are passed away Rev. 21.4 How happy are they who are safe from and out of the reach of all those Torment and Curses to which Sin doth expose People and under which others must eternally roar who whilst others fry in unquenchable Flames and must be always tost on the Waves and Surges of the ever burning Lake endure none of their Anguish but are filled with a Joy which no Tongue can relate O the Honor to which they are advanced the Glory with which they are Crowned the Treasures they enjoy the Kingdoms they have received the Delights with which they are and will be everlastingly entertained Our Understandings and Minds are not capacious and wide enough to comprehend or conceive the great and excellent things that are conferred on them Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither have entred into the Heart of Man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. 2.9 Beloved now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is 1 Joh. 3.2 In thy presence is fulness of Joy at thy right Hand are Pleasures for ever more Psal 16.11 As for me I will behold thy Face in Righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy Likeness Psal 17.15 Because thy loving Kindness is better than Life my Lips shall praise thee Thus will I praise thee while I Live I will lift up my Hands in thy Name My Soul shall be satisfied as with Marrow and Fatness and my Mouth shall praise thee with joyful Lips Psal 63.3 4 5. Can any thing be so desirable to me as when I die to have my precious Soul guarded and conveyed by holy and blessed Angels through the airy Regions unto Abraham's Bosom into the kindest Embraces of the holy amiable and loving Jesus And at the general Resurrection to have my Body raised Incorruptible and Glorious and every way disposed for and united to its happy Soul that they may be joint and eternal sharers in all those blessed Fruitions infinite Grace and Love will vouchsafe How happy shall I be if through Grace I arrive to be for ever with Christ What a glorious Change will then be wrought on me How wonderfully will all the Powers and Faculties of my Soul be advanced improved and enlarged How much more beautiful and capacious will they be made than now they are O the alteration that shall be made on me to my unconceivable Advantage when I shall shine as the Brightness of the Firmament as the Stars for Ever and Ever Dan. 12.3 Yea as the Sun in the Kingdom of my Father Mat. 13.43 When this vile Body shall be Changed and fashioned like unto the Glorious Body of My Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself Phil. 3.21 What account should I make of such a Privilege Honor and Felicity How should I prepare wait and long for this Great Holy and Glorious Change The word of that God who is faithful and true and cannot Lie affords us evident and full assurance that such a glorious and everlastingly happy State is prepared and may be obtained and it likewise certifies what manner of People they must be who shall be admitted to it The Lord Jesus the supream Judge of and great King over all will at the last Day say unto them on his right Hand Come ye blessed of my Father Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World Matt. 25.34 He will render to every Man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in Well-doing seek for Glory and Honor and Immortality Eternal Life Rom. 2.6 7. Henceforth saith St. Paul there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but unto all them also who love his appearing 2 Tim. 4.8 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead to an Inheritance Incorruptible and Undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation ready to be Revealed in the last Time 1 Pet. 1.3 4 5. This Salvation comprehends all that is Great all that is Honorable all that is truly Delighting Good and Desirable O that we may all duly strive labour desire and long to be prepared for and brought to the actual possession of it What should we wish for on our own behalves if we have any love for our selves but that God himself the only satisfying good would be our Portion That we may have free Intimate full and everlasting Communion in the highest Heavens with the Father Son and Holy Spirit with glorious Angels and all the Saints above That we may come to the City of the living God the Heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of Angels to the general Assembly and Church of the first Born which are written in Heaven and to God the Judge of all and to the Spirits of just Men made perfect and to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant and to the Blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel Heb. 12.22 c. Can we desire and pant after any thing comparable to our beholding our Saviour's Glory and being for ever with him in his Kingdom where he Reigns in Glory Were we throughly perswaded of and did we in any measure esteem this Salvation as we ought for indeed we cannot prize it as it deserves what an happy Change should we presently perceive in our selves What a mighty power and efficacy should we feel it have on our Souls What a sweet and constraining influence should we find it shed abroad in our Hearts and Lives How strangely would it abate and take off our love and affection to this World It s Pomps its Pleasures its Vanities How much would it raise us above the Flatteries which have hitherto Deluded us How would it make us despise and contemn the painted Glories and empty Enjoyments which we have so unweariedly pursued and so passionately courted How indifferent should we be to Earthly things and how little impression would any Worldly Allurements make on us if we did steadily look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen 2 Cor. 4.18 And did we affectionately consider that the things which are seen are Temporal but the things which are not seen are Eternal How would this engage us to animate us in and with what success and vigor would it carry us through all our Duties Would not our Conversation be in Heaven did we seriously look for our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ from thence to call and take
with all Saints the breadth and length and depth and height of his Love how should I abound in Admiring Praising Glorifying and giving Thanks unto him and to what a height would this sort of exercise raise my estimation of my Soul towards which this great this glorious this beneficent and most gracious Saviour hath manifested a Love which passeth Knowledge As the best and greatest Friend to Mankind hath in so stupendous a manner Testified his love to and thereby the real and extraordinary worth of Souls so the most envious inveterate and malicious Enemy to Human Race hath mightily fortified this Truth That the Soul of Man is exceeding precious by his indefatigable and unwearied attempts to destroy our Souls both in the ways of Subtilty and Violence We commonly acknowledge and bouldly affirm the Devil is our great Adversary and then we must likewise allow and grant that he designs to do us the greatest Mischief and what can that be but to prejudice and ruine that part of us which is undoubtedly of greatest value And can any thing be more apparent and manifest than that all his methods and assaults are levelled against our Souls What a Monster shall I appear if I make little or no account of this Soul for the ransoming of which the eternal Son of God laid down his most precious Life And for the ruining of which the Devil doth not spare any either of his Craft and Artifice or of his Strength and Industry Would the Prince of the Powers of the Air so sedulously contrive and plot be so very observant and constant upon his Watch make such diligent Search after and take so much pains as he doth to destroy our Souls if they were such inconsiderable worthless Trifles as we seem to reckon them We are careful of and do look accurately after those those things we really prize and of which we make a very great account And were we truly sensible of and duly affected with the worth the excellency the preciousness of our own Souls O! with what seriousness should we busie our selves to secure their Salvation Secondly Salvation is an inestimable Mercy and Privilege Salvation What a sweet delicious good word is this Take all the Letters in the World and join them together how you please you cannot frame a word that makes so comfortable and charming a Sound as this does Of all the expressions that can be named this is the most proper and the best accommodated to our State and Circumstances to our Case and Necessities We are in Misery our wants and dangers are greater than our Lips can utter Who so wretched and forlorn as Sinners and guilty Persons None certainly excepting them whose Condemnation is already Seal'd and ratified May such as we be Saved is it possible for us to obtain Salvation May our aggravated Transgressions the horrible Rebellion we have so long and so obstinately persisted in against the Holy God be Pardoned May we yet escape the terrible wrath that is coming apace upon the Wicked and Disobedient Is the door of Mercy still open May we yet be received into favour Most joyful tidings most comfortable and ravishing News Blesbe my Rock Exalted be the God of my Salvation Praise the Lord O my Soul and let all that is within me magnifie his Holy Name Thy loving kindness is better than Life O Lord I will praise thee as long as I Live Let all the Angels of God which excel in strength bless him Yea let all his works in all Places of his Dominion bless him Bless the Lord O my Soul Oh that Men would praise the Lord for his Goodness and for his wonderful Works to the Children of Men Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from Everlasting to Everlasting and let all the People say Amen Praise ye the Lord This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation That Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners of whom we may justly repute our selves the greatest Let that Message brought from Heaven by an Angel A Message every way worthy of such a Messenger be the chief subject of my Meditations And Oh that I might never think of it but with a Heart rightly affected towards it powerfully influenced by it and mightily enlarged in thankfulness and praise for it Fear not for behold I bring you good Tydings of great Joy which shall be to all People for unto you is Born this day in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord Luke 2.10 11. This Salvation is indeed a great and blessed word but how little do we know of that which it imports No created Being can comprehend and fully understand the Mercy Good and Privilege it signifies A Blessing is the less by its being such that any finite Being can reach and know its full Dimensions This is a Mercy and Benefit which deserves our loudest Praises our most solemn Acknowledgments and our silent Admiration We cannot possibly raise our estimation to its real Value It is so great the loftiest Expressions fall infinitely short of conveying to our Minds an adequate and exact conception of it How shall we then escape if we neglect so great Salvation Heb. 2.3 Our deliverances are incompleat whilst we are on Earth we are encompassed and surrounded here with such variety of dangers calamities and troubles we are no sooner rescued out of one but we feel our selves Arrested by another Disaster and are in all respects as uneasie and dissatisfied till freed from this as we were when mourning under the former Yea many times our very Deliverance proves but a step to a Relapse which sinks us deeper into the very same kind of Trouble and Disquietment we thought we had escaped We are Born to Trouble as the Sparks fly upward When one afflicting occurrence having gorg'd it self as we conceive leaves us we presently become a Booty to another or else the former returns with greater eagerness and preys on us with more unsatiable greediness and violence No sooner have we one Deliverance but we find we do as much need another We are not sure but whole Troops of Sorrows will seize on us and these so thick and close one after another they will not afford us one pleasant Interval Our Lives are at best chequered and our Deliverances in this World yield not a satisfaction of any long continuance But blessed be God the Lord Jesus being made perfect is become the Author of eternal Salvation unto all them that obey him Heb. 5.9 O! the blessedness of them who partake of this Salvation who are perfectly freed from every thing that ean offend and molest from the worst of Evils Sin and the next Temptations to it and from all the Sufferings Pains Diseases Doubts and Fears which here extort our Tears Complaints and Moans God shall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes and there shall be no more Death neither Sorrow nor Crying neither shall there be any more Pain for the former things
Danger That he hath brought me to consider before my condition is absolutely past remedy O what Trouble and Sorrow have I been heaping on my self How bitter and gnawing now are all the things I counted pleasant How vile and contemptible are all the things for which I ventured my precious Soul There is nothing now can relieve and do me good nothing I can account precious but an Interest in Jesus Christ and pardoning Love through him O the Confusion I am in But I wish not that it were with me as in times past That my vain Presumption stupidity and insensibleness might again return No but O that I had sooner seen my Danger and sooner began my Retreat Here I lye on the very brink of Hell Had I made one step further I might have been among the Damned and yet I scarce know which way to turn O the proficiency others have made in the way to Heaven who had no more time nor outward Calls and Means than I had O the peace and comfort they have the Sweets with which their Souls are feasted O that I might love the Lord Christ in sincerity have an interest in his Merits a right to his precious Promises and that I may dutifully acknowledge his Authority walk in his Laws and know by experience what joy is to be found in Believing Well by Divine Assistance I will up and be doing I will not loyter any longer I now cast away with abhorrence and lay aside every weight and the Sin that hath so easily beset me Lord do thou enlarge my Heart and I will run the way of thy Commandments May I ever have my eye fixed on Jesus the Author and Finisher of a Believer's Faith To thee holy Jesus I flee for Refuge Help me to lay hold on the Hope thou hast set before me Secondly Humble your selves deeply before the Lord and offer unto him fervent earnest Supplications and Prayers to commiserate and deliver you No help can come but from Heaven and it must be fetched thence by hearty affectionate Cries and Entreaties Lay your selves therefore low before the Lord acknowledge your Sins with Godly Sorrow and Grief Rehearse before him your sad Estate the aggravating Circumstances of your Guilt your Fears your Guilt the dreadful Curses which hang over you how sensible you are of his Displeasure against Sin that you are not able to bear his Wrath and that nothing but Free-Grace can save and preserve you Justifie God in all his Laws and in all his Threats and in his executing of them Confess heartily thou art a Monument Monument of his Patience Break forth into affectionate Admiration that he hath born with thee so long whereas he might have caused his Vengeance to have overtaken thee long ago And then with strong Cries and Tears too if thou canst beseech him for his Mercy sake his name sake the Son of his love sake to pity Pardon help and sanctifie thee Consider what encouragement thou hast from these and the like Scriptures Psal 145.18 19. Psal 32.5 6. Psal 50.15 Matt. 7.7 c. Lord thou art Great Holy Just and Powerful none can set himself against thee and Prosper Thy purity and holiness is such thou canst not behold the least Iniquity with Approbation Thou hast declared thy Wrath against every Sin And in particular hast revealed thy Indignation against this and that and the other Wickedness and that thou wilt terribly avenge thy self of such Adversaries as live impenitently in them Lord I am the vile Wretch who have been guilty of these Transgressions I have lived a great while in them and have often repeated these acts of Hostility against thee O my Misery my Guilt my Wretchedness Whither shall I go What shall I do I cannot flee from thy Presence Where ever I am thy Arm can reach me I cannot bear thy Frowns thy Terrors make me afraid Damnation and Hell are the least I have deserved O the Light the Love the Means I have sinned against I have nothing to say for my self who shall plead for me Methinks I am now sinking Hell appears ready to swallow me up Just and Righteous art thou O God! No punishments are too great for so wicked so ungrateful so vile and obstinate a Wretch as I am In the very midst of my Fears and Anguish I cannot but wonder that the Sentence of Condemnation is not already pronounced against and executed on me O what long-suffering goodness hast thou manifested towards me the worst and greatest of Sinners Blessed be thy Name for thy Long-suffering Patience towards me Whither shall I now turn Will the holy God have Mercy on such a desperate Sinner To whom shall I go in these Straits Creatures cannot help me My Lusts and Sins have brought all this Misery upon me All will fail me unless the Lord will be pleased to look down in Mercy upon me And it is the Lord I have offended How shall I go to a provoked God! Yet all my hope must be from him To the Lord I will go I will lie at his Feet I will throw my self wholly upon his Mercy Lord I have heard that thou art Gracious Long-suffering slow to Wrath and of great Goodness Thou hast said so of thy self Thou hast the words of eternal Life There is Forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared Thou hast contrived a way for the glorifying of thy Mercy in saving the greatest Sinners who truly repent and turn from the evil of their doings unto thee with all their Hearts Lord here behold a miserable mouring Sinner than whom none ever stood more in need of Mercy Extend thy wonderful Grace to me I come to thee in thy Son's Name I depend intirely on his Merits I plead with thee the only gracious Promises Sustain now a sinking Soul I loath and abhor my self O let thy Bowels ern over me Tho I stand on the brink of Hell let thy Grace prevent my falling into that Bottomless Pit Say unto this Soul Live May I who deserve to houl for ever under the dreadful testimonies of thy Displeasure be effectually delivered from Sin Guilt and Condemnation May I be Pardoned made Holy and sing forth the Praises of thy rich and abounding Grace to all Eternity Consider Isa 63.15 16. Thirdly If you take pains with your selves and faithfully perform what you have been advised to already you will easily perceive what is further necessary to be done by you to make secure the Salvation of your Souls and you will be disposed to urge upon your selves and improve such Counsel as shall be offered you and is manifestly pertinent to this purpose I will therefore propound the other Directions you are to observe altogether and only give you brief hints for your future Conduct leaving you to imprint them on your own Hearts by meditating on and expostulating with your selves about them till you feel they have their proper and due influence on your Souls and Lives You must then endeavour to