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
of them whose warnings you can now slight whose Exhortations and Counsel you can now reject with Scorn and Contempt For then you will hear the Sentence of Condemnation from One the Glory of whose appearing you will not be able to endure whose Presence will grieve and terrifie you But your case is not yet quite Desperate If you will now concern your selves heartily for your Souls and apply your selves in good earnest to make their Salvation sure there is some ground for Hope Mercy may yet be had The Scepter of Grace is still held forth Your endless Misery may yet be prevented You may yet be made Holy and Gracious behold God's reconciled Face and inherit incomprehensible Glory and Blessedness Nothing will hinder but your wilfulness your resolved continuing unconcerned for these things What Mercy is it that God will yet be favourable notwithstanding thou hast at this time been unconcerned and stubborn in thy Enmity Will yet if thou turn sincerely pardon and blot out all is past Will receive and honor love and eternally glorifie thee Who would not seek reconciliation with all his might with such a gracious condescending patient and merciful God Who would go on to provoke such a God and Damn himself in opposition to such Love and Grace and Mercy What acceptance wouldst thou find with God What good wouldst thou do thy self What Happiness wouldst thou treasure up for thy self to all future Generations What Joy wouldst thou occasion in Heaven wouldst thou now be prevailed with to come out of thy miserable sinful State and to concern thy self as thou oughtest for thy Soul and its endless wellfare Peruse carefully these following Scriptures Luke 15.7 and 10 and 20 c. Isa 55.7 2 Cor. 6.2 Take heed you do not prevent all this to encourage your selves to continue in your unconcernedness for your Salvation For if instead of complying with Calls and Entreaties to accept of and close with the offers of Mercy God is pleased to make you you stubbornly refuse to hearken to yea abuse them to harden and embolden your selves in your Sins your condition will become exceeding Dreadful yea quite hopeless according to that account the holy Scriptures give of People under such Circumstances as you may evidently see if you please to turn to and read the following places in your Bibles Prov. 1.24 c. Prov. 29.1 Heb. 12.17 Luke 19.42 Yea remember this will render your State in Hell terrible and tormenting to the highest degree In what boisterous Waves of inflamed Wrath shall those Persons be roll'd and tost who affectedly persist in their Enmity against God and contempt of the riches of his Grace Why should you be curious to secure to your selves the utmost efforts of Divine Displeasure How sad must your estate be if after you have enjoyed the Gospel and been earnestly perswaded to concern your selves in good earnest for your Salvation you should perish and reap no advantage from all that Christ hath done suffered and purchased for repenting reforming Sinners What a terrible day will the day of Christ's appearing be to you if after all your coming to Church hearing Prayers and Sermons and partaking of Sacraments you remain stubborn and untractable sensual and worldly in your Minds loose carnal and vicious in your Lives Be entreated dearly Beloved to lay these seriously to Heart and forthwith to make a good improvement of them Please not your selves with purposes of taking them into consideration hereafter lest Satan prove too subtle for you and carry you away securely to his own Appartments full fraught with seemingly pious resolves What multitudes have cried out for Mercy when it hath been too late Mat 25.11.12 If you are now willing to do what it behoves you to do that you may secure the Salvation of your Souls observe and follow these few Directions First Set your selves to a serious thorough consideration of your present Estate Weigh and insist on this till you are fully convinced your present State is such you cannot with any safety continue in it and do firmly resolve to alter your Course press your danger and guilt upon your selves till your Souls and Consciences are mightily affected with your present Circumstances and you become in some measure sensible how much more desirable their Condition is than yours who have heartily concerned themselves to secure the Salvation of their Souls In other cases we think it a mighty blemish to give occasion for others to repute us inconsiderate and rash And sure nothing better deserves our best our most mature and vivid thoughts than this Matter because it doth so nearly concern us Can we expect prudently to avoid our Danger and amend our Mistakes whilst either ignorant of or unaffected with them Serious consideration is a proper if not the only preparatory expedient to bring us to a right Mind to furnish us with a just Notion and becoming Sense of those things which are of eminent Importance and to dispose us to rectifie past Errors and Defaults When the Prodigal came to himself and considered the evil and dangerous case he was in and how much better the very Servants in his Fathers Family were provided for than he was he presently resolves to go thither Luke 15.17 18. Psal 119.59 60. Set thy self as in God's Presence call thy self to account and revive the remembrance of thy past Carriages Call to mind how God hath expresly declared such or such Affections of Soul Speeche Actions to be detestable abominable Sins and hath declared from Heaven his Wrath against them in such or such places of his holy Word And then apply the same particularly and with all vehemency of affection and faithfulness to thy self till thou feelest the power and efficacy of them in thy own Spirit and Conscience Is this my Estate Doth the word of God speak nothing but Terror and Indignation against me whilst I continue in this condition Is the infinitely holy powerful just God my Enemy O wretched Creature that I am What shall I do Is this an Estate to be rested in What is all the World and all it can afford to me if God should pour forth the Vials of his Anger upon me If I must pass from the applause and favour of Men from Houses Lands and Friends to dwell with everlasting Burnings and be a Companion with Devils for ever O how happy are they who have been wise for their Souls who can look with comfort into the Holy Scriptures and read over all those Passages with Satisfaction which Terrifie me and are as so many Arrows sticking fast in my Soul What a Fool have I been all my time What Mercy and rich Grace must be discovered if ever I escape Damnation I cannot escape it if I continue in this Estate A great Change must be wrought in me I must be made a new Creature I must lead a new Life And by God's Grace so I will Blessed be the Lord that he hath given me any sight of my
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
and set you down Marks and Characters by comparing your selves with which you may acquire a distinct and true knowledge of your Estate Do not your Bibles tell you very plainly what sorts of People will be shut out of the Kingdom And how should you know whether you be or be not of those numbers if you refuse to examin and make a true judgment of your selves Presume what you please of your selves God cannot be deceived nor will he be mocked Death and Judgment will in due time fully discover the truth of your State both to your selves and to all the World Can you imagin that this Enquiry should do you any prejudice If you have been and are duly concerned for your Salvation nothing can fill you with a greater and such rational Joy and Comfort than to perceive this attested upon a just Search by the word of God and that an eternal and glorious Inheritance is made sure to you by the promise of that God who cannot lye Whereas a neglect of this Enquiry must needs deprive you of the best and greatest comfort of your Lives If you have been and still are unconcerned for your Salvation nothing can more mischievously hinder your recovery out of that dangerous Estate you are in than your refusing to try and examin your selves Make no delay therefore but presently betake your selves to what you are perswaded unto O! that you would be so kind to me to grant me this one request I beg it of you for your own Sakes I have no Interest to serve by it but your own that you may presently escape out of the snares of the Devil and be safe from eternal Agonies that you may not walk any longer in the Broad Road which ends in Hell and irrepairable Destruction but may live in Peace and Comfort here and Reign with Christ in Glory for ever Reason then and argue with your selves about this Matter Cannot you discourse thus with your selves How terrible and dreadful a thing will it be to be found at last a neglecter of Salvation one who hath been all his Life unconcerned for his Soul To have God and Christ Enemies when I must appear before their Tribunal He that commanded me into Being and Life can with a word speak me into Eternal Misery The Holy God I must needs acknowledge loves Holiness and cannot but hate Iniquity He will in his Righteous Judgment infallibly make a difference betwixt People He will assuredly separate the Holy from the Vile Then shall the Righteous be discerned from the Wicked and he that serveth God from him that serveth him not Mal. 3.17 18. I am at present undoubtedly of one of these Ranks And doth it not much concern me to understand what my Estate is Careless negligent Wretch in omitting an enquiry of such Importance so long The time past shall suffice to have lived in so supine and unthoughtful a manner My Eyes shall not Sleep nor will I give slumber to my Eye-lids till I have made a diligent Enquiry and do know what the Word of the Lord doth say of and to me I dare not lye down to Sleep till I have examined my Estate till if it appear I have been unconcerned hitherto for my Soul and its Salvation I have sued heartily for Pardon and Peace through the Blood of Christ lest I should sleep the Sleep of Death lest Destruction should surprize me And I should awake in those Flames which will never be quenched Be gone all Excuses for I have no Business so necessary to be attended to as this I am not at leisure to follow any Sports or to mind Wealth or Honors yea or the Necessasaries of this present Life whilst I am Ignorant of the State of my Soul and know not whether I have been duly concerned that my Salvation may be made sure I will not any longer venture Eternity upon Uncertainties Now I have been called on and exhorted to apply my self to this Examination Should I refuse to comply God may justly suffer me to be hardned in my Sins I may never have the like opportunity again Tho I should find I have hitherto been unconcerned for the happiness of my Soul yet eternal Misery may be prevented There yet remains place for Repentance and some ground to hope that I may find favour with the Lord Therefore I am resolved nothing shall divert me from going through with this Work Lord powerfully fix my Resolution Keep my my Mind and Heart intent on this Business and give me the gracious assistance of thy holy and powerful Spirit to guide and carry me with success thorough it Sixthly You who have been careless of your Souls and their Salvation till this time should now be prevailed with to concern your selves with all seriousness and earnestness that they may be secured Could I set forth a miserable Estate before you in the most doleful Strains and with the fullest account of aggravating Circumstances imaginable I should not declare the thousandth part of your Wretchedness The Groans and Sobs of the Damned manifest they cannot speak what they feel their Shrieks and Clamours are but broken Relations of the Horrors and Pains they sink under And you are obnoxious to all that Wrath which doth so terrifie and overwhelm them If you still continue secure and cannot bemoan your selves nor cry heartily for Pity and Mercy your Danger encreases Did you understand what you are doing what Vengeance you are treasuring up for your selves whom you are Offending what Souls you are Murthering what a glorious holy powerful just God you are Provoking what a Change would soon appear in you You would look upon all your Enjoyments as nothing worth you would look upon the Pleasures Riches and Honors of this World as insipid useless things The whole World would be no more to you than a Prison or Dungeon in which you are reserved till the Sentence of Wrath is to be Executed on you The wicked is reserved to the day of Destruction they shall be brought forth to the day of Wrath Job 21.30 Were you sensible what Love you despise what Salvation you neglect what Mercy you trample under your Feet what Grace you reject what Patience and Goodness you abuse and what great things you might lay hold on what Inheritances you might obtain what Glory you may be assured of if you would but consider things aright and approve your selves truly Wise what an alteration would soon appear in your Carriage and Conduct You will in a little time be convinced fully of the truth of all this When Death hath executed its Commission against you and your Souls are dragg'd into another World continue Infidels if you can When you have drank a few draughts more spent a little time more in your Sports and Games slept a few Nights drudg'd and toil'd a few days more you will see and know and be convinced of these things in another manner Then you will have no need of such Ministers to tell you