taken Possession of thee by his Holy Spirit who is continually working in thee to dispose thee by putting off thy self and all selfish Inclinations and Desires and by abandoning all that is dear to thee to offer up thy self as Abraham offered up his Isaac a Sacrifice unto God And therefore thou can'st not without the Guilt of the most abominable Sacrilege take upon thee to be any thing or to do any thing but for God and to God See 1. Corinth 6.19 20. 5. Thou hast made a Show an outward profession of giving up thy self to God and being God's long agoe This thou did'st at thy Baptisme when renouncing the Devil the World and the Flesh thou did'st give up thy self to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and this profession thou hast probably renewed often at the table of the Lord where commemorating and giving thanks to God for the greatest expression of the greatest Love to Man that ever was thou did'st offer and present thy self thy Soul and Body to be a Reasonable Holy and Lively Sacrifice to the Lord and thou hast seemed to the World to this very day to own all this And therefore if thou art not if thou wilt not be God's after all this by the full consent of thy heart thou art the falsest and vilest Hypocrite upon Earth and an accursed Traytor to thy great Creator to thy Gracious and Loving Saviour To all this thou may'st add 6. That this is that Holiness which the Scriptures so frequently recommend unto thee and without which thou can'st not hope to see the Lord. When things are separated from common Uses and are given up to God so as never to be made Use of but for him or in his Worship and Service they are called Holy things and so indeed they are so far as things can be Thus when thou hast separated thy self taken off thy heart from all created things and hast given up thy self to God to be his and only his in faithful Service and Obedience for ever thou art holy and not till then and if thou thinkest otherwise thou do'st dangerously deceive thy self Add to this 7. That this is thy perfection and the greatest perfection thou art capable of Thou can'st do nothing better than to resign thy self to God and thou can'st not possibly be in any better State than in a State of pure resignation to him And therefore in the last place 8. Thou may'st safely believe that this is thy happiness and the greatest happiness thou can'st attain unto The truth is these three words Holiness Perfection and Happiness though they differ in sound are all the very same in sence and signification He that saies that the Saints in Heaven are blessed saies no other thing than this that they are made perfect and he that saies that they are made perfect saies no other thing than this that they are fully compleatly Holy and he that speaks this saies no more than that they are entirely God's that they are perfectly disengaged from every thing that might withhold them in the least from him and so united to him that nothing can separate or dissolve the Union so that all that I would now persuade thee to is but to make thy self as periect and happy as thou can'st be and methinks in this case it should be no hard matter to prevail with thee when thou can'st not but see thy Interest in that which is recommended to thee as thy Duty it is impossible if thou art the Man I now suppose thee to be but thou must yield thy full Consent unto it And therefore I leave these things to thy serious thoughts and proceed to give thee some Directions how to perform this good and happy Work § 2. That thou art concerned to take the greatest Care that may be to do it well I presume I need not tell thee and therefore as I do earnestly recommend the following Directions to thee so I hope thou wilt not sail to practise them And because it is a matter of great moment in every thing to begin well I advise thee 1. To separate thy self for some time from the World Retire into thy Closet or into some secret place where no Eye may see thee and nothing divert or disturb thee And when thou art there consider that thou art come thither about a business of the greatest Importance to thee thou art to give thy self to God to unite thy self most firmly to him but of thy self and without God's special Grace thou art not able to do it if he does not draw thee if he does not overcome thy sorry Heart by the sweet and powerful Influences of his Love thou wilt make but faint and fained Offers of thy self unto him And therefore thou must not fail in the first place 1. To fall upon thy Senses and with the greatest Reverence and Submission to acquaint him with the Desires of thy Soul and to beg his favourable acceptance of them and his Blessing upon them And if thou knowest not how to do it better thou may'st make Use of this form of words My Lord and my God thou knowest the very bottom of my heart and my Desires are not hid from thee I am encouraged by my own happy experience of thy Goodness as well as by thy gracious declarations of thy Will to present my self before thee notwithstanding I know my self to be unworthy of the least Favour from thee I am ashamed when I think how I have demeaned my self hitherto towards thee and that I have lived so long a Stranger yea an Enemy to thee taking upon me to dispose of my self and to please my self in the main Course of my Life without the least Regard to thee I abhor my self for it and acknowledge that I deserve for ever to be abandoned by thee but thou hast not dealt with me according to my deserts blessed be thy Goodness for it and therefore I now desire unfeignedly to return unto thee and renouncing all Interest and Propriety in my self and detesting all my former ungodly Practices I desire to give up my self wholly and entirely to thee I would be thine and only thine in all Love and Service in perfect Submission and Obedience for ever but I know I am nothing and can do nothing of my self and if ever I am thine as I desire to be I must be indebted wholly to thy Goodnes for it O my God my Saviour and my Sanctifier turn not away thy face from a poor Soul that seeks thee and places all his Confidence and Comfort in thee but as thou hast kindled these good Desires in my heart so favour them with thy Blessing and confirm encrease and satisfie them Reject not that poor Gift which I would make of my self unto thee and enable me to make it in such a manner that it may be pleasing and acceptable in thy sight Lord hear me help me and shew mercy to me for Christ Jesus's sake Amen When thou hast thus offered
tell thee as Dalilah did Sampson Judg. 16.5 how can'st thou say I love thee when thy heart is not with me And it may be thy dearest Friends and Familiars may be importunate with thee also for the same thing And then say unto thy self Shall I be able to withstand all these temptations to resist the Importunities of a kind and tender Mother to turn my back upon the Wife of my Bosome and to disoblige all my Friends rather than sin against God and wound my own conscience And further represent unto thy self the worst things that can befall a man in this World as likely to befal thy self for thy Conscience towards God Suppose thou must lose all thou hast in the World yea and thy very life if thou wilt not sin against him suppose thou must suffer the sharpest Reproaches and the most cruel death that ever was invented if thou wilt be faithful to him and do thy duty And then charge thy Heart to tell thee whether it will not sink at such a tryal and basely betray thee to Sin and Shame These are hard things indeed may'st thou say the bare thoughts of them are dreadful and how much more will the things themselves be when thou comest to try them But what good thing was ever obtained without some difficulty and what wise man was ever discouraged with difficulties that was sure of a recompense far exceeding the worst of Troubles he could possibly undergo Is it not reasonable that I should do and suffer any thing that my God shall impose upon me Should not that Life and Being which he hath given me be altogether at his service May not my dear and loving Saviour justly expect as much from me since he hath purchased me with his most precious blood did not he undergo much more for my sake than he requires me to do for his and may not that joy which encouraged him be a just Encouragement for me will not Heaven make Amends for all and justifie my choice and resolution to all the World What if I am weak and frail What if there be many subtle Enemies to this my Undertaking Is not he that is with me greater than all that are against me Cannot the Spirit of my God make my weakness strong and cause me to triumph over all my adversaries has not he done as much for Millions of such Weaklings as I am Have not old men notwithstanding the Infirmities of Age and young men notwithstanding the strength of their Lusts and women notwithstanding the frailty of their sex taken up the very same resolution and in spight of all the Powers of darkness and their accursed Instruments made it good to the last minute of their lives I know I know my God and Saviour will not fail me in so good an Undertaking and he will make my weakness to redound to the Glory of his Grace and therefore I my I must I will I do resolve upon a holy life Thus I do advise thee to consider things before thou do'st resolve that thy resolution may be the work of thy whole Soul that thy Understanding may fully approve of it under the most disadvantagious Circumstances and thy Will entirely embrace it and that nothing may befal thee in thy after-life that may stagger thee as not foreseen or cause thee to question the wisdom of thy Undertaking And this advice thou must know is not the meer issue of my own brains but the Counsel of our great and good Master in two plain Parables Luke 14.28 29. v. c. Which of you saies he intending to build a Tower sitteth not down first and counteth the Cost whether he have sufficient to finish it lest happily after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it all that behold it begin to mock him saying this man began to build and was not able to finish it Or what King going to make war against another King sitteth not down first and considereth whether he be able with Ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with Twenty thousand or else whilst the other is yet a great way off he sendeth an Embassage and desireth conditions of Peace Which Parables do plainly tell us That no wise man will begin to build but upon fore-sight that he shall be able to finish That no wise King will begin a War without first considering his ability to go through with it Nor can he be thought wise that will take upon him to be a disciple of Christ and to follow him in a holy Life before he hath well considered what he undertakes and what Trouble and Danger it may cost him to do so the fruits of such rash and unadvised Undertakings can ordinarily be no other than shame and sorrow If Religion be once throughly wrought into the heart which will not be done in an hour or two and can be done by no better way than by frequent meditations it will in all probability keep possession of it for ever And if a man be once resolved upon the Practice of Piety and Vertue from a full conviction of the goodness and reasonableness of it he will hardly be turned aside from it by any temptation whereas if it be admitted into the borders or the skirts of the Soul only possess the fancy or Imagination and by the help of it alone does warn the affections it will in a little time be cast off and all the good Purposes which it may for the present produce will upon the least alteration of Circumstances be forgotten or laid aside § 2. And therefore in the second place I shall commend to thee that thou do not fully determine and fix thy resolution upon once considering or deliberating how seriously soever thou hast done it but that thou take the matter twice or thrice into consideration after some little Intermissions for so thou wilt discern whether thy resolution be the effect of thy Judgment and thy entire choice or of a good temper of body apt to receive Religious Impressions and a kindly heat kindled by the working of thy Imagination If it be the good temper and warm Imagination that disposes thee to it thou wilt be of another mind after thou hast slept or been dealing in other matters But if it proceed from the better Principle but now mentioned what thou approvest of this day thou wilt approve of to morrow and for ever and the more thou considerest things the better thou wilt like of thy intended resolution and the more ready thou wilt be fully and finally to fix it What thou hast considered one day then in order to a resolution my Counsel is That thou taken a Review of it the next day consider afresh what thou art to do consider the Pleasures which thou must forsake and the difficulties thou must undergo and if after all thou findest thy self sincerely bent to serve the Lord in a Holy and Christian Life and no objection offers it self which thou perceivest thy
to them in sustaining preserving and disposing of them And does he thus lye open to thee in every thing and has he made thee capable of discerning him and wist thou take no notice of him far be it from thee But then 3. Thou must not only behold God in every thing but thou must behold him in every thing looking upon thee observing what Regard thou hast to him what Respect thou bearest him and how thou demeanest thy self before him as thy Heart must tell thee wheresoever thou art and whatsoever thou lookest upon that God is there so it must tell thee likewise that there God seeth thee God is with thee every where and his Eyes are alwaies upon thee be thou also at all times with God by an actual Remembrance of him and the Application of thy mind unto him The people of Israel committed great wickedness because they said in their hearts God hath forsaken the Earth and the Lord seeth not Ezek. 9.9 do thou bring thy heart to tell thee the Contrary in all thy wayes and that will restrain thee from every evil thing But then to make this Practice both more profitable and more pleasant to thee thou wilt do well in the last place 4. To accustom thy self to frame some Acts of Love upon every apprehension of God's presence and in all Humility of Soul to offer them unto him As God is worthy of the greatest Love of our Souls so in every thing we look upon he appears to be so and therefore it is very fit that we should express our selves tob e sensible of it by some Acts of Love as often as any thing presents him to our minds now these Acts may be made several wayes I will set thee down some of the chiefest of them to the end that thou may'st more readily lay hold upon all occasions that are offered thee for so good an Exercise They may be made 1. By way of Admiration and Transport Thus O God how great is thy Majesty how great is thy Goodness towards the Sons of men what manner of Love is that wherewiht thou hast loved us O the depth of the Riches both of the Wisdome and Knowlede of God! how unsearchable are his Judgments and his wayes past finding out said St. Paul Rom. 11.33 2. By way of Esteem and Preference Thus may'st thou say as a devout man was wont My God and all things and as another None but Christ None but Christ and as the Psalmist Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee Psal 73.25 and again There be many that say Who will shew us any Good but Lord lift thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon us Psal 4.6 3. By way of Protestation and Resolution Thus St. Peter thrice to his dear Lord and Master Lord thou knowest that I love thee John 21.15 Thus the Psalmist I will love thee O Lord my strength Psal 18.1 v. and in another Psalm I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy Righteous judgments Psal 119.106 4. By way of Desire and Aspiration Thus may'st thou say with a Holy Father Let me find thee O the Desire of my Heart let me possess thee O Love of my Soul Let me hold thee fast for ever in the very midst of my heart Oblessed Life O Sovereign sweetness of my Soul St. August or with the Psalmist As the Heart panteth after the water-brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God my Soul thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before God Psal 42.1 2. When will the Lord call home his baished when shall I return to my Father's House 5. By way of Oblation and Resignation As thus Lord I am thine I am thine by a thousand Titles and I will be thine and none but thine for ever thine I am thine is all I have and therefore to thee do I resign my seli and all 6. By way of Humiliation and Annihilation Thus good Jacob I am not worthy of the least of all thy Mercies Genes 32.10 and thus Holy Job behold I am vile chap. 40.4 and thus likewise the Psalmist Lord what is man that thou takest Knowledge of him or the Son of man that makest account of him Man is like to vanity his dayes are as a shadow that passeth away Psal 144.3 4. v. What art thou O Lord and what am I Surely thou art the fulness of Being but I am nothing 7. By way of Confidence and Religance upon God Thus can a Woman forget her sucking Child that she should not have compassion on the Son of her Womb yea thy may forget but God will not forget his people Though my Father and Mother forsaketh me yet the lord will take me up though I perish yet will I trust in him He cloaths the Lillies of the Field and seeds the Fouls of the Air and will he not feed and cloath me He hath given me his only begetten Son and will he not with him give me all things 8. By way of Benediction and Praise Thus Great is the Lord and worthy to be praised yea his Name is exalted above all Blessing and Praise All thy works shall praise thee O Lord and all thy Saints shall bless thee Whil'st I live I will praise the Lord I will sing Praises unto God whil'st I have any Being These are some of the wayes wherein Holy men have been wont to express and exercise their Love to God and in some or other of these I would have thee to be continually exercising and expressing thine according as occasion is given thee or as the things that bring God to hy Mind do direct and lead thee Thou wilt not be long accustomed to these Practices but thou wilt be sensible of such Advantage by them as no words of man can express thou wilt perceive thy heart to be more closely united to God every day than other and wilt have such a sense of his Love continually upon thy Soul as will make all the Changes of thy Life comfortable and fill thee oftentimes with joy that can be compared to none but those of the Saints in Heaven The truth is we are never more like to those blessed Spirits than when we are thus employed for what do they but contemplate the Beauty of his Majesty and make Acts of Love to him But here 's the difference they see him clearly as he is they behold his unveiled Face and consequently exercise their Love with the greatest forvors and partake of the highest joyes whereas we beholding him only in the Glass of his Creatures are much more cold in our Love and therefore less happy in our joyes I can foresse but one thing that thou can'st object against these exercises viz. that they will be a hindrance to thy Worldly Business But this one Word may serve to remove For these being works of the Soul which is an active and most nimble substance and
render thee meet to be a partaker of it Coloss 1.12 Would'st not thou wonder to see the pleasant Vine degenerate into a sorry Thistle and the fruitful Olive into an unprofitable Bramble And what dost thou less if being a Christian thou dost live like a Heathen if being in the Spirit thou dost walk after the Flesh and mind the things of the Flesh Was it not a most dreadful Curse that drove the great King Nebuchadnezzar out of his stately Palace into the Fields amongst the Beasts to eat grass like the oxen Dan. 4 And dost not thou make his Curse to be thy own choice when being a Child of God an Heir of the Kingdom of Heaven which is more than to be Emperor of the whole Earth thou dost set thy heart upon this dunghil World and hast no esteem or relish of Heavenly things If with prophane Esau thou sellest thy Birthright for a mess of Pottage and despising thy Eternal Inheritance desirest to have thy Portion only in this life The reason of all this is plain enough and I hope will be readily acknowledged by thee But however it is impossible but thou must confess that thou art obliged to perform thy Promises and to pay thy Vows unto the most High and that since thou hast given up thy self to God thou hast not the least power over thy self but oughtest to live altogether to him If thou hast an ill opinion of thy Neighbour and that justly when he is not as good as his word to thee how can'st thou but condemn thy self when thou breakest thy Vows unto the Lord and if when any Prophane thing has been offered to God and consecrated by Prayer and Ceremonies and serves to Holy and Divine Administrations thou esteemest it as separated from common Use and callest it Sacrilege and Prophaness to imploy it in common ways art not thou thy self guilty of the highest Sacrilege when being Dedicated and Consecrated to God by Baptism thou dost withdraw thy self from him and never imployest thy self for him nor referrest thy self unto him The Apostle tells us That we are not our own because we are bought with a price i.e. the Blood of the Son of God 1 Cor. 6. v. 19 20. and I add to it because we have likewise given up our selves to him that bought us and therefore there is the greatest reason that we should glorisie him in our Bodies and our Spirits which are God's It was the Saying of a Devout Man many years ago ' That it had been better for us never to have been than to dwell in our selves and to our selves and we shall find it too true one day if forgetting our state and Profession and Obligation as we are Christians we do live to our selves and not to God But this leads to a third Consideration viz. CHAP. III. Containing a third Argument to a Holy Life from the general Consideration of a future Judgment COnsider that there will a time come when thou must give an exact account of thy life and actions and it shall be known to all the world how thou hast demeaned thy self both as a Man and Christian Dear Brother believest thou the Scriptures I know thou do'st and thou hast the greatest reason in the world to do so Observe therefore what they tell thee concerning that account which thou art to make and then consider whether there be no reason enough why thou should'st be careful to lead a Virtuous and Holy Life It is a mighty encouragement indeed to us in well doing that our Saviour is to be our Judge for he who loved his Enemies so as to die for them will never forget the good works of those whom he does call his friends John 15.14 but lest ny of us should be so unwise as to make this an Argument for a licentious and careless way of living promising our selves much favour from him and an easie account at the Day of Judgment he hath told us frequently that he purposes to proceed severely with us and to shew no favour but what may consist with the exactest Justice And it well deserves our observation that though he was the mildest and mercifullest Person alive and expressed the greatest tenderness and love to sinful men that ever was insomuch that his Enemies cast it as a reproach upon him that he was a friend to Publicans and Sinners yet he never spake of the Day of Judgment but with great severity nor of himself as the Judg of the world but in such words as altogether exclude that fond partiality which wicked men expect from him at that day Thus in one place he represents himself to be an austere and hard man and tells us That he expects to reap where he did not sow and to gather where he did not straw i.e. He will expect and require from us when he comes to Judg us an Increase of those Talents which he hath entrusted us with and if we have not improved them to his advantage he will first take them away from us and then cast us into a Prison of darkness where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Math. 25 26 27. and we may note there that it is with the unprofitable Servant the Servant that brought him no Increase that he will deal so severely and therefore how rigorously may we believe he will deal with those that do mispend his Talents and make no Use of them but to his dishonour In the same Chapter likewise we find him no less severe to five foolish Virgins whom he shuts for ever out of Heaven because they had no oyl with their Lamps and were not ready exactly at the hour though it was midnight to meet the Bridegroom v. 12. In another place he condemns to everlasting misery not only those who accept not his invitation to his Marriage-Feast but those likewise that came to it without wedding garments Math. 22. v. 12 13. and in the 7th Chapter of the same Gospel he declares That this shall be the portion of all the workers of iniquity though they have called him Lord and prophesied in his Name and cast out Devils and done many wonderful works that is though they have professed themselves his Disciples and Servants and done some things which the world accounts great for his honour yet he will not own them and though they make fiar Pleas for themselves and beg his mercy and favour with the greatest earnestness and importunity yet he will have no regard unto them but banish them for ever from him All this and much more than this hath our Blessed Saviour told us by way of Parable and he hath no where encouraged us to hope for any thing more easie and favourable when he speaks plainly of it and without a Parable He hath let us know in plain words that he will judg our works nay our very words also and require an account not only of our filthy and ungodly Speeches but of our idle our vain and unprofitable discourses likewise
Lord. I shall add but one thing more and I will dispatch it in few words viz. CHAP. VI. Containing a Sixth Argument to a Holy Life from considering That these Rewards and Punishments are not so far off as some persons vainly imagine with the Conclusion of this first Part. 6. THat thou wouldest Consider these Rewards and Punishments which I have spoken of not as things at a great distance from thee but as they are indeed and in truth very near unto thee There is but a little part of a very short life of a life which at longest is but a Span long between thee and them we have at most but some few Breaths to draw before we must pass into our Eternal state and be either happy or miserable without any manner of Change or alteration for ever Death is continually laying his snares for us and has so many secret and unknown wayes to do his work upon us that we live every moment as it were by miracle and it is a much stranger thing that we have lived till this day than it would be if we should dye before the morrow 'T is true we are apt to flatter our selves with hopes of long life but how fond such hopes are the unexpected Fall of some or other every day about us if nothing else will do it may convince us There are thousands now in their Graves that came no sooner into the World than we who hoped to live as long as we can do in it and what are we and what are our hopes that both may not be cut off within few hours and why may not we make our beds in the dust as much sooner than we expect as they have done Now tell me Brother hast thou so low an opinion of the heavenly glory and felicity as that it cannot engage thee to serve God so little a time for it or have Hell-torments so little of Terrour in them that thou can'st not resolve to under go so short a trouble to avoid them or is there any thing in this World which can make thee neglect a matter of so great importance to thee when thou thinkest how little a while thou can'st enjoy it The Histories of our Countrey tell us of a Saxon Queen in this Land that by an innocent and happy piece of Policy prevailed with her Husband to leave his Debaucheries and to live Christianly She did it thus There was a day when the King and his Favourites did feast and frolick in an extraordinary manner and She as soon as their Mirth was ended caused the same place to be covered with dung and filthiness and to be made as loathsom as possible and when she had done she desired the King to repair thither and to look upon the late Scene of their Mirth and Jollity which th King beholding and musing in his mind of the sudden Change She took the opportunity to ask him where all the mirth of the past day was and what footsteps did now remain of it were not all such things as wind and vanity which pass away in an instant and are not to be recalled And with these and the like speeches she taught him to despise the world and to seek after the Kingdom of Heaven I shall make no other Use of the Story than to beseech thee to reslect upon thy life past and to consider what is become of all thy former Pleasures I know that they are all past and gone and that the time is coming when as much may be said of all thy worldly enjoyments they will be as far from thee and as useless to thee as all thy past pleasures are now In the hour of Death and from that hour to all Eternity thou mayst say with them in the Book of Wisedom What hath Pride profited us and what good hath Riches with all our vaunting brought us all those things are passed away like a shadow or like a Post that hasted by And therefore be so wise for thy own Good as to contemn these worthless fugitive things and for the little remainder of thy life to endeavour to make sure of the better and more abiding things which God hath prepared for thee in Heaven Thou hast sometime perhaps been visited with Sickness and hast thought thy self to be upon the borders of the Grave call to mind I beseech thee what thoughts did then possess thee Did'st thou not then look upon the World as vanity and did not all thy past Follies torment thee with a bitter remembrance Did not the few good things that thou had'st done please thee better than all the World and did'st not heartily repent that thy whole life was not imployed in such good wayes Remember I beseech thee that it will shortly come to that again the evil day is at hand and thy present delights will be vanished and thy worldly enjoyments be useless and unprofitable and if thou hast not the Conscience of a good life to cheer thee thou wilt be miserable without help or remedy O prepare prepare dear Brother for that time by a holy and Christian Life and let nothing upon Earth divert or hinder thee Why should that rob thee of thy greatest Bliss which will not profit thee in the least when thou hast the greatest need of it Why should that make thee miserable for ever which cannot make thee happy for a little time Remender thy End said a Wise Man and thou shalt never do amiss He that knowes that he stands upon the brink of Eternity is a bold fool if he dares do wickedly He is mad that will commit a Crime this day who knows that before the next he may be bearing the punishments of it in everlasting Sorrows Thus have I laid before thee dear Brother some Arguments and Motives to perswade thee to a Holy Life and so I have brought the First Part of my intended Work to an end The things that I have offered to thee I am sure deserve thy serious consideration let them be considered accordingly and suffer them to have their due influence upon thee and I shall give thee no further trouble in this matter Weigh them well and according to the Reason thou findest in them so do and I ask no more of thee Live as a man created by God on purpose to know and love and serve him here and to enjoy him for ever hereafter ought to live Live as a man advanced to the knowledg and profession of Christianity is obliged to live Live as a man that must give an account hereafter of his whole Life to a just and impartial Judge is in all reason bound to live Live as one that believes that he shall be unspeakably and Eternally miserable if he live amiss and that he shall be eternally happy if he live as he ought Live as one that knows that he has but a short life to live a life that is but a moment in respect of Eternity and that yet upon this little moment his Eternal
heart to stumble at then fix thy resolution resolve fully peremptorily and irrevocably And that it may have all the strength which we can possibly add to it let me advise thee further § 3. To back it with a Vow with a solemn protestation to Almighty God to keep it firm and stedfast to the end of thy life for as long as any sense of God remains upon thy Soul thou wilt dread the Not doing of that which by a solemn Promise to God thou hast bound thy self to do it being in the opinion of all mankind a most abominable thing to falsifie our Vows and Oaths to God and deserving the severest vengeance that can fall upon the heads of wicked Men. § 3.4 And further when thou hast done this it will not be amiss to write down thy resolution and protestation in the very words thou hast made it adding likewise the year and Month and day wherein thou didst thus engage thy self and to keep it by thee as a thing of great concernment to thee and once a Month at least to look seriously upon it saying to thy heart See O my heart what thou hast done observe the bond which thou hast laid upon thy self it is thy own Act and Deed there is no disowning it or excepting against it as sure as I now see it with my eyes it is recorded before God in Heaven and it shall one day be brought forth against me to my everlasting condemnation if I do not discharge and satisfie it Go on O my heart go on as thou hast begun to keep thy resolution firm and to pay thy Vows unto the most High and be confident that the Lord will prosper thy good Desires and Endeavours and reward thee according to his gracious Covenant and Promise with everlasting Glory and Felicity § 5. All this being done I think thou may'st do well to make known thy resolution to the World as often as fitting occasions may be offered thee that is as often as God may receive honour by it or thy self be secured from temptation or Sin Such occasions in this Age thou wilt frequently meet with sometimes thou wilt fall into the Company of evil men that dishonour the Holy Religion which they profess by their wicked and ungodly Lives and they will not spare to reproach thee for not running with them into the same excesses and debaucheries then thou may'st do well to tell them That thou art fully resolved against such practices and that thou did'st long since take upon thee a profession which allows them not as they have also done a profession of obedience to the doctrine and of conformity to the example of the pure and holy Jesus and that thou can'st not without gross Hypocrisy and inexcusable Folly act so contrary to it as they do Such a declaration as this will honour thy Lord and Master and shame evil doers if they be not past all shame and all Hope of amendment Sometimes again thou wilt meet with men that will play the Devils part and use all their Cunning to persuade thee to some sinful act Such men thou must let know without delay That thou art in the full Purpose of thy heart as well as in outward Profession a Christian and that thou art resolved to serve thy Lord and Master to thy death and never to do the thing which thou shalt know will in the least displease him that how light a matter soever others may make it to disown him by their works whom with their Mouths they own and flatter yet thou esteemest it so base and shameful a thing that by the help of God's Grace thou hast determined never to be guilty of it and that thou can'st not but believe it to be as bad nay much worse to be false to God than to be false to men and that they who do not think so do most unworthily prefer vile dust and ashes before the High and Holy God of Heaven and Earth This must needs stop the Mouths of the most impudent Tempters and when thou art known to the World to be thus well resolved thou wilt find a happy freedom from temptations by it Thy old companions in sin if thou hast had any will cease to importune thee and the Devil in despair of success will seldom trouble thee However thou wilt disarme him of one of the most dangerous weapons by which he destroys the Soul of Men nay thou wilt turn it against himself and make that to be the Instrument of thy safety which might have been the Instrument of thy ruine I mean the fear of Reproach from wicked Men which keeps thousands in bondage to sin all their days going on in their wonted Courses not because they approve or are truly pleas'd with them but because they are ashamed to amend them which Reproach when thou hast once couragiously contemned by publikely owning thy resolution thou wilt make but little account afterwards for as a resolute Soldier that has passed through the hardest service against the enemy without Wound or Scar seels no Fear within himself of that which remains so it will be with thee having born the first Reproaches of an ungodly World which are ever the mos bitter thou wilt readily contemn and set at nought the rest The only Fear of Reproach which will then remain in thee will be but that which is just and good viz. the Fear of deserved Reproach for not making good that resolution which thou hast declared to the World and the greater thy Fear of this is the safer and the happier thou wilt be Object Against this part of my advice I know but one thing that can be objected viz. That in case thou shouldest fail to make good thy Resolution after this returning to thy former wickedness or carelesness as many penhaps have done after they have purposed well thou shalt bring shame upon thy self and Dishonour to thy Holy Religion Ans And true it is my Brother that these will be the effects of thy Failing and it is as true that great Care ought to be taken that nothing be done which will produce so great an Evil as either of those But it is not necessary that thou shouldest fail thus nay it is not probable if thou usest that sincerity Consideration Caution and Circumspection which I have commended to thee because of the sufficient Grace of God which will never fail thee so that the force of the objection lies not against all resolving or owning thy resolution but against doing it rashly and unadvisedly proudly and vain-gloriously and it only admonisheth us to proceed with great deliberation and prudence and to forbear the publick Owning of it till we have had some proof of our sincerity towards God by the Discharge of our several duties and the resistance of some of the more dangerous Temptations especially if we know our selves to be of a hasty Temper and not very constant in other things But this being secured I doubt not but thou
destroy our selves but since we could do that upon very little or none at all let us no longer withstand this which is so earnest and importunate with us to save our selves Then turning thy self to God in whose presence thou hast been all this while thou may'st speak as I hope thou wilt be able with truth to do in this manner to him I am overcome I am overcome O God I can no longer withstand thy mighty Love I must I do yield my self a captive to it I am thine I do acknow ledge by all Right and I will be thine for ever by the full consent of my Heart I can do no less in Return to that wonderful Love thou hast shewed me and I can do no more O let this little that I can do be accepted by thee and receive me for thine own take possession of me by thy Spirit and let it preserve me for ever to thy self according as I do now sincerely resign up my self and all I have to thee Then 3. Casting thy self upon the Ground say thus and say it with all thy Heart and Soul To God the Father Son and Holy Ghost my Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier do I give my Self Soul and Body and all that belongs unto me to be guided governed and disposed of according to his Will and to his Honour and Glory and may he be a Witness to this my Act which I promise never to revoke and may I never obtain the least Favour from him if I do it not with with an upright Heart and an unfeigned purpose to make it good to my Lives End Thou art my Witness O my God be thou also my helper with thy continued Grace and so shall I be faithful to thee according to my Heart's Desire Amen Amen But then 4. As in matters of the World that which is done in private between Man and Man must in some cases receive a further Consirmation by such Solemnities as are appointed by humane Lawes so that which thou hast done thus between God and thy own Soul must be farther confirmed and as it were compleated by those Solemnities which the Lawes of God do require and therefore sail not to take the first opportunity that is offered thee to go to the Table of the Lord and having prepared thy self at home by such meditations as I have before taught thee and by reading some good book of the Holy Sacrament such as Dr. Patrick's Christian Saacrifice which I desire may find a place both in thy Closet and in thy Heart do thou there renew what thou hast done in private and as it were in publick Court avow it and consirm it At that Holy Tale God will not fail to meet thee attended with an innumerable Company of Holy Angels and he strictly requires and expects it from thee And therefore when thou art at that Table and beholdest what manner of Love is there shewed thee and which cannot but draw thy very heart from thee if thou do'st consider it aright remember what thou art to do and let thy heart speak in this manner to Almighty God There is all the Reason in the World O Heavenly Father that I should give up my self entirely to thee since thou hast not withholden thy Son thy only Son from me there is all the Reason in the World O my Blessed Saviour that I should surrender my self and all I have into thy hands since thou did'st offer thy self a Sacrifice upon the Cross for me and do'st now offer these Holy Pledges of the all-sufficient Virtue of that Sacrifice to me there is all the Reason in the World that I should resign my self to thee O Holy and Blessed Spirit since thou do'st offer thy self to be a Principle of Holiness and Life in me And therefore as I do now accept with all thinkfulness those great and inestimable Favours and do declare my acceptance of them in the sight of these thy Servants and all thy Holy Angels here present by receiving those Tokens and Pledges of them according to thy Command and Institution so do I give up my self and all I have to thee and declare it before the face of all these Witnesses and I earnestly desire that even my unworthy self may be accepted through this my poor Gift the perfect Sacrifice and Oblation of my dearest Saviour and be sanctified by the Holy Ghost and be owned by my God to the everlasting parise of the Holy Blessed and Undivided Trinity whose I am and whose I will be for ever and ever Amen Amen But then 5. When thou art gone from this holy Table Retire as soon as possibly thou can'st and whil'st these good thoughts are warm in thy breast into thy Closet and there take the Book of thy spiritual Accounts into thy hand for I would not have thee to be without such a Book for recording these things wherein the Welfare of thy Soul is greatly concerned least thou be condemned by the Care and exactness of those whom we are wont to call good Husbands in Worldly Matters and with thy pen write thus In such a Year and such a Months and on such a day I did through God's Grace with all the Devotion of my Heart and Soul make an entire Surrender of my self and all things belonging to me to Almighty God protesting and vowing that he should have the full guiding governing and disposing of me and mine for ever And then that thou may'st have a more distinct Understanding of what thou hast done and what thou art obliged to do for the time to come thou may'st under write these following particulars viz. I have given up my self entirely to God and therefore I must not serve my self but Him all the dayes of my Life I have given him my Understanding and therefore my chiefest Care and Study must be to know him his Nature his Perfections his Works his Will These must be the Subject of my Meditations night and day as for all other things they must be as Dross and Dung to me and the Knowledge of them must be as loss for the excellency of the Knowledge of God in Christ Phil. 3.8 v. I must believe all his Reelations and silencing all the carnal Reasonings against whatsoever he teaches me I must rest my self on his veracity being fully persuaded that he can neither be deceived himself nor deceive me See Rom. 4.19 20. have given him my Will and therefore I must have no Will of mine own whatever he wills I must will also I must will his Glory in all things as he does and that must be my chief End in every thing I must prefer it before all desireable things and subordinate my own Desires Delights and Satisfactions to it I must say as the Psalmist did Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee Psal 73.25 I must do whatsoever God commands me and forbear whatever he forbids and I must do it for this Reason chiefly because
he does command or forbid me nay I must delight to do it Psal 40.8 v. And it must be to me as my meat and drink John 4.34 I must consent to suffer whatever he will lay upon me and though it may be his Pleasure to lay hard things upon me and grievous to be born yet I must not repine or murmur but with Cheerfulness Alacrity and Thankfulness I will submit my self to it Whatever threatens me I must say It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good 1. Sam. 3.18 and whatever befalls me I must give thanks for that is his Will concerning me in Christ Jesus 1 Thes 5.18 I have given him all the Passions and Affections of my Soul and therefore he must dispose of them govern and set bounds unto them he must have my Love my Fear my Delight my Joy and nothing in the World must have any Share in these or any other of my Affections but with respect to him and for his sake What he loves I must love what he hates I must hate what he is well pleased with I must rejoyce in what he is grieved with I must mourn for the Objects of his Pity I must have compassion on and those of his wrath and Indignation I must be zealous against and all in such measures and Degrees as he is pleased to prescribe me I have given him my Body and therefore must glorify him with it I must not dare to abuse it by Gluttony Drunkenness Adultery Fornication or any other Uncleanness I must look upon it as his Temple and therefore must preserve it pure and Holy fit for my God to dwell in See 1. Corinth 6.19 I must not wrong it by pampering or indulging it nor by neglecting nor shewing too much Rigor towards it in overmuch fasting watching labouring c. But must keep it as far as in me lies Healthy Vigorous active and fit to do him all manner of Service that he shall call for I have given him my Senses my Eyes my Ears c. And therefore to good they must be alwayes open but to Evil and all the Occasions of it they must be shut I have given him all my Members and therefore they must be no longer Instruments of Unrighteousness unto Sin Rom. 6.13 but Instruments of Righteousness unto God My tongue must shew forth his Praise my hands must do his Works and my foot must carry me with speed unto it I have given him not my self only but also all that do belong unto me and therefore my Children my Friends my Servants must all be his if I can make them so I have given him all my Worldly Goods and therefore I must prize them and use them only for him his House his Priests his Poor must have their Portions from me with a willing mind and though I have no more than necessaries for my Life yet I must be content to part with them when my Lord shall need them or command me to resign them I have given him my Credit and Reputation and therefore I must value it and endeavour to maintain it only in Respect to him as it may do him service and advance his Honour in the World I have given him my self and all and therefore I must look upon my self to be nothing and to have nothing out of him he must be the sole Disposer Governour and Guider of my self and all He must be my Portion and my All. And then in the close thou may'st add this Thus have I given my self to God and and to all this have I bound my self in the most solemn manner and with my own hand do I now testify my full consent unto it and I am resolved to make good the Whole and every part of it God assisting me to my Lives End I doubt not but I shall meet with many temptations to the Contrary I shall be often told of my Singularity and Preciseness and some may tell me in kindness that I do more than is necessary and that I must accommodate or fit my self to this or that person Company Thing Custome c. But my Answer shall be to all I am not my own I am not for my self nor for my Friends nor for the World nor for its Customes but for my God I will give to Caesar what I owe to Caesar and to God what I owe to God The Lord be merciful to me his unworthy Servant All this I say thou wilt do well to write in thy Book of Spiritual Accounts but if thou can'st not write sail not to fix it in thy memory and as often as thou art called to the table of the Lord take a View of it or repeat it to thy self and call thy self strictly to as account how thou hast made it good and how and wherein thou hast failed and give God thanks for what thou hast been able to do and humble thy self before him for all that thou hast omitted consessing it with sorrow and earnestly begging pardon for it renewing thy Resolutions and vows and imploring a greater measure of his grace to enable thee to do better for the time to come But did I say that thou must do this as often as thou art called to the Table of the Lord I must tell thee that thou should'st do it oftner thou should'st do it once a week at least upon the Saturday in the Evening or early in the morning on the Lord's day for so often at least were the Primitive Christians wont to receive the Holy sacrament and that we do it not as often as they did is not for our Praise or Commendation and indeed to put of this till our usual Times of Communicating is to put it off to a time when we can hardly do it well because many things will be forgotten by us or else we shall be overwhelmed with too great a multitude There is not one but will find Work enough at the End of one week to call to mind how his heart has been disposed his tongue imployed and what good or evil Deeds he hath done with the several Circumstances belonging unto them during that time and how imperfect an Account of these things then can they give to themselves and to Almighty God who are to look back a full Quarter of a Year and to call all their wayes to remembrance let this therefore I pray thee at least as often as I have said and though thou can'st not be so happy as to communicate thus often yet this will in some measure supply the want of it and put thee into a better disposition to give thy self to God in the Holy Communion and to unite thy self more firmly to him I must confess I am not able to promise thee but thou wilt discern many failings when thou comest thus to examine thy self though thou hast been ever so careful to keep close to God and to demean thy self as God's but yet let not this discourage thee in the least because thou hast to
us both upon the score of his Infinite Perfections and likewise upon the account of his Inestimable Benefits Canst thou conceive what a happiness it will be to behold God face to face as St. Paul's expressions are 1 Cor. 13.12 or to see him as he is as St. John expresses it 1 Joh. 3.2 that is to have the most clear and comprehensive knowledg of him that finite Creatures can possibly have to know all his adorable Perfections his Almighty Power his Incomprehensible Wisdom his Eternal Justice his resplendent Purity and Holiness his Immeasureable Goodness and Love and to feel the mighty power of this knowledg upon our Souls transforming us into the likeness of God and uniting our Wills most perfectly to him whereby we shall both possess God and be possessed of him Can'st thou conceive what a happiness it will be for Millions of Millions of such God-like Creatures to be inseparably together and with united Hearts and Mouths to be continually singing Songs of Praise to the great God of Love who loved them Infinitely and taught them to love him again and one another And can'st thou think how much it will add to their Happiness to have a full and perfect assurance That it shall never have an end that it shall be as lasting as 't is great and never know the least diminution or decay I know Brother that all this is far above tho Reach of they most raised thoughts it is too great a happiness to enter into the heart of Man as flesh and bloud cannot inherit it 1 Cor. 15.50 that is as Man in his present weak and corruptible estate cannot be partaker of it so neither can he comprehend it when we and possessed of it then and not till then shall we fully understand it O Blessed God! why art thou thus good to ungrateful and unworthy men Why hast thou prepared such a happiness for those who neither consider it nor seek after it Why is such a Price put into the hands of fools who have not the hearts to make Use of it who fondly chuse to gratifie their lusts rather than to save their Souls and foolishly prefer the momentary Enjoyments of Sin and folly before a glorious and happy immortality Vain and foolish Men how is it that you understand not your own greatest interest That that Reason and Judgment which in other matters constantly attends you does in this which is of the greatest moment and concernment to you so strangely fail you Does not all the World see that you desire and seek after such things as you apprehend to be good and that you are more or less careful in seeking after such things according to the value you put upon them and the esteem you have for them for a small Estate you will take great Pains you will run great hazards and suffer great hardships for a great estate you will do and suffer more and for a Crown or Kingdom yet more and why then will you not do and suffer as much for this Glorious and Eternal Reward which far transcends all the Riches and the Glories of the World The Author to the Hebrews tels us That Moses did despise the Riches and Honours and Pleasures of the Court of Pharaoh for this Reward Heb. 11 c. 24 25 v. And that a multitude of Wise and Holy men have had tryal of cruel Mockings and Scourgings of Bonds and Imprisonment and have suffered patiently yea joyfully the worst things that wicked Men and Devils could inflict upon them because they had their Eyes upon it and hoped to obtain it And St. Austin I remember professes that he could be content to do or suffer any thing yea to suffer the torments of Hell for a time that he might come to Heaven at last And why is it Brother that we have not as great an esteem of it or if we have why do we not labour why are we not willing to do and suffer as much for it Do'st thou think Brother that this Care and Pains which I speak of is needless as to the obtaining of it or may we hope for it from Gods mercy and goodness without that strict and holy Life which I have spoken of What Do'st thou believe Almighty God to be a liar or that he is not in earnest when he tels thee That without Holiness no man shall see Him Heb. 12 14 does not a reward necessarily relate to service and can'st thou expect the Reward though thou do'st no service Canst thou imagine that such a reward a reward so great and glorious that the very best of men notwithstanding the promises of God dare hardly presume to hope for it shall be given to those that are Slaves to their own lusts and either serve not God at all or no farther than their Lusts will give them leave What is this a Reward for Apostates from God for Rebels a-against Heaven for those that desire it not or value it not but prefer the Pleasures of Sin and the Profits of the World before it What will it be the same thing as to another World whether men answer the end of their Creation or not whether they dishonour their holy profession by an unholy life or not whether they love God or not whether they follow the example of Christ or not and in one word whether they be meet for Heavenly Glory and Felicity by pure and God-like dispositions and the Participation of the Divine nature or be ever so unmeet for it by brutish Lusts or Divelish Qualities and dispositions There is a vast difference dear Brother between Heaven and Hell no less than there is between light and darkness between the greatest happiness and the greatest misery and ought not there to be a vast difference likewise between those that shall enjoy the one and those that shall fall under the other Can a holy and righteous God make so great difference between the eternal estates of men as to make some eternally happy and others eternally miserable who differ here one from another in little or nothing but only in a little outward profession or the observation of some few Rites and Ceremonies or in a formal and civil carriage or demeanour Surely Brother it is impossible that these things should enter into the head of any sober and considering man and therefore thou must needs acknowledge the necessity of living a holy life if thou hopest for the Heavenly Glory and Felicity and is not the Heavenly Glory encouragement enough for thee to do so will not that make thee sufficient amends for the greatest Care and Pains thou can'st take for the worst things thou can'st suffer or the greatest hazards thou can'st possibly run by it Yes undoubtedly it will and therefore I leave the exhortation of the Apostle with thee 1 Corinth 15 58 v. Therefore my beloved Brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable alwayes alounding in the work of the Lord for asmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the