this would be more sutable for your Family than Ballads prophane and lascivious filthy Rymes which you should not suffer under your Roof SECT XI THirdly The manner how you should Worship God in your Family is chiefly to be minded for it is not any service that God will accept you may keep up a course of praying in your Family and yet live very unworthy of the great mercy of God in your wonderful preservation Therefore 1. In your Family worship God really and indeed with your heart and mind and all your strength do not seem to pray but pray indeed in your Family For this end consider 1. The God whom you serve in your Families is God indeed he is a real God therefore worship him indeed and in a real manner 2. The sins of your Families are real sins your own sins are real sins and your childrens sins are real sins and have real guilt therefore confess them really and mourn and sorrow for them really 3. The wants of your Family are real wants you do not seem to want outward mercies but except God supply you you will want them indeed 4. The supplies which God doth give you are real supplies God giveth you real health and real food and reâ—l cloathing for your Family therefore be real in your Family Worship 5. You and your Family are real in following of the World you work in good earnest and you buy and sell in good earnest And will you be real in the things of the World that concern your Family and will you not be real in your Family Worship 2. In your Family worship God Livelily not only with a true and sincere heart but with a lively heart take heed of dulness and formality take heed of sleeping at your prayers And here I would advise that Masters of Families would not put off their duties too long in the Morning till half the day be past nor too late in the Evening when the Family will be more disposed and inclined to sleep than to pray 3. In your Family worship God chearfully go not to Family Prayer as a task and burden but as a great favour and priviledge that you and your Children might call upon God 4. In your Family worship God constantly Some will pray on a Sabbath night but it may be not all the Week after Thus if you serve God in your Family it will be a great step to your walking in some measure answerably for so great preservation and then it will be a good discovery that God hath spared you in mercy to do him service in the Education of your Children and not in judgment to the encreasing of your sins only Thus far concerning the Duties of Families whom God hath spared in this time of Pestilence in general Of the several Relations in a Family next SECT XII SEcondly If you will live in some measure answerably to so great a mercy as Preservation from death in a time of great Mortalitie is then fill up the duties of your particular Relation wherein you stand Relative sins are very offensive unto God and a great scandal to Religion The fiâ—st of these Relations in a Family is First Conjugal betwixt Husband and Wife and the great duty incumbent upon them is mutuâ—l love in which many are deficient and many are excessive it being hard for such to let out their affections one to another so much as God commands and no more than God allows and both these extreams will terrisie conscience when such come to dye And this sin is more usually seen when death hath broken this Relation than while God continueth them together the Surviver then seeth he did not love his Wife and the Wife her Husband with that degree of love as that Relation called for or with a greater degree than was pleasing unto God when the love of this Relation did diminish the love they should have to God And how many breaches hath God made in this Relation to punish the sin of both extreams It may be thy love was Immoderate and therefore God hath taken thy Relation from thee Or it may be thy love was deficient and therefore God hath taken thy Relation from thee When thou wâ—st sick and thou thoughtest thou shouldest have died did not thy Conscience then accuse thee for one of these in thy Relation And yet hath God spared thee and thy Wife or thee and thy Husbâ—nd then what conscience did reproach thee for in this particular if thou wouldst answer Gods mercie in sparing of thee let this be reformed There are many this day may be lamenting not so much the loss of this Relation as that they did not walk sutablie in this Relation while they were in it this being the sting of their affliction Oh! methinks such as God hath continued in a Conjugal Relation in this time of great Mortality should look upon themselves now more engaged to perform their mutual duties with more care and conscience than before Such a one hath buried his Wife and such a one hath buried her Husband but God hath preserved you in your Relation you cannot live answerablie for this mercie but in a better discharge of your mutual duties How would you wish you had loved your Relation Wife or Husband if God had taken either away by death so do now when God continueth you both in life Because this conduceth so much to an answerable return for so great a mercie I will a little insist upon it And in the general if you would improve this mercie the direction is that your love and affection be such one to another as is the love betwixt Christ and the Church Eph. 2.25 Husbands love your Wives even as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it And this love of the Husband must be requited with the love of the Wife for it is reciprocal Tit. 2.4 Teach the young women to be sober to love their Husbands SECT XIII BUT more particularly I shall speak to three things What manner of love is this Why they should have this Wherein they should manifest this love one to another If you will improve this mercie God hath vouchsafed you your love must have these properties 1. It must be a Superlative love that is in respect of all sublunarie things though your love to God and Christ must be more than your love one to another else it doth sinfully exceed for if any loveth Father or Mother Husband or Wife more than Christ he is not worthie of him yet in respect of all other persons and things in this world it must be more else it is sinfully deficient A man must love his Wife above all other persons above his Estate or whatsoever is dear unto him in this world and so the Wife Thus Christ loveth his Church and a believing soul above all other persons and the Church reciprocallie loves Christ above all other things in the world 2.
It must be a Constant love it must last as long as life in both doâ—n last The longer you live in this Relation the more you should love Length of time must not wear off the commanded and allowed strength of your mutual Affection Thus Christ alwaies loveâ— his Church and the Church alwaies loves Jesus Christ 3. It must be Holy love from an holy Principle obedience to Gods command in an holy manner according to the Word of God for holy ends the glorie of God c. Carnal love for carnal ends is not the love that God requireth in this Relation Thus Christ loves the Church and the Church loves Christ with an holy love 4. It must be a tender compassionate and sympathizing love if God lay his afflicting hand upon either in sickness of bodie in terrours of mind the other is to be tender and to sympathize in those afflictions If God lay his hand upon both in Povertie and want they should not fret one against the other which is too usuall but should both with tenderness of compassion endeavour to bear the same burden and make up that which is wanting in outward enjoyments in the degree of their love And this would lighten many burdens and sweeten the bitter Cup of affliction which God may put into both their hands as the want of Conjugal affection in many doth make that heavie which is light and that bitter which is sweet Thus Christ loveth his Church and sympathizeth with her in all her afflictions Isa 63.9 Acts 9.4 5. It must be Forgiving love that shall hide and cover the infirmities of each from the world every miscarriage in this Relation should not abate the affection of one to the other Sinful Infirmities must not be allowed of in one another because they must be faithful to each others souls and yet they should not be blazed unto others because of the love to each others person Thus Christ loveth his Church notwithstanding her sinful Infirmities and because he loveth her he is readie and willing to forgive her But there is no such retaliation of this Propertie of love in the Church to Christ because he hath no such sinful infirmities but there is no such husband in the world besides Christ and therefore in our case it is reciprocal SECT XIV THe Reasons why there should be such love and mutual Affection betwixt those in a Conjugal Relation are such as these 1. Because God commands it and with gracious persons a command of God is instead of a thousand Reasons Before this Relation be entred into persons may lawfullie look after attractives and motives of love but when once they are so relâ—ted this is sufficient reason though there are others why they should love Eph. 5.25 Tit. 2.4 2. Because they are one flesh He that loveth his Wife loveth himself and she that loves her Husband loveth her self Eph 5.28 29. It is unnatural in any to hâ—te their own flesh 3. Because the comfort of their life and the sweetness of this Relation much depends upon their mutual affection 4. Because the Gospel will be much hindered by the want of this love in those that make profession of it The Gospel much suffers when wicked persons observe that Professors fill not up their relative duties Tit. 2.4 Teach the young women to be sober to love their Husbands to love their Children Ver. 5. To be discreet chaste keepers at home good obedient to their own Husbands that the Word of God be not blasphemed 5. Because else they will be more unfit for spiritual duties either together or apart When there are differences betwixt Husband and Wife it is an hinderance to them in their praying one with another in their praying one for another want of this Conjugal affection and breaches in this relation hath often straitened the heart of the party offending at the throne of grace and this professing Husbands and Wives should be careful of 1 Pet. 3.5 6 7. The Apostle had exhorted persons in a Conjugal relation to discharge their mutual duties after the Example of Abraham and Sarah and the reason he alledgeth is That your Prayers be not hindred 6. Because else they cannot comfortably dye Breaches in the duties of this Relation will make great breaches in our peace of conscience when we come to dye When you are to part at death conscience will be lashing of you God hath set thee saith Conscience in such a relation but thou hast not had the love of that Relation God gave thee such a yoak-fellow but thou diâ—st not live with that affection as he did require and now thy relation must be broken Oh theâ— saith the offendor if God would continue me a little longer in this relation how would I walk more sutably in performing the duties thereof better than hitherto I have done but do it now before death doth part you SECT XV. THe duties wherein those in a Conjugal Relation should manifest this mutual affection and they are such as are either Proper to each Common to both The Husband manifests his love in Direction in cases dubious Protection in cases dangerous 1 Sam. 30.18 Provision of things needful 1 Tim. 5.8 The Wife manifests her love in Inward Reverence Eph. 5.33 Outward subjection 1 Pet. 3.1 The duties that are common to both do either concern The body or things temporal The soul or things Spiritual 1. In the affairs of this life they should manifest their mutual love one to another In Procreation of Children Education of Children Administration of houshold affairs Times of affliction and sickness 2. In the concernments of each others souls or things spiritual their love should be especially manifested Love to the soul is the Noblest love because the soul is the nobler part to love the body and hate the soul as too many do is but cruel love Their love is highest love that love each others souls and this love is manifested 1. In Reproving one another for sin this is greatest love not to reprove is to hate Lev. 19.17 So Job his Wife Job 1.9 10. So Abigail her Husband 1 Sam. 25.36 37. where you may observe both Abigails Piety she reproved Nabal And her Prudence when the wine was out of his head 2. In comforting one another under inward terrours So Manoahs Wife comforted him Jud. 13.22 23. 3. In Provoking one another to good works of Piety and Charity This is the only allowed contention betwixt Husband and Wife who shall be best and love God most and do most good but not to provoke to wrath and wicked works as Jezabel did Ahab 1 Kings 21.7 8 9. Wicked Husbands are usually very wicked when wicked Wives stir them up to do wickedly ver 25. 4. In Praying one with another and praying one for another It is great love in such to improve their interest at the throne of grace one for another Thus if you whom God hath spared and continued life unto after thiâ—
should walk in newness of life Ver. 6. Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin In which Scripture are set down these things viz 1. The parts of Sanctification Mortification Vivification 2. The cause of our Sanctification viz. communion with Christ in his Death Burial and Resurrection 3. The Testimony and Pledge of it our Baptism 4. The growth and progress of Mortification we should aime at the total destruction of the body of sin by the Crucifying Destroying and Burial of sin You have seen the death of thousands and you have seen the Burial of thousands to all these add one more Funeral and that is the Funeral of your sins Do you out-live this Judgment and shall your sins do so too God forbid This would be to live altogether unanswerably to so great a mercy You live but your sins should be dead in you and you unto your sins Rom. 6.11 Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Though you live yet must you be buried Now Believers are buried in three respects 1. In respect of their good names as they are reproached by the wicked The throats of the wicked are the Sepulchres or burial places of the good names of Gods people this is part of a Believers sufferings 2. In respect of Self-denial Believers must be no more taken with the things of this World so far as to draw them from God than a person dead and buried and lying in his grave 3. In respect of the Mortification of sin and these two last are our duty and of this last I would speak a little following the Metaphor in which there is some difference and some agreement in the burial of our sin and in common burial The difference in these Respects First We bury our friends weeping for their death desirous of their life wishing oâ— that this my Friend had not died oh that I could have kept him in life But we must bury our sin rejoycing as those that are glad of its death Not weeping because sin is dead but that it once did live Secondly We bury our Friends with hopes that they shall rise again and live again But we must bury our sins with hopes they shall never live more never return to them more The resemblance holds in these particulars 1. The Burial of sin supposeth the death of sin Never any man yet buried his sins alive For while sin doth live it is in the heart as in a Throne and not as in a Grave 2. The Burial of sin supposeth the ceasing of the love of sin that we see not that beauty and comliness in sin as we did when it was alive A man that loves his Relation while he lived put him in his bosome yet will not do so when he is dead a man while he loves his sin will never bury it 3. The Burial of sin includeth the removal of it out of our sight and as much as may be out of our thoughts We love not to look upon dead friends nor many times to think or talk of them who while they lived were pleasing objects to our eyes and the delightful matter of our discourse While Sarah lived she was beautiful in Abrahams eyes but when dead he desired to have her removed out of his sight Gen. 23.4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you give me possession of a burying place with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight The presence of sin is a trouble to you when it is dead and you would have it out of your sight and this removal of sin when dead and buried hath these three properties First It is a total removal the whole body of sin and all the members of it are buried Death might arise from the disease of some particular part but burial covers all He that makes a shew of the burial of sin and yet keeps any in his heart as his love and delight hath indeed buried no sin For who doth so bury his friend as to keep any of his members in his house Secondly It is a voluntary removal when one is dead we make it matter of our choice to have him buried Yea we look upon it as a sore evil and great annoyance to have burial denied to our dead friends So it is your choice to bury your sins and the thoughts of not having them buried is a great trouble to you Thirdly It is a perpetual removal we bury our friends so that we would not have them taken up again and brought into our house So you bury sin never to have it brought back to live again in your heart One that hath buried his sin doth earnestly desire it might be removed out of the sight of God by free pardon out of the sight of his own eyes by the evidence of the pardon and out of the sight of others by leading a contrary Conversation 4. The Burial of sin includes the rotting of the old man in its grave the mouldring of it and the daily wasting of it as dead Corps buried in the earth do consume and wast daily Though a body buried doth not presently totally consume Many years after the burial if the grave be opened you may find the bones and the skull the reliques of sin in the heart of a Child of God are but as the bones and the skull but the body of sin is destroyed 5. The Burial of sin includes the loss of the power and authority that sin had in the heart while it was alive Though a man were never so potent while he lived yet when he is dead and buried he hath no more power nor jurisdiction Though thy sin did sit as a Lord and rule in thy soul while it lived yet being dead and buried its dominion ceaseth Now if you are buried with Christ these things will be a comfort to you viz 1. Those that are buried with Christ are most comely in the sight of God A man that is naturally dead and buried is not so with us but he that is spiritually dead to sin is beautiful in the eyes of God 2. Those that are buried with Christ have converse and Communion with God those that are naturally dead have no more converse with us but a man hath no Communion with God till he is buried with Christ 3. Those that are buried with Christ are past the hurt of death As those that are naturally dead have past through all that death can do unto them if you are buried with Christ though you must come under the stroke of death yet the sting of death is taken out 4. Those that are buried with Christ shall be raised at the last day and shall for ever live with God and Christ and with holy Angels and Saints in the Kingdom of God Rom. 6.8 Now if we be dead
Habit. 8. Hardness contracted 9. Hardness Judicial 10. Consummation or final Impenitence Of these briefly in their order I. Natural Concupiscence or the Vitiousness of our Nature which is in Infants this is as the Tinder or the Gun-powder whereby our Natures are apt to take fire at the least spark This is a sin because it is the absence or privation of that rectitude which ought to be in our Nature it is a fruit and punishment of Adams first sin and an immediate consequent of the loss of our Original Righteousness This is fomes peccati like to that wherewith the fire is kindled or kept burning called the Old Man sinful Sin the body of Sin sin dwelling Law of Members II. Then there is some Temptation solicitation suited to this corrupt Principle either by the Devil or wicked men or some Object presented to a man that might stirre up and excite this internal principle of Corruption in our hearts and though all men have the seeds of all sin yet Satan observing mens different constitutions hath different baits as men have several baits for several fish some he soliciteth to drunkenness others to uncleanness and others to covetousness Where note that Satan hath a wonderful advantage of us which he had not in our first Parents before the first sin for there was nothing in their hearts that was corrupt and yet how did the Devils temptation together with the Object set before their eyes prevail over them What the warm Sun is to the stiff and frozen Serpent it doth enliven it and then it sendeth forth its venom and useth its sting that a Temptation or an Object proposed is to our corrupt Natures Some call this Abstraction a drawing the minde off from good to evil III. Then there ariseth some Inclination in the soul or an hankering of the heart after that sinful Object an entring into a patley with the Devil minding of the motion made by the Tempter thinking further of the committing of the sin This is called Inescation as the Fish delighteth to play with the bait or Vitiosus motus joyned with some titillation or delight of the heart therein The first motions of the heart that are primo primi though they be involuntary and before consent of will and the judgement against them yet are sins 1 Because they are motus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 disorderly motions of the heart 2 Because they be forbidden by the Law of God and 3 Hinder our love to God IV. Next is the Compliance and consent of the will yielding to the temptation and closing with the motion made concerning such an act upon such an Object The Will as queen and commander in the soul makes a decree to close with the temptation and to close with and consent unto the solicitation to sin upon the understandings mistake in its comparative judgement apprehending and dictating to the will that to be good which indeed is evil or the sensitive appetite moving the will by the mediation of the understanding allureth it unto consent and this is the conception of sin Jam. 1.14 15. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and entised then when Lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin c. V. When the Will hath consented it layes a despotical or flat Injunction on the Members of the body to execute and proceed to action and this is the actual commission of sin in the execution in Imperate acts Thus when Judas had consented to betray Christ he goes forth and covenants with Christs crucifyers and betrayes him Thus the eye moveth to behold and the hand to act that which the will consenteth to and commands Thus far it is the unhappiness of the people of God in their state of imperfection to yield David had a principle of corruption then an Object proposed then wicked suggestions arose or were injected into his minde then his will consented and then proceeded to the actual commission of his after-bitterly-lamented sin VI. Then wicked men proceed to the frequent Iteration of the same sin till it becomes customary A wicked man is drunk till it is his custom to be so and to swear till it becomes his custom to do so This is a great progress made in sin it is great growth and such will be hardly reclaimed Jer. 13.23 Can the Aethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may you who are accustomed to do evil learn to do well Aethiopem lavare is to labour in vain Ministers endeavour to reclaim men accustomed to swearing and lying and drunkenness and they preach in vain and study and pray in vain as to any success usually upon such mens hearts It is the commendation of a man to be accustomed to a thing if it be good for a Christian to say it is his custom to pray and a Minister it is his custom to preach though it is not good that the one pray out of custom nor the other preach customarily To have it customary to perform holy dutyes is good but to do them customarily is evil Thus it was Christs custom or he was wont to preach and teach the people But it is an aggravation to be accustomed to a thing if it be evil and if it be gross it is a sign of a graceless person Though some carnal men when reproved for their often swearing say I thought no harm it is only a custom I have got and I cannot leave it A custom why that is the aggravation and growth of thy wickedness and thou dost as foolishly alledge that to extenuate thy sin which indeed doth aggravate thy sin as a Thief accused before the Judge for stealing should plead it was his custom so to doe Now sin is become the profession of the sinner and he goes to his sin as customarily as an Artificer to his Shop or Work-house but it is not the custom of Gods people to make a custom of committing gross sins David did to the wounding of his soul once commit Adultery but it was not his Custome so to doe Peter at one time did deny his Lord but it was not his custom so to do It is not the custom of a gracious person often to commit the same grosse sin but it is his custom often to lament a gross sin but once committed Therefore if it be thy custom to commit grosse sins and thou art wont to do so thou art gone beyond the people of God in thy sinnings Thy state is deplorable VII Customary commission of sin begets an Habit in sinning whereby the love of sin is more deeply radicated in the heart Habits are got by frequent repeated acts and doth adde a greater facility to act and such as are customary sinners will soon be habitual Sinners by frequent swearing they will have an habit of swearing by frequent drunkenness they will acquire an habit of that sin and what is habitual especially in evil
say let him make speed and hasten his work that we may see it and let the counsell of the holy one of Israel draw nigh and come that we may know it Thus sinning with judiciall hardness and dying in finall impenitency are at the bottom round from whence they step into endless misery Thus you see how great a matter a little fire kindleth and from how small beginnings some have proceeded to the very pitch and height of sin that can scarce be worse save in the frequent iteration of the sins that they commit for they have got into all kinds of sin they are guilty of spirituall wickedness which the devill is malice enmity against God and goodness c. and of corporall wickedness as Adultery Drunkenness Gluttony c. Which the Devill is not capable of committing the Devill being only a spirit but men consist of body and spirit and so may commit more sins for kind than the Devill himself can do But God forbid that after such a judgement amongst us should be found such sinners this will be an evil requitall to the Lord for his removing his sore judgement from us SECT VII Vnder what dispensations do wicked men grow worse and worse IN the generall I answer wicked men are the worse in all conditions that God puts them into more particularly they are worse and worse Under Gods Providences Gods Ordinances First Wicked men wax worse under all Gods Providences whether Of Prosperity Adversity Deliverances I. Ungodly men are worse under their prosperity when the world smiles upon them and when they have all that their carnall hearts can wish and desire If the Sun shine it hardens the clay and the more it makes the dunghill send forth unsavory smels Rom. 2.4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance ver 5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God A wicked man is more hardened by Gods kindness to him Animus Iniquus beneficio fit pejor A wicked heart is made worse by every kindness As Christ fed Judas at his table and he runs presently to betray him The more God aboundeth to them in common goodness the more they abound against God in multiplied wickedness Neh. 9.16 ad 27. Psal 78.12 17. Prov. 1.32 The prosperity of fools shall destroy them Isa 26.10 Let favor be shewed to the wicked yet will he not learn righteousness in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. They are worse by prosperity 1. Because they are thereby listed up with pride and carnall confidence many men the more rich the more proud and the prouder the worser the more their riches increase the more they set their hearts upon them and the more a mans heart is upon the creature the worse he is Prosperity is full of snares and we are apt then to forget God and to lift up the heel against him Deut. 32.15 But Jesurun waxed fat and kicked thou art waxen fat thou art grown thick thou art covered with fatness then he forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the Rock of his Salvation Here is great prosperity and great impiety and God seeing how apt his own people are to be worse by prosperity doth caution them largely against it Deut. 8.7 11 12 13 14 17 18. 2. Wicked men are worse by prosperity because then they have more fuell to feed their lusts Sodomites had fulness of bread and that did feed their uncleanness They turn Gods grace into wantonness and his mercies into fuell for their wickedness Those things which should be cords of love to draw them to God they turn to the nourishment of their sinnes against God and desire riches not that they may glorify God but gratify their lusts Jam. 4.3 The more abundance of outward things a drunkard hath the more he is able to please his palate with great abundance of the richest Wines the more the adulterer hath the more he bestows upon his harlot and so the greater plenty the more they lead a sensuall bruitish flesh-pleasing life and the more of that the worse they be 3. Wicked men in prosperity are the worse because they are apt to gather Gods special love to them from the common bounty he bestowes upon them Because the world smiles upon them they think God doth so too Because Gods hand is opened to them therefore they think they are engraven upon his heart and think Divine Toleration is Divine Approbation when indeed it is a sign of Gods great displeasure to give prosperity to a man in a sinfull course God was angry with the rich man in the Gospel when he gave him more abundance than he knew how to bestow Luk. 12.18 19 20. and 16.19 20. They are apt to think that is the best way which is the most prosperous way Jer. 44.17 But we will certainly doe what soever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth to burn Incense to the Queen of heaven and to pour out drink-Offerings unto her as we have done we and our Fathers our Kings and our Princes in the Cityes of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem for then had we plenty of Victuals and were well and saw no evil Vers 18. But since we left off to burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink Offerings unto her we have wanted all things and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine By prosperity they take encouragement to proceed in their Iniquity 4. Wicked men by prosperity are worse because they are apt to put far from them the evil day and the hour and thoughts of Death and Judgement and the Life to come In health they have not serious thoughts of sickness a wicked man is too apt to think that the Sun of Prosperity which shines upon him will never set nor be clouded Psal 49.11 Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for ever and their dwelling places to all generations they call their Lands after their own Names In Prosperity they think little of death Luk. 12.19 And I will say to my soul Soul thou hast goods laid up for many years eat drink and be merry They promise themselves a continuance of their outward happiness and so sin more freely and abundantly Isa 56.12 Come ye say they I will fetch Wine and we will fill our selves with strong drink and to morrow shall be as this day and much more abundant This perswasion begets carnal security and the more secure still the worse SECT VIII II. WIcked men are often times worse under adversity judgements and afflictions that do befall them the more they are punished the more they are hardened there is nothing in adversity and judgements in sickness and plagues in poverty and distress to
thy heart to keep thee from sin than before thou art so much worser than thou wast before Though abstaining from sin upon such accounts doth not prove the truth of grace yet the committing of sin notwithstanding these doth argue growth of sin Now these humane Arguments that did formerly restrain thee were such as these 1. Shame amongst men Thou hadst an Inclination to wicked company but thou wast ashamed to be seen amongst them and therefore didst not associate with them But now thou thinkest it no shame or if thou dost thou hast a face of brass and an heart of stone and blushest not Thou art worse 2. Care of Reputation Thou wast tender of thy Credit and good Name and though thou hadst a love unto some sins that would have disgraced thee amongst men yet now thou wilt blot thy Name and lose thy Credit and sacrifice thy Reputation to satisfie thy Lust 3. Costliness of sin Some sins are very chargeable and call for great expence and thy love to thy Money and natural affection to thy Wife and Children was a barre which did restrain thee from them Thou wouldest not feed and satisfie thy filthy Lusts because it would be chargeable to thee thou refrainedst from riotous Prodigals because company with them would wast thine Estate But now thou thinkest no cost too great no charge too much that thou mayest have thy fill of sin but tradest and labourest and workest to get something to maintain thy Lust and wilt rather that thy Wife and Children should want bread at home than thou shouldest not have enough to spend upon thy sins abroad Thou art now grown to an exceeding magnitude in sin that thou art monstrous to beholders 4. Health of body Such sins that tend to the impairing of thy health thou wouldest not commit Thou didst refrain not so much because they would damn thy soul as destroy thy body Thou thoughtest excessive drinking would shorten thy life and hasten thy death and bring thee sooner to thy grave that acts of uncleanness would fill thee full of loathsom diseases and leave some mark upon thy body whereby thou wouldest be noted for an unclean adulterer But now thou wilt venture health and life and all that thou mayest more freely sin and the very food thou earest is now not only to nourish thy body but to provoke thee to lust Verily thou art much worse than thou wast 5. Fear of death When the fear of God would not prevail to keep thee from sin yet fear of death somtimes hath done it and according to the strength of the fears of death have been thy restraints from sin but now thou canst think of death and speak of thy death and yet act thy sinne 6. Displeasure of men Thou hast had dependance upon some that hate such sins that thou lovest in thy heart but because thou wouldest not loose their favour thou hast bridled thy sin but now thou layest the reignes loose upon the neck of thy lusts and wilt proceed to obey them let who will be displeased thereby When thou wilt displease thy best friend and them upon whom thou dost depend for lively-hood and maintenance that thou mayst please thy lust it is a sign that sin is very high in thy heart any one of these formerly were a sufficient bolt to keep thee from grosser sins but now all put together are too weak a signe that sin is so much the stronger X. The more thou hast had experience of the dreadfull effects of sin and the more God hath punished thee for thy sin and yet wilt proceed the greater sinner thou art God hath punished thee with poverty as the fruite of thy sin with diseases in thy body with horrours in thy conscience with the death of thy relations when thou hast tasted the bitterness of sin to set against the pleasures of sin when God hath put worm-wood and gall into thy sin yet thou art bent upon it thou art very bad XI The more thou justifiest and defendest thy self after the commission of sin than formerly so much the worser thou art than formerly When thou wast reproved thou wast use to acknowledge thy sin and to confess thy wickedness but now thou dost plead for thy lust and pleadest for thy evil wayes and takest the quarrell of sin upon thy self it is a signe thy heart is more wedded to thy lusts by how much the more thou espousest its cause XII When thou art more presumptuous in thy sinnings and addest more contempt of God and pride and contumacy than formerly the worse thou art Sins of presumption are scarlet sins of a crimson dye when a man sinneth against God and blesseth himself in his wickedness and presumeth of Gods mercy and presumeth upon the patience of God a man that sins presumptuously makes a bold adventure against express threatnings of the Law of God and is mingled with great contempt of God it is no less than reproaching and despising of God himself Num. 15.30 But the soul that doth ought presumptuously reproacheth the Lord and that soul shall be cut off from among his people vers 31. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord and hath broken his commandment that soul shall be utterly cut off his iniquity shall be upon him XIII The more mercies thou sinnest against than formerly the worser thou art than before God hath given thee more mercies and multiplyed many good things upon thee and yet thou committest more sins than when thou hadst fewer mercies to make Gods mercy to be fewel for thy lusts is an aggravation of sinning for as much as it is contrary to the end of mercy which is to draw men off from sin every mercy thou receivest hath a voice and its language is repent of sin return to God Rom. 2.4 God loadeth thee with mercy and the more thou pressest him down with thy sin the more good and the more mercifull God is to thee the more vile and rebellious thou art against God this is to be highly wicked XIV The more thou drawest others into sin by thy entisements or example than before so much the worse thou art When thou art not content to sin alone not to dishonour God thy self but drawest and incouragest others to do so also and so damnest thy own soul and others too and makest thy self guilty of the bloud of those thou allurest with thee into sin The more sins thou committest thy self the worse thou art and the more persons thou dost influence by thy sin to partake with thee the worse thou art Thus if thou wilt compare thy self what thou art now with what thou hast been formerly thou mightest discern how much more thou sinnest now than thou didst before SECT XIV What considerations may be usefull to stop the streame of such mens wickedness that yet are waxing worse and worse BEcause I am loath to leave thee with a bare conviction that thou art worse than thou wast wont to be I shall add a
some with terrors in their consciences and have you not seen some godly dye with peace and comfort and giving good evidences of their hope of a better life that God hath filled them with joys that they were going to their Fathers house and that the plague and death had not so much in them to terrifie and affright as the hopes of heaven had to comfort and support their hearts It hath been ground of great rejoycing to hear how many of Gods people in this plague did dye with joy and comfort And should not yâ—u by such a sight as this be quickened in your service unto God and ever while you live look upon Religion as a real thing that letteth in such real comforts into their hearts who had real grace in such time of real discouragements after such a sight as this never think it a vain thing to serve God though you must dye who comforts his peoples souls in the very gates of death IX In this great house of so great mourning God hath been teaching you the folly of delaying in the great concernments of another world you have seen many Drunkards did delay to repent and turn to God but when death once came to Arrest them it would not stay till they had done their work Have not you seen many have been surprized by death that those that thought they would repent hereafter and talked how they would mend hereafter are gone down into the grave before that time was come and wil not you after such a sight as this be quickned to make more haste in doing of the work that God expecteth at your hands Have not you seen some that have talked what they would do the next year laid in the dust before this year is past and gone God hereby would have you learn not to boast of to morrow because you know not what may be in the womb of another day nor what to morrow may bring forth Prov. 27.1 God would have you learn so to number your days that you may apply your hearts to wisdom Psal 90.12 God would have you learn to do your duty quickly and to do it with all your might because it will be too late when you are rotting in your Grave Eccles 9.10 X. In this great house of so great mourning God hath been teaching you the great lesson of Mortification you have seen how many dyed by sin and should not you be now dead unto sin you should now in good earnest labor for the death of sin O be the death of your passion and be the death of your lusts and be the death of your worldliness especially be the death of your beloved sin God forbid that sin should be found alive in your heart after such a time of death to so many thousand persons Are so many dead and rotting in their Graves and shall not sin be dead and mouldring in your hearts These be some of the lessons God in his late providence hath been instructing you in and if you can now do these duties better than before it is some sign that you are better than you were before But yet because so great a providence should not be sleightly passed over with but a little Improvement I shall take occasion to press you to be much better than you were before before God saw a great deal of sin in his own people and amongst Professors much censoriousness and rash and uncharitable judgeing one of another want of love and affection a great deal of pride in Apparel pride in Diet pride in Furniture of houses pride of Beauty pride of Parts and Gifts and God hath been staining the pride of all Families therein God saw a great deal of neglect of Family Duties in Professors houses and customary cold and dead performance of them in others and doth it not concern all to see where they have failed and do so no more SECT XVII I Know the wicked World thinks that professing people are too exact already and that they make more adoe than is needfull But their Charge is 1. False for there is no man is so exact in his life as he ought 2. Blasphemous for what do such but blame God himself in giving such strict rules unto his people 3. Malicious Cain envyed Abel because his works were evil and his brothers good 4. Diabolical what could a Devil say more or what is this but to play the Devils part in discouraging discountenancing speaking against the pressing after the highest degrees of goodnesse But let it be your great care whom God hath spared from the grave in this time of Plague that are such as truely fear God and are truely good On take heed that after such a preservation none of you might be found worse than you were for though those that once were truely good shall never so decline as to be absolutely bad yet they may so farre fail that they may comparatively be sayd to be worse Here consider 1. To lose any degrees of Goodness and Grace is a grievous and a sinfull loss If you had lost your life in this Plague it might not have been your sin but you cannot be in the least degree worse than you were after such a providence but it is a great sin Because it is our duty to love God as much as we can therefore to lose any degrees of our love to God is to come short of our Duty and therefore a sin 2. To be worse in your spiritual condition will be great unthankefulnesse to God for his watchfull Providence over you If a man do a kindness for you will you be worse towards him than you were before And will you deal worse with God than with a fellow Creature 3. To be worse in your spiritual condition after such preservation and deliverance will be displeasiâ—g unto God and a grief unto him If God see his Children love him less and fear him less and delight in him less will it not grieve him and displease him And had it not been better you had dyed than to live to be a grief to God Had not you rather follow your Children to their graves than to see them live to be worse and dishonour God and will you yet do so your selves Is it not a grief to you the more kindness you shew unto your Children to see them the more undutiful to you and will it not be so in you to God 4. If you be worse than you were in your spiritual condition you shall have less communion with God than you had before and had not you better dye than lose your communion with God for what is your life without fellowship with God 5. If you be worse you will have less Comfort from God than you had before If you deny Duty to him which you performed to him before he will deny that comfort to you which he gave you before and what will your life be without the comforts of God let down into your soul
and fall against the inclination of your will and purpose of your heart 18. Pray much to God for strength and power to perform your Purpose You resolved to pray more importunately unto God for mercy but then you must pray to God to enable you to pray as you have resolved Resolution is our duty but strength to perform them is not in our selves but must be fetched from God and that must be by fervent frequent Prayer Pray that God would not leave thee to thy self that he would not forsake thee Psal 119.8 I will keep thy statutes there is Davids Purpose Oh forsake me not utterly there is Davids Prayer As you must not purpose in your own strength but in the strength of Christ so you cannot perform in your own strength but in the strength of Christ If your resolution be strong against sin and you rest in the strength of your Resolution and think you shall not sin because you have strong Resolutions against it you will fail 19. Mortifie Carnal self-love and be very much in the exercise of self denyal If you cannot deny your self of what is pleasing to the flesh you will deny a holy life You must often deny your own wills and your own desires and delights your own judgements and reasonings your sensitive appetite and your profits in the world and hate all these in comparison of better things and when they stand in competition with God and Christ If you love your pleasures inordinately and love your Liberty and your Life inordinately your resolutions for strictness of holy walking with God will not abide nor be accomplished The love of self as well as of sin is a great enemy to holy resolutions 20. Often urge your heart with the Examples of the holy men of God recorded in the Scriptures They purposed and were carefull to perform Jacob vowed unto God and payd it David vowed unto God and payd it Job made a Covenant with his eyes that he would not look upon Objects that should irritate his sinful nature and said why then should I do it Job 31.1 So do you say When I thought my self to be near the grave I purposed to honour God more than I did before if he should spare me why then should I not do it I purposed to watch against my sin why then should I be careless Thus I have given you the Considerations to press you to be careful of your Purposes and Helps to the performance of them next I come to the Aggravations of neglecting to live according to your engagements in the time of sickness and danger SECT III. III. THe Aggravations of the breach of your Vows and Resolutions made against sin and for holiness when fears of death were upon you do exceedingly heighten and increase your sin and because sick-bed Promises are so seldom made good and sick-bed Resolutions usually prove so ineffectual I shall desire you who have the Vows of God upon you and who have resolved if God would continue to you lâ—fe as God and Conscience and it may be others are witnesses of that you would weigh seriously as in the presence of God the evil of breaking your Vows and being careless of your Resolutions 1. This is great hypocrisie to purpose and not perform You seemed in your affliction to be affected with your condition and to be afflicted for your transgression and to approve of an holy conversation then you could weep for sin and now you work it you could then lament it and now commit it then you seemed to be changed from what you really were before when you lived in some known sin but now it appears that you have really lost that good which you did seem to have and made profession of in time of your sickness It is usual with Hypocrites to be best when they are ill and to be worst when they are well Hypocrites have their good moods are good by fits sometimes pray but not alwayes Job 27.8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite V. 10. Will he delight himself in the Lord will he alwayes call upon God i. e. He will not at all times and in all conditions pray to God when he is sick he may but when his sickness is removed his Prayers are abated It is a sign thy goodness was as a morning cloud and as the early dew it 's gone away Hos 6.4 2. This is double Iniquity it is twisted wickedness It is one sin woven with another it is not onely double dealing but it brings double guilt if thou hadst not made thy vow and resolution to pray frequently it had been but a single sin if thou hadst been seldom in it but now it is a double sin and hath double guilt that thou dost omit to pray this is one sin that thou dost omit it after thou hast promised and resolved and vowed to do it this is the other sin and indeed is this thy mending in thy sickness and dangers to be doubling thine iniquity 3. This is great folly Eccles 5.4 When thou vowest a vow unto God defer not to pay tâ—â—oâ— he hath no pleasure in fools pay that which thou hast vowed It is folly to do that which is better be undone than done Vers 5. Better it is that thou shouldest not vow then vow and not pay In thy affliction thou shouldest have learned wisdom and not committed folly 4. This is to lye to God to men A vow is a promise made to God Deut. 23. â—3 That whâ—ch is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform even a free will offering according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God which thou hast promised with thy mouth What is first called a vow is after called a promise if thou madest this promise with thy mouth and didst not really intend the fulfilling of it but didst it either to deceive thy self or others or had it been possible God himself what is this but a lye If the words of thy mouth were not conformable to the thoughts of thy minde that thou spakest one thing in thy sickness and didst intend another thou spakest not as thou thoughtest thou art guilty of a lye ethical But forasmuch as thy words do not agree to the things thou spakest of thou art guilty of a falshood logical both are bad though the first is worst And is not this an aggravation of thy wickedness to lye to God when thou art under his rod Do not parents deal more severely with their children if they finde them lying when they are under the rod Are we not like to children when they are scourged will promise any thing to be spared but presently be found in the violation of their promise But take heed how thou liest unto God Remember the fearful instance of Ananias and Sapphira Act. 5.3 Peter said Ananias why hath Satan filled thine heart to lye to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part
secret shall reward thee openly This is true also of abstaining from secret sinnings God will reward you openly Be most careful against secret sins because in these thou hast least help and least assistance from others If thy sin be visible thy friend may reprove thee and he may help to recover thee If thy sin be visible thy enemy may reproach thee for it and that may occasion thy repentance But if thy sin be secret thou wilt not have these helps nor occasions of repentance and therefore where thou art least capable of advantages and helps from others therein be the greatest friend unto thy self Thus if you would walk answerably for Gods hiding of you in the secret of his Tabernacle in time of danger live not in a course of secret sins and for your help herein I shall next proceed to the second Question viz. SECT III. WHat are the helps and means for the enabling of a Christian to abstain from heart-sins and secret sins 1. Fill your mind with actual believing thoughts of Gods all-seeing eye When you are tempted to sin in secret consider God seeth you All the thoughts of your heart and all the motions of your affections are known to him 2 Cor. 4.2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty not walking in craftiness nor handling the Word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the truth commending our selves to every mans conscience in the sight of God Psal 139.11 If I say the darkness shall cover me even the night shall be light about me Ver. 12. Yea the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to thee It is the Atheism and Infidelity of mens hearts that encourageth them to sin because it is secret 2. Firmly believe and often think of the judgement to come Then will God make manifest every secret thing The thoughts of the heart shall then be revealed If thou wouldst not have thy secret sin produced at the last day and published befoâ—e all the world do not commit i◠〈◊〉 12.14 For God shall bring every work iâ—to â—dgmenâ— with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil Rom. 2.16 In the day wâ— God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Châ—ist according to my Gospel 1 Cor. 4.5 Therefore â—udge working before the time untill the Lord come who both shall bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the couâ—sels of the hearts and then shall every man have praise of God 3. Get a deep roâ—ted hatred in thy heart to sin He that hateth sin truly will not indulge himself in committing sin secretly For true hatred of sin will set the soul with strongest opposition against it at all times and all places Hatred to sin as sin will be to all sin whether open or secret He that hates a Toade will hate it in his Chamber or Closet as well as in the Field yea the nearer it is to him if in his Bed his hatred is raised so much the more and the nearer sin is to your heart the more you should hate it He that can sin secretly when he will not openly it is not because he hates the sin but because he hates the disgrace which that sin would expose him to before Men. 4. Possess thy heart with the true fear of God Fear of shame and lessening our esteem among Men might keep from open sins but the fear of God doth steel and Antidote the heart against all sins When our restraint from sin is terminated in God it will be a general preservative against all sorts of sin 5. Get and increase in uprightness of heart the more of sincerity the less in secret sinning Hypocrisie is consistent with a constant course of secret sin but sincerity of heart doth diminish the acts and habits of sin 6. Make it your great design to have the approbation of God He that doth hunt after the commendation of Men will be good when Men do see him but he that seekes for the approbation of God endeavours to be good at all times and in all places Rom. 2.29 But he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose praise is not of Men but of God 2 Tim. 2.15 Study to shew thy self approved unto God 7. Be very watchful over your heart when you are alone and over your outward Senses when you are in Company He that doth not diligently watch will frequently sin there will be many secret stirrings of Unbelief in your heart and of Pride and of Vain-Thoughts either injected by the Devil or arising from the Corruption in your own heart A secret enemy must be watched more narrowly and so must secret sins 8. Suppress the first motions of sin crush this Cockatrice in the Egge do not dally with secret Temptations unto Sin abstain from every appearance of secret sins If you are too much given to contemplative Uncleanness avoid such things as may occasion it as beholding of Objects c. 9. Get a deep Impression of Gods kindness and mercy into thy soul Many of Gods Mercies to thee are secret Mercies which none can infallibly see in thee but thy self as Grace and the love of God shed abroad in thy heart and let the sense of Gods secret love to thee keep thee from secret sinnings against God then wilt thou say with Joseph when he was tempted to secret uncleanness Gen. 39.7 9 10. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God 10. If you would be kept from secret sins be much in secret duties He that hath all his duties abroad will have a nest of secret sins at home And this brings me to the second general Head about secret Good SECTION IV. SEcondly Maintain secret Duties and especially mind the secret things of Publick Duties this part consisteth of two Branches Maintain secret Duties Minde Secret things in Publick Duties I. Keep up a constant course of secret Duties Be much with God when you are alone Let not all your Religion lie without doores especially be much in the Practise of these four Duties in secret 1. Be much in secret Prayer This hath been the practice of the holy Men of God so Jacob Gen. 32.24 And Jacob was left alone and there wrastled a Man with him while the breaking of the day In this you have the Example of Christ himself who was much in secret Prayer Maâ— 14.23 And when he had sent the Multitudes away he went up into a Mountain apart to Pray and when the evening wâ—s come he was there alone You have some secret burdens upon your heart you have some secret and hidden workings of sin in your soul which is not convenient for you to express in the hearing of others take time then to do this when you are alone
duty Am I my brothers keeper 5 He despaireth of mercy vers 13. My punishment is greater than I can bear or My sin is greater than that it may be forgiven 6 He flyes from God vers 16. 7 He takes up with the pleasures and profits of the world without God vers 17. So Cain increased in wickedness So did Ahab 1 King 21. 1. He seeth Naboths Vineyard 2 He doth covet it and unlawfully desire that which was another mans vers 2. and would have bought that which Naboth had not a power to sell because it was the Inheritance of his Fathers vers 3. and Numb 36.7 3 He was discontent at Naboths answer though he gave him the Word of God as the reason of his denyal ver 4. 4 He doth unfaithfully report the words of Naboth as is usual with wicked men to doe vers 6. He leaves out the reason of Naboths denyal Because it was the Inheritance of his Fathers 5 He was guilty of Naboths death suffering Jezebel to use his Seal to effect it vers 8. And Elijah the Prophet chargeth Ahab with his death as being guilty of his blood vers 19. 6 He takes possession of that which was none of his own and which he got with the shedding of innocent blood contrary to the command of God Ezek. 46.18 The like steps you might perceive in Jezebels sin and if you trace her you will find her step by step to come up to an height of sin 1. She approves of Ahabs unlawfull desire vers 7. 2 She resolves to get by violence what Ahab did sinfully desire vers 7 8. 3 She makes her husband guilty of blood by gaining his consent to that which he would not act with his own hand vers 8 19 compared 4 She draweth other men and makes them partakers of her sin the Elders and Nobles vers 8 9. 5 She causeth two wicked men to take a false Oath against Naboth 6 She suggesteth the Charge that should be brought against him which was high and false ver 10. Let them swear that Naboth did blaspheme God and the King when indeed Naboth did neither 7 She prophanes Gods Ordinance she proclaimed a Fast she coloureth her wickedness with Religious pretenses 8 She obtains the murder of Naboth vers 13. They stoned by Jezebels counsel an innocent man to death This was the growth and gradation of Jezebels wickedness till it became monstrous great So Judas encreased in wickedness and grew worse and worse 1 He was an hypocrite 2 A Theife Joh. 12.4 5 6. 3 A traitour to his Lord. 4 He despaired of mercy 5 He murdered himself The groweth of sin is intimated in that expression of the holy-Ghost Gen. 15.16 The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full It was increasing but their measure was not full sin would increase In infinitum but there is a measure that a swearer or a drunkard and all wicked men shall fill up and then God will call them to an account Mat. 23.32 Fill ye up then the measure of your Fathers Thus from the word of God I have shewn that wicked men do grow in sin and wax oftentimes worse and worse SECT III. Secondly ARguments drawn from Reason do evidence this that wicked men are apt to grow in sin I will take up with three only least I be too large in this Direction And they are taken First A natura peccati From the Nature of sin Secondly Ab impulsu Diaboli From the Instigation of the Divell Thirdly Ab absentia contrarii From the absence of that which should keep them from sinning more and more Removetur prohibens I. This appears from the Nature of sin that is predominant in ungodly men that swayes and Byasseth them in all their actions and ruleth in them and exerciseth authority over them 1. One sin doth incline and dispose the heart to sin again The first sin inclined all men to commit more where grace is predominant the heart is inclined to love God and to obey God the generall scope of such a mans life and the bent and inclination of his heart is towards God and duty to grow in grace and become better and better Now Contrariorum contraria est ratio natura Sin doth dispose the heart to sin and to depart from God more and more Heb. 3.12 It makes the bent of the heart to Backslide further and further from God Hos 11.7 It makes the heart set to do evill Eccles 8.11 The heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil As is the tide to the boate so is sin to mans heart 2. Sin is of a multiplying nature as sin committed inclineth the heart to the iteration of the same sin so one sin begets another of another kind as drunkenness and gluttony begets lust and malice revenge as one circle in the water multiplies to twenty out of one root of a tree grow many armes out of one arme many branches out of every branch many twigs From the same fountain proceed many streames from the same body of the Sun many Beames So from one sin are many multiplied So Adams first sin hath multiplied Innumerably 3. In wicked men there is a complication and a connexion of sins Sins thus multiplied are linked one to another and are twisted together as there is a chaine of graces in a godly man that if you draw one link you move the whole chaine when you exercise Faith upon a promise suppose of eternall Life this sets all his graces on exercise as one wheele in a Watch moveth all the rest Faith applying this promise stirreth up love to God that made the promise and hath prepared the thing promised it inflames holy desires after it desires put on to diligent indeavours to obtain it it begets a lively hope which earnestly yet patiently waiteth for the possession of it So there is a concatenation of sin therefore sin is compared to a body in which all the members by sinewes and ligaments are knit together that though all the members do not grow to an equall quantity but some are bigger some lesse yet all do proportionably grow so though all sins in a wicked man are not of the same magnitude but in some drunkenness is greatest in some pride in some covetousness yet all sin is growing in them and therefore must necessarily be worse and worse as unbelief makes a sinner fearless of Gods threatnings and fearlesness makes him secure and security hardneth his heart and when his heart is hard and his Conscience seared he will be very bad 4. Sin is of an infectious nature an infectious disease doth not only spread unto others as one man sick of the Plague may infect a whole Parish but getteth nearer and nearer to his heart and seizeth upon his very vitals that he waxeth sicker and sicker and at last brings him to his grave So one sin doth not only infect others as one drunkard inticeth another
few considerations to presse thee to put a stop unto thy sinnings hoping that though thou hast gone far yet thou mayst return while thou art out of Hell thou art within our call and within the reach of Exhortation and reproof God hath called often to thee to return and yet thou hast not returned but art going on unto destruction The Son of God hath called to thee and said How long wilt thou goe on in thy Rebellion against him that would redeem and save thy soul he hath told thee if thou dost proceed thou must be damned and said the Mercy of God will not save thee and my Merits they will not they shall not save thee but if thou wilt return to God and come to me here is mercy for thee here is pardon for thee and I will give eternal life unto thee The Spirit of God hath often moved upon thy heart he hath been often knocking at thy doore that thou wouldest open thy heart and let him in and he would apply the blood of Christ unto thee and he would fill thee with better joyes and better pleasures and better comforts than thou ever foundest in the way of sin But hitherto thou hast stopped thine ears and stiffened thy neck and hardened thy heart and wouldest not hearken nor obey The Ministers of God have often wooed thee and beseeched thee with tears in their eyes and sorrow in their hearts as if their happiness had been wrapped up in thine and as if they could not have gone to Heaven and been saved without thee while patience waited upon thee they have been earnest with thee and now at last one unworthy to preach the Gospel is a suiter to thy soul that thou wouldest be divorced from thy sin and be married unto Christ as yet thou art out of hell and art not yet reckoned among the dead nor numbred amongst the damned as yet thou art not irrecoverably lost this day Christ is once more tendred to thee in the name of God I once more offer thee pardon and eternall life upon thy repenting of thy sin and turning unto God Oh that I could perswade thee or if I cannot as indeed I cannot oh that God would yet perswade thee If I might be serviceable to thy soule oh how should I rejoyce if I did but know where thou dost dwell that hast been wicked all thy dayes and now art reading of these lines having a purpose in thy heart to come to Christ I would come to thee as opportunity was offered and beg upon my knees that thou wouldest cherish those purposes and be perswaded to what conduceth to thy eternall happiness if teares and prayers would do it I would endeavour though my heart is hard to shed them for thee if putting my hands under thy feet and stooping to the meanest office of love unto thy soule would excite thee to let Christ into thy heart how readily by the grace of God would I be willing to it I beseech thee by the mercies of God by the death of Christ by the coming of our Lord by the love thou bearest to thy self as ever thou wouldest see the face of Christ with comfort as ever thou wouldest escape the damnation of Hell return at last and though it be late yet return at last But if thou wilt not let God be my witness let as many as read these lines be my witnesses let thy own Conscience be my witness that thou hast been asked entreated yea earnestly entreated to reform and mend and turn to God But in hopes that I may prevail I beseech thee in the fear of God give in a sober and deliberate answer unto these following Questions First Whether art thou going while thou art waxing worse and worse Dost thou know that Hell is at the end of the way in which thou art daily walking Dost thou know that if thou dost proceed a little further a little longer in this course thou wilt be among the Devils those cursed Fiends of Hell Or dost thou know it and yet wilt venture to dance about the brink of a bottomless pit who hath bewitched thee or what hath made thee mad that thou seest thou art going unto Hell and yet wilt venture on Secondly Dost thou believe the Scripture to be the Word of God or dost thou not And are the threatnings contained therein true thinkest thou or are they not Wilt thou say they be false or that they were found out by some Precisians or are the workings of some melancholly brain or that they were found out by some Politician to keep the world in awe I would have thee know that to thy eternal sorrow thou shalt finde them all true even to a tittle and to thy everlasting woe shalt know the truth of Gods Word When thou art shrieking in the flames of Hell and roaring hideously among the damned because of Gods eternal wrath thou shalt be convinced that the wicked shall be turned into Hell that the Unbeliever shall be damned and that it was true which thou wast told that without repentance there was no deliverance from eternal condemnation But if thou dost believe this Word to be true what aileth thee then to live as thou dost that thou actest quite contrary to what is contained in the Word of God Doth not the Word of God in a thousand places cry down sin and press to holiness doth it not tell thee the drunkard the covetous the unbelieving the lyar shall be damned If thou never didst observe such places take thy Bible and turn unto them 1 Cor. 6.9 10. Rev. 21.8 Heb. 12.14 Gal. 5.20 to 25. Col. 3.5 6. Eph. 5.5 6. Mar. 16.16 Mat. 18.3 Luk. 13.3 5. Canst thou read and believe these Scriptures to be true and yet goe on in the practice of those things that the eternal holy God doth forbid upon pain of eternal torments Wilt thou be worse than thy very beast which thou canst not force into the fire when he seeth it before him Shall I call out thy Neighbours to behold a dreadful sight viz. A man that knowes he is in the way to Hell and yet will goe on Thirdly With what face or heart canst thou hope as thou dost that God will pardon thy sin or save thy soul while thou persistest in thy wickedness and encreasest therein Shew me an instance of any one man in all the Word of God that was pardoned and saved who repented not and I will be thy slave for ever I know great sinners have been saved and I know those that have gone far have obtained mercy Manasseh did 2 Chron. 33.12 13. Mary Magdalene did Luk. 7. But then they turned unto God Canst thou say there is any one now in Heaven that did not repent and believe before he dyed or dost thou think that thou shalt be the only man Fourthly Whom dost thou set thy self against Or who is it that thou dost provoke whose anger and indignation art thou daily kindling against thy self What
what manner of persons ought you to be in all manner of holy conversation after such a sight as this IV. In this great house of so great mourning God hath been teaching you the worlds vanity You have seen what miserable comforters riches are to men in time of Plague and at an hour of death you have seen death haling men from that which they had set their hearts upon you have seen death dragging men from their riches and from their pleasures and hath forced them to come away to the Bar of God and leave their riches behinde them and their pleasures behind them You have seen that riches could not go with them into another world but left them in a time of need You have seen that those that loved riches could finde no comfort in them when they stood in greatest need of comfort You have seen that what men have been laboring for and scraping together all the time of their health and life death hath come and scattered in a moment Oh how weaned should you be from the world and the riches and the pleasures thereof after such a sight as this Oh how much less should you afford the world of your heart and affections of your love desire and delights that is so unkind to dying men even unto those that served it most and loved it most Oh do you learn to deal so with the world as you have seen the world to deal with others i. e. turn it out of your heart with as little love and pity to it as you have seen the world turn its followers out of it and shake them off notwithstanding all their entreaties to abide and stay therein The world may now entreat you that it might stay in your heart and live in your love but hearken you no more to its entreaties than it hath hearkened unto others and you must expect the world ere long will deal with you as it hath dealt with others therefore part with the world before you leave the world V. In this great house of so great mourning God hath been teaching you the short continuance of all relations you have seen death taking Husbands from their Wives Parents from their Children Ministers from their people and so Wives from their Husbands Children from their Parents People from their Ministers Those that had but one onely Son Plague and Death hath stripped them of him and teared one relation out of the others bosome fain they would have kept them but death would not suffer them they wept and cryed but death would not have pity on them nor hear their cries nor regard their tears but said this is your childe but I must have him this is your husband but I must seize upon him God hath given me a Commission and I always use to do according to the Commission I receive from God if God will not spare you in vain you look for pity at mine hands I saith death am blinde and cannot see the beauty of your childe that hath drawn out your heart so much towards him I am deaf and cannot hear your pleadings for the continuance of your childe or husband or friend if God doth not hear you I cannot and if God doth not spare and pity you I will not therefore I will smite him and stick my arrow in his heart and dippe it in his life-blood and take him from you Oh how many have thus experienced the dealings of death and you have seen it and will not you learn to sit looser in your affections towards your nearest and dearest relations You have seen death hath seized upon them that were most beloved by their friends and perhaps did therefore do it because they were over loved and took up too much of that love and that delight which should have been more and would have been better placed upon God Your lesson then is set down by the Apostle for I would not teach you by rott nor without the book of Gods word 1 Cor. 7.29 But this I say Brethren the time is short or rolled up or contracted a metaphor taken from a piece of cloth that is rolled up onely a little left at the end so some As Mariners near the Haven winde up their sails or make them less When the sails of time are thus contracted it is a sign we are near the Harbor of eternity It remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none Vers 30. And they that weep as though they wept not and they that rejoyce as though they rejoyced not and they that buy as though they possessed not and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away VI. In this great house of so great mourning God hath been teaching you the lesson of humility How many humbling sights have you seen every Corpse that you have seen hath been an humbling sight It may be you have been proud of your beauty but have not you seen that beauty vanisheth away when death comes that beautiful bodies by the Plague and Death have been turned into loathsome bodies and those that you have loved and been delighted to look upon you have been glad to have them buried out of your sight when once dead How many open Graves have you seen and those that have been nice and curious of their comely bodies have been interred and given to be meat for worms and to be a prey to rottenness and putrefaction Have you seen any difference betwixt the poor and the rich beâ—wixt that body that was fed with courser fare and that which was nourished with more delicate dishes Have you not seen bodies that were made out of dust been turned to the dust to be turned into dust and will you be proud after God hath taken such an effectual course to teach you to be humble VII In this great house of so great mourning God hath been teaching you that all things fall alike to all that the wise must dye as well as the fool and the good must dye as well as the bad And though God hath promised conditionally preservation from the Plague unto his people which hath been literally fulfilled to some of his yet some of his have fallen in this general mortality God hath been teaching of you that though grace doth deliver from eternal death yet not from temporal though from the sting yet not from the stroke of death that you though godly should be preparing for your own departure out of this world VIII In this great house of so great mourning God hath been teaching you the difference between the death of the wicked and the death of the righteous that though good and bad alike have dyed yet they have not dyed alike But as there was a difference in their life so God did make a difference in their death Have not you seen some wicked dye without any sense of sin or fear of God or Hell and
allure your will into a consent first not to be so severe next to indulge it then to countenance it and then to renew its acquaintance till it again become familiar to you 3. That Satan will assault you and set in with sin for its re-admission If he cannot keep you from resolving yet he will lay hard at your heart to break your resolution He will lay his snares and baits and use his stratagems in sins behalf and come to you as he did to our first Parents Gen. 3.1 He i. e. Satan said unto the woman Yea hath God said ye shall not eat of every tree of the Garden So Satan cometh unto thee and saith Yea hast thou said thou wilt not be kinde unto thy sin any more hast thou said thou wilt be so severe against thine Iniquity If thou reply I have said I will not keep my sin lest God be angry with me and send some soret Judgement upon me he will return to thee and say God will not surely be angry with thee to plague thee it may be thou mayst escape or if thou yield now thou mightest repent and renew thy resolution against it again do it but this once take but the other Cup play but the other game If you be not carefull to look to your Resolutions when sin Satan and your own heart do set against you you will certainly break them 4. The World will interrupt you that you may not live up to your Resolutions made to God in time of danger This is another powerful Assaultant for your heart and affections and will plead If thou didst resolve against sin that was unlawful but the things that I have saith the World are good my Riches are good and my Pleasures are not absolutely evil and my Profits are not unlawful if thou wouldest turn off thy drunkenness why should I be resolved against and if thou wilt shake off thy wicked company yet what have I done that I must not be loved Company-keeping saith the World did impoverish thee but I will enrich thee that did consume what was necessary for thy Family but I come with supplyes for them I will cloathe their backs and I will furnish their Table and I will bring in Portions for thy Children I will make thee honourable and esteemed and I will lay up in store for thee against thy old age when thy labour will be past Thus will the World come in for entertainment in your heart again that though you resolved to spend so much time in secret Prayer every day if God would suffer you to live yet this worldly business cometh to divert you and another cometh to take you off from your resolved practice If you consider what earnest suiters Satan sin and the World will be for your heart and how your heart is as ready to yield as these are to solicit your heart is as willing to have them as these are to have your heart then without diligent care it is impossible to live up unto good and holy Resolutions made in time of danger 5. The difficulty of the things you have purposed and resolved to do calls for your greatest diligence if you would live up unto them The more excellent and difficult the work is we resolve to do the more apt we are to flag and faint and come short in performance Now it will appear that these things are difficult because They are Praeter Super Contra Naturam First The things you have purposed and resolved to do are preternatural These things are that you will love God more and that you will delight and joy in God more Now those things are praeternatural which are added to another thing as an adjunct to its subject so that it doth not constitute the nature of it nor destroy it but perfect it Such a thing is Grace that you have resolved to get greater degrees of Grace and Holiness doth not constitute the Nature of man for a man without grace is a man neither doth grace and holiness destroy but perfect Nature Grace doth not destroy the affection of Love but doth correct it and place it upon its proper Object nor destroy our Joy but turns the stream of our Joy to empty it self in God or rather to fetch our Joyes from God Secondly The things you have resolved to do are supernatural above Nature it is not in the power of Nature to enable you to do what you have resolved upon You resolved in your time of fears and danger to pray to God more fervently but Nature cannot help you to do this To believe more stedfastly to love God more ardently to walk with God more holily but all these are above the power of Nature and must be wrought in you by the supernatural and almighty power of God and yet you did well to resolve to endeavour to do all these if you did remember to make your resolution in the strength of Christ to do this by whose strength we can do all things Philip. 4.13 Thirdly The things you have resolved to do are contra-natural against Nature i. e. against corrupt nature For our love to God doth not destroy the faculty or affection of Love but perfect it and Innoble it but it doth destroy our love to sin and our love to the World and the things of the World Now to do that which is against corrupt Nature is very hard you will finde it exceeding difficult it is swimming against the stream and rowing against the tide that if you do not ply your Oar you will be carryed back 6. The opposition you may meet withall from your nearest Friends will make it evident that there is need of your greatest diligence to make good your good resolutions You have purposed in your heart to spend more time for God and your soul and for the life to come if you do so as you have resolved it may be thy father the Wife of thy bosom thy fellow-servants will scorn thee and deride thee and set themselves against thee Thou hast purposed in thy heart to reprove sinners for their Oathes and Drunkenness and Prophaneness and if thou do so they will envy thee for thy pity and hate thee for thy love it may cost thee dear it may expose thee to trouble from men and from those that by bonds of Nature are nearest to thee if thou wilt indeed come up in thy practice in time of health and safety to thy Resolutions which thou didst believe was thy duty to make in time of sickness and danger 7. The necessary concurrence of many difficult duties that you may perform the purposes of your heart in living in some measure answerable to the mercy of divine protection in time of plague calls for your utmost diligence and care else you will undoubtedly fail and come short of what you did resolve upon Where many Duties are to meet and to be done as necessary Requisites to another duty that makes this duty
so much the more difficult There are many things to be done if you will perform your Vows and Resolutions to be better without which it will be impossible and these are such as Watchfulness Self-denyal Fervent Prayer Frequent Examination c. But these I reserve for their proper place as Helps hereunto But first I would have you to believe the necessity of your utmost care and diligence to perform your Purposes of an holy life That man that thinks it easie to live up to such Resolutions will undoubtedly come short in putting them in practice SECT II. II. I Come to the Helps to be prescribed for the better performance of your Purposes and Resolutions of a holy heavenly Gospel-conversation made in time of your danger by reason of the Plague If you would live up to your Resolution of an holy life then 1. Evermore take heed of your Beloved sin take heed of that which is to you Peccatum in delitiis your darling Lust which by way of special propriety you may call your own Keep a very strict hand over it for if any sin undoe you it is likely to be this and if there be any sin that will weaken your endeavours to live according to your purpose it will be this Beware of all but especially of this maintain your holy warfare against the whole hoast of sin but especially fight against this as the General and Commander of all the rest Whether it be pride or worldliness or the pleasing of your sensitive Appetite or the Lusts of the Flesh c. That you may know what is your Darling sin take these signs First That sin you have been more accustomed to and hath usually broken out to the wounding of your soul and disturbing of your peace above any other sin is your beloved sin Secondly That sin that all other sins doe wait upon and vail to and bring in their aid and assistance to maintain is your beloved sin Thirdly That sin of which you are most impatient of reproof you can hear of other sins and be reproved for other sins but if you are plainly dealt with about this you cannot so easily bear it but you will finde your corrupt heart to bestir it self to finde out excuses to extenuate it and plead for it that is likely your beloved sin Fourthly That sin is likely your Darling when disappointments of the fulfilling and pleasing of it is more grievous to your soul than the frustrations of any other sin Fifthly That sin is your Darling which you have often found your heart wishing it were no sin when you wish that it had not been forbidden by God which you finde your heart most unwilling to resolve against Sixthly That sin is your Darling which you are willing to be at any cost and charges to maintain or satisfie Seventhly That is your Darling sin which you are most delighted in the committing of and had rather part with all the rest than with this it is a sign your heart is indeed marryed to that sin when you will leave all to cleave to this Eighthly That sin is your Darling sin which doth most disturb you at the Throne of Grace and fill your minde most usually with distracting thoughts The Devil will divert your heart from God in holy Duties and there is no sin he can better make use of for this purpose than what your heart is most apt naturally to close withall Ninthly That sin is your Darling sin which doth most interrupt you in your chosen Solitudes and Retirements for your souls concernment It is not every man but some special friend that will joyn himself unto you when he knows you are retired for some special business Tenthly That is your Darling sin which Conscience doth most reproach you for in time of danger and fears of death Eleventhly That sin is your Darling sin which usually lies down in your thoughts at night which your minde most thinks upon in the night when you wake and first endeavours to salute you in the morning Whatever sin this be you must resolve to deal severely with it if ever you would keep your holy Resolutions While you cocker this sin and be too kind towards it you will not walk so close with God in time of health as you purposed to do in time of sickness And next to this beloved sin be carefull to mortifie that sin that is next unto it in your love There is some other sin besides the Darling which is chief that the corrupt heart hath some peculiar favour for and if you ask what sin that is I answer it is that sin which your heart is most apt to change your beloved sin for when you press your heart to forsake your Darling sin And that which was the second chief sin in your Soul would be first if the former be taken down and suppressed 2. Take heed of dallying with temptations or playing with the baits of sin and be careful to abstain from the very appearance of evil rather deny your self of what is lawful then play upon the borders of that which is unlawful If you always go as far as you may you will sometimes go further then you should If you venture to the utmost you will be in danger of transgressing and going beyond your bounds You will finde the Devil and your own heart sometimes to reason thus so far thou mayest go and yet keep thy resolution so far thou mightest venture and maintain thy holy purpose thou maist go with such a one into the Tavern and yet keep thy purpose to be sober thou mayst take another Glass of Wine and then another and then another and yet not break thy resolution Thus the Devil will play upon thee and ply thee step after step till he makes a prey of the peace of thy conscience and hath brought thee to a violation of thy purpose Principiis obsta resist the first risings of the sin thou hast resolved against thou hast resolved to keep a constant course of secret prayer every morning but when thou risest there is this business offers it self to be done first and then another till thou dost omit it and neglect it or there is this business which stayes for thee and that will make thee first be slight and hasty and over-short in the performance of it till at last it brings thee to neglect it Beware then of the appearances of sin 3. Often press upon your heart that sin is as odious unto God and displeasing unto him at one time as another in time of health as well as in times of sickness and great mortality when the plague is over as when it was slaughtering thousands in a week Though God doth sometimes manifest more of his displeasure against sin yet he always equally because he always infinitely hateth sin If the thoughts of Gods displeasure and the sight thereof in the effects of it did move thee to resolve and purpose against sin the
but if thou hadst then dyed thou wouldest without doubt have been eternally damned because thy resolutions were not penitential resolutions as appears by the fruit of them in my returning to thy sin again and that thou didst not indeed love God and his holy ways for if thou hadst thou wouldest nor so soon no never after turned from them in the general course of thy conversation 11. This will encourage the devil to more frequent tempting of thee For if by temptation he can prevail with thee to do that which is contrary to thy resolution what hopes will he have to draw thee into sin against which thou hast made no such particular resolution If he overcome thee where thou art strongest what spoil will he make upon thee where thou art weakest It is a great advantage we give unto the devil when we sin against our resolutions 12. This will be a great provocation unto God when thou dost sin not only against his Precepts but against thy own purpose not only against the obligations he layeth upon thy soul by Mercy and Afflictions but against the Obligations thou layst upon thy self by thy Purposes and Resolutions And in thy Affliction and fears didst thou not apprehend God to be exceedingly provoked but thou must after he hath preserved recovered thee go on to provoke him more 13. If this neglect be found in thee who hast the truth of grace yet it will much hinder thy confidence at the throne of grace and stop the Influences of the Spirit of God and obstruct the illapses of the Spirit from descending upon thy heart When thou keepest thy resolutions and keepest out of the wayes of sin thou canst go to God with an humble holy boldness and pour out thy heart with much enlargedness before God and there is sweet intercourse betwixt God and thee thou feelest thy heart to burn in love to God and thou perceivest God to bear a love to thee and oh how sweet is this unto thy soul But when thou neglectest to watch against sin and to walk with God when thou hadst resolved to do both when thou goest to thy duty thou wilt finde Conscience reproach thee and thy heart straitned and thy mouth stopped and thy confidence abated thy heart much estranged from God and God carrying himself as a stranger unto thee when thou art upon thy knees And this is the bitter fruit of a careless heart after heightned Resolutions 14. If this neglect be found in thee that hast the truth of grace it will much occasion the doubting of the sincerity of thy heart A Childe of God may fail and be remiss in prosecuting of his purposes sometimes but if he be it will make him jealous of his own heart and suspicious that it is not well betwixt God and him and is not that a sore evil and much to be opposed and lamented which doth blot thine Evidences for heaven and will make thee question whether thou hast one dram of grace in truth conferred upon thee infused into thee Thus I have finished this Direction also shewing how you may live in some measure answerable to the great goodness of God in sparing you in time of Plague when so many thousands fell round about you By being carefull to be as good when the Sickness is over as you purposed and resolved to be when you were in expectation of death and waiting for your change and dissolution when the Arrowes of God were flying amongst you in the time of this sore Judgement of the Plague DIRECTION III. HAth God spared you in time of so great Contagion that you live when others are dead or were you sick and are recovered then Endeavour that the Cure may be a thorow Cure that your Soul be healed as well as your body that there be not spiritual Judgements upon your Soul when temporal Plagues are removed from your Body You may observe that such that came to Christ with diseased bodies Christ healed their bodies and their souls too he took away their corporal sickness blindness distempers and the guilt of their sins too Mat. 9.1 2. Many are delivered from a Corporal Plague that yet are infected and in danger of eternal death by the Plague upon their hearts That remain under spiritual Judgements and Soul-sickness when temporal Judgements and corporal sicknesses are cured and removed When St. John wrote to Gaius he desired that it might be as well with him as to his bodily health as it was in respect of his soul and spiritual health 3 Ep. John v. 2. Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayst prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth But it may be matter of our desire concerning those that remain alive and are well after this Visitation that their souls may prosper and be in health even as their body prospereth It is a greater mercy to have an healed soul in a sickly body than to have spiritual sickness remain in an healthful body It is not so great a Judgement to have the body full of Plague-sores as to have the soul full of reigning sins If your body be cured and not your soul the cure is but half done Therefore in speaking to this Direction I shall shew these things 1. Wherein it appears that sin is the sickness of the soul 2. Wherein it appears that sin and spiritual Judgements upon the soul are worse than sickness and temporal Judgements upon the body 3. How we may know whether our souls are healed of spiritual sicknesses 4. What they must do that lye under soul-sickness that they may be healed 5. What such should do that are healed of their soul distempers to improve the Cure to the glory of God SECT I. I. Wherein doth it appear that sin is the souls disease and the sickness thereof In these particulars 1. SIcknesses and diseases do abate and take away the Appetite Sick men have not the Appetite to their food as men in health have So sin takes away the spiritual appetite of the Soul that it doth not hunger after Christ nor thirst after righteousness and hinders its feeding upon Christ and the Word of God which is the spiritual food for the souls nourishment and growth 2. Sickness and diseases do abate the strength and activity of the body So sin doth weaken the soul and all the faculties thereof and doth disable it in all its actings to and for God 3. Sickness and diseases often fill the body full of pain aches and sores making men to cry out Oh my head and oh my heart and oh my bowels I am pained I am pained So sin doth fill the soul full of racking fears and perplexing torments and doubts and sometimes make some sinners cry out I am undone I am undone I am damned I am damned 4. Some diseases do stupifie and make men insensible and those are the worst So sin sometimes makes some sinners stupid and unsensible of their misery and
sensible of it Sin hath been thy sorrow and thy grief and the burden of thy heart thou hast groaned under it as the greatest load as the greatest evil in the world Every man that is bodily sick and is sensible of it and is unfeignedly willing to be freed from his sickness and desireth nothing more is not cured but it is so in spirituals He that is sensible of sin and is heartily and unfeignedly willing to part with his sin as ever sick man was of sickness is certainly healed by Jesus Christ But such as never found so much sorrow for sin nor sense thereof as to make them willing to part with every sin were never yet cured How can a man that is wounded have his sore dressed and lanced in order to a Cure and not be sensible of the smart and pain thereof Or how can he be healed while the sword that made the wound abideth in it It is as impossible that man should be healed of his spiritual sickness and wounds that is not willing to part with sin as for a man to be healed of his bodily wound while he will not have the sword pulled out that did make it Sin caused the wound and the sickness of thy soul and if thou art not willing to part with every sin thou art not healed thy soul is sick and if thou dost not feel it that is the worse 2. Where the soul is healed the sin is killed the life of sin is the death of the soul and that which is the life of the soul is the death of sin if Christ heal the soul he wounds sin he never heals both if sin be wounded to death the soul is healed unto life as in the body the more health is repaired the more the disease is weakned so the more the soul is cured the more sin is mortified 3. Where the soul is healed there grace is infused sickness being removed health is restored When Christ heals a sinners soul he doth not onely mortifie the sin but sanctifie the sinner when a man is restored from sickness to health that which made him sick is not onely removed but that is introduced which maketh him well so when Christ cures the soul he doth not onely take down the power of sin which did make him bad but he infuseth that which doth make him good 4. Where the soul is cured of the disease of sin it is sick of love to Jesus Christ it is not onely weary of sin but exceedingly longeth after the presence of Christ and communion with God Cant. 5.8 I charge you O daughters of Jerusalem if ye finde my beloved that ye tell him I am sick of love 5. Where the soul is cured of the disease of sin it doth receive Christ by faith when the Israelites were stung with the fiery Serpents and looked up to the brazen Serpent they were certainly cured Num. 21.8 Faith is an healing grace because it eyeth Christ the soul-Physician and fetches vertue of healing from him Mat. 15.28 And Jesus answered and said unto her O woman great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt And her daughter was made whole from that very hour Mat. 9.2 And they brought unto him a man sick of the Palsie lying on a hed and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the Palsie Son be of good cheer thy sins be forgiven thee The blood of Christ is the healing plaister and faith is the hand that takes it and applyeth it unto the sore 6. Where the soul is cured of the disease of sin it is getting strength for spiritual work and employment more and more it is growing stronger and stronger in grace and goodness as a man whose distemper is broke and going away he is recovering strength more and more to go about his calling and employment he is stronger to walk and work he can endure cold and bear burdens more than before A man that is spiritually cured is waxing in the fruits of the spirit and growing in all the graces of the spirit of God is more and more able to resist temptations to perform duties to bear afflictions and endure hardships for the sake of Christ By these signs you may discern whether your soul is cured so far of the diseases it lay under that they shall not be its death and damnation SECT IV. IV. What should such do that are under soul-sicknesses that they may be healed 1. YOU must be sensible that you are sick he that doth not feel himself sick will take no care about the means of health it is those that are sensible of sickness that will value the skill of the Physician and send to him and desire his direction Mat. 9.12 But when Jesus heard that he said unto them they that be whole need not the Physician but they that are sick 2. When you are sensible of your soul-sickness you must apply your self to Christ the great Physician of souls It is Christ that cometh to those that feel themselves diseased with healing under his wings Mal. 4.2 It is he that healeth the broken-hearted Luk. 4.18 Christ healeth us by his wounds and cureth us by his stripes Isa 53.5 It is matter of admiration and to many past belief that applying of Medicines to a sword should heal the wound made thereby but this is above all reason and beyond all dispute that the bleeding wounds of Christ will be healing to the bleeding wounds of the sinner Christs Golgotha is our Gilead and that you may be the more encouraged to come to Christ when you feel your self sick consider 1. Christ can heal every disease and cure every wound he hath a salve for every sore There are some Physicians that can cure some diseases but not all but Christ when he was upon earth did heal all manner of diseases Mat. 4.23 whether thy eyes be blinde or thy heart hard or thy minde earthly he can open thy eyes and soften thy heart and make thee spiritual yea though thy sickness hath been Chronical of long duration yet he can heal thee yea though thou art sick of a relapse which is most dangerous yet Christ can cure thee 2. Christ will heal your souls without putting you to any charge though you be poor and mean and have nothing to bring to Christ yet you may come for healing he will give you his advise and counsel freely he will give you your Physick his own blood freely you have nothing and he expecteth nothing The woman that had been diseased twelve years and suffered many things of many Physicians and spent all and grew worse came to Christ and was presently and freely healed Mar. 5.25 3. Christ will proceed in this cure with all compassion and tenderness he will not deal more roughly with you than is needful he exerciseth bowels of compassions while he is dressing his patient or if he give you bitter poâ—ions or sometimes useth corrosives he will be exceeding tender
from them yet they may sin by suffering their Masters Goods to be wasted as Food to be cast away and many things to be spent and consumed when there is no need this is not to shew all fidelity to your Masters So Jacob Gen. 31.36 37.38 39 40. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee I bare the loss of it of my hands didst thou require it whether stollen by day or stollen by night 10. They must not answer again out of a murmuring spirit nor give word for word that if their Master rebukes them for their sin they must not speak as fast as he nay though a Master should speak Wrathfully and in unjust Anger yet they must not Answer Perversely to them again but with meekness and silence except they require or give leave go about their Imployment committing their cause to God who will right them if their Masters wrong them Col. 3.25 But he that doth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done and there is no respect of Persons God regards not Mens outward conditions he regards not the Mistriss more than the Maid nor the Master more than the Man but judgeth righteously betwixt the greatest and the meanest 11. They must remember when they are obedient in their Masters Service they are serving the Lord Christ What a poor servant doth in servile Labour in the meanest lowest imployment he is serving of God and this might sweeten to him more difficult and unpleasing Work Thus I have done with this direction in which all Men in one capacity or other herein considered are concerned to make improvement of Gods Preserving of them in time of so great Contagion by being eminently exemplary in the Conditions Capacity Relations wherein they stand which if they do caeteris paribus they live in some measure answerable to so great a Mercy DIRECTION V. HAth God spared you in a time of Pestilence then if you would live answerable diligently watch against secret sins and let your special care be about the hidden and secret things in Religious Duties God hath kept you in his Chambers Isa 26.20 Come my people enter thou into thy Chambers and shut thy doors about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment untill the indignation be overpast God hath hid you from Judgment in the secret Chambers of his Protection and will you hide your sins in the secret corners of your hearts Or will you allow your self to sin because you are in your secret Chambers Or will this be to live worthy of Gods secret Protection of you to commit secret sins against God That you are preserved this is visible all that see you walking in the streets know this But Gods way of preserving you was not only by visible means as Antidotes and Cordials but by the invisible Guard of holy Angels Psal 91.10 There shall no evil befall thee neither shall any Plague come nigh thy dwelling Ver. 11. For he shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy waies Ver. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone The reason why you have been preserved is because God hath caused you to dwell in the secret place of the most high and hath made you to abide under the shadow of the Almightie Psal 91.1 When the Pestilence was walking in darkness and the Arrows of the Almightie were secretly shot and flying abroad He kept you in the secret of his Pavilion Psal 37.5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his Pavilion in the secret of his Tabernacle he shall hide me he shall set me upon a rock As all visible means would not have been effectual for your preservation without Gods secret and invisible watching over you So abstaining only from visible sins and performing only that of duty which is visible will not be a sutable nor answerable return for this great mercie Therefore my advice unto you is that as Gods goodness to you hath been in a secret way of preservation so your care should especially be about secret things and that in two respects In abstaining from secret sins In maintaining secret duties First Be careful to abstain from secret sins Do not cherish sins in your hearts and thoughts though they should never proceed to outward act For a man whom God hath kept in time of Plague might be no open Swearer no visible Drunkard nor live in open wickedness and yet might walk unworthy of Gods mercy to him And here I shall answer these two Questions 1. What are those Considerations whereby a man should urge his heart to abstaine from heart and secret sins 2. What are the helps and means for inabling of a man to abstain from heart and secret sins Quest 1. What are those Considerations whereby a Christian should urge his heart to abstain from heart sins and secret sins not to let into the secrets of his heart what he can by watchfulness prevent and not to allow that which notwithstanding all his diligence he cannot prevent For there is great difference betwixt having sin in the heart and regarding or allowing sin in the heart Psal 66.18 If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me A Christian may have yea cannot in this life but have sin in his heart but this not allowed but groaned under and lamented for shall not hinder the audience of his prayers nor the salvation of his soul But the regarding and allowing of it will prevent both SECT I. Considerations to keep you from secret sins GOD sets your secret sins in the light of his countenance Psal 90.8 You can never sin so secretlie as to hide your sins from God Study well these Scriptures Psal 139.1 to 17 vers Jer. 23.24 Heb. 4.13 Prov. 5.21 For the waies of man are before the eyes of the Lord and he pondereth all his goings Whether your waies are good or evil open or secret they are before the eyes of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rectà è regione right over Gods eyes He pondereth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He weigheth them in scales and many of our actions he findeth to be too light There are some sins so secret that other men might not know them and some are so secret that a man might not know them himself as sins of Ignorance Psal 19.12 Who can understand his errours Cleanse thou me from secret faults But no sin can be said to be secret in respect of God Others see some sin in you you may see more in your self But God seeth all because he is omniscient But there â—re many sins which are so secret that we our selves see them not The causes of this are 1. Imperfection of self-knowledge 2. Excess of self-self-love 3. Deceiâ—fulness of sin 4. Closeness of sin 5. Want of watchfulness But there is no sin can be hid from God for God seeth the Nature Number and Aggravations
visible and manifest viz. His Conversation Profession or Open transgressions these are visible But the things that are secret and hid from the eyes of men in those he is careless and negligent But a true child of God though he is not careless of his conversation yet he is especially mindful of his affections and of the secret frame of his heart and of the sins that lye lurking within him Consider God doth not esteem of men by what they seem to be to others but by what they really are God doth not judge as man judgeth Men judge of the heart by the actions of the life but God judgeth of the actions by the heart Men judge of that which is secret and invisible by that which is open and visible but God judgeth of that which is open and visible by that which is secret and invisible Mat. 23.27 Woe unto you Scribes Pharisees Hypocrites for ye are like unto whited Sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead mens bones and of all uncleanness Ver. 28. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men but within are full of Hypocrisie and Iniquity Luk. 16 15. And he said unto them ye are they which justifie your selves before men but God knoweth your hearts For that which is highly esteemed amongst men is abomination in the sight of God A man might be applauded for that by men for which he shall be condemned by God That which might set a mâ—n high in the estimations of men might be an abomination unto God It is hainous Impiety for a man to encourage himself to sin because he is in secret 2 Kings 17.9 And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God There are many great sins wrapped up in this As 1. Damnable Infidelity They believe not God seeth them Psal 94.7 8 9. 2. Desperate Security They hide God from their eyes and then think they are safe 3. Deep Stupidity A degree further than the former 4. Daring Insolency It is bold presumption to sin before Gods face Secret sins do provoke God as well as open sins God is not like the sinner that hath better thoughts of sin because it is secret The openness of sin might add something to the eclipsing of Gods glory and to Gods dishonour but it addeth nothing to Gods hatred of sin because Gods hatred to sin as sin is infinite Secret sins will grieve the Spirit of God And causeth him to withhold his influences from thy heart and to withdraw his presence from thy soul As 1. Secret sins will cause the Spirit of God to withdraw his witnessing presence and to suspend his testimony 2. They will cause him to withdraw his comforting presence that thou shalt not have those joyes that thou wast use to find when thou wast more careful to watch against secret sins 3. They will cause him to withdraw his quickning presence that thy heart will be left more dead and more dull and thy affections will be more flat and cold 4. They will cause him to withdraw his Assisting presence that thou shalt not be so able to perform duty to resist temptation to bear affliction Thus secret sins will make you great losers by grâ—eving and quenching the Spirit of God Secret sins will exceedingly disturb the peace of thy Conscience They will make great gashes in thy soul they will wound surely they will wound sâ—ely and deeply They may make thee go with a sorrowful heart unto thy grave They may cost thee many a groan and sigh and tear many a prayer and strong cry to God before thy peace may be restored and thy Conscience healed and thy heart bound up They may be the breaking of thy bones and thy heart too that thou mayst think God is thine enemy Secret sins will hinder the growth of thy grace A constant coursâ— of allowed secret sinning argues the Nullity of grace and secret sins through carelessness 〈◊〉 by Gods people will hinder much the encrease of grace They will be like a frost to the blossom Like a Worm and Caterpiller to the fruits of the Earth Secret sins by experience you will find will much hinder your 1. Faith That you shall not believe so stedfastly 2. Desire You shall not thirst after God and Christ so strongly 3. Love You will not love God and Christ so Ardently 4. Delight You will not delight in God so frequently 5. Hope You will not hope for Heaven so livelily 6. Evidences You will not lay claim to heaven so confidently Secret sins will hinder your fervent praying and will stop the Audience of your prayers They will exceedingly damp your affections at the throne of grace and make you sneak in the presence of God that you cannot have that liberty and confidence in prayer because Conscience will be interlining thy prayers and say Thou prayest against this sin and yet thou didst not watch against it but didst knowingly commit it They will stop thy mouth that thou canst not speak and they will stop Gods ears that he will not hear Psal 66.18 If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me Secret sins will harden thy heart and make thee more prone to commit open sins They will strengthen the evil habit of sin and make thee more incline to visible transgressions and increase the propensity of thy heart to greater evils Thus Judas giving way to secret covetousness did ripen the Inclination of his heart more and more to betray his Master Secret sins will stop the Communications of Gods secrets to thee There are some secrets of God which he doth not communicate to any man in this life Deut. 29.29 Secret things belong to the Lord our God but things revealed belong to us and to our children for ever that we may do all the words of this Law But there are some secrets of God that he doth reveal unto his people and to those that make conscience of secret sins Prov. 3.32 But his secret is with the righteous Psal 25.14 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will shew them his Covenant The Revealed things of the Gospel are secret things to wicked men the Gospel is hid to them 2 Cor. 4.4 Regeneration is a secret to them Faith in Christ is â— secret to them The joyes of the Spirit and the comforts of the Holy Ghost are things hidden from them But if you dare not allow your self in secret sinning you shall have many secret Intimations of the love of God unto your soul many secret illapses of his Spirit into your heart If you make conscience of secret sins you shall have an open reward What Christ saith concerning secret duties Mat. 6.6 But thou when thou prayest enter into thy Closet and when thou hast shut thy door pray to thy Father which is in secret and thy Father which seeth in
in secret You have the command of Christ also for this secret duty as well as his practise and example Mat. 6.6 2. Be freqent in self-examination in secret When you are alone be much in conversing with your self and often in looking down into your own heart enquiring after the truth of grace and your growth therein after the Mortification of sin and your growth therein Psal 4.4 Stand in awe and sin not commune with your own hearts upon your bed and be still Commune with your self whether you set a due valuation upon the meanes of Grace whether you thrive in holiness according to the time and meanes that you have had Commune with your self whether your Conversation be suitable to your Profession and as becomes the Gospel whether you are fit to die and prepared for another World in your secret Chamber commune with your own hearts about such things as these 3. Be much in secret Reading of the Word of God A Worldling when he is alone will spend much time in Reading over his Writings his Bonds and Bills his Leases and Acquittances and will not you take as much pains in secret reading of the Word of God which are the Writings upon which you must both build your Evidences for Heaven and try them by 4. Be much in secret meditation When you are alone let your thoughts be dwelling upon the Life to come in thinking of your future happiness Oh what Inward warmth may you have when you are alone if you would but fill your minde with some believing fore-thoughts of the Life to come SECTION V. II. MInde secret things in Publick Duties As your preservation is visible but as I have noted before the most effectual meanes of your preservation were secret and invisible you have not seen the way that God hath taken in keeping you he hath secretly kept you by his Power he hath given a secret Charge to his Angels over you So let your Duties that God requires should be Publick and Visible be so But then let your principal care be about the secret and invisible things of publick and visible duties The secret and invisible things in publick duties which we are to mind are Good Bad. I will instance in six of each of them Six things in a grâ—cious heart in publick Duties are secret and invisible 1. The communion that a gracious heart hath with God in publick duties is secret and invisible You may hear a Mans Expressions and you may see his Teaâ—es and heâ—r his Groanes but whether he have true communion with God is such a secret that none can know but himself 2. The joyes that a Christian hath in publick duties are secret and invisible joyes expressions of joy and praise may be heard and outward discoveries of joy there may be but this joy it self is a secret thing Whether you have indeed true spiritual joy in publick duties none can know but your self 3. The principle that puts a Man upon publick duties is a secret and invisible thing Whether you Pray or Preâ—ch or do any publick duty out of a Principle of love and fear of God is such a secret that none can tell but your self 4. The manner in which publick duties are performed is a secret and invisible thing Whether there be the exercise of Faith and Repentance for Sin and love to God and desire after Spiritual things is such a secret that by-standers cannot know 5. The end a Man propounds unto himself in publick duties is secret and invisible Whether a Duty be done for the glory of God for the good of others for the enjoying more communion with God for more strength against sin or whether it be for self-interest and carnal ends is onely known to a Man 's own Conscience Your duties Men may see but your end they cannot see 6. The peculiar aim and design of a gracious soul in publick duties against some peculiar sin and secret corruption is a secret and invisible thing a Man may be heard to pray against a bosome darling lust but whether his design is to get down the power of this sin is onely known unto himself These be the six things in publick duties that are secret which you must especially labour after in all such duties SECTION VI. SIx things in publick duties that are evil but yet secret and invisible as there hath been some secret danger which you have been in when you have not discerned it and some secret infection God hath kept you from so in publick duties the same may be in secret duties also there are some secret evils you are to watch against 1. There may be secret unbeliefe lurking in the heart when a Man in Prayer is pleading particular Promises with his mouth you may hear a man urge the Promises of God for removal of evil for obtaining of good but whether he act faith upon these Promises or whether there be not in the mean while secret unbelief doubting of the truth of this Promise or especially of the application of it to himself is known onely to himself it is a secret to those that joyn with him 2. Hypocrisie in publick duties is a secret thing Whether your heart be upright and sincere with God or false and hypocritical is a secret unto others yea sometimes it is such a secret that might not be known by a Man himself 3. Inward-heart-Pride in publick duties is a secret thing A Man may be full of self-loathing-expressions and of humble gestures and yet his heart might be lifted up with spiritual pride and self admirations and towring thoughts of his own worth and excellency and suitableness and freedom of expression and a by-stander cannot perceive it 4. Dulness and deadness of heart in duty is a secret thing A Man might hâ—ve lively expressions in publick Prayers and seeming warmth of affection and such things that might affect and warm the hearts of others and yet his own heart be dull and lukewarm yea quiâ—e cold in that duty 5. Wandring thoughts in publick duties are secret things A man may use the Name of God and the Attributes of God and yet his thoughts may be upon something else others may see you engaged in the duty and see your outward gestures but are strangers to the secret wandrings of your mind 6. The inclination of the heart to sin in publick duties is a secret thing A Man may confess sin and bewaile it with Tears and beg for power against it and yet he may have a secret inclination of heart to this very sin and secret purposes of heart to keep it and a secret fear least God should hear his Prayers which he makes against this sin Whether you hate that sin in your heart which you bewaile with your Tongue is known onely to your self and if indeed you know it your self it is a good degree of self-knowledge Thus as God hath kept you in an invisible manner and most by invisible and secret means and
with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him Thus if you would live in some measure answerably to Gods mercy in preserving of you from death and the grave that you are not buried yet with others you must die to sin and be buried with Christ DIRECTION VIII HAth God spared you in the time of Plague that you yet remain among the Living If you would improve this mercie then Live to God and walk in newness of Life God hath not spared you that you should live to your self or to the flesh or that you should walk in your old courses But your duty is now to live to God and to lead a new Conversation God hath brought you to the borders of the grave and to the very confines of another world and shaked you over the grave and hath recovered and restored you and hath as it were given you a new life by reprieving you from the gates of death when you were so near unto it Rom. 6.4 That like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so we should walk in newness of life and the equipollent phrases of this new life are To walk with before and after God To walk after the Spirit Rom. 8.1 To serve God in newness of spirit Rom. 7.6 To walk as children of light Eph. 5.8 To walk in the waies of God Psal 119.3 To walk circumspectly Eph. 5.16 That you may being spared from the grave lead a new life I shall shew you The signs or nature of it The excellencies or dignities of it The Impediments and hinderances of it SECT I. THe nature of or that which is included in newness of life doth not consist in these things 1. It doth not consist in some new notions or new speculations which you had not before a new light might be made in an old house New speculations may consist with an old Conversation 2. It doth not consist in a newness of a bare resolution to lead a new life this is but in order to it though if it be real it is a good step towards this walking 3. It doth not consist in a bare performance of some new duties which you did not before an old course of sin may consist with the external performance of some New Duties as Praying Reading c. 4. Nor in a bare keeping of some new Company though this is to be desired that many would forsake their old wicked Company or if God hath taken thy wicked Companions away by death thou wouldst not make choice of those that be as bad 5. Nor in New discoursing of spiritual things A man that was wont to swear and reproach and blaspheme the name of God might now talk of God with others and yet not lead a new life 6. Nor in forbearing of many old sins which before you lived in you were drunkards before but not now I would more were so changed but yet this comes short of this newness of life which doth include these things following To walk in newness of life supposeth a new saving knowledge a new sight and a new judgement of things No man can lead this new life with his old judgment which was corrupt judging that good which was evil and that evil which was good 1 Pet. 1.14 As obedient children not fashioning your selves according to the former lusts in your Ignorance There must be a new sight and new discoverie of these things 1. Of God and his Excellency 2. Of Christ and his Sufficiency 3. Of â—in and itâ— Deformity 4. Of the World and its Vanity 5. Of Grace and its Necessity 6. Of Heaven and its Felicity 7. Of Hell and its extremity of Woe Till a man hath new eyes and hath his understanding opened to see the nature of all these things otherwise than he did before he will not walk contrary to what he did before if he see no more of Christ nor in the Attributes of God nor in Grace he will still flight all these and undervalue them if he have the same admiring apprehensions of the World and seeth as much beauty in deformed sin he will love it still and delight in it still There must be new light and new saving knowledge before there can be a new life To walk in newness of life includes newness of Principle a man with his old Principle can never lead a new life A man in old courses may live according to the Dictates of a natural conscience according to old customes but he that leads a new life must have a new Principle of love to God a new Principle of true fear of God he must have new strength from Christ a new heart and new affections To walk in newness of life includes the vigorous actings of this new Principle and living in the exercise of these new graces infused into the heart in the exercise of new love to God of new desires after Christ of new sorrow for his sin of new hatred to his sin To walk is to exert a principle of motion into act To walk in newness of life is to have a Conversation filled with new works and to have all things done according to the Rule of new obedience His old work was to please the flesh but his new work is to please God His old work was chiefly to get riches and encrease therein his new work is to get grace and more of it His old work was to obey the commands of sin his new work is to obey the commands of God To walk in newness of life is to walk according to the new Rule not according to the practises and examples of wicked men but according to the rule of Gods Word according to the example of Christ To walk in newness of life is to live for new ends his end is not now self-interest in the world not his own estimation amongst men not his preferment in this world old ends are inconsistent with a new life But this mans end is the glory of God all the actions of his life are ultimately resolved into this and all is in subordination unto this He trades for this end that God may be glorified he praies and preacheth he reads and studies that God may be glorified To walk in newness of life includes a newness of objects about which he is conversant such as keep their old course of life look no higher than worldly objects the honours and the pleasures and the profits of this world But such as are risen with Christ to walk in newness of life have proposed to themselves new objects things that are above God and Grace and Heaven things that are invisible to the eyes of carnal men To wâ—lk in newness of life it is to walk as Christ did after he was risen from the dead i. e. in our measure Christ did not incumber himself with the things of this world after his resurrection he did not converse with the men of this world neither must we use their
company out of choice Christ aftâ—r his Resurrection waited for his Ascension into glory So if we will walk in newness of life we must have our conversation in heaven and be continually expecting our dissolution and our translation into glory To walk in newness of life it is to do all the actions of out life in a new manner to do alâ— religious duties to pray and to hear in a new manner Before he prayed lukewarmly and with a dull and hard and unbelieving heart but now more fervently more livelily Though the matter of his duties might be the same yet the manner is new To walk in newness of life is to be making progress in all these walking is a progressive motion it is to continue and to persevere in the waies of holiness Not to decline nor to go backwards not to return or walk back again to old wickedness SECT II. THe excellency and dignity of a new life is very great and for your greater encouragement to walk therein I shall instance in some of them 1. A new life is a life according to the New Covenant which God hath made with fallen man Men that walk in old sinful courses continue the Covenant they have made with sin and Satan But a man that walketh in newness of life is a man that hath entred into a New Covenant with God Ezek. 36.26 A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put into you I will take away the stony heart 〈◊〉 of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh Veâ— 27 And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statuâ—es and ye shall keep my judgments and do them And to walk thus in Gods Statutes is to walk in newness of life 2. A new life it is the most rational life When the Prodigal left his old waies and took up a new course he is said to come to himself Luk. 15.17 Men act most unreasonably when they act wickedly 3. A new life is the sweetest and most comfortable life There are sensual carnal brutish delights in the waies of sin but there is much terrour and bitterness in a wicked course alwaies at the end of it Such as lead a new life they have experience of the comforts of the Spirit of the joyes of the Holy Ghost All these new waies so called as opposed to his former waies else the best way is the oldest way are waies of pleasanâ—ness and all these paths are pâ—â—ce 4. A new life it is the noblest life we then live according to the highest elevation that we are capable of in this life Nay it is a life nearest to the life of glory 5. A new life is an evidencing life it is an evidence of the great and glorious things that are brought to light by the Gospel all full of delighting comfort A new lâ—fe tâ—king in all the particulars before set down shewing the things included in it is an evidence First Of our Election his new life is a fruit of Gods ancient love Eph. 1.4 Secondly Of a new robe of righteousness put upon us for our justificâ—tion Thirdly Of Pâ—râ—on of old sins Fourthly Of our Union with Christ we could not leâ—d a new life were we not engrafted into a new stock Fifthly Of the sincerity of our hearts and the truth of grace Sixthly Of our sure title to heaven to the new Jerusalem that is above 6. A new life is â—n encouraging life it will be an encouragement to a man to go â—o God in his greatest straits it will encourage a man with boldness to look death in the face when it comes 7. It is the most profitable life to our selves and to others we shall be giving to others a good example if we lead new lives whereby they may be drawn to an holy Imitation A new heâ—rt you may have and that may profit your self but a new life will be profitable to others as well as to your self 8. A new life is the only life that honours God and that doth credit the Gospel and the Profession that we make To live in an old course of swearing and lying and Sabbath-breaking is to dishonour God but if you walk in newness of life you will promote the great end for which you live i. e. the glory of God and the excellency of any thing is according to its sutableness and tendency to the attaining of a mans ultimate end it is a new life that only glorifieth God therefore a new life is the only exâ—ellent life 9. He that leads a new life hath a new guide to direct him in his holy walk the Spirit of God will be your guide to shew you the way that you ought to go Though to you it may be a new way yet you shall not lose your way because the Spirit is your guide 10. He that leads a new life is taken into new relations God is now his Father and the Son of God is now his Lord Head Redeemer Brother and all the people of God are now related to him in the bonds of grace These things and many more may be said in commendation of the excellency of a new life which appears to be so in the eyes of carnal men who have walked after their old hearts when they come to dye that they then resolve if God would spare them they would lead a new life SECT III. THe hinderances of walking in newness of life are many and very great that it is not an easie thing for any man to lead this life 1. The Old Serpent is a great enemy to this New liâ—e he hath old stratagems and old devices and snares to divert them out of this way 2. The Old Principle of corruption remaining in our hearts is a great Impediment to this new life It is working still in us to walk in the old waies of pleasures and delights the Old man within will still strive hard to hinder this New life without 3. Old sinful Company will hinder you in your new manner of life they will be tempting and enticing and perswading you to come to your old games and your old delights It will be hard to live a new life amongst old sinful Companions 4. Slavish fear of men is a great impediment of walking in newness of life it may be thou mightest displease thy Father thy Master the Friend upon whom thou dost much depend if thou shouldest forsake thy old wicked life and become a new Creature and lead a new life thou wouldest meet with new troubles but fear God and his Vengeance more if thou walk in thy old course of sin and keep thy old heart then be filled with slavish fear of men if they should deny their old favour and friendship to thee because thou walkest in newness of life 5. Flesh-pleasing and being too much over-powred by the sensitive appetite 6. Spiritual sloth For a New Life hath many new difficult duties Thus if you
at home Did it not then trouble thee that thou being a Professor hadst been at nights drinking in the Tavern when thou shouldst have been praying in thy family that thy Wife and Children though they have not gone Supperless to bed yet have almost every night gone prayerless to bed except they went apart to pray in secret But did not then thy conscience tell thee that their performance of their duty would be no excuse to thee when thou shouldst stand at the Bar of God for thy neglecting of what thou oughtest to have done Didst thou not then resolve if thou shouldst live it should be so no more That thou wouldst read thy Bible more as well as look over thy Shop-books daily That thou wouldst spend some time in secret before God whereas before thou wast use to waste it in thy pleasures and taking of thy worldly delights Deal plainly man with thy self and do not flatter thy soul and daube with thy conscience Was there not some such thoughts and purposes and resolutions as these in thy heart at such a time And didst thou promise and resolve in jest and not in earnest God did afflict thee by the plague in good earnest and thou waste then affraid of death and the grave and judgement in good earnest And didst thou onely purpose in jest and resolve in jest and play with holy things when thou wast near another world and dally with God when thou didst not know but within an hour thou mightest have appeared at his Bar and been set before the terrible tribunal of the great heart-searching God But if thou wast in earnest with God when God was in earnest with thee if thou wast in earnest in promising be earnest in earnest to perform if thou didst indeed resolve to reform when thou shouldst be well then reform indeed according to thy resolution since God hath made thee well and saved thee from the Grave to which thou wast so near so very near Or if God hath been so good to thee to preserve thee from the infection of the Plague amongst the many thousands that have been visited that thou hast not been heart-sick yet thou hast often felt shootings and pains and prickings up and down in several parts of thy body and sometimes hast had such things as thou hast thought to be symptomes of the distemper and hast apprehended it to be approaching to thee that hath made thee hasten to thy bed and make use of thy preservatives and thy cordials that thou thoughtest thy self in real danger and wast possest with real fears What were thy purposes at such a time as this And what didst thou resolve to do And how to live if God would prevent the thing thou fearedst Or hadst thou no such purpose in thy heart No such resolution in thy breast that if thou livedst thou wouldst be better Was thy heart indeed so backward unto good that at such a time of fears and dangers thou hadst not so much as a purpose to be better but if thou hadst and let thy conscience be thy witness and the God of heaven that did fully know the purpose of thy heart then now perform what then thy heart did purpose to perform I am perswaded if the people in London and in Country too would live up according to the purpose of their heart in time of danger of the Plague would reform and mend as they did resolve to do we should be much better than we were before Oh what a difference would there be in the frame of our hearts and in the course of our lives What a change would there be in all our practises Those that were forward Professors of Religion and were not much more then Professors would be zealous practisers of Religious duties and in order hereunto I shall to follow this direction do three things 1. Lay down some considerations why you should be careful to keep your purposes resolutions and vows 2. Prescribe some helpes how you may perform your purposes resolutions and vows 3. Set down the aggravations of your sin if you break your purposes resolutions and vows SECT I. 1. GReat and constant diligent care should be taken in time of health to keep our purposes to perform our resolutions and to pay our vows to God which we made in time of sickness and danger and distress if you consider these particulars 1. That one great deceit of the heart of man doth appear in this in being forward to purpose in our selves and promise unto God but are backward to perform In time of sickness what resolutions do men make what purposes have they in themselves to mend and turn to God and seem to promise this with tears in their eyes and sorrow in their hearts for the evil that is past and done and seem to others and think verily themselves that they promise in good earnest and mean to do as they do speak and when they think the danger is past and their fears removed do nothing less than what they promised I have known some upon sick beds so to promise that they would be drunk no more c. and yet when health hath been restored have returned to their wickedness So did Pharaoh promise fair when the Plagues of God were upon the Land that he would let the children of Israel goe but when the Plagues have been removed he hath hardened his heart against them more than before and this he often did Exod. 8.8 15. 9.27 28 34 10.16 17 20. Now this deceitfulness of the heart is yet in part remaining in the best of men and therefore you must be carefull else though you have promised you will never perform 2. That sin is of a bewitching encroaching and alluring nature if it can prevail it will keep you from resolving against it if you do resolve it will entreat you that you would not send it farre from you that your Resolution might not be peremptory and universal that if you resolve to banish it from your heart it might be only some of its members that are not so dear unto you and reserve the rest or if it be peremptory and universal that you will part with all sin it will contend that your Resolution may not be perpetual that you send it not away for ever but only till your danger of death is over and your fears thereof are ceased that then it may be received into your heart be your Favourite again or if you do resolve to part with sin peremptorily universally and perpetually yet after a while it will solicit you to change your resolution or if you will not change it it will solicit you to abate the strength and vehemency thereof and will come and offer you so much delight and so much pleasure and so much profit if you will not be so severe against it If you are not carefull it will encroach upon your heart and insinuate and winde it self into your love and delight and