censure those that fear God as fools and to charge Religion with folly Proud Fool get thee a little more understanding and then thou wilt see what an ignorant poor mistaken soul thou art The convert looks upon the Gospel and the goodness of God and the grace of Christ and the holiness of the Spirit as marvellous things excellent things he sees an excellency in Religion a beauty and desirableness in all the ways of God he sees the folly of Sin and the wisdom of Religion the baseness and unworthiness and the filthiness of Sin and the worth and the purity of Religion he sees himself to have been a very beast and a fool whilst he continued and went on in his sins and can never have a good thought of himself but as far forth as he is changed from his sins he looks upon that little change that is begun as a blessed change and a comfortable change Now I have something of the understanding of a man returned into me Now I thank God I begin to live and stand up from among the dead O I thank God for this little wisdom that is begotten in me I was a very fool till now I have been told I was a fool I have been told I was a beast many a time but I could never see it till now until the Lord hath thus opened mine eyes this is some degree of the sinners recovery such an opening of his eies though it is possible he may be very much recovered in this respect and yet be a sinner still 2. The man whose heart is opened Thus Lydia's conversion is expressed Acts. 16.14 Whose heart the Lord opened There is a double opening of the heart 1. An opening of the heart to the Lord so as to receive and embrace him when offered The hearts of natural men are shut against the Lord they are not only void of grace and without Christ but bolted and bar'd up against Christ and his grace they are unwilling of conversion unwilling of sanctification Jer. 13.27 O Jerusalem wilt thou not be made clean No they will not O sinner wilt thou not have the Lord to be thy God wilt thou not have Jesus to be thy Lord Wilt thou not that he should come into that soul of thine and wash thee with his bloud and govern thee by his spirit make thee a new soul and of another spirit than thou hast been No thou wilt not thine heart is shut against Christ To the Devil thou wilt open to the world and its lusts and its pleasures thou wilt open thine heart nay it stands open night and day to these but it is shut against Christ and his grace thou art not willing that Christ should come in Sinners if your hearts would but open Christ would come in this very hour and bring in his salvation to thee There is not one man amongst you all that shall go home this day without Christ without the sanctifying grace of Christ that is but unfeignedly willing to give entertainment to him Art thou willing of Christ willing to have grace Wilt thou so receive Christ as to resign up thy self to his guidance and government art thou really willing this is the very opening of thine heart to the Lord wherein thy conversion stands Thou art the man whose heart the Lord hath opened 2. An opening the heart to godliness or christianity The former opening notes a readiness of the heart to receive Christ in and his Grace in This opening of the heart notes the souls letting it self out after Christ and his holy ways a letting its self out in holy desires in love and holy affections in resolutions and holy purposes to serve and cleave to the Lord. When the heart is open to Christ it is open to Christianity When it hath received Christ Jesus the Lord it will be for walking in him The heart of the Hypocrite though it professeth to be open to Christ yet it is shut against Christianity Hypocrites are willing of a part in Christ in the priviledges and hopes and comforts of the Gospel and so will trust in Christ and boast of Christ and glory and rejoice in Christ Jesus but as to the exercise of Christianity especially in those harder and severer parts of it the mortifying the flesh the denying themselves the being crucified to the World the close and downright and industrious following the Lord in holiness of this they are not willing their hearts are shut against it That heart that is sincerely opened to the Lord and hath indeed taken Christ in doth freely open it self to all the ways of the Lord and hath a propension and disposiâ—ion and resolution for powerful and practical Christianity He is a resolved Disciple of Christ a resolved follower of Christ Now this is the recovered soul the man whose eyes are opened who hath the knowledge of God of the beauty and excellency and goodness of all the ways of God and the man whose heart is opened who hath both received Christ Jesus the Lord and who is resolved to walk in him this is the soul that was dead and is alive Vse Are sinners lost souls then let us take up a lamentation over them What a lamentation did the Prophet take up over the sinful Jews Jer. 9.1 O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters of my people O what a slaughter hath sin made amongst us our Houses our Streets our Congregations how full are they of the dead dead souls whom sin hath slain Behold the dead that are in every place so many sinners so many dead and lost souls Here be the dead but where are the mourners Verse 17. Consider ye and call for the mourning women that they may come and send for cunning women skilful at mourning and let them make hast and take up a wailing for us that our eyes may run down with tears and our eye-lids gush out with water Women are more pityful than men and more apt to mourn Call says he for the pityful among women let them take up a wailing for us and let them set us a mourning let the women set the men a mourning that our eyes may run down with tears and v. 20. let the Mothers teach the daughters wailing and every one her neighbour lamentation Why what is the matter v. 21. O Death is come up into our windows and is entered into our palaces our houses are houses of the dead It is not onely with us as with Egypt when their first-born were slain when there was not an house in the Land wherein was not one dead there are but few houses in our Land where there is one alive they are almost all dead dead Fathers dead Children dead Husbands dead Wives dead in trespasses and sins Death hath not onely entered in at our windows and slain here and there one but the doors have been set open to it whole
therefore mine Heart is glad and my Glory rejoiceth Thou wilt shew me the path of Life in thy presence is fulness of Joy and at thy Right hand there are Pleasures for evermore And as it is with Divine Joy the Object whereof is God so is it in a poor and pittiful manner with Earthly Joy the Object whereof is the good things below This Joy is raised from our Contemplating of Worldly things and those Carnal Delights they will yield and thereby sucking out such Juice as they have for our Carnal hearts to feed upon by expectation and hope that these things that we may get get Money get us Estates and the comforts of them and also by our Fruition of them when we get them our loving and taking the delight and contentment of them and according to what we have of these things and the Degree of our Love to them such is the joy that ariseth to us from them 2. I shall give you some Directions for the right raising and due limiting of your Joy 1. Rejoice in the Lord and let your joy in the Lord 1. Bear some Proportion as much as those narrow Hearts can reach to to that fulness and those Everlasting Treasures of infinite Love and Goodness which are in God for you I could tell you something of that satisfaction and rest which your Souls shall one day enjoy in God from the Word of God and the Experiences of some of his Saints will tell you much more but when your Eyes shall come to see God then you will say That one half was not told me If some drops of this Joy let fall upon the Saints here on Earth have sweetned all the Waters of Marah turned their Prisons into Pallaces yea their very Stakes and Gibbets into Triumphal Chariots if a few drops of that Joy have been so sweet and so powerful what will the Rivers of his Pleasures be As the Apostle 1 Joh. 1.4 These things I write so these things I speak that your Joy may be full Rejoice in the Lord and let the Joy of the Lord be your Strength let this Joy be the Strength of your Hearts and the Strength or Top of all your Joyes 2. Let your Joy in God be raised 1. From the Evidence of your Interest in God at present from your sincerity in the grace of God and your Union with Christ You must be in Christ ' ere ever you can rejoyce in Christ Jesus what will it be to Joy in God if God be none of yours Satisfie not your selves with mistaken Joyes There is the Joy of the Hypocrite some there are who upon some light touches of the Word of God upon them and some little change it makes are all on a sudden wrapt up into Extasies of Joy though still they remain short of the grace of God yet they seem to be transported with the Joy of God such Joy often proves to be but as a Flash of Lightning which comes in on a sudden and then vanisheth into greater Darkness Job 20.5 The Joy of the Hypocrite is but for a Moment it comes on a sudden and in a great Flash and on a sudden it is gone again The Joy of the Saints is not so sudden but it is lasting it is not such a glorious Flash but is solid and substantial like a deep River that makes no great Noise when the shallow Brooks make a greater Bubling See that the Foundation of your Joy be laid in Peace and the Foundation of your Peace be laid in Grace Get an Interest in Christ soundness of Heart towards God and sincerity of Love to Christ see to it that you be his own that you be not Hypocrites and Hangby's upon Christ but his real Members and Hearty Disciples Thou rejoicest in God thou rejoicest in Christ Jesus but art thou of the Circumcision Of a Circumcised and Sanctified Heart Dost thou worship God in the Spirit as the Apostles expressions are Phil. 3.3 Is thine Heart with the Lord Dost thou love him with thine Heart and cleave to him with thine Heart and serve him in thy Spirit in thine Inwards and all the Powers of thy Soul If thou art of the Circumcision and thus worshippest God in the Spirit which are the Properties of sincere Disciples then thou mayest rejoice Beware of trusting to the most Elevated Joyes that you seem any of you to have felt in Religion and the Exercises thereof you may seem to have much of the Joy of God who have nothing of the Grace of God Thou mayest carry such Joyes with thee to the Grave and they may drop down with thee into Hell and be swallow'd up of everlasting Sorrow judge not of your Religion by your Joyes but judge of your Joyes by your soundness in Religion See then that thou art gotten beyond an Hypocrite before thou meddle with the Joy of the Saints 2. From your Hope of the Glory of God Rejoice in Hope of the Glory of God Rom. 5.2 Thou that art a real Christian it may be thou hast little sense of the sweetness of Religion thou goest heavily under thy Burthens the Burthen of thy Corruption and Infirmities thou livest much in the Dark the Light of the Lord is within the vail and thou canst perceive but very small glimmerings of it thou goest heavily on thy way hungring and thirsting and fearing and fainting and mourning over thine uncomfortable condition yet lift up the Hands that hang down yea lift up your Heads you disconsolate ones though the Light and the Love and the Comforts and the Kindnesses of God be vailed from thine Eye yet let thine Hope enter into that within the vail Psal 42.11 Why art thou cast down O my Soul Why art thou disquieted within me Why how can it be otherwise wherewithal may I be cheared and comforted Why Hope in God Hope in God for I shall yet praise him who is the Light Let these two Directions go both together 1. Let the Foundation of Joy be laid in sincerity of Grace I can never bid thee rejoice till thou be perswaded to be an Hearty Christian 2. Let your supply of the want of Joy in Sense be made up from the Joy of Hope If thou art a Stranger to all present Joy yet if thou art not a Stranger from Love thou hast this Hope to chear thee that thou shalt verily see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living 3. From your Increases in the Grace of God They are ordinarily the Stronger and more grown Christians who can sincerely rejoice in God Younger Christians are often Mourners and do but go on lamenting after God It 's true there are some Young Converts or that seem to be such whose Joyes meet them at the very entry of Christianity who at the very first being wrought upon seem to be all in a Flame of Love and Joy Jer. 2.2 I remember the kindness of thy Youth and the Love of thine Epousals who have a bright Morning of
hath sealed to you that he will help you and never fail you nor forsake you when your flesh and your heart fail you he will be the strength of your heart When you are in doubts and fears that you are none of the Lords nor can lay any claim to him then remember the Covenant which hath been made between him and you and how you own it and stand to it to this day and that may satisfie you Of such great use will this Covenant of God be to you and therefore your hearts which are the Records where it is kept must be carefully looked to 2. In point of Communion There have been great dealings between Christ and you in a way of Friendly Communion What Correspondencies have there been held betwixt Christ and you what friendly interviews have there been between you Christ hath been often looking down upon you and rejoycing in his portion and you have been often looking up to him and solacing your selves in his love Christ hath been supporting and sustaining your hearts and you have been staying and leaning upon your beloved What mutual entercourses have there been Christ hath been often sending down Messages of love to you telling you Soul I am thine Hath he never sent thee some tokens of his love sent thee thy pardon sent thee his peace hath he never sent thee down some tastes of the hidden Manna and the white stone and the new name Rev. 2.17 and such a comfortable word with it Soul be of good comfort thy sins be forgiven thee thy name is written in heaven And do you never send up to your beloved If you have nothing but a sigh to send or a tear to send yet up it must be sent to your beloved to tell him I am sick of love or at least I am sick for love How often hath thine heart ascended in Prayers and his heart descended in gracious returns what mutual embraces have there been of thy Faith with him and his love with thee There hath been a Jacobs Ladder set up betwixt Christ and thee Christians Such experiences I hope some of you have had of such comfortable Communion with Christ But what becomes of all these blessed Experiences hast thou forgotten them are they lost O how hast thou kept thine heart sure such Mercies should be carefully recorded and the record should be warily kept 4. It is the Cabinet of all our Jewels Christ and all his Graces are kept in the heart 1. Christ and his Graces are jewels Christ is a precious Jewel he is the pearl of great Price which the wise Merchant Mat. 13.46 traded for and is there said to be a Pearl of great price of so great a price that this one Pearl bought the whole World It s intimated Mat. 16.26 that one Soul is more worth than all the World this Pearl is more north than a whole World of Souls It hath bought not only this world below but the World above this one pearl hath bought the whole Kingdom of heaven all the everlasting treasures the everlasting joy and pleasures above that exceeding eternal weight of glory all hath been bought by this Pearl Christ is reckon'd by foolish sinners at a very low rate Judas sold this Pearl for thirty pieces of silver Sinners many of them sell Christ at a lower rate than this for their foolish and fleshly Lusts They tread this Pearl in the dust and take very dung in its stead The very dung of their filthy Pleasures is that which sinners take in Exchange for Christ Whilst the Apostle counted all things dung in comparison of Christ sinners make very dung of Christ for the sake of their sins but whatever sinners count him Christ is a Pearl more worth then all the world and all the Glory and Bravery and Beauty of the World are but Dunghil things in comparison of Christ As Christ so all the Graces of Christ are jewels Faith is a jewel called 2 Pet. 1.1 Precious Faith Meekness and Humility are jewels of great price in the sight of God Love is a jewel and of so great price that it is not to be bought for Money Cant. 8.7 If a man would give all the Substance of his house for love it would be contemned As little reckoning as sinners make of the love of God now though this Grace be offered them and they may have it for the taking an heart to love the Lord is one of the branches of the Covenant which the Lord freely offers to sinners yet now they so slight it that they will not accept it a lust is taken up in stead of this love yet hereafter these very sinners would give all that ever they have for the least grain of the saving love of God As little as you regard the love of God now we can't perswade you to accept it yet when you come to die there 's none of you but would give all that ever you are worth for a little sincere love to Christ O now for a little Faith O now that I could love the Lord Jesus in sincerity I would be content to be a beggar and not to have a Mite left me in all the World all my Farmes all my Oxen all my Houses and Lands all my Money all the substance of mine House they shall all go so that I might now find the saving love of God in me No they will not be bought so If a man would give his house full of Gold for it it would be contemned as a poor and low price to buy love The like may be said of every Grace they are all Jewels and they make those who have them to be Jewels Mal. 3.17 in the day that I make up my jewels Every gracious Soul is a Jewel in the sight of God Sinners tread the Saints under feet make very dirt of them but God will take them into his bosom as his precious Jewels 2. These Jewels Christ and his Graces are all kept in the heart As the Heart is the Seat of Grace Faith dwells in the heart and Love dwells in the heart and Hope dwells in the heart so is it also the seat of Christ Christ dwells in the heart by Faith intimated in that Prayer of the Apostle Eph. 3.17 If Christ hath any dwelling in sinners 't is only in their Mouths and upon their Lips these will talk of Christ and talk of Grace but they have no dwelling in them but upon their Tongues but it is in the heart of the Saints that Christ and his Graces dwell Col. 1.27 Christ in you the hope of Glory The heart of Saints is as the Heavens all bespangled with these beautiful Stars Christ is the Sun in those heavens his Graces are as so many Stars that have their brightness and lustre from his light The hearts of sinners are meer Dungeons and dark holes in which neither Sun nor Star appears if there be any glimmering light they are but Commets or Torches or stinking Snuffs that
the inward graces thou seemest to haâ—â— but art thou not wanting in others Thou seemeâ—◠〈◊〉 â—ve faith but is not love lacking Art thou not 〈◊〉 â—â—us revengeful quarrelsome Professor thou seemest to have love but is not humility lacking Art thou not proud and haughty and high minded Thou seemest to be humble but is not meekness lacking Art thou not fierce and froward and peevish in thy way Thou seemest to be meek but is not patience lacking How canst thou bear affliction dost thou not murmure and repine and vex thy self in the day of adversity Thou seemest all this but art thou true in thy sayings righteous and exact in thy dealings merciful and compassionate and bountiful to those that are in necessity Thou seemest to have all these inward graces but is not a bold profession of Christ lacking Thou art bold to own Christ and hear his Word even to come in hazard but whatever thou canst say of thy hearing is not Prayer lacking if thou pray in secret is not prayer in thy Family lacking If thou pray in thy family is not secret prayer lacking If Prayer be both in secret and in thy Family is not Family-instruction the teaching thy family the care of their souls lacking If there be some care of others in thee is not the communing with thine own heart lacking Is not self examination lacking Dost thou search thy heart and try thy ways as thou oughtest dost thou make a diligent search a narrow search in fear lest thou shouldest be mistaken If there be self converse and self acquaintance dost thou maintain a converse with God is not holy Meditation lacking How often dost thou look heaven-wards what time dost thou spend dayly in serious meditation of God and the things above If there be such acts exercised the actings of Faith the actings of Love the actings of holy Prayer the actings of holy Meditation What life is there in these actings Are they not all as dead things Sacrifices without an heart Images without life If thou thinkest there be the presence of every Grace a will to every Duty an enmity against every Sin what power is there accompanying them what power in duty what power against every sin Doth not the corruption of thy heart bear down that grace thou thinkest thou hast and â—â—rry thee down the stream of an evil and vain life 〈◊〉 there be some good will to a godly life is not povâ—â—â—â—â—â—ing It is tâ—â—e the best of Christians have much lacking in degree their faith is weak their love is imperfect but is there nothing lacking of the essential parts of a christian Thou not only lackest strength of Faith but it may be thou lackest Faith thou not only lackest strong love but thou lackest love A child though he hath not the understanding of a man or strength of a man yet may be a true child but if he want the soul of a man or the head or the heart of a man he is a monster and no humane child Is not the soul or the life of Christianity the head and the heart of a Christian the life of a Christian lacking in thee If so thou art but a Monster and no Christian Is there not the conscience of a Christian lacking in thee Is not thy Christian covenant lame and imperfect Hast thou covenanted universally for all the parts of christianity for every duty against every sin without any reserve of the least liberty from our duty to any sin And is thy conversation intire according to thy covenant Is there nothing allowedly lacking in thy conversation of all that thou hast covenanted with the Lord Or what ever thou dost Is there not life and soul and heart lacking in all that thou dost Thou prayest but dost thou not pray without an heart Thou hearest but dost thou not hear without a soul Thou seemest a follower of Christ and livest in the practice of his precepts but is there not life lacking in all thy duties O consider over all these particulars and consider how many things are lacking in you 1. Consider and fear lest when you come to be weighed in the ballance you should then any of you be found wanting lest when you come to die and expect entrance into the Everlasting Kingdom Christ should then say to you no you cannot come in one thing is lacking in thee one thing that is necessary to thy entrance one thing lacking in thee of the essence of a Christian all would be lost thy soul lost the everlasting kingdom lost Consider therefore and fear 2. Consider and be humbled and be ashamed that after all the time you have had and all the helps and means you have had and all the tenders and offers the Lord hath made to supply all your lacks be humbled and be ashamed that yet there is so much laâ—king and all this for want of an heart to accept and improve what hath been offered let us be humbled and ashamed friends that if we have any thing of the faith of Gods elect in us yet We are so weak in the Faith that if we have any thing of the love of Christ in us yet that our love is so cold and imperfect that if we are found walking in the way of the Lord it is so slowly and so haltingly This is our shame and matter of great humiliation that we have gotten no more grace that we live no better lives But what shall I say to you that want not onely the strength of Faith zeal of Love a more even and steddy and fruitful life but want Faith and want Love and are not yet come into the ways of the Lord. I say to you as I said before fear and tremble think what it will be to be found thus in the day of the Lord. But to you that have Faith and have no more that do in some degree live by Faith and yet live no better consider and be ashamed consider and be confounded in your selves consider and be humbled under all your wants and haltings 3. Consider and make up what is lacking Get those poor weak souls to be strengthened pray the Apostles Prayer Eph. 3.16 That the Lord would grant unto you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might in the inner man and your hearts may be filled with all the fulness of God Get those poor weak souls to be strengthened and get those halting and barren lives to be established and filled with the fruits of righteousness Take the counsel of the Apostle 2 Pet. 1.6 Giving all diligence add to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly-kindness and to brotherly-kindness charity that these things may be in you and abound that ye be no longer barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Brethren whilest heedless and inconsiderate ones are upon the losing oh consider how
our Duty Let him that Blesseth himself in the Earth bless himself in the God of Truth He that loveth himself will bless himself There 's a double Self-blessing 1. A seeking our own blessedness Self-love will prompt us to seek an happiness for our selves not only to save our selves from Misery but to bring our selves to Blessedness The blessedness which true Self-love wisheth and seeketh for Self is in God in the God of Truth He that truly loveth his own Soul can be content with nothing less than God for the blessedness of of it No State no Inheritance no Treasure can satisfie him below Heaven and everlasting glory There 's not a man of you that loves his Soul but he is seeking Glory and Honour and Immortality for it he is taking care and taking pains to get a place in Heaven for his Soul to lay up Treasure in Heaven for it Dost thou love thy self who dost not bless thy Self or seek a Blessing in God for thy Self Dost thou bless thy Self in God who slightest God who carest not for God and who refusest the blessing of God and this for the sake of thy Lusts and Pleasures Sinner lovest thou thy Self lovest thou thine own Soul O seek a Blessing for it a blessing in God a blessing in Heaven for it 2. An enjoying and rejoycing in your own Blessedness Loving our selves aright is part of the fruition and enjoying our selves as loving God is of the fruition of God No man that loves himself but he would enjoy himself and bless himself in the reflection on his own Happiness And this is the self-blessing mentioned let him bless himself in the God of Truth that is let him satisfy himself let him comfort himself let him enjoy and rejoyce over himself upon this account that the God of Truth is his God and his Happness Let him not bless himself in the Earth that Riches are his that Pleasures and Honours are his that he hath the World at will but that the Lord God is his let him not chear himself with the Rich Man's Song Luke 12. Soul take thine ease thou mayest enjoy thy Self for thou hast goods laid up for many Years but let him take up the Psalmist's Song Psal 116.7 Return unto thy rest O my Soul herein thou mayest bless thy Self herein thou mayest comfort thy Self the Lord hath dealt graciously with thee Friends you whose God is the Lord you are the Men that may bless your Selves you are the Men that may enjoy your Selves you may look into your Hearts with comfort you may look upon your States with Joy you may bless your Selves that God hath given you such an Heart you may bless your Selves that God hath given you such a Portion You that have an Interest in God and this witnessed by the Image of God upon your Hearts you may enjoy your Selves and take comfort as often as you look inward and see the Marks and the Prints of Divine Grace stamped upon you your very love to your Selves will make you to rejoice over your Selves as often as you view the blessed Frame into which the Goodness and Grace of God hath brought you Well this self-Self-love with it's Fruits Self-preservation and Self-blessing is our Duty and the Lord hath planted it in our Hearts on purpose to bring us on upon all our other Duties God makes great use of this innocent Self-love in his Government of the World God Governs by Laws and Laws Govern by their Rewards and Punishments and Rewards and Punishments have their Efficacy by vertue of this love of our selves what would Laws signifie were there no Rewards to the Obedient nor Penalties to the Disobedient These are the Sinews and Strength of Laws and what would Rewards and Penalties signifie to us were we not lovers of our Selves Our Self-love prompts us to seek our good and to prevent our misery As far as we love our Selves we desire our own Happiness 'T was Self-love that made those many Psal 4.6 to say Who will shew us any good 'T was the Psalmist's Love to the Church Psal 122.9 that made him say I will seek thy good and hence 't is that we endeavour the prevention of our ruin Self-preservation is the Fruit of Self-love Self-love is the first spring and motive to Religion 't is true when we come to be Religious indeed there are higher motives the love of God the Love of Christ is the great Argument to carry us on in sound Religion when we come to be Christians then the main Motive to Christianity is that which Christ used to Peter John 21.15 to faithfulness in his Ministry Lovest thou me Feed my Sheep Lovest thou me Feed my Lambs If ye love me keep my Commandments Joh. 14.15 But the first Motive to bring us to be Christians is this Self-love Lovest thou thy Self Then give thy Self to Christ Lovest thou thy Soul Then be a Christian Christ is the only way to blessedness He that hath the Son hath Life 1 Joh. 5.12 And he that not the Son hath not Life Christ is the only way to blessedness and the only security against misery against Everlasting misery There is no Condemnation to those that are in Christ Rom. 8.1 There is no Name under Heaven by which we must be saved saved from Death from Eternal Death but by the Name of Jesus Acts 4.12 Now when Christ says Come unto me and ye shall have rest Mat. 11. Follow me and ye shall have Treasure in Heaven Mark 10. He that is ashamed of me of him will I be ashamed before my Father that is in Heaven the intent and meaning of all this is if you love your Selves come to me if you love your Souls keep my Commandments if ever you would that those Souls of yours should be happy Souls if you would not that they should be Lost and Burned and Drowned in everlasting Destruction if you love your Souls and wish their good and happiness if you would not be your Destroyers and Murtherers if you have so much love to your Souls that you would they should be Saved and would not that they be Damned then come unto Christ then be followers of Christ then believe then repent and obey the Gospel If you love your Selves be Holy if you love your Selves be Heavenly minded if you love your Selves be humble be painfull be circumspect and walk in all things as becometh the Gospel By the way I exhort you to improve and maintain your true Self-love I say not to you only Husbands love your Wives Parents love your Children Christians love one another but every one of you love your Selves If you love your Selves you will love God if you love your Selves you will love Christ if you love your Selves you will love Godliness if you love your Selves you will be the followers of God the Disciples of Christ and will give your selves to live godly in Christ Jesus See therefore that you love your Selves that your poor Souls may grow more dear
ye are mine and I am Gods Thus Christs love to Christians causeth him to say to them I am yours and all that I have so Christians love to Christ helps them to say Lord we are thine and all we have are thine not only our sins are thine our infirmities are thine but our Parts and our Possessions our Graces and our Duties yea our Houses and our Lands and our Possessions all are thine Christians we have been call'd together this day to a Communion of Loves and thereby to an Espousal of Interests betwixt Christ and us we have received the Pledges of his love his Bread and his Wine he hath given us to Eat and to Drink as the tokens he hath sent us down from Heaven of his Love I have brought you tokens every one of you from the Lord this day tokens of his love we have received the Pledges of his love and we have returned the Pledges of our love to him our very accepting of Christ's Tokens hath been our returning of our tokens Your communion together to Eat of Christ's Bread and Drink of his Cup provided it hath been in sincerity a Spiritual Eating and a Spiritual Drinking your Eating and Drinking his Body and Blood Christ hath accepted as a token of your loves and this communion of love hath been an Espousal of Interests Christ hath hereby told you Because I love you I will be yours and all that I have in Heaven and Earth you may henceforth call your own I am your own Jesus my Father is your own Father and my God is your own God and mine Inheritance is your own Inheritance and you have said if you have sincerely accepted of Christ we are thine own thine own Flock thine own Inheritance thy Ransom'd ones thy Redeemed ones and thy peculiar People this hath been the up-shot of the Transaction betwixt Christ and you this day the Sealing to this word I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine And as there hath been an interchangeable communion of loves and Espousal of Interest betwixt Christ and Christians so also betwixt Christians and Christians as we have said to our Lord I am thine so we have therein said one to another I am yours and must therefore walk in that tenderness of love in that dearness of affection one to another in that mutual care of each others good in that mutual Sense of each others afflictions in that mutual delight in each others Societies in that mutual helping and counselling and comforting one another and hearty seeking and rejoicing in each others good studying to please each other for his good to Edification fearing to grieve or offend or wrong or fall out with or quarrel one with another counting the Interest of every Christian to be the common Interest of the whole Body that we hereby may prove that we love one another not in Word and in Tongue but Indeed and in Truth This now is the Nature and these are the Fruits of Divine Love it will unite Hearts and unite Interests this will be the Interest of Christians which will flow from the love of Christ that Christ's Interest prosper in the World that the Name of Christ be exalted and be honourable both in themselves and in the World that Christ be loved that Christ be praised that the Word of Christ the Worship of Christ his Sabbaths his Ordinances be exalted in the World that the Glory and Holy Image of Christ his Humility Meekness Lowliness Heavenliness Righteousness Mercy may shine forth in our Faces and in the Faces and Wayes of all his Saints that we may in our particulars and jointly shew forth the Spirit and Life of serious and poweful Religion and Godliness in all manner of Holy Conversation this we should account our Interest with respect to Christ that he may be thus Honour'd and Obeyed and this will be the Interest of Christians with respect to Christians that we may see one another the whole Vineyard flourishing in the Power of Holiness as living and lively Instances of the Grace of God and as far as the Lord see it good may see one another prospering in this World even as our Souls do prosper O Christians espouse this common Interest and do what you can to promote this Interest in the World Love Christ and lift up the Name of Christ love Christ and shew forth the Image of Christ love Christ and Consecrate your Life to Christ determine to know nothing to value nothing to rejoice in nothing but Jesus Christ and him Crucified And then love one another and study to please one another to profit one another for their good to Edification to cast in your Lot together to rejoice together with them that rejoice to grieve with them that suffer to live together in love forbearing one another forgiving one another comforting one another even as you your selves would be Loved forgiven and comforted of God This now is the nature and the fruit of Divine Love it unites Interests but Self-love sinful Self-love divides Interests and so those that seek the things of Self their carual things seek not the things of Christ 3. Sinful Self-love hath a root remaining in the best Hearts even of the regenerate though in Conversion Self hath lost the Domlnion and be cast down from the Throne yet is there a secret Tabernacle a corner in the Heart where it fortifies it Self and is still aspiring to recover the Throne it hath lost the Dominion yet it retains in some degree an Interest in the affection and by this affection it hath the advantage of us and often recovers too great a Command again How great a Power sinful Self-love hath still in us the experience of Chistians sadly proves for the clearing whereof consider yet again more distinctly that there is as hath been already hinted a threefold Self-love and accordingly a threefold Self-seeking 1. There is a loving or seeking our selves in conjunction with God and in subordination to him This is a loving or seeking Self spiritually a loving or seeking of Self as Christians as the Servants of God and Members of Christ as cloathed with the Image and devoted to the service and aspiring to the Salvation of God This Self-loving and Self-seeking is our duty and our excellency the Interest of Self spiritual and the Interest of God are a conjunct Interest only the Interest of Self is lower and subordinate to the Interest of God When we thus seek our selves our Spiritual and Eternal good we are therein most effectually seeking God we cannot more effectually seek God than in seeking our own Salvation Those that seek Glory Honour and Immortality for themselves do therein seek the Glory and Honour of the Immortal God thereby declaring that they prize and value the Lord as their chief nay the only good He that neglecting these lower things doth seeek God as his onely happiness doth therein take the Crown off the head of all his Idols and set it where it
be Damned Indeed the worst of Sinners must be silent to God though he Damn them for their sins and not charge God foolishly but acknowledge that he is Righteous in Damning them but they are not required to submit or be contented to be Damned The first grace sincerity in Grace is to be desired absolutely but as to higher Degrees in Grace the gifts of Grace the means of Grace c. these are to be desired but only with submission 4. Other good things must be desired with submission and Moderation thus all Temporal good things are to be desired 1. With submission We may and ought to desire our Bodily Health our Life and our Prospering in the World but this must be put in if it be the will of God and for the honour of God And if it be the will of God to deny us therein we must submit 2. With Moderation We should not desire great things for our selves nor any thing too earnestly we may seek outward good things but with a great indifferency we must not be greedy seekers Greediness notes 1. A desire after much 't is not a little that will satisfie the greedy mind 2. An eager Desire a greedy Appetite is a ravenous Appetite which scarce any thing will satisfie or quench and such an Appetite we must not allow in our selves after these Temporal things We must desire an increase of Grace yea and of the gifts of Grace Earnestly 1 Cor. 14.31 Covet earnestly the best gifts we must not be content with a little Grace though we must submit to Gods dispensation we must not so submit to be of little Faith as not to seek and seek earnestly for an increase yet so far we must submit as to be without murmuring yea and to be thankful for that little we have Reach forth to the things that are before press hard on towards the Mark be zealous in contending for the highest pitch of Grace and Holiness yea and as to the gifts of Grace the Apostle exhorts 1 Cor. 14.12 Seek that ye may excell to the Edifying of the Church Those that do not press on after an increase in Grace 't is a sign they have no Grace in them that 's True here he that is content with a little 't is an Evidence that he hath nothing Let your eye be upon getting up to the highest form of Christians so as to excell and shine forth most gloriously in the Grace of God but if notwithstanding all your endeavours you still fall short and it continue to be low with you murmur not at God Blame your selves that you have no more there 's the fault you are not straitned in the Lord but in your own Bowels in your own narrow Hearts yet still as little as you have be thankful that there is something of the Grace of God in you if ye be some of the lowest of the Servants of the Lord yet bless him that you are his Servants still contending and that earnestly to rise and increase more and more This increase of Grace and of the gifts of Grace is to be desired with submission but yet earnestly but in seeking after Temporal good things there must be not only submission but great Moderation we must neither seek much of them nor be over eager in our desiring of them From what hath been said will follow these Three Directions for governing your desires 1. Quicken and enlarge your desires after God and the good things above and desire them as much as you should 2. Curb and limit your desires after the good things below and desire them no more than you should 3. Crush and crucifie your desires after the Evil and hurtful things below and desire them not at all 1. Quicken and enlarge your desires after God and the good things above and desire them as much as you should Fear not transgressing in the excess you can't desire God or his Grace too much enlarge your desires 1. Desire to have as much as you can Desire as much of God as much Grace as possible seek great things for your selves here the more of God you can get the more blessed are you and the more Grace you have the more of God you have Desire to abound and excell in the Grace of God get as much Likeness to God as much Love to God as much Faith in God as much sence of the Love and Goodness and Kindness of God as your Hearts can hold The Apostle prays for the Colossians Chap. 1.9 That they might be filled with the Knowledge of God in all Wisdom and Spiritual understanding and Vers 11. Strengthned with all Might according to his glorious Power What is his desire for them let be your desires for your selves that you may be filled with the Knowledge and Grace of God that you may be as full of God as Sinners are full of the Devil that you may be as full of Love as Sinners are of Lust that you may be as full of Holiness as they are of Wickedness Sinners are full of sin Acts 13.10 O thou full of all subtilty and guile The Devil fills their Hearts Acts 5. Why hath Sathan filled your Hearts Get your Hearts to be emptied of the Devils fulness and to be filled with all the fulness of God Let this be your desire Christians not to have something of God something of the grace of God let not a little content you seek to have all grace to abound in you let this be your Ambition to get up to be the best of Christians the chiefest of Saints the least and lowest in your own esteems but the highest in the grace of God seek as much grace as possible 2. Desire God and his Grace with as much earnestness and intention of Soul as possible Let your desires be large desires and let them be ardent desires let your Hearts burn in Love and burn in Holy desires after God let this be the one thing you desire Psal 27.4 One thing have I desired of the Lord that I may dwell in the House of the Lord and behold the beauty of the Lord here Note 1. God and all the things of God are but one thing and our desire after all these is our desiring but one thing In desiring God we desire the grace of God and the means of grace and the delights and comforts of God and our desiring of grace and the things of God is our desiring God to desire God and to desire grace is one and the same thing 2. The Saints desiring after God and his grace are strong desires the fixing of the desires upon one thing notes the intention of our desires when the whole Stream runs in one Channnel and towards one point it runs more strongly when the Heart is divided betwixt many things God hath something of the desire and the World also hath its part and share with God its Motions are the more weakly towards him O stir up and quicken your desires after God and
in these Dayes remember how is it with poor Jerusalem Is our Jerusalem in Prosperity Doth the Church of Christ flourish Is Religion and sincere Christianity countenanced and encouraged Are not the Tents of Jacob smitten and fallen and do they not look Black and all torne and Weather-beaten It was said once though by an evil Tongue Numb 24.5 How goodly are thy Tents O Jacob and thy Tabernacles O Jerusalem But where is their Goodness where is their Beauty Are not the Daughters of Zion all Sun-burnt with Affliction 'T was said once by the Church I am Black but Comely Cant. 1.5 Sun-burnt with Affliction but Beautiful through Grace but may it not now be said We are Black and Deformed not only Sun-burnt but Collied Black as a Coal by Iniquity Is there not only a Marring of our outward Beauty but a failing of the very Spirit and inward Beauty of Christianity Though it were once said Psal 45.13 The Kings Daughter is all glorious within and her Cloathing of wrought Gold must it now be said Our cloathing is in Sack-cloth and we are become Black and Pale and all Withering within Is not Christianity in most Places dead at the Heart May there not an Ichabod be Named among us The Glory the inward Glory is departed from Jerusalem It 's well for us if it be not thus with us if the Pale Horse hath not ridden into our very Inner-man if there be not Death in our Hearts if our Faith and our Love and our Holiness and our Zeal be not dead if we be not grown stark Cold many of us or at least our highest pitch be not Lukewarmness Consider how 't is with your selves but if it be better with us O that it were so O that the Lord had not a Controversie with us even with us for the loss that we are at and the fall that is to be seen among us but if it were better with us in our Particulars than it is yet forget not how it is abroad with the generality of Professors amongst us It is in every Bodies Mouth what a general and lamentable Decay there is every where of the Soul of serious Christianity And is all this nothing with you Is this a Season to rejoice and make Merry in Ezek. 21.9 10. A Sword a Sword is sharpned and is also furbished it is sharpned that it may make a sore Slaughter it is furbished that it may glitter should we than make Mirth Beloved we may Read in our Decayes and Hypocrisies that the Lord may be sharpning and furbishing an outward Sword against us to avenge and to punish an Hypocritical Nation But the Spiritual Sword of the Lord is sharpned already and what a sore Slaughter hath it made What a Slaughter of the Faith and the Hopes and of the Graces and the Comforts of the Love of the Humility of the Meekness of the Self-denial what a Slaughter hath been made of all these already How little of them is there left alive Is there such a Spiritual Sword such a Javelin smitten through the Heart such a sore Slaughter made of the very Spirit of Religion and should we yet make Mirth Is this a Season to be so Merry or so Jolly in What a Woe is there denounced Amos 6.1 6. against those Merry ones and Jolly ones upon this Account that they are not grieved for the Afflictions of Joseph and what should we be Merry and so Merry as to be without Sense of the Afflictions and also of the Sins of Joseph The inward Languishings and Consumptions of the People of God Christians I doubt we have too much forgotten all this we do not consider we do not remember or lay it to Heart how sadly it goeth with the Interest of Christianity among us sure it would change many of our Countenances and abate us our Pleasant Hours were this duly Weighed It is our Fault and our Sin that it is thus with us and 't is a sign that thou art of the Number of those sick Souls thou art one of them there is a sad Slaughter made in thine own Soul thine Heart languisheth and thy Grace is whithered 't is a Sign it is so if thou canst be so Merry and not to be Afflicted with the Whitherings of others O Friends remember these things and whatever Rejoycings you have in outward things let these things be an allay to them Rejoyce as if ye Rejoyced not Weep as if you Wept not saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 7.30 I cannot say the latter word to you in such a time Weep as if you Wept not but Weep as if you wept Weep in good earnest Weep heartily Weep abundandly let your Eyes run down with Tears I cannot say Weep as if you Wept not but yet rejoyce as if you rejoyced not abate and moderate all your Joy and Mirth 4. For our Fear this is well governed when we fear nothing but what â—e should fear and this we fear as much and no more than we should For the Regulating our fears First We are to keep our Hearts in a due fear of what we should fear 1. God is to be feared The Glory of his Excellent Majesty of his Holiness of his Righteousness of his Omnipotence and all his Glorious Attributes The Attributes are his Glorious and Fearful Name Deut. 28.58 That thou mayest Fear that Glorious and Fearful Name the Lord thy God this fear of God is a Fear of Reverence to Fear God is to stand in aw of his Glorious Majesty but in special there must be a fear of the Indignation of God and the Power of his Wrath. Luke 12.5 I will tell you what you should fear fear him who is able to destroy both Soul and Body the fear of God is the Ground and Reason of all other Fears 2. Sin is to be Feared 2 Sam. 1.14 How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine Hand and destroy the Lords Anointed It was thy Wickedness thy great Sin to do that Act How is it that thou wert not afraid to do it Sin is the most formidable of Evils if Men knew what it were to Sin against God 't would make them tremble not only great sins but little sins not only open but the most secret sins there 's enough in every sin to make Men afraid that Men are so vile and so wicked as they are it is because they fear not sin fear sin and you will fly from it 3. Temptations to sin are to be feared Therefore we are to pray Lead us not into Temptation It is our fear that must bring us on our Knees to make this Hearty Prayer If sin be to be feared then whatever enticeth or leadeth to sin is to be feared Some of our Temptations are to be feared and shunned evil Companions are a Temptation these must be shunned the liberty of unnecessary Sports and Recreations of sumptuous Feastings of curious and costly Apparel c. are Temptations and therefore must be shunned others of our
's my grief that I am a Worldling or proud or froward but God be merciful to me I can't get rid of these evils if your sorrow whatever it be doth not bring forth Fruit unto Repentance it is not wrought up high enough there must be more load layd on there must be more of its Thorns and Spears and Stings thrust into that hard Heart of thine thou must feel more of its Gripes it must fetch out more Groans and Sighs and Tears out of thee thou must be brought to another manner of trouble for sin then yet thou art e're it reach the due degree of Godly sorrow 2. This sorrow must not be so great as to hinder the exercise of any other Grace or Duty 't is seldom there is an errour in the excess we don't use to sorrow over much no no we are apt to err in the defect we do not usually come up to sufficient sorrow our hearts have but a light hurt upon them our wounds ordinarily are not deep enough 't is this which mostly undoes us we find our sin to be too light a burthen 't were well if our hearts were more sick that we could find them bleeding inwardly and bleeding more abundantly as 't was said of false Teachers Jer. 6.14 They heal the hurt of the Daughters of my People slightly It is seldom that we can now a dayes hear of such a thing as a troubl'd Soul and a wounded Spirit We are even Professors of too whole and unbroken hearts The Sacrifice of God is a broken heart Psal 51.17 but how few such Sacrifices are there any where found for the Lord The work of the Ministry God helps us is seldome that more acceptable work an healing work to heal the wounded Soul to bind up the broken heart to comfort them that are cast down but the main of our work lyes in making wounds in pricking to the heart in casting down the high and hardned hearts Is not there much of this work lying upon our hands to be hammering and humbling and piercing your hearts through with Godly sorrow How few are there of you who can truly say I thank God this work is done upon me the breaking work the afflicting work the affrighting work is done upon me my heart through Grace is brought low and made soft and made sick of my sins so that I am prepared for the healing and comforting work That sharp two edged Sword of the word hath pierced so deep and made such work such wounds in my heart that now the Oyl is more needed and the Balm to heal my wounds O it is matter of trouble and sadness of heart to find no more such sad Souls and sorrow bitten hearts then we can either see or hear of in the World 'T is seldom therefore I say that there is too much of this sorrow that trouble for sin riseth too high but yet sometimes and in some cases it may be so there may be an excess of sorrow for sin Christians may be pressed down over measure they may be swallowed up of overmuch sorrow as the Apostle intimates and would have prevented 2 Cor. 2.7 Comfort such an one lest perhaps he should be swollowed up of overmuch sorrow Therefore in this case there must be Limits set to our sorrow and it must be held within these Limits It must be so much only as may not hinder the exercise of other Graces and Duties it must neither hinder our Hopes nor hinder our Faith nor our Love no nor our Joy in the Lord It should be with Christians in this case as with the Apostle in another case 2 Cor. 6.10 As sorrowing yet alwaies rejoycing Sorrowing yet believing sorrowing yet hopeing cast down yet comforted It must not hinder our Duties Some Christians have been so overwhelmed with trouble that they have not been able to hear nor pray nor think with any Comfort upon God or the things of God this is an excess of sorrow and must be restrained Sorrow for sin no more then will help you to believe and Hope and Love and praise and serve the Lord. 2. Affliction This is another object of sorrow The Degrees and Limits of this are 1. That we sorrow not so little but that we have a due and a deep sense of the hand of the Lord upon us Otherwise we despise the chastning of the Lord which the Apostle forbids Heb. 12.5 Despise not thou the chastning of the Lord. By afflictions I mean here the sufferings of this Life Crosses and Losses of Estates of Friends Husband Wife Children or near Relations Sufferings in our persons by Sicknesses Pains Languishing and the like these must be grieved for God complaines Jer. 3.5 I have smitten them but they have not grieved 'T was their sin that they did not sorrow 2. That we sorrow not so much as to sink under our sorrows That we be not swallowed up of overmuch sorrow As we may not slight or despise the chastnings of the Lord so we may not faint when we are chastned The Apostle tells us 2 Cor. 7.10 That worldly sorrow the sorrows of worldly-men for their worldly crosses worketh Death It sometimes kills their Bodies some men die of their griefs but it often kills their Hearts sinks them in their Spirits stupifies them and makes them fit for nothing We may not be so depressed with sorrows but that we still keep our Hearts alive and to be of good courage 3. Not as men without hope We must sorrow for all our afflictions but as the Apostle would have Christians sorrow for the dead 1 Thess 4.13 Sorrow not says he as others which have no hope The Righteous hath hope in his Heart and his hope must moderate his sorrow This sad state will not last alwaies there 's hope of an end of his afflictions and that should moderate his sorrow The Righteous hath hope in his Death Prov. 14.32 and hath this double hope 1. That Death will put an end to his sorrows 2. That the end of his Sorrows shall be the beginning of Everlasting Joyes and in this hope he must comfort himself under his sufferings and moderate his sorrows for them 4. Alwaies as men that have worse matters to sorrow for The least sin is a worse evil then the greatest affliction and calls for more of our sorrow Christians must take heed that they do not loose the sense of sin in their excessive sorrowing for affliction When affliction lyes too heavy sin usually lyes too light Jer. 30.15 Why cryest thou for thine affliction because thy sins were increased I have done these things unto thee Why art thou impatient under thy sufferings Whatsoever thou sufferest how hard soever it goes with thee in the World there 's a worse thing then all this that should set thee a crying thy sin thy sin which is the root of all that which thou sufferest 5. Let your sorrow for Affliction never be so great as to hinder your sorrow for sin Sorrow more
life of Christ begotten in them O what multitudes of lost souls are there among us if every soul be lost that makes light of sin What account dost thou make of it Thou sinnest dayly thou livest an idle and a careless and a sinful life thou art proud or covetous or a sensual flesh-pleaser and is not all this this sin Thou art a Liar a Promise-breaker a defrauder and is not this thy sin Thou art perverse and peevish and of a froward heart and is not this thy wickedness But what account dost thou make of all this Is it an heavy thing to thee to be thus sinful No not at all thou makest light of thy pride and light of thy covetousness and light of thy frowardness thou makest just nothing of them or at least but small matters Thou dost not feel them to be such a weight and burthen to thee but thou canst bear them and go out with them well enough Or if thou dost sometimes feel some smart or pain by them yet it is but such a light touch that what ever thou thinkest at present thou wilt quickly after them again at thy lying again at thy swearing again at thy froppish and froward carriages again It is such a deep sense of sin as will make us beware of it for the future that wil prove our recovery What shall we then think of them that make a mock of sin that make a sport of sin that take pleasure in iniquity Without all controversie these are lost souls and those that make but little reckoning of it that pass by their sins as small matters that are either not toucht at all or but lightly toucht for them so lightly that their sin hath still the power and dominion over them thou that art but such a one thou art a lost soul thy soul is lost and not recovered 4. Th sâ— that make light of Christ their recoverer Christ that is sent down as the Physitian of souls to seek and to save them that are lost hath ordinarily the same entertainment as the King in the Parable had amongst the Guests that he invited to his Feast Mat. 22.5 but they made light of it Here 1. There are some sinners that do make light of Christ Jesus Christ is worthy of all acceptation What is Jesus Christ He is the Son of God full of grace and truth Joh. 1. God equal with the Father the brightness of his Fathers glory the express image of his person and upholdeth all things by the word of his power Heb. 1.3 He is the Head of all Principalities and Powers the Prince of the Kings of the earth Rev. 1 5. What is Jesus Christ to sinners He is the everlasting Father the Prince of Peace Is 9.6 his name shall be wonderful What comes this Jesus into the world for To reconcile them to God to save them from their sins to die for the sins of the World and to wash them in his own bloud And to what end comes he to particular sinners wherefore is he preached to them wherefore is he offered to them To what end is it that sinners are so importunately invited to entertain and accept of him to be willing that he that was the Saviour might become their Saviour that he that was the Reconciler might become their Recoverer to recover them from the snare of the Devil and to bring them into the everlasting Kingdom This is that Jesus that by the Gospel is preached unto you Who could imagine that such a great and mighty and glorious one who is the everlasting King the God of all the earth who would think but he should be reverenced where-ever he come They will reverence my son said the King in the Parable Mat. 22.37 It might be well presumed they would however it proved in the issue Who could imagine that one that came upon such a gracious design to reconcile poor Rebels unto God to redeem poor Prisoners out of Prison to recover and raise the dead to life and ransom them from the Pit and give them an entrance into the everlasting kingdom who would think but Christ coming upon such a gracious and glorious design should have wonderful chearful entertainment Who would think but that the whole World should ring with acclamations of joy and praise at his appearing amongst them Who would think but when Christ comes to particular sinners and makes a free offer of himself to them to be theirs their Redeemer their Saviour but such an offer should be greedily catched at and readily embraced Doth the King of Glory come unto me Hast thou shed thy bloud and poured forth thy soul and laid down thy liâ—e and purchased pardon and an interest in Heaven for me And dost thou now come to give thy self and all that thou hast purchased to be mine What answer would any one think would be given by lost souls to such questions Wilt thou be mine Shall I be thine Art thou willing to be redeemed to be washed from thy sins to be healed of thy diseases Shall my bloud which is shed for the salvation of sinners shall my bloud be thine and the peace and reconciliation it hath made be thine Shall I come into that miserable soul of thine and dwell there and rule there and cast that Devil out that hath been thy destroyer and murderer Shall I love thee and delight in thee and bless thee with my salvation What answer would any one think that undone lost sinners should give to such questions What wilt thou come unto me love and bless me With all my soul Lord come in thou blessed Lord all that is within me shall rejoyce that thou wilt thus enter upon me and take me for thy possession and habitation This one would think should be the answer that sinners would give But behold such miserably foolish souls are sinners become that they make light of all this A cup of drink a carnal companion a lust a sensual pleasure is made more reckoning of than Christ and all his love As it is said of those Builders the Scribes and Pharisees Acts 4.11 It is true of all sinners this stone this pretious stone this corner stone this foundation stone upon which alone their hopes of salvation might be built this stone is set at nought by them Is 53.3 He was despised and rejected of men they made no account or reckoning of him but even tread under foot the Son of God And this is the general entertainment that Christ hath among the sinners of the earth so light do they make of him he comes to them but they will not receive him How often says he would I have gathered you Mat. 23.37 but you would not And what is the common case of sinners is it not thy case Art not thou one that makest light of Christ He hath been preached unto thee he hath come and tendered himself to thy soul That vile heart of thine sinner that dark hole where the Devil and Lust
to flourish amain when you are come to this once to disrellish your old delights and to feed your thoughts and feed your affections on things above and to forbear and come off from the love and lusts and companions and pleasures of this world then you will live and thrive and flourish in the House of the Lord and grow up before him as his peculiar children whom the Lord hath saved The sum of this direction I shall give you in short in these three particulars If ever you would recover 1. Abstain from that carnal worldly life in which hitherto you have lived 2. Abstain from those carnal companions in whose converse you have delighted 3. Delight your selves in God feed your thoughts and affections upon things above 2. Vse good exercise Stir your selves out of your lazy humours and keep doing Idleness breeds diseases exercise will help to the cure Particularly exercise your selves 1. To prayer 2. To repentance 3. To the keeping a good conscience 1. Exercise your selves to prayer The prayer of the faithful shall save the sick Jam. 5.15 The sick soul as well as the sick body Prayer is a stirring exercise that if performed as it ought sets all the powers of the soul on work it is a striving with God it is a wrestling with God it is the lifting up of the heart and the pouring out the soul to God When thou settest thy self to praying it is both a sign that thy recovery is begun and an hope it will be perfected Set your selves to praying Sinners stir up your selves to prayer There is none that stirreth up himself to take hold on thee Is 64.7 Pray and stir up your selves in prayer It is not sleepy lazy cold formal praying but stirring prayer that must do the cure Stir up your desires in prayer be passionate and affectionate seekers stir up your fears in prayer consider what if I should not prevail What if the cry of my sins should be louder than the cry of my prayers I come for the pardon of my sins I come for power against sin I am begging my life and the saving my soul from going down into the Pit my very life my soul lies at stake if God should not hear me I am lost for ever Awaken oh my soul and pour forth strong cries bow thy self with thy might before the Lord. Plead with God poor sinner for that poor miserable soul of thine plead with him upon his mercies upon his bowels upon his promises upon the bloud of Christ Take unto thee words Lord I am a miserable sinful soul I am a lost creature I am sick unto death I am bound in the chains of my sins and cannot get loose I am a blind hardned defiled creature these eyes must be opened this heart must be broken this filth and pollution must be washed away or I shall be swallowed up of the pit Where are thy bowels O Lord Art thou a God of pity and hast thou no pity for me Where is thy promise Lord Thou hast said Ask and you shall have seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you To whom hast thou spoken this word Is it not to me as well as to others Where is the bloud of Christ doth it not speak for sinners Doth it not make intercession for transgressors It doth Lord thou hast said it doth And what doth this bloud speak Lord forgive this poor sinner that comes to thee for pardon Lord purge him with thy bloud Lord heal him with thy bloud Lord give him that new heart and life which he comes for O doth this precious bloud speak thus for me and wilt thou not hear Sinners if ever you would be recovered set upon this exercise and keep you to it Go to God this night be with him again to morrow morning and again in the evening and every day as duly as the day comes go alone and retire your selves into the presence of God fall upon your knees and pour forth your souls in your requests to him Beware you neither neglect it and beware you do not trifle at it do not deceive your selves with the shadow or image of Prayer in stead of Prayer Consider thou art upon a matter of life and death when thou goest to prayer and let that awaken and stir up all thy powers in it Friends I doubt either that you do not pray or that it is but mock-praying that too many of you satisfie your selves withal O what pitiful hasty short dead praying is it that thou satisfiest thy self with Trace thy self into thy praying corners consider how seldom thou art there how quickly thou hast done how miserably thou shufflest over thy duties without life or affection what is this but mock-prayer will such praying recover thy lost soul No thou seest it will not thou art the same man of the same spirit running the same course from one week to another from one year to another without any change for the better It may be said of such praying as it was said of the false Prophets preaching Jer. 6.14 They heal the hurt of my people slightly Slight praying is attended but with slight healing something it seems to do it skins over the wound that it smart not for the time it keeps people quiet for the time but it will never work a thorough cure Your wound is deeper your disease is eaten into your flesh and your bone to your heart and your soul and your medicine must go as deep as your disease There must be deep sighs and groans and deep desires that must come up from the bottom of your hearts or they will never reach the bottom of your disease Be ashamed of your slightness be ashamed of your folly that you should ever think that God would help you the sooner for such trifling and mocking prayers Oh pray and exercise your selves in prayer Stir up all within you to this work look to your selves I am afraid that this duty which is a means of recovery may prove the loss of your souls I am afraid lest the Lord the jealous God that will not be mocked I am afraid that he may damn you for your prayers your trifling mocking prayers Dare not to trifle any longer dare not for thy life that the Lord ever again meet thee in thy closet meet thee on thy knees with nothing but the sacrifice of Fools a few heartless words upon thy lips Beloved I can hardly pass over this word thus there being so much weight lying upon it and yet there being so much hardness of heart under this soul-deceiving and soul-damning practice shuffling in prayer What say you Have I said enough yet Are you yet made sensible how much you are many of you concerned in this word Are you yet sensible how greatly guilty you are of this miserable hypocrisie Will all that I have said yet do to bring you to be serious and in good earnest in every prayer you make Are you come
things honestly in all things and at all times This exercise of keeping to conscience is a painful exercise you can never live a conscientious life unless you will be content to live a painful life to take pains with your hearts to take pains with your thoughts and affections to take pains with your tongues and all your members to hold them close to the rule of conscience this painful exercise will get you an heat will beget warmth in those cold and careless hearts The most conscientious Christians are the most warm and lively Christians and according as you get and keep your hearts warm so will your diseases waste the health of your souls return into you Remember what I have said if ever you would recover your lost souls recover conscience if ever you would recover conscience get the guilt the guile of conscience purged away by the bloud of Christ and water of repentance keep the eye of conscience open let conscience be the Supervisor of all your ways let the book of conscience be kept clear from blots and blurs and let there be a faithful record kept there of all your ways let the tongue of Conscience have leave to speak and warn you from day to day and submit to its Scepter and government be no longer govern'd by Will or by appetite or by lust or by the fashions and customs or examples of men but be govern'd by Conscience Do not give Conscience a Kiss and a Stab hearken to it in some things and wound it in other things but study to live in all good Conscience on your Sabbath-dayes on your working-dayes in the House of the Lord in your own houses in the houses of your Friends in the Field in the Market in the matters of God in the matters of the World when you are alone when in company when you are in good company when you are fallen into evil company wherever you are whatever you are a doing still have an eye upon Conscience an ear open to Conscience and let Conscience prescribe to you what you should do and how you should carry it in every affair 3. Beware of taking cold That 's a special rule Physicians use to give to the recovering Patient when Persons are upon recovery of their bodily diseases how ordinary is it that upon a little cold they relapse and sometimes die of their disease Is thy Soul upon recovery take heed of Colds Soul such there are who when they begin to be wrought upon and brought to any sence of Religion there appears a great heat and fervour of spirit upon them 't is with them as with the Prophet Jer. 20.9 Thy Word was in me like fire their love and desire and zeal for God seem all in a flame O what warm affections have they how warm in their Duties how warm in their converses they seem to be all Life and Soul and then after a time they grow stark cold and little life is left in them and some of them never recover again while they live Hath thy Spirit gotten an heat hath the Word heated thee and those Exercises of Prayer Repentance and keeping Conscience gotten thee into an heat then take heed of growing cold keep you constant to those Exercises that have begotten an heat in you Keep you in the Sun-shine all your heart-warmth is begotten and must be maintained from above live in the beholding the face of God live under the Sun-beams of the Sun of righteousness keep you close to God keep you near to Christ live in intimate communion with God Take heed of those clouds your sins that will obscure the Sun Isa 59.1 Take heed of an Eclipse see that this Earth do not interpose betwixt your Souls and Heaven take heed of the damp Influences of the dead that you live amongst We live in a cold World a cold Age that Age has overtaken us which Christ Prophesied of Mat. 24.20 Wherein the love many of should wax cold Those that are grown cold themselves will serve for nothing but to chill and damp the Spirits of others Be not unnecessarily conversant with this cold World trust not your selves in their Company have you never found how much your Souls have lost by carnal Correspondencies Professors how is it with you Do you still retain your first vigour as when you began to be recovered May not the Lord complain over some of us as of Israel Jer. 2.2 I remember the kindness of thy Youth and the love of thine Espousals I remember it as a thing that is past that now is not or as Ephesus Rev. 2.4 Thou hast lost thy first Love and what follows from this decay Hence is it that we are become a Company of sickly Professors of Carnal Professors of Earthly Professors the World hath return'd upon us the Flesh hath gotten head again in us the things that are Eternal and the influences of them upon us are even lost and swallow'd up of things Temporal our Stocks and our Businesses and our Trades how have they even choak'd up our Religion Friends it 's matter of astonishment to consider how very few lively Christians there are to be found amongst us Thus we every one talk what a General decay of Religion there is among us has not thine own Mouth complain'd of the coldness of this Age But whilst thou complainest of the Age how is it with thee Art not thou sick of the same Disease Look homeward look inward into thine own House into thine own Heart what Spirit of Religion is there going in thine own Family Hast thou not by thy negligence let all run to decay there What Life of Religion is there maintain'd in thine own Heart Friends feel you every man his own Pulse lay your hand every Man upon his own Heart and feel how faintly it beats Heaven-wards Sure Friends if we should examine our own Cases we should find enough to set us all a Weeping over our own decays and she should hear that voice within us Weep not for others but weep for thy self and thine own Children O take heed lest such of you as are fallen back among the Sick do not also return among the Dead and make your recovery again more hopeless at last than 't was at first You that stand be warn'd by those that are fallen stand with your Loyns girded and your Lights burning and you that are fallen fallen to decay fallen to a dead and flat and lifeless State you that are fallen remember whence you are fallen remember and repent remember and recover strengthen the things that remain if there be any sparks left blow off your Ashes blow up the Coals Let the Life of God and the love of Christ and a Zeal for Holiness be again kindled in you and if ever the Lord should recover you again there 's great hazard whether he may thou mayest die of the Cold thou hast taken the Consumption that hath Eaten up so much of thy Vitals may be unto
Death Eternal Death but if ever God should recover thee again and revive his work and enliven that almost Dead Carkass then at last learn from thine own miserable experience to take heed of taking Cold again as long as thou livest Thus much for the recovering the Heart which is pre-supposed to the keeping of the Heart The Heart thus recovered out of its lost State must be kept and well look'd to that it fall not back again and here 2. Now I shall shew you what it is to keep the heart or how it must be kept and so 1. It must be kept under Government 2. It must be kept under Guard 1. It must be kept under Government here I shall shew 1. The necessity of keeping the Heart under Government 2. How the Heart must be Governed 1. The necessity of keeping the Heart under Government that will appear by considering what an Heart it is and because the Heart is recovered in part and there is much of its Old and Original pravity remaining in it which will be apt to boil up and break forth again I shall a little open the wretched temper and disposition of it which will evidence how great a necessity there is to keep it under Government 1. It is a wicked mischievous heart Jer. 17.9 Desperately wicked Psalm 5.9 Very wickedness Rom. 8.7 Enmity against God It is the Fountain whence all the filthy streams that pollute and defile our lives do flow and are cast forth It is the Furnace whence all the stinking fumes and smoaks that annoy the World are sent forth It is the Nest where all the Cockatrices Eggs are Hatched It is the Sink that gathers in all manner of filth into it and then sendeth it abroad to do mischief Psal 41.6 His Heart gathereth iniquity to it self as the Sinks gather in all the filth of the Town and when he goeth abroad he telleth it only there is this difference between this and other Sinks other Sinks gather in the filth but 't is in order to the conveying it and carrying it away Into this evil evil Sink of the Heart all the filth is gathered and there it stops and stinks and casts it self back in its annoying streams Out of the Heart comes evil Thoughts Murthers Adulteries c. Mat. 15.19 All this Filth and Mudd all this Wickedness and Malignity as it Naturally dwells in every Heart so there 's much of it remaining even in renewed Hearts and will if there be not constant care to keep down and by degrees to cast it out will rise and swell and work up again in them Christians you may thank God that there is Salt cast into these filthy Fountains for the healing these muddy waters that there is a Spring of Living Waters broken in your Hearts by degrees to drain out your Dirt that there is Grace begotten in you to resist and repell the contagion of Lust but this little Grace will be choak'd up again if Lust be not kept under And as it is a Wicked so 't is a Mischievous Heart it 's set upon mischief Wickedness will be doing wickedly as 't is said of the Workers of Iniquity so 't is true of all as far forth as they are unrenewed Mischief is in their Hearts Psal 28.3 There 's the same Reason of keeping our Hearts under restraint as of keeping Mad-men in they will be doing mischief if they have their liberty Besides the mischief that our evil Hearts will be doing to others they will be mischiefing themselves Mad Men will tear their own Flesh will cut and wound themselves if they be let alone and there is no such danger of evil Hearts as in regard of that mischief they do themselves 1. Our evil Hearts will hinder us from doing good to our Selves or of receiving or laying up good for our Selves Rom. 7.19 The good that I would I do not why what hinders See Vers 21. I find a Law the Law of Sin in the Heart When I would do good evil is present with me Gal. 5.17 The Flesh lusteth against the Spirit so that we cannot do the things that we would Sometimes good Counsel is given us from the Lord but we do not take it How many good Counsels have you heard from the Ministry of the Word that are lost and forgotten and come to nothing Sometimes a good motion comes into the Heart to repent and amend our ways to pray or to Meditate or to search out Hearts to cease from this Earth and Flesh from serving our Sense and minding only the present and to lay up Treasure in Heaven and provide for the time to come have you never such motions Do you never hear such a voice within you Get you Baggs that wax not Old a Treasure in Heaven that faileth not Choose the good part lay hold on Eternal Life give your self to Praying keep a good Conscience take heed and beware of Covetousness use more diligence live with more heedfulness have your Conversation in Heaven and keep your self unspotted of the World keep your self in the love of God set the Lord alway before your Eyes behold his Face in Righteousness study to shew thy self approved of God and to walk so in all things that thou mayest be accepted of God are there not such motions as these come into your hearts You that are Christians sure you have many such good motions But how do they take What do they bring forth If you had obeyed all the good motions that you have sometimes felt within you O what manner of Christians would you have been What mortified what circumspect what raised and Heavenly minded Christians had you been But how do your good motions take What success are they attended with Do not you see that they are often strangled in the Birth and die away and come to just nothing Or at least do you not meerly halt and trifle in the pursuace of them If you Pray or hear or set your Hearts to humble your selves before the Lord how are you Distracted and Diverted and Deadned and all your duties spoiled in the doing so that you can have little comfort or real advantage by what yo do Do you not often mourn over your Prayers and Sermons and Sabbaths as meerly lost to you When you would work up your Hearts Heaven ward and fix above when you would love and del ght your selves in the Lord and Solace your selves in the contemplation of the Divine Love and Goodness when you would fain set your Hearts to live such a Godly Conscientious Circumspect Self-denying Life and comfort your selves with such thoughts I hope I shall never live such a Careless Carnal Useless Unsavory Earthly Life again I hope you have many such Thoughts Desires Hopes and Aims you are lamentable Christians if you have not but how do they succed What do they bring forth Do they not often prove Abortive and bring forth nothing May it not be said of you as of those Job 15.35 They conceive
his Love and lost his Life and lost his Zeal for God in his loving and caring and good husbandry for himself Pray consider if this be none of your cases and if this be not a sad case and whether you can take any comfort in it or no Had not those Hearts need to be look'd to that have thus gone a Whoring 't is no better that have gone a whoring from Christ after the World Hast thou govern'd that Heart of thine well which thou hast suffered thus to play the Harlot Hast thou not need of looking better to it Christians do you not see you had need to be more watchful over your Hearts and to hold them in under a closer and severer restraint than you have hitherto done Again if you do not see how far sinful Self-love hath prevailed in you above the Love of God consider further for conviction 1. Do you love them that love God as you love them that love your Selves There 's scarce any Man that is so ill natur'd but will love those that love himself Do not even the Publicans the same Mat. 5. They love those that love them and are beneficial to them But do you love those that love God as you love those that love your selves Those that are loving and kind and friendly to you you will love them whether they love God or no and do you find that those that love God you can love them whether they love you or no If they should any of them be unkind and unfriendly to you yet can you love them because they love God If not if you can love them that love you though they do not love God and cannot love them who love God in case they do not love you what think you Is not this an evidence that this Self-love hath greater power in you than the love of God 2. Are you angry with those that offend God as you are with those that offend your Selves The Psalmist could say Psal 139.21 22. Do not I hate them that hate thee am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee Yea I hate them with a perfect hatred I count them mine Enemies Can you say so I am angry with them that are angry with thee I am grieved at them that sin against God those that are his Enemies I count them mine own Enemies Those that wrong our selves and offend our selves that wrong us in our Names by traducing backbiting or slandering of us that wrong us of our Right by Fraud or Oppression that do but speak an angry or unkind word to us how quickly does the Fire kindle We are too hot and touchy when Self is concerned but are we grieved are we offended at those that sin against God yea even though they be never so kind to our selves Can we not wink at sin in our Friends can we not palliate and excuse it and hide our eyes from the sins of them whom we love and upon whose kindness and friendship self hath some dependance How then canst thou say thou lovest God as thou lovest thy self Touch self-Interest who dare he shall not escape thy wrath let him kick against God sin against Christ and thou art never moved Dost thou love God as thou lovest thy self It was said of Holy Calvin that when he heard that Luther call'd him Devil that he answered But he is the Servant of the most High God 't is said of Lot 2 Pet. 2.8 That Righteous Man living among the Sodomites vexed his Righteous Soul with the filthy Conversation of those wicked Ones Lot had none of the best Neighbours in those wicked Sodomites doubtless he suffer'd many Personal wrongs and unkindnesses from them that Righteous Man could never be Neighbour to such wicked ones without suffering from them himself but yet we read not that he ever fretted or vexed at any thing they did against himself their wickedness against God their filthy Conversation this was it which vexed his Righteous Soul There was a Man that loved God indeed silent at wrongs done to himself only vexed at what is done against God Is it so with thee Is it so with us O how quite contrary are we Vexing and fretting and chafing at whatever is against our selves and silent and quiet and not moved in the concerns of God Is this our love to God Are we lovers of God more than lovers of Self Sure beloved this very thing our being so impatient of Self-offences and so patient of offences against God this very thing if well considered might make the most of our Hearts to ake and draw Tears from our Eyes might set us all a Weeping to think what daily Arguments we have of this kind to prove how powerful this self-Self-love and how weak the love of God is in us Sure the more dear the Lord grows to us the more will it go to our Hearts that he should be offended by any and the more Self-love were mortified the easier should we bear Self-wrongs and Offences And what can we say with respect to our Brethren Neighbours Do we not so love our selves but that we are heartily concern'd for our Neighbours Have we compassions towards them in their afflictions Do we rejoice at their Prosperity Can we grieve with those that grieve suffer with them that suffer and rejoice with them that rejoyce and prosper We can be glad when God prospereth our Selves and can we be glad when he prospereth others O how do Men rake and catch what they can one from another how do Men envy the prosperity of their Neighbours O how do some Men gape after the Possessions of their Brethren wishing even for their Death when they are like to get any thing by it How many Landlords are glad of the death of their Tenants How many younger Brothers are glad at the death of the Heir Yea how do some Children wait for the death of their Parents that the Inheritance may fall to themselves And whence is all this wickedness Is not this from Self-love O what Murtherous desires and hopes doth it sometimes bring forth Though it dare not put upon Murtherous Practices though it doth not make Murtherous hands yet it often makes the Heart a Murtherous heart and fills it with Murtherous desires and practices Mat. 15.19 Out of the Heart proceed evil Thoughts Murthers Adulteries 'T is this Self in the Heart that is the Original Murtherer and Adulterer You that are Professors of Religion see diligently whether there be no degree of this wickedness to be found in any of your Hearts to hope for to wish for or at least to be well pleased at the death of others when Self doth get by their Death Therefore 4. There is a necessity of keeping the Heart under Government Is Self such an Idol in the Heart Is Self-love Idolatry and the Root of so much wickedness The Rot of Religion The Root of Unrighteousness Unmercifulness Yea and of such Murtherous desires and wishes And is there something of
in Number than the Sands of the Sea Thy Thoughts that is either Gods Thoughts towards him or his Thoughts of God and these Observe 1. The gratefulness or acceptableness of such Thoughts how precious how dear are they to me It was a pleasant thing to him to think of God 2. The Multitude of his Thoughts of God how great is the Summ of them God hath many Thoughts of his Saints and Saints have many Thoughts of God 3. A special Season of his thinking of God when I awake these are my Morning Thoughts no sooner am I awake but my Heart is in Heaven and Psal 119.97 O how I love thy Law it is my Meditation all the day where see 1. The matter of his Thoughts the Law of God or those blessed matters those wonderful things contained in this Law to be thinking of the Word of God is to be thinking of God of Christ of Holiness of Heaven of the way to Heaven and the like things that are written in the Word these are the matter of his Thoughts 2. The Seasons of his Meditations and these are every Season he is constantly thus exercised all the day his Morning thoughts are his continual Thoughts 3. The Motive or Spring of his Meditations O how I love thy Law What we love we shall easily be thinking of if we love God we shall be thinking of God if we love our Souls love Holiness love the Word and wayes of God our Thoughts will be upon them Dost thou not think on God and the Law of God 'T is a sign thou lovest them not well this is the right governing our Thoughts and which will prevent the wandrings and straglings and unruliness of them the holding them thus well exercised 3. In holding our Affections and Passions to their proper Objects and within their due Bounds so as that we love only what we should love and as much and no more than we should love it to fear what we should fear and as much and no more than we should fear it to desire what we should desire and as much and no more than we should desire it to be angry with what we should be angry and no more than we should I shall instance only in these Six Passions Our Love Our Desire Our Joy Our Grief Our Fear Our Anger 1. For our Love this is then well Ordered when we love only what we should love and as much and no more than we should love it The Object of Love is good and only good nothing can be loved but that which is good or apprehended so to be and nothing ought to be loved but that which is good God is good the chief and Supream good the Fountain of all goodness infinitely good Good is the Lord Exod. 34.6 Abundant in goodness and truth Our danger here is not of over-loving but of under-loving God is to be loved with all the Heart and with all the Might there is no danger here of erring in the excess our beings are good our Souls and Bodies we are Gods Workmanship and of all Gods works 't is said Gen. 1. he saw that they were good Our well-being and prosperity and happiness is good not only the Prosperity of our Souls our prospering in Grace and Holiness our growing rich unto God but the Prosperity of our Bodies and outward man our Health and our Estates is good Joh. 3. I wish that thou maiest prosper and be in Health even as thy Soul prospereth The Creatures are good our Bread and our Cloaths and our Houses which are for the comfort of our Bodies every Creature of God is good being sanctified by the Word and Prayer 1 Tim. 4.4 The Prosperity of our Neighbours especially those of the houshold of Faith this also is a good that we should love Touching our Souls our danger is that we do not love these according to the price and worth of a Soul which is more than all the World Mat. 16. or else that we do not love them aright so as to seek their good Touching our Bodies and the Creatures that are for the Health and prosperity of our Bodies the great danger is of over-loving them of loving them more than we should and more than they are worth This is the order that should be in well-govern'd Hearts we should love the Creatures for our Bodies we should love our Bodies for our Souls we should love them all and our Neighbours good also for God and we should love love God for himself And this ought to be the Measure of our Love we should love God with all our might we should love our Souls as far forth as serves to the Honour of God we should love our Bodies our Health and bodily Prosperity as far as they are serviceable to our Souls and we should love the Creatures our Houses our Money our Estates as far forth as they may be useful to our Bodies in the Service of our Souls and to our Bodies and Souls in the Service of God and we should love our Neighbour as our selves An Heart that is set right in its love is a well governed Heart this is the orginal of the disorder that is in our lives the disorder of our love Why is it that these Bodies and our Bodily Prosperity is sought more than our Souls why do we seek Riches and Pleasure and Ease and Money more than we seek Grace and Holiness O we love the Creature too much and we love God and our Souls too little O it were well with the sinful World better than it is if they loved God and their Souls as well as they love their Bodies and Estates but Sinner for thy part thou dost not so thou sayest thou lovest God thou sayest thou lovest thy Soul thou sayest these are the gteat things thine Heart is upon no thou dost not love God as thou lovest that Carkass of thine thou doest not love God as well as thou lovest thy Money or thy Pleasures or thy Health thy very Lusts thy Carnal Sports and Merriments thy vile Companions and thy Sins thou art such a vile Brute that thou lovest these more than thou lovest God or thy Soul thou art better pleased thou art better satisfied when the Corn and the Wine increaseth when thou Prosperest in this World than with any hopes thou hast towards God for thy Soul What is the Pleasure of thine Heart When art thou most merry and best contented When is it with thee as thou wouldst have it but when thou art in Health and Prosperest in these outward things God is dishonoured and neglected by thee God is angry with thee and yet thou art well enough contented thy Soul languisheth it is a blind and ignorant Soul it is a sinful and guilty Soul it is a stupid and hardned Soul it is a perishing and dying Soul thy Soul is in the hands of the Devil thy Soul is a dead Soul even dropping into Hell and yet for all this thou sittest there at
thine Ease and art nothing troubled at it thou art Rich and hast Money enough at least thou hast an House and hast Bread enough thou art in thy Health and thy Strength and so long thou carest not thou art not troubled about thou wilt not so much as think How is it with my Soul Is not my poor Soul ready to perish and like to be Damned for my Sins And wilt thou yet say thou lovest thy Soul 'T were well for thee better than 't is if thou lovest thy Soul as thou lovest thy Flesh nay as thou lovest thy dirty Pleasures and vile Companions thy Horses in thy Stable thy Pigs at the Trough thy very Dogs thou lovest better than thou lovest thy Soul this is the wickedness of every Sinner among you and where the Soul is less loved God himself is less loved than these vile things yet thou wilt say Thou lovest God no thou dost not love him as thou lovest the Dirt of thy Heels the Lusts of thy Flesh O wonder wonder Sinners and be astonished at your Selves that ever there should be such a vile and wretched Heart within you and yet you should sit here or go up and down the World as well pleased with your selves as well satisfied with your selves as you are Who would think that behold Sinners Faces how merry they look who would think these merry ones should have such a vile and wicked Heart within them How is it with thee Sinner What aileth thee I am well I thank God Well art thou What and have such a Devil in thy Bosome such a wicked Heart as despiseth the Lord and makes a God of thy Belly or thy Money or thy Pleasure The Lord make you deeply sensible of this wickedness for 't is certainly your cases 't were better with you than it is if you had loved God as well as you do the Beasts that perish if you loved your Souls as well as you do those rotting and perishing Carkases And for you that are Christians who do love your Souls more than your Bodies and God more than all yet it is so little that God hath the Preheminence in your Love that you are hard put to it in your Examination to prove whether the love of God hath the Preheminence in you or no whether there be not something that you love more than God It is a shame for us Friends that the love of God is no more perfected in us that there is no more sensible strength of our Love to God that we should be so often put to it to Question which we love best God or our selves God or this present World Well this should be the Order and Measure of your Love as I said before that God be first loved next our Souls then our Bodies and after that the Creatures which are for the Bodily Prosperity that the Creature be loved no farther than it is serviceable to the Health of our Bodies and our Bodies loved in order to the service of our Souls and all so much and no more than conduces to the Honour and Service of God this should be the Order and Measure of our Love and this would be one Fruit of the due Government of our Hearts That I may the more effectually perswade you to set up and keep up this Government in your Hearts let me ask you Quest 1. Can you except against this Order and Measure of your Love Order in the Heart is as necessary as Order in a Kingdom Army or Family and a due Order in our Love is necessary to the keeping up Order in the Heart 1. Consider Order in the Heart is as necessary as Order in a Kingdom c. What is a Kingdom if there be no Order in it What is an Army what is a Family where there is no order in it What is there but Confusion and Ruin All runs into confusion all runs to ruin where no Order is Jam. 3.16 Where envy and strife is there is confusion and every evil work where envy and strife is there is disorder good Order would prevent strife and envying and where no good Order is there is confusion and every evil work O what Tumults and Mutinies are there in our disorderly Hearts there is no good doing and there is every evil work 2. Order in our Love is necessary to the keeping our whole Hearts in Order upon the right Order and Measure of our Love will follow the right Ordering of all our Affections there 's no one of all our Affections but will be in good Order if our Love be in Order if we love what we should love we shall hate what we should hate and fear what we should fear and desire what we should desire and grieve for what we should grieve and be angry only at what we should be angry and when there is a due Measure in our Love where we love as much as we should we shall hate as much as we should and fear and grieve and rejoice as much as we should and no more the motions and workings of all our Affections do follow and flow from the working of our Love as when we love God we shall hate and fear and grieve for all that is contrary to God so when we love God as much as we should that is above all and with all our Hearts we shall desire him above all and hate and grieve for sin which is contrary to God with all our Hearts The Reason why we hate not sin as we should why we fear not sin and grieve not for sin the Reason why we desire no more after God why we desire Grace no more and Holiness no more it is because we have no more love to God and his Holiness The Reason why we love that we should not love and desire and fear what we should not the Reason of our Carnal griefs and Worldly Sorrows those Sorrows that bring Death 2 Cor. 7. is because we duly love not God more love to God would help and heal those inordinate Passions you would never be lovers of this Self of this Flesh of this World of these Pleasures did you duly love God and the things of God you complain of the unruliness of your Passions of your frettings and vexings and the unquietness of your Hearts you complain of the hardness of your Hearts you cannot hate sin as you should nor mourn for sin nor fear it as you should this you say is your Affliction and you know not how to help it why do but get more love to God more intense and ardent love to Him and his Holiness and you will find all these Distempers to fall then you will hate and fear and mourn for sin as you ought to do there will be an end of your complainings of hardness of Heart that you can't fear nor grieve nor mourn for sin there will be an end of your complainings of your over-loving the World of your unreasonable passions and frettings and anger at what
you should not when once you have gotten duely to love the Lord. Well by this you see the Order in the Heart and in special the due Order and Measure of your love that is necessary and how necessary it is Can you therefore except against this Order and Measure of your Love What should be first and chiefly loved Wilt thou not say That God should be he Which should be most in our Love our Bodies or our Souls Will you not every one say O my Soul my Soul is of more worth than my Body and more worthy of my Love Which should be more loved your Bodies or your Estates and the Creatures you enjoy Surely you would all say in this as Christ said Mat. 6.25 The Life is more than Meat and the Body than Raiment what would you think of such a Man that loves his Money more than his own Body that would suffer his Body to Starve and Pine rather than spend his Money upon it you would say This Man is a Monster and is not he as much a Monster who loves his Body more than his Soul or himself more than God as he who loves his Money more than his Body Christians would you not count it well with you if your Love were thus regulated What if you could now feel that which you have so often questioned and doubted whether it be so or no that you can now love God above all that the whole stream of your Love did run into the Ocean If you could feel such strong and such lively and such passionate workings of your Hearts towards God such dearness and such tenderness and such strength and ardency of Affection to the Lord if you could feel your Hearts burning within you with the Divine Love if these Hearts were all flameing Hearts and flaming upwards and that so sensibly and so strongly that there might be a resolving of that doubt and you saâ— it true beyond question and you could say Now I feel who hath mine Heart none but God none but Christ Whom have I in Heaven but thee there 's nothing in the Earth that I love in comparison of thee God is the love of my Heart and my Portion for ever what if you could now feel it thus within you What if from your own sense and experience you could heartily speak out such words Take this Heart to thee O Lord thine it is thou art mine only Love and nothing will I love or regard but in Order to thee would you not bless your selves in such an experience Would it not be Marrow and Fatness to your Souls Would you not rejoyce in the Lord and triumph in Christ and praise his Holy Name that had wrought you to that pass That God should have thus gotten to be the chief in your love and Self and Flesh and the whole World were brought to stoop and stand aside yea and to be trampled on in comparison of him Sure you that are Christians would count it happy with you if it were thus and I dare say concerning you this is it you pray for and hope for and wait and thirst and long after and would count it an infinitely greater matter of joy and praise than if the Corn and the Wine and the Oyl if all the Pomps and Pleasures and Grandeur of the World were increasing unto you and were rolling in upon you and therefore you for your parts have nothing to except against this Order and Measure of your love Qu. 2. But how is it with you If it be an excellent thing if it be a blessed thing to have our Hearts brought into such a Frame and Order what do ye find Are you made partakers of this blessedness O the Lord help me I am far short of it I can feel that I love this World I need no tryal whether I love this Flesh or no whether I love my Credit or no whether I love my Money or my Lands or mine Ease or my Pleasures I feel I love these things but whether I love my Soul as I ought whether I love God as I ought there 's my great doubt and I fear I do not Dost thou fear Dost thou doubt whether thou lovest thy Soul as thou lovest the World Whether thou lovest thy God as thou lovest thy Flesh And is there any thing but need then that thou shouldst be brought to a better pass Canst thou be quiet canst thou be comforted in any thing whilest it is thus with thee Christians would you ever be clearly satisfied concerning your eternal State that you shall hereafter dwell in the eternal Love Would you be comforted touching your present Case that God is your God That Christ is your Jesus That the Covenant and the Promises and the Mercies of God are yours that you are passed from Death to Life that your Names are written in Heaven and that you are Enrolled amongst the Saints and shall have an Inheritance with the Saints in Light Then put hard on for this blessed Frame of Heart let it henceforth be the great thing in your Eye look for it pray for it reach forth towards it down with this World tread upon this Earth and Flesh love nothing but what God would have you love love nothing but in subordination to God Dread the encroachments of the Creatures upon the Right of God despise these carnal Pleasures despise this Money and these Lands or this Credit so far forth as they stand in competition with God set your Foot upon the Necks of them all give your Hearts unto the Lord and let him be your Love and your Delight and your Portion for ever 2. For our Desires in this as in the former we must desire what we should desire and as much as and no more than we should desire it the Object of our desires is the same with the Object of our Love that which is Good Now of all the Good which may or ought to be desired 1. Something is to be desired Absolutely and Vltimately and thus God only is to be desired 2. Other good things are to be desired Absolutely but Subordinately and thus the first Grace is to be desired and the evelasting Happiness of our Souls absolutely but subordinately we are to desire our own blessedness but chiefly that therein God may be glorified 3. Other good things are to be desired in subordination and with submission And thus the higher Degrees of Grace the best and most advantageous Means of Grace Gifts the gift of Prayer gifts for Edification c. these all are to be desired with submission to the will of God the first Grace or saving Grace we are not to desire with submission so as to be content to be deny'd it no not to the will of God for there is no such will of God for us to submit to God would not have any Man to submit to it to be for ever left an Enemy or a Reprobate from God God would not have any Man content to
that they may be quickned into the more strong desires unite them let all your desires be after this one thing the grace and good will of the Lord. Christians let me ask you What would you have What is it you desire O let the Lord be my God let me have grace from the Lord but what of God how much of the grace of God would content you It may be some of you would answer O! if it were never so little if I could have Faith though it were but as a grain of Mustard-Seed if I could get any thing of God in my Heart if by the grace of God in me this Heart of mine might be but as a bruised Reed and smoaking Flax if I might get any thing that God would not despise this should satisfie me 'T is true the least degree of saving grace the least Beam of the Divine Light the first springing of the Life of God in us the least Spark of his Holy Image our desires should be so far fixed on this that nothing short of this nothing short of the truth of Grace should in the least suffice us and we should be thankful for the very first grace if we should never have any more or rise no higher But are there not some that would have this and care for no more that bound and limit their desires to the first and lowest degrees of grace This desire is not the desire of the Children of God thou mayest go to Hell with such desires after God he that desires not to be perfectly Holy is not sincerely Holy Do you desire God do you desire grace Stir up and enlarge your desires let those narrow Hearts open their Mouths wide be covetous Christians covet much and covet earnestly these best of giâ—ts say with the Psalmist This one thing I desire nothing but God nothing but grace take Corn and Wine who will take the Gold and the Silver who will let the Lord God be mine and that shall suffice me Desire God only and follow after God fully as Psalm 63.8 My Soul followeth hard after thee Friends you have some Wishes and some weaker desires after the Lord O quicken up these fainty Hearts look oftner before you how worthy the Lord is of all your desires what a Jewel what a Treasure the grace of God is look oftner Heaven-ward get a sight of God and his glorious Treasures live more in the Contemplation of his glory and goodness it is the sight of the Object that must kindle and quicken desires you that have cold Hearts Heaven-ward 't is a sign your Eye is little in Heaven Believe it some clearer views of the Love and Goodness and Holiness and Kindness and Glory of the Lord would whet your Appetites would put Life into those dull Desires would make you hungry Souls and thirsty Souls and longing Souls O look oftner upward dwell in the Mountain of Spices get some Taste and Relish of the goodness of God by being more constantly conversant with him and this will set abroach all your Vessels your Souls would stream forth in the Words and Sighs of the Psalmist Psal 42.1 As the Hart panteth after the Water Brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God My Soul thirsteth for God for the living God 2. Curb and limit your desires after the good things below and desire them no more than you should particularly 1. Desire not over much of them The best Food the best Physick if we take too much of it becomes hurtfull and pernicious when the Stomach is overcharged and so when the Heart is overcharged it surfets and suffereth prejudice by what it hath received That Prayer of Agur Prov. 30.8 should be the desire of Christians Feed me with Food convenient a convenient Habitation a competent Portion of these Earthly things should be the Proportion of our desires O if Men knew what were enough and when they had enough it would prevent the extravagancy of our desires Jer. 45.5 Seekest thou great things to thy self Seek them not Thou canst not bear great things great Possessions are great Temptations Seek no greater things than thou canst bear a Ship that hath more than its Load will sink and drown The Journey or Voyage of the Heart is upwards you are Travelling Heaven-wards this Earth the more you have of it presses you down-ward and hinders your ascending O how much nearer Heaven might some of our Hearts have ascended how much nearer to God and Glory might we have gotten had we not been clogged with the things of this Earth Some Men are too Rich and too Prosperous in this World to be Spiritually-minded Great Estates bring great Cares and encumbring Business so that they cannot be at liberty nor at leisure to think on God or their Souls Desire only so much of the World as is best for you and that proportion is best for you which will help you Heaven-ward and least hinder you know what is a competency and desire no more That 's not a competency which is enough to satisfie your Appetite you will never say you have enough if you will stay till your Appetite say It is enough this is like those two Daughters of the Horse-Leach Prov. 30.15 that still cry Give give Get get and never say It is enough That is not a competency which will satisfie your Appetite but that which will comfortably serve your necessities know what is a competency and desire no more 2. Desire them not over earnestly be not over hungry and greedy Souls desire but a competency and desire it but moderately that you may not over-desire these Earthly good things do not over-prize them Carry it towards the good things below as Sinners carry it towards Christ and the good things above how do Sinners carry it towards Christ They make light of him Isa 53.2 They see no beauty in him that they should desire him See as little beauty in the World as Sinners see in Christ make as light of the good things of the Earth as they do of the good things of Heaven and then your desires will be as cold after these things as theirs are after Christ O if Christians did desire this Earth no more than Sinners desire Heaven how mortified would all their Earthly desires be Mortifie your inordinate desires after the World quench your thirst after the good things thereof or else these desires will mortifie and quench your thirst after God Christians you would fain love God more it is your Affliction that your Affections to things above are so dull and so flat that you have no more strong and working desires Heaven-ward abate your desires to things below and then they will rise more to the things above never look to love God more than you do till you love the World less than you do Do ye mean to hold up at this height in your Carnal desires Will you not set Bounds to your Earthly Appetites Then count upon it God is like to
this Earth and the Fulness thereof You now that are for Government in your Hearts for the Government of your desires take this course for thus Governing of them desire God and the things above as much as you should desire the good things below no more than you should desire the evil things below not at all get your desires after Lawful things to be moderated your desires after sinful things to be Crucified put Wings to your Holy desires put Clogs and Fetters upon your Natural desires and up to the Cross to the Gibbet with these sinfull desires and herein have you set up the Lord to be the King in your Hearts and brought your very Appetites to be subject to him 3. For our Joys for the due raising and limiting of these I shall shew 1. The Object of Joy is the same with the Object of Love and Desire He that Loves whatever it be if he hath it not he desireth it if he hath it he rejoiceth he that loves God if he can hear such a Word from God I am Thine that 's a joyful Word then he can rejoice in God he that loveth Money or the gains of this World if he hath it not he desireth it if he hath it he rejoiceth his Money is his Joy his Estate is his Joy such a joy as 't is a poor flashy Joy yet Joy there is to him The Woman in the Parable Luke 15.9 that had lost her piece of Silver when She had found it She calls her Neighbours together to rejoice with her sure such a Woman loved Money well Joy arises 1. Originally from its Object or the Thing loved It is God that is the Fountain of Divine Joy thence it springs and comes in therefore the Apostle prays Rom. 15.13 The God of Hope fill you with all Joy There are Three wayes by which our Joy in God is raised 1. By Contemplation by Contemplaâ—ing of God we come to see and find out what matter of Joy there is in God it brings the goodness and kindness the satisfying and ravishing Excellencies of God to our sight those to whom the glorious Lord is as a barren Wilderness or Land of Darkness as the expression is Jer. 2.31 it is either from their Ignorance or their want of Contemplating of God It is a sign thou art a blind Soul and knowest not God or that thou art a Sranger to Divine Meditation Thou lookest little Heaven-ward thou dost not send up thy Thoughts in search for God who yet sayest Where is that Joy Where is that Blessedness Where is that Joy Look more diligently in the Face of God let thy Soul dwell in the Study and Contemplation of his infinite goodness thou hast a glass before thee the glass of the Word wherein his glory shineth look more into that glass and Meditate much upon what that Word revealeth of the Excellencies of God and then thou shalt see his Glory and Taste his Joy 2. Expectation and Hope therefore we Read of Rejoycing in Hope Rom. 5.2 When Contemplation hath discovered the Blessedness that is in God then Hope layes hold on it this Blessedness may be mine saith the Soul and I have good Hope it may be mine and in that Hope I joy What Malefactor that is in fear of Death for his Offences that should be told there is yet hope of thy Pardon hope that thou mayest live but would rejoyce in that Hope What poor Man that is in want that should have Tidings of a Rich Inheritance that was falling to him but his Hope would make him to Sing for Joy Dost thou hear of the unsearchable Riches of Christ of the Treasures of everlasting Joy that that are in the Lord God and hast thou Hope that these will be thy Riches and thy Treasures how canst thou but rejoyce in Hope of the Glory of God 3. Fruition or the enjoying of the Object loved and this is it which brings the fullest Joy Fruition stands 1. In our Actual Possession of the Object when we have what we hoped for and there is a double Possession of God that the Saints have in this Life 1. A Possession by Faith 1 Joh. 5.12 He that hath the Son hath Life that is he that believeth in Christ hath Christ his Faith puts him into Possession and from this the Possession of Faith Joy followeth Rom. 15.13 The God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace in believing 2. A Possession by Sense when we Taste that the Lord is gracious when we feel the comfortable refreshings of his loving kindness when the beams of his Light and the Streamings of his Love shine upon and warm our Hearts when his Light Shines into our Darkness and gives us the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ 2 Cor. 4.8 And when his Love is shed abroad into our Hearts by the Holy Ghost which he hath given us Rom. 5.5 When we see how lovely the Lord is and feel that he loveth us 2. In the satisfaction of our Hearts with this Possession when we are pleased and delighted and satisfied with his goodness A full satisfaction of the Heart will not be till hereafter Psal 17.15 When I awake I shall be satisfied and therefore our fulness of Joy is reserved till then but satisfaction to such a Degree there is upon our present Possession as gives us a kind of present Fruition 2. This Joy arises as from the Object so immediately from the very Act of Loving Joy ariseth from love 1. By way of immediate resultancy there is a great Pleasure in Love as there is bitterness in grief and sorrow so there is sweetness in Love this very Blossom of Love casteth forth such a fragrancy as no Man knows but he that hath it It is a Sweet and a Pleasant thing to live ln the love of God He that loves God and feels that he loves him and he hath him whom he loves cannot but rejoice in him 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love and believing ye rejoice with Joy unspeakable and full of glory There we have 1. A Christians love to God whom having not seen ye love 2. His Possession of what he loves believing Believing is as I said before getting Possession and then 3. The Joy that followeth ye rejoice c. 2. By way of Reflection when a Christian upon his review of this his love to Christ perceives that he loves him in sincerity this is to him a Token of Christ's love to him Dost thou see dost thou feel that thou lovest Christ This thy love to Christ is a Token that he hath sent thee into thy Heart to tell thee that he loveth thee And when thine Heart can say I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine the Lord is my God my Saviour my Portion and Inheritance canst thou say so Then thou wilt add with the Psalmist Psal 16.6.9 The Lines are fallen to me in a Pleasant Place and I have a goodly Heritage
Rejoyce not so as to forget your own Sins or your Brethrens Afflictions 1. So as not to forget your Sins 1. Rejoyce not so in the Lord as to forget your Sins against God Your Joy must arise from this that God hath forgotten them but though God hath forgotten you must remember them they must still stand written in your own Book though God hath blotted them out of his 1. Forget not in your Joy the Sins that you are guilty of that so you may rejoyce with Mourning we are apt in our rejoycing to forget our sins if we do not remember our sins when we are lifted up in Joy we are too apt to be puffed up with Pride Godly sorrow will be of the same use to us in our rejoycing as Paul's Thorn in the Flesh 2 Cor. 12.7 to prevent our being exalted above Measure That Joy which killeth Godly Sorrow whilest we are here what a Divine Tincture soever it seems to have 't is suspicious that it is not the right Joy the more solid Joy of the Saints hath it's Foundation in Godly Sorrow When we consider what great things the Lord hath done for our Souls how he hath Regenerated reconciled and called us by his Grace pulled us as Brands out of the Burning and raised us as Worms out of the Dunghill and made us sit together with Christ in Heavenly Places cloathed with Garments of Salvation and made us to shine forth in his Image when we remember what the Lord is to us our Rock our Refuge our Father our All-sufficient Portion all Love and Life all Bowels Compassions and everlasting Consolation when we remember this and therein do rejoyce we must then consider But what have I been to him What have I done against him who hath done so great things for me What an unworthy Wretch what a sinful Polluted and unthankful Creature am I God hath loved me God hath saved me the Lord God is become my God and herein I do and I will rejoyce but woe is me I have sinned against the God of my Mercy and therefore I will rejoyce with Mourning whilest I Joy in the Lord I will weep over my sinful unworthy and guilty Soul Whilest you say with the Psalmist Psal 66.16 Come unto me all ye that fear the Lord and I will tell you tell you with Joy tell you with Praise what he hath done for my Soul what a gracious God what a Compassionate Merciful God I have found him to be to me whilest you say thus Come and I will tell you what God hath done for me you must say also Come and I will tell you tell you with shame tell you with sorrow what my Soul hath done against God O how vile have I been How Proud and how false to God How many wayes guilty before him of neglecting of abusing of walking unworthy of his wonderful Love The Lord is my God therein I will rejoyce I have sinned against God and for these things I weep and lament 2. Not so as to forget the sins that have been Conquered by us that we may rejoyce in Triumph the Victories that we have gotten over sin will be both an advance to our Joy in God and the Evidence of the sincerity of that Joy Those that are still in the Chains and Fetters of Lust in whom their Pride or their Covetousness or their Frowardness doth still Lord it over them and can yet rejoyce in God it is to be doubted that their Joy is false and foolish Joy a Light of their own Sparks and no Divine Sun-beam fear that Joy and trample upon it which will consist with a Slavery to Lust as the Apostle sayes concerning Death 1 Cor. 15.57 so should we concerning Sin Thanks be to God that hath given us the Victory this is Matter of Praise this is Matter of Joy When the Israelites saw the Egyptians Dead upon the Sea-Shore Exod. 14.30 then they Sang a Song of Joy and Praise Luke 10.20 Rejoyce not that the Devils are subject to you that is that you have Power to cast the Devils out of Possessed Bodies Rejoyce not that is not so much in this but rather rejoyce that your Names are written in Heaven and that 's the same with this Rejoyce not that the Devils are cast out by you but that your sins are Conquered by you Victory over sin is an Evidence of our Title to Glory next to the Blood of the Lamb the Blood of our mortified sins is the best Ink to write our Names in the Book of Life Rev. 3.12 Him that overcometh will I make a Pillar in the House of my God and I will write upon him the Name of my God and the Name of the City of my God c. Christians what have you done in your War against Sin What work have you made with those Lusts which War in your Members Can you tell of any Conquest you have gotten Where be the Persons among you that can say This Heart was once a Proud Heart but now through the Grace of God 't is more humble this Heart was once a froward Heart but now through Mercy it 's become meek the Lion is become a Lamb this Heart was once a Covetous Heart an Hungry greedy Heart all Earth and Earthy clogged and chained to this World by its Worldly Lusts but now through Grace the Cloggs are knocked off the Chain is broken and my Soul is gotten loose from this Earth and can now despise it in comparison of God and the things above Friends have you any of you experiences of any such Victories Forget them not keep them by you and in the day of your rejoycing in God let your Eye be upon these your Conquests of Sin and this will be a means that your joy will be the more full then will you Triumph in Christ Jesus when with your Conquering Captain you have your Enemies in Chains 3. Not so as to forget the Sins that we are in danger of but to rejoyce with trembling we are still in our Warfare and how far forth soever we have Prospered in it we have Enemies still before us that we are in perpetual danger of therefore as it is said let not him boast so let not him rejoyce that 's putting on his Armour as if he were putting it off The Canaanite is still in the Land sin lies at the Door and will be upon you if you stand not upon your guard Christians must build up themselves in their Holy joy as the Jews built the Wall of Jerusalem Nehem. 4.17 They must have a Trowel in one Hand and a Sword in the other they must Build and Watch Build and Fight there is an evil Worm that is apt to grow out of our Joy which will overthrow and devour it and that is Security or secure Confidence It was this that spoiled the Psalmist's Joy who was a better Man and a Wiser than any of us Psal 30.6 7. I said in my Prosperity I should never be moved
thou Lord by thy favour hast made my Mountain so strong but what follows The very next Word is Thou didst hide thy Face and I was troubled Security opens the Door to Iniquity and Iniquity will hide us from our Joy It is Matter of Joy that we are at War with Sin and have gotten any little Conquest and have such a Captain to lead us on woe to them that are at Peace or in a Truce with Sin and have nothing to comfort them but only this that there is a present Cessation of Arms and they feel not the buffeting of Sathan against them they will quickly feel the miserable fruits of that Truce Stand to your Arms stand upon your Guard whilest you are Drinking most deeply of your Waters of Joy fear that Wormwood that Sin will cast in to imbitter your Pleasant Waters That Joy which will consist with a sinful Life is no Joy of God the Joy of God is Holy Joy and that Joy of God that leaves us secure and careless is not like to be long liv'd Do you rejoyce in God As ever you would that Joy should continue take heed of Iniquity you go in danger while you live it is not so clear and bright with you now but it may be all Cloudy and Stormy to morrow if the Devil can but lead you out to Iniquity he will quickly raise such Storms as will make you forget your joy forget not this danger if you do once but forget your danger two to one but it presently overtakes you and swallows you up Christians if ever you would live in settled solid Joy you must alwayes have a tender Heart and a tender Eye that will quickly espy and quickly be startled at the Invasion of sin Be Watchful be tender Hearted and then your Hearts shall rejoyce and if you would abide in Peace never live out of Fear Never live out of Fear till you are gotten out of Danger and out of Danger you cannot be till you are got to Heaven 2. Much less not so to rejoyce in the good things of the Earth as to forget our Sins Thou art a Rich Man thou hast a Confluence of all the kindnesses that this Earth can do thee the Sun shineth on thy Tabernacle 't is all fair Weather with thee thou Prosperest in the World and herein thou dost rejoyce But Man thou art a Sinner all this while Hast thou not great guilt lying upon thee Hast thou not unconquered Lusts remaining in thee Or dost thou not go in daily danger of being turned aside from God and led out into Iniquity If thine outward Prosperity make thee glad yet let the Sin that lieth upon thy back or at least lyeth at the Door make thee tremble and so to tremble as to be an allay to thy rejoycing when with the Peacock you spread abroad your Plumes and lift up your Crests look down on your Black Feet when you glitter in your Worldly Glory behold the stain that is upon all your Glory whatever fair Out-side you have what an Inside have you Is there not Poverty within whilest there is such Plenty without What a Poor and Wretched and Blind and Naked Soul hast thou whilest as to thine Outward Man thou art Rich and hast need of nothing Canst thou in the midst of thy Prosperity forget thy sinking and sinful Soul Canst thou remember thy Soul and will not this take thee a Button lower as to thy Carnal Joy The Prosperity of the Soul and the joy that grows up out of it need not be abated in the least by the Poverty of the Outward Man if thou be never so Poor and afflicted without yet an Holy Soul an upright Heart and the Joy of a good Conscience will make amends for all that but will thine Outward Prosperity make amends for thine Inward Poverty You with whom all things go well in this World yet still think on that Rust that 's Eating out your Treasure think on that Moth that 's fretting out your Garments behold the stain that appears upon all your Beauty the stain of Pride the stain of Covetousness and Carnality the Moth of Envy and Contention that 's eating out your Hearts Why shouldst thou be sad would Carnal Comforts say What hast thou wanting to thee What hast thou to trouble thee Thou hast Houses and Lands and Money and Health and Friends What wouldst thou have Why dost thou not rejoyce and make Merry Why why 't is true all things go well with me without I have a good Estate and a good Trade and a good House and am in good Health but O what a Soul have I O what a Wretched Heart have I Do you ask What I have to trouble me O I have Sin to trouble me this Pride and this Covetousness and this Guilt that is upon me God knows I find enough to trouble me and to trouble me more than I am or can be troubled Do you ask me What I want to make me merry O I want God! I want Grace I want more Faith and more love to Christ I want a better Heart matters go not right between God and me whatever I have for this World O how little have I for the Eternal World Can I be Merry and Jocund whilest sin hath made such wasts upon my Inward Man Christians do but thus remember your Sins and this will allay your Carnal Joyes Art thou so Merry that thou forgettest thy Sins Take heed the time cometh when thy Sins shall appear and stare thee so in the Face as to make thee forget all thy days of Mirth and Laughter 2. Not so to rejoyce as to forget our Brethrens Afflictions and Miseries It 's well with thee but how is it with thy poor Neighbours and Friends How many are there that are in Penury whilest thou art in Plenty How many are cloathed in Rags whilest thou shinest in thy gorgeous Apparel How many are ready to Starve and Die for Hunger whilest thou hast thy fulness of Bread and abundance of all things Thou hast enough and thereupon rejoycest but is it nothing to thee that there are so many that would be glad of thy Crumbs of thy Leavings and cannot have them Thy very Dogs it may be have many a better Bit and Warmer Lodging than some of thy poor Neighbours is this nothing to thee When thou blessest thy self in thy Plenty then remember those for whom nothing is provided Forget not in thy Joy how 't is with thy poor Neighbours much less how 't is with the poor Church of God Psol 137.5 6. If I forget thee O Jerusalem let my Right Hand forget her cunning let me never touch the Harp more or rejoice at the sound of the Organ if I forget poor Jerusalem if I don't remember thee Let my Tongue cleave to the Roof of my Mouth let me never sing Song more no nor never speak Word more if I preferr not Jerusalem above my chiefest Joy Friends you that can be Merry and Jolly
subject let me in the name of God ask you what is there that hath been yet done upon you what is there that hath been added to your holy love to your holy desires and joys fears and griefs are there any little sparkes added to you do you love God a little more then you did do you desire after him a little more strongly are your fears of sin your fears of temptations to sin your grief and sorrow for sin a little encreased Is there any abatement of your love to the World of your worldly desires and joys Is there any allay of your fretful angry passion Who of you can say I thank God these words have not been spoken to me in vain I thank God I find this World taken down a little lower I do not love it so well nor desire it so much nor I hope shall ever again seek it so earnestly as I have done are you any thing the more in fear of sin or greiv'd for sin are you in hope that your anger shall henceforth not be without a cause nor above or higher then its cause nor ever last as it has used to do Friends consider in the name of God consider What is there nothing done are you as cold in your love to God as hot in your love to the World as much without fear and greif for sin as if none of all this had been spoken The Lord be merciful to us what shall become of such hearing What serves this Preaching for what serves this hearing for Doth God take pleasure or can you take comfort in your coming together to hear and being a little affected with the word whilst 't is preaching or speaking some words after of your approbation and liking what you have heard when yet the Word doth not work nor leave any standing and abiding impressions upon you It s vain to commend a Sermon in words if the fruit it brings forth commend it not The best commendation of your food is by your eating it and maintaining your health and gathering strength by it O Friends that 's the commendation we would have of our preaching and the only commendation that we can take comfort in that our word reacheth its end that there is some sign of our ministry upon your hearts and in your lives that we may say concerning you as the Apostle concerning the Corinthians 2 Cor. 3.2.8 Ye are our Epistle and are declared to be the Epistle of Christ written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God Those are the best Sermon Notes that are written not with ink and paper but by the Spirit of the living God in the fleshly tables of our hearts These are the best Sermon Notes and these are the best commendation of our preaching Now pray friends consider I do not ask you what there is written of these Sermons in your note books but what is there written of them in your hearts Is there any thing more of the love of God of desires after God of fear of sin c. written or begotten within you Had I ability and opportunity of personal converse with you I should be willing to deal with you in private hand to hand and to ask you these questions man by man but to supply that defect of speaking personally and in private to each one of you take what I speak in my publick Ministry as if it were spoken to thee in particular and I were dealing with thee hand to hand Though thou canst not give me thine answer yet fail not to give answer in thine own heart when I ask thee whither thou hast gotten any more love to God any more desires after God any abatement of thy love to the World any more fear of Sin c. Answer thine own Conscience in this particular I must substitute thy Conscience in my room and let Conscience take thine Answer Speak every man of you iâ— your Consciences how do you find it is there any thâ—ng done upon you by these words or is there nothing 〈◊〉 what do you think of all your hearing these words if thâ—re be nothing done if there be as much love to the World as little love to God or fear of Sin if there be the same touchiness the same pettishness the some angry distemper as if you had kept you at home all this while and never heard any of all that has been said Are not you ashamed are not you afraid that these words of the Lord should have no effect upon you Beloved I have preached to you in hope I have hoped for fruit I have hop'd for some change for the better upon you in all these respects O set your hearts unto all these words remember what you can and recover what you have forgotten look up to God look up to God and pray this prayer to him Lord let the things that have been spoken be written Let them be written not with ink and pen but by the Spirit of the living God not in a book or paper but in the fleshly table of mine heart Look up to God for his help and determine in your selves to set your hearts to it to follow after this blessed Order and Government of your hearts Study within your selves how to get up your affections to things above to get loose your hearts from the World and things below be not content to be thus dead in your hearts towards God thus alive towards the World nor be content to wish for more of the divine love to wish you could abate towards this world but in good earnest make it your business and study so to do Might we once bring you to this that while we are labouring with you in the Word and Doctrine you would labour with us in the Lord to work your hearts to an affectionate compliance with our words if you would be stedfast and unmoveable and abounding in this work then there would be hope that neither our labour nor yours should be in vain in the Lord then should we look to see the death of these Worldly loues and lusts and a spring of the divine love and life and joy and glory this earth and flesh under foot and the Spirit of Glory and of God resting upon you Put on therefore in the fear of the Lord set you close to this Heart-governing-work quicken strengthen encourage your hearts herein with these words Yet further the Government of the heart stands 4. In suppressing all manner of evil and exciting and maintaining the good that is in your hearts There are in the heart as there are in a Kingdom two parties the evil party and the good party The evil party are the Rebellious Lusts of our hearts the good party are the Graces of God The Government of the Heart is to be as the Government of a Kingdom for the suppressing the evil and the encouraging and upholding the good The evil Party are the lusts of the Heart Pride Envy Malice Covetousness c.
do by David who he feared would be King in his roome He did all he could to rid the Country of him He persecuted him from City to City from hold to hold and raised Forces against him to slay David Look with the same evil Eye at Lust as Saul did on him prosecute it from hold to hold seek the Life of this Flesh which is every day undermining your Souls and taking the Government out of your hands O Friends that you were deeply sensible what a mischievous and mortal Enemy this carnal mind this carnal heart these Fleshly Lusts are to you say of these not only as Rebekah of the Daughters of Heth I am weary of my life but I am in danger of my life because of the Daughters of Heth. O it were a comfort might one hear Christians more heartily groaning under their Tyranny Wo is me because of this proud heart wo is me because of this froward pettish angry impatient Spirit O this envy O this Earthliness O this sluggishness wretched man that I am who shall deliver me It would be comfortable to hear you groaning I do not say complaining complaints often come not deep but sighing and groaning and mourning in secret before him who seeth in secret this hearty mourning and affliction under your Lusts is a degree of striving against them and hearty striving is a degree of victory over them When you are once come heartily to say I can never have ease and I will never have peace with this pride or Covetousness or any of my Lusts and if they abide in me they shall never abide in peace in me if I cannot utterly conquer them through the help of God I will never give over fighting against them if they remain in me I hope they shall never again reign in me I will resist them I will pray against them I will watch against them I hope I shall never again resign up to this Pride or this Covetousness but will withstand them in the Name of the Lord will I withstand them to him I resign up the Government of my Soul in hope that he will make my Foes my Foot-stoole Friends such a resolved and effectual striving against Lust is a fair degree of conquest and when your Enemies are thus put under your Feet you may then with the more ease have the Government of your selves upon your Shoulders But O beware of a Flesh favouring Heart beware of a Lust excusing heart The good party Grace must be excited and upheld Christians must hold an hard hand and a straight hand upon Lust upon every Lust there 's no good to be done whilst these are suffered and they must quicken and cherish and encourage every little spark of the Grace of God These are the good Subjects in the Kingdom which must be countenanced and upheld 2 Tim. 1.14 That good thing which is committed to thee keep by the Holy Ghost Whatever that good thing was that's there meant it is certain that the Grace of God is the great good thing that must be kept keep it safe that it be not lost keep it alive that it grow not to decay keep it in good likeing nourish and cherish the Grace of God Kings must be nursing Fathers Queens nursing Mothers to their good Subjects So must Christians be to the good in their hearts keep Grace in good plight and keep it in good order keep it in action Let your Faith be working Faith let your Love and your Holy desires be working Love and working desires There 's no way to keep Grace in Life without you keep it in action Holy action is both the end of keeping Grace in Life and the means to maintain its life O Christians keep your Graces in constant exercise be busily working for God and Glory do not let these precious Talents rust for want of use whilst Grace lies idle or asleep then Lust Lords it in the Soul If you keep it not in constant action to the crucifying of Lust Lust will be busie a crucifying of Grace VVhat Government will there be when Governours side with and take the part of evil ones and curb and discountenance or take part against them that are good If you would govern your hearts aright take part with the Grace that is in you and take up Arms against Lust Thou hast Pride in thy heart thou hast frowardness thou hast Covetousness but wilt thou take part with these VVilt thou be on the side of thy lusts Tread upon them be glad be thankful for every word for every Friend that will speak against the Pride and Covetousness of thy Heart Be not angry when thou art checked or reproved be thankful for any thing that speaks against them But take part with the good that is in you when the Spirit lusteth against the flesh when Grace rises and resists Corruption when the interest of Christ within thee crosseth and contradicteth the interest of the Flesh take part with Christ and his Grace We are too apt to take part with our Flesh when we do not think we do When the Flesh enticeth us to what we would have this liberty or that gain or pleasure we sometimes to do our Flesh a kindness will study arguments to prove it good and right which Flesh would have Though it be naught or pernicious yet because its pleasing to our Flesh we do what we can to prove it lawful and good This is a taking part with the flesh a siding with and strengthning this Rebel On the other side when Grace calls us to Duties that are contrary to the Flesh to hard and self-denying Duties to more strictness to more Severity then our flesh can bear then we often study Objections against it Christ is not so austere but while we thus take part with the flesh the evil that is in us and thereby take part against the good that is in us what Government is there like to be all the while in those hearts where the Rebels are sided with and the good Subjects discountenanced and opposed 5. In strengthning the sinews of Government Rewards and Punishments What are laws what Government can there be if there were no Rewards and Punishments Who would obey if there were no reward to obedience who would fear to rebel if men should suffer nothing for their rebellion Rewards and Punishments are the Sanction and strength of Laws Now for the strengthning of these sinews of Government consider 1. That there is an eternal World After we have made an end in this World there is another where we must have a being Man dyeth not as a beast dyeth as a Dog or a Swine as a Wiseman dieth not as a Fool dieth so neither do Wise men or Fools die as a Beast dieth there is not an end of us when we die as there is of the Beasts that perish we pass away out of this into another World Eccl. 12.7 Then shall the dust return to the earth and the spirit to God
have gotten in and devoured our strength whilst we have loytered and slept Friends do not lye down and idly complain I am weak I am a poor feeble soulâ— I cannot do the things that I would I cannot pray I cannot hear I cannot live but at a sad and halting and broken rate God help me 't is a barren and unsavoury and unprofitable life that I live 't is a weariness to me that I can live to no better purpose fain I would be more heavenly and more lively and more fruitful in my Life but woe is me I cannot I cannot obtain thus you complain of your weakness of your unprofitableness but why do ye stand complaining look to your hearts better where your strength lies Hast thou Christ in thine heart hast thou Grace in thine heart and yet complainest thou hast no strength look better to thine heart keep Christ closer to thee get thy Faith increased stir up and kindle that spark of love call up all the Grace thou hast and keep it in action Let not the rust eat up thy strength a little more care and labour about your hearts to get and keep those in better plight will recover and renew your strength and silence those unprofitable complainings 6. In your hearts are preserved all your evidences for heaven This follows from the former What are our Evidences for Heaven but the being of Christ and the Graces of Christ in us your sincerity in the Covenant your having your Conversations in all good Conscience prove that Christ is in you and you thereby prove that you shall hereafter be with him Prove that you have Grace and you thereby prove that you shall have Glory Prove that you are in Covenant with God and walk before him in all good Conscience and that will prove that your names are written in heaven And whether must you look for all this but into your hearts there as I told you is a record kept of your Covenant and your Conscientious Life and these are the Rooms where you must look to find Christ and his Grace The Devil will tell sinners that they shall all to heaven and to make them believe it will provide them evidences such as they are but they are false and deceitful evidences Thou art a Christian thou hast been baptized into the name of Christ thou attendest on the Ordinances of Christ thou goest to hear and to pray c. therefore thou needest not fear but thou shalt to heaven But let sinners look but into their hearts where all good evidences are kept and there they can find nothing there 's no Christ within them no love to Christ none of the holiness of Christ their heart is a meer Hell full of Darkness Ignorance Unbelief Enmity against Christ and his holy ways As Christians Evidences for Heaven so Sinners Evidences for Hell are mostly in their hearts Whatever your hopes are if you would look into if you could see what hearâ— you have these would quickly tell you whether you must There you should find your Covenant with Sin and with â—ea h not disanull'd no Christ no Grace no Conscience but an evil one a guileful one a guilty one and nothing else but that which is vile and abominable Sinners Evidences for Hell are in their hearts and such evidences they might find as would kill all their hopes of Heaven But Christians Evidences for Heaven are in their hearts the Devil â—ill be telling them that they are none of Christs he will say to the Saints as God says to Sinners Psal 50.16 What has thou to do to take my Covenant into thy mouth What hast thou to do with Christ thou art mine thou art none of his Let thine heart be carefully kept and thou mayst answer the Devil None of his whose is this name that is written in my heart whose image are these Graces of my heart I find the Faith of Christ in me the love of Christ in me the very life of Christ in me Christ hath sent me many a token of his love which I still keep by me I remember what hath passed between Christ and me I have given my self to Christ I have laid hold on his Covenant and have bound my self in Covenant to him and I stand to that Covenant to this day And there 's my Conscience also within me bearing me witness that my care and endeavour hath been to walk before him according to the Covenant of my God and therefore go on to lie thus unto me while thou wilt Sathan I will not believe thee I believe God who hath said there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ and walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit and I will not belâ—e mine own sense and experience of my self this is the Testimony of my Conscience that I have walked not after the Flesh but after the Spirit And therefore Christ is mine and I trust I shall one day be with him where he is Friends if you look well to your hearts and keep the records clear this will be your benefit whatever fears the Devil raises 't is but looking inwards and there you will see that which will turn all your Fears into lively Hopes But if you look not to your hearts and keep them clean you will be at a perpetual loss you will never long know what to make of your selves nor what is like to become of you Assurance necessarily depends on watchfulness never look for a grounded peace without it and never trust to that confidence or assurance you seem to have whilst you are of a careless heart Whatever progress you have hitherto made in Religion whatever experiences you have formerly had of the workings of the Spirit of Grace in you a carelss heedless Spirit will so darken all your Experiences and blot your Evidences and leave you under such uncertainties that for ought you know you may be damned at last As ever therefore you would maintain an abiding Assurance that it s well with you at present and shall be well with you hereafter be watchful over your hearts that Record of all your Evidences The reason why we are at such uncertainties and so full of our doubts and fears it lies all here in our carelesness of our hearts And yet who will take warning O friends stedfastly resolve through the Grace of God I will look better to it Since my heart can never comfort me unless I watch it more narrowly mine eye shall be upon mine heart Night and Day I will commit my self to the keeper of Israel and I will set my self to keep whatever good thing he hath committed unto me 7. It is a sacrifice for God Psal 51.17 The Sacrifices of God are a broken heart 1. It is the heart that is a Sacrifice for God therefore Prov. 23.26 Give me thine heart It is the Sacrifices all the Sacrifices of God is the Sacrifice of the heart There are other Sacrifices but whatever they be 't is
God Prepare him an holy habitation open the doors and let the King of Glory come in and then shut the door and let no unclean thing enter to offend and displease him that so the Lord may take pleasure in you and delight in you and may say concerning you this is my rest here will I dwell for ever 2. How the heart is to be kept under Guard 1. What 't is to be guarded against that is against Theeves Blots Distempers 1. Against Theeves The great Thief is the World and all that is of the World and all that in the World which is purloyning from the heart Its profits or worldly gains its Pleasures and carnal Mirth its Favour and Friendship and Fawnings These all lie in wait for entrance into the heart to the end they may rifle and spoil it of all that it hath The World steals in upon the heart and it never comes there but to steals away its Treasure and therefore 't is to be observed that the hearts of such Christians as are most possessed of the World are ever the most poor and beggarly Never look to find much of Christ or his Grace if any thing at all where the World hath gotten Possession Christ comes into the heart on purpose to carry away the heart from the World his Word is where he comes give me thine heart Prov. 23.26 Love not the world nor the things of the world 1 Joh. 2.15 And the world comes into the heart on purpose to steal it away from Christ again There is never any one that embraceth this present World but 't is to his loss whatever the World brings it takes away better than it brings 2 Tim. 4.10 Demas hath forsaken us and embraced this present world He embrac'd the World and what got he by it the same day he embraced the World he forsook Christ Christian art thou fallen in with the World Are its gains and its pleasures gotten into thy heart doth it fawn and smile upon thee and is thine heart taken and pleased with its fawnings Look to thy self what hast thou within thee hast thou Grace hast thou Peace does thy Soul flourish for ought I know thou hast seen the last of thy good days what time this World is thus embraced by thee O friends set a watch against this Thief set a guard against it Take heed and beware of Covetousness Luk. 12.15 That 's the same Counsel as guard your hearts against this World Covetousness is the opening the door to let the world in nay the world is gotten in already where Covetousness is Thou which hast a Covetous heart thine heart is already possessed of the world May be thou hast yet but a little of it in thine hand but thine heart is already full of it the whole world is gotten in where Covetousness is gotten in Worldly Professors methinks you should be startled at it if you considered what a Theif you have within you Whatever thou seemest to have of Christ or the Treasures of heaven thou art like to be but a poor wretch in a little time And how is it like to be with thee whose heart hath entertained the Pleasures and the merriments of the world or the favours and fawnings of the Men of the world who lovest to be some body with evil men to have their respect and esteem he that would fain be some body with the world is like to be no body with Christ Make the world to know its distance and whatever you have to do in it keep it at a distance from your hearts Never look to thrive in Christianity whilst you venture to be too busie with this world or to dote on its favours or friendship O it were well with us were we yet but sensible what a snare this world is to us what a bane it is to all that 's good in us Never a flower in all our Garden will flourish where these thorns stand so thick about it that little Grace you have will be less dayly it will be choked up and devoured if you keep you not more clear of this world It were happy for us were we deeply sensible of the danger we are in but there 's the Misery of it people will not be sensible nor be warned to take heed of it this Theif steals away mens Reason and Consciences makes them such children and fools that they will not understand what an enemy it is to them How many Sermons have been preached and published to warn you to take heed of a worldly heart and yet how very few hearts are there that do escape it 't is who can be richest and who can be greatest in the world that the most of our hearts are set upon 't is not who can be the holiest or most heavenly 't is not who can improve in the Faith and Hope of the Gospel in the love and fear of the Lord who can get most of Christ and Heaven into his heart and grow rich unto God but who can grow greatest in this present world Is not this too common a Case though the Lord hath been knocking off our fingers from it pulling off our Chariot wheels and making us to drive heavily letting loose the spoilers upon us to catch from some of us what we have gotten fed the Husbandman with short harvests filled the Tradsman with complaints of bad Markets yet all is one how little soever many men can catch of this world yet they will catch after it still and what wonder is it then while this world doth so generally carry our hearts that Christ hath so much lost them You that would save any thing of what you have left in you you that would ever get any more while you live you that would not go down to your graves strip'd and naked of all that should then comfort you get again I say to you take heed of this world take heed of this worldliness 2. Against blots that is against wilful allowed sins Every wilful sin will be a blot upon your hearts Our sins are blots and blemishes upon our lives but every blot upon the life is also a blot upon the heart Blots will Darken and Obscure Defile 1. Blots will darken and obscure the Heart I told you that in the heart is kept all our evidences for heaven our sins that we give way to will be blots upon our evidences will so obscure and blur them that they will not be legible Our sins will do the direct contrary to what the blood of Christ will do the bloud of Christ will blot out the hand writing that was against us Col. 2.14 Our sins will blot out whatever hand-writing there is for us Thou that art a Christian there is an hand-writing upon that heart there is the Covenant of God which is thy Charter for glory written upon thy heart There is the token of the Covenant and thine interest in it the Circumcision of the heart there are the Articles of the Covenant
Wherefore dost thou doubt so wherefore dost thou drag so O thou of little Faith Where 's our Love to Christ when our work for Christ goes so slowly on 2 Cor. 5.14 The Love of Christ constrains us The Love of Christ will quicken us the Love of Christ will put Life into us we should find our Tongues and find our Hands and find time to be more abundant in service could we feel more of the Love of Christ in us Thou makest nothing of it that thou art such a dull untoward unactive Souls but is it nothing to want Faith Is it nothing to want love to Christ Is it nothing to be without Grace in thy heart Or if thou hast any to have so very little as thou canst not tell whither 't is any or no It is an ill sign that thy Soul is in a very doubtful case at least 't is to be doubted Whether thou hast any Grace in thee Where in ordinary thou art so untoward and listless to the matters of God and the businesses of Religion 3. 'T is of ill consequence 'T is a sign our case is bad and it is an hindrance from our growing better It is the vivacious active stirring soul that 's like to be the thriving Soul Sluggards and Sleepers are never like to come to any thing We may preach to you while our hearts ake we may instruct you and tell you what is your duty while we will and you may hear us while you will but in vain shall we preach and in vain will you hear till we can fire you out of this deadness and whet and set an edge upon those blunted Souls what will it be to be told of your Duty whilst you remain to have so little heart to it what becomes of all the Sermons you hear of all the teaching you what you should do and how you should live what becomes of all the convincing awakening quickning words that are in your ears from day to day what doth all our Preaching and all your hearing bring forth upon you truly friends the little success that is to be perceived of our Preaching among you either to the converting of sinners or improving of professors the small success that does appear what there is within God knows does even make us out of heart But as little success as we have we are never like to have it much better unless we may stir your hearts and awaken you to more diligence and activity When we have done all we can we are I doubt like at last to leave the most of you either quite dead in sin or but very Dwarfes in Religion Sinners is it nothing to you that the enlivening word should leave you still among the dead Christians is it nothing to you that the nourishing and quickning Word should leave you but babes and infants Is it not a trouble to you and a discomfort to you that you get no more that you grow no faster much more that any of you should consume and languish under the hands of your Physicians I must tell you it is a discomfort to us but is it not more a discomfort to you can you continue at this pass and not be troubled at it O what a comfort is it to be a thriving lively Christian Methinks when you see any such before your eyes you should at least sigh out such a wish O that it were so with me and breath out such a groan wo is me that 't is not so methinks it should be an heaviness of heart to you to feel your own soul in Cloggs when you see others upon the wing O that I could make you sensible of your diseases that I could preach you heart sick that I could but make your hearts ake under your distempers that you might no longer be able to go up and down without trouble in this unthriving case Sure friends you whose case this is had need to be troubled and 't would be well for you if your Souls were in pain and refused to be comforted till you be cured To make you yet more sensible of the perniciousness of this untoward dull and listless temper look a little more upon the excellency of the contrary a chearful lively temper 'T is call'd 2 Cor. 8.17 A forward mind 1 Pet. 5.2 A ready mind that need not be spurred and whip'd but goes chearfully and freely on its way What is a sprightful horse to a dull and heavy jade what is a blunted rusty knife to that which is bright and keen what is a consumptive languishing body to one that 's lively and healthful what is a dark and lowring to a Sunshine day what is Winter to Summer yea what are the living to the dead what a pitiful thing is that dead and spiritless heart of thine when thou lookest on them in whom is the life of God Hear O ye sleepy and listless Souls awaken stir up your selves shake off this sloth and sleep work out this untoward spirit What do you mean to hang thus betwixt alive and dead will you hold you at this pass till you come to your Graves Is this all the care and the pains you ever mean to bestow on God and your Souls must the Lord ever find you so unready and untoward to what he calls you to shall the world find a forward mind in you shall your flesh find such a ready mind to whatever it hath for you to do and will you only be unready and unactive for God Wherefore have you Reason and Understandings wherefore have you the Scriptures before you what are Sabbaths and Ordinances and Ministers for must we come hither only to sing you asleep or to rock von in your Cradles Where is that Grace that is in you where is your Faith where is your love to Christ where is your hope if you have any Grace where is it what must all these precious talents be eaten up with rust or laid up in a napkin Remember the slothful Servants doom Mat. 25.30 What are your immortal Souls what is the holy God what is Jesus Christ what are the glorious treasures of Eternity are all these worth no more of your care and industry will none of these things move you will not these great things quicken you Hear them all calling upon you God calls upon you oh my children if you have any respect for me come along come faster after me Christ calls oh my Disciples if you have any love to me if all that I have done for you if all that I will do for you will move you arise and mend your pace Heaven calls upon you if ever you mean to come here gird up your loyns and come on Yea Hell calls look ye down hither what a place is here prepared for Sleepers and Loyterers Your poor Souls call have ye any pity for me must I perish and die for the pleasing this lazy flesh Your poor Families call your poor Children call your poor Neighbours call
could you give I doubt this is the account the most of you would give I cannot tell God knows how 't is with me for my part I know not how ' t is That Heart hath been well look't to mean while hast thou carried it like a wise man the while Thou hast great acquaintance in the world thou takest upon thee to know other mens hearts and wilt judge and censure them as thou listest what man and yet hast so little acquaintance with thy self Be thou thine own judge hast thou been a wise man the while to be such a stranger to thy self that thou dost not know thine own heart Thou wilt say the word tells me Jer. 17.9 The Heart is deceitful and who can know it how then should I know it I answer 1. The more deceitful the Heart is and the harder 't is to know it the more it had need be looked into 2. Though it cannot be perfectly known yet there may be much of it known the heart of man is a great deep 't is true and though thou canst not easily see to the bottom of it yet if thou wilt but look down into the deep thou must see a great way 3. If thou canst not see thorow thine heart with thine own Eyes yet with Gods eyes thou mayest Take the help of the Eyes of the Lord and thou mayest understand even all that is in thine heart God that sees the Heart reveals the heart and he hath given thee such discoveries of thy very heart in his word he hath made the Scriptures such a Looking-glass for thee that if thou wouldst look into that more there thou mightest see thy self and all that is in thee Heb. 4.12 The word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the Heart Christians if you would secure your hearts from danger know them and be acquainted more throughly with them if you would know your hearts better look oftner inward commune with your hearts go down dayly into your own Bosoms take an account of your selves question with your selves how fares it with my Soul is there any real saving Grace in me If there be how fares it with that Grace I have Does it thrive doth it flourish is it kept up in Life and Activity Doth my light shine doth my Love flame do my thoughts and my affections climb and are they working upwards how is it with my Conscience Is it kept pure Doth it speak peace Doth it deal faithfully Doth it check me doth it smite me for the least Evils Doth it comfort me when 't is better Have I a good Conscience Have I the Testimony of a good Conscience Doth my Conscience witness for me that I have been faithful that my Desire and my care and endeavour is and hath been in all things to approve my self to the Eye of God and to be sincere and upright before him O Beloved What a Mercy to us would it be if we would be perswaded to be much in such heart inspection and much in such heart communing The Devil would find the harder work to get in there 's no Disease or Distemper would then grow upon your hearts but it would be espyed in the beginning and so the more easily removed Friends let me prevail with you in this thing I beseech you in the name of the Lord set more upon this Heart-study Of all the business you have to do in the world there 's nothing more necessary nothing more advantageous and yet I doubt nothing more neglected Friends if you have been strangers at home be no longer strangers never say again I cannot tell how it is with my Soul study it til you can tell and study it diligently and you shall be able to tell The Lord will help you to understand your selves if you will but more diligently commune with your own Hearts will you be perswaded to it will you resolve upon it to make this a great piece of your every days work Never look for Soul prosperity never look for Soul security without a serious and frequent discharge of this great Duty You may hear all your days and pray for a better heart as long as you live and all in vain if you will not Watch as well as Pray O that the Lord would so strike home this word upon your hearts that you might feel this charge of the Lord sensibly abiding upon you to keep your Hearts by Heart-Acquaintance and Heart-watchfulness My Soul is exceedingly concern'd about the bringing you upon this Duty and I am in great doubt that the most of us are very deficient herein either neglecting it or but slightly or seldom being conversant in it Sure Friends our Tongues would be better employed our Speech would be with Grace seasoned with Salt we should have more savoury words coming from us we should commune one with another more about the concerns of our souls were there more faithful communing with our Hearts our whole conversations would savour more of it We should be more Spiritual and Heavenly more active for God more fruitful and abounding in every good work our work for our Souls would be carried on with more Life and with more Power we should live a more self-denying a more circumspect a more heedful and a more watchful Life were there a due watchfulness over our Hearts What shall I say more in this thing Be diligent be careful be diligent to know the state of your hearts If I should say with Solomon Prov. 27.23 Be diligent to know the state of thy Flocks and look well to thine Herds would you not hearken to me If I should say be diligent to look well to your Trades and to your Money would you not hearken to me in this if I should say be diligent to take care for your Healths and look well to your Bodies would not this Counsel be accepted by you How much more then should you hearken to me in this Be diligent to know the state of your Souls O Friends be diligent to know and be diligent to get your Souls into a good state and to secure them in it be diligent to know what 't is that hurts you and what 't is that hinders you and what it is that endangers your Souls and take heed of it and then be diligent to know what 't is that will help you and further you and advance you and stablish your Souls in peace and build them up in holiness that you may take those advantages and improve those helps that are before you Such watchfulness as this what an heart reviving what an heart flourishing what an heart rejoycing would follow upon it to your selves And what abundant Praise Glory and Honour would grow up to the Name of God and our Lord Jesus Christ Then should those Hearts of yours which are now too much Dens of Thieves Shops of Vanity Fountains of folly Nests of Lusts and Houses of Merchandize become the sacrifices of the Lord and the Temples of
you ascend not by Ordinances if you get not up to have Communion with God in them this flesh and this world will be thrusting in upon you and steal your hearts away Christ hath been riding down to you this day as the chariots and horses of fire once were sent down for Elijah 2 Kin. 2.11 The Chariots came down to fetch up the Prophet in them the Ordinances of God that you have been at this day was the Chariot of God that was sent down on purpose that those hearts of yours might ride up in it into Glory I hope some of your hearts got up into the Chariot and are ascended with your Lord who came down to fetch them up What Christian is thine heart yet below where was it when the Chariot came down what are your Souls yet among the Sheep and the Oxen among the grass of the Field and the dust of the Earth what yet among the wormes what yet creeping upon this Earth and feeding upon Ashes do your Soules still dwell in these Tombs and Sepulchres I hope there may be some among you can say I thank the Lord mine heart is no longer here it is risen it is ascended with my Lord who came down for it and hath carried it up with him But man how is it with thee whose heart is left behind Christ hath been here and those that were wise took the Season and got up with him into the Chariot But is thine heart still upon this Earth and must it away again to its old trading to its old feeding on this dirt and trash hast thou been tasting of that Angels Food that hidden Manna the bread of God that came down from heaven and canst thou now return to thy Quailes or thy Husks sure thou hadst not a taste of that heavenly food if thou dost not yet disgust and disrelish thine old carnal Delights But are your hearts any of you yet left below behold yet a Chariot from God is before you this Ordinance of Preaching behold the same Jesus in this Chariot is come down again for those hearts that are not yet gotten up Thy Lord is loth to leave thee here wilt thou yet ascend with him Why is there not a cry among you Lord help me up into thy Chariot Lord take my Soul up with thee Lord let not me be left behind Let Christ hear that voice from you Lord take me up with thee here this poor wretched heart of mine lies at thy feet I can't lift it up 't is too heavy for me it hath weights but no wings yet it groans after thee it would not that thou shouldst go up without it Lord lift me up Lord carry up this poor and wretched heart from Earth to Heaven What must I yet dwell in Meseâ—◠〈…〉 mine heart amongst the tents of Kedar M◠〈…〉 amongst these Theives and Robbers O where 〈…〉 that hath brought thee down again for me 〈…〉 thou me O Lord and wilt thou yet leave me at 〈◊〉 â—â—stance from thee O take pity O take me up that I may from henceforth be with thee where thou art Christians O that I could set you even every one of you a crying thus after the Lord and a bemoaning these earthly and too carnal hearts that they are not yet ascended Let Christ yet hear that voice and let it come deep even from the bottom of thy Soul Let Christ hear not that mouth crying nor those eyes crying but that Soul crying Lord take me up also with thee and he will take thee up O get you into the Psalmists Posture and Spirit Psal 42.1 Psal 84.2 As the hart panteth after the water brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God My soul thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before God My Soul longeth yea even fainteth for thee my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God When Lord O let this be the day take me this very hour and carry me up to the mountains of spices Christians be but unfeignedly willing that Christ should carry away those hearts from this Earth be but in good earnest with him when you say Lord take me up and he will not leave you behind Get these hearts to heaven and keep them there Get you up from Earth to Heaven and come not down again from Heaven to Earth Let that blessedness be antedated which is promised to be after the Resurrection 1 Thes 4.17 Then shall we ever be with the Lord. Say to the Lord even from henceforth as he sayes to his Church Psal 132.14 Thou shalt be my rest here will I dwell for ever Let it not be a Visit to Heaven that will satisfie you but a Conversation in heaven Phil. 3.20 Our Conversation is in heaven Let it not be a few heavenly hours or a short heavenly repast but an heavenly life that you design and follow after When you get you once thus near unto the Lord live as much as possible in the constant viewes of his Glory so continually beholding and feeding upon the foretastes and forethoughts of his Goodness and Grace that you may be changed daily from Glory to Glory into the same image Know friends that if there be any security in the world from the Robbers and the Spoilers from your Lusts and Temptations from suffering such losses again in your peace the only security you have is to keep your hearts still above Hast thou gotten thine heart to heaven keep thee where thou art keep you out of harmes way If the Devil can but catch those hearts again below catch you a roving catch you a wandring after your carnal things if he can but meet you declining from an heavenly to an earthly Conversation from a spiritual to a carnal Conversation O what sad spoiles of whatever good days you have had of whatever delights and satisfactions and joyes and comforts you have had what spoiles will he make of them all Christians when ever you can get or do feel your hearts in a better frame most full of the love and life and joy of the Lord O think what pity 't is what a sad fall it will be to make an exchange of this blessed state for the barren and brackish Pleasures of this world think with your selves shall I forsake the sweetness of the Fig-tree and the fulness of the Olive and go and browze upon brambles The design friends of all this is to perswade and invite you to live in constant Communion with God You have been received and entertained this day into special communion with God and the intent and meaning of this solemne communion is that by the sweetness and refreshing you find in it you may be set into a way of ordinary communion with him That your life may be a life of Communion with God a life of faith a life of love a life of Holiness and Joy that so you might prophesie to your selves with the Psalmist Psal 23.6 Surely goodness and mercy
vanity will this a running on upon mine own death and a shutting up the door of mercy forever against me and yet shall I continue as I am Is there a way of life yet before me is there a door of mercy yet open to me and shall I not get into the Way and be making towards the door Consider sinners what is the best the wisest and the only safe course to take from henceforth and do accordingly 2. Why must we ponder our paths 1. God pondereth them Is 26.7 Thou weighest the path of the just 2. The devil pondereth them Luke 22.31 That he may sift you as wheat 3. Wicked men our enemies ponder them 4. Our way may be right in our own eyes for want of consideration when yet upon consideration it may appear to be the way of death Prov. 14.12 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death 1. There is a way of some men that is not so much as right in their own eyes who as little as they do consider it do see their way to be the way of death and not of life the way of the openly Prophane the way of the Drunkard and Adulterer the way of the Swearer and Blasphemer Prophanness doth not pretend to be the way of life Drunkards and Adulterers know they are out of the way their consciences tell them this is not the way of God this is not the way to heaven their conscience tells them I must turn I must repent and take up a better way ere I die I must not die a Drunkard I must not die a Blasphemer or a Scoffer I must repent or I am lost and hopes they have that they shall repent and this their hope hardens them The consideration that such men should take up is not to convince them that they are out of this way of life that they know already but to convince them of the necessity of a present turning and changing their way Darest thou not to die a Drunkard or a Libertine or a Licentious Liver how then darest thou to live so a day longer Art thou sure but that death may meet thee before thy turning day comes And how if it should thou knowest that then there is no hope of thee but Everlasting wrath must be thy portion Thou countest upon turning and repenting but consider what is the reason thou dost not repent at present that thou dost not this day give a divorce to all thy wickedness shake hands with all thy companions and forthwith become a new man Why not now O I cannot bring mine heart to it And dost thou in good earnest think that it will be easier hereafter Hath the Lord been perswading thee to a change all thy life long and thou seest his word cannot prevail thou seest it doth not after all thy convictions and fears and threatnings of the Word and checks of thy conscience hitherto thou goest on thy lust is too hard for thy conscience or convictions and dost thou think in thy heart that this is the way to make it easy to repent to continue longer in thy sin A course of sin hardens thee sinner Thine heart is not so hardned against repentance this year but look for it thou art like to find it harder the next year The farther thou goest on in sin the farther off art thou from repentance 2. There are others whose ways are right in their own eyes which consideration would make appear to be the way of death and not of Life I shall instance in two sorts 1. The ways of moral unbelievers These are they that are sober and temperate and harmless and just in their dealings with men and courteous and good natured this is their way and this way seems right unto them in this way they hope to come to heaven though whatsoever they have of morality they have nothing of Christianity in them Conversion or Regeneration are as strange things to them as they were to Nicodemus Jo. 3.3 who when Christ told him except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God he answered how can these things be And they have need to ask as Pilate did what is truth So they what is this new birth what is this new creature what is this conversion Consider man what dost thou think of this plea at last when this is all thou canst say I am an honest man but God help me no good Christian I am no drunkard but yet an unbeliever I am no Lyar nor Swearer but yet no convert to Christ Consider those scriptures Jo. 3.3 except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God â—â—d Mat. 18.3 Except a man be converted he cannot enter into the kingdom of God And dost thou bless thy self in thy harmless and less vitious way when thou hast never felt any such thing as Regeneration upon thee This thy way is thy folly and though it be right in thine own eyes yet it is and thou will find it to be the way of death 2. The way of hypocritical professors some hypocrites know themselves hypocrites and the way seems not right to them others are hypocrites and yet take themselves to be sincere and the deceit of their hearts may be so deep that there is need of deep consideration to discover it They pray and they hear and have some face of Religion upon their ways they will speak of God and the things of God with some affection and live in the visible communion of the church with good approbation they are it may be well reputed and well reported among all men and yet for all that the root of the matter may not be in them they may be unsound and rotten at heart and neither themselves know it and others suspect it there may be some secret reigning lust in their hearts they may be lovers of the world lovers of their ease or their pleasures more than lovers of God Whatever they have there may be one thing lacking as it was the case of the young man Mar. 10.21 whose life was commendable in many things yet says Christ one thing lackest thou and that one lack was loss of heaven And have we not all need to consider our selves and to consider deeply how it is with us A sincere Christian is an entire christian psal 119.1 Blessed are the undefiled that is the entire in their way that labour to be entire lacking nothing and sure we had need consider whether we are or no. Some Professors are so lame and halting in their way that they lack many things almost all things of serious Christianity Thou hast the profession of christianity but is not the power of it lacking Thou dost some of the works of righteousness but may not the Lord complain of thee as of Sardis Rev. 3.2 I have not found thy works perfect before me thou dost some of the works of Christians but are not the inward graces lacking Some of
shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever Brethren do you in good earnest desire to get you up to such a life as this do you heartily wish it might be thus with you have you any hope that you shall obtain and will you follow after it will you go hence as men and women designing any such thing shall we that have been with the Lord together this day now agree together in the Name of the Lord to be reaching forward with one heart and with one soul towards such an heavenly life shall we help one another and quicken one another and set examples one to another of such spirituality and heavenliness what do ye think would be the fruit of our appearance before the Lord this day might we return to our houses with our hearts full of such holy Resolutions with our hearts flaming in such holy desires Oh be impatient of thinking to return again to your old carnal and sensual and worldly frames to your cold and indifferent and lukewarm and lifeless way of Religion Let not the Devil catch you again wandring or carelesly jogging on at your wonted rate if he do look for it that whatsoever of the Divine Life or Love of the Divine Hope or joy hath been kindled in you this day you will be quickly spoiled and robbed of it all and those poor and weakly hearts will fall into a worse condition then before If you would keep any thing about you that might comfort you if you would secure your Souls from being rifled of all that you have received if you would not return to be dark and dead and barren Souls then remember this Counsel you have received from the Lord to whom my Prayer is for you which was Davids for Israel 1 Chron. 29.18 O Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Israel our fathers keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of this people and prepare their heart unto thee Keep these thoughts fresh upon your hearts and you shall thereby keep your hearts after the Lord hath spoken Grace unto you from returning again to folly Lastly Commit the keeping of your hearts to the keeper of Israel Commit them to God Psal 127.1 Except the Lord keep the City the watchmen waketh but in vain The keeping of the heart is a greater trust than the keeping of a City and therefore had need be put into safe hands G d is able to keep it 2 Tim. 1.12 I know whom I have believed that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him unto that day God is able and God is faithful faithful is he that hath called you and will do it But it may be you will say O I shall never be able to keep mine heart in heaven keep up the love and life and joy of God in my Soul keep my self pure keep me close to God that the Devil never catch me wandring abroad Why I see he may catch me every hour mine heart is given to wandring and I cannot hold it in It would be an ease and a joy and a great delight to me could I get to be raised to such a pitch to be all spiritual and heavenly and there to fix and be ever with the Lord. O what a joy it would be to me had I but hope I might get to such a pitch but wo is me I shall never be able Why do your duty and for such a comfortable success let that care lie on the Lord. Commit it to him both to help you into such a frame and to keep you in it he hath said he will not fail you He hath sealed to you this day that he will help you that he will keep you trust upon him and he will do it But what is it to commit the keeping of our hearts to the Lord 1. To give them to the Lord. God will keep nothing but what is his own Wilt thou give thine heart to the Devil and then commit it to God to keep it for him give your hearts to the Lord give them to him for his Servants and then commit them to his Custody 2. To trust him with the keeping of them Psal 143.9 Deliver me O God from mine enemies for I flee unto thee to hide me I have many enemies that lie in wait for my Soul I dare not trust to my self for security God is my trust and my refuge I flee unto thee to hide me I will trust under the shadow of thy wings Psal 36.7 Therefore brethren my Exhortation to you shall be the same with Peters Exhortation to suffering Christians 1 Pet. 4.19 Commit the keeping of your Souls to him in well doing as unto a faithful creatour Observe it commit but in well doing Do not neglect your duty and think to make it up with this I have committed the care of my self to God I say do not neglect your hearts be not idle and careless of your own duty do not leave your selves open to the Usurpation of lust or the invasion of the Devil do not suffer your hearts to lead you on in your carnal ways leave not that heart of thine to be a blind house a dark hole and filthy Dungeon full of Abominations and then think to make up the matter with this to say I have committed it to the Lord to wash it and cleanse it and keep it I trust God with my Soul he I hope will preserve it commit the keeping of your Souls in well doing do your duty keep your hearts under Government keep them under Guard be washing your hearts daily be watching your hearts daily though God be also yet you are every one your own keepers do your part to keep that which God hath committed to you and then fear not but God will do his part he will keep whatever you have committed to him And thus I have at length run through this great duty of keeping the heart The Lord knows how great need there is of every word that hath been spoken O that none of it might be lost Our poor hearts God knows have hitherto found us but poor heart-keepers The case they are in is Evidence sufficient to prove how sadly they have been look'd to Some of them continuing in a lost state to this day others of them but half recovered others relapsed and fallen back from what they were once hopefully recovered to none of our hearts but have often been among Thieves where we have suffered great loss and how many have been the heart distempers and diseases we have fallen into O what slight what licentious what listless dull and lazy Souls have we been sure these hearts have found us but bad keepers O what shall be the success of these many words that have been spoken what say you Christians is there any hope that your hearts shall be better look'd to for the future what say you will you now be faithful will you keep this charge of the Lord keep this heart with all diligence who is there among you that will say I confess my faults and my great neglects this day I confess I have been careless the sad frame mine heart is in is a witness against me but through the Grace of God I will look better to my self and hope I shall not forget this word as long as I live I hope I shall leave medling with other mens matters and leave censuring of other mens ways and from henceforth keep mine eye more close and constant upon mine own Soul This do be more faithful in keeping your selves and then you may be bold to commit your selves to the Lord as unto a faithful Creator What hath been my design and desire in this whole work But 1. To prepare your hearts for the Lord that he may accept them 2. To bring them over to the Lord that they may become his own 3. To keep them for the Lord to keep them pure that he may take pleasure in them O let this be done and then you may commit them to the Lord to keep them safe Will you be perswaded will you be prevail'd upon thus to prepare and bring over your hearts to the Lord thus to preserve and keep them pure and faithful to him and so trust to his faithfulness Might I prevail with you in this I had done my work and having put you thus into safe custody should there be bold to leave you in this Confidence that you should be thenceforth all kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto Salvation FINIS