my self into my straits and my troubles by my sins and this keepeth me from trusting in God because my troubles are the fruit of my sins Were it purely the hand of God to try my faith and patience I could in such a case hope in God Ans Though our troubles do come upon us for our sins yet if we humble our souls for our sins and cry to God in our distresses he will raise up deliverance for us Psal 107.10,11,12,13,14 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death being bound in affliction and iron becanse they rebelled against the words of God and contemned the counsel of the most high therefore he brought down their heart with labour they fell down and there was none to help Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of their distress he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and brake their bands in sunder And again ver 17 19. Fools because of their transgression and because of oheir iniquities are afflicted then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble he saveth them out of their distresses When David was under such a great sense of sin as made his heart to fail he did yet hope in God for deliverance out of his troubles Psal 40.12,17 Innumerable evils have compassed me about mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up they are more than the hairs of my head therefore my heart faileth me I am poor and needy yet the Lord thinketh upon me thou art my help and my deliverer make no tarrying O my God When Jonah was cast into the Sea and swallowed up by a Whale it was for his sin in flying from the presence of the Lord yet when in his affliction he cryed to God God heard and delivered him Jonah 2.2,10 I cryed by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord and he heard me out of the belly of hell cried I and thou heardest my voice And the Lord spake unto the Fish and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land SECT 12. 12. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation Satan useth to be very busie to tempt us when we are in affliction The two seasons wherein the Devil did in a more eminent manner set upon Christ with his temptations were when he was in the Wilderness Mark 1.13 He was in the Wilderness forty dayes tempted of Satan and when he was entring upon his Passion Luke 22.53 This is your hour and the power of darkness The Devils at that time bestirred themselves to the utmost of their power in tempting and afflicting the Lord Jesus Now God hath stripped you of all or the greatest part of your enjoyments and brought you as it were into a Wilderness now that you must expect to suffer more hardship and difficulties then formerly you may look to meet with more then usual temptations The Devil is ready to take occasion from others afflictions to tempt us 2 Thess 3.3,4,5 How much more will he take advantage from our own afflictions to assault us with his temptations If Satan be busie to tempt had you not need to watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation I might here caution you against several temptations I will instance in four or five 1. Take heed of entertaining hard thoughts of God as though God dealt hardly with you or of his wayes as if there were no profit in serving of God because you have suffered so deeply notwithstanding you have endeavoured to serve the Lord Satan hath baffled very eminent persons with this temptation Job in his haste uttered such an expression as this Job 30.21 Thou art become cruel to me Jeremiah in his distress le ts fall such words as these Jer. 15.18 Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable which refuseth to be healed wilt thou be altogether unto me as a lyard and as waters that fail David being exercised with many afflictions said lin his hast though upon second thoughts he called in his words again that all the pains that he had taken in serving God was ladour in vain Psal 73.13,14 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my bands in innocency for all the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning To fortifie you against this temptation of calling in question the goodness of God or thinking there is no advantage cometh by serving God let me advise you to do these things 1. Judge of God according to that representation which he maketh of himself in his Word Now the Scriptures represent God to be a good God Ps 86.5 Thou Lord art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all that call upon thee When the Lord proclaimed his Name to Moses he proclaimed his name after this manner Exod. 34.5,6 The Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long suffering and abundant in goodness He is so abundant in goodness that his goodness fills the whole earth Psal 33.5 The Earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. He is so good a God that there are some expressions of his goodness towards every person and every creature upon the face of the earth Psal 145.9 The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works His goodness is so great that no words can express it we may admire it but we cannot deciare the greatness of it Zech. 9.17 How great is his goodness and how great is his beauty Even in his most terrible acts there is abundance of goodness Psal 145,6,7 Men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts they shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness 2. Consider what good thoughts of God the servants of the Lord have had in their greatest afflictions though in time of temptation some of Gods servants have uttered some rash expressions derogatory to the good ross of God yet afterwards they have humbled themselves greatly for such speeches as we may see Job 42.3,6 David calls himself fool and heast for speaking dishonourably of God in his afflictions Psal 73.13,22 Take the servants of God when they have been freed from or gotten the victory over temptation and you shall finde them admiring and speaking highly in the commendation of Gods goodness in their greatest afflictions Psal 119.68 Thou art good and dost good and this David spoke when he was spoiled of his goods ver 61. The bands of the wicked have robbed me and when his sorrows were so great that his soul melted under them ver 28. My soul melteth for he aviness Neither his losses nor his sorrows made him question Gods goodness but he saith under both thou art good and dost good In another Psalm after he had expressed the greatness of his sorrows Psal 31.9,10 I am in trouble mine eye is consumed with grief yea my soul and my belly for my life is spent with grief and my years with sighing He breaks out into
by these judgments the Lord promiseth to do great things for them ver 21. Fear not O Land be glad and rejoyce for the Lord will do great things The Prophet Isaiah having set forth the miserable and distressed condition of the Jews both in respect of the corruption of all ranks and degrees of men and of the sore judgments of God that were upon them Isa 1.4,5,6,7,8,9,10 Ah sinful Nation a people laden with iniquity a seed of evil doers children that are corrupters they have forsaken the Lord they have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger they are gone away backward Why should ye be stricken any more ye will revolt more and more the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it Your Country is desolate your Cities are burnt with fire your Land strangers devour it in your presence and it is desolate as overthrown by strangers and the Daughter of Zion is left as a Cottage in a Vineyard as a lodge in a Garden of Cucumbers Hear the Word of the Lord ye Rulers of Sodom give ear unto the Law of our God ye People of Gomorrah After the rehearsal of their sinful and miserable condition he promiseth that if they would be brought to repentance by these judgments ver 16 17. God would do great things for them notwithstanding they were brought very low ver 25 26 27. I will turn mine hand upon thee and purely purge away thy dross and take away all thy Tin and I will restore thy Judges as at the first and thy Counsellors as at the beginning afterward thou shalt be called the City of Righteousness Zion shall be redeemed with Judgment and her Converts with Righteousness And in several other places of this Prophesie the Lord promiseth that when he did return with mercy to his afflicted people he would make their estate far more glorious than ever it was Isa 30.26 The light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be seven fold as the light of seven dayes In the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people and healeth the stroke of their wound Isa 60.15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated so that no man went through thee I will make thee an eternal excellency a joy of many Generations Isa 61.7 For your shame you shall have double and for confusion they shall rejoyce in their portion therefore in their Land they shall possess the double everlasting joy shall be unto thee When the Lord is not only shaking a particular City or Nation but all places and all Nations we should not be startled at it God is but making way for the exalting and setting up of his Sons Kingdom Hag. 2.6,7 Thus saith the Lord of Hosts Yet once it is a little while and I will shake the Heavens and the earth and the Sea and the dry Land and I will shake all Nations and the desire of Nations shall come SECT 19. 19. If you purpose to set upon building your Houses which have been consumed by this fire so manage this work as that it may prosper under your hands If you ask How should we so mannage this work of building as to have it prosper under our hands I answer 1. Seek unto God by Prayer to be with you and succeed you in this great work Psal 90.17 Establish thou the works of our hands upon us yea the work of our hands establish thou it Uzziah built and prospered 2 Chron. 26.9 and how came he to prosper ver 5. He sought God in the dayes of Zechariah who had understanding in the visions of God and as long as he sought the Lord God made him to prosper By this means Asa prospered in building Cities and other places of strength 2 Chron. 14.7 Let us build these Cities and make about them Walls and Towers Gates and Bars while the Land is yet before us because we have sought the Lord our God we have sought him and he hath given us rest on every side so they built and prospered Now in regard many persons are wont to neglect seeking God in such undertakings as these it will not be amiss if I add two or three considerations to shew those that are purposed to set upon building how much it is their concernment to give themselves unto Prayer whilst they are carrying on this work 1. It is the will of God that in all our undertakings we should seek unto him by Prayer Phil. 4.6 In every thing by Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God Prov. 3.6 In all thy wayes acknowledge him and the more difficult and weighty any undertaking is the more need there is of Prayer 2. Such a work as bulding cannot be carryed on but by the help of God and how should they expect Gods help that do not seek it Psal 127.1 Except the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it except the Lord keep the City the watchman waketh but in vain When the Lord had promised that their waste and desolate Cities should be rebuilded he tells them he did expect to be sought to that he might do this for them Ezek. 36.33,37 The wasts shall be builded Thus saith the Lord God I will yet for this be enquired of by the House of Israel to do it for them 3. The Servants of God have been wont to carry on this work of building as well as their other works by Prayer Psal 51.18 Build thou the walls of Jerusalem When Nehemiah set upon building Jerusalem he went through very great difficulties in carrying on that work yet by Prayer he overcome them all and prosperously effected what he went about Neh. 4.9 Nevertheless we made our Prayer unto God Neh. 6.9,15 O God strengthen my hands So the wall was finished 4. God hath oft-times visibly appeared against those persons and their undertakings that have gone upon great works without seeking help and direction from God by blasting and confounding them in their undertakings Mal. 1.4 Whereas Edom saith We are impoverished but we will return and build desolate places thus saith the Lord of Hosts they shall build but I will throw down When the Inhabitants of Samaria said in the pride and stoutness of their hearts The bricks are fallen down but we will build with hewen Stones the Sycamores are cut down but we will change them into Cedars and did not seek the Lord Did they prosper No But God threatned to cut them off branch and rush head and tail in one day Isa 9.9,10,13,14 2. If you would carry on this work of building successfully go about it in faith believing that God will be with you therein and rest upon him for his help and assistance Neh. 2.20 The God of Heaven he will prosper us therefore we his servants will arise and build To believe and rely on the
day and after his sickness he composed a Song or Psalm to set forth Gods praise and resolved to sing this Song in the house of God all the dayes of his life Isa 38.9,20 The writing of Hezekiah King of Judah when he had been sick and was recovered of his sickness then follows the Song it self to the 20. verse where he expresseth his resolution by way of gratitude to sing this Song all the dayes of his life The Lord was ready to save me therefore we will sing my Song to the stringed Instruments all the dayes of our life in the house of the Lord. Yet notwithstanding all this Hezekiah is taxed with not returning according to the benefit done unto him 6. They whose Houses and Estates have been preserved from this dreadful Fire may know what they ought to return to God for this great deliverance by observing what the Servants of God have returned unto the Lord at such times as God hath vouchsafed unto them any eminent deliverances though it were not a deliverance from Fire but from some other evil and also by considering what special duties God calleth for in his holy Word from such as have escaped those judgments that have fallen upon other men or have received any other signal mercy from the Lord. These things being premised I shall now answer the third Question SECT 1. 1. Render to God your love for his great mercy in preserving your houses and substance from being consumed by this Fire God deserves to be loved by all those whom he preserveth from any evils Ps 31.23 O love the Lord all ye his Saints for the Lord preserveth the faithful When David was in a wonderful manner delivered from the hands of his enemies he resolves with himself that he would love God with an entire and an endeared love for the deliverances he had received from him Psal 18. ver 1. compared with the title of the Psalm A Psalm of David the Servant of the Lord who spake unto the Lord the words of this Song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul and he said I will love the Lord my strength The Hebrew word that is used in this place signifieth more then barely to love it notes an inward entire cordial love it is translated by Junius and also by Piscator Exintimis visceribus diligam te And at another time when David was communing with his own heart about what return he should make to God for delivering him from the gates of death upon his crying to him Ps 116.3,4,12 he determins to give God his love verse 1. I love the Lord because he heard my voice and my supplications That thing which a Christian prizeth most and desireth of God above all other things is his love Cant. 1.2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for thy love is better than wine Psal 63.3 Thy loving kindness is better than life So it is with God that which he prizeth most from us and that which he desireth above all other things is that we should give him our love Deut. 10.12 And now Israel what doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear the Lord thy God to walk in all his wayes and to love him and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul Cant. 4.10 How fair is thy love my Sister my Spouse how much better is thy love than wine and the smell of thine oyntment than all spices If any ask which way shall we express our love to God for this great deliverance I answer 1. By hating and abhorring all evil and endeavouring to root out all manner of sin both from your selves and your families Psal 97.10 Ye that love the Lord hate evil Sin is an abominable thing in the sight of God and therefore he entreateth us that if we love him we would not do that which his soul hateth Jer. 44.4 Oh do not this abominable thing that I hate 2. Express your love to God by being careful to keep his Commandments John 14.15 If ye love me keep my Commandments 2 John 6. This is love that we walk after his Commandments God accounted obedience of his Commandments a truer token of love than the offering of a multitude of sacrifices in those times when sacrifices were in use 1 Sam. 15.22 Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord Behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of Rams 3. Express your love to God by doing all the service you can for his Saints and Servants You cannot be any wayes beneficial to God but you may be to his people Psal 16.2,3 My goodness extendeth not to thee but to the Saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight And what you do for them the Lord will account of it as done unto himself Math. 25.40 Verily I say unto you inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me Three times our Lord Jesus calls upon Peter to express his love to him by doing good to his members Joh. 21.15,16,17 Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon son of Jonas lovest thou me more than these He saith unto him yea Lord thou knowest that I love thee He saith unto him Feed my Lambs He saith unto him the second time Lovest thou me He saith unto him yea Lord He saith unto him Feed my Sheep He saith unto him the third time Lovest thou me Feed my Sheep SECT 2. 2. They that have sustained little or no loss by this dreadful fire wherein so many thousands of persons and families have suffered very deeply have great cause to give thanks unto God for sparing and delivering their substance and their houses from this devouring Fire The Prophet Isaiah having mentioned altime of great desolation wherein a little remnant should escape telleth us what this remnant should render unto the Lord Isa 24.13,14 When thus it shall be in the midst of the Land among the people there shall be as the shaking of an Olive Tree and as the gleaning Grapes when the vintage is done they shall lift up their voice they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord Four times in one Psalm doth the Holy Ghost call upon the children of men to praise the Lord for delivering them out of their distresses Psal 107.8,15,21,31 O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men When David was delivered from the hands of violent men he was much affected with the mercy of God and determines to give God hearty thanks for it Psal 18.48,49 Thou hast delivered me from the violent man therefore will I give thanks unto thee O Lord among the Heathen and sing praise unto thy Name To be delivered from the violence
of any way how I should do to live answered six wayes 176 to 179 Oject 2. I am shiftless and friendless and therefore I shall not be able to live now my Estate is gone and my Calling faileth answered 179 to 181. Object 3. I cannot work therefore I am afraid I shall perish by want answered 181 182 Object 4. I begin to be in want already I and my family are pinched with hunger and I am afraid we shall be starved answered 183 to 186 How such as are in danger or under fear of being starved to death may be encouraged to trust in God to relieve them answered 186. to 192 Object I am afraid my unbelief will hinder God from taking care of me answered 192 193 Sect. 11. Be not dismayed if God bring you into great straits 193 194 How they that are in such great straits that they know not what to do may be encouraged to trust in God answered 194 to 198 Though we are brought into our straits by our sins this should not hinder us from trusting in God 198 199 Sect. 13. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation where several temptations are instanced in that persons under great afflictions had need to watch against 200 to 251 1. Tempt Satan is wont to tempt such as are under great afflictions to have hard thoughts of God and of his wayes 200 201 How to keep up good thoughts of God in our greatest afflictions answered in 6 particulars 201 to 205 How to keep up good thoughts of the wayes of God in our greatest afflictions answered 206 207 2. Tempt Satan is wont to tempt such as are in great afflictions to forsake God 207 How a man may be kept from forsaking God when he is under affliction answered 207 to 213 3. Tempt Satan often tempts such as are in affliction to change their Religion 213 214 Eight Arguments to perswade us not to forsake the Protestant Religion because of Afflictions that we may meet with for adhering to it 214 215. 4. Tempt Satan is wont to tempt persons under great afflictions to self-murther 219 220 How such as are tempted to self-murther upon the account of their sins or their afflictions may overcome this temptation 220 to 227 Five Arguments to prove that self-murther is a damnable sin 220 221 Three wayes of resisting Satan 222 223 Three encouragements for tempted Souls to flee to Christ 223 224 Pleas for self-murther answered 1. Plea My troubles are so great that I am not able to bear them answered 3 wayes 227 228 2. Plea I have lost or at least I am likely to lose my reputation and I had better dye than be slighted and fall under disgrace 229 230 3. Plea I shall come to want or be driven to beg or live upon and be a burden to others answered 230 to 233 Considerations to perswade such as are brought from an high condition to live upon Alms and beg their bread to comply with this condition 231 232 4. Plea My sins are greater then can be forgiven and are such an heavy burden that I cannot bear them answered 233 234 The case of such as are ready to despair of the pardon of their sins because they cannot repent consisidered 235 236 5. Plea I have committed a shameful sin which if it come to lighe I shall be weary of my life 236 237 6. Plea I am tempted to steal to kill my Children and to commit other foul sins and I had better make away my self then fall into any scandalous sin answered 237 238 7. Plea God hath cast me off and I am sure to go to Hell when I dye yea I feel the beginnings of Hell already and the longer I live here the more I shall encrease my torments in the other world answered 5 wayes 239 240 241. 8. Plea I will confess my sins and repent before I murther my self and if I do so I hope I may go to heaven when I dye answered 241 Four propositions concerning self-murther which conduce much to the helping of the tempted to withstand this temptation 242 to 248 Five Arguments to prove there is hope of salvation for a man as long as he liveth though his case seem very desperate 244 to 247 5. Tempt In time of distress Satan is wont to tempt us to use sinful and indirect means to help our selves 248 249 Three Argument to disswade such as have lost their Estates from using unrighteous caurses to help themselves 249 250 Sect. 13. Temporal losses should put us upon making sure of spiritual and eternal blessings 251 252 Sect. 14. God is to be sought unto to make up our losses 252 Four motives to such as have lost their Estates to seek them of God 253 254 What is the best and surest way to get riches answered in 10 particulars 254 255 256 Sect. 15. We should get our losses made up in better blessings 256 How to get our losses made up in better blessings 257 258 Sect. 16. They that have lost their Houses and Estates should make sure of a better house and better substance in heaven 259 How to make sure of an house in heaven 260 261 262 Sect. 17. This affliction should be a warning to prepare for other afflictions 262 263 Sect. 18. They that have been sufferers by this Fire should comfort and encourage themselves in God 264 Five grounds of comfort and encouragement to the servants of God that have suffered great losses by the late Fire 265 to 370 Great calamities are often followed with great mercies 270 to 274 Sect. 19. Such as purpose to build should so carry on the work of building as to prosper in it 274 How to prosper in Building answered 274 to 292 Four reasons why such as set upon building should give themselves unto prayer 275 276 Three encouragements to set upon the work of Building in Faith 277 to 282 Building of desolate Cities is a good work proved by several arguments 277 278 Several promises to encourage Building 280 281 How we may be built up a spiritual house unto the Lord answered in 6 particulars 288 to 291 Quest 3. What shall they render unto the Lord for his mercy whose Houses and Goods were preserved from being consumed by the late dreadful Fire page 293 Several propositions premised in order to the answering of this question 293 to 296 Sect. 1. They must render to God their love 297 How to express our love to God answered three wayes 298 Sect. 2. They must render praise to God 299 300 Two motives to praise God for sparing us from this Fire 301 302 Sect. 3. Gods mercies should lead us to repentance 302 303 Three reasons why Gods mercies should lead us to repentance 304 305 Sect. 4. We must not judge them to be the greatest sinners that are the greatest sufferers 305 Four reasons against judging of mens sins by their sufferings 306 Sect. 5. They that have escaped this Fire should put on bowels of Compassion towards
ask and entreat several things of you he entreats you to give him your heart Prov. 23.26 My son give me thine heart He beseecheth and prayeth you to be reconciled to him 2 Cor. 5.20 We are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye reconciled to God He beseecheth you to leave off your sins Jer. 44.4 Oh do not this abominable thing which I hate He beseecheth you to present your bodies to him Rom. 12.1 Now if the great God condescend to ask several things of you why should you be so proud and high-minded as to chuse rather to starve or to murder your selves than to ask relief of your fellow creatures 4. Job was a burden to himself as he himself telleth us Job 7.20 I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men why hast thou set me as a mark against thee so that I am a burden to my self He was also by reason of his sores and other afflictions a burden to his friends so that neither his wife nor his servants nor his friends cared to come at him Job 19.14,15,16,17,19 My kinsfolk have failed and my familiar friends have forgotten me they that dwell in mine own house and my maidens count me a stranger I am an alien in their sight I called my servant and he gave me no answer I entreated him with my mouth my breath is strange to my wife though I entreated for the childrens sake of mine own body all my inward friends abhorred me and they whom I loved are turned against me Yet though Job was become a burden to himself and to all his friends he durst not put an end to his life but resolves Job 14.14 All the dayes of mine appointed time will I wait till my change come 5. If you destroy your selves and thereby provoke God to cast your souls into hell you will be in greater want there than ever man was upon the face of the earth for there is nothing good in hell there is nothing to please the eye or the ear or any of the senses there you shall be tormented with hunger and thirst for ever and shall not have so much as a drop of water to cool your tongue The rich man that fared deliciously every day though he begged hard for but one drop of water to cool his tongue he could not obtain it Luke 16.19,23,24,25,26 In your wants here you may have relief by going to God you may have comfort from the word but there is no relief to be had from God neither is there any comfort to be had from the word of God in hell Your wants here continue but a little while if you go on to serve God you shall shortly be in heaven where you shall want no good thing but if you destroy your selves God will cast you into hell where you shall suffer all sorts of wants in the utmost extremity to all eternity and therefore it is great folly for any man to destroy himself for fear of being brought to want Plea 4. My sins lie as a heavy burden upon me and they are greater then can be forgiven and I know not how to be eased of this heavy burden but by making away my self Answ 1. Say not thy sins are greater than can be forgiven for all sorts of sins are pardonable by vertue of the Blood of Christ 1 John 1.7 The Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin Mark 3.28 Verily I say unto you all sins shall be forgive unto the sons of men and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme And though it be true that the sin against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven the reason is not because the Blood of Christ is not of sufficient value to wash away that sin but because such persons as commit the sin against the Holy Ghost do not repent and believe in Jesus Christ but do despise and trample under foot the Blood of the Son of God 2. Self-murder will not lessen but encrease the number of your sins it will not take off the burden which is upon your consciences but will make your burden a thousand times heavier for if a man dye in his sins all his sins go down to hell with him and there will lye as so many mountains of lead pressing and loading his conscience to all eternity and the sence of sin which men shall have in hell will torment them a thousand times more than it doth in this life for then they shall know more of the evil of sin and more of the Majesty of that God against whom they have sinned than they do now Then they shall see more sins than they do now and feel more of Gods wrath for their sins here they have some few drops there they shall have full vials of wrath then they shall have certain knowledge that there is no possibility of obtaining the pardon of any one sin for ever Here though they may be under great fears yet there may be some hope of mercy at least as long as they live they are not under an impossibility of being pardoned 3. Though thou art under despair and ready to say there is no hope that God should ever pardon such a great sinner as I have been yet set upon the work of repentance and returning to God and God will pardon all your sins Jer. 3.22 Return ye back-sliding children and I will heal your back-slidings These persons to whom this promise is made had been exceeding great sinners as you may see ver 5. Behold thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest and were in a despairing condition chap. 2. v. 25. Thou saidst there is no hope Yet to these persons that had done evil things as they could and said there was no hope of mercy for them God promiseth if they would return he would not cause his anger to fall upon them ch 3. ver 12. but would pardon and forgive their sins ver 22. God also by the Prophet Isaiah promiseth pardon to the chiefest of sinners if they will but forsake their sins Isa 1.16,17,18 Wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well Come now and let us reason together though your sins be as searlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool Obj. It is true if I could repent then though my sins were never so great I know the Lord would pardon them but alas I cannot turn from my sins to God repentance is hid from mine eyes Answ Though you cannot repent of your self yet you should not despair for God hath exalted his his Son Jesus Christ to give you repentance Acts 5.31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins It may be you will reply Christ is
fornication but for the Lord Prov. 16.4 The Lord hath made all things for himself Rev. 4.11 Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created Now seeing our bodies and souls were created for Gods pleasure Is it not meet they should be yielded up unto God 2. The Lord Jesus gave himself both body and soul for us He yielded his body to be crucified for us which was both a shameful and a painful death 1 Cor. 11.24 This is my body which was broken for you 1 Pet. 2.24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the Tree that we being dead unto sin should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed Isa 50.6 I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked of the hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting Why should we refuse to give our bodies to be burned imprisoned banished tortured or to suffer any affliction for the sake of Christ seeing he gave his body to suffer such a shameful and painful death for us The Lord Jesus did not only give his body but his soul also an offering for our sins Isa 53.10 It pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed Shall we stick at giving our souls to Christ when he did not stick at making his soul an offering for our sins 3. It will be much for the advantage both of our bodies and souls to give them unto God for he will sanctifie them and make them his Temple and come and dwell in them 1 Cor. 3.16 Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you 2 Cor. 6.16 Ye are the Temple of the living God as God hath said I will dwell in them and walk in them Now who are they to whom the Apostle speaks when he saith Ye are the Temple of the living God c. They were such as had given themselves to God as you may see Chap. 8.5 But first gave their own selves to the Lord What greater honour or happiness are our souls and bodies capable of whilst they are in this world than to become Temples of the living God But besides this if we give our bodies and souls unto God he will glorifie both our bodies and souls in an unexpressible manner in the Kingdom of Heaven to all eternity The Sun is a glorious creature it dazleth our eyes to behold it God will give his Saints in Heaven a glory equal to the brightness of the Sun Matth. 13.43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father yea they shall excel the Sun in glory for they shall be equal to the Angels and the Angels are far more glorious ceatures than the Sun Luk. 20.36 Neither can they dye any more for they are equal unto the Angels and are the Children of God being the Children of the Resurrection yea they shall be made like to Christ their bodies shall be made like to his glorious body Phil. 3.21 Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body and their souls shall be made like to his glorious soul 1 Joh. 3.2 We shall be like him for we shall see him as he is We that is not our bodies only or our souls only but our persons both body and soul shall be like him SECT 10. 10. Render to God the Sacrifices of righteousness When we have received any eminent mercy from God he expects that we should offer up unto him the sacrifice of a righteous and godly life which will please him better than all the Sacrifices that were offered up under the Law Psal 4.5 Offer the Sacrifices of Righteousness Psal 51.17,19 The Sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise Then shalt thou be pleased with the Sacrifices of righteousness When David was wonderfully delivered from the snares of death he determines to offer this Sacrifice to God namely to walk humbly and holily before God all the dayes of his life Psal 116.6,7,8 I was brought low and he helped me Thou hast delivered my soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling Then see what he renders to God for this mercy I will walk before the Lord in the Land of the living I have touched upon this head before and therefore I shall not enlarge farther upon it only I shall add two Scriptures which do imply that it is our duty after we have received any eminent deliverances to labour after a more eminent degree of holiness than we had before and are also promises that God will sanctifie our deliverances for the making of us more holy Obad. 17. Upon mount Zion shall be deliverance and there shall be holiness Isa 4.2,3 In that day shall the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the Earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem In the former Chapter the Prophet had foretold the ruine of Jerusalem and the fall of Judah Isa 2.8 and here he foretells that a little remnant should escape and promiseth that Gods judgments on others and his mercy in delivering them should conduce much to the promoting of their holiness and cause them to prize highly the Lord Jesus who is understood by the Branch of the Lord Zach. 3.8 by whose merits and mediation they should obtain their deliverance SECT 11. 11. Let this deliverance cause you to seek after and to trust in God for farther mercies and deliverances when you are brought into straits This use God servants have been wont to make of their deliverances as you may see by these instances Judg. 15.18 And he was sore a thirst and called on the Lord and said Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant and now shall I die for thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised 1 Sam. 17.37 David said moreover The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the Lion and out of the paw of the Bear he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine 2 Cor. 1.10 Who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver in him we trust that he will yet deliver us This God expects that when he hath shielded us from or helped us out of one trouble we should trust him when we come into another Psal 115.9 O Israel trust thou in the Lord he is their help and their shield Psal 61.3,4 Thou hast been a shelter for me and a strong Tower from the Enemy I will