour resolves against it what punishment can there be too great for such a wretch Were this mine or my neighbors case we should certainly doom such a monster to all the Tortures that severity can invent or inflict and why should I have any hard thoughts of God for punishing the sinners Ingratitude with eternal pain and loss an ingratitude so great all things consider'd that the worst returns one man can make to another cannot sufficiently express the horror and vileness of it God for ought I see in condemning wilful sinners to Eternal misery gives them but their own choice and if that old saying be true Volenti non fit injuria To him that 's willing can be done no injury God certainly cannot be accus'd of cruelty for he gives the stubborn sinner but that which he deliberately pitcht upon and affected and though no man doth ordinarily chuse punishment much less everlasting calamity for its own self yet as long as they do with vehement affection long after that which hath this calamity inseparably annext we justly suppose that they agree to suffer the calamity as well as to enjoy the thing which is the others inseparable companion He that is certain that the smell of such an Herb or Flower is poisonous and will kill him if notwithstanding this conviction he will smell to it its apparent he makes choice of his death and ruine There is not a sinner that lives under the Gospel but he must know that he who doth not practically believe the Gospel or which is all one lives in wilful contempt of the Laws of the Gospel shall certainly be damn'd for the Gospel is so full of these threatenings that he that doth but come to any place where this word of life is preach'd if he be not deaf he must necessarily hear it nay if he will but make the least enquiry and set himself to consider seriously whether that Gospel be of God or no he cannot but find that it is the Son of God even he who can assoon loose his being as tell a lye that hath with all the protestations imaginable threatened this everlasting condemnation to Men that are resolv'd to prefer satisfaction of their Lust before all his wisest and wholsomest Precepts This being known by all that have any reason or understanding as much as that Felony or Burglary is death by the Law if in despight of this knowledge and perswasion the hard-hearted wretch will venture upon a life of disobedience and contempt to which damnation is inseparably annext What can I think but that the vain Man is in Love with his own Eternal destruction In Love with it So one would think that sees him drive to everlasting death as furiously as Jehu did to Jezreel and make more haste to invade the Gates of Hell than Elijah for all his fiery Chariot did to get to Heaven The Man that runs through Swords and Daggers breaks down Walls and Fences poisons the principles of Sobriety Providence hath lodg'd in his Breast strangles the kind suggestions of his own Conscience cracks the Bolts and Barrs of a virtuous Education seeks out Dangers and precipitates himself into them and with the noise of his riot strives to overcome the calls of the Holy Ghost within defies all present convictions dis-regards the Groans and Cryes and Tears and Wounds of a crucified Saviour that would keep him from being undone vanquishes Gods methods to catch him into Repentance breaks through all the prohibitions of the Gospel through Vows and Promises and Sacraments and most solemn Engagements charges all the threatenings of a jealous God and fights his way through Rocks of oppositions and all to get to Hell and Damnation sure makes that his choice and if so God doth him no injury in giving him his own hearts desire A Sheep or a Horse certainly can never counter-ballance the life of a Man yet he that knows he shall be hanged if he steal either and will in despight of the penalty venture meerly to gratify his sickly fancy justly suffers the punishment which seems to bear no proportion with the things he stole the justice of the punishment is founded in the malefactors choice And so we find it in the case before us the Blessing and the Curse is laid before the sensual Man Life and death are proposed to him he 's put to his choice which of these he 'l have He freely and willfully chuses Death and the Curse maugre all that God or his Angels or his Ministers can say to the contrary and it 's but just since he thus fights against God and seems resolved to cross all God's endeavours to purify and turn him and will have his wrath and indignation and scorns his Mercy God should let him have that Fire and Brimstone which is the portion of the Sinners Cup and which he is so very greedy after as if he were afraid he should never be so happy as to obtain or be master of it Indeed the more I think of it the more I find that it s not God so much that condemns him to Eternal misery as the sinner himself 'T is he that 's thus barbarous to his own Soul and adjudges himself to that worm which dies not He kisses that consuming Fire as if it were the Light of God's Countenance and seems to envy the Devils their unhappiness he doth so long to be a sharer of it He snatches Damnation out of the hands of God's Justice and while God offers to keep it from him makes a long Arm to reach it God alas doth what he can to save him his bowels yearn over him and nothing would please him more than to see his penitential Tears He is ready with the good Father Luk 15.20 To run and to have compassion on him as soon as he doth but resolve to leave the Kingdom of Darkness even that God who would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth He waits to be gracious and justly expects that the Vineyard on which he hath bestowed great cost and pains should bring forth Grapes He doth not afflict the Children of Men willingly he delights not in their tortures he
apparently dangerous Thus it is with me why should I deny it Why should I call light darkness and darkness light put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Whom do I cheat all this while is it not my own Soul And what shall I gain by it in the end Shall I think my self sufficiently holy when I am so little acquainted with the first rudiments of Holiness Shall I think my self a Child of God when that which I do is fitter for a Child of the Devil than for a Favourite of Heaven Conversion or turning to God which the Holy Ghost doth so often and with that vehemence and earnestness inculcate implies an universal change of my disposition and inclinations And where is that alteration that renovation of the Mind Will and Affections My Affections are carried out after Froth and smoke as much as ever My Love is set on Trifles and is regardless of the highest and chiefest good as much as ever I hate Seriousness and delight in childish impertinent Gayeties as much as ever The promises of the Gospel are as inconsiderable in my eyes and the riches of this World as glorious and ravishing as ever and I can dispense with the want of spiritual consolations while I have but my share in these outward comforts My feet run in the wayes of destruction and my eyes are dazled with external pomp and grandeur as much as ever An amorous Song is more pleasing to me than the most harmonious Psalm The Word of God is but a dead Letter to me while a Romance or a Book that Treats of Folly and Vanity Transports me into more than ordinary content and satisfaction And what I must eat And what I must drink And wherewithall I shall be cloathed Are questions I have a far greater desire to be resolved in than to know what I must do to please God and to be happy for ever If I have made light of the Thunders and Threatnings of Scripture I do so still If I have prefer'd my secular Interest before Gods Honour and Glory I do so still If I have feared Men more than God I do so still If I have been loth to do good with the Temporal blessings God hath confer'd upon me I am so still And what Sins I leave it 's more because I have no inclination to them or because I am afraid they 'll spoil and blemish my Reputation in the World than because I love that God who made me and hath obliged me by a thousand Favours to esteem and prize him above all And is this the Coat of the Sons of God Is this the Livery of a Christian indeed Is this done like a Man that lives upon Gods Bounty is fed by his Charity supported by his Alms and maintain'd from his Store-house and cannot subsist one moment without his Concourse and hath not a better Friend in all the World than him who is the Fountain of living Waters Consideration one great design of it being to know how the case stands between God and our own Souls such a Self-examination must of necessity be the Corner stone of this spiritual Building and comparing our Lives with the Rules of the Gospel and the proper characters of such as are in a likely way to enjoy God for ever may justly challenge the first Seat in this intellectual Paradise But then as building of a stately Gate without a House answerable to it doth but expose the Builder to derision and contempt so Self-Examination without a serious Expostulation with our own hearts is but to make the Accuser of our Brethren laugh at our vain attempts and God scorn the endeavour that could be crusht in the Bud and tired before half its Race is run II. Expostulation rouzes the Soul from her Slumber and drives it away from the soft Doune it would have rested and repos'd it self upon and gives the first blow for Self-Examination only threatens it to that Tree of Death I mean to the reigning power of Sin and I see not how Sin can shelter it self any longer or what excuses it can make for its stay and continuance where the Soul doth summon it to appear before the Bar of Conscience and enters into such reasonings and interrogations as these Are these things so and do I stand trifling with my salvation Do I run the hazard of everlasting flames and do I lie playing in the Suburbs of destruction Either I believe an eternity of Torments that shall attend a careless sinful life or I do not If not why dare not I profess my denial Why do I play the Hypocrite and make the World think I do believe it What 's the reason that I cannot shake off the fears of it if I would never so fain Why does something within me check me when I would be so profane as to deny it Can I ever be serious and not believe it But then if I believe it what a mad Man am I to loyter when the Candle I am allow'd to work by is almost burnt out and I know not how soon it may please my great Master to extinguish it Do I lead a life which is the readiest way to eternal Vengeance and shall I not step back and prevent it Can I imagine God will blow out that everlasting Fire to gratifie my vicious temper or destroy that Tophet out of tenderness to my Lusts and Corruptions Can I conceive it possible that God will go from his Word to please a stubborn Sinner or prove a Lyar that I may go with greater ease to Heaven Do I know that I shall be miserable if I continue in that course I have held on in hitherto and am I in love with eternal ruine Am I certain that Iniquity will be my confusion and am I resolv'd to dye I have all the reason in the World to believe that it was the Son of God that was the Author of those Threatnings and Comminations I find in the Gospel Do I believe him to be the Son of God and can I imagine that the least tittle of his words will perish I have run up and down in the World these many years and hunted-after those Vanities which sensual Men do dote upon But will these save me when I dye Will not the remembrance of my eager pursuit after these Butterflies and Gaudes fill me with anguish and sorrow Have I liv'd in the World all this while and am not I nearer Heaven than I was some years ago Must my body engross all my endeavours and must my Soul be starved I have a Soul that cannot dye and must not dye and must shortly appear before Gods Tribunal and shall not I study its safety and happiness as much as I am able Lord God! should Death arrest me before I have made my Calling and Election sure how fearful how wretched would my condition be should it fall to my share to howle in outward Darkness how should I curse the day that ever I was born should those Tortures the
for indeed a flash of Thinking is no more Consideration than a few wandring sparks can be said to warm a spacious Room and as in cold Weather Men do not get themselves a heat by a step or two but by such exercises as put the Body into a violent motion so neither will a careless thought now and then heat the heart within but Consideration which puts the Soul into a strong and vigorous motion or agitation is that which must kindle the holy fire and shed life into all the faculties of the inward Man Not to mention here that the word was originally us'd to express the industry of Astronomers who by diligent contemplation and observation of the stars their Motion Position Conjunction Influences c. gave a judgment of the several Phaenomena or appearances they met withall from whence it was afterward applied to Men who seriously and attentively ponder things of moment whether Civil or Sacred The Scripture usually expresses it by laying our hearts close to our wayes as if it were with Consideration as it is with Mens listening to a confus'd noise and laying their ears close to a Wall with design to get a more distinct knowledge of it And indeed without Consideration Eternal Life and our Duties in order to it appear no very great attractives Consideration clears up those Notions dispells the Clouds and Mists that dwell upon our Reason wipes away the Dust discovers unknown Worlds and makes even such things as were vulgar obvious before look with a new face they being found upon Consideration things of greater consequence of greater comfort of greater necessity of greater virtue and efficacy than before they were believed to be It is much with Consideration as it is with Microscopes and Magnifying Glasses what contemptible Creatures do some little Animals and the smaller sorts of Plants appear while beheld with our naked eye but view'd through Dioptrical Glasses what curious Fabricks do we spy How inconsiderable an Insect is a Flie How despicable a Creature is a Mite Yet he that through such Glasses beholds in them all the perfections of the largest Animals the multiplicity of their parts the variety of their motions and how curiously every limb is wrought how mathematically all their little members are framed and set together cannot but wonder at the spectacle and break forth into admiration of the immense Wisdom of their Maker Consideration is that Glass which represents spiritual objects in other colours than before were observ'd and detected in them Sin that look'd but with a faint red before through this Glass appears all Scarlet and Crimson Gods Laws which before were hardly regarded so much as humane Injunctions through this Glass appear so beautiful so rational so wise so wonderful so suited to an intelligent Nature that a Man with David cannot hold but must cry out O how I love thy Law it is my meditation all the day The New Jerusalem which look'd but like an ordinary Building before when view'd through this Glass the Towers and Bulwarks of it are seen glittering afar off the Pearls and precious Stones it 's paved withall shine with more than ordinary lustre and that which look'd but dull and weak before now dazles the Spectators eyes with its oriental brightness But this will further appear if we enquire into the essential parts or necessary ingredients of these spiritual Opticks Consideration as it is the Sun that enlightens this Microcosme Man and irradiates the benighted faculties of the Soul so that it may have this virtue there is required and it cannot be Consideration without it Self-Examination Expostulation and strong Resolution I. Self-Examination That man who examines not his spiritual estate or condition whether he is that sinner that shall be everlastingly miserable whether the threatnings of the Gospel concern him whether he finds those qualifications in himself which the Son of God requires of all that shall be Heirs of glory whither he feels those things in his Soul which men that have a title to the great Inheritance are sensible of and whither he walks in that strait way and strives to enter in at that narrow gate the Holy Ghost doth speak of He that with Gallio cares for none of these things is so far from considering that he doth not believe the immortality of his Soul or another World For were his heart season'd with a sound belief of that future state he could not but enter into his Closet and reflect In this Bible in this Book which I do believe contains the Oracles of God and his peremptory Will concerning the salvation of men I find stubborn careless unconverted sinners adjudg'd to eternal torments I find God protest he will know none in the last day so as to shew them favor but such as dare deny themselves for Heaven and heartily endeavor to do the Will of their Father which is in Heaven I find God swear that men who prefer their Farms and Oxen and secular Concerns before his Injunctions and Commands shall never taste of the great Supper of the Lamb. Am I one of these stubborn unconverted careless men or no Why should I be afraid to ask such a question when there is no less than Eternity in the case If I am none of this number What means the bleating of Sheep and the lowing of Oxen in mine ears What means my earthly mindedness What means my living in wilful Contempt of so many commands of the Son of God I take no pains to be sav'd some little formalities and complements of Religion serve my turn and satisfie my Conscience I can put off the great God of Heaven with the Worlds leavings and throw him a dull heartless prayer at night when I have been wallowing in sin all day I am for no devotion that 's either expensive or troublesom to flesh and blood and such ejaculations as do not molest me in my pleasures and as my flesh can easily spare without any detriment in its satisfaction I am willing to lay upon Gods Altar I feel little or no sorrow for sin no remorse no compunctions when I offend a gracious God A temporal advantage affects and revives me more than all the joyes of Heaven If I do sometimes resolve to leave either my grosser vices or my more secret iniquities the next company or divertisement takes me off again and I make no more of breaking my solemn promises of better obedience than if God were a meer stock or stone that takes no notice of affronts and injuries Self-denial I am so great a stranger to that I know not what it means The graces and fruits of Gods Spirit Love Joy Peace Goodness Faith Temperance Meekness Patience Long-suffering have so little of my desires and affections that I think it but time and labour lost to bethink my self how to be Master of any of them Why should I flatter and deceive my self Why should I sooth my self into kind thoughts of my condition that is so
upon our minds by shadows of virtues as it is his interest so it is a thing as common as our yielding to temptations of that nature Daily experience is a sufficient witness how men deceive themselves with a varnish and paint of Piety and flatter themselves that they are ordain'd to eternal life and in a way to those Regions of bliss when they are not Because they acknowledge and profess that God is infinite perfect glorious and the Supreme Governor of the world and that in him we live and breathe and have our Being and that it 's he that rules the great wheel of Providence they conclude they love him better than their riches or pleasures here when they do nothing less indeed no more but what Parrots may do which being taught can repeat the same words and be never the nearer that wisdom which makes men wise unto salvation We see how men because they have no inclination to some gross notorious sins that other men are guilty of are apt to conclude that they mortifie their lusts and put off the works of darkness walking soberly as in the day-time and because they frequent the Temple of the Lord they are presently true hearers of the Word Because such a man is not drunk every day but is sober now and then he believes himself to be a very temperate man Another because he doth not cheat so notoriously as his Neighbors concludes he is just honest upright and fair in his dealings Another because he works hard in his Calling and doth no body wrong fancies he doth all that 's fit for a Christian to do Another because he hath sometimes a good thought of God and can send up a short ejaculation to Heaven is very confident he meditates and contemplates the Almighty Another because he hath some faint breathings after him knows nothing to the contrary but he is as zealous for Gods glory as any of his acquaintance can be Another because he hath now and then a melancholy thought of his sins and confesses them to Almighty God concludes he doth repent as well as the best and because he often wishes for salvation and hath a good opinion of holiness and goodness he doubts not but he is made partaker of the Divine Nature That these are Cheats and Delusions is evident to any rational man The Gospel doth not offer Heaven on these terms and it is not partial but universal obedience that Christ requires of his followers He is resolved Heaven shall cost them more than these little services come to and they shall not impose upon God however they may deceive themselves But then how shall these or any other Cheats be discover'd and avoided but by Consideration True Conversion consists in resisting and conquering such Delusions but how shall they be resisted if they be not known how shall they be known if men consider not whether the course they take be either agreeable to the way God hath prescrib'd or like to bring them to that happiness they aim at It 's Consideration must manifest which is God and which is the Cloud which is Gold and which is but Guilt which are the waters of Jordan and which are the rivers of Damascus which is Corn and which are Tares which are the fiery tongues and which is the Glow-worm light which are Jacob's hands and which are the hands of Esau. There are not a few sins which look very much like virtues complying with mens impieties looks so like Humility Flattery so like that Charity which bears all things and hopes all things and believes all things and endures all things reviling again when we are revil'd so like doing justice worldly mindedness so like providing for our Families lying for profits sake so like a work of necessity and self-preservation and bearing a grudge to him that hath offended us without discovering it in our actions so like curbing our passions that few men will think themselves concern'd to part with them except they consider which is the pure and which the sophisticate mettle How like saving knowledge doth that knowledge of God look which puffs up the Soul and tempts men to despise others that are not arriv'd to the same measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. There is no distinguishing of them but by the effects and how shall the effects be discriminated but by Consideration I cannot avoid being deceiv'd if I do not sit down and reflect Lord I pretend to knowledge of the Cross of Christ but doth this knowledge make me humble and vile in mine own eyes Doth it discover to me my spiritual poverty and make me prefer others before my self Doth it make me prize Christ above all And doth it engage me to count all things Dross and Dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Doth it make me stand under the Cross of Christ and breathe and pant after his precious blood like a man truly sensible both of the worth and want of it Doth it produce that mind in me which was in Christ Jesus Dost thou feel this O my Soul How happy art thou if thou art sensible of these operations Do not deceive thy self doth not this knowledge thou pretendest to make thee secure and careless Doth it not make thee sit down contented without the life of Religion Doth it not persuade thee to believe that thou art a Christian though thou dost not imitate Christ in his holy life and conversation Does it not make thee proud and self-conceited and think more highly of thy self than thou oughtest to think and like the Pharisees look between anger and scorn on those that know not the Law if so how is the knowledge of Christ Jesus in thee The same may be said of Faith it 's Consideration must separate it from presumption and satisfie me whether it be of the true Eagle-kind or no it 's impossible to know whether my faith be of the right stamp or no without I make such inquisition as this Faith is a gift or fruit of the Spirit which I am apt to believe God hath blessed and enrich'd my Soul withall and I thank him that I am not born an Heathen or Infidel But what power hath my Faith upon my Affections Doth it purifie my heart and drive away those lusts that have taken up their residence there Doth it make me cut off my right hand pull out my right eye when they do offend me Doth it make me live like a person that believes the Omnipresence and Omniscience of God Doth it make me cautious and afraid of offending that God whom I believe of purer eyes than to behold iniquity Doth it make me embrace Christ both as my Redeemer and Governor both as my Saviour and my King Doth it engage me to resign my will to his Will and to receive the Kingdom of God as a little child without disputing his commands or contradicting his injunctions Doth it work by love And doth it drive me to give God my
of his life That the Astronomer who tells the stars and calls them by their names is vain in his imaginations while he hath not his conversation in Heaven That the Metaphysitian that speculates things above sense and nature is but a very indiscreet person while he takes no heed to make God his highest comfort and delight That all Opticks are Nonsence which do not teach men to behold the mighty God that made them And all Geometry but confusion which leaves men ignorant of the heighth and depth of the love of God Consideration would discover to thee how irrational a thing sin is what strange unmanly Actions it puts men upon Actions which they must be asham'd of if ever they are saved and must renounce and detest when they have done them if ever they arrive to inward peace and satisfaction This would set before thee the Euges the Applause the Honour God bestows on those who are so wise as to take their leave of sin before sin leaves them and exercise themselves unto godliness that they may attain unto eternal life But what will not Prejudice do It was that which made the Jews call Christ a Samaritan a Devil a Wine-bibber a Friend of Publicans and Sinners It was that made them hale the Apostles to their Governors and cry out Away with them it 's not fit they should live upon the earth It 's this sets men against Consideration of their wayes and makes them give out that it will crack their brains and disorder their understandings Indeed it will cause a tumult in the Soul a conflict between the Spirit and the flesh between Christ and Belial but such a strife as will end in a glorious calm When Consideration enters Madness vanishes as wild Beasts do creep into their Dens at the approach of day-light The World may make men go besides themselves Consideration reduces the whole man to sobriety Consideration indeed may put men upon actions which in the Worlds apprehension may be madness but of this none can judge so well as he that is the fountain of Wisdom even that God who is Wisdom it self and if he set the mark of Wisdom on them the verdict of the World is to be regarded no more than the judgment a blind man gives of colours I know he that will deny himself in sensual pleasures trembles at a sin which others laugh at and is afraid of offending God even in smaller matters and prayes with all prayer and supplication watching thereunto with all perseverance passes for a mad man with men whose Consciences are defiled but such mens tongues are no slanders and Consideration would shew that nothing is more agreeable to the rules of Wisdom and Prudence than to live in conformity to the Will and Pleasure of him who is the great Sovereign of the World and hath given us Souls capable of being govern'd by moral Laws and Precepts and is resolv'd to scourge him with Scorpions that knows his Masters Will and doth it not It was sin made the Prodigal distracted and in this he discover'd his folly that he left his fathers house and travell'd into a far Countrey as far from Heaven and Holiness as he could and there wasted his substance with riotous living whence it came to pass that a Famine arising in the Land he would fain have fill'd his belly with the husks the Swine did eat and no man would vouchsafe them to him Consideration brought him to himself and to his happiness again and his pondering How many servants of my father have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him Father I have sinn'd against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be call'd thy son make me as one of thy hired servants Luke 15.17 18 19. This I say brought his reason into order again and consequently prepared for his quiet and happiness And indeed the confession of men who put off the old and put on the new man created after God in righteousness and true holiness shews what we are to think of Consideration When they come in good earnest to reflect on their former sinful life they are ready to call themselves a thousand Fools and Beasts and Sots and wonder how it was possible for them to live so long directly contrary to reason and to all the principles of gratitude and humility Consideration sets all to rights again and they would not for any thing but that they had ruminated on their folly and compared it with the interest of their Souls and the Will of God in order to a just aggravation of their madness for now they are sensible that before they understood nothing to any purpose and acted but like Changelings contrary to all the dictates of the Law of Nature and their own Consciences Thus Consideration as Ananias did to Saul comes in and immediately there fall from the sinners eyes as it were scales and he receives sight forthwith and arises and is strengthned Acts 9. And Wisdom enters into his heart such Wisdom as before he was a stranger to The Merchandize of it is better than the Merchandize of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold she is more precious than Rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her she is a Tree of life to them that lay hold upon her and happy is every one that retains her Prov. 3.14 15 16 17. VIII Impediment VIII An opinion that Conversion or turning to God as Divines do represent it is not necessary to salvation We may charitably believe that most men who are averse from Consideration come to Sermons and we may suppose that as careless as they are in hearing the Word of the living God sometimes before they are aware something strikes their hearts and sticks with them which when they are any way sober or free from business will goad and sting them into Consideration of their ways and not seldom with Agrippa they are almost persuaded to take their sinful lives into serious Consideration and feel good purposes and wishes and intentions and desires in their Souls to set time apart for pondering how they may be converted and dedicate themselves sincerely to Gods service in order to their everlasting bliss But in such cases either the Devil or their corrupt hearts are ready to whisper in their ears that Conversion is not so operose so laborious so dreadful a thing as is described in publick discourses and that the men that preach stretch it farther than needs and consequently Consideration how to get into that state that 's recommended to them is altogether needless for if that strictness and close walking with God be not necessary why should any man break his brains with Consideration how to attain to that humble self-denying circumspect life as is said to be the essential ingredient of Conversion I know not how Conversion can be made more necessary than
Christ hath made it It 's that which Heaven is entailed on and without which Men if they dare take the word of that Jesus whom they do believe to be the Son of God can look for nothing else but everlasting destruction Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 18.3 are the express words of him who came from Heaven to reveal his Fathers Will words which do not only import the absolute necessity but represent the nature and manner of true Conversion And if the words added by way of Explication be thorowly weigh'd it will appear to any rational man that that laborious Conversion which the Ministers of the Gospel press and recommend is no other but what Christ requires in order to salvation for what can be the meaning of this phrase becoming as little children but that men must learn to be children in malice 1 Cor. 14.20 pull down their passions watch over their inordinate affections overcome themselves and harbor no grudge no hatred no revengeful thoughts in their hearts against those that have offended them and like new born Babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 i. e. with all humility and alacrity submit themselves to be guided and ruled and govern'd by the precepts and injunctions of Christ in the Gospel without disputing or contradicting his commands though levell'd against flesh and blood as much as children leave themselves to the guidance and direction of their Nurses and have neither strength nor will nor malice to oppose the will or order of those that do lead them Not that Christ forbids examining either the Divinity or reasonableness of his Doctrines and Injunctions No God is not afraid to have his Will tried and examin'd by right reason for as it is the effect of the highest reason so it must needs be most agreeable to reason it being impossible that truth can be inconsistent with truth and therefore Christ doth so little discourage men from trying the Divinity of his Sayings and Commands by the rule of right reason that in several places he bids the Pharisees and whoever were his Adversaries to judge impartially of the Arguments he gave for the divine original of his doctrine And without all peradventure this liberty every man hath to examine and satisfie himself whether the injunctions of Christ and his Apostles were things that dropt from heaven or no. But then where men are convinc'd or have sufficient reason to be convinc'd that these Precepts are the peremptory Will of God concerning their salvation as any person who is not a Changeling or meer Natural may find upon due examination and inquiry if he will there God expects most justly that all pretences and excuses and carnal reasonings should fall and the Soul submit readily to the yoke of Christ and resign its will to Christs Will though it cannot for the present comprehend the true reason of some commands and suffer itself to be acted and guided by these Laws without contradiction or opposition or tergiversation denying and renouncing every apprehension or suggestion that would sollicit or tempt it to start aside from sincere obedience and all discourses that would dash or impede its willingness and readiness to embrace them And indeed this is all we mean by true Conversion viz. ceasing to obey the dictates of the World the Flesh and the Devil and endeavouring seriously to live up to the precepts of the Gospel without asking our lusts or vain desires whether they are willing to it or no a sincere resolution to get from under the yoke of sin and to make the Lord Jesus who bought us with his own blood our Supreme Ruler and Governor And since there can be no Government without Laws and we never heard of any other Laws Christ gave but what we have in the Gospel we cannot and dare not but conclude that to live up to these Laws of the Gospel is true Conversion And indeed the primitive Christians took no person to be converted that did not make these Laws the great Rule of his Life and shew'd by his Actions that he priz'd and esteem'd and valu'd these Laws above all the Orders and Decrees and Constitutions of the greatest Monarchs When we do entreat and admonish men to be converted what do we do but persuade them to mortifie their members which are upon the earth Fornication Uncleanness inordinate Affection evil Concupiscence and Covetousness which is Idolatry and to put off Anger Wrath Malice Blasphemy and filthy Communication of their Mouths and to put on Bowels of Mercy Kindness Humbleness of Mind Meekness Long-suffering so as to forbear one another and forgive one another To let the Word of Christ dwell in them richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing with grace in their hearts unto the Lord and whatever they do in word or deed to do it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ giving thanks unto God and the Father through him To be poor in spirit to be meek to hunger and thirst after righteousness to purifie their hearts to follow peace with all men as much as in them lies To be patient under Slanders Reproaches and Persecutions To live in a sense of future Joyes and of an everlasting Recompence To avoid all apparent occasions of Evil even things that are harmless in themselves if they provoke or tempt to Sin To avoid Swearing in their ordinary Discourses and Communications to love their Enemies to do good to them that hate them to pray for them which persecute them and despitefully use them To give Alms without any sinister ends to pray without affectation of vain Applause or laying any stress upon the length of their prayers To fast without ostentation to lay up their treasure in Heaven to trust Gods Providence in their respective Callings and Conditions to love him better than the World to use the World as if they used it not to seek first Gods Kingdom and his Righteousness Not to judge rashly but to forsake their greater sins before they find fault with the lesser transgressions of their Neighbors To walk in the strait way and take pains for Heaven To avoid Hypocrisie and to manifest their Profession by their Lives both to hear and to do what they hear and to bring forth Fruits mete for Repentance and to let their Light so shine before Men that they may see their good Works and glorifie their Father which is in Heaven To be faithful unto Death and to hold out to the End and to suffer for the testimony of Jesus if God think fit to call them to it and to do good though they have no prospect of a present Recompence To feed the Hungry and cloath the Naked and visit the Sick and to hope and to believe that they shall be rewarded at the Resurrection of the Just. These are the
great Lessons we beg of men that they would hearken to these are the things we would have them labour after when we entreat them to turn or to be converted unto God and what are all these Performances but Duties enjoin'd by our Lord and Master upon pain of Damnation He hath protested that those who wilfully neglect these Laws and do not think themselves obliged to obey them when yet they profess themselves to be his Disciples shall find by woful experience what it is to tread under foot the Son of God and to turn away from him that speaks from Heaven He is unchangeably resolved where Men make light of his invitation and slight these reasonable terms of salvation and entertain his Message with contempt and neither repent of that contempt nor testifie their repentance by tears and sorrow and reformation and obedience for the future to let them have that eternal misery that unquenchable fire whereby he thought to fright and wean them from their Lusts and to drive them into Paradise and which is so far from terrifying of them that they run into it most greedily seem to invade those flames and be in love with endless Agonies And now let any man in his wits judge whether Coversion in that sense we speak of it both in publick and private be not indispensably necessary And whether Consideration how to be converted fall not under the same necessity Our Natures are not so very prone to goodness that we may yield to these Laws without examining and thinking what way we ought to take to work our hearts into a holy willingness to submit For its swimming against the stream climbing up a Hill running counter to our inclinations and therefore the Soul had need be season'd with thoughts of the admirable contrivance goodness profit benefit and advantages of these Laws and of the love and compassion of God that shines in them and of the harmony order calmness peace and satisfaction Obedience causes before we can conform our wills to his will who is resolv'd that Dogs and Swine shall not enter into Heaven But what shall we say when Men are resolved to live like Swine and will not believe that God demands that holiness of them the Scripture speaks of when they believe God to be altogether such an one as they themselves a friend to sin and false in his threatnings when they believe that Discourses of Divines about Conversion are no more but talk a cast of their Office and that themselves give no credit to the things they preach to others when they believe that God denies them nothing that their Nature prompts them to and is pleas'd with their Frolicks and Divertisements When they believe that the great end of their Creation is to get Money and that they have a Being given them in this world to fill their Bellies with all the Dainties they can get when they do not heartily believe a judgment to come and look upon the flames of Tophet but as painted Fire when they take worldly Felicity for their Heaven and wish there were no other Beatitude after this life but Mahomet's Paradise When they do so we had as good tempt them to knock their heads against a wall as persuade them into a serious Consideration of their wayes Without all peradventure its worth considering that God intends something by the aforesaid Precepts and that they are not design'd for Beasts and irrational Creatures that God doth not think so light of them as we do and hath a sense of Honour and will not let a wilful contempt of things so sacred and so venerable go unpunish'd that obedience makes men like unto God and causes them in some measure to approach the Holiness of his Nature that those certainly must be in a better condition when they come to dye who follow these Rules than the other that know no Laws but the dictates of their own licentiousness that these Laws enjoin nothing but what agrees with and promotes the prosperity of Mankind and that if we believe God to be jealous of his Glory to obey these Laws must in all probability be the most likely way to please him that these Precepts do signally advance the dignity of Humane Nature and shew the generosity and greatness of a Mans Soul who dares live above the common level of Mankind that to become subject to these Laws is the safest course and a Man can lose nothing considerable by that subjection if there were no other world that all those that submit to these Laws cannot be Fools and if the wisest of Men close with these Injunctions it must to speak moderately be very great imprudence to laugh at them But where Conversion is thought a thing superfluous no marvel if Consideration be look'd upon as a task fit only for Men who have nothing else to employ their time in When People despise the House they 'll have no great value for the Porch And when the end seems needless they 'll not trouble themselves much about using the means that lead to it And such persons we must leave to be convinced of the necessity of Conversion by their punishment Since Reason cannot persuade them judgment must take away the vail from their eyes What Exhortation cannot effect Thunder must produce What they will not believe upon the Word of God they must be forc'd to give assent to by the flames they shall ere long feel the rage and fury of and God who could not be glorified in their Conversion must glorifie himself in their everlasting confusion IX Impediment IX Mistaking the Nature of Consideration As the way to life is but one so the ways that lead to destruction are infinite and without number And such root doth a sinful life if not check'd betimes take in Men that if they can but find the shadow of an excuse they will not fail to lay hold of it that they may not part with what they love so dearly It 's from hence that all their little attempts to perform their duties pass with them for the duties themselves as if lifting up or moving a piece of Lead were as much as carrying of it from one place to another They would be angry with their servants if demanded what work they have done they should reply that they have executed their Masters commands when they have only touch'd the Plow with a finger or play'd with it to divert them and take it very ill of a Waterman that should ask money of them for carrying them to the place they intended for if he should but give a stroke or two with his Oar and so give over and laugh at that person that should pretend he hath made them a Fire when he hath laid but two or three sticks together The Folly they find fault with in others they practise themselves and while they attempt to take the Mote out of their Brothers eye they are insensible of the Beam that is in their own for thus we
share in that reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ but those that turn to God with all their hearts and with all their souls and are weary of sin and heavy laden with the sense of it and in sober sadness resolv'd to submit to Christs yoke and government for though all mankind share in the possibility of enjoying this reconciliation and the Pardon may be truly said to be purchas'd for them and for their use yet all are not made partakers of the actual possession of it because all men will not consent to fulfill the conditions upon which that reconciliation is offer'd them viz. unfeign'd repentance and sincere obedience for the time to come Shimei was a man condemn'd to death 1 Kings 2.36 it 's like some Courtiers of Solomon got him his Pardon the King grants it but requires this one thing of him that he shall build him a house in Jerusalem and dwell there and go not forth thence any whither and fulfilling this condition without all peradventure he might have liv'd happy and safe as the best of his Neighbors but when he must needs be running after his servants and prefer a small advantage before perpetual safety he justly suffers the punishment the King appointed for him The Son of God by the blood of his Cross hath in truth gotten all Christians their Pardon but is resolv'd none shall enjoy it but those that will forsake their sins and resign themselves to his guidance and direction A reasonable demand a condition so equitable so just so easie that no man in his wits but must say as Shimei unto Solomon The saying is good As my Lord the King hath said so will thy servant do But then if the Pardon the Son of God hath obtain'd for them appear so inconsiderable a thing in their eyes that they do not think it worth enjoying and certainly they do not think it worth enjoying that will not agree to so reasonable a condition no marvel if they fall a prey to that wrath from which the Son of God is ready to deliver them and if their blood be upon their heads that do despight unto the Spirit of Grace and count the blood of the Covenant wherewith they were to be sanctified an unholy thing So that although a true Believer and a sincere Penitent may boldly say with the Apostle That Christ hath redeem'd him from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for him Gal. 3.13 And that ChriSt hath wash'd him from his sins with his own blood Rev. 1.5 And that he hath an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous who is the propitiation for his sins 1 John 2.1 And that Chris't hath made his peace with God Col. 1.20 Yet men that are strangers to the sanctifying work of Gods Spirit cannot be said to have at present during their unregenerate estate any other benefit by the death and passion of Christ but a possibility of all those great and glorious advantages and it 's possible for them to be freed from the Curse of the Law to be admitted into the number of those that shall be sav'd to enjoy remission of sins to escape the wrath to come and to see God face to face in Heaven and all this by virtue of Christ's death if they will but shake hands with their darling Vices and agree to a practical love of their Maker and Redeemer and Sanctifier To think that unconverted sinners do actually enjoy these benefits is to contradict Scripture and to give the Apostles of our Lord the Lye who unanimously tells us That these mercies are not effectually apply'd to the Soul till the Soul by sincere repentance and reformation of life applies herself to Christ Jesus And indeed this is the prodigious mercy of the second Covenant that God for Christ's sake will accept of sincere repentance in stead of perfect obedience which was the great condition of the first agreement between God and man and looking upon the precious blood of his Son will pass by whatever Men have done before if they will be in love with sin and destruction no longer and sincerely endeavor to please him in those commands which design nothing but our interest and happiness These things are not very hard to be understood but the generality of Christians seem resolv'd not to understand them that they may not be obliged to take their ways into serious Consideration This Doctrine That Christ hath freed them from the wrath of God in their sense makes Religion sit soft and easie upon them and doth not disturb them in their sensual enjoyments It 's a comfortable Doctrine to flesh and blood never could any thing have been invented more agreeable to their Lusts and if God had studied to do them a kindness he could not have done them a greater than to let his Son suffer all that is to be suffer'd by them and so after their delights and sinful satisfactions here conduct them into a far more glorious Paradise If it be so truly Consideration is Vanity and the Preachers are Fools and mad Men to press it upon their Auditors But who sees not that this is an invention of the Devil first to darken the sinners understanding and when the Candle is out to rob him of his everlasting happiness And Sirs will you be rob'd thus quietly of your bliss and glory Will you suffer yourselves to be stript of all you have without the least opposition Is it possible for you to believe That the Son of God came down from Heaven to encourage you in offending God and made himself of no reputation for you that you might render your selves contemptible in the sight of the Almighty and dyed for you to give life to your sins and follies How absurd how impertinent how contradictory is this Belief Love God and encourage sin Holiness itself and find out a way to promote iniquity Can there be any thing in Nature more silly or ridiculous This is abusing the Cross of Christ not trusting to it and you that make it an occasion of sin take heed it do not prove a stumbling block unto you and instead of Crucifying sin in you do not harden you in it It is a thing not unusual with God to punish sin with sin and if Men will be filthy in despite of all endeavors to purifie them from their filthinesses to doom them to continue filthy still and to make that their judgment which at first was only their transgression so great a love and written in such legible characters too slighted and abused and made a help to sin improved into licentiousness may justly be supposed to draw down that judgment we read of Isa. 6.9 10. Go and tell this People Hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this People fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert
it if thou art not heartily resolv'd to part with it why dost thou complain what makes thee cry out O wretched creature that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death what makes thee wish that what thou hast done against God were undone what makes thee afraid of offending God why dost thou weep why dost thou watch against thy corruptions what makes thee angry with thy self for displeasing God what makes thee breathe and pant after Christ as the wounded Hart pants after the Water-brooks what makes Christ so sweet and sin so bitter to thee what makes thee asham'd of looking up to Heaven whence is it that all the preferment and riches of this World cannot tempt thee to sin wilfully whence is it that thou delightest not in the company of sinners but thy delight is chiefly in them that fear the Lord If these be not signes of Grace what character of mercy wouldst thou have hath not thy God said that he 'l love those that do love him if thou lov'st him not why art thou restless till thou enjoyest him if thou lovest him not why dost thou desire him why art thou willing to follow him through misery and the greatest troubles to be forever with him thou hast infirmities to wrestle withal but hath not thy God promis'd thee that he 'll bruise Satan under thy feet shortly thou canst not totally master such a corruption but dost not thou fight against it thou meetest with temptations but dost not thou grapple with them Satan follows thee but dost not thou resist him thy Conscience terrifies thee but hast not thou the Cross of Christ to fly to if God had a mind to kill thee would he have shewn thee all these things if God were gone from thee would not his Spirit be gone too if thou hast not the Spirit of God what mean thy longings after God what means thy love to a Spiritual life why dost thou pray so earnestly for the fruit of the Spirit why art thou altogether for a clean Heart and for renewing of a right Spirit within thee are not these signs that Gods Spirit warms thy affections and makes intercession for thee with groanings which cannot be uttered God seems to go away that thou mayst cry more earnestly after him and clouds his comforts that thou mayst sue for them with greater importunity he lets thee sink a little that thou mayst cry with a louder voice Lord save me or else I perish and falls asleep in the Ship that thou mayst take the greater pains to wake him He sees thou grow'st weary of his favour he therefore darkens it that thou mayst be at some trouble to recover it and having recover'd it set a greater price upon 't he withdraws himself for awhile that at his return thy joy may be fuller and bids his gracious influences stop awhile that when they flow in upon thee again they may fill all thy faculties with greater gladness thou canst not perform thy Duties with that alacrity and chearfulness thou desir'st but hast not thou reason to bless God that thou dost in good earnest desire to doe better was Heaven purchas'd in a moment or Sin conquer'd in an hour is not the way to life a race where men must run on till they reach the mark Go on O my Soul go on the farther thou proceedest in Gods ways the sweeter thou wilt find them the more thou strivest the more thou'lt conquer and the oftner thou dost address thy self to God the more thy dullness and weariness will vanish and the more thou lookest upon the everlasting recompence the greater mind thou wilt have to go on from strength to strength O my Soul hope in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God IV. It disposes a man to be a worthy receiver of the Lords Supper Indeed I doe not see how without it a man can receive any benefit by that blessed Sacrament for it being an Ordinance designed chiefly to impregnate the Soul with very strong longings and breathings after a crucified Saviour with a deep sense of the incomprehensible 1ove of God in Christ Jesus and with earnest resolutions to love and to obey him before all the dictates of Flesh and Bloud and of our carnal Interest it is not to be conceiv'd which way the Soul should arrive to all this without considering the end nature and advantages of this Sacrament and its probable a man may then be affected with this sublime mystery when he rowzes his Soul some such way as this Dost thou rightly understand O my Soul what this great and tremendous Ordinance means Behold thou art going to feast with that God who stretches out the Heavens like a Curtain and layes the beams of this chambers in the waters and makes the clouds his chariot and rideth upon the wings of the wind What Feast with so Glorious a God and come without a Wedding-Garment What Sup with him who dwelleth in the Heavens and not purify thy self even as he is pure Can two walk together except they be agreed what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness What concord hath Christ with Belial What agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols This is the great Ordinance O my Soul which must either promote thy everlasting happiness or aggravate thy everlasting condemnation how happy mayst thou be if this Sacrament charms thee into a fervent love to thy dear Redeemer but how wilt thou escape if thou neglect so great a Salvation Here are the greatest engagements the greatest motives to a life as becomes the Gospel of Christ here God adjures thee to use the words of the Church By Christs agony and bloody sweat by his cross and passion by his death and burial to bury thy unclean desires and inordinate affections and to dedicate thy self and all thou hast to his service Here is represented the greatest love that ever was vouchsafed to men here the Son of God appears all bloudy to fright thee from thy sins here Christ is as it were crucified before thine eyes that looking upon him whom thou hast pierc'd Thou mayest mourn as one that mourns for his onely Son Here Christ appears laden with all the blessings of Heaven here the ever-blessed Trinity seems to use its utmost endeavours to perswade thee into a Heavenly conversation here the desert of sin is discover'd in the wounds and torments of an infinite God and hither thou comest O my Soul to renew thy Baptismal vow hither thou comest to enter into a solemn Covenant with God and faithfully to promise him to resign thy self entirely to him to fall out with him no more to defile thy Garments no more to dishonour to betray him no more to be faithful to him to vindicate his Glory to esteem his friends as thy friends and his enemies as thy enemies and to live up to those laws which he hath sealed with his
thou putst upon thine own Soul and is thy Soul so inconsiderable a thing that thou makest nothing of deluding and circumventing it What thinkest thou Sinner suppose thou didst see a Senate or Parliament made up of very grave wise sober judicious men who should unanimously give their verdict in a Cause and determine it and while these men after serious deliberation give their judgement in the case propos'd to them in comes the malefactor against whom they have given sentence accuses the Decree of the Senate of injustice charges their Vote with a lye and takes a great deal of pains to make the world believe a tale of his own making whom wouldst thou believe that grave wise judicious Senate or the Malefactor the Senate sure and then when God Angels and Men the wisest the gravest the learnedst of them do all unanimously determine that without a serious consideration of thy Spiritual concerns thou canst not arrive to any sincere reformation of life canst never know the danger thou art in or what thou must do to escape unquenchable fire and that without it thou art a truly miserable man and dost take the way that leads to destruction hast thou the impudence to oppose thy sickly opinion which arises from a distemper'd ed head and a more distemper'd conscience to the grave sound and orthodox judgement of Men infinitely wiser than thy self when all with one consent affirm that thou art sick to death and nothing but consideration can recover thee wilt thou cancel their verdict by prescribing to thy self medicines of thine own making all cry out against thy inconsiderate course of life God doth not justify it Angels do condemn it the Preachers of the Gospel confute it Philosophers arreign it thy Reason hath arguments against it thy Conscience chides thee for it thy sober neighbors reprove it and wilt not thou subscribe to their sentence what insolence is it to think thy self more knowing than he that knows all things Behold sinner here lies the way to Heaven God is intreating thee to walk in it the Devil is busy to discourage thee from it God saith Here I will be found the Devil suggests that the Sons of Anack dwell there God wishes thou wouldst yield and live the Devil that thou wouldst stand out and dye God seeks to crown thee the Devil to rob thee of thy Diadem God assures thee that this is the Garden where thy Graces must grow the Devil argues that nothing but Weeds and Thistles grow there All the dispute is who shall have thy Soul God or the Devil think sinner for God's sake think who is the Rewarder and who is the Tormenter who is the King that can save thee and who is the Executioner that studies only to ruine thee shall not God prevail wilt not thou give him thy heart and shall Satan goe away with thy Soul shall he possess that Treasure which Angels are ambitious of for shame let not God goe away empty think what a condescension it is in God to be willing to accept of so inconsiderable a Present as thy Heart what is thy Soul to him what benefit doth he receive by offering thee his bosom if thou hast such a mind to be the Devils slave what need God take pains to rescue thee from that bondage dost thou think he cannot live without thee dost thou think thy being in his Heaven doth add any thing to his felicity cannot he as well be glorified in thy Torments as he can in thy Salvation cannot he make his Justice triumph over such a stubborn wretch as thou art wherein doth his advantage lye may not he be God and Great and Glorious and admired by Angels while thou friest in Hell thou hast very highly obliged him indeed that he need be at all this trouble to make thee in love with his ways shouldst not thou stand amazed at his Favour shouldst not thou wonder that this immense and infinite Majesty will vouchsafe a gracious look to so vile a worm as thou art and canst thou see a God court thee and grow coy doth God offer to kiss thee with the kisses of his Lips and dost thou scorn his embraces canst thou see him carress thee and turn away thy face wilt thou prefer the motions of a lying Devil before the Oracles of the Great God of Heaven hadst thou rather goe along with him that will murther thee than accompany him that will encircle thy Head with a Crown of Glory shall God magnify his Mercy upon thee and wilt thou fall in love with his enemy doth God intend by making love to thy Soul to give a character to the world of his infinite goodness and compassion and darest thou be so bold as to lessen that character by thy contempt and ingratitude Behold sinner God is willing to lay aside his Flaming Sword thou shalt hear of him no more in the Earthquake or in the Storm or in the mighty Wind that breaks the Rocks in pieces but in the still small voice the voice of Boanerges shall sound no more in thy ears he 'll blow his Trumpet of War no more all his frowns shall be done away he 'll fright thee no more with Hell-fire if his Grace his Mercy his Compassion can but allure thee to bethink thy self and close with him and so to consider the concerns of thy Soul as to resign thy self altogether to his guidance and direction his Aspect shall be kind his Countenance shall be nothing but smiles his Face shall be a perpetual Sunshine if by consideration of thy ways thou wilt become sensible of thy former folly and throw it away and take up with him alone if his kindly Beams can thaw thy frozen Heart if his calm can win thee and make thee prostrate thy self before the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Heaven and Earth shall be no longer in conspiration against thee and thou shalt not need to look any more for Thunders and Lightnings from that Heaven stand still sinner and see the Salvation of God behold Grace and Mercy lies weeping at thy Feet the free the soveraign the extensive the attractive Grace of God comes wooing to thy Soul and doth bespeak thee in this manner Hold Hold thou poor besotted creature whither dost thou run Hear hear I bring thee the joyfullest tidings that ever were brought to the ears of Men God will be thy Father the Lord Jesus thy Saviour the Holy Ghost thy Comforter the Angels thy Companions thy Life shall be a perpetual Holyday thou shalt be a friend of God an Heir of Heaven and Coheir with Christ thy sins shall all be done away thy iniquities shall be remembred no more all the promises of the Gospel shall be thine God will vouchsafe to live with thee the Holy Ghost will make thy Soul his Temple thou shalt have strength to overcome Hell and Devils Flames and Swords and be more than a Conqueror through him that loved thee the Lord Jesus Christ ask a Heaven and
Great ones ye Nobles ye Mighty Men and consider your ways Consider whether that voluptuous life you lead is like that life which that Saviour in whom you pretend to believe doth prescribe in his Gospel Consider whether you are not obliged to practice all those Vertues and Duties that the meaner sort perform and whether in framing to your selves a new way to Heaven a way different from what the word of God doth represent you are like to be happy in those Castles of Air you build and like to arrive to that Glory which you wish for and hope to be receiv'd into Consider what your pride and sensuality will at last conclude in and whether you will dare to brave it at the great Tribunal as now you doe on Earth where you have no body to controul you Ye that are Magistrates whom providence hath placed over others to execute justice and to shew a good example Consider your ways Consider how heavy your connivance at the most notorious sins Sins that offer to pluck even God out of his Throne will lye upon your Consciences one day Consider what hurt you do how many Souls you ruine by your debauch'd and luxurious lives Consider whether you can satisfy God as easily as you can do Man and whether that injustice that oppression that covetousness that lewdness you make nothing of now are not sins weighty enough to bear you down into the Burning Lake Ye Learned Men whether Ministers or others who see and know more than the Vulgar do Consider your ways Consider whether that great Knowledge you have will not procure ye double stripes if you improve it not into a higher degree of seriousness than common people use Consider what a ridiculous thing you make Religion if being perswaded and convinced of the rationality of it you doe not express the power of it in your conversations Consider whether building Heaven with your voices and Hell with your behaviour and deportment will not bring down upon you the severest Plagues that are written in the Book of God! Ye that are hearers of the Word and frequent the Temple of the Lord to be taught his Statutes and his Ordinances Consider your ways Consider whether so many entreatings warnings reproofs and admonitions in season and out of season which you take no notice of will not be brought in one day as evidences to justify your everlasting condemnation Consider how God is like to resent your barrenness and unfruitfulness under the richest means of Grace under the droppings of his fatness Consider how justly God may punish your not digesting and applying his Commands and Precepts to your selves with hardness and blindness of heart and whether this judgement be not more frequent than the world is aware of and whether you do not participate of that judgement Hear this all ye that carry rational Angelical Souls in your Breasts Consider your ways Consider what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and loose his own Soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul Sirs you stand upon the brink of a bottomless pit who but a man whose brains are crack'd would not look about himself the least push or thrust sends you thither who would not take some pains to get into a Harbor the Ship is ready to be cast away the Masts are split it 's leaking on every side who would not lay hold of a Plank to save himself from drowning If you know not what to do with that power of Consideration God hath given you marvel not if God takes it away and since you will not bethink your selves how to be freed from sin and misery protests in his anger that you shall not be able to make use of that power any more in order to obtain Eternal life since you will not take up that sword of the Spirit to cut the cords of Sin and Disobedience no wonder if God blunts and dulls the edge of it that it shall be of no use to you when you would employ it O Christians there is no jesting with a merciful God where the greatest mercy is scorn'd and rejected what can ye expect but the severest judgements Be wise therefore before the black Decree be irreversibly Signed and Sealed against you you 'll bless the hour and the day which bears the Date of your entire and sincere agreement to Gods Will in this particular and when you shall find by blessed experience that this serious consideration of your ways is the Gate to Paradise you 'll admire the Bounty Wisdom and Goodness of God that moved your hearts to embrace the motion and you will not be able to forbear breaking out into singing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb Blessing Honour and Glory be unto him that sits upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever CHAP. VIII Of Retirement and Prayer the two great helps to consideration Retirement proved to be necessary to make Consideration of our Spiritual State more quick and lively Prayer calls in the assistance of Gods Spirit and renders the work effectual A Form of Prayer to be used upon this occasion I Will charitably suppose that the preceding exhortation may have made some impression upon my Reader and made him in some measure willing to think more of his Soul and of the danger it is in and of his Eternal State than formerly he used to do and therefore to shew him how this consideration must be managed that it may in truth conquer and subdue his inordinate affections and make them subject to the best of Masters I shall lay down some necessary helps to Consideration and these are to mention no more Retirement and Prayer I. Retirement Though I readily grant and do commend it too that Men as they are walking with others or travelling or going abroad about their necessary occasions or standing in their Shops or other rooms where company goes in and out may think that the course they have taken hitherto is not safe and therefore it 's high time to change and alter it yet seeing those thoughts are too much diverted by sensual objects and apt to goe no farther than the mind or understanding and reach no deeper than speculation it must necessarily follow that Retirement is requisite to make it reach the affections and to spread it as far as the Life and Conversation By Retirement I do not mean absconding or hiding ones self in a corner in the Countrey or in a Wilderness but retiring in our own Houses Let the place we live in be never so populous to be sure we have Chambers to be private in and as the rich may make their best room a Desart for this work so the poorest may convert any corner in their Houses into a place for this Exercise it s not the neatness of a Closet that cleanses the Soul from filthiness nor the curiosity and convenience of a Withdrawing room that fits the heart for him that