our learning and recorded by the holy ghost to the end that wee may gather unto our selvs assurance of the same pardon for the same sins upon the same repentance and beleeving Are thy sins great his mercies are infinite hadst thou committed all the sins that ever were committed yet in comparison of Gods mercy they are less than a more in the Sun to all the world or a drop of water to the whole Ocean for the Sea though great yet may bee measured but God's mercy cannot bee circumscribed and hee both can and will 〈◊〉 easily forgive us the debt of ten thousand millions of pounds as one penny and assoon pardon the sins of a wicked Manasses aâ—… of a righteous Abraham if wee come unto him by unfaigned repentance and earnestly desire and implore his grace and mercy Rom. 5. 20. The Tenure of our salvation is not by a covenant of works but by a covenant of grace founded not on our worthinesâ—…s but on the free mercy â—…d good pleasure of God and therefore the Prophet well annexeth blessedness to the remission of sins Blessed is bee whose transgression is forgiven Psal. 32. 1. Yea the more miserable wretched and sinfull wee are the more fit objects wee are whereupon hee may exercise and shew the infinite riches of his bounty mercy virtue and all-sufficiency And this our spirituall Physitian can aswell and easily cure desperate diseases even the remediless Consumption the dead Apoplex and the filthy Lâ—…prosie of the soul as the smallest malady or least faintness Yea hee can aswell raise the dead as cure the sick and aswell of Stones as of Jews make Abrahams children Did hee not without the Sun at the Creation cause light to shine forth and without rain at the same time make the earth fruitfull why then should you give your self over where your Physitian doth not Besides what sin is there whereof wee can despair oâ—…â—…e remission when wee hear our Saviour pray for the forgiveness of his mâ—…rtherers and blasphemers And indeed despair is a sin which never knew Jesus It was a sweet saying of one at his death When mine iniquity is greater than thy mercy O God then will I fear and despair but that can never bee considering our sins bee the sins of men his mercy the mercy of an infinite God Yea his mercies are so great that among the thirteen properties of God mentioned Exod. 34. almost all of them appertain to his mercy whereas one onely concerns his might and onely two his justice Again shall it ever enter into our hearts to think that God gives us rules to keep and yet break them himsef Now his rule is this Though thy brother sin against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turn again to thee saying it repenteth mee thou shalt forgive him The son angers his father he doth not straight dis-inherit him but Gods love to his people exceeds a fathers love to his son Matth. 7. 11. and a mothers too Isa. 49. 1â—… I hear many menaces and threats for sin but I read as many promises of mercy and all they indefinite excluding none whose impenitency and infidelity excludeth not themselvs every sin deservs damnation but no sin shall condemn but the lying and continuing in it Wherefore if our clamorous conscience like some sharp fang'd officer arrests us at Gods suit let us put in bail two subsidue virtues Faith and Repentance and so stand the triall the Law is on our side the Law of grâ—…ce is with us and this Law is his that is our Advocate and he is our Advocate that is our Judge and hee is our Judge that is our Saviour even the head of our selvs Jesus Christ. For the first of these do but repent and God will pardon thee hee thy sins never so many and innumerable for multitude never so hainous for quality and magnitude Isa. 55. 7. Ezek. 18. 33. 17. Yea sins upon Repentance are so reâ—…itred as if they had never been committed I have put away thy transgressions as a cloud and thy sins as a mist Isa. 44. 22. and what by corruption hath been done by repentance is undone as the former examples and many other witness Come and let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow Isa. 1. 18. yea whiter for the Prophet David laying open his blood-guiltiness and his originall impurity useth these words Purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow Psal. 51. 7. And in reason did hee come to call sinners to repentance and shall he not shew mercy to the penitent Or who would nor cast his burthen upon him that doth desire to give ease As I live saith the Lord I would not the death of a sinner Ezek. 18. 32. and 33. 11. Section 5. Ojection Yea but I cannot Repent Answer In time of temtation a man is not a competent Judge in his own case In humane Laws there is a nullity held of words and actions extoâ—…ted and wrung from men by fear because in such cases a man is held not to bee a free-man 〈◊〉 to have power or command in some sort of himself A troubled soul 〈◊〉 like troubled waters wee can discern nothing clearly in it wherefore if thou canst lay aside prejudice and tell mee in cold blood how it fares with thee at other times though indeed thy words at present are enough to convince thee For first thou findest sin a burthen too heavy for thee to bear which thou didst not formerly what 's the reason are thy sins more and greater No but the contrary for though they appear more yet they are less for sin thé more it is seen and felt the more it is hated and thereupon is the less Motes are in a room before the Sun shines but they appear onely then Again secondly the very complaint of sin springing from a displeasure against it shews that there is somthing in thee opposite to sin viz. that thou art penitent in affection though not yet in action even as a child is rationall in power though not in act Yea more thou accusest and condemnest thy selfe for thy sins and by accusing our selvs wee prevent Satan by judging our selvs wee prevent God Neither was the Centurion ever so worthy as when hee thought himself most unworthy for all our worthiness is in a capable misery nor does God ever thinke well of him that thinkes so of himself But to let this passe Are not your failings your grief are they not besides your will are they not contrary to the current of your desires and the main bent of your resolutions and indeavours Dost thou determine to continue in the practice of any one sin Yea dost thou not make conscience of all Gods Commandements one aswell as another the first table aswell as the second and the second aswell as the first Matt. 5. 19. Dost thou
the Kingdoms thereof but when it came to the push he could not enter into a very Hog without asking him leave and having leave given him hee presently carryed the whole heard headlong into the Sea Why did hee not so to the man possessed no thanks to him hee had leave for the one not so for the other and therefore a whole Legion of them were not able to destroy one poor simple man Matth. 8. ver 31. 32. So that all our enemies are curbed and restrained by the divine providence of our heavenly Father Satan may bee his Executioner but God is the Judge and the Executioner cannot lay on a stroke more than the Judge appoints I confess Satan is so strong comparatively and withall so crafty and malicious that wee may with reverence and love wonder at the mercy of God in our delivery But this is our comfort first that Spirit as wee have shewn can do nothing without the God of Spirits Secondly wee have the Angells aid as the Prophet Elisha against that bloody King 2 King 6. 17. Lot against the Sodomites Gen. 19. 10. Jacob against the fear of Esau Gen. 32. ver 24. 28. Hezekiah against Senacherib Isa. 37. 36. and England against that invicible Navie of the Spaniards in Eighty eight True they appear not ordinarily what then no more do the evill Angels but the Word of God assures us it is so the Angel of the Lord pitcheth round about them that fear him and delivereth them Psal. 34. 7. And do but thou get spirituall eyes whereby thou mai'st see as with Moses the invisible God so the invisible Angels do but pray as Elisha for his servant that thine eyes may bee opened and then thou shalt see more with thee than against thee 2 King 6. 16. 17. Yea had wicked men their eyes opened as Baâ—…aam once had they would at every torn see an Angel stand in their way ready to resist what they go about as hee did for this is one of the noble imploiments of those glorious spiâ—…its to give a strong though invisible opposition to lewd enterprises Many a treacherous act have they hindred without the knowledge of the Traytor Yea O! God many are the dangers which wee see and fear innumerable those wee neither see nor fear Therefore to take away all attribution to our selvs even when wee know not thou do'st deliver us Now if it bee fearfull to think how great things evill spirits can do with permission it is comfortable to think how they can do nothing without permission for if God must give him leave hee will never give him leave to do any harm to his chosen bee will never give him leave to do the least hurt to our souls Now as by way of concession every greater includes the less hee that can lift a Talent can easily lift a Pound so by way of denyall every greater excludes the less If Satan himself cannot hurt â—…s much less his instruments weak men but for proof of this see also an instance or two that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without our heavenly Father and that without leave from him our enemies cannot diminish one hair of our heads wee have our Saviour's express testimony Matth. 10. 29. 30. Let the Powder-Traytors plot and contrive the â—…uine of our state never so cunningly and closey let them go on to the utmost as there wanted nothing but an actor to bring on that Catholick dooms-day yet before the match could bee brought to the Powder their artificiall fire-works were discovered their projection prodition deperdition all disclosed and seasonably returned on their own heads And the like of their invincible Navie And of Pope Alexander the sixth who prepared a feast for diverse Cardinalls and Senators purposing to poyson them but by the providence of God they escaped and hee alone was poysoned Let Jezabel fret her heart out and swear by her gods that Eliah shall die yet shee shall bee frustrate Eliah shall bee safe Let the red Dragon spout forth floods of venom against the Church the Church shall have wings given her to flie away she shal be delivered Rev. 12. Let the Scribes and Pharisces with their many false witnesses accuse Christ never so yet in spite of malice innocency shall find abbottors and rather than hee shall want witnesses the mouth of Piâ—…ate shall bee opened to his justification Yea let Joâ—…as through frailty run away from the execution and embassage of God's charge and thereupon bee cast into the Sea though the waves require him of the Ship and the Fish require him of the waves yet the Lord will require him of the Fish even the Sea and the Fish had as great a charge for the Prophet as the Prophet had a charge for Niniveh for this is a sure rule if in case God gives any of the creatures leave to afflict us yet hee will be sure to lay no more upon us than we are able or he will make â—…s able to bear yea than shall make for our good and his glory Hee hath a provident care over all the Creatures even Beasts and Plants and certainly wee are more precious than Fowls and Flowers yet the Lord cares for them Will the House-holder take care to water the herbs of his Garden or to fodder his Cattell and suffer his Men and Maids to famish through hunger and thirst Or wil hee provide for his Men and Maids and let his own children starve Surely if a man provide not for his own Hee hath denyed the faith and is worse than an Infidell 1 Tim. 5. 8. Far bee it then from the great Hous-holder and Judge of allthe earth not to provide for his dear Children and Servants what shall bee most necessary for them indeed wee may fear our own flesh as Saint Paul did but God is faithfull and will not suffer us to bee tempted above our strength but will even give the issue with the temptation and in the mean time support us with his grace 2 Cor. 12. 9. You have an excellent place to this purpose Jer. 15. 20 21. Section 2. Objection But wee see by experience that God gives wicked men power often times to take away the very lives of the godly Answ. What then If wee lose the lives of our bodies it is that wee may save the lives of our souls and attain the greater degree of glory Luk. 9. 24. and so wee are made gainers even by that loss Now if God takes away temporall and gives eternall life for it there is no hurt done us hee that promiseth ten pieces of silver and gives ten pieces of gold breaks no promise Peace bee unto this house was the Apostles salutation but it was not meant of an outward peace with men of the world and Christ faith you shall have rest Matth. 11. 28. but it is rest unto your souls Again thou hast merited a three-fold death if thou bee'st freed from the two worser spirituall and eternall and God deal
Jesus resting on him alone for their salvation as appears Isa. 55. 1. Ezek. 33. 11. Mark 16. 16. Joh. 3. 14 15 16. 36. and 6. 37. 40. Act. 10. 43. 1 Joh. 2. 1. Neither is there any limitation or exception of this or that sin for bee they never so grievous and manifold yet if wee perform the condition of faith and repentance they cannot debar us from receiving the benefit of God's mercy and Christ's merits as appears Isa. 1. 18. Titus 2. 14. 1 Joh. 1. 7. 9. And therefore unless thou conceivest of God that hee is unjust in his dealing untrue in his Word a covenant-breaker yea a perjured person which were most horrible blasphemy once to imagine thou must undoubtedly assure thy self that hee will pardon and forgive thee all thy sins bee they in number never so many and innumerable or in nature and quality never so hainous and damnable if thou turnest unto him by unfained repentance and laiest hold upon Christ by a true and lively faith For consider doth the Lord say hee will extend his mercie unto all that come unto him doth hee invite every one doth hee say I would have all men saved and none to perish and dost thou say nay but hee will not extend his mercy unto mee hee will have mee to perish because I am a grievous sinner What is this but in effect and at a distance to contradict the Lord and give the lye to truth it self Indeed God says not Beleeve thou John or Thomas and thou shalt bee saved but hee says Whosoever beleeveth and is baptized shall bee saved which is as good And yet thou exceptest thy self hee excludes none and dost thou exclude one and that one thy self Hee would have all men saved and thou comest in with thy exceptive All but mee Why thee a precious singularity but beware of it For whereas others that beleeve not the threatnings flatter away their souls in a presumptuous confidence thou by not beleeving the promises wilt cast away thine in a sullen prodigious desperateness if thou take not heed For infidelity on both sides is the cause of all of presumption in them of despair in thee of impiety in every one But bee better advised beleeve the Lord who never brake his Word with any soul. Thou wilt give credit to an honest man's bare word and hast thou no affiance in the mercifull promises of God past to thee by Word Oath Seals Scriptures Sacraments the death of his own Son and I presume the Spirits testimony if not now yet at other times take heed what thou dost for certainly nothing offends God more then the not taking of his Word Section 7. Objection I know well that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness unto every one that beleeveth Rom. 10. 4. But I want faith Answer This is the objection I expected for the true Christian is as fearfull to entertain a good opinion of himself as the false is unwilling to bee driven from it But is it so or doth Satan onely tell thee so I know it is not so I know that thou beleevest with some mixture of unbelief and that this is but a slander of Satans for as Satan slandereth us to God Iob 1. 9. and God to us Gen. 3. 4. 5. so hee slandereth us to our selvs Iob 16. 9. But least thou shouldest think I slander Satan know that you beleeve even whiles you complain of unbelief for as there could bee no shadow if there were no light so there cannot bee this fear where there is no faith They that know not Christ think it no such great matter to loose him But if God once say this is my Son Satan will say if thou bee the Son of God Matth. 3. 17. and 4. 3. That Divine testimony did not allay his malice but exasperate it Neither can the happy building of Lord I beleeve stand without that columne to under-prop it Help thou mine unbelief And he that doubts not of his estate his estate is much to be doubted of doubting and resolution are not meet touch-stones of our success a presumptuous confidence commonly goes bleeding home when an humble fear returns in triumph As it fared between the Philistims and Israel 1 Sam. 17. 10. 11. The Philistims and Goliah were exceeding confident of the victory but Saul and all Israel much discouraged and greatly afraid yet Israel got the victory and the Philistims with their great Goliah were overcome ver 51. 52. They that are proudly secure of their going to heaven do not so frequently come thither as they that are afraid of their going to hell As it is in this world for temporall things so for the World to come in spirituall things Cantant pauperes lugent divites poor men sing and rich men cry Who is so melancholly as the rich worldling and who sings so merry a note as hee that cannot change a groat so they that have store of grace mourn for want of it and they that indeed want it chant their abundance But the hopes of the wicked fail them when they are at highest whereas Gods Children had those comforts in extremity which they durst not expect As there is nothing more usuall than for a secure conscience to excuse when it is guilty so nothing more common than for an afflicted conscience to accuse when it is innocent and to lay an heavie burthen upon it self where the Lord giveth a plain discharge but a bleeding wound is better than that which bleeds not Some men go crying to heaven some go laughing and sleeping to hell Some consciences aswell as men lie speechless before departure they spend their days in a dream and go from earth to hell as Ionas from Israel towards Tarshish fast a sleep And the reason is they dream their case is passing good like a man which dreams in his sleep that hee is rich and honorable and it joyes him very much but awaking all is vanish'd like smoak Yea they hope undoubtedly to go to heaven as all that came out of Egypt hoped to go into Canaan and inherit the blessed promises when onely Caleb and Ioshua did enter who provoked not the Lord. And the reason of this reason is whereas indeed they are Wolâ—… the Devill and their own credulity perswades them that they are Lambs The Philosopher tells us that those Creatures which have the greatest hearts as the Stag the Doe the Hare the â—…oney and the Mouse are the most fearfull and therefore it may bee God refusing Lyons and Eagles the King of Beasts and Queen of Birds appointed the gentle Lamb the fearfull Dove for his sacrifices A broken and contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise Psal. â—…1 17. And sure I am Christ calls to his onely wâ—…ary and heavy-laden sinners Matth. 11. 28. not such as feel no want of him Mark 2. 17. and will fill onely such with comfort as hunger and thirst after righteousness not such as are in their conceit righteous
rightly considered It was hard for Josephs brâ—…hren to hear him speak roughly unto them take them for spies accuse them of theft and commit them to prison Gen. 42. 30. and think it is all out of love much more hard for 〈◊〉 to bee cull d cut from the rest and committed to ward while his brethren are set at libertie Vers. 24. and yet it was so yea he loved him best whom he seemed to favour least yet such is the 〈◊〉 of our nature that as weak eies are dazled with the â—…ght which should comfort them so there is nothing more common with God's Children than to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 causes of 〈◊〉 joy and 〈◊〉 with that which is intended for their confirmation Even Manoah conceivs death in that vision 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 did consist Judg. 13. 22. And the Shepherds Luk. 2. who were sore afraid when the Angel of the Lord came to bring them good tidings of great joy to all people viz. their Saviours Birth which â—…as Christ the Lord Vers. 9. 10. But what hath been the answer of GOD alwaies to his children in such their extasies but this Fear not Gideon Judg. 6. 23. Fear not Joseph Mat. 1. 20. Fear not Zachary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 13. Fear not Abraham for I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward Gen. 15. 1. Fear not Paul for I am with thee and no man shall lay hands on thee to do thee hurt c. Acts. 18. 9. 10. the words are often repeated as Pharaohs dreams were doubled for the surenesse Yea to the end that we should be fearlesse in all our sufferings so long as we suffer not as evil doers 1 Pet. 4. 15. Fear not as one well notes is the first word in the Annunciation of Christs Conception and the first word in the first Anâ—…iation of his Birth and the first word in the first Annuuntiation of his Resurrection and almost the last words in his last exhortation a little before his death are Let not your hearts be troubled and be of good comfort strengthening his followers and sweetâ—…ing his Cross by diverse forcible reasons 〈◊〉 21. Mark 13. And the words of dying men have ever been most emphatical most effectual Nay more than all this if yet thou wilt not be comforted look but Joh. 16. 20. and thou shalt have thy Saviour assure â—…hee by a double bond His Word I say Oath Verâ—…ly verily I say unto you that though for the present you do fear and sorrow and weep yet all shall be turned into joy 〈◊〉 that joy shall no man be able to take from you v. 22. And so much of the Patience of the Womans seed Innocency Felicity If you will see the Malice of the Serpents seed Subtilly Misery Read the three soregoing parts viz. The cause and cure of Ignorance Error c. The cure of Misprision Characters of the kinds of preaching The last whereâ—… sold only by James Crump in Little Bartholomews Well-yard A two-fold PRAYER for the Morning and for the Evening as also another to be said at any time Jer. 1â—… 25. Pour out thy fury upon them that know thee not and upon the families that call not on thy name Psal. 145. 18. Rom. 10. 12. The Lord is nigh and rich unto all that call upon him in truth Isa. 65. 24. Before they call I will answer and whiles they are yet speaking I will hear Jer. 33. 3. Call unto me and I will answer thee and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not 1 Joh. 5. 14. If wee ask any thing according to his will he heareth us Joh. 16. 23. Mat. 21. 22. Whatsoever yee shall ask the Father in my Name believing he will give it you Psal. 55. 17. Evening and Morning and at Noon will I pray A PRAYER for the Morning O Lord prepare our hearts to Pray O Most glorious LORD GOD and in JESUS CHRIST our most merciful and loving Father in whom wee live and move and have our being in the multitude of thy mercies we desire to approach unto thee from whom all good things do proceed who knowest our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking It is true O Lord if we should consider onely our own unworthiness and how we have heretofore abused thy goodnesse and long-suffering towards us wee might rather despair with Judas and like Adam run from thee then dare to approach thy glorious presence For we confesse O Lord to the shame and confusion of our own faces that as we brought a world of sinne into the World with us and deserved to dye so soon as wee began to live so ever since that thou hast spared us we have done nothing but add sinne unto sinne as thou hast added mercy to mercy For we have been no lesse rebellious unto thee then thou hast been beneficiall unto us We do daily and hourely break all thy commandements adding unto that our originall corruption which we were conceived and borne in all manner of actuall transgressions by sins of Omission sins of Commission sinnes of Ignorance sinnes of Knowledg sinnes against conscience yea sinnes of Presumption and Will fulness and that in thought word and deed We have sinned against thy Law and against thy Gospel against thy mercies and against thy judgments against the many warnings and the abundance of meanes afforded by thee to reclaime us against the spirit â—…of grace cotinually knocking at the doors of our hearts with infinite checks and holy motions as our first Parents left us a large stock of sinne so we have improved the same beyond measure O that we could have so improved that stock of grace which wee have received from thee But whereas thou gavest us as large a portion we suddenly lost it We were created indeed by thee after thine own image in righteousness holiness in knowledg of the Truth But alas now our understandings are so darkned and dulled our judgmeÌ„ts so blinded our wils so perverted our affections so corrupted our reason so exiled our thoughts so surprised our desires so entrapped and aâ—…l the faculties and functions of our souls so disordered that we are not sufficient of our selves to think much lesse to speak least of all to do ought that is good And yet usually like Bladders we are not more empty of grace than we are blown up with pride whereby with Laodicea we not once see our own spiritual misery and nakednesse but think we are rich and good enough as wanting nothing when as scarce Our eares have been alwaies open to the 〈◊〉 shâ—… unto thee we have abused our eyes to wantonnesse our mouthes to filthynesse and our feet have been swift to all evill flow to ought that is good any â—…ark of grace yet appears in us Yea so far have we been from loving and serving thee that we have hated those that do it and that for their so doing And so far have we been from performing that vow which we made to Christ