excellently handled already by so many of our brave Worthies See Mr. Baxters Saints Rest and R. A. his Vindicia Pietatis XII DIRECTION If you would be acquainted with God resolvedly and freely given up your self to him and enter into a most solemn Covenant with him And here I shall make bold with that Reverend Author which R. A. doth mention in his Vindicia Pietatis and present you again with that excellent Form with the preparatories to it which I have lately met with in the forementioned Author After your most serious addresses to God and after a deliberate consideration of the terms of this Covenant and after a thorow search of your own heart whether you either have already or can now freely make such a closure with God in Christ as you have been exhorted to And when you have composed your spirits into the most serious frame possible suitable to a transaction of so high a nature Lay hold upon the Covenant and reply upon his promise of giving grace and strength whereby you may be enabled to perform your promise Resolve in the next place to be faithful having engaged your hearts and opened your mouths and subscribed with your hands to the Lord resolve in his strength never to go back And being thus prepared and some convenient time being set apart for the purpose set upon the work in the most solemn manner possible as if the Lord were visibly present before your eyes fall down on your knees and spreading forth your hands towards Heaven open your hearts to the Lord in these or the like words O most dreadful God for the Passion of thy Son I beseech thee accept of thy poor Prodigal now prostrating himself at thy door I have fallen from thee by mine Iniquity and am by Nature a Son of Death and a thousand fold more the Child of Hell by my Wicked Practise but of thine infinite Grace thou hast promised Mercy to me in Christ if I will but turn to thee with all my Heart Therefore upon the Call of the Gospel I am now come in and throwing down my Weapons submit my self to thy mercy And because thou requirest as the Condition of my Peace with thee that I should put away mine Idols and be at defiance with all thine Enemies which I acknowledge I have wickedly sided with against thee I here from the bottome of mine Heart renounce them all freely covenanting with thee not to allow my self in any known Sin but conscientiously to use all the means that I know thou hast prescribed for the Death and utter Destruction of all my Corruptions And whereas I have formerly inordinately and Idolatriously let out my Affections upon the World I do here resign my heart to thee that madest it Humbly protesting before thy glorious Majesty that it is the firm Resolution of my Heart and that I do unfeignedly desire grace from thee that when thou shalt call me hereunto I may practice this my Resolution through thy Assistance to forsake all that is dear unto me in this World rather than to turn from thee to the ways of sin And that I will watch against all its Temptations whether of Prosperity or Adversity lest they should withdraw my Heart from thee beseeching thee also to help me against the Temptations of Satan to whose suggestions I resolve by thy Grace never to yield my self a Servant And because mine own Righteousness is but menstruous Rags I renounce all Confidence therein and acknowledge that I am of my self a hopeless helpless undone Creature without righteousness or strength And for as much as thou hast of thy bottomless Mercy offered most graciously to me wretched sinner to be again my God through Christ if I would accept of thee I call Heaven and Earth to record this day that I do here solemnly avouch thee for the Lord my God and with all possible Veneration bowing the Neck of my Soul under the Feet of thy most Sacred Majesty I do here take thee the Lord Jehovah Father Son and Holy Ghost for my Portion and chief good and do give up my self Body and Soul for thy Servant promising and vowing to serve thee in holiness and righteousness all the dayes of my life And since thou hast appointed the Lord Jesus Christ the only means of coming unto thee I do here upon the bended Knees of my Soul accept of him as the only new and living way by which sinners may have access to thee and do here solemnly joyn my self in a Marriage Covenant to him O blessed Jesus I come to thee hungry and hardly bestead poor and wretched and miserable and blind and naked a most loathsome polluted wretch a guilty condemned Malefactor unworthy for ever to wash the feet of the Servants of my Lord much more to be solemnly Married to the King of Glory But since such is thine unparall'd Love I do here with all my power accept thee for my Head and Husband for better for worse for richer for poor for all times and conditions to Love and Honour and Obey thee before all others and this to the Death I embrace thee in all thy Offices I renounce mine own worthiness and do here avow thee to be the Lord my righteousness I renounce mine own wisdom and do here take thee for mine only Guide I renounce mine own will and take the will for my Law And since thou hast told me that I must suffer if I will reign I do here covenant with thee to take my Lot as it falls with thee and by thy Grace assisting to run all hazards with thee verily supposing that neither life nor death shall part between thee and me And because thou hast been pleased to give me thy Holy Law as the rule of my life and the way in which I should walk to thy Kingdom I do here willingly put my Neck under thy Yoke and set my shoulders to thy Burden and subscribing to all thy Laws as Holy Just and Good I solemnly take them as the rule of my Words Thoughts and Actions Promising that though my flesh contradict and rebel yet I will endeavour to order and govern my whole life according to thy direction and will not allow my self in the neglect of any thing that I know to be my duty Only because through the frailty of my flesh I am subject to many failings I am bold humbly to protest that unhallowed miscarriages contrary to the setled bent and resolution of my heart shall not make void this Covenant for so thou hast said Now Almighty God searcher of hearts thou knowest that I make this Covenant with thee this day without any known guile or reservation beseeching thee that if thou espiest any flaw or falshood herein thou wouldest discover it to me and help me to do it a right And now glory be to thee O God the Father whom I shall be bold from this day forward to look upon thee as my God and Father That ever thou shouldest
live Wherefore else is it that we are so straightly commanded as we will answer the neglect upon our peril before God at that terrible day that we preach the World in season and out of season To what purpose should Paul expose himself to so many hazards both by Sea and Land Why should he teach this Doctrine of Reconciliation night and day with tears Doth he not tell you that he did all this by Divine Dispensation and that it was as much as his Soul was worth to wave this work And doth not all this speak his willingness to be friends again with man Could not God have sent Legions of Angels with flaming swords in their hands when he sent his Son and thousands of Prophets Apostles Ministers and Teachers might he not have proclaimed war against them for ever when he followed them with the Embassadors of peace If he had had no thoughts of Agreement with them could he not have spoken to them in thunder and lightning with fire and brimstone as well as in the still voyce of the Gospel He could if he had pleased have made them to have known the breach of his Covenant by giving them up to the will of their cruel enemies God could as easily have cut off a whole world of us as we can crush a moth and easier too But he is willing to shew forth the riches of his patience and goodness that thereby sinners might be brought to Repentance How doth God further express his willingness to receive returning sinners by engaging them by many temporal favours Who preserved that tender creature in the Womb and brought it out of those dark Chambers into light Who kept that helpless infant after it was in the world Whose flax and wool do we wear upon our backs To whom is it that we are beholding for every crumb we eat and every drop we drink Who spreads our table for us and makes our cups to overflow Who brought us from the brink of the grave when we had received the sentence from our Doctor and our Disease And what is the Language of all these mercies but return O back-sliding Sinner for in me is thy help found Love delight in and be acquainted with him from whom thou hast received so many kindnesses If thou wouldest accept of him for thy Lord Husband and Friend who hath sent thee these tokens thou shalt have other favours then these be Is not this the meaning of all the common mercies that we daily receive from him Why was not thy breath stopt with an Oath in thy mouth Why is it that so many thousands that were born since thy self are gone to their eternal state when thou art still standing What hast thou done to engage God more then others that Worms should not be feeding on thee when thou art feeding upon the fat and sweet What is the English of all this what are all these droves of mercies which God sends to thee but to cool thy enmity against him and to make thee who art marching out in thy warlike furniture to meet him with tears of joy and friendly embraces Is not Love the Giver written upon all his tokens What means his frequent visiting of thee but desire of acquaintance with thee Had he had no desire at all to know you and to be known of you do you think he would have call'd so oft and so kindly at your door would he have stood knocking with so much patience and have spoke to you so lovingly if he desired still to be a stranger to you Is this like one that desires your ruine Did God never plead with thee by his Ministers and urge the same Argument that I do now Did you never hear such kind of expostulations as these Why wilt thou go on to despise thy God and to refuse his love what reason hast thou to harbour such hard thoughts of him doth he deserve such unkindness at your hands How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity why will ye make light of that you can't possibly overvalue the favour of God and acquaintance with thy maker How oft have you grieved his Spirit by your unworthy contempts how many times have you given him cause to complain of your unhandsome usage when he in very pity and compassion came to visit you He hath reason to say now as well as of old Hear O Heavens and give ear O Earth for I have nourished and brought up Children and they have Rebelled against me Isa 1.2 Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise is not he thy Father that bought thee hath he not made thee and established thee Deut. 32.6 O that they were wise And be instructed O Jerusalem least my Soul depart from thee Jer. 6.8 Is not this the voyce of mercy have not these been Expostulations of the mighty God with his Rebellious Creatures and yet how do they stand it out all this while as if God were like to get so much by their acquaintance Return O foolish Sinner if thou makest any thing of Salvation and Damnation if thou valuest everlasting glory if thou thinkest the commands threatnings and promises of the Almighty to be minded come away and make no delay O why wilt thou go on thus madly to undo thy self come away poor Soul for all this it is not yet quite too late thy glass is not yet quite run thy Soul is not yet fully fixed in its unchangeable state Once more I make such an offer to thee as I am sure none but a mad man will refuse such an offer as none of the Kings and Lords of the world can make The great and mighty Monarch of Heaven tenders thee an Alliance with himself he sees how far thou art spent how poor and low thou hast brought thy self by a dangerous and long war against thy maker he foresees what a condition thou wilt be in after a few more merry hours except thou repent and turn Wherefore in compassion to thy precious soul he hath commanded us to follow thee and not to let thee be at quiet till thou hast given us a promise that thou wilt return and humble thy self to thy God and what shall we still lose our labour shall all this come to nothing O prodigy of unkindness O wonder of patience thou hast slighted the friendship of thy God thou hast set light by Christ and undervalued Heaven and Eternity for ten twenty thirty years already and yet the Lord send us once more in his name to ask you whether you are willing to have God for your Friend God hath not yet said Cut him down bind him hand and soot and cast him into that lake that burns for ever Bring those mine enemies that would not that I should reign over them and slay them before my face God hath not yet spake that dreadful word Depart O what is it thou stayest for What is it that makes this business to hang so long What Lover is it
not sleep to thine eyes or slumber to thine eye-lids but deliver thy self from the hand of the hunter and as a bird from the hand of the fowler Go to the Ant thou sluggard Consider her ways and be wise which having no guide over-seer or ruler provideth her meat in the Summer and gathereth her meat in the Harvest How long wilt thou sleep O sluggard When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep Yet a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth and thy want as an armed man and will you now labour to get acquaintance with God as you would to get food for your body will you endeavour as much to make sure of his love as you would do to make sure of a pardon in case of the forfeiture of your life If so we have some hopes the work may have some considerable issue IX DIRECTION If you would be acquainted with God be much in expostulating the case with God and in urging those arguments which the Scripture doth afford you in such a case Take with you words and come unto the Lord and spread your requests before him and say O Lord thou hast sent thy servant the Ministers and hast invited me to come unto thee and thou offeredst peace and reconciliation and to be acquainted with me O God I desire from my soul to come upon thy call and would fain be acquainted with thee I see myself in an undone state while I am a stranger to thee but O Lord I have a cursed base heart that keeps me back from thee and I can't tell what in the world to do O Lord I beseech thee help thy poor Creature to come unto thee lead me by the hand let thy goodness and love constrain me conquer me by thy kindness come Lord into my soul and let me see thy face look upon thee till I am in love with thee O why art thou as a stranger to me wilt thou forsake me for ever shall I be one of those thine enemies which shall be slain before thy face shall I be one of those that shall dwell with everlasting burnings O Lord pity pity pity for Christ his sake a poor creature that would fain love thee be acquainted with thee I am convinced that I must be damned without thee come to thee of my self I cannot O draw me O carry me O compel me constrain me make me willing in the day of thy power I cannot get loose my heart is too hard for me my lasts are too strong for me my temptations are too many for me to conquer of my self O Lord help me Turn me and I shall be turned Pluck my feet out of the snare or I shall be utterly destroyed for ever Forgive mine iniquity make me a clean heart make me thy servant Tell God that thou hast heard of his goodness and mercy and that the King of Israel is a merciful King and that it is his nature to pitty Say to him O I am a poor undone creature and wilt thou send me away without mercy will the God of Grace send me away without Grace hast thou not called me O God thy servants tell me so O Lord speak and give me ears to hear O Lord I am come in upon thy merciful Proclamation and I desire to lay my self at thy feet mercy Lord mercy upon what terms thou pleasest Didst thou not say in thy Word Ho every one that thirsteth come and buy Wine and Milk without Money and without price Have not thy servants pleaded with me to come and hast thou not sent for me O! a blessing a blessing for me even for me O my father Hast thou not a blessing for me shall I be sent away as I came O Lord I come at thy word Do not say unto me Be gone out of my sight I cannot go I will not go whither shall I go from thee For thou hast the words of Eternal Life Though I cannot say Be just to me a Saint yet I will say Be merciful to me a sinner You may read more in R. A. his first part of his Vindiciae Pietatis pag. 232. the whole Treatise is excellent Plead the blood of Christ you may safely say that if there be not enough in Christ to save you you do not desire Salvation for in him there is all fulness You may plead your own absolute necessity Tell God that if ever poor creature in the world had need of mercy you have tell him that you are resolved not to be content without his love You may plead his promise in which he hath said That he will take away the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh that he will put his fear in our hearts write his laws in our inward parts You may plead also the power of God whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself and many such like arguments you may find in many places in the Scripture But because I have touched upon this before I shall pass this by X. DIRECTION If you would be acquainted with God look after it speedily defer not a moment your enemy is marching on apace you may be surprized your soul is hasting upon it's Eternal state your glass is almost run there are but a few sands behind therefore seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near Ere long it will be too late wherefore what thou dost do quickly What is the voyce both of Scripture and Providence Doth not the Word of God say Now and commend the present time above all Acquaint now thy self with him Remember now thy Creatour Turn now unto the Lord. Let a poor Heathen Epict. En. c. 75. shame you into greater speed in this necessary work I shall translate his words into English How long saith he will you defer the looking after the best things How long will you abuse your reason Have you not heard such Precepts which you ought to agree to and you seemed very well to like of What kind of Teacher is it that you stay for For whose coming do you defer before you will mend and turn You are come now to years of discretion if I should say you were not you would be angry if you will neglect and delay and add one delay to another if you will add one put off to another and make one resolution and purpose after another and set one day after another in which you will think of these things consider that all this will do you no good for all your resolutions and promises for all that I see you are like to die a common man therefore now live as a perfect growing man and follow that which is most excellent unalterably If any thing of difficulty intervene remember that now is the time for you to shew what respect you have for your God and your soul Remember the goal is not
case hadst thou been in had God but done by thee as thou hast by him Acquaintance with God! methinks sinful man should stand and wonder at such a word methinks he should be even surprized with an extasie of admiration and say and will God indeed be acquainted with such a Worm such a dead Dog such a Rebel as I Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou shouldest make such an offer to him One would think thou shouldest no more dispute the matter then Esther did when that great Monarch made her his Queen Were it but in sensible things that nothing near such an offer were made which is impossible man would think the very questioning in such a case a strange folly One would think that every one of Gods enemies that have been in open Rebellion against him and are utterly unable to make their part good against him when they hear of such tearms of mercy from their Prince who hath all their lives in their hand should rejoyce at this news and say How beautiful are the feet of them which bring such tidings How did Benhadad look when instead of a Halter he had a Coach When instead of Rebel he heard Brother Whatever we may think of these things David thought it high time for him to bid such a Messenger welcome and to open his heart for the receiving his God Hear what he saith to his own heart and others Psal 24. Lift up your heads O ye gates and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors that tht king of glory may come in And because the door of mens hearts is lock'd and barr'd and bolted and men are in a deep sleep will not hear the knocking that is at the gate though it be loud though it be a King therefore David knocks again Lift up your heads O ye gates and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors Why what haste saith the sinner What haste Why here 's the King at your Gates and that not an ordinary King neither he is a glorious King that will honour you so far if you open quickly as to lodge within to take up his abode in your house to dwell with you but the soul for all this doth not yet open but stands still questioning as if it were an enemy rather then a friend that stood there and ask who is this King of glory Who he answers again It is the Lord of hosts he that if you will not open quickly and thankfully can easily pull your house down about your ears He is the Lord of Hosts that King who hath a mighty Army always at his command who stand ready for their Commission and then you should soon know who it is you might have had for your friend Lift up therefore your heads O ye gates open quickly ye that had rather have God for your friend then for your enemy O why should not the soul of every sinner cry out Lord the Door is locked and thou hast the key I have been trying what I can do but the Wards are so rusty that I cannot possibly turn the Key but Lord throw the Door off the Hinges any thing in the world so thou wilt but come in and dwell here Come O mighty God break through Doors of Iron and Bars of Brass and make way for thy self by thy love and power Come Lord and make thy self welcome all that I have is at thy service O fit my soul to entertain thee But where is the sinner that is in this note How seldom do poor Creatures desire Gods company or bewail his absence Where almost are the men and women to be found that do in good earnest long to be acquainted with God Men are naturally strangers to God and it is a wonderful difficult thing to perswade men to enter into so much as a serious deliberate consideration of these things Though it be so infinitly for their interest though the God that made them out of pity to their souls desires it though he send his Embassadors in his name to beseech them to be reconciled unto God against whom they have been in open arms though in infinite mercy he perswade them to lay down their weapons and promise them Free and General Pardon and to receive them into Favour and to forget and forgive yet where is the sinner almost to be found that with any thankfulness doth close with these tenders Now it being a business of such infinite concernment and it being the very work and business of a Minister of Christ to bring God and man into union to get man acquainted with God I shall in the next place labour to inforce this Exhortation upon the hearts of sinners and do what I can possible to prevail with them that are as yet strangers to get acquainted with God that they may have peace and that thereby good might come unto them EXHORTATION Once more poor sinners That God which can in a moment stop thy breath and send thee into Hell doth offer to be friends with thee If thou wilt come upon his invitation well and good thou art a happy man for ever if not thou wilt rue the day that ever thou wert born yet through mercy the matter is not gone so far but that thou mayest if you will now at last in good earnest humble thy self to him be received into favour Behold a Pardon Mercy and Grace stand astonished O ye Heavens at this infinite condescention wonder O ye Angels and pry into this kindness Was there ever such condescention love and goodness heard of If thou didst but understand O stupid sinner what an offer is made to thee thou couldest not but adore that goodness that can pardon and forget such offences and receive such a Creature into favour thou wouldest also cry out with as great admiration as he did what manner of love you would think it a mercy not to be paralell'd a kindness never to be forgotten a proposal by no means to be refused Now that I may if possible prevail with some that are yet afar off to come near I shall enforce this Exhortation with many powerful Motives the least of which were men but well in their wits as to Spiritual matters were the world not to a wonder fools in the great affairs of their souls and eternity might easily prevail O that I might prevail O that some might be perswaded O that God would put life and power into these words that they might prove effectual to the intended ends O that some poor rebellious sinners might be made to close with the most advantagious offers that ever were or could be made to Creatures in our condition MOTIVES The first Head of Motives that I shall insist upon to inforce this Exhortation shall be taken from the nature of the Person that I would have you acquainted with Consider well what kind of friend you are like to have of him and if after you have well weighed what I
and Earth and the dangerous hazzards that it did run every moment upon that account but the Soul thought very well of its own state it slattered it self in its own in-iniquity the man thinks he is rich and increased in goods and hath need of nothing but when he comes to look into his Purse to open his Treasury and to tell over all his Gold and Silver in the light why then he perceives a sad mistake all his Silver is drossie and the best Riches that he hath is but dung When the light comes in he sees the darkness of his Understanding the perverseness of his will the disorderliness of his Affections the distemper of the whole soul He before took himself for a beautiful creature but by his light this glass he sees his beauty is great deformity he beholds heaps of lusts crawling up and down which before lay undiscerned and then that man that reckoned himself so happy cries out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me what shall I do to be saved I am undone undone how shall I live where shall I dwell for ever Time was that the man admired what the Ministers ailed to Keep such a stir about sin but now he wonders that they are no more earnest in their preaching of it down It was a little while ago that he thought himself whole but now he feels himself sick to the very heart wounded sainting and ready to dye he made full account that he was pure but now he cries out unclean unclean it was not long since he said with indignation am I blind also but now he cries out and will not be silenced have mercy upon me Jesus thou Son of David and grant that I may receive my sight His language is much altered he can now say was ever such a sinner as I pardoned Will such a prodigal ever be received shall such foul offences as mine be forgiven if God should look upon me and give me a Christ and pitty me and cast his skirts over me while I lye in my blood if the Lord should look upon me it would be such a wonder that all that ever heard of it may justly admire Now the man which thought himself the best of Saints believes himself as bad as the worst of sinners When a man begins to be acquainted with God he begins also to know himself He that saw no need of washing by Christ would now have hands feet head and heart all washt He that thought himself sometimes far enough from Hell now begins to admire that he did not fall into it and although there be a sweet alteration in him for the better and Saints begin to delight very much in him yet he wonders that any one should see any thing in him that should cause any affection in them towards him much more to inflame their hearts in such vehement love to him if he hear of any reproaches that are cast upon him he is ready to say with that wise stoick Epist If he had known me better he would have spoke much worse of me If any praise him he judgeâ—h that it proceeds from their ignorance of his weakness rather then from any knowledge of his worth and if he hear any such language he is ready to tremble for fear of his own heart and cries out not unto me not unto me but unto his name be the praise yet not I but Christ which dwelleth in me Thus it is with one that begins to have some saving knowledge of God the nearer he comes to God the further he goes from himself the more he sees of him and his righteousness the less he sees of his own the more he is exalted the more he debateth himself like those four and twenty Elders he lays his Crown at the feet of God Thus it was with Job when God as I may so say stood at a greater distance from him he is ready to speak a little too highly he stands much upon his own righteousness he stifly justifieth himself but when the holy God comes a little nearer to him when he throws off that dark cloud with which he had mantled himself and when he caused that glorious brightness to break forth upon Job and made him to see a glance of his Holiness Wisdom and Justice then how is he even ashamed and confounded within himself that he should ever stand so much upon his ovvn justification Job 42.5 6. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth thee Wherefore I abbor my self and repent in dust and ashes When he comes to be better acquainted with God how strangely is his note changed and I might say when he was thus abased how speedily doth God raise him to a wonder A man may hear of God twenty years together and yet never abhor himself with dust and ashes never see any vileness that is in his nature never be brought off from his own righteousness never admire that he is kept out of hell O but when he comes to see God and to be acquainted with him how doth he cry out of himself as unworthy to breath in the air as deserving nothing but wrath then he hath not a word to say for the goodness of his own heart now he can say with astonishement O infinite patience O unmeasureable goodness O the dephts of Gods love He must be merciful indeed that can pardon such sins That must be goodness indeed that can be so to me That is love with a witness that can imbrace such a loathsome monster What was it that made Abraham call himself dust and ashes What made David to say he was a worm and no man What made Isaiah speak so debasingly of himself why these were the Friends of God they had visions of that holy One When is it that the people of God are most ingenuous in their confesions when do they most freely pour our their souls before God When is it that they most readily open their soars and desire that they should be searched but when this great Chyrurgion comes to their chamber those which before where whole are now sick full of plague soars head and heart sick dangerously sick and no whole part in them they can say more against themselves now then ever the Minister could they can aggravate their sins and lay loads upon themselves and they see themselves vile and even are ready to wonder that the earth did not open and swallow them up before this they admire that God should indure them so long and think it no small miracle that they were not crushed in the Egge that they were not cast from the darkness of the Womb to the darkness of Hell Now they can cry out of Original Sin and the indisposition of their souls to any thing that is good and inclination to that which is bad They say as well as David That they were born in sin and in iniquity did their mother conceive them they