subject let me in the name of God ask you what is there that hath been yet done upon you what is there that hath been added to your holy love to your holy desires and joys fears and griefs are there any little sparkes added to you do you love God a little more then you did do you desire after him a little more strongly are your fears of sin your fears of temptations to sin your grief and sorrow for sin a little encreased Is there any abatement of your love to the World of your worldly desires and joys Is there any allay of your fretful angry passion Who of you can say I thank God these words have not been spoken to me in vain I thank God I find this World taken down a little lower I do not love it so well nor desire it so much nor I hope shall ever again seek it so earnestly as I have done are you any thing the more in fear of sin or greiv'd for sin are you in hope that your anger shall henceforth not be without a cause nor above or higher then its cause nor ever last as it has used to do Friends consider in the name of God consider What is there nothing done are you as cold in your love to God as hot in your love to the World as much without fear and greif for sin as if none of all this had been spoken The Lord be merciful to us what shall become of such hearing What serves this Preaching for what serves this hearing for Doth God take pleasure or can you take comfort in your coming together to hear and being a little affected with the word whilst 't is preaching or speaking some words after of your approbation and liking what you have heard when yet the Word doth not work nor leave any standing and abiding impressions upon you It s vain to commend a Sermon in words if the fruit it brings forth commend it not The best commendation of your food is by your eating it and maintaining your health and gathering strength by it O Friends that 's the commendation we would have of our preaching and the only commendation that we can take comfort in that our word reacheth its end that there is some sign of our ministry upon your hearts and in your lives that we may say concerning you as the Apostle concerning the Corinthians 2 Cor. 3.2.8 Ye are our Epistle and are declared to be the Epistle of Christ written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God Those are the best Sermon Notes that are written not with ink and paper but by the Spirit of the living God in the fleshly tables of our hearts These are the best Sermon Notes and these are the best commendation of our preaching Now pray friends consider I do not ask you what there is written of these Sermons in your note books but what is there written of them in your hearts Is there any thing more of the love of God of desires after God of fear of sin c. written or begotten within you Had I ability and opportunity of personal converse with you I should be willing to deal with you in private hand to hand and to ask you these questions man by man but to supply that defect of speaking personally and in private to each one of you take what I speak in my publick Ministry as if it were spoken to thee in particular and I were dealing with thee hand to hand Though thou canst not give me thine answer yet fail not to give answer in thine own heart when I ask thee whither thou hast gotten any more love to God any more desires after God any abatement of thy love to the World any more fear of Sin c. Answer thine own Conscience in this particular I must substitute thy Conscience in my room and let Conscience take thine Answer Speak every man of you iâ— your Consciences how do you find it is there any thâ—ng done upon you by these words or is there nothing 〈◊〉 what do you think of all your hearing these words if thâ—re be nothing done if there be as much love to the World as little love to God or fear of Sin if there be the same touchiness the same pettishness the some angry distemper as if you had kept you at home all this while and never heard any of all that has been said Are not you ashamed are not you afraid that these words of the Lord should have no effect upon you Beloved I have preached to you in hope I have hoped for fruit I have hop'd for some change for the better upon you in all these respects O set your hearts unto all these words remember what you can and recover what you have forgotten look up to God look up to God and pray this prayer to him Lord let the things that have been spoken be written Let them be written not with ink and pen but by the Spirit of the living God not in a book or paper but in the fleshly table of mine heart Look up to God for his help and determine in your selves to set your hearts to it to follow after this blessed Order and Government of your hearts Study within your selves how to get up your affections to things above to get loose your hearts from the World and things below be not content to be thus dead in your hearts towards God thus alive towards the World nor be content to wish for more of the divine love to wish you could abate towards this world but in good earnest make it your business and study so to do Might we once bring you to this that while we are labouring with you in the Word and Doctrine you would labour with us in the Lord to work your hearts to an affectionate compliance with our words if you would be stedfast and unmoveable and abounding in this work then there would be hope that neither our labour nor yours should be in vain in the Lord then should we look to see the death of these Worldly loues and lusts and a spring of the divine love and life and joy and glory this earth and flesh under foot and the Spirit of Glory and of God resting upon you Put on therefore in the fear of the Lord set you close to this Heart-governing-work quicken strengthen encourage your hearts herein with these words Yet further the Government of the heart stands 4. In suppressing all manner of evil and exciting and maintaining the good that is in your hearts There are in the heart as there are in a Kingdom two parties the evil party and the good party The evil party are the Rebellious Lusts of our hearts the good party are the Graces of God The Government of the Heart is to be as the Government of a Kingdom for the suppressing the evil and the encouraging and upholding the good The evil Party are the lusts of the Heart Pride Envy Malice Covetousness c.
you may be upon the getting hand whilest they are abating be you for abounding let there be an adding daily to you be not satisfied with the grace you have with the duties you do but let your eye be upon adding daily to your store whilest others add sin to sin guilt to guilt let it be in your heaâ—s to add grace to grace fruit to fruit Consider what is lacking in you and follow after a supply follow after it by your earnest desires follow after it by diligent labour and endeavours and follow after it by uncessant and importunate prayer unto the God of all grace that he would cause all grace to abound towards you and in you that having all-sufficiency in all things you may abound to every good work Brethren it will be a mercy if these words may have such fruit upon you as to set your hearts upon getting and adding daily to your grace and good fruits and then a considering how you may most effectually improve accordingly I pray receive the Exhortation in the name of the Lord I beseech you forget it not ponder your paths consider what is lacking what is lacking within to set your outward man a going what is lacking without in your goings that need a supply Consider what you would have God do more for you than yet is done consider what you would do more for God than you have done in what particulars you fail and wherein you would be especially helped forward Consider and desire desire and labour labour and pray that the Lord would fill up what ever is wanting in you and then I shall be bold to assure you in the words of the Apostle Phiâ— 4.19 My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ to whom be praise for ever Amen Doctr. The great care that lies upon every man in the World is to keep his heart There are many cares that lie daily upon us we have our Estates and our Names and our Families and our Bodies to take care of but our great care must be of our Hearts 1 What is meant by Heart This is sometimes taken for the principal part of the body of man sometimes for the soul of man so Jer. 17.9 The heart is deceitful and wicked that is the soul is deceitful Sometimes for the will and affections of the soul so 1 Chron. 28.9 here it is taken for the whole soul and this command keep thy heart is the same with that in Deut. 4.9 keep thy soul diligently What is the Soul Most men know not what and none of us know perfectly what a Soul is It is our inward and invisible substance which gives life to our bodies it is an essential and the most excellent part of us That hath most of the nature and image of God in it It is our immortal part that hath life in it and gives life to the body and never dies Our Reasons and Wills whereby we differ from Brutes these are the essential faculties of our souls The Soul is that in which our capacity lies of the highest blessedness and the extremity of misery The blessedness of the Soul is the highest blessedness The Body as such is capable of no greater happiness than a Beast is capable of onely the pleasures of sense the Soul is capable of spiritual and eternal pleasures the torments of the Soul are most exquisite and intolerable torments the burning of the Body is nothing in comparison of the wrath of God burning in the Soul The excellency of the Soul above the body you may guess at by considering what the Body is when the Soul is departed What a gastly thing what a stinking and rotten Carkass doth the most beautiful Body become when it is dead and the Soul is departed It was this the Soul of Man that was the great prize that Christ had in his eye when he died to redeem us he died to redeem souls especially to recover that blessed immortality that our Souls had lost the natural immortality they had not lost That is a great part of our misery that sin left us immortal Creatures such of whose misery there shall never be an end It was not our natural immortality that Christ died to recover that was not lost but our blessed immortality This invisible immortal most excellent part of Man his Soul this is it which we are to understand by Heart Keep thy heart that is keep thy soul 2. What it is to keep the heart 1. There is somewhat that is supposed to the keeping of our souls and that is the recovering them out of their lost state The Devil hath the keeping of Sinners souls whilest they are sinners and the first work they are to do in order to the keeping their souls is to get them back out of the Devils hands That they may recover themselves out of the snare of the Devil 1 Tim. 2.26 Here I shall shew you these three things 1. The Souls of all men naturally are lost 2. Mens souls are not so lost here but that they are recoverable 3. This must be mans first care to recover their lost souls 1. The souls of all men naturally are lost souls It may be said of every sinner as the father of the prodigal said of him Luke 15.32 This my son was lost Fathers you may say of every child you have whilst they are in their natural state this my son is lost this my child is a lost child yea and you may say the same of your selves whilest in your sins mine own soul is a lost soul and whether you will say it or no we must say to every one of you fathers and children that are yet in your sins you are lost souls As Christ came himself so he hath sent us in his name to seek and to save them that are lost Luke 16.10 What is it to be lost Why it is the same as to be damned to be damned persons signifies to be lost and to be lost in this spiritual sense is to be damned So that word 2. Cor. 4.3 If the Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lâ—st to them that be damned that is in a state of damnation and in the way to actual and everlasting damnation O tremble sinners tremble all you that are yet in your sins what will you tremble at if not at being damned the word calls every man of you that are not in Christ Reprobates from God 2 Cor. 13.5 Know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates Is Christ in thee Art thou a convert to Christ No Then thou art a reprobate from God thou art a damned lost soul live and die in this estate thou art in at present and thou art eternally lost What mean you sinners that you are so much at ease so much at rest in your state of sin Is it nothing to be damned Is it nothing to be Reprobates O think what it will be
to flourish amain when you are come to this once to disrellish your old delights and to feed your thoughts and feed your affections on things above and to forbear and come off from the love and lusts and companions and pleasures of this world then you will live and thrive and flourish in the House of the Lord and grow up before him as his peculiar children whom the Lord hath saved The sum of this direction I shall give you in short in these three particulars If ever you would recover 1. Abstain from that carnal worldly life in which hitherto you have lived 2. Abstain from those carnal companions in whose converse you have delighted 3. Delight your selves in God feed your thoughts and affections upon things above 2. Vse good exercise Stir your selves out of your lazy humours and keep doing Idleness breeds diseases exercise will help to the cure Particularly exercise your selves 1. To prayer 2. To repentance 3. To the keeping a good conscience 1. Exercise your selves to prayer The prayer of the faithful shall save the sick Jam. 5.15 The sick soul as well as the sick body Prayer is a stirring exercise that if performed as it ought sets all the powers of the soul on work it is a striving with God it is a wrestling with God it is the lifting up of the heart and the pouring out the soul to God When thou settest thy self to praying it is both a sign that thy recovery is begun and an hope it will be perfected Set your selves to praying Sinners stir up your selves to prayer There is none that stirreth up himself to take hold on thee Is 64.7 Pray and stir up your selves in prayer It is not sleepy lazy cold formal praying but stirring prayer that must do the cure Stir up your desires in prayer be passionate and affectionate seekers stir up your fears in prayer consider what if I should not prevail What if the cry of my sins should be louder than the cry of my prayers I come for the pardon of my sins I come for power against sin I am begging my life and the saving my soul from going down into the Pit my very life my soul lies at stake if God should not hear me I am lost for ever Awaken oh my soul and pour forth strong cries bow thy self with thy might before the Lord. Plead with God poor sinner for that poor miserable soul of thine plead with him upon his mercies upon his bowels upon his promises upon the bloud of Christ Take unto thee words Lord I am a miserable sinful soul I am a lost creature I am sick unto death I am bound in the chains of my sins and cannot get loose I am a blind hardned defiled creature these eyes must be opened this heart must be broken this filth and pollution must be washed away or I shall be swallowed up of the pit Where are thy bowels O Lord Art thou a God of pity and hast thou no pity for me Where is thy promise Lord Thou hast said Ask and you shall have seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you To whom hast thou spoken this word Is it not to me as well as to others Where is the bloud of Christ doth it not speak for sinners Doth it not make intercession for transgressors It doth Lord thou hast said it doth And what doth this bloud speak Lord forgive this poor sinner that comes to thee for pardon Lord purge him with thy bloud Lord heal him with thy bloud Lord give him that new heart and life which he comes for O doth this precious bloud speak thus for me and wilt thou not hear Sinners if ever you would be recovered set upon this exercise and keep you to it Go to God this night be with him again to morrow morning and again in the evening and every day as duly as the day comes go alone and retire your selves into the presence of God fall upon your knees and pour forth your souls in your requests to him Beware you neither neglect it and beware you do not trifle at it do not deceive your selves with the shadow or image of Prayer in stead of Prayer Consider thou art upon a matter of life and death when thou goest to prayer and let that awaken and stir up all thy powers in it Friends I doubt either that you do not pray or that it is but mock-praying that too many of you satisfie your selves withal O what pitiful hasty short dead praying is it that thou satisfiest thy self with Trace thy self into thy praying corners consider how seldom thou art there how quickly thou hast done how miserably thou shufflest over thy duties without life or affection what is this but mock-prayer will such praying recover thy lost soul No thou seest it will not thou art the same man of the same spirit running the same course from one week to another from one year to another without any change for the better It may be said of such praying as it was said of the false Prophets preaching Jer. 6.14 They heal the hurt of my people slightly Slight praying is attended but with slight healing something it seems to do it skins over the wound that it smart not for the time it keeps people quiet for the time but it will never work a thorough cure Your wound is deeper your disease is eaten into your flesh and your bone to your heart and your soul and your medicine must go as deep as your disease There must be deep sighs and groans and deep desires that must come up from the bottom of your hearts or they will never reach the bottom of your disease Be ashamed of your slightness be ashamed of your folly that you should ever think that God would help you the sooner for such trifling and mocking prayers Oh pray and exercise your selves in prayer Stir up all within you to this work look to your selves I am afraid that this duty which is a means of recovery may prove the loss of your souls I am afraid lest the Lord the jealous God that will not be mocked I am afraid that he may damn you for your prayers your trifling mocking prayers Dare not to trifle any longer dare not for thy life that the Lord ever again meet thee in thy closet meet thee on thy knees with nothing but the sacrifice of Fools a few heartless words upon thy lips Beloved I can hardly pass over this word thus there being so much weight lying upon it and yet there being so much hardness of heart under this soul-deceiving and soul-damning practice shuffling in prayer What say you Have I said enough yet Are you yet made sensible how much you are many of you concerned in this word Are you yet sensible how greatly guilty you are of this miserable hypocrisie Will all that I have said yet do to bring you to be serious and in good earnest in every prayer you make Are you come
Death Eternal Death but if ever God should recover thee again and revive his work and enliven that almost Dead Carkass then at last learn from thine own miserable experience to take heed of taking Cold again as long as thou livest Thus much for the recovering the Heart which is pre-supposed to the keeping of the Heart The Heart thus recovered out of its lost State must be kept and well look'd to that it fall not back again and here 2. Now I shall shew you what it is to keep the heart or how it must be kept and so 1. It must be kept under Government 2. It must be kept under Guard 1. It must be kept under Government here I shall shew 1. The necessity of keeping the Heart under Government 2. How the Heart must be Governed 1. The necessity of keeping the Heart under Government that will appear by considering what an Heart it is and because the Heart is recovered in part and there is much of its Old and Original pravity remaining in it which will be apt to boil up and break forth again I shall a little open the wretched temper and disposition of it which will evidence how great a necessity there is to keep it under Government 1. It is a wicked mischievous heart Jer. 17.9 Desperately wicked Psalm 5.9 Very wickedness Rom. 8.7 Enmity against God It is the Fountain whence all the filthy streams that pollute and defile our lives do flow and are cast forth It is the Furnace whence all the stinking fumes and smoaks that annoy the World are sent forth It is the Nest where all the Cockatrices Eggs are Hatched It is the Sink that gathers in all manner of filth into it and then sendeth it abroad to do mischief Psal 41.6 His Heart gathereth iniquity to it self as the Sinks gather in all the filth of the Town and when he goeth abroad he telleth it only there is this difference between this and other Sinks other Sinks gather in the filth but 't is in order to the conveying it and carrying it away Into this evil evil Sink of the Heart all the filth is gathered and there it stops and stinks and casts it self back in its annoying streams Out of the Heart comes evil Thoughts Murthers Adulteries c. Mat. 15.19 All this Filth and Mudd all this Wickedness and Malignity as it Naturally dwells in every Heart so there 's much of it remaining even in renewed Hearts and will if there be not constant care to keep down and by degrees to cast it out will rise and swell and work up again in them Christians you may thank God that there is Salt cast into these filthy Fountains for the healing these muddy waters that there is a Spring of Living Waters broken in your Hearts by degrees to drain out your Dirt that there is Grace begotten in you to resist and repell the contagion of Lust but this little Grace will be choak'd up again if Lust be not kept under And as it is a Wicked so 't is a Mischievous Heart it 's set upon mischief Wickedness will be doing wickedly as 't is said of the Workers of Iniquity so 't is true of all as far forth as they are unrenewed Mischief is in their Hearts Psal 28.3 There 's the same Reason of keeping our Hearts under restraint as of keeping Mad-men in they will be doing mischief if they have their liberty Besides the mischief that our evil Hearts will be doing to others they will be mischiefing themselves Mad Men will tear their own Flesh will cut and wound themselves if they be let alone and there is no such danger of evil Hearts as in regard of that mischief they do themselves 1. Our evil Hearts will hinder us from doing good to our Selves or of receiving or laying up good for our Selves Rom. 7.19 The good that I would I do not why what hinders See Vers 21. I find a Law the Law of Sin in the Heart When I would do good evil is present with me Gal. 5.17 The Flesh lusteth against the Spirit so that we cannot do the things that we would Sometimes good Counsel is given us from the Lord but we do not take it How many good Counsels have you heard from the Ministry of the Word that are lost and forgotten and come to nothing Sometimes a good motion comes into the Heart to repent and amend our ways to pray or to Meditate or to search out Hearts to cease from this Earth and Flesh from serving our Sense and minding only the present and to lay up Treasure in Heaven and provide for the time to come have you never such motions Do you never hear such a voice within you Get you Baggs that wax not Old a Treasure in Heaven that faileth not Choose the good part lay hold on Eternal Life give your self to Praying keep a good Conscience take heed and beware of Covetousness use more diligence live with more heedfulness have your Conversation in Heaven and keep your self unspotted of the World keep your self in the love of God set the Lord alway before your Eyes behold his Face in Righteousness study to shew thy self approved of God and to walk so in all things that thou mayest be accepted of God are there not such motions as these come into your hearts You that are Christians sure you have many such good motions But how do they take What do they bring forth If you had obeyed all the good motions that you have sometimes felt within you O what manner of Christians would you have been What mortified what circumspect what raised and Heavenly minded Christians had you been But how do your good motions take What success are they attended with Do not you see that they are often strangled in the Birth and die away and come to just nothing Or at least do you not meerly halt and trifle in the pursuace of them If you Pray or hear or set your Hearts to humble your selves before the Lord how are you Distracted and Diverted and Deadned and all your duties spoiled in the doing so that you can have little comfort or real advantage by what yo do Do you not often mourn over your Prayers and Sermons and Sabbaths as meerly lost to you When you would work up your Hearts Heaven ward and fix above when you would love and del ght your selves in the Lord and Solace your selves in the contemplation of the Divine Love and Goodness when you would fain set your Hearts to live such a Godly Conscientious Circumspect Self-denying Life and comfort your selves with such thoughts I hope I shall never live such a Careless Carnal Useless Unsavory Earthly Life again I hope you have many such Thoughts Desires Hopes and Aims you are lamentable Christians if you have not but how do they succed What do they bring forth Do they not often prove Abortive and bring forth nothing May it not be said of you as of those Job 15.35 They conceive
ought to be on the Head of the most High By our seeking of God above all we thereby evidently declare that we Prize him and Honour him above all our thus seeking of God is trampling into dirt all those Idols the Vanities of the World which stood in Competition with God 2. There is a Loving and Seeking our selves in separation from God This is our loving and seeking Self natural the good of our Persons our Bodies and Souls without considering them as bearing a respect to God Our seeking our well-being as meer men our bodily well-being our Health and Strength and natural Activity the well-being or perfecting our Souls our seeking Wisdom and Knowledge and Learning c. these things are all good and worth our seeking in their place our bodily health and strength are good Wisdom and Knowledge and Learning are good Health is better than Sickness Strength than weakness Wisdom is better than Folly and Knowledge than Ignorance he hath more of the excellency of a man who is a Learned man than he that is but an Idiot but now the seeking these good things as separate from God the seeking Health and not for God the seeking Strength and not for God the seeking Wisdom and Learning and not for God this is a sinful Self-seeking As the Lord spake Jer. 9.23 24. Let not the wise man glory in his Wisdom neither let the mighty man glory in his Might let not the Rich man glory in his Riches but let him that glorieth Glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me So may it be said Let not this Might be sought this Wisdom be sought but in order to the understanding knowing and serving of me Those that seek only Lawful things for themselves and in Lawful and Honest ways that seek Health and Strength that seek Estates that seek Wisdom and Knowledge and all these in Lawful and Honest ways yet if they seek these good things these Lawful things only for themselves and not with respect to God if they seek not God in seeking their Health and Estates if they do not seek God in their seeking Wisdom and Understanding this is a Sinful and Idolatrous Self-seeking It may be thou mayest not be an Epicure or a Drunkard or a Glutton in thy Eating and Drinking thou art sober and temperate and eatest only for thy Health It may be thou mayest not be Unjust or an Oppressor in seeking an Estate for thy self yet for all this thou mayest be an Idolater and an Idolater thou art if thou seekest any of these things for thy self and not God 3. There is a loving or seeking of our selves in opposition to God a seeking Self-carnal 'T is true seeking our selves in Separation is seeking our selves in Opposition to God but this seeking Self-carnal is in an higher and more direct Opposition to God Self-carnal is an Enemy to God and seeking Self thus is the maintaining and cherishing that Enmity he that inordinately seeks his Ease or the satisfaction of his Appetite and Senses does therein do what he can to feed and pamper that Enemy his flesh that it may wax wanton and head-strong and kick against God Now however every Convert hath decreed and determined to seek himself only in conjunction and subordination to God to seek himself in the Lord and for the Lord yet this sinful Self-love hath a Root remaining in him which will be putting forth in sinful self-seeking That word Phil. 2.21 All seek their own was spoken of Christians there were such declinings and such corruptions gotten into the Churches into the very Hearts of Professors as unhappily engaged them in this Self-seeking All that is the most 't was a too general Disease there were many Sick of it And not the things of Christ that is not so heartily not so zealously not so Naturally as 't was said of Timothy Phil. 2.20 He did Naturally care for the things and state of the Church and of God but says the Apostle However it was with him I have no Man like minded I find few Timothies among you whilest he is seeking the things of Christ most of you are seeking your own things and not the things of Christ How much of this self-love and self-seeking is to be found amongst Christians we have sad experiences enough to prove we need not go to Scripture for proof we find too evident Proofs in our own Hearts and Lives if we have not totally gone back from Christ to Self yet have we not suffered this Idol to divide with Christ O let us enquire a little 1. Do we seek our selves and our own Interests only in conconjunction with Christ and in subordination to Christ Do we count nothing our own things but what are the things of Christ Have we heatily espoused the Interest of Christ as our own Interest Do we seek nothing in this World so but that we can truly call it seeking of Christ Do we seek our Healths and our Estates and our safety as the Servants of Christ Can we call our labouring in our Callings our aiming at Thriving and Prosperity in our Affairs can we call this and call it truly so our Serving of Christ If we would have Health and Strength is it for Christ we would have it If we would have Estates in the World and be Rich is it for the sake of Christ that we would be Rich That we may as Prov. 3.9 Honour the Lord with our Substance Do we mark up all we can get and all we have do we mark it up for Christ Is there Holiness to the Lord written upon all our Houses and Possessions This House is the Lords and these Lands are the Lords 't is for him I have gotten them and for him I will use them 2. Do we not rather Seek these things in separation from God Seek them for themselves for the love we have to them for the sake of Self to whose service we devote them do we not seek these things with the neglect of Christ Is not Christ sought the less and the more grieved for that the World is sought so much Is not Christ the less minded the less loved the more seldom thought on by this means Does not our Thriftiness and good Husbandry for the World our Eating and Feeding upon our taking the Pleasure of what we have here does not this make an abatement upon our Christianity Do we not lose much of the Life and Spirit and Soul of Christianity in our Carnal things and delights Do we not so bless our selves in this Earth that we so much the less bless our selves in Christ or in the God of Truth Christians pray consider it how do ye find it Hath not this Selfishness and Earthliness spoyled you for Christians Of how many Mens Prospering in the World of how many Mens labouring for the World may it be said This is the Fruit of these Labours this is the Fruit of this Prosperity it hath even spoyled a good Christian he hath lost
thy frowardness and thy malice and enmity against God and his holiness those cursed weeds that thou art overgrown withal that miserable plight that thy poor soul is in do sufficiently evidence what a miserable keeper thou hast been of thy self But man what a reckoning dost thou think thou shalt give Dost never think of being brought to a reckoning Dost think that God will ever let thee alone Dost think thou shalt never hear of thine idleness and this carelesness of thy self Thy Parents must give an account how they have done their duty how they have kept thee whilest under their power whether they have taught whether they have governed thee and educated thee in the Lord and thou must give the same account how thou keepest and teachest and governest thy child Ministers also must give an account of thee how they have instructed thee warned thee and watched over thee Heb. 13.17 Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your souls as they that must give an account Think not much that we deal so plainly and so closely with you that we are so instant in exhorting in reproving in warning and watching over you We must give an account how we discharge our duty towards you Paâ—â—nts must keep their Children Ministers must look to their Flocks and must give an account hereof to God but besides this every man must give an account of himself to God Rom. 14.12 How he hath obeyed them that were set over him in the Lord how far he hath hearkned to their counsels whether he hath received instructions and submitted to their exhortations and reproofs whether their discharge of their work towards him hath set him faithfully to his own work concerning himself And oh what account will you give of your selves to God what have many of you done more than others that have never had Ministers to take care of them how little have many of you lived better than those that never have been taught Sinners look into your hearts look upon your lives and understand if you have so much understanding in you in what a miserable case you are to this day Is it not a miserable thing there should be so much ignorance after so much teaching Are not those hard hearts those barren and unsavory lives much more those lewd and wicked lives that some of you live that Lying and that Drunkenness and that Sabbath-breaking and that Covetousness that some of you still live in are not these sufficient evidences that whatever Ministers have been to thee thou hast been a miserable keeper of thy self And what a reckoning must you be brought to for this Dost not think that God will reckon with thee for all Reckon with thee for thy Lying reckon with thee for thy Drunkenness reckon with thee for all thy carelessness and negligence What wilt thou say for thy self when God shall demand of thee How hast thou kept that Vineyard committed to thee How hast thou kept that soul of thine How hast thou ordered thy Life How wilt thou stand speechless in that day and receive the sentence of an unfaithful Steward and an unprofitable Servant From V. 24. Put away from thee a froward mouth and perverse lips put far from thee Note two things 1. The unruly evil must be ruled The Tongue is an unruly evil James 3.8 It is one of the hardest works that some Christians have to rule their Tongues but yet it must be done Object It is said it cannot be done the tongue can no man tame What doth Religion put us upon impossibilities to tame that member which â—annot be tamed Sol. The meaning there is that 〈◊〉 man can tame anothers tongue Thou maist rule thine own tongue but if thou wilt not do it thy self it is more than all the World can do to tame it for thee Who can stop uncircumcised lips who can silence the tongue of the froward Neither Laws nor Penalties will do it neither softest nor hardest answers will do it when the tongue is set on fire there is no water will quench it and yet it must be done 2. That which cannot be ruled must be put away Put away your froward mouth put away perverse lips Put away frowardness and perversness from thee frowardness cannot be ruled perversness cannot be kept in order When we have done all we can frowardness will be froward perversness will be perverse and therefore that is the way to rule the tongue to put away that frowardness which will not be ruled 1. What frowardness is I need not say much to answer that most men know it too well in their own experiences of the froward ones they dwell or have to deal withal There are few men but know what frowardness is unless it be those that are froward the eye that sees others yet cannot see it self He that is of a froward mouth is hardly brought to understand that he is froward He that hath a froward wife she that hath a froward husband they that have a froward neighbour need not be told what frowardness is but he that hath a froward heart it is he that hath most need to be told it 1. He is froward that is hard to be pleased apt to be provoked that is ever finding fault who is like Tinder apt to catch on fire by every spark and that fire is quickly kindled but hardly quenched no arguments no patience no forbearance will do but there it burns and will not be quenched Eccl. 7.9 Anger rests in the bosome of Fools of these froward Fools we are speaking of Frowardness is folly That fire which is intended as a revenge upon others doth burn and vex and fret out their own hearts II. He is of froward mouth that gives vent by his lips to the frowardness of his heart in virulent and bitter and provoking language 2. The necessity 〈◊〉 putting it away 1. The Lord commands us to put away froward mouths What if thy Friend or thy Neighbour cannot pacifie or silence thee shall not God pacifie thee neither If thou wilt not hear Man pleading for peace and quiet wilt thou not hear the Lord God neither God commands thee silence God commands thee to hold thy peace and to utter not a word more of thy furious folly what a perverse spirit art thou of on whom the authority of the Almighty will not prevail What dost thou say in effect but I will speak my mind whether God like it or not 2. It is a sign whilest it prevails that mens Religion is in vain James 1.26 If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart this mans Religion is in vain 1. There are some professors of Religion whose Religion is but an outside and pretence they do but seem to be religious they seem so to themselves and seem so to others but they are deceived there is no such thing as Religion in them 2. Some seem
vanity will this a running on upon mine own death and a shutting up the door of mercy forever against me and yet shall I continue as I am Is there a way of life yet before me is there a door of mercy yet open to me and shall I not get into the Way and be making towards the door Consider sinners what is the best the wisest and the only safe course to take from henceforth and do accordingly 2. Why must we ponder our paths 1. God pondereth them Is 26.7 Thou weighest the path of the just 2. The devil pondereth them Luke 22.31 That he may sift you as wheat 3. Wicked men our enemies ponder them 4. Our way may be right in our own eyes for want of consideration when yet upon consideration it may appear to be the way of death Prov. 14.12 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death 1. There is a way of some men that is not so much as right in their own eyes who as little as they do consider it do see their way to be the way of death and not of life the way of the openly Prophane the way of the Drunkard and Adulterer the way of the Swearer and Blasphemer Prophanness doth not pretend to be the way of life Drunkards and Adulterers know they are out of the way their consciences tell them this is not the way of God this is not the way to heaven their conscience tells them I must turn I must repent and take up a better way ere I die I must not die a Drunkard I must not die a Blasphemer or a Scoffer I must repent or I am lost and hopes they have that they shall repent and this their hope hardens them The consideration that such men should take up is not to convince them that they are out of this way of life that they know already but to convince them of the necessity of a present turning and changing their way Darest thou not to die a Drunkard or a Libertine or a Licentious Liver how then darest thou to live so a day longer Art thou sure but that death may meet thee before thy turning day comes And how if it should thou knowest that then there is no hope of thee but Everlasting wrath must be thy portion Thou countest upon turning and repenting but consider what is the reason thou dost not repent at present that thou dost not this day give a divorce to all thy wickedness shake hands with all thy companions and forthwith become a new man Why not now O I cannot bring mine heart to it And dost thou in good earnest think that it will be easier hereafter Hath the Lord been perswading thee to a change all thy life long and thou seest his word cannot prevail thou seest it doth not after all thy convictions and fears and threatnings of the Word and checks of thy conscience hitherto thou goest on thy lust is too hard for thy conscience or convictions and dost thou think in thy heart that this is the way to make it easy to repent to continue longer in thy sin A course of sin hardens thee sinner Thine heart is not so hardned against repentance this year but look for it thou art like to find it harder the next year The farther thou goest on in sin the farther off art thou from repentance 2. There are others whose ways are right in their own eyes which consideration would make appear to be the way of death and not of Life I shall instance in two sorts 1. The ways of moral unbelievers These are they that are sober and temperate and harmless and just in their dealings with men and courteous and good natured this is their way and this way seems right unto them in this way they hope to come to heaven though whatsoever they have of morality they have nothing of Christianity in them Conversion or Regeneration are as strange things to them as they were to Nicodemus Jo. 3.3 who when Christ told him except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God he answered how can these things be And they have need to ask as Pilate did what is truth So they what is this new birth what is this new creature what is this conversion Consider man what dost thou think of this plea at last when this is all thou canst say I am an honest man but God help me no good Christian I am no drunkard but yet an unbeliever I am no Lyar nor Swearer but yet no convert to Christ Consider those scriptures Jo. 3.3 except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God â—â—d Mat. 18.3 Except a man be converted he cannot enter into the kingdom of God And dost thou bless thy self in thy harmless and less vitious way when thou hast never felt any such thing as Regeneration upon thee This thy way is thy folly and though it be right in thine own eyes yet it is and thou will find it to be the way of death 2. The way of hypocritical professors some hypocrites know themselves hypocrites and the way seems not right to them others are hypocrites and yet take themselves to be sincere and the deceit of their hearts may be so deep that there is need of deep consideration to discover it They pray and they hear and have some face of Religion upon their ways they will speak of God and the things of God with some affection and live in the visible communion of the church with good approbation they are it may be well reputed and well reported among all men and yet for all that the root of the matter may not be in them they may be unsound and rotten at heart and neither themselves know it and others suspect it there may be some secret reigning lust in their hearts they may be lovers of the world lovers of their ease or their pleasures more than lovers of God Whatever they have there may be one thing lacking as it was the case of the young man Mar. 10.21 whose life was commendable in many things yet says Christ one thing lackest thou and that one lack was loss of heaven And have we not all need to consider our selves and to consider deeply how it is with us A sincere Christian is an entire christian psal 119.1 Blessed are the undefiled that is the entire in their way that labour to be entire lacking nothing and sure we had need consider whether we are or no. Some Professors are so lame and halting in their way that they lack many things almost all things of serious Christianity Thou hast the profession of christianity but is not the power of it lacking Thou dost some of the works of righteousness but may not the Lord complain of thee as of Sardis Rev. 3.2 I have not found thy works perfect before me thou dost some of the works of Christians but are not the inward graces lacking Some of
with this vain and foolish life I will go and return unto the Lord and then it will be better with me than now 2. The next step to this recovery is coming to God the first is coming to your selves and the use and exercise of your reason and understanding And who among poor sinners shall these words preach into your right senses You have been foolish sensless souls is there any of you that are yet come to your selves Do you judge it better for you to come back from your vain ways and to come about to the Lord Is this voice heard in your hearts Oh if I could break off from my sins and become a real Convert to Christ then would it be better with me than now It would be an happy change this day would be an happy day this Sermon would be to me an happy Sermon if the Lord would bless it so to me as to bring me off from my sins and bring me to God O how wonderfully better would it be for me than it is now If any of you are come so far to your selves as to judge and to say it would be better for me let me go on with you and ask you further What will you resolve upon Will you say on with the Prodigal well I will arise and go to my Father It is better for me so to do and I will do it through the help of God I will return Now for Repentance now for Religion and Righteousness now for a new heart and a new life I have done with my old heart Sathan I have done with my old life sin and vanity I have done with henceforth through the grace of God I will be for God and godliness Do you say so Are you resolved so Come on but one step further if you say the word come on and do likewise the Prodigal when he said I will go to my Father he arose and went accordingly Be not like the Son in the Parable who said I go Sir but went not but say and do come and joyn your selves to the Lord come into his house come into his ways give your selves to him for his servants and go on and serve him then were your souls recovered Then should it be said to you as concerning him These my children were dead and are alive were â—ost and are found and we should say over you as the Father did It is meet we should make merry that this day should be a glad day a joyful day it is meet that we should rejoice for this our Brother is recovered he was dead and is alive O let the Lord God thus rejoice over you O let all his Saints rejoice with you Come sinner make a joyful day of it come unto the Lord come to your Father and he will be ready to meet you and with open heart and open arms would receive and embrace you 2. What men may do to recover They cannot recover themselves of themselves it is God that must do it but they may and must do something towards it 1. Men can pray for their recovery Even carnal men may pray and though there be no full promise that God will hear yet God hath both required them to pray and hath appointed this as a means of their recovery Acts. 8.22 The Apostle bids Simon Magus pray that the thoughts of his heart might be forgiven him It is an hopeful sign that God has a purpose to give grace when he sets sinners a praying for grace at least if they cannot pray themselves they can speak to others that can and desire them to pray for them This that Simon Magus did he begged the Apostles to pray for him O what a wretched case are those in that will neither pray for themselves nor so much as beg Christians to pray for them Sinner when didst thou ever do such a thing When didst thou ever go either to a Minister or a Christian with such a word in thy mouth pray for me It may be when thou hast been sick thou hast sent to the Congregation to pray for thy bodily recovery but when didst thou send or speak to them to pray for thy souls recovery Is not thy soul more precious than thy body Is it not thy soul more desperately sick than ever thy body hath been is not prayer for sick souls as needful and as much prevailing as prayer for sick bodies And yet how many bills have we sent in to pray for recovery from bodily diseases to one sent in to pray for the conversion of a soul But whether thou do it or not this thou canst not deny but thou canst do this towards thy conversion thou canst pray for it and desire others to pray for thee 2. Men can hear the Word This is another means of mâ—ns recovery Is 55.3 Incline your ear and come unto me hear and your soul shall live And this means also they can use The same feet that will carry them to an Alehouse can as well carry them to Church The same ear that can hear a Song or foolish and idle talke câ—â—â—s well hear a Sermon Thou wilt say this I do and yet am not recovered Therefore 3. Men can give heed to what they hear They can mark and observe what the Word speaks Luke 8.18 Take heed how ye hear Give heed to what you hear and do not sleep under the sound of the Word or fit heedlesly or carelesly without minding what the Lord speaks And herein is the great neglect Sinners will come to a Sermon but mind as little what is preached to them as those that never come here This is a wretched neglect and the common case of many hearers Mat. 13.13 Hearing they hear and do not understand Our words could not have such poor success if people would mind more the things that we speak O sinners bethink your selves how often have you been here and not heeded one word that hath been spoken 4. Men can think What is easier than thoughts we use to say good words are cheap but good thoughts are cheaper than good words the exercising of mens thoughts is noted to be the first step to repentance 1 Kings 8.47 If they shall bethink themselves and repent and so Ps 119.59 I thought on my ways and turned c. Thou sayst thou canst not recover thy self I but canst thou not bethink thy self neither what a case thou art in Thou hearest sometimes from the Ministry of the Word that thou art a lost man a lost soul But when thou hearest it preacht to thee canst thou not think upon it Thou dost not think upon it it is too true no longer than the Word is a speaking nay it may be nor then neither What thoughts have you had of it since you were told that naturally you are lost and what a miserable case it is to be a lost soul Have you since thought such a though Wo is me I am a lost soul oh what a poor wretch am I while
gone away hardned from many a Sabbath thou hast gone away hardned from many a Sermon and must this Day and this Word leave thee as all the rest have done When dost thou hope to be recovered if thou wilt not be broken Wilt thou say it is no matter though I never be recovered though I perish and die in this hardned state Wouldst thou fear to be let alone till thou be past recovery to be lost forever Then yield to the stroke of the Word and let thine heart be humbled and broken and brought to repentance 4. Get the temper of your hearts to be changed Let the Word work to the mollifying you and to the changing of you to the renewing you after the image of God in righteousness and holiness And what ever awakenings there have been of your sleepy consciences what ever light or understanding there may be conveyed into your minds yea and what ever wounds and breaches there have been made upon your hard hearts yet till you be renewed in the very frame and temper and dispositions of your hearts never count your selves to be recovered Thou art a lost soul till thou art a sanctified soul that is till thine heart be broken off and brought back from the love and lusts and ways of this World and brought about unto God and his holy ways till godliness be gotten into thine heart and formed into thy nature and thou hast a love of it and hearty good liking of it and the very bent of thine heart which was formerly towards sin and vanity be now towards holiness and heaven When thou art brought to this this new frame of heart then thou art recovered Now Sinners let this be that you have in your eye and upon your hearts let this be your endeavour let this be your prayer that God would so bless his Word to you that it may awaken your sleepy consciences enlighten your blinded minds soften and break your hardned hearts that you may be changed and renewed after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness that you may be wrought into a new temper changed into another spirit loving and savouring and delighting in the holy ways of God that Religion may become sweet and pleasant to you that your spirits may be made suitable to God and his holy ways that the food of God may relish with you and the work of God may be more easie to you Sick men can neither relish their food nor endure their work Dost thou find no relish in Religion Does the work of holiness seem contrary to thee Dost thou groan under it as that thou canst not bear Dost thou groan under this praying and repenting and watching and striving against sin and denying thy self and mortifying thy flesh Canst thou not endure to be held to such work It is a sign that thy sickness is still upon thee and thou art not recovered O get your hearts to be so changed and renewed by the Word and Spirit of the Lord that both the food of God may relish with you and his work may be pleasant 3. His Rod. Sinners are fools and the Rod is Physick for Fools The rod is for the Fools back Prov. 26.3 Psal 119.67 Before I was afflicted I went astray but the Rod reduced me now have I kept thy word Sinner thou hearest the awakening word but it doth not awaken thee thou sleepest on Thou hearest the mollifying and breaking word but it does not break nor mollifie thee thou art still a wilful stubborn soul and thine heart is so obstinately set upon thine own loose and wild ways that thou wilt not be broken off thy will nor broken off from thy course but God may bring some affliction upon thee bring thee into poverty cast thee on thy sick bed set death at thy beds foot to stare thee in the face and this will tame thee then thou mayest be spoken to then the Word there is hope will enter into thee and work upon thee Indeed some sinners are so desperately hardened that neither word nor rod will do What afflictions come they rather stupifie than awaken them They continue as very stocks under the smitings of God as they are under his teachings and therefore take heed the longer thou goest on to harden thine heart against the word there is the less hope that thou wilt be humbled by afflictions Dare not to encourage your selves and harden your hearts against repentance by hopes and purposes that when sickness comes and death looks thee in the face then thou wilt repent no no the longer thou hardnest thy self against the word the less hope there is that thine heart will be broken by afflictions But some hope there is that when the word awakens not the rod may But if that do not neither then God be merciful unto thee there is but one thing more and that will certainly do it the unquenchable flames will awaken thee Hell will do that which all the means under Heaven cannot do But that fire will not be thy physick to cure thee but thy plague to kill thy soul for ever The afflictions of this life are Gods physick for the recovering thy soul O take this cup at the hand of the Lord take this physick for thy soul But what is it to take this medicine so as it may be recovering physick 1. Submit to afflictions when God lays them on Be patient and contented that the Lord should afflict thee Do not fret nor murmur at the afflcting hand of God Some froward patients if their Physitian be forced to give any harder physick it will not down but they fret and fume against the physitian as if he were cruel and will not submit to take what he offers them Be patient under the hand of God and submit to what ever he layes on 2. Consider thine afflictions Eccl. 7.14 In the day of adversity consider Affliction is a considering time Sinners you will not consider now but you may have time enough to consider it afterwards You will neither consider what you do Ecles 5.1 They consider not they do evil Nor will you consider what the Lord speaks to you you hear our words that we speak to you from the Lord but we cannot perswade you to consider them Consider what we say and the Lord give you understanding in all things Think over the words that you hear It is a miserable plague that hath seized upon your hearts this inconsideration and that which hinders you from profiting by the word and holds you under your senselessness and hardness of heart Think of what you hear think what a wretched case the word declares you to be in When you hear such words He that committeth sin is of the Devil 1. Joh. 3.8 He that liveth after the flesh shall die Rom. 8.13 He that is not born again cannot inherit the Kingdom of God When you hear such words as these then consider then think with your self what a word have I heard to
are so for being thorough-Converts this will require time this will require pains and constant exercising your selves to repentance as long as you live You must continue repenting as long as you continue sinning you must confirm and establish your hearts against all returns to the old state and course as long as there is danger of relapsing What if you should begin well and then give off or make a stand What if you should lay by your sorrow for sin lay down your fear of sin and run into temptations to sin without fear if you should give off your watch and your warrings against sin What do you think would become of you if you should How would you tumble back into the Pit from which you seemed to be delivered Do what you can Friends to make sure work Have you gotten any sense of sin and of the necessity of turning Exercise your thoughts and your hearts upon this thing while you live You will never whilst you live here see to the bottom of the evil that is in sin Hast thou by thinking and searching found out something of the evil of sin Think again search again and thou shalt yet see greater abominations greater malignity in it You may as easily see to the height of heaven or to the depth of hell as to the bottom of sin Sin can never be thoroughly known till God be thoroughly known It is an abuse of God an abuse of infinite grace and goodness and holiness as often as thou sinnest thou affrontest and abusest the God of heaven and earth Thou thinkest it a small matter to tell a lie or to pilfer and purloin if it be but trifles thou stealest but is it a small matter to abuse the Almighty God to tread upon his authority who hath said lie not thou shalt not steal thou shalt not covet Is it a small matter to spit in his face to slight his bowels to tread upon his mercy and to throw it back upon him and refuse it when he offers it Such and much more malignity is there in sin than all this and therefore be thinking and searching out the evil of sin more and more as long as you live Study much the evil of sin and the preciousness of Christ and give not over till you can no longer either make light of sin or make light of Christ and when sin is become grievous and Christ is become pretious when sin is so grievous that you cannot bear it when Christ is so pretious that you cannot want him that is a sign of a recovered soul 1 Pet. 2.7 To them which believe he is pretious And where Christ is pretious it is sure there sin is odious O if Christ hath once recovered you how dear will he be to you You will prize him in your very hearts you will love him while you live you will be afraid how you grieve or offend him And when you are recovered from sin how will you look back upon it will you love will you lust after your old ways again Will you wish your selves Worldlings again Sensualists again Will you bethink the ease you have lost the pleasures you have lost the companions you have lost Will you not thank God that you are come out from among them and have escaped that misery that is coming upon the World The more you live in the constant exercise of repentance the more you will admire the recovering grace of God and the more you will abhor to return to folly Repentance is your recovery if God give you repentance you may recover and your continuing in the exercise of repentance is your maintaining and perfecting and confirming your recovery You are not gotten so far off from the state of sin but your continued exercise of repentance will get you farther off daily Your repentance is your getting upon sure ground and your continued repentance is your standing your ground your giving off at your repenting work will be your relapse and it may be into a worse case than before Joh. 5.14 Behold thou art made whole sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee Behold thou art made whole O what a word is that How do you think that poor impotent man that had been so 38 years was ravished at that word What if the Lord should now speak the word to any sinner among you that had been even astonished with the sense of his sin and his guilt that had lien as long at the Ordinances as the poor man at the Pool expecting and hoping for a saving change and could find none If Christ should come to thee this day and say Behold thou art made-whole thy sins are forgiven and thy soul is cleansed from them If that word should be spoken to thee this day how would thine heart leap for joy What should we hear from thee but praises and thanksgiving Well but yet consider the words that follow sin no more stand thy ground lest a worse thing come to thee thy case hath been very sad formerly but as sad as it hath been look to find it worse if thou return to folly Psal 85.8 God will speak peace but let them not return to folly at their peril let them look to it that they do not return But of this more in the next Now Sinners will you yet at last be persuaded to set upon this work of repenting Will you say you cannot Why then you must die of your disease die eternally But why can you not O it is a painful life it is contrary to me I have found such ease and such pleasure and such gain in mine old ways that I cannot part with them what not for the saving of thy life Is thine ease better than Christ Are thy gains more worth than thy soul Wilt thou to hell rather than turn As sure as thou livest thither thou must if thou repent not Luke 13.3 Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish God hath said the soul that sinneth shall die Ezek. 18. and God will never repent of that word as to thee unless thou repent of thy sins What art thou resolved for hell Art thou resolved to sacrifice that flesh and those bones of thine to the fury of the Devil Art thou a captive to the Devil and wilt thou never recover out of his snares Shall he carry thee with him to his home Shall be that hath had the leading of thee have the burning of thee O why will ye die Turn and live count upon it there is but one way with you every one of you either turn or die 3. Exercise your selves to the keeping a good conscience Acts 24.26 Herein do I exercise my self This is an hard exercise and will hold us in continual work There are many things required to the keeping a good conscience all which must be well looked to Amongst others 1. Get a good conscience or get conscience recovered from those evils it labours under There are two special evils in and
upon conscience Guilt Guile 1. Guilt there is guilt upon the conscience every sin leaves guilt behind it The whole world is become guilty before God Rom. 3.15 Because the whole world are sinners or subject to the Judgment of God But then there is guilt upon the man and guilt upon the conscience There are some sins that leave guilt upon the man but do not immediatly leave guilt upon the conscience as sins of ignorance these leave guilt upon the man but not allways upon the conscience because such sins conscience does not nor can take notice of and so they cannot be called sins against conscience Guilt there is upon conscience 1. When conscience through remissness or neglect does not take notice of them nor charge the soul to take heed of them 2. When though conscience does know sin to be sin and those particular acts that I am tempted to to be sinful acts yet lust prevails to bring us on upon the commission of them against conscience Thou knowest that lying is a sin thy conscience tells thee so and yet thou wilt lye Thou knowest that drunkenness that defrauding that profaning the sabbath that neglect to pray and to hear are sins And thy conscience tells thee they are and yet thou wilt lye or be drunk or work or travel upon the Lords day neglect to pray c. This leaves a guilt upon thy conscience O how great O how dreadful guilt is there upon the consciences of many of us How many bills of indictment will thy conscience have to bring forth against thee before thy Judge The guilt of neglecting Christ the guilt of hardning thy heart against mercy besides all the guilt of thine oaths and of thy drunkenness and of thy covetousness and of thy lying and stealing and scoffing all this guilt lyes upon thee and this is one thing that conscience must be recovered from ere it can be a good conscience 2. Guile or falshood or treachery of conscience Conscience will juggle and deal deceitfully it will dispense with or give allowance of sin it will connive and wink at iniquity Some sins which can be better spared it resists others such as interest or inclination lead more strongly to it lets them pass and will not see them to be sin and therefore dares not examine whether they be sin or no. This is a guileful conscience it is true of Christians what is said of Nathaniel Joh. 1.47 An Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile Psal 32.2 Blessed is the man in whose spirit there is no guile This is a good conscience that is plain and honest and faithful Heb. 13.18 We trust ye have a good conscience in all things willing to live honestly Now these being the diseases in conscience guilt and guile from these we must get them recovered and their recovery must be wrought by bloud and water By the bloud of Christ Heb. 5.14 How much more shall the loud of Christ purge your consciences And by water also by he water of sanctification and by the water of repentance Penitent tears have their use to the washing of conscience Sinners take heed have no guilt upon your consciences have you no guile in your consciences O how dreadfully guilty O how miserably guileful hath that conscience of thine been Get your consciences purged get the bloud of Christ to be sprinkled upon them Draw water so the pouring forth penitent tears is expressed .. 1. Sam. 7.6 They drew water and poured it forth before the Lord and fasted that day Draw water sinners weep before the Lord for your sins and this will be the washing your consciences from the guilt and guile that is upon them 2. Keep conscience working Though method would require that I speak to this of keeping conscience under the next general the keeping of the heart yet I choose rather to speak to it here Keep conscience working A lazy sleeping conscience is good for nothing it is a stirring working conscience that does its office that must industriously be maintained Conscience hath 1. An eye 2. A Book 3. A Tongue 4. A Scepter 1. An eye And the eye of conscience must be kept open The eye of conscience is even as the eye of God it may be said of conscience in its measure as of God Psal 139.2.3 Thou knowest my down fitting and uprising thou understandest my thoughts and art acquainted with all my wayes The eye of conscience beholds our very inwards all things are naked and open even before that conscience with which we have to do and this is somthing you have to keep you doing to keep the eye of conscience open Let not conscience wink at your follies let it see and observe what ever you do 2. A Book A Register or book of records where it writes down what it sees Jer. 17.1 The sin of Judah is written It is graven upon the tables of the hearts the meaning there is it hath entered into their hearts it hath corrupted and eaten into their hearts there are the scars and impressions of it upon them Their iniquities have marked them and marked them in their very hearts for vile and ungodly ones This graving of sin upon the heart notes the hearts defilement the corrupting of the heart But then there is a writing for remembrance a writing of scores or books of account and thus mens sins are written in the book of conscience now this also must be looked to that conscience be faithful and book down all our sins that they may be remembred by us and repented of The book of conscience will be written whether men will or no if conscience will be negligent and will not write down its own faults God will do it and will write down all our sins if conscience will not If we mark not God will mark them Jer. 2.22 Thine iniquity is marked before me If we record not God will record them What conscience writes conscience may read and remember but what God writes upon the neglect of conscience sinners cannot read or remember now but there it shall all be to be seen at the great day of accounts when the book shall be opened and read before Angels and men Sinners what is there written in those books within you Are your sins written there Hath conscience kept a record of them It is well if it have look into that book read over and remember all your ways go and ask thy conscience if thou hast not been a Lyar if thou hast not been a swearer a Drunkard a covetous liver a flesh pleaser ask thy conscience if it hath not been so How many have been thy lyes how many have been thine oathes how many drunken bouts how many rioting days how many greedy and covetous practices hast thou been guilty of Look into that book in thy bosom if conscience hath been faithful there thou maiest read and remember and so come to be humbled for them But if conscience hath not noted these things but
things honestly in all things and at all times This exercise of keeping to conscience is a painful exercise you can never live a conscientious life unless you will be content to live a painful life to take pains with your hearts to take pains with your thoughts and affections to take pains with your tongues and all your members to hold them close to the rule of conscience this painful exercise will get you an heat will beget warmth in those cold and careless hearts The most conscientious Christians are the most warm and lively Christians and according as you get and keep your hearts warm so will your diseases waste the health of your souls return into you Remember what I have said if ever you would recover your lost souls recover conscience if ever you would recover conscience get the guilt the guile of conscience purged away by the bloud of Christ and water of repentance keep the eye of conscience open let conscience be the Supervisor of all your ways let the book of conscience be kept clear from blots and blurs and let there be a faithful record kept there of all your ways let the tongue of Conscience have leave to speak and warn you from day to day and submit to its Scepter and government be no longer govern'd by Will or by appetite or by lust or by the fashions and customs or examples of men but be govern'd by Conscience Do not give Conscience a Kiss and a Stab hearken to it in some things and wound it in other things but study to live in all good Conscience on your Sabbath-dayes on your working-dayes in the House of the Lord in your own houses in the houses of your Friends in the Field in the Market in the matters of God in the matters of the World when you are alone when in company when you are in good company when you are fallen into evil company wherever you are whatever you are a doing still have an eye upon Conscience an ear open to Conscience and let Conscience prescribe to you what you should do and how you should carry it in every affair 3. Beware of taking cold That 's a special rule Physicians use to give to the recovering Patient when Persons are upon recovery of their bodily diseases how ordinary is it that upon a little cold they relapse and sometimes die of their disease Is thy Soul upon recovery take heed of Colds Soul such there are who when they begin to be wrought upon and brought to any sence of Religion there appears a great heat and fervour of spirit upon them 't is with them as with the Prophet Jer. 20.9 Thy Word was in me like fire their love and desire and zeal for God seem all in a flame O what warm affections have they how warm in their Duties how warm in their converses they seem to be all Life and Soul and then after a time they grow stark cold and little life is left in them and some of them never recover again while they live Hath thy Spirit gotten an heat hath the Word heated thee and those Exercises of Prayer Repentance and keeping Conscience gotten thee into an heat then take heed of growing cold keep you constant to those Exercises that have begotten an heat in you Keep you in the Sun-shine all your heart-warmth is begotten and must be maintained from above live in the beholding the face of God live under the Sun-beams of the Sun of righteousness keep you close to God keep you near to Christ live in intimate communion with God Take heed of those clouds your sins that will obscure the Sun Isa 59.1 Take heed of an Eclipse see that this Earth do not interpose betwixt your Souls and Heaven take heed of the damp Influences of the dead that you live amongst We live in a cold World a cold Age that Age has overtaken us which Christ Prophesied of Mat. 24.20 Wherein the love many of should wax cold Those that are grown cold themselves will serve for nothing but to chill and damp the Spirits of others Be not unnecessarily conversant with this cold World trust not your selves in their Company have you never found how much your Souls have lost by carnal Correspondencies Professors how is it with you Do you still retain your first vigour as when you began to be recovered May not the Lord complain over some of us as of Israel Jer. 2.2 I remember the kindness of thy Youth and the love of thine Espousals I remember it as a thing that is past that now is not or as Ephesus Rev. 2.4 Thou hast lost thy first Love and what follows from this decay Hence is it that we are become a Company of sickly Professors of Carnal Professors of Earthly Professors the World hath return'd upon us the Flesh hath gotten head again in us the things that are Eternal and the influences of them upon us are even lost and swallow'd up of things Temporal our Stocks and our Businesses and our Trades how have they even choak'd up our Religion Friends it 's matter of astonishment to consider how very few lively Christians there are to be found amongst us Thus we every one talk what a General decay of Religion there is among us has not thine own Mouth complain'd of the coldness of this Age But whilst thou complainest of the Age how is it with thee Art not thou sick of the same Disease Look homeward look inward into thine own House into thine own Heart what Spirit of Religion is there going in thine own Family Hast thou not by thy negligence let all run to decay there What Life of Religion is there maintain'd in thine own Heart Friends feel you every man his own Pulse lay your hand every Man upon his own Heart and feel how faintly it beats Heaven-wards Sure Friends if we should examine our own Cases we should find enough to set us all a Weeping over our own decays and she should hear that voice within us Weep not for others but weep for thy self and thine own Children O take heed lest such of you as are fallen back among the Sick do not also return among the Dead and make your recovery again more hopeless at last than 't was at first You that stand be warn'd by those that are fallen stand with your Loyns girded and your Lights burning and you that are fallen fallen to decay fallen to a dead and flat and lifeless State you that are fallen remember whence you are fallen remember and repent remember and recover strengthen the things that remain if there be any sparks left blow off your Ashes blow up the Coals Let the Life of God and the love of Christ and a Zeal for Holiness be again kindled in you and if ever the Lord should recover you again there 's great hazard whether he may thou mayest die of the Cold thou hast taken the Consumption that hath Eaten up so much of thy Vitals may be unto
they are the wisest men who meddle least with it at least they have a strong conceit they shall to Heaven without so much troubling themselves about it Let the Lord God speak never so clearly and never so closely of the danger of the way they are in of the damnableness of their state of the necessity of a Change of their State and Life of their becoming new men and giving themselves to a new Life yet their self-conceit carries it against all the Convictions and Demonstrations of the Lord They will not be beaten out of their own Conceits they will believe their own blind and sottish mind before they will believe God Sinners is not this true how many times hath the Lord God preached to you of the necessity of Regeneration and your being born again of the necessity of Sanctification your being made his holy ones pure and undefiled ones How much hath he spoken to convince you that you are the Sons of death and that your ways are the ways of death that you can never see the Kingdom of God but must undoubtedly perish and be destroyed for ever without such a great and effectual change as may bring you in amongst his holy ones How often hath this been preached how plainly hath this been proved and yet after all how is it with you why behold you have a conceit you shall do well enough and get to Heaven at last and upon this conceit you will adventure your Souls What do you herein but Idolize your own Understandings and deny the God that is above Thus saith the Lord is nothing with you nor will perswade you to any thing if your own hearts do but tell you 't is well enough already Sinners if you will not be beaten out of this conceit if we cannot break down your carnal Confidence if we cannot deliver your Souls out of the hands of these Lies and Delusions if you will not be brought to see that these your self-conceits are your self-deceivings I have thought foolishly I have thought falsly in thinking well of my case if we cannot save you from your vain Conceits and Confidence we shall never set up the Authority of God in you nor ever bring you to God or to Heaven O to hear such words as these from you I have been deceived mine Heart hath deceived me the Devil hath deceived me I could never have had a good Thought of my â—sent state I could never have good hope of my future state if I had not been deceived into it I have been meerly gull'd and cheated into this good Opinion I am lost I perish I die for ever if I escape not suddenly out of this case I can be confident no more I can have a good conceit of my self no longer I am an undone Wretch God tells me so the Word tells me so and if ever mine Heart tell me yet again 'T is well enough I 'le never believe it again might we see such a sence upon you might we hear such words from you then there were hope that you were coming back from Self to God For you that are Professors have not you also something of this self-conceitedness upon you some are conceited of their own Opinions whatever Opinion they take up in the matters of God it must be right because it 's right in their own eyes and many of their Brethren that are contrary minded they are in the wrong and in the dark and so become the objects of their censure and reproach Lean not to your own understandings be so humble and so modest as to think that others may see more than you see suspect your selves when you differ from other Christians that you may be in the mistake Others are conceited of their Gifts and Attainments though they yet be but among the young ones and the weak ones of the Flock yet through that pernicious Pride of their Hearts they are apt to be puffed up with high Conceits of any little that they have Christians must be lowly like their Master Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in Heart They must think soberly of themselves Others are Conceited of their Conditions and the State of their Souls who though they have little acquaintance with their own Hearts little understanding and experience of Religion and have spent as little time in the examining their States yet are grown to a confidence that their Hearts are right in the sight of God when this Confidence may be nothing else but Conceit they do but conceit themselves to be Converts conceit themselves to be Believers and and this conceit must carry it against all Convictions to the contrary Examine the grounds upon which your good Opinion of your self is built Search the Scriptures where are certain Evidences of Conversion search your Hearts whether the marks of real Believers be found in you suspect your selves whether you be not in a mistake a mistake here to have a strong conceit that you are Believers when you are but Hypocrites that you are come to Christ when it may be not come half way such mistakes may be your damnation your Everlasting loss and undoing Let the fear of Self-deceiving be the cure of Self-conceitedness 2. Self-will That Brand which is put upon false Teachers and their followers 2 Pet. 2.10 is upon the Heart of every Sinner they are Self-willed and this brand is more or less remaining upon the Heart of every Saint There 's too much of Self-willedness in the best Hearts Here I shall shew you 1. That the great Controversy betwixt God and Self is whose Will shall stand 2. That in the Conversion of a Sinner the Power of Self-will is broken 3. But yet the Will is not so broken but Self hath still a root remaining which will be putting forth again 4. That therefore there is a necessity of keeping the Heart under constant Government 1. The great controversie betwixt God and Self is whose Will shall stand God will have his Will Isa 45.23 I have Sworn by my Self the Word is gone forth of my Mouth and shall not return that unto me every knee shall bow In one way or other first or last I 'le make them all to stoop God will have his Will but Self also will have its Will what is said concerning the Wisdom of the Flesh Rom. 8.7 is true of the Will of the Flesh The Wisdom of the Flesh is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be the Will of the Flesh is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed will be What is the Will of God This is the Will of God even your Sanctification 1 Thes 4.3 He hath said Be ye holy for I the Lord your God am holy 1 Pet. 1.16 This is the Will of God to sinners their Salvation 1 Tim. 2.4 He will have all men to be saved and come to the Knowledge of the Truth The reason why so many are damned is not because God will have them
thy self in these things as great a Pleasure to thee and dost thou find as great a delight in them as thou findest in eating and drinking in buying and selling and getting gain dost thou love to be Praying or to be Praising the Lord as thou lovest to be getting Money dost thou love to be sending thine Heart to Heaven and there to solace it in the thoughts and joyes of the Lord as thou lovest to be thinking of thy Corn or thy Cattel or thy Income by thy Trade Thou knowest thou dost not Canst thou say with the Psalmist Psal 84.1 2. How amiable are thy Tabernacles Oh Lord my Soul longeth yea even fainteth for thy Courts mine Heart and my flesh cryeth out for the liveâ—ng God A day in thy Courts is better than a thousand a door in thine House is better than all the dwellings of the World Lord lift up thy Countenance upon me and that shall put more gladness into mine Heart than when their Corn and Wine encreased Let the Corn and the Wine be whose it will so that the Lord God will be mine let this World go cross and frown upon me as it will so that the Face and Countenance of God do but shine upon me let me be poor rather than a Stranger from God let me want an House or want Money or want bread rather than want the presence of God canst thou say so heartily say so thou knowest that thou canst not the good things of the earth the Riches and the Pleasures of the Earth are the Riches thou lovest and the Pleasures thou lovest and thou couldst be content to be straitned in the Lord so that thou mightest abound in these carnal things Is it so with thee O what a Heart hast thou what dost thou think of thy Self art not thou an Idolater a lover of Money more than a Lover of God a lover of Pleasures more than a lover of God a lover of thy Self and flesh more than a lover of God and yet art thou not an Idolater doth thine Heart go a Whoring after thine Idols run away from God after thy Money run away from God after thy Pleasures run away from God after thy Self and flesh and yet not an Idolater art thou an Idolater then an Idolatrous Christian an Idolatrous Professor O! how is it that such a thought does not fill thy Face with shame and set thy Soul a weeping and cause trembling and astonishment to take hold upon thee what Friends is it nothing with you to be Idolaters to have Idolatrous Hearts whoring Hearts whoring from God and whoring after your flesh and the Lusts thereof sure Friends it would make the best of our Hearts to ake if we were sensible what degrees of this Idolatry there were to be found in every one of us and many of us I fear it would convince that they are Idolaters to so high degree that there is nothing of true and real love to God in them 2. It 's the root of all Rebellion and Disobedience Self-love 2 Tim. 3.2 is put in the Head of a black-troop of Lusts and Wickednesses Men shall be lovers of themselves there 's the ring-leader and what follows behold a troop cometh covetous boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to Parents unthankful unholy without Natural affection Truce-breakers false Accusers incontinent fierce despisers of those that are good Traitors Heady High-minded lovers of Pleasure more then lovers of God what a Regiment of sins is here led on by Self-love And observe it lovers of themselves lead on the Van and lovers of Pleasures bring up the Rear Heart-sins are Root-sins and Self-love is the Root of these Roots Pride is the Root of Contention Malice is the Root of Revenge Covetousness is the Root of Oppression and self-love is the Root of them all The Apostle says 1 Tim. 6.10 The love of Money is the Root of all Evil and Self-love is the Root of the love of Money particularly that you may know what a mischievous evil this Heart-sin of Self-love is and how pregnant of all other wickedness consider that it is 1. The Rot of all Religion 2. The Root of all Vnrighteousness and Vnmercifulness 3. The Root of all sinful Brawls and Quarrels 4. The Root of sinful Self-seeking 1. It is the Rot of all Religion that is where it is predominant and carries the main stroak in our Religion It is the rottenness of the Heart under all its most specious Religious pretences or performances All sincere Religion is animated by the love of God the love of God is the Soul of Religion If there be no love to God in our profession of Religion if no love to God in our practices of Piety if no love to God in our Prayers no love to God in our Fastings and Alms all our Religion is rotten at Heart Self-love which is it's only Root is it's rotteness Self-love will 1. Limit our Religion 'T will limit it by self-Interest no more nor no other Religion will it allow than will serve our Carnal turns no farther may we go in it than will consist with this love of our selves whatever part or exercise of Religion will pinch upon the Flesh the self-denying part the self-abasing part the Flesh-mortifying part of Religion unless it be to some further Ends Self-love will never bear it So much professing so much Praying and Hearing as will consist with our Ease and our safety as will not put us to too much pains or expose us to too much danger and reproach so much Religion as will not hold us in too strictly and severely and closely Self-love will bear it but where the Yoak of Christ wrings and galls there it must be thrown off 2. It will corrupt our Religion and turn it into Hypocrisie Selfish Professors are Hypocrites and all their Religion is Hypocrisie and Hypocrisie is the rottenness of the Heart You that are Professors see to it that ye be not self-loving Professors if ye be whatever there be in your Tongues or your Looks or your Religious performances you are rotten at the Core rotten in your Hearts It is love to God wherein our sincerity lies Self-love is our Hypocrisie and where this rotten Self-love hath tainted your Hearts your Hearts will taint and corrupt all your Duties it will pervert and corrupt all that ever you do and turn it into quite another thing your Religion is no Religion your Christianity is no Christianity your Praying is no Praying your Spirituality is but fleshliness your Heavenly-mindedness is but Earthiness your seeming fruitfulness is but Emptiness and barrenness Israel is an empty Vine he bringeth forth his Fruits to himself Hos 10.1 Israel seemed to be a fruitful Vine that had her Clusters upon it there were Clusters of Prayers and Clusters of Sacrifices and Clusters of Alms Israel had their Fruits and yet they were but a Barren and empty Vine how so Why whatever Fruits they had they were all brought forth to Self Self brought them
ye are mine and I am Gods Thus Christs love to Christians causeth him to say to them I am yours and all that I have so Christians love to Christ helps them to say Lord we are thine and all we have are thine not only our sins are thine our infirmities are thine but our Parts and our Possessions our Graces and our Duties yea our Houses and our Lands and our Possessions all are thine Christians we have been call'd together this day to a Communion of Loves and thereby to an Espousal of Interests betwixt Christ and us we have received the Pledges of his love his Bread and his Wine he hath given us to Eat and to Drink as the tokens he hath sent us down from Heaven of his Love I have brought you tokens every one of you from the Lord this day tokens of his love we have received the Pledges of his love and we have returned the Pledges of our love to him our very accepting of Christ's Tokens hath been our returning of our tokens Your communion together to Eat of Christ's Bread and Drink of his Cup provided it hath been in sincerity a Spiritual Eating and a Spiritual Drinking your Eating and Drinking his Body and Blood Christ hath accepted as a token of your loves and this communion of love hath been an Espousal of Interests Christ hath hereby told you Because I love you I will be yours and all that I have in Heaven and Earth you may henceforth call your own I am your own Jesus my Father is your own Father and my God is your own God and mine Inheritance is your own Inheritance and you have said if you have sincerely accepted of Christ we are thine own thine own Flock thine own Inheritance thy Ransom'd ones thy Redeemed ones and thy peculiar People this hath been the up-shot of the Transaction betwixt Christ and you this day the Sealing to this word I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine And as there hath been an interchangeable communion of loves and Espousal of Interest betwixt Christ and Christians so also betwixt Christians and Christians as we have said to our Lord I am thine so we have therein said one to another I am yours and must therefore walk in that tenderness of love in that dearness of affection one to another in that mutual care of each others good in that mutual Sense of each others afflictions in that mutual delight in each others Societies in that mutual helping and counselling and comforting one another and hearty seeking and rejoicing in each others good studying to please each other for his good to Edification fearing to grieve or offend or wrong or fall out with or quarrel one with another counting the Interest of every Christian to be the common Interest of the whole Body that we hereby may prove that we love one another not in Word and in Tongue but Indeed and in Truth This now is the Nature and these are the Fruits of Divine Love it will unite Hearts and unite Interests this will be the Interest of Christians which will flow from the love of Christ that Christ's Interest prosper in the World that the Name of Christ be exalted and be honourable both in themselves and in the World that Christ be loved that Christ be praised that the Word of Christ the Worship of Christ his Sabbaths his Ordinances be exalted in the World that the Glory and Holy Image of Christ his Humility Meekness Lowliness Heavenliness Righteousness Mercy may shine forth in our Faces and in the Faces and Wayes of all his Saints that we may in our particulars and jointly shew forth the Spirit and Life of serious and poweful Religion and Godliness in all manner of Holy Conversation this we should account our Interest with respect to Christ that he may be thus Honour'd and Obeyed and this will be the Interest of Christians with respect to Christians that we may see one another the whole Vineyard flourishing in the Power of Holiness as living and lively Instances of the Grace of God and as far as the Lord see it good may see one another prospering in this World even as our Souls do prosper O Christians espouse this common Interest and do what you can to promote this Interest in the World Love Christ and lift up the Name of Christ love Christ and shew forth the Image of Christ love Christ and Consecrate your Life to Christ determine to know nothing to value nothing to rejoice in nothing but Jesus Christ and him Crucified And then love one another and study to please one another to profit one another for their good to Edification to cast in your Lot together to rejoice together with them that rejoice to grieve with them that suffer to live together in love forbearing one another forgiving one another comforting one another even as you your selves would be Loved forgiven and comforted of God This now is the nature and the fruit of Divine Love it unites Interests but Self-love sinful Self-love divides Interests and so those that seek the things of Self their carual things seek not the things of Christ 3. Sinful Self-love hath a root remaining in the best Hearts even of the regenerate though in Conversion Self hath lost the Domlnion and be cast down from the Throne yet is there a secret Tabernacle a corner in the Heart where it fortifies it Self and is still aspiring to recover the Throne it hath lost the Dominion yet it retains in some degree an Interest in the affection and by this affection it hath the advantage of us and often recovers too great a Command again How great a Power sinful Self-love hath still in us the experience of Chistians sadly proves for the clearing whereof consider yet again more distinctly that there is as hath been already hinted a threefold Self-love and accordingly a threefold Self-seeking 1. There is a loving or seeking our selves in conjunction with God and in subordination to him This is a loving or seeking Self spiritually a loving or seeking of Self as Christians as the Servants of God and Members of Christ as cloathed with the Image and devoted to the service and aspiring to the Salvation of God This Self-loving and Self-seeking is our duty and our excellency the Interest of Self spiritual and the Interest of God are a conjunct Interest only the Interest of Self is lower and subordinate to the Interest of God When we thus seek our selves our Spiritual and Eternal good we are therein most effectually seeking God we cannot more effectually seek God than in seeking our own Salvation Those that seek Glory Honour and Immortality for themselves do therein seek the Glory and Honour of the Immortal God thereby declaring that they prize and value the Lord as their chief nay the only good He that neglecting these lower things doth seeek God as his onely happiness doth therein take the Crown off the head of all his Idols and set it where it
in Number than the Sands of the Sea Thy Thoughts that is either Gods Thoughts towards him or his Thoughts of God and these Observe 1. The gratefulness or acceptableness of such Thoughts how precious how dear are they to me It was a pleasant thing to him to think of God 2. The Multitude of his Thoughts of God how great is the Summ of them God hath many Thoughts of his Saints and Saints have many Thoughts of God 3. A special Season of his thinking of God when I awake these are my Morning Thoughts no sooner am I awake but my Heart is in Heaven and Psal 119.97 O how I love thy Law it is my Meditation all the day where see 1. The matter of his Thoughts the Law of God or those blessed matters those wonderful things contained in this Law to be thinking of the Word of God is to be thinking of God of Christ of Holiness of Heaven of the way to Heaven and the like things that are written in the Word these are the matter of his Thoughts 2. The Seasons of his Meditations and these are every Season he is constantly thus exercised all the day his Morning thoughts are his continual Thoughts 3. The Motive or Spring of his Meditations O how I love thy Law What we love we shall easily be thinking of if we love God we shall be thinking of God if we love our Souls love Holiness love the Word and wayes of God our Thoughts will be upon them Dost thou not think on God and the Law of God 'T is a sign thou lovest them not well this is the right governing our Thoughts and which will prevent the wandrings and straglings and unruliness of them the holding them thus well exercised 3. In holding our Affections and Passions to their proper Objects and within their due Bounds so as that we love only what we should love and as much and no more than we should love it to fear what we should fear and as much and no more than we should fear it to desire what we should desire and as much and no more than we should desire it to be angry with what we should be angry and no more than we should I shall instance only in these Six Passions Our Love Our Desire Our Joy Our Grief Our Fear Our Anger 1. For our Love this is then well Ordered when we love only what we should love and as much and no more than we should love it The Object of Love is good and only good nothing can be loved but that which is good or apprehended so to be and nothing ought to be loved but that which is good God is good the chief and Supream good the Fountain of all goodness infinitely good Good is the Lord Exod. 34.6 Abundant in goodness and truth Our danger here is not of over-loving but of under-loving God is to be loved with all the Heart and with all the Might there is no danger here of erring in the excess our beings are good our Souls and Bodies we are Gods Workmanship and of all Gods works 't is said Gen. 1. he saw that they were good Our well-being and prosperity and happiness is good not only the Prosperity of our Souls our prospering in Grace and Holiness our growing rich unto God but the Prosperity of our Bodies and outward man our Health and our Estates is good Joh. 3. I wish that thou maiest prosper and be in Health even as thy Soul prospereth The Creatures are good our Bread and our Cloaths and our Houses which are for the comfort of our Bodies every Creature of God is good being sanctified by the Word and Prayer 1 Tim. 4.4 The Prosperity of our Neighbours especially those of the houshold of Faith this also is a good that we should love Touching our Souls our danger is that we do not love these according to the price and worth of a Soul which is more than all the World Mat. 16. or else that we do not love them aright so as to seek their good Touching our Bodies and the Creatures that are for the Health and prosperity of our Bodies the great danger is of over-loving them of loving them more than we should and more than they are worth This is the order that should be in well-govern'd Hearts we should love the Creatures for our Bodies we should love our Bodies for our Souls we should love them all and our Neighbours good also for God and we should love love God for himself And this ought to be the Measure of our Love we should love God with all our might we should love our Souls as far forth as serves to the Honour of God we should love our Bodies our Health and bodily Prosperity as far as they are serviceable to our Souls and we should love the Creatures our Houses our Money our Estates as far forth as they may be useful to our Bodies in the Service of our Souls and to our Bodies and Souls in the Service of God and we should love our Neighbour as our selves An Heart that is set right in its love is a well governed Heart this is the orginal of the disorder that is in our lives the disorder of our love Why is it that these Bodies and our Bodily Prosperity is sought more than our Souls why do we seek Riches and Pleasure and Ease and Money more than we seek Grace and Holiness O we love the Creature too much and we love God and our Souls too little O it were well with the sinful World better than it is if they loved God and their Souls as well as they love their Bodies and Estates but Sinner for thy part thou dost not so thou sayest thou lovest God thou sayest thou lovest thy Soul thou sayest these are the gteat things thine Heart is upon no thou dost not love God as thou lovest that Carkass of thine thou doest not love God as well as thou lovest thy Money or thy Pleasures or thy Health thy very Lusts thy Carnal Sports and Merriments thy vile Companions and thy Sins thou art such a vile Brute that thou lovest these more than thou lovest God or thy Soul thou art better pleased thou art better satisfied when the Corn and the Wine increaseth when thou Prosperest in this World than with any hopes thou hast towards God for thy Soul What is the Pleasure of thine Heart When art thou most merry and best contented When is it with thee as thou wouldst have it but when thou art in Health and Prosperest in these outward things God is dishonoured and neglected by thee God is angry with thee and yet thou art well enough contented thy Soul languisheth it is a blind and ignorant Soul it is a sinful and guilty Soul it is a stupid and hardned Soul it is a perishing and dying Soul thy Soul is in the hands of the Devil thy Soul is a dead Soul even dropping into Hell and yet for all this thou sittest there at
that they may be quickned into the more strong desires unite them let all your desires be after this one thing the grace and good will of the Lord. Christians let me ask you What would you have What is it you desire O let the Lord be my God let me have grace from the Lord but what of God how much of the grace of God would content you It may be some of you would answer O! if it were never so little if I could have Faith though it were but as a grain of Mustard-Seed if I could get any thing of God in my Heart if by the grace of God in me this Heart of mine might be but as a bruised Reed and smoaking Flax if I might get any thing that God would not despise this should satisfie me 'T is true the least degree of saving grace the least Beam of the Divine Light the first springing of the Life of God in us the least Spark of his Holy Image our desires should be so far fixed on this that nothing short of this nothing short of the truth of Grace should in the least suffice us and we should be thankful for the very first grace if we should never have any more or rise no higher But are there not some that would have this and care for no more that bound and limit their desires to the first and lowest degrees of grace This desire is not the desire of the Children of God thou mayest go to Hell with such desires after God he that desires not to be perfectly Holy is not sincerely Holy Do you desire God do you desire grace Stir up and enlarge your desires let those narrow Hearts open their Mouths wide be covetous Christians covet much and covet earnestly these best of giâ—ts say with the Psalmist This one thing I desire nothing but God nothing but grace take Corn and Wine who will take the Gold and the Silver who will let the Lord God be mine and that shall suffice me Desire God only and follow after God fully as Psalm 63.8 My Soul followeth hard after thee Friends you have some Wishes and some weaker desires after the Lord O quicken up these fainty Hearts look oftner before you how worthy the Lord is of all your desires what a Jewel what a Treasure the grace of God is look oftner Heaven-ward get a sight of God and his glorious Treasures live more in the Contemplation of his glory and goodness it is the sight of the Object that must kindle and quicken desires you that have cold Hearts Heaven-ward 't is a sign your Eye is little in Heaven Believe it some clearer views of the Love and Goodness and Holiness and Kindness and Glory of the Lord would whet your Appetites would put Life into those dull Desires would make you hungry Souls and thirsty Souls and longing Souls O look oftner upward dwell in the Mountain of Spices get some Taste and Relish of the goodness of God by being more constantly conversant with him and this will set abroach all your Vessels your Souls would stream forth in the Words and Sighs of the Psalmist Psal 42.1 As the Hart panteth after the Water Brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God My Soul thirsteth for God for the living God 2. Curb and limit your desires after the good things below and desire them no more than you should particularly 1. Desire not over much of them The best Food the best Physick if we take too much of it becomes hurtfull and pernicious when the Stomach is overcharged and so when the Heart is overcharged it surfets and suffereth prejudice by what it hath received That Prayer of Agur Prov. 30.8 should be the desire of Christians Feed me with Food convenient a convenient Habitation a competent Portion of these Earthly things should be the Proportion of our desires O if Men knew what were enough and when they had enough it would prevent the extravagancy of our desires Jer. 45.5 Seekest thou great things to thy self Seek them not Thou canst not bear great things great Possessions are great Temptations Seek no greater things than thou canst bear a Ship that hath more than its Load will sink and drown The Journey or Voyage of the Heart is upwards you are Travelling Heaven-wards this Earth the more you have of it presses you down-ward and hinders your ascending O how much nearer Heaven might some of our Hearts have ascended how much nearer to God and Glory might we have gotten had we not been clogged with the things of this Earth Some Men are too Rich and too Prosperous in this World to be Spiritually-minded Great Estates bring great Cares and encumbring Business so that they cannot be at liberty nor at leisure to think on God or their Souls Desire only so much of the World as is best for you and that proportion is best for you which will help you Heaven-ward and least hinder you know what is a competency and desire no more That 's not a competency which is enough to satisfie your Appetite you will never say you have enough if you will stay till your Appetite say It is enough this is like those two Daughters of the Horse-Leach Prov. 30.15 that still cry Give give Get get and never say It is enough That is not a competency which will satisfie your Appetite but that which will comfortably serve your necessities know what is a competency and desire no more 2. Desire them not over earnestly be not over hungry and greedy Souls desire but a competency and desire it but moderately that you may not over-desire these Earthly good things do not over-prize them Carry it towards the good things below as Sinners carry it towards Christ and the good things above how do Sinners carry it towards Christ They make light of him Isa 53.2 They see no beauty in him that they should desire him See as little beauty in the World as Sinners see in Christ make as light of the good things of the Earth as they do of the good things of Heaven and then your desires will be as cold after these things as theirs are after Christ O if Christians did desire this Earth no more than Sinners desire Heaven how mortified would all their Earthly desires be Mortifie your inordinate desires after the World quench your thirst after the good things thereof or else these desires will mortifie and quench your thirst after God Christians you would fain love God more it is your Affliction that your Affections to things above are so dull and so flat that you have no more strong and working desires Heaven-ward abate your desires to things below and then they will rise more to the things above never look to love God more than you do till you love the World less than you do Do ye mean to hold up at this height in your Carnal desires Will you not set Bounds to your Earthly Appetites Then count upon it God is like to
but for a Moment 4. Sinners live in their own Light in the Light of their own Fires and Sparks Walk in the Light of your Fire that 's all the Light you have it is all Dark to them from above the Sun shines not the Candle of the Lord gives them no light God speaks Terrour and Trouble to them but they speak Peace to themselves their own Joy and Mirth is all they have to comfort and chear them 5. Sinners Light serves for nothing but to Light them down to Darkness Walk in your Light this shall ye have of mine Hand ye shall lie down in Sorrow Sinners how Light soever your Walk be how Merry soever your Lives be yet what is your lying down like to be He is a Wise Man that taketh care that how uncomfortable or weary soever his Way and his Walk be yet he may have a comfortable lying down Psal 37.37 Mark the Just Man and behold the Perfect Man the End of that Man is Peace But O ye Jolly and Merry Souls what is your End like to be Remember your lying down when your Hearts are Merry within you when you live such Laughing and Sporting Lives in the midst of your Cups of Pleasure your Musick and Dancing your Feasting and Sporting and the Jollity of your Revelling and Rioting think with your selves What doth all this lead to When these Merry dayes are over what a Night am I like to have of it When the Candles of your Worldly Prosperity are Burnt down in what a stinking Snuff will they go out What a stink will they be in your Nostrils When your Fires and your Sparks will Light you no longer then they will burn you your Mirth will burn you your Pleasures will burn you your abused Prosperity your Riches your Money your Plenty and the Joy that you now take in them will burn you and they will burn to the bottom of Hell Will you yet rejoyce in these Carnal things Rejoyce with Trembling Tremble to think what the End of these things will be Prov. 14.13 In the midst of Laughter the Heart is Sorrowful and the End of this Mirth is heaviness if the former of these in the midst of Laughter the Heart is sorrowful c. should not be true if you should Laugh and rejoyce and know no Sorrow if it should be with you as with those Merry ones Job 21.9 Their Houses are far from Fear and your Hearts should be as far from Sorrow as your Houses from Fear if you should have all Sweet and no Bitter all Sun-shine and no Clouds if the first Part should not be true upon you if in the midst of Laughter your Hearts should not be sorrowful yet the latter shall certainly be true there shall be no avoiding of that the End of your Mirth shall be heaviness Hold up while you will maintain the Mirth and the Jollity of your Hearts while you can the End of this Mirth will be heaviness you shall lie down in Sorrow Sinners what will ye choose What would a Wise Man choose A Merry Life or a Joyful Death Which do ye think in your Judgments and Consciences is the best choice to Die in Peace to Die in Joy or to Die in Sorrow How would you have it with you when you come to Die Would you then find that all your Sorrow is gone and now your Joy is come Or would you be forced then to say Now farewel all my Mirth I have seen my last of it and henceforth nothing but Sorrow and Anguish for ever Dost thou not tremble to think What if this should be my Case Know it for a Truth there 's no avoiding it if you go on to live this Merry Jolly Life this shall be thy End thou must lie down in Sorrow Christians envy not the World's Mirth nor let your Hearts lust after it you have other Joyes than their crackling Thorns will yield you have your Sorrows while they have their Mirth but you have this advantage of the World 1. You have Joy in your Sorrows as in the midst of Laughter the Heart is sad so in the midst of your Sorrows your Hearts may be Joyful 2. Your Sorrows shall End in Joy this shall you have of the Hand of your God you shall lie down in Peace You that Sow in Tears shall reap in Joy Psal 126.6 Whilest those that Sow in Mirth shall Reap in Tears you that go on your Way weeping whilest they go on their Way Laughing yet mark the End of both Isa 65.13 14. Behold however it be now behold how it shall be hereafter How shall it be My Servants shall Eat but ye shall be Hungry my Servants shall Drink but ye shall be Thirsty my Servants shall rejoyce but ye shall be ashamed my Servants shall sing for Joy of Heart but ye shall cry for Sorrow of Heart and shall howl for vexation of Spirit and ye shall leave your Name for a Curse to my chosen for the Lord God shall slay thee Now your Enemies Eat and some of you are an Hungry c. But think how it will be in the Day when the Scales be turned when the Sinners Eating Days and Drinking Days and Jolly merry Dayes are over and their Hungring Dayes and howling Dayes overtake them and you that now Hunger and are Sorrowful shall Eat and Drink and be satisfied with the Joy of the Lord. O envy not and meddle not with the sinful Joyes of the World these Strangers shall not meddle with your Joy Prov. 14.10 Meddle you as little with theirs let your God be your Joy and if he give you any matters of rejoycing in this World and allow you some Measures of Joy even in these outward things yet rejoyce with trembling and let your Fear so moderate your Joy in these lower things that you do not lash out into that Carnal Mirth the End whereof is Heaviness Especially when the Matters of Worldly Joy increase upon you you that grow Rich and Prosper in the World that find the World smiling and come crowding in upon you that have even what your Hearts could wish and then feel your Hearts to be tickled and pleased and delighted in your Prosperity then take heed then fear lest you forget God and your Soul and neglect and lose the Joy of the Lord and your care of pleasing the Lord in your abounding Worldly Joyes and never count any such Joyes lawful or safe for you but such as make you to love the Lord the more and serve the Lord with more chearfulness and care If you do not serve the Lord better and walk with God closer and bring forth more of the Fruits of Holiness and Righteousness in more Spirituality and Heavenliness of mind if you be not some way the better God-wards and Heaven-wards in the abundance of all things than you could be or than others are in the want of all things count that Prosperity greater cause of trembling than of rejoycing to you 4.
that gave it Man though he hath a mortal body yet he hath an immortal Soul The Spirit of a man is the Candle of the Lord and when this Candle is once lighted it shall never go out It s carried away hence but it s carried to God that gave it The Souls of all men good and bad when they die do all go to God even those that go to the Devil are first carried to God by him to receive their Sentence to their everlasting state Sinners when they die go not to God as their Reward or Blessedness but to God as their Judge Sinners will say as Christ did Luke 23.46 Father into thy hands I commend my spirit but God will say to them who are ye away from me ye workers of iniquity I know you not Mat. 7.23 I am none of your Father ye are of your Father the Devil get you down to him Commend your Spirits to me what have you given up your Souls to the Devil and all your life long have they been serving of him and he been corrupting and depraving of them blinding them hardning them made them such a filthy and unclean thing and now do ye think to come off so to commend these filthy and unclean Souls to me away with them I 'le none of them If those that are sanctified by my Spirit and serve me with their Spirit come to me when they die I 'le take them to me I will acknowledge my self their Father they shall dwell with me but those that have served sin and the Devil while they lived let not them think to commend their Spirits to me when they die I 'le none of them Well but whether we must dwell with God or the Devil into the other World all Souls good and bad must pass when they go hence 2. There is an eternal Judgement So the Apostle tells us Heb. 6.2 of the Doctrine of eternal Judgment It is call'd an Eternal Judgement not as if the day of Judgment should last for ever in how long or how short a time that judgment shall be dispatched no man certainly knows the glorious God can make short work and will do so in that great and dreadful day It s called Eternal Judgment because it sentenceth men to their everlasting state and its the last judgment there shall never be another to all Eternity but the sentence of this Judgment shall stand for ever 2 Cor. 5.10 We must all stand before the Judgment Rom. 2.6 Who will render to every man according to his works to them that by patient continuance in wel-doing do seek for glory honour and immortality eternal Life but to them that are contentious and obey not the truth indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish to every Soul of them that do evil 3. In the Judgment to come the secrets of the heart shall be opened and judged Men shall be judged for their words men shall be judged for their deeds but not for these only but for the secrets of their hearts Eccl. 12.14 God shall bring every work to Judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or evil The Judgments of men are only over our Bodies and outward Acts they know not our hearts and therefore cannot be our hearts Judges But 1. God sees the heart I the Lord search the heart and try the reins Jer. 17.10 He seeth in secret and he that seeth in secret will reward openly Mat. 6.4 1. He seeth the good that is in secret the love and fear of his Name our inward desires and thirstings and breathings after him every holy thought every holy purpose the inward mournings of the heart under sin and temptation the inward strivings wrestlings of the heart against temptation and corruption our self-loathings and self abasings the integrity and uprightness of our hearts whilst men are censuring or reproaching or punishing us as hypocrites God sees the integrity that is in our Souls O Friends get an honest upright heart in the sight of God you shall never loose the benefit and blessedness of it God sees the sincerity of the upright and will certainly reward it 2. He seeth the evil that is in secret the proud heart the false and guileful heart are open before him Beware of playing the Hypocrite of satisfying your selves with Hypocritical Duties hypocritical Praying hypocritical Hearing or Professing God sees what that heart of thine is a doing while thy tongue is a praying or thine ear hearing thou mayst deceive men and thine own self but God cannot be deceived 2. The secrets of the heart shall be opened and judged in that Judgment of God 1 Cor. 4.5 Judge nothing before the time until the Lord come who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the Counsels of the heart and then shall every man have praise of God 1. The things of the heart are hidden and dark things The thoughts of the heart dark thoughts the Counsels of the Lord dark Counsels even the good things that are in the heart are to all others but dark things 2. In the day of Judgment these things of darkness shall be all brought to light the secrets shall be all made manifest What a sight will there be in that day when the hearts of all the World shall be seen as it were at one view What a blessed sight will there be when all the Beauty and inward Glory of the Saints all their Graces shall be seen What a black sight also will there be when all the filth and garbage that is in sinners hearts all the venemous brood all the Cockatrices eggs that ever have been hatch'd in those unclean hearts when all the wicked Counsels and Devices of their hearts all the Curses and Blasphemies all the Couzenage and Fraud of the heart all the wicked Plots and Contrivances of the heart against God or his Saints all the Adulteries and Filthiness of the heart all the Madness and Follies of the heart all the Malice and Spite and Rage of the heart when all these shall be presented at one view O what an odious sight will there be Sinners do not cheat your selves in your sinful ways with hopes of Secrecy for all must be brought to light If all that wickedness and hypocrisie if those filthy lusts and unclean thoughts that are in your hearts should be now seen by all this Congregation how would you be ashamed and how would you blush to look any body in the Face but because thy naughty heart and its naughty thoughts and desires cannot be seen thou mayest be a proud fellow of a froward heart of a dissembling lying heart and no body the wiser therefore thou lettest thy self alone to be as thou art as long as thou hast a secret covering for all thy ugly Conditions 't is well enough but do not cheat thy self thus all these hidden things of darkness must be brought to light thou must be turned inside outward and all the shame of
not the Lord Psal 115.17 The living the living he shall praise thee Is 38.19 That is spoken of the naturally dead and living and must we not say the same of the spiritually dead and the living Souls dead Souls can't praise the Lord they can't pray nor believe nor hope nor serve the Lord the living the living Soul it shall praise thee it shall pray unto thee and serve thee Hypocrites are all dead at heart and therefore all their services are but dead services they make a shew and keep a stir in the outward parts of Religion they can talk as Christians and walk and move but it is with these dead Souls as with those dead bodies which we call walking Ghosts they look like men and speak like men and go up and down like men but still they have no Soul in them It is the Devil that acts in them and speaks in them and carrieth them up and down none of all their actions or motions are vital actions the devil can make them speak and walk and look like living men but he cannot make them live such is the Hypocrites Religion he can pray and hear and sing and speak as Christians do but he is dead at heart and thereupon all his duties are but dead duties Friends you are as much concerned to keep your hearts as you are to be able to do any thing that will please God or save your Souls What is the intent of your Religion why do ye come together to pray and hear and partake of the Table of the Lord You will say I come to perform these duties to please the Lord I come in order to the saving of my Soul Do you so then look to your hearts better see that there be the root of Religion within you see that your praying be the praying with the heart that your hearing be not the opening your ear but the opening of your heart to the Word see that whatever you do that hath any shew of Religion in it you do it heartily watch your hearts when you come into the house of the Lord watch your hearts when you set upon any work for God lest they give you the slip and so make all your Services to be but bodily exercises which as 1 Tim. 4.8 profit little Bodily exercises that is the outward part of our Religion Ear Religion Tongue Religion Knee Religion these bodily Exercises where there is not an heart at the bottom of them profit nothing at all they will do nothing to the pleasing of God or the saving our Souls Friends beware of Hypocrisie take heed lest any of you be found hypocrites that your faith you seem to have be not the faith of hypocrites that your hope be not the Hypocrites hope that your praying and fasting and almes be not all the Sacrifices of hypocrites and such sacrifices they are if they be Sacrifices without an heart Come not before the Lord with hollow Vessels which will make a sound but have nothing in them We that look upon you can't tell what there is within you we see your faces and hear your voices but what is under God knows look you to it that it be not all hollow and empty within he that seeth the heart seeth what there is within and will accept or reject according to what he finds of the heart in all you do Friends What do ye here this day have you brought with you ever a Sacrifice for God ever a living Sacrifice the living God will regard none of you if you bring not a living Sacrifice He doth not require of you as he did of old a Bullock or a Ram for a Sacrifice No nor a Dove nor a Lamb for a Sacrifice it is a Soul for a Sacrifice a living Soul that is quickned and sanctified by the Bloud and Spirit of Christ And upon this account farther are you concerned to look to and to keep your hearts as ever you would do any thing in Religion that is acceptable with God or of any avail to your own Salvation The heart is the spring of all vital Actions and they are only our vital Actions our living and lively duties that will be accepted of the living God Would you not be rejected for hypocrites would you not compass the Lord about with lies as Ephraim did Hos 11.12 would you not come before the Lord with lies and comfort your selves with lies then see that you bring your hearts with you before him Is there any life begotten in your hearts is Christ formed upon you is the Spirit of Christ poured forth into you is there the life of God in your hearts and is this the spring of all your acceptable services then as you love your lives as you fear to serve the living God with dead service set a careful guard upon your hearts that neither these be stolen away from God nor that life which is within you be stolen out of your hearts Brethren I would not that any of you be found hypocrites therefore do I labour with you therefore do I preach to you and warn every one of you that you may be presented perfect and upright in the day of the Lord. I would not that you be found hypocrites in that day nor would I that your Religious actions be found hypocritical actions in your present day 'T is said of the limbs of Antichrist 1 Tim. 4.2 That they speak lies in hypocrisies I would have Christians not only none such as speak lies in hypocrisie no nor to speak truth in hypocrisie to do good in hypocrisie and therefore 't is that I have spent so much time among you upon this Subject of looking to your hearts that these may be right with God in all that you do I fear there are hypocrites among you I fear that much of the Religion of some of you may be but hypocritical Religion but look to your selves and as you would be loth to have no better acceptance than hypocrites as you would dread to have your portion with hypocrites so dread it to satisfie your selves with hypocritical duties serve the God of your hearts with an hearty service serve the true God with an heart and with a true heart serve the living God with living hearts see that there be the life of God in your hearts and let the life within you be the Spring of all your Performances that all that ever you do in Religion be the issues of life 3. It is the record of all the transactions which have been betwixt Christ and your Soules If ye be Christs there have been great dealings betwixt Christ and your Souls Christ hath been dealing with you dealing with you by his word dealing with you by his Spirit instructing and enlightning your Souls convincing and awakening your Hearts perswading and alluring your hearts after him Christ hath been dealing with you about your repenting and turning to the Lord about your Reconciliation and making peace with God God hath been in
the heart that makes them such Prayer is a Sacrifice Psal 141.2 Let my prayer come before thee as incense and the lifting up of mine hands as an evening sacrifice Praise is a Sacrifice Psal 50.14 Offer up to God thanksgiving Almes are a Sacrifice Heb. 13.16 With such sacrifices God is well pleased But what maimed Sacrifices are all these if offered up without an heart What is Prayer without an heart what is Praise what are Alms when the heart is not offered up with them they are heart Prayers and heart Praises and heart Alms that are such Sacrifices with which God is well pleased 2. What kind of heart it is that is a Sacrifice to God A broken or a wounded heart The broken heart is the only sound heart The wounding of the heart is as the lancing of the Impostume it lets out the corruption and leaves it a sound heart The hard heart is a Sacrifice for the Devil with such Sacrifices with hard and unbroken hearts the Devil is well pleased Is thy heart an hard heart and wilt thou thus give it up to God Get it to be broken or thou mayest as well carry it to the Devil for a Sacrifice The Devil loves an hard heart but it is an abomination to the Lord. An hard heart is an unclean beast which is not for Sacrifice All the filthiness and rottenness of the heart lies baked up together in an hard heart 't will never be gotten out 'till the heart be broken In the Law the Sacrifices were to be without blemish Lev. 22.20 21 22. Whatsoever hath a blemish that shall ye not offer It shall be perfect and without blemish Whatsoever is blind or maimed or having a Wenn or Scurvy or Scabed ye shall not offer The unbroken heart is an heart full of Blemishes Wens and Ulcers a Scurvy and a Scabed heart 't is the wounded or broken heart that is the perfect heart or an heart without blemish Now herein you see both the necessity of looking to your hearts and what it is that you must secure your hearts against from all things that may be a blemish to the heart from all those Malladies and Diseases that will be a blemish to the heart that so you do not Sacrifice to God a corrupt thing Mal. 1.14 He that sacrificeth to God a corrupt thing cursed be that deceiver A sacrifice without an heart is a lame and maimed thing a sacrifice from a polluted heart is the sacrifice of a corrupt thing Beloved you come with your offerings to the Lord but what have you to offer O you have prayers and praises to offer up but is there an heart in your prayers an heart in your Praises and is it a perfect and upright heart an heart without blemish A perfect heart an heart without blemish who can bring such an heart who can â—y mine heart is perfect who can say mine heart is clean Lord be merciful to me mine heart is the worst thing within me all sores and all blemishes and corruption Obj. My mouth must be stopped for ever my tongue must be silent for ever If I must never pray nor praise God till mine heart is a clean and a perfect heart Sol. There is a double perfection a double cleanness of heart 1. Legal and so that only is a perfect heart that fully answers the Righteousness of the Law or first Covenant that only in this sense is a perfect heart which hath nothing of Evil or Hypocrisie no spot or blemish at all in it that the strictest Justice could be offended at thus there 's not a man in the World can say mine heart is perfect mine heart is a clean heart 2. Evangelical Such a perfection which the new Covenant accepts uprightness a sincere heart is in a Gospel Sense a perfect heart An heart that hath been broken by the Word of Christ and been purged by the bloud of Christ an heart that is a purging and cleansing daily that hath its great spots and blemishes of unbelief and impenitence purged away and hath no spots but are begun to be purged and are cleansing dayly Now an heart that hath been thus initially purged and cleansed will unless it be carefully looked to contract new spots the imposthume will gather and fester again the Leprosie will fret and eat deeper and deeper into it longer than the purging work is carried on the corrupting work will be carrying on If the wounds of the heart be not carefully kept open the Devil will quickly heal it up his hardning is his healing the heart He will be searing the heart so as that though there be never so much wickedness in it it shall not be felt and perceived and when we cease to feel our sores when the heart grows senseless of its sins then is a time when iniquity is like to abound And there 's no way in the World to prevent this increase of our corruptions and hardning our hearts under it but by keeping a constant Guard upon them the Devil will be doing sin will be working and growing upon us if there be not a constant watch kept And what will ye do then for a Sacrifice for God wherewithal will you come before the Lord and bow your selves before the most high God if you have not an heart a clean heart a perfect and upright heart that he will accept As you would be loth that God should meet you in all your Duties your praying and hearing and praising his Name and say unto you as to Israel Isa 1.11 To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices when you come to appear before me who hath required this at your hands to tread my Courts Bring no more vain Oblations your incense is an abomination to me Your Sabbaths your coming to the Assemblies I cannot away with it is iniquity even your solemn meeting Your meetings my Soul hateth they are a trouble to me I am weary to bear them and when you spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you Yea when you make many prayers I will not hear Friends would you have the Lord thus to speak to you Is this all the entertainment and acceptance you would have when you come together to pray and to hear would you have the Lord to say I am weary of this People I am weary of these meetings my Soul hateth this praying and this hearing Doubtless this will be all the entertainment you will have whilst you come hither and bring not your hearts for a Sacrifice yea and that broken hearts hearts without guile sincere and perfect in the sight of God and such hearts you will never bring unless you will take more care and pains about them and therefore I exhort you as the Prophet goes on ver 16. Wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings so also watch ye keep ye clean prevent the return of your evils upon you And then I should be bold to add as ver 18. to
you ascend not by Ordinances if you get not up to have Communion with God in them this flesh and this world will be thrusting in upon you and steal your hearts away Christ hath been riding down to you this day as the chariots and horses of fire once were sent down for Elijah 2 Kin. 2.11 The Chariots came down to fetch up the Prophet in them the Ordinances of God that you have been at this day was the Chariot of God that was sent down on purpose that those hearts of yours might ride up in it into Glory I hope some of your hearts got up into the Chariot and are ascended with your Lord who came down to fetch them up What Christian is thine heart yet below where was it when the Chariot came down what are your Souls yet among the Sheep and the Oxen among the grass of the Field and the dust of the Earth what yet among the wormes what yet creeping upon this Earth and feeding upon Ashes do your Soules still dwell in these Tombs and Sepulchres I hope there may be some among you can say I thank the Lord mine heart is no longer here it is risen it is ascended with my Lord who came down for it and hath carried it up with him But man how is it with thee whose heart is left behind Christ hath been here and those that were wise took the Season and got up with him into the Chariot But is thine heart still upon this Earth and must it away again to its old trading to its old feeding on this dirt and trash hast thou been tasting of that Angels Food that hidden Manna the bread of God that came down from heaven and canst thou now return to thy Quailes or thy Husks sure thou hadst not a taste of that heavenly food if thou dost not yet disgust and disrelish thine old carnal Delights But are your hearts any of you yet left below behold yet a Chariot from God is before you this Ordinance of Preaching behold the same Jesus in this Chariot is come down again for those hearts that are not yet gotten up Thy Lord is loth to leave thee here wilt thou yet ascend with him Why is there not a cry among you Lord help me up into thy Chariot Lord take my Soul up with thee Lord let not me be left behind Let Christ hear that voice from you Lord take me up with thee here this poor wretched heart of mine lies at thy feet I can't lift it up 't is too heavy for me it hath weights but no wings yet it groans after thee it would not that thou shouldst go up without it Lord lift me up Lord carry up this poor and wretched heart from Earth to Heaven What must I yet dwell in Meseâ—◠〈…〉 mine heart amongst the tents of Kedar M◠〈…〉 amongst these Theives and Robbers O where 〈…〉 that hath brought thee down again for me 〈…〉 thou me O Lord and wilt thou yet leave me at 〈◊〉 â—â—stance from thee O take pity O take me up that I may from henceforth be with thee where thou art Christians O that I could set you even every one of you a crying thus after the Lord and a bemoaning these earthly and too carnal hearts that they are not yet ascended Let Christ yet hear that voice and let it come deep even from the bottom of thy Soul Let Christ hear not that mouth crying nor those eyes crying but that Soul crying Lord take me up also with thee and he will take thee up O get you into the Psalmists Posture and Spirit Psal 42.1 Psal 84.2 As the hart 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 My Soul longeth yea even fainteth for thee my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God When Lord O let this be the day take me this very hour and carry me up to the mountains of spices Christians be but unfeignedly willing that Christ should carry away those hearts from this Earth be but in good earnest with him when you say Lord take me up and he will not leave you behind Get these hearts to heaven and keep them there Get you up from Earth to Heaven and come not down again from Heaven to Earth Let that blessedness be antedated which is promised to be after the Resurrection 1 Thes 4.17 Then shall we ever be with the Lord. Say to the Lord even from henceforth as he sayes to his Church Psal 132.14 Thou shalt be my rest here will I dwell for ever Let it not be a Visit to Heaven that will satisfie you but a Conversation in heaven Phil. 3.20 Our Conversation is in heaven Let it not be a few heavenly hours or a short heavenly repast but an heavenly life that you design and follow after When you get you once thus near unto the Lord live as much as possible in the constant viewes of his Glory so continually beholding and feeding upon the foretastes and forethoughts of his Goodness and Grace that you may be changed daily from Glory to Glory into the same image Know friends that if there be any security in the world from the Robbers and the Spoilers from your Lusts and Temptations from suffering such losses again in your peace the only security you have is to keep your hearts still above Hast thou gotten thine heart to heaven keep thee where thou art keep you out of harmes way If the Devil can but catch those hearts again below catch you a roving catch you a wandring after your carnal things if he can but meet you declining from an heavenly to an earthly Conversation from a spiritual to a carnal Conversation O what sad spoiles of whatever good days you have had of whatever delights and satisfactions and joyes and comforts you have had what spoiles will he make of them all Christians when ever you can get or do feel your hearts in a better frame most full of the love and life and joy of the Lord O think what pity 't is what a sad fall it will be to make an exchange of this blessed state for the barren and brackish Pleasures of this world think with your selves shall I forsake the sweetness of the Fig-tree and the fulness of the Olive and go and browze upon brambles The design friends of all this is to perswade and invite you to live in constant Communion with God You have been received and entertained this day into special communion with God and the intent and meaning of this solemne communion is that by the sweetness and refreshing you find in it you may be set into a way of ordinary communion with him That your life may be a life of Communion with God a life of faith a life of love a life of Holiness and Joy that so you might prophesie to your selves with the Psalmist Psal 23.6 Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever Brethren do you in good earnest desire to get you up to such a life as this do you heartily wish it might be thus with you have you any hope that you shall obtain and will you follow after it will you go hence as men and women designing any such thing shall we that have been with the Lord together this day now agree together in the Name of the Lord to be reaching forward with one heart and with one soul towards such an heavenly life shall we help one another and quicken one another and set examples one to another of such spirituality and heavenliness what do ye think would be the fruit of our appearance before the Lord this day might we return to our houses with our hearts full of such holy Resolutions with our hearts flaming in such holy desires Oh be impatient of thinking to return again to your old carnal and sensual and worldly frames to your cold and indifferent and lukewarm and lifeless way of Religion Let not the Devil catch you again wandring or carelesly jogging on at your wonted rate if he do look for it that whatsoever of the Divine Life or Love of the Divine Hope or joy hath been kindled in you this day you will be quickly spoiled and robbed of it all and those poor and weakly hearts will fall into a worse condition then before If you would keep any thing about you that might comfort you if you would secure your Souls from being rifled of all that you have received if you would not return to be dark and dead and barren Souls then remember this Counsel you have received from the Lord to whom my Prayer is for you which was Davids for Israel 1 Chron. 29.18 O Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Israel our fathers keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of this people and prepare their heart unto thee Keep these thoughts fresh upon your hearts and you shall thereby keep your hearts after the Lord hath spoken Grace unto you from returning again to folly Lastly Commit the keeping of your hearts to the keeper of Israel Commit them to God Psal 127.1 Except the Lord keep the City the watchmen waketh but in vain The keeping of the heart is a greater trust than the keeping of a City and therefore had need be put into safe hands G d is able to keep it 2 Tim. 1.12 I know whom I have believed that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him unto that day God is able and God is faithful faithful is he that hath called you and will do it But it may be you will say O I shall never be able to keep mine heart in heaven keep up the love and life and joy of God in my Soul keep my self pure keep me close to God that the Devil never catch me wandring abroad Why I see he may catch me every hour mine heart is given to wandring and I cannot hold it in It would be an ease and a joy and a great delight to me could I get to be raised to such a pitch to be all spiritual and heavenly and there to fix and be ever with the Lord. O what a joy it would be to me had I but hope I might get to such a pitch but wo is me I shall never be able Why do your duty and for such a comfortable success let that care lie on the Lord. Commit it to him both to help you into such a frame and to keep you in it he hath said he will not fail you He hath sealed to you this day that he will help you that he will keep you trust upon him and he will do it But what is it to commit the keeping of our hearts to the Lord 1. To give them to the Lord. God will keep nothing but what is his own Wilt thou give thine heart to the Devil and then commit it to God to keep it for him give your hearts to the Lord give them to him for his Servants and then commit them to his Custody 2. To trust him with the keeping of them Psal 143.9 Deliver me O God from mine enemies for I flee unto thee to hide me I have many enemies that lie in wait for my Soul I dare not trust to my self for security God is my trust and my refuge I flee unto thee to hide me I will trust under the shadow of thy wings Psal 36.7 Therefore brethren my Exhortation to you shall be the same with Peters Exhortation to suffering Christians 1 Pet. 4.19 Commit the keeping of your Souls to him in well doing as unto a faithful creatour Observe it commit but in well doing Do not neglect your duty and think to make it up with this I have committed the care of my self to God I say do not neglect your hearts be not idle and careless of your own duty do not leave your selves open to the Usurpation of lust or the invasion of the Devil do not suffer your hearts to lead you on in your carnal ways leave not that heart of thine to be a blind house a dark hole and filthy Dungeon full of Abominations and then think to make up the matter with this to say I have committed it to the Lord to wash it and cleanse it and keep it I trust God with my Soul he I hope will preserve it commit the keeping of your Souls in well doing do your duty keep your hearts under Government keep them under Guard be washing your hearts daily be watching your hearts daily though God be also yet you are every one your own keepers do your part to keep that which God hath committed to you and then fear not but God will do his part he will keep whatever you have committed to him And thus I have at length run through this great duty of keeping the heart The Lord knows how great need there is of every word that hath been spoken O that none of it might be lost Our poor hearts God knows have hitherto found us but poor heart-keepers The case they are in is Evidence sufficient to prove how sadly they have been look'd to Some of them continuing in a lost state to this day others of them but half recovered others relapsed and fallen back from what they were once hopefully recovered to none of our hearts but have often been among Thieves where we have suffered great loss and how many have been the heart distempers and diseases we have fallen into O what slight what licentious what listless dull and lazy Souls have we been sure these hearts have found us but bad keepers O what shall be the success of these many words that have been spoken what say you Christians is there any hope that your hearts shall be better look'd to for the future what say you will you now be faithful will you keep this charge of the Lord keep this heart with all diligence who is there among you that will say I confess my faults and my great neglects this day I confess I have been careless the sad frame mine heart is in is a witness against me but through the Grace of God I will look better to my self and hope I shall not forget this word as long as I live I hope I shall leave medling with other mens matters and leave censuring of other mens ways and from henceforth keep mine eye more close and constant upon mine own Soul This do be more faithful in keeping your selves and then you may be bold to commit your selves to the Lord as unto a faithful Creator What hath been my design and desire in this whole work But 1. To prepare your hearts for the Lord that he may accept them 2. To bring them over to the Lord that they may become his own 3. To keep them for the Lord to keep them pure that he may take pleasure in them O let this be done and then you may commit them to the Lord to keep them safe Will you be perswaded will you be prevail'd upon thus to prepare and bring over your hearts to the Lord thus to preserve and keep them pure and faithful to him and so trust to his faithfulness Might I prevail with you in this I had done my work and having put you thus into safe custody should there be bold to leave you in this Confidence that you should be thenceforth all kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto Salvation FINIS