so if thou canst pour out thy Soul in a true and hearty Prayer unto God for the pardon of thy Sins he will questionless forgive thee even because thou prayest unto him for as David speaketh The Lord is not only ready to forgive but plenteous in mercy to all them that call upon him 4 Sprinkle thy Soul with the blood of Iesus Christ. Christ is our peace as the Apostle calls him neither canst thou by all that thou art able to doe make thy peace with God but only thâ—ugh faith in his blood When the destroying Angel saw the blood of the Lamb sprinkled on the Posts of any Door hee passed by that House and they within were safe so that Soul which is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ is so safe from the destroying Angel of God that he shall not doe it hurt for death is an advantage to that Soul which is sprinkled with the blood of Christ being the door of Life and a gate to Heaven as Cyprian calls it Though the blood of Christ be the means of our peace and reconciliation with God yet unless that blood be sprinkled on thy Soul thou canst find little peace there and therefore the Apostle Peter speaks not only of the blood of Christ but of the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. It is not enough that Christ hath shed his blood but there must be besides the shedding of it the sprinkling of it Christs blood was shed upon the Cross yet all men are not reconciled unto God thereby And what is the reason Surely because that blood is not sprinkled upon their souls and peace and reconciliation with God must be had not only from Christs blood poured out but from his blood sprinkled Quest. How is Christs blood sprinkled upon our souls Ans. By Faith applying the blood of Christ unto our own souls comfort Faith is the hand of the Soul and the soul by faith puts her hand into the Wounds of Christ takes of his blood and besprinkles her self therewith applying the merits and the vertue thereof unto it self and thence follows peace and reconciliation with God Obj. I would willingly apply the Merits of Christs Death and Passion unto my self but oh I am conscious of so much unworthiness seeing nothing in my self why the Merits of Christs death should belong unto me that I cannot yea I dare not apply them to my self Ans. 1. It is good to be conscious to thy self of thine own unworthiness but not so as to bee kept thereby from applying of Christ and the Merits of his Death and Passion unto thy souls comfort And truly if thou wouldst but consider that God respecteth his own goodness and not ours in the offering of his Son and that his grace is everyway most free this conceit of thine unworthiness can be no just plea against the applying of Christ with the benefits of his Death and Passion unto thine own souls comfort it should rather be an incouragement unto thee because the more unworthy thou art in thine own sight and sense the more worthy thou art in the account of Christ. The greatest worthiness that any Christian can here attain unto is to be sensible of his own unworthiness 2 Thou who complainest of thine unworthiness I would ask thee Whether any man before he made application of Christ and of his Merits unto himself did see any thing in himself why Christ should belong unto him rather than to any other The Scripture saith There is no difference for all have sinned Obj. 2 My Sins are so many for number and so hainous in their quality that I cannot imagine that Christ should belong unto me and therefore dare not apply him nor the benefits of his Death and Passion unto my self Ans. The more sinful thou art in thine own sense and apprehension the fitter thou art to close with Jesus Christ and to apply the Merits of his Death unto thy self for in that gracious invitation of Christ we find no other qualification put in but a sense of sin Come unto me all yee that labour and are heavie laden and I will give you rest where the Parties invited to come unto Christ are such as are sensible of and thereupon groan under the weight and burden of their sins as the words in the Greek there properly signifie and Luke 5. 32. Christ professeth He came not to call the righteous but sinners not such as were righteous in their owne conceit but such as were Sinners in their own sense and apprehension truly sensible of their sins so that sense of sin is the only qualification requisite to an application of Jesus Christ. Obj. 3 I have often sinned against knowledge and conscience and therefore fear I have committed that unpardonable Sin the Sin against the Holy Ghost and so dare not apply Christs blood unto my self Ans. Though the Sin against the Holy Ghost bee a Sin against knowledge and conscience yet every Sin yea every grievous Sin against knowledge and conscience is not the Sin against the Holy Ghost for they may be without malice of heart which this cannot be and therefore though thou hast often sinned against knowledge and conscience yet if thou hast not sinned with a malicious heart i. e. thou hast not sinned meerly because thou wouldest displease God and grieve his Spirit thou hast not committed the Sin against the Holy Ghost IV. Having made thy peace with God then make thy peace with men by an hearty forgiving of all who have wronged thee This is a duty to be perâ—ormed by thee in the whole course of thy life as any occasion thereof is given without which the Lord will not accept of any Christian service and sacrifice that thou offerest unto him and therefore saith our Saviour When thou standest praying forgive if thou hast ought against any for indeed how canst thou ask God forgiveness of thy sins when thou wilt not forgive man his offences against thee How canst thou begg peace and reconciliation with thy heavenly Father when thou wilt not be reconciled on earth to thy Brother As therefore this Duty is to be performed by thee in the whole course of thy life so especially in thy last Sickness for thereby thou maist gain some assurance in thine own Soul of the forgiveness of thy Sins committed against God which our Saviour implieth in that expression of his If yee forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you wouldst thou therefore be assured of Gods mercy towards thee in the forgiveness of thy sins committed against him search narrowly into thine own soul and if thou canst find thou dost as heartily forgive thy Brother as thou dost desire forgiveness of God then maist thou assure thy self of Gods mercy to thee in the forgiveness of thy sins committed against him so much is hinted to us in the fifth Petition of the Lords Prayer Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them
thy trouble and distress for by thy Vow thou hast bound thy self to performance and therefore saith the Wise man When thou vowest a vow unto God deferre not to pay it for hee hath no pleasure in fools noting it to be egregious folly in any to be forward in making Vowes unto God and then afterwards to be backward in performing what they vowed CHAP. XVIII Of Dying well IF thou apprehendest thy Disease to be mortal and that it is like to be thy last Sickness then it will be thy wisdom to prepare thy self after the best manner thou canst for death For thy better help herein take these Directions I. Set thine House in order I mean settle thine outward estate by making thy Will which will no way hasten thy death as many foolishly doe imagine but rather put thee into a better capacity to set thy Soul in order for a blessed departure And as God hath blest thee with an estate so fayl not to give some proportionable part thereof for the relief of the poor members of Jesus Christ. Though that charity which is exercised in a mans life-time is questionless the best and the most acceptable unto God when wee make our own Hands our Executors and our own Eyes our Overseers yet I condemn not that Charity which is shewed at the last for better late than never II. Send for some godly Minister or experienced Christian to advise thee about setting thy Soul in order in reference to thy great change This direction the Apostle Iames giveth for saith he Is any sick among you let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him And this I would advise thee to doe in the first place not putting it off to the last when thine understanding and memory begin to fayl thee as the practice of the most is who when the Physician hath done with them and in a manner given them over then send for the Divine to begin with them as if a short Prayer and a few words of Ghostly counsel were enough to send them to Heaven III. Labour to make or rather to renew thy peace with God for though the making of thy peace with God ought not to be put off to thy Death-bed yet must it then be renewed in an especial manner as being the last time of doing it In order thereunto I Look back into thy former course of life and call to mind the manifold aberations thereof as the vanity of thy thoughts how vain and empty how carnal and prophane they have been as also the unsavouriness of thy words and speeches how Godless and Christless yea how unprofitable they have been for the most part as also the wickedness of thine actions And in examining thy self concerning thine actions call to mind as thy sinful Omissions and Commissions I mean as what Duties thou hast omitted and what Sinâ— thou hast committed so likewise thy sinful manner of performing holy Duties how thy most religious Services have had a mixture of Sin in them Likewise run over the several Ages of thy life and consider what Sins thou committedst in thy Childhood what in thy Youth and what in thy riper years And together with the number of thy Sins consideâ— the aggravating circumstances of them as how thou hast sinned against a gracious God a loving Faâ—her and bountiful Lord and Master how thou hast sinned against the admonitions of Gods Ministers the motions of his Spirit and the checks of thine own Conscience against the patience and long-suffering of God which should have lead thee to repentance against the manifold vowes and promises thou hast made unto God for newness of life and better obedience and how thou hast sinned out of a presumptuous hope of mercy making the mercy of God an occasion of Sin and thereby turned the very grace of God into wantonness Thus goe on aggravating thy sins till thou find thine heart in some measure affected with grief and sorrow for the same and then 2 Confess thy sins unto God in Prayer spread them before him in a true and unfeigned acknowledgement and confession of them freely judging and condemning thy self before God for the same That thy Confession may be performed after a right manner it must have these properties 1 It must be particular and of special Sins I mean in thy confession thou must descend to thy special and particular Sins the prophanest wretch in the world may in a general manner confess and say I acknowledge my self to be a Sinner But if thou wilt make a true confession of Sin thou must lay open thy Sins in particular before God and for thine encouragement thereunto know that the more particular thou shalt be in thy confession the more comfort thou shalt find therein â— Thy Confession must be as particular in respect of Sins so likewise full in regard of the aggravations of them This did David in his confession of that Sin of numbring the People I have sinned greatly saith he in that I have done and now I beseech thee O Lord take away the iniquity of thy Servant for I have done very foolishly see what terms of aggravation he heapeth up 1 I have sinned 2 I have sinned greatly 3 I have done foolishly 4 Very foolishly And as thou desirest pardon of thy Sins set them forth to the full let no circumstance of aggravation be wanting by which they may appear the more foul and filthy 3 Thy confession must be with inward remorse and sorrow of heart that thou hast sinned against so good and so gracious a God Thou must not content thy self with a meer verbal acknowledgement of thy Sins and Transgressions being affected with no more grief in the confessing of them than thou wast in the committing of them But every Sin confessed should be as a Dagger piercing thee to the very heart at least thou shouldest grieve that thou canst no more grieve for thy Sins thine heart should bleed because thine eyes cannot weep 3 Having thus confessed thy Sins as thou desirest to renew thy peace with God earnestly begge of him the pardon and the forgiveness of them in and through the merits of Iesus Christ for thou canst look for it only through the Free Grace and Mercy of God in Jesus Christ. And as there is a promise of forgiveness to such as unfeignedly confess their Sins so there is likewise a promise of forgiveness to such who heartily pray for the same for saith the Lord in answer to Salomons Prayer If my People which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and therefore if thou canst pray heartily unto God for the pardon of thy Sins thou hast thereby some comfortable evidence of their forgiveness for as the Lord in the Parable forgave his Servant that was indebted to him and had nothing to pay even because hee prayed him
bread and wine into spiritual bane Hee therefore that covereth his sins shall not prosper but who so confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy It is said of the Viper that when she goeth to joyn with her Mare she casteth out all her poison How much more oughtest thou when thou goest to have communion with thy heavenly Spouse the Lord Jesus Christ cast out thy sins which are a spiritual poison worse than the poison of any Viper In this Examination as thou must search after thine evil thoughts woâ—ds and deeds and after thy sins of omission and commission so likewise and especially after the sins thou hast committed since thy last receiving of the blessed Sacrament and such as are most against the vows and covenants that formerly thou madest with God and which do mostgaul thy conscience or most disgrace thy profession or are greatest occasions of dulling thy spirit that these being found out they may be the more lamented and pardon for them more earnestly desired In the examining thy self it will be a good help to read such a Treatise as doth in particular set out the several sins against the several Commandements For when by such a Treatise thou art shewed that such a thing is a sin against such a Commandement thy conscience will upon the reading of such sins tell thee that therein thou hast sinned Having examined and searched thine heart thorowly of all thy known sins then humble thy self before the Throne of Grace in a true and unfeigned acknowledgement and confession of them freely judging and condemning thy self before God with a broken and contrite heart Directions to help thee in the right manner of confessing thy sins See in Chap. 20. And having confessed thy sins pour out thy soul in hearty prayer unto God for the pardon and forgiveness of them all And then be earnest with him to make the Sacrament effectual to thy comfort effectual to the mortifying of thy lusts to the strengthening of thy graces especially to the confirming of thy Faith in the assurance of the pardon and forgiveness of thy sins c. III. Having shewed the duties Antecedent come we now to the duties Concomitant i. e. such as must accompany the action of receiving But first I shall premise some few Directions touching the Manner of thine approaching to the Lords Table 1 Having thus prepared thy self go not in the strength of thy preparations but onely in the strength of Iesus Christ looking for acceptance onely in and thorow his merits and mediation For though thou hast prepared thy self after the best manner that thou canst yet if with an impartial eye thou shalt look back upon thy preparations how full of weaknesses infirmities and imperfections wilt thou finde them So that if Christ do not cover both thy person and thy preparation with the Robe of his Righteousness and sprinkle them with his blood neither thy person nor thy preparation will finde acceptance with God Cast therefore all thy preparations at the feet of Jesus Christ and say Lord I come not in the strength of my preparations but onely in thy strength I come in thine alone name and mediation to partake of thy body and of the benefits of thy death and passion And thou mayest then be confident that God will over-look thy manifold weaknesses and imperfections in the work of preparation and accept of thee and of thy services in and thorow his beloved Son Jesus Christ. 2 As thou art going meditate on the ends and benefits of that solemn ordinance some whereof are these 1 The remembrance of the death of Christ it being instituted as a memorial thereof 2 The spiritual nourishment of our souls 3 The strengthening of our Faith in the assurance of the pardon and forgiveness of our sins 4 The sealing of the Covenant of Grace with all the blessings thereof unto the beleeving soul. 5 The encreasing of our spiritual union and communion with Christ and all his members A serious meditation of these will be a special means to stir up in us some spiritual appetite after the ordinance that we shall go with hungring and thirsting desires after the same 3 Go with a strong expectation to receive much from Christ in and thorow that ordinance knowing that Christ will inlarge himself unâ—o all those who come with inlarged hearts with a strong expectation of many good things Open thy mouth wide saith the Lord and I will fill it So that if thou open thy mouth wide in a longing expectation of great matters he will fill it Yea the more thine heart is inlarged in desire and expectation the more will Gods heart be inlarged in bounty towards thee As therefore God hath promised in the Covenant of Grace to pardon thy sins to subdue thy corruptions to give thee a soft heart and the like go with an expectation of these and such like blessings and thou shalt not be disappointed of thine hopes 4 Approach to the Lords Table with all holy reverence in respect of Gods glorious Majesty who is in a special manner present at that ordinance to behold his guests and will be sanctified by all those who draw nigh unto him 5 Approach thereunto with all humility in respect of thine own vileness and unworthiness who art but sinful dust and ashes and if thou hast any light of grace in thee canst not but be conscious to thy self of more corruption in thine own heart than thou knowest to be in the heart of another And therefore say not Such an one is ignorant and such an one is loose in his life and conversation but say Lord I am ignorant I am unworthy to draw nigh unto thee in so holy an Ordinance not worthy to gather up the crumbs under thy Table And know that the more unworthy thou art in thine own account the worthier guest thou art in the account of God 6 As thou art going to the Lords Table cast all thy worldly thoughts and businesses out of thine head which otherwise will carry away thine heart from the ordinance and exceedingly disturb thee thereat In Iob 1. 6. wee read There was a day when the Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also amongst them In like manner on the day when Gods Children present themselves before the Lord in that solemn Ordinance Satan will be sure to appear amongst them to disturb and distract them therein as much as possibly he can by casting into their heads vain and impertinent thoughts And therefore it concerneth thee to be watchful over thy thoughts and to keep thine heart close to the ordinance To that end it will be thy wisdome oft to eye the outward elements of bread and wine and diligently to observe the outward rites and actions in the ordinance and thereupon to meditate of the spiritual things signified thereby These things premised Come we now to the Duties to be performed at the Ordinance which are these I. When
that trespass against us which latter clause is added partly to stir us up readily to forgive those who have wronged us and partly to strengthen our faith in the assurance of the forgiveness of our sins committed against God from our readiness to forgive those who have wronged us in that our forgiving of our Brother is a fruit proceeding from Gods forgiving of us V. Labour to clear up thine Evidences for Heaven that thou maist upon good ground be able to say with the Apostle Paul I know that when the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved I shall have a building with God an house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens The Scripture layeth down sundry clear evidences of a true right and title unto Heaven which who so finds in himself may rest assured of a blessed life after this I shall instance only in one which indeed is the principal of all and a very comprehensive one viz. Faith in Iesus Christ which we find often set down in Scripture as a sure evidence for Heaven for saith our Saviour God so loved the world that he gave his only begotton Son that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and saith Iohn Baptist He that beleeveth on the Son hath everlasting life i. e. he is as sure of it as if he were in actual possession of it Q. How may I know whether I have a true sâ—ving faith A. Most Divines doe hold forth the fruiâ—s and effects of faith as the only signs thereof and means whereby men should try and examine their faith but the truth is the fruits of a saving faith in many Christians are often times so weak that if they should examine their faith only by them they would bee apt to question the truth thereof yea to conclude against themselves that they have no true faith at all therefore I shall briefly shew thee the Antecedents of Faith by declaring the ordinary method oâ— Gods Spirit in working true faith in the soul which is this 1 God by his Spirit in the Ministery of the Word doth awaken a mans Conscience and maketh him to see and discern as his manifold sins and transgressions so his misery by them in regard of the dreadful punishments due unto him for the same This method the Lord observed in those three thousand Converts mentioned Acts. 2. 37. Examine therefore whether thou hast by the Ministery or the Word been convinced of thy Sins and of thy miserable condition thereby how thou art liable to the Wrath of God to all Judgements and Plagues here and to Eternal Death and Condemnation hereafter for till thou beest convinced of thy sins and misery thou canst see no need nor want of Jesus Christ. Hence the Law is said to be our School-master to bring us to Christ because it doth discover as our sins and our misery by reason of them so our need of Christ. 2 The next Work of Gods Spirit is to make the soul sensible of its wretched miserable condition affecting it with some measure of grief and sorrow for the same This method likewise the Lord observed in those three thousand Converts mentioned Acts 2. 37. where it is said When they heard this i. e. when they were convinced of that horrible Sin of theirs in Crucifying the Lord of life they were pricked in their hearts viz. with the sence and apprehension of their wretched miserable condition Examine therefore whether thou hast been truly sensible of thy wretched miserable condition and whether the sence thereof hath affected thee with true grief and sorrow for the same Though all men are noâ— alike afflicted with a sence of their wretched miserable condition but some much more deeply than others yet few pass through the pangs of their New Birth without some throws some grief and sorrow for their sins neither can I conceive how any should cloze with Jesus Christ as their Saviour till they have been so sensible of their sins as that they are sensible of their need of a Saviour 3 Another Work of the Spirit is to convince the Soul of its own unrighteousness that so it may the more willingly seek out after the righteousness of Christ to be cloathed therewith for so long as a man is conceited of any righteousness of his own he will never be beholding unto Jesus Christ for life and for salvation for as our Saviour saith The whole need not a Physician they need neither Physick nor Physician and therefore care for neither In like manner such as are strongly possessed with a good conceit of their own estate and condition of their own righteousness see no need they have of Christ and his Righteousness and so regard him not Examine thy self therefore whether thou hast ever been truly and thorowly convinced of thine own unrighteousness whether thou hast discerned the Sins of thy holy services whether thou hast cried out with the Church All my righteousness is as filthy raggs c. 4 The next Work of the Spirit is to convince the soul of the perfection of Christs Righteousness and of the All-sufficiency of his Sacrifice that his righteousness is a most perfect and exact righteousness that his sacrifice upon the Cross was a full satisfaction to Gods Justice for the sins of all the Elect it being the sacrifice of the Son of God even of him that was God as well as Man which indeed added an infinite value to all which Christ did and suffered for mans Redemption in which respect the redemption wrought by Christ is called plenteous redemption enough and enough for all the sins of his people how many or how hainous soever they were Now examine whether thou hast found this work of the Spirit upon thy soul so that thou art convinced thorowly as of thine own unrighteousness so of the perfection of Christs righteousness and of the all-sufficiency of his Sacrifice which far exceedeth the merits of thy sins 5 The next Work of the Spirit is to convince the soul of Christs willingness to receive all poor Sinners sensible of their sins who will come unto him and cast themselves and the burden of their sins upon him by affecting them with a serious apprehension of the manifold gracious invitations of Christ unto poor Sinners as that in Isaiah Hâ— every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters he that hath no money i. e. no goodness nor righteousness of his own let him come and that fore-mentioned place Mat. 11. 28. Come unto me all yee that labour and are heavie laden and I will give you rest Examine thy self therefore whether thou hast been thorowly convinced of Christs willingness to receive all poor Sinners that will come unto him and cast the burden of their sins upon him 6 The next Work of the Spirit is to stirre up in the soul some earnest longing desire after Jesus Christ so that the soul cries out Oh that Christ were mine oh that upon
heart that is we must exercise the graces of Gods holy Spirit in singing as well as in praying labouring to express the same affection in singing the Psalm as David had in penning the same as if it be a Psalm of Confession then to express some humility and brokenness of heart and spirit in singing it If it be a Psalm of prayers and petitions then must our affections be fervent If a Psalm of praises and thanksgivings then must our hearts be chearful And thus must the affection of the heart be ever suitable to the quality of the Psalm 3 It must be to the Lord that is as in the sight and presence of the Lord and to his honour and glory As the Apostle expresseth it in the next verse Whatsoever yee do in word or deed do it as in the name of Christ so to the praise and glory of God making his glory the main end and aim of what you do III. Another private Duty to be performed with our Family is Prayer For if this duty ought to be performed every day twice at least viz. in the morning and evening then especially on the Lords Day which the Lord hath wholly consecrated to his worship and service The Directions for the right manner of performing this duty of Prayer so as it may be an acceptable service and sacrifice unto God you may finde in Chapter second about the latter part thereof IV. Reading the Scriptures is another Duty to be performed in and with our Family that so they may bee acquainted with the Body of the Scriptures yea and with the Precepts and Promises the Directions and Consolations of the Word for their direction and comfort Directions for the more profitable reading of the Scriptures see Chap. 4. These are the Private duties of Piety to bee performed on the Lords Day Besides the Publick and Private there are likewise secret duties to be performed by every one alone in their Closets or Chambers which are briefly these 1 Reading some part of Gods Word or other good Books 2 Meditating of what you have heard or read that day which is an excellent means to make the Word both read and preached profitable unto you For as meat though it be never so wholsome nourisheth us not if it be not concocted and digested so is it with the Word of God the food of our souls if it be not by meditation concocted and digested it will nothing at all profit us but being by meditation digested it will then prove effectual to the nourishing of our souls 3 Examining your selves as of your former life conversation so especially of your carriage the last week and of the manner of your performing the duties of the day and as you should be humbled for your faylings therein so you should resolve with the assistance of Gods grace to be more watchful over your selves for the time to come and to be more careful in sanctifying the Lords Day by a conscionable manner of performing the duties thereof 4 Praying unto God is another duty to be performed by you in secret as well as publickly and privately yea you should double and treble your Prayers on the Lords Day Under the Law we read how the Lord required double Sacrifices on the Sabbath Day for besides the daily Sacrifices two Lambs more were appointed to be offered up on the Sabbath day four in all to shew the holiness of the day And in like manner ought you to double your spiritual sacrifices of Prayer and Praises on the Lords Day earnestly beseeching him for Christs sake to pardon as your sins in general so in special the manifold infirmities and imperfections which have passed from you in the performance of your holy seâ—vices and to enable you by his Spirit to perform them for the time to come with more life and vigor with more fervency and affection Having thus shewed you both the Publick Private and Secret duties of Piety to be performed on the Lords Day Come we now to the Works of Mercy which is another Head of duties which ought to be performed on thatday and therefore to duties of Piety you must adde Works of Mercy on the Sabbath day in a conscionable performance of both which consisteth the true sanctification of the Sabbath And because man consists of two Parts viz. of Soul and Body and both of them are subject to many Maladies therefore the Works of Mercy may be brought to these two Heads 1 Such as concern the Soul 2 Such as concern the Body of your Neighbour I The Works of Mercy which concern the Soul of your Neighbour are these and such like 1 To instruct the ignorant in Points of Doctrine needful and necessary to be known herein Iob expressed his charity as Eliphas testifieth of him Thou hast instructed many viz. in the knowledge of God 2 To draw Sinners to repentance by setting before them as the severity of Gods Justice against all impenitent Sinners so the freeness of his grace and riches of his mercy to all penitenâ— Sinners 3 To comfort such as are comfortless through an apprehension of the number and hainousness of their sins by setting before them the All-sufficiency of Christs Sacrifice and the gracious offers in the Gospel to all who find their sins a burthen to them 4 To exhort and stirre up such as have begun well to hold on patiently and constantly whereunto the Apostle exhorteth us Let us saith he consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works or to whet on to love and good works as the word in the Original properly signifieth 5 To reprove and rebuke such as are scandalous and offensive in their waies Thus Iohn reproved Herod for Herodias his brother Philips wife and for many other evils 6 To resolve the doubtful 7 To strengthen and establish such as are weak in grace These indeed in one respect may be called works of Piety namely as they are instructions directions and consolations gathered out of the holy Scriptures But in another respect they are works of mercy namely as they tend to the good of your neighbours souls In which the poorest that are may be rich in good works II. The works of mercy which concern the body of our neighbour are these and such like 1 Relieving such as are in want The Apostle enjoyning the Corinthians to lay up some thing in store every first day of the week which is the Lords Day implieth that that is a very fit season not only to do such works of mercy which are then offered unto us but also to prepare for other times And surely if every one would every Lords Day set apart something out of his commings in that week for a stock to give to charitable uses much good might be done thereby For as men by this means will have more to give than otherwise they will finde in their hearts to do on the week days So they will give both more
peace and comfort rest and salvation is to bee had Such therefore as having found their hearts affected with grief and sorrow for their sins do rest satisfied therewith and seek not out for Jesus Christ they are like to sit down without Christ and so fall short both of true peace here and of salvation hereafter 7 Others bottome their hope of salvation upon their partial repentance I mean their leaving and forsaking some sins when in the mean time they wittingly live in the practice of other sins which in truth is but a seigned and hypocritical repentance like that of Herods who upon Iohn Baptists preaching is said to leave many sins but yet would by no means part with his Herodias his darling and beloved sin Nay though your repentance bee true and full yet if you stay there and not look beyond it unto Jesus Christ you will fall short of salvation 8 Others bottom their hope of Salvation upon their Works of Charity thinking to purchase Heaven by their good Works and so wholly exclude Christs merits which they ground upon that sentence of Absolution pronounced by our Saviour at the Day of Judgement unto his Elect wherein hee giveth Heaven to them who have expressed their charity to his poor members in feeding cloathing them and the like whereas our Saviour instanceth in these Works of Charity as the fruites of their faith whereby they did evidence their faith to be a true and lively faith which manifested its life by those works of charity so that works of charity in themselves can be no good ground to bottom your salvation upon but only faith in Jesus Christ which is ever accompanied with works of charity if true and sound 9 Others bottom their hope of Salvation upon the Mercy of God They will confess themselves to be poor wretched sinful Creatures but they hope the mercy of God will pardon their sins and accept their poor services Thus many make the Mercy of God to eik out their own righteousness and so both put together they think will be a means of attonement and reconciliation with God yea and of obtaining eternal life and salvation But such doe wonderfully mistake the proper work of Gods Mercy which is not to eik out our righteousness but to shew us our unrighteousness and misery and then to shew us Jesus Christ the perfection of his righteousness the all-sufficiency of his Sacrifice with his willingness to receive all poor Sinners that will come unto him and then to stirre up our hearts to receive Jesus Christ as our Priest Prophet and King and to rest upon him for life and for salvation And thus might I goe on shewing you the many false and rotten foundations upon which the greatest part of men doe build their hopes of Salvation whereas in truth Christ is the only true solid foundation whereon we can safely build the hope of our Salvation And therefore saith the Apostle Other foundation can no man lay thâ—â— that is laid the Lord Iesus Christ intimating Christ to be the only true foundation So that he is the wise Christian that builds his hope of salvation only upon that rock the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I pass from the first fundamental Principle to the second namely II. That beleeving in Christ is the only means as of partaking of Christ so of salvation by him This was typified by the means of the Israelites cure of the sting of the fiery Serpents and that was by looking upon the brazen Serpent for as the Israelites by looking upon the brazen Serpent were perfectly cured of the sting of the fiery Serpents In like manner all poor Sinners sensible of the sting of Sin by looking with the eye of faith upon Jesus Christ lifted up upon the Cross shall be perfectly cured of the sting of their sins This application of that Type our Saviour himself maketh for saith he As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life So that beleeving in Jesus Christ is the only means of partaking of Christ and of salvation by him What this faith is which maketh us partakers of Christ and of Salvation by him I have formerly shewed in the Directions for the worthy receiving of the Lords Supper How should the consideration hereof stirre you up to labour above all things to beleeve in Jesus Christ that is to goe wholly out of your selves unto Jesus Christ and to receive him as he is offered in the Gospel Mind this work most of all for it is the All in all to your Salvation and yet how doe the greatest part of you minde your pleasures and your profits more than this Can they give you an interest in Christ or a right to Salvation Why then should your pleasures and your profits be so minded and sought after by you even more than faith which only can give you an interest in Christ and a right unto salvation in and thorow him Surely it is a thing to be lamented that men should so much mind worldly things and in the mean time forget spiritual things That they should be so politick for their bodies and so foolish for their souls That they should with Martha be so much troubled about earthly things and not with Mary mind this one thing necessary but resolve hence forward to give no rest to your souls till you have attained to this saving grace of faith The means God hath sanctified thereunto may be brought to three Heads 1 The removing of some lets and impediments 2 The embracing of some truths 3 The practising of some Duties The lets and impediments are of two sorts 1 Such as keep Natural men and women from beleeving in Jesus Christ. 2 Such as keep off many a sincere broken-hearted Sinner I. The lets and impediments that keep off Natural men and women from beleeving in Jesus Christ are these and such like 1 A love of their lusts For this men generally know that as Dagon fell down before the Ark so their lusts must fall down before Jesus Christ they know that when Christ is received into the heart by faith their lusts must be cast out for Christ will not be received into that heart which is full of base and sinful lusts Now mens lusts are dear unto them and very unwilling they are to part with them they had as lieve part with Christ as part with their lusts This our Saviour intimateth where he saith Light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light where by Light is meant principally Iesus Christ with his Gospel and by darkness mens lusts which they prefer before Jesus Christ and will not part with them for the gaining of Christ with all the benefits of his Death and Passion Oh that any man should bee so sottish as to prefer a base sinful lust before Jesus Christ Surely that man