frequently to the test and to the tormentors They loved not their lives to the death their liberties to bands and suffered joyfully the spoyling of their goods Rev. 12.11 Act. 20.23,24 Hebr. 10.34 What mean these subterfuges and shifting fetches that shyness and straitning fear which so hold or oppress you Come shew your selves men if not Saints Yea be followers of them who through faith and patience do inherit the promises Hebr. 6.12 III. Look you to what is past of your own selves Remember that time when you were without Christ Oh! How long How long did ye outstand his calls oppose his commands cause and concerns in the world oppress your own Spirits and offend his holy Spirit Brethren should not the time past suffice you should you not study to repair his honor and right holiness as much as in you lieth 1 Pet 4.1 Rom. 6 19. If you are indeed in Christ let your strict confessions now make some amends for your loose conversations then Though you cannot intrinsecally repair his honor you may and should extrinsecally Paul was not so eminent a persecutor but he willingly becomes as eminent a professor when the power of transforming grace hath once past upon him He had lived more adversly to Christ then all before his conversion and labors more abundantly for Christ then they all after his conversion 1 Cor. 1.5 9,10 4. § Fourthly look you forward Oh! how will the confession of Christ be reciprocated and rewarded How will the contrary thereunto be reciprocated and revenged I. First How will your confession of Christ be reciprocated and rewarded confesse him and he will confesse you confesse him on earth and he will confesse you in heaven confesse him before men in your day end he will confesse you before men before Angels and before his father in his day Mat. 10.32 Rev. 3.5 Luke 12.8 Plead his cause and he will plead yours vindicate His Name and he will vindicate Yours contend for him and he will contend for you and contend against them that contend against you Psal 35.51 Lam. 3.58 Isa 49.25 51.22 Sirs how would you that Christ should carry it towards you when he cometh in his glory Would you be cleared and confessed by him then would you that he acquit acknowledg and approve you then As ever you would be found on his side then with the glorified comprehensors in patriâ fall in with his side now amongst the gracious Confessors in viâ II. Secondly how will the contrary be reciprocated and revenged Deny him and he will deny you deny him before men on earth and he will deny you before the Angels of God and before his Father in heaven 2 Tim. 2.12 Mat. 10.33 Luke 12.9 Are you ashamed of him he also will be ashamed of you If you are ashamed of him and his words in this adulterous and sinful generation he also will be ashamed of you when he cometh in his own glory and in his Fathers and in the holy Angels Mark 8.38 Luke 9.26 He will admit no claim of theirs to him then who will not assert his claime to them now but will abandon them for ever with an I never knew you Mat. 7.22,23 Luke 13.27 5. § Fifthly look you inward I. First for this are all those holy principles from God imparted to you and his holy and pure Law imprinted within you Psalm 40.8,9,10 There is not one talent but is to trade with Holy faith hope love c. are all for exercise and imployment and so for evidence to the praise and honour of the giver though not for popular ostentation by the user All the fruits of righteousness are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God Phil. 1.11 True grace is compared to light to fire c. which are not only communicative of their vertues but carry a self-evidence Love and faith are not without their evident works and labour and become effectual by the acknowledging every good thing Rom. 13.12 Psal 39.3 1 Thes 1.3 Philem. 5.6 Can you then believe in Christ with your hearts and not confesse Christ with your mouths These two are connexed Rom. 10.9,10 Can there be hope in you and you abide wholly carelesse to render a reason of it when thereunto required and the object of your hope will be thereby also honoured 1 Pet. 3.15 II. Secondly upon this the holy presence and inhabitation of God is insured to you Whosoever shall believe and confesse that Jesus is the Son of God God dwelleth in him and he in God 1 John 4.15 O sweet promise O the signal priviledge of sincere professors God and the godly confessour have a mutual cohabitation with one another a mutual inhabitation in one another Every new act of your holy confession will be a new advance in this happy communion Now ordinarily is the most soul enriching intercourse with God and the most soul-ravishing illapses from God even to joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1.6,7,8 Now it was that Stephen saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God And that he said to others Behold I see the heavens opened c. Now when the showers of stones like a storm of haile fell upon this holy Confessour who was yet full of the holy Ghost and of power Act. 7.55,56 III. Thirdly to this all those holy relations whereinto you are called ingage you You are his subjects his servants nay his friends his brethren his bride Who should witnesse to and for him if you do not You are my witnesses saith the Lord Is 43.10 Sirs you are neerest related to him of all the world May I not say to you in the words of Pilate Behold your King Treason of the deepest dye to say with those wicked Jews Away with him away with him and crucifie him rather then adventure to confesse him Iohn 19.14,15 Behold your master your friend that calls you not henceforth servants i. e. comparatively not so much servants as friends for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doth But saith he I have called you friends John 15.15 What! and yet loath to confesse him Where is the loyalty of a servant Where is the love and ingenuity of a friend Behold your elder brother one that is not ashamed to call you brethren though lifted up to the throne far above all principality and power Heb. 2.11,12 And are you ashamed to call him brother that yet lie upon the dung-hill In short Behold your beloved husband you are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones This is a great mystery How should your thoughts be taken up in expatiating touching his honour and your happinesse How should your tongues be tuned to the imblazoning of his excellencies How should you tell every one that asketh you in the language of the spouse Cant. 5.9 ad finem He is the chiefest among ten thousand he is altogether lovely This is my beloved and this is my friend O ye daughters of
shall be made as Grass and forgettest the Lord thy Maker c. Fear thou not loe I am with thee be not dismaied for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the Right-hand of my righteousness Fear not thou worm Jacob and ye men of Israel I the Lord thy God will hold thy right-hand c. Isa 51.12,13 41.10 17. Turn your fears then into the right proper channel turn them in upon sin and upon the severities of God for sin But stand fast in the Faith quit quit you like men and strive together for the faith of the Gospel 1 Cor. 16.13 Phil. 1.27 Be not afraid of their terrours nor be troubled But fanctifie the Lord God in your hearts and let him be your fear and your dread and so be you ready alwayes to give to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meeknesse and fear Being nothing terrified by your adversaries which is to them an evident token of perdition but to you of salvation and that of God 1. Pet. 3.14,15 Phil. 1.28 2 Quicken and keep up such affections as have good for their object especially spiritual love hope and joy First Quicken and keep up love If you love Christ how can you be loath to confess Holy love fetches in fixeth and fireth the interiour minde and exteriour members to and for its beloved The love of Christ saith Paul constrains us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it hath hems in and holds in the whole man together and there is no getting out from the holy siege and coarctation of this holy love 2 Cor. 5,14 Love unites the strength of the soul within it self and upon its object beloved and the streams thereof never flow more freely then when it can vent and unbosom it selfe in the confessions and commendations of this object most fully How sick was the Spouse of love to Christ and therewith to be declaring of discussing about and dilating upon her dearest and altogether lovely Cant. 5.8 ad sinem 2.5 c. Love is venturous vehement victorious and will at no hand be either flattered and bribed out of or frighted and beaten from Christ or any of his concernments Christian love is an holy Fire that is quenched by none but consumeth all the waters of adversity and affliction that are cast upon or come near unto it Cant 8.6,7 Christian love facilitates also and makes the difficulties of the Command and of the Cross easie amiable admirable and to no small degree desirable and delicious 1 Iohn 5.3 2. Cor. 12.10 Did Iacobs service seem but a few dayes to him for the love that he had to Rachel Gen. 29.20 Oh! how easie will be the yoak how light will be the burden of confession to us when our hearts are once over powered with divine love to this dear Redeemer Cantic 1.3,4 2.3 c. Secondly Quicken and keep up hope The Aspect and Acts of divine hope refer you all to Christ that he may be glorified by you in the confession of him and you may be glorified with him in his confession of you who is the Object of our hope 1 Tim. 1.1 Phil. 1.20 Eph. 1.12 Tit. 1.13 Acts 28.20 Sirs this holy hope will anchor and rest your hearts in the greatest stormes you now foresee or shall feel and find While those threaten shipwrack to the faithful Confessors beneath this hath firme anchoridge within the veil above so that even then you may have strong consolation through the power and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father Hebr. 6.18,19 1 Thes 1.3 Christians will you but cast out this anchor you may ride out the most violent times and tempests with an unmoveable and unshaken confidence as Iob and David have done before you Job 19.13 29. Psal 16.8 ad finem Sirs this holy hope will assure and rejoyce your hearts and that in the greatest straits that are or can come upon you for confessing the Name of Jesus This hath Cordial and Celestial waters in its hand for you to revive you in every swoon and refresh you in every sadness Oh Christians how may you rejoyce in hope of the Glory of God and glory in tribulations also Rom. 12.12 5 2-6 No marvel if your hearts are sad when your hopes are sunk Quicken and call forth these hopes often into act and employment And think it not enough that you have but you must hold fast the confidence and rejoycing of your hopes firme and stedfast unto the end Heb. 3.6,14 Thirdly Quicken and keep up joy Joy sets open the doors of the soule to let in all encouraging means and motives Fears shrivel contract and straiten the heart but Joy dilates and widens and enlarges it to do the utmost duties and indure the utmost dangers that may come upon us for confessing Christs Name 2 Cor. 6.4 12. Joys strengthen whereas fear and grief weaken The Joy of the Lord is our strength Nehem 8.10 Joy sweetens whereas fear and grief embitters the affliction that is coming on It sweetens the Cross and so contemns the shame that it cast upon him for the sake of Christ yea and counts it his Credit his Crown and blesseth that happy Providence that calls him forth to witnesse and counts him worthy to suffer for the Name of Jesus Heb. 12.2 Acts 5.41 I am filled with comfort saith Paul I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation 2 Cor. 7.4 Maintain your comforts then as you would maintain the Interest of Christ and pay your debt of Confession Let your course be finished with joy and your confession will be full of ingenuity and freedom Act. 20.24 yield not to your own despondencies upon increasing difficulties Count a joy all joy when you fall into divers temptations Here is no reason for any retractation without or of racking fears griefs or cares within Rejoyce rather in as much as ye are made partakers of Christs sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy Jam. 1.2 1 Pet. 4.13 Sect. 3. Thirdly be strong in the spirit The flesh will pull you back and at best profits nothing 'T is the spirit alone that can savingly impower and enable you to a suitable and sincere Confession of Jesus Christ No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost Jo. 6.63 1 Cor. 12.3 Set not about it then in thine own strength which is weakness But be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Alas what are all created streams of strength without the fresh supplies from the spring and fountain of it God himself Eph. 6.10 Psal 73.26 Sollicit Heaven then as well as strive with thine own heart that thou mayst be strengthned by Gods spirit in the inner man In that thy strength is so little and the service is so great ply heaven the harder and fetch down a