indeed their case be very miserable as they stand at defiance with heaven yet I will not seal them up to condemnation nor give them all for lost let me yet set the Gospel before their eyes If yet you can beleeve you shall be saved If yet you return Though your sins be as crimson they shall be made as white as snow though they be as scarlet they shall be as wooll there is efficacy enough in the blood of Christ to wash you from all your filthiness add not then impenitency and unbelief to the rest of your abominations take heed of that soul-damning sin look upon the blood of Christ as that Fountain that stands open for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in for sin and for uncleaness remember that Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance O this is a true saying and worthy of all acceptation saith Paul that Christ came into the world to save sinners whereof I am chief Thou that hast sinned against free Grace against the tenders of Love and Mercy against the very bowels of Christ yea against the blood of the Covenant know that thou hast cause to bless God that yet thou art not in Hell that yet thou art not quite without hope its possible yet for the breath of Life to be breathed into thy soul thy salvation is yet attainable if God do but yet inspire his Grace and Power into thy soul to make use of present means and opportunities of mercy O remember that God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself yea the world indefinitely why maist not thou that hast been a formal professor all thy dayes that hast been an opposer of the power of godliness have a part in that great mercy of reconciliation God he intreats thee to be reconciled 2 Cor. 5.20 hear what Paul saith We are Embassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead that you would be reconciled to God for he hath made him to be sin for us which knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him In which places of Scripture you may take notice that there is nothing required on thy part but to be willing to receive a pardon and to be reconciled to God yea and God himself will work both the will and the deed tell me thou desperate sinner wilt thou be saved or no art thou willing to be made partaker of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ art thou willing to be transplanted out of the wilderness of the world into the Eden of God art thou willing to be snatcht from a Dunghill unto a Paradise to be cured of a loathsome Leprosie and to enjoy perfection of health and beauty what sinner so impudent what sinner so vile as to deny a consent and willingness to this yet to lay open a little further the rich Treasury of the Mercies of God unto any such obdurate soul that will harden his heart and refuse to be willing to receive pardon let him know that Christ will save him whether he will or no if he belong to the election of Grace God will will not lose any of his Elect ones nor suffer any to pluck them from him long may Satan bear rule and sway in the soul of a chosen Vessel of God from all eternity and such a one may seem in the eyes of the Saints to be a reprobate and lost creature to be a vessel of wrath destined for destruction yet may God at length come with the tender whisperings and breathings of his Spirit which breatheth and bloweth when and where it listeth upon such a miserable soul and calm the storms thereof and poure in fresh oyl into its wounds and put in marrow strength and vigor into its dry bones and say to such a soul Come out of thy bloud and live for he hath given a greater price for the redemption of his people then heaven or earth then Angels or men for he hath given his own blood for his Church Acts 20.28 and for his Elect and why maist not thou then be one of them for as great sinners as ever thou wert have been saved Where sin abounds there Grace aboundeth much more yet sin not that Grace may abound take heed of that there 's an absit a God forbid put to that But now though a man hath sinned with never so high an hand and never so high a nature against God the commission of the sin against the holy Ghost excepted yet for such a man to receive pardon of his sin and to be made holy through the righteousness of Christ this shews an abundance of Grace and infinite Mercy yea it makes for the greater exaltation of the glory and riches of free Grace to pardon the greatest sinners it sets forth more the glory of Gods rich Grace to pardon a Mary Magdalen to be reconciled to a persecuting Saul to free a Thief from the guilt of his misled life and carry him immediatly from a Cross the deserved end of his wretched life unto an everlasting crown to snatch him from the power of sin and bring him unto the freedom and fellowship of Saints to receive him into his own bosome whom the world loathed and spued out O the heighth and depth of the Love of God in Christ There is more advancement of the Glory of God in this then in the saving of an Abraham an Isaac or a Jacob who were never guilty of such sins as they were It s a greater honor for a Prince to pardon one that hath been a Traytor against his Crown Dignity and Life then to pardon one for stealing a trifle or for picking a pocket and so more honor redounds unto the Lord in his being reconciled to an old sinner to one that hath stood out against him all his dayes who hath been a Traytor against God and Christ the Gospel and the Saints then in his pardoning one that hath onely sinned against him of infirmity now there cannot be a worse Traytor against God then that man that hath onely a form of godliness and opposeth the power thereof yet let not this man nor any other in the like condition cast away the strong Anchor of Hope so long as he breathes on this side Hell for there is salvation purchased for such as well as for lesser sinners if they will but lay hold of the proffers of Mercy in the Gospel let them look upon Christ as a full Object of salvation for the greatest sinners and is not this incouragement enough for the vilest sinners to come in to God and to Christ nay especially when Christ will do all their works in them and for them and reacheth forth such strong and free invitations as so many cables for the supportation of any sinking soul when he calls in general unto every one that thirsteth Isai 55.1 To come and buy Wine and Milk without money and without price Come unto
sutable to such places would not be better spent in prayer reading the Scriptures self-examination godly conference and â—ther holy duties would it not bring more glory to God and peace to thy soul when thou comest to die do but make trial one week in spending thy time in holy duties and then compare that with the hours spent in profane company and if thou hast any spark of grace glowing in thee to thy own apprehension or any working of conscience remaining then see and judg impartially which time is best spent thou wilt certainly conclude and say with David One day in thy Courts is better then a thousand in the tents of the ungodly one hours communion with Christ in publike in family or in closer duties is better spent then ten thousand hours in any other places though it may seem to the flesh to be never so profitable or never so pleasurable Now that God that dwels in heaven so rule in and dwell upon the spirits of all his Saints on earth and make then so wise that they may keep such company on earth as are fit for heaven or at least that look heaven-ward Now one word or two to those which no man that hath any spark of spirituality dares calls Saints who say that they would not keep company with profane men nor lie at the Tavern or Alehouse as they do could they well avoid it it is not the greedy desire of the wine or the beer but the company that is there that causeth them to come to those houses and when they are called by such company they cannot withstand it Let these men know and take notice that they read this Text backward for the Text saith From such turn away but they read it But to such we will turn O it s a fearful thing to dally with the Almighty and to fall into the hands of the living God who is a consuming fire O dare you provoke God to his face and by your practice plainly tell him you will not obey his Word I say to all such that the time is at hand that God will make you know that his Word shall not return unto him voide but it shall accomplish that whereunto he sent it O thou bold sinner dost thou dare thus to affront the great God of heaven and earth before whom thou must sportly come to give an account of things done in the flesh I say think with thy self how thou shalt be able to answer these Scriptures O read them and lay them to heart And it shall be when he heareth the words of this oath that he bless himself in his heart Deut. 29.19 20. saying I shall have peace though I walk in the imaginations of my heart to add the drunken to the thirsty the Lord will not spare him but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoak against that man and every curse that is written in this book shall lye upon him and the Lord will blot out has name from under the heavens do but read the former part of this Chapter and consider what thy condition is and remember that this curse doth extend to every breach of the Law of God Gal. 3.10 for cursed is he that continueth not in every point of the Law to do it or in all things of the Law to do them O you that imagine to your selves peace and prosperity in a way of evil in your wayes of company keeping the Chaldee renders such imagination but a conceit and that 's all that 's in it you do either conceit that God doth not regard your sinful course of life or that Scripture-prohibitions are but conceits but the time is coming wherein you shall know that these conceits of yours do but add your drunkenness to your thirst that is your sins of ignorance to your sins of presumption O know that if you refuse and be rebellious you shall be destroyed for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Isaiah 1.20 Isa 66.4 Secondly That of Isaiah 66.4 They have chosen their own wayes and their souls delight in their own abominations I also will choose their delusions and will bring their fears upon them because when I called none would answer when I spake they did not hear but they did evil before mine eyes and chose that wherein I delighted not O sinners you will chuse your own companions though the Lord hath prohibited you yea though he calls upon you to turn away from them now you have your choice now you have that which your soul delighteth in the next thing unto you is That God will make a choice for you also but it shall be for your wo and misery Thirdly Pro. 1.25 But you have set at naught all my Counsels and would none of my reproof I also will laugh at your destruction and mock when your fear cometh upon you Object But some will say That God is merciful and if we can but say at the last The Lord have mercy upon us we need care for no more Answ To this I answer That all the mercy in heaven is not sufficient to save such a sinner as thou that continuest in this condition what for a man wilfully to sin that Gods grace may abound O thou bold sinner wilt thou obtrude thy iniquity upon Gods Mercy dost thou dare to think that God will endure this O know that lenity provoked will turn to fury that God is as just as merciful that he is a repaier of the wicked as well as a pardoner and know further that if ever thou hast thy sins forgiven thee thy pardon must be as well sealed in the Court of Justice as in the Court of Mercy as thou hast sinned so know that Justice must be satisfied yea and that for thee if ever thou art pardoned But for you that think to go to heaven with Lord have mercy upon you in your mouths Do but well consider the sad story that I shall relate There was a man that was a notorious Swearer a wicked Company-keeper and being oft-times reproved for his sin His answer always was Tush God is merciful Upon a time as the story relates he being on horse-back riding over a Bridg that crossed an arm of the Thames part of the bridg fell in and as he was going he was heard to say Horse and man and all to the Devil as his Companions testified O here you see though he might have gone to hell with Lord have mercy upon me in his mouth yet God would not suffer him so much as to take his Name into his mouth O then let this one example make ungodly sinners tremble and not to dare to harbor a thought or conceit within them that so many words at the last hour shall do them any good or redeem their souls from eternal burnings and carry them into the bosom of everlasting Loves but admit they were sure to have Lord have mercy on me in their mouths at the last gasp
me all ye that labor and are heavy laden Matth. 11.28 29. and I will give you rest and you shall find rest unto your souls Joh. 7.37 Jesus stood and cried saying If any man be athirst let him come to me and drink of the waters of Life freely So again in the Revelation of John Revel 22.27 The Spirit and the Bride said come and let him that heareth say come and let him that is athirst say come and whosoever will let him take the water of Life freely Many more places of Scripture might be instanced and brought for this purpose but these are sufficient to set forth the free invitation of all sinnners both by God by Christ and the Spirit of Grace the Lord looks for nothing at thy hand but to receive pardon and to be reconciled unto himself therefore why will you perish O sons of men your condemnation is of your selves Let this then take off those that do refrain to come unto Christ because they have nothing to come withall such a soul is best welcome unto Christ that is emptiest in himself thy approaches and addresses unto Christ are not to be measured with those unto great Personages here on earth there needs no rich presentations to usher in or plead thy acceptance nor purchasing of Mediators by clandestine and close-fisted bribes the dearest and highest Saint in heaven cannot so soon procure thy access unto and acceptance with Jesus Christ in heaven as the fauning Parasite and Saint-seeming Devil can with man on earth nor doth Christ accept of any creature or worthiness in creature either in heaven or earth on the behalf of a poor soul to ingratiate it into his favor and embraces but of his own breathings in a contrite spirit O then if sin be a burthen to thee come unto Christ and he will take it off he will deliver thee from that weight God he hath laid help upon one that is mighty by his Stripes we are healed by his Merits saved by his Wounds cured and by his Power preserved unto everlasting life and to press more home unto the souls of poor sinners the consideration of the free offer of Grace and Salvation of Christ let them but read the ingeminated invitation of the Spirit of God in that one Text before cited Revel 22.17 Come come come The free Word Come is no less then three times reiterated in that one Verse O then do not wilfully refuse and cast off the free offers of Life Grace and Salvation for know it is tendred as freely to thee as ever it was to any creature under heaven and know that to reject this mercy is to reject the greatest mercy that ever was tendered to any soul upon the face of the earth it is to reject not onely thine own good thine own life thine own salvation and thy sweet communion with and enjoyment of Christ and the blessed Saints for ever hereafter but also of the free Love of God and Christ the loss whereof is worse then ten thousand hells yea it shall be an aggravation of all thy sins that ever thou didst commit in thy whole life for he that will not believe is damned already there is no hope of such a man take heed therefore of Unbelief for it is worse then Hell it self as being the cause of all miseries that a soul can be afflicted with Hell that 's an Ordinance of God but sin is from the devil and mans own corruption Hell is the fruit of sin as sin is the cause of punishment by sin came death into the world yet that man that believes shall be preserved from sin death hell and what ever else is miserable yea not onely so but he shall have that sweet enjoyment of God Christ his Spirit Saints Angels Heaven Life Glory yea more then his desire or thoughts can comprehend for no eye hath seen ear heard or heart conceived what is laid up in life and glory for all them that believe there the soul shall see God as he is yea it shall be filled with the fulness of God and ravished with his presence yea more the soul shall hold communion with Christ and with the father in a more excellent measure then any creature can be capable of in this life yea there the soul shall be in union with God and Christ God will be giving out himself unto his Saints they shall partake of his glory they shall be in him and he in them this is the excellency and preeminency of faâ—th that doth instrumentally and mediatly through Christ alone act and carry the soul above the pitch of earth and conveighs and lodgeth it in the bosom of Christ O then who would be destitute of this Armor of proof Who would not be shrouded under this helmet as sufficient to defend the soul against all worldly and spiritual conflicts who would not get this wing to elevate and mount his soul into the Heaven of Heavens where the act of faith shall cease then shall believers live no more by faith but by sight there expectation shall be swallowed up of fruition invisible things become visible glimmerings of light become flames and ravishments of glory Saints here can better tell what God is not then what he is we can here say he incomprehensible and immutable but then we shall see God in his essence in his nature and excellency as he is a spirit so far as a soul can be made capable of so glorious an object O then of what happiness and bliss do unbeleevers deprive themselves that will not believe though everlasting life depends upon it O sinners remember how often hath the Gospel been preached unto you how often have you been invited unto the marriage Feast and you would not come How often have you preferred the wedding of your souls unto the profits and lusts of this world rather then unto Christ Consider Christ hath invited you your own wicked wills have refused to comply with his call he would have gathered you together under his wings but ye would be dispersed separated from him certaintly it shall be easier for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgment then for you and thus I have dispatched the first branch Having a form of godliness 2 Tim. 3.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sed qui vim ejus abnegarint But denying the power thereof THe Apostle still continues his complaint of what should come to pass in the last and evil times which are accomplished in these days wherein we live which we have shewed you in the precedent part of this Treatise these men in the text retain the form of godliness at the same time when they deny the power of it things of least value most set by and those of the greatest concernment most slighted contemned and despised darkness before light vanity before verity shadows before substance weakness before power here you may see men acting much outwardly and intending nothing less inwardly men contending for
it was God that chose thee thou didst nor couldst not choose him O that an incomprehensible God should be comprehended by a poor wretched creature that he should bestow himself upon him and give him the riches of his grace O let the Saints for ever breath out thanks and praise to this gratious God and begin that work on earth which shall be their work for ever in the highest Heavens From the consideration of your redemption 3. Redemptio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is no less then a glorious redemption as being bought with a glorious price not with corruptible things as silver and gold but with the pretious blood of Jesus Christ of more worth and excellency then all the created powers in heaven and earth Consider what you are Redeemed from First From the curse of the Law Secondly From the wrath of an infinite God Thirdly From the power of sin Fourthly From a vain conversation Fifthly from the second death Sixthly Out of the jaws of Satan that great red dragon even from hell and condemnation What you are Redeemed to First To be in an estate of Son-ship to be the Sons of God Secondly To be heirs and joynt heirs with Jesus Christ Thirdly To have a sweet communion with God Christ and the Spirit of grace Fourthly To have communion with Saints Fifthly To enjoy life glory for ever where you shall sin no more where all teares shall be wiped from your eyes where you shall reign with God Christ Saints and Angels to all Eternity O this cals for thankfulness render unto him therefore the praises due unto his name 4. Justificatio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Est propria ipsa judicis de innocente reo pronunciatio significatione nimirum activa The consideration of your justification which is done by the merits of Christ that is to be fully acquitted of all sin as if a man had never sinned to stand right and just in the sight of God Christ having paid the debt to Divine Justice and blotted out the hand-writing against you so as now it s with the Saints as if they had never been defiled with sin you and onely you are they which stand justified in his sight in that fift to the Romans are these three words used viz. Justifying Justification Justice and they are thus distinguished The first Signifieth the merit of Christs Justice whereby the Saints are Justified The second The action it self of Justification whereby Christs Justice is communicated to the Saints The third the Justice it self which is imparted and communicated to the Saints you know by sin every man is bound over to the Judgment Seat there to answer before God for all things done against him in the flesh and to pay that debt that the Law requires now Christ is the Saints surety and in their behalf hath taken this debt upon himself and hath paid the utmost farthing that can be exacted by the Law he hath loosed the chains of darkness broken the strong holds and hath enlarged and set free the Saints in the sight of God so that neither the Law sin nor the devil can lay any charge or accusation against them they have their pardon written on their breast declaring there is no condemnation unto us because we are in Christ Jesus let the Saints therefore never cease to magnifie and praise the name of the God of their Salvation From the consideration of your vocation 5. Vocatio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 your calling out of darkness into the marvellous light whereby you can rejoyce in God your Saviour whereby your soul enjoyes the manifestation of all its comforts yea of its communion with God and Christ while its in the body God might have called his Saints at the last hour of their departure out of this life and so they might have lived without God in this world as every man doth before his calling and so without comfort and joy in the Holy Ghost now then if one hours communion with God be more worth then thousands of worlds O how are the Saints bound to bless God for so great a mercy as their enjoyment of communion with him here in this life for many days and yeers after they are called praise God therefore for your Vocation 6. Sanctificatio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 From the consideration of your Sanctification and holiness a godly man ought to be as truly and really thankful that his sins are purged as that his sins are pardoned it is one of the greatest mercies that a soul can partake of to be purified washed and cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit to receive of Christs communicated holiness to be imputed holy for Christs sake so that he who hath this robe of righteousness is made pure yea so pure and holy as if he had never sinned the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin and this holiness and purity of spirit is a soul invested with by vertue of the blood of Christ flowing to it in the Covenant of Grace O this must needs be a strong motive to inlarge your hearts with gratitudes for so inestimable a mercy to be made pure as Christ is pure and holy as he is holy and for that this your holiness and Sanctification is not only universal but its perfect in its parts in every part of soul and body God doth not sanctifie one part now and another part at another time but he sanctifieth the soul thorowly at one the same time Therefore know that if thy heart be sanctified then thy judgment thy will thy understanding thy affections yea all the members of thy body and all the faculties of thy soul are sanctified also Yet you must know likewise that no man is perfect in the degrees of holiness on this side heaven yet bless God who ever thou art who knowest that sanctifying grace doth rest upon thy spirit here for though now it be in part yet it shall be made perfect in heaven for ever The seventh and last motive to stir up the Saints to thankfulness is this that thou who art a partaker of the power of godliness shalt be preserved to Eternal Life in spight of sin devil hell or any thing that can gainsay thou mayest slip and fail but never totally fall thou hast the spirit of God to guide and sustain thee thou art already passed from death to live with God eternally thou shalt never miscarry concerning thy eternal being thy trips and slidings shall but set thee forwarder on thy journey God will be thy God for evermore thou art safe for eternity and thy soul lieth in the bosome of Christ thou art given to Christ of the Father and those the Father hath given him he hath promised that none shall take them from him O bless the God of Gods whose mercy endureth for ever whose love is permanent whose purpose immutable and whose power All-sufficient to preserve thy soul and body unto eternal life Vse 6
London and thou a whoremaster a swearer a drunkard a prophane person what at London and yet in thy natuall estate not one dram of Grace not one grain of godliness I tell thee it shall be easier for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgment then for such a man as thou art tell me O sinner what thou hast to say for thy self O thou wilt be like that man at the Feast which had not on the wedding garment the Text saith He was speechless he had not one word to say for himself no more shalt thou O thy condition will be woful thy estate most miserable if thou lookest before thee the dreadful Judg is ready to pronounce the irrevocable sentence against thee if on the Judges right hand there the Saints are to joyn with Christ in thy Sentence if on his left hand there are a company of wicked wretches in the same condition with thy self if thou lookest behinde thee there is Hell and Satan ready to receive thee as soon as Judgment is given O then thou shalt be banished from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power and that for ever Remember these things all you that forget God lest he tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver you O what do you think of a soul in this estate that is thus cast eternally into the sea of the wrath of God every man will say this is a lost soul indeed it s undone for ever Now what aggravations of misery will be multiplied upon thy soul by these subsequent considerations First for a soul to think with himself and know and say O I am undone I am undone O I am now in a worse condition then any creature that ever God made for God did never create any creature so miserable as man makes himself to be he having plunged himself into it by sin O now thy body is made miserable as well as thy soul for the body was that instrument by which the soul acted so much to Gods dishonor O did God curse the Serpent for being the devils instrument so will God curse thy body as thy soul is cursed to all eternity Secondly Thy torments shall be such as no tongue can express If the wrath of God against Christ onely when sin was but imputed was so heavy that it made him to sweat clods of blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Original word signifies what dost thou think will be the wrath of God to thee who hast acted sin and that all thy life time who hast done nothing else but sinned and thrown dirt in the very face of a pure God giving God the lye by thine unbelief O if the Saints did apprehend the displeasure of God to be so terrible as Job when he complained that the poyson of Gods arrows did drink up his spirits Job 6.4 Psal 38.2 and David that his arrows did stick fast in him so that there was no soundness in his flesh nor rest in his bones O what will thy complaint be thou undone soul None shall pity thee in this condition which makes it the more comfortless it s some ease to a man in misery to have some to pity and condole with him in his affliction sympathy in affliction is as a cordial to a fainting spirit it recreates the wearied soul and intermits the fits of its distresses but here is no fellow-feeling no recreation no intermission which addeth weight to weight to the utter depression of thy soul into restless torments God himself he shall laugh at thee for he saith That he will laugh at their destruction Pro. 2.24 and mock when their fear cometh upon them Angels and Saints they shal not regard thee the father shal not pity the son nor the son the father the husband the wife nor the wife the husband nor the mother him that drew her breast all relations shall be forgotten and all pitty banished The misery will prove an unexpected misery and so the sadder what greater pricking to the heart then for a man to miss of his end and to be frustrated of his hopes it may be thou thoughtest thou wert going to heaven and now thou art dropt into hell thou expectedst mercy and reapest fury thou expectedst reward and gatherest revenge this is the condition of most men in the world they would take it as a mighty injury and disgrace unto them if you do but question them of their latter end and if they were certain of the place whither they should go if a man should deal plainly with them and tell them they were going to hell and condemnation O they would be ready to fly in such a mans face and brand him for a censorious person and an uncharitable man so that men in this condition lose their expectation and so become out of measure miserable When a man shall consider with himself in this woful condition that he hath not only damned his soul for the world profits pleasures or profaness but also that now he is deprived of these too for which he brought this estate upon himself what to have a soul to perish for nothing not to enjoy these things for which it hath paid so dear a price to pay for profits and pleasures and not to possess them to carry them to the Lands end and then to leave them behinde O what flouds of tears what ejulations what inexpressible mournings would this cause in a poor soul O poor soul know that there is a greater loss then all these for now thou being in hell thou hast lost God Christ the company of Saints and Angels for ever now thou hast nothing in lieu for this great and infinite loss if any 't is onely this thou hast exchanged pleasures for pain happiness for misery life for death thou hast sold thy God Christ heaven and glory and hast purchased Satan hell and confusion O this is a most dreadful aggravation this is a loss unvaluable If it be the highest happiness of man in heaven and the glory of the Angels to behold the presence of the Lord and to partake of the beams of his glory O then it must needs be the depth of all misery to be deprived of such excellency and glory by being banished from the presence of the Lord 2. Sam. 14.32 Absolon thought if worse then death to be kept from the presence of his Father when he had killed his brother Ammon you know it s said Matt. 5.8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God O then cursed are the defiled and wicked in heart for they shall not see him For without holiness no man shall see God saith the Apostle but there is no holiness in hell therefore none in hell shall see the Lord. Lastly That as thy torments are unexpressible so they are endless when a man hath suftred ten thousand years in hell under the stroke of divine Justice then is he as far from deliverance as at
distance with the men of the world remember that old verse Os orare vale conviva mensa negatur With the secluded neither confer nor pray Salute nor Feast nor eat with day by day Thus you see the point confirmed by Scripture and reason now for the better unfolding of it these three things are required First What is meant by Saints Secondly What 's meant by wicked men Thirdly What 's meant by keeping company We shall dispatch them with all brevity that we may proceed By Saints most men understand onely those which are now in heaven departed out of this life indeed they are Saints but not these Saints here intended for they which are departed out of this life are so far secluded from men of this world that they know not what their company means they are alienated from their acquaintance By Saints then we are to understand holy men that is men who are sanctified by faith in Christ Jesus Saints by calling such as the blessed Apostle Paul writes of to the Romans To them which are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be Saints Rom. 1.7 1 Cor. 1.2 such as walk in the ways of holiness whose conversation is in heaven where Christ their head is such as profess and obey the Gospel of Christ and are justified and acquitted from all sin by Jesus Christ their peace and of the Saints Christ hath thousands in this world a people contemptible in the eyes of the world hated and counted the off-scowring of this world By wicked men we are to understand all men in their natural estate wherein they were born for in their birth lies the spawne of all evil every prophane person every drunkard liar whoremonger adulterer Idolater and whosoever walks in these sins we may safely call wicked men yet all these sins with thousands more are but the fruits of that inbred corruption that men brought into the world with them I say they are but the fruits and effects of that cursed nature wherein every man is born O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death saith Paul Rom. 7.23 And in a word whosoever is not made righteous by Jesus Christ is a wicked man and that made Paul say when he considered of his miserable estate by nature and then knew who was his deliverer I thank God saith he thorow Jesus Christ our Lord so that by Christ only we are delivered Thirdly By not keeping company and by not being mingled with wicked men in society we are to understand not to be united unto them and incorporated into their fellowship and here might abundance of time be spent if we should reiterate or fall again upon communion in receiving the Lords Supper or communion in Church-fellowship but having formerly touched upon them and conceiving that this Text doth not properly intend such a non-communion or non-company-keeping I shall pass that by and unfold my thoughts with much brevity concerning the intention of the Holy Ghost in these words from such turn away First Then it is unlawful for any man that doth profess himself to be in Christ to make any wicked men whatsoever his companions his associates his familiars and his inward bosome friends Though men make a fair outside and shew in Religion yet being discovered to be wicked men by their conversation with these men thou oughtest not to have fellowship or keep company for to make such thy associates is to walk contrary to that counsel given to Timothy by the Apostle Paul I will not say but a man may buy and sell eat and drink as occasion shall be offered sometimes but chiefly take heed that these men be not thy familiar acquaintance nor thy intimate conversants such must not be thy companions such must not be of thy counsel thou art advanced to a correspondence with heaven and wilt thou joyn thy self with earth yea defiled earth O shun and avoid such company as the lothing and abhorring of thy heart Is it so That its the duty of the Saints not to keep company with wicked and ungodly men O then Christians learn your duties and be informed that God requires at your hands that you should make choice of your company take heed of joyning with polluted hands Similis simili gaudet you know the Proverb Evil company corrupts good manners And that Birds of a feather flock together you shall not finde Doves to fly with the birds of prey different natures different affections diversity of Judgments diversity of assemblings habituated sinners never break company drunkards with drunkards swearers with swearers whoremongers with their like and so through the whole course of sin every sinner with his confederate but Saints are of a more pure mettal their dross is now become fine gold their polluted streams are clarified and flow from the Fountain and well-spring of Life they must admit of no mixtures their association must be separated from the wicked they must be an unleavened lump pure and entire of themselves Saints must not do as the wicked do they have learned better things they profess to walk by another principle if thou shouldst see a Lamb upon the mountains walking in the midst of a company of Woolves wouldest thou not conclude certainly this Lamb will shortly become a prey unto them even so when thou art in the company of prophane and ungodly men think with thy self O I am now in the midst of Woolves certainly I shall be a prey to them and their sin for as the Woolves may fawne upon the Lamb not out of any love they bear unto it so may the wicked upon the godly yet the righteous is abomination to the wicked and he seeketh to insnare intrap and circumvent him every moment Then consider and know that God is angry with the wicked every day Psal 9.16 11.16 and that if Gods judgments fall down on their head when thou art present with them thou must look to partake of the same common jugdment even with them for upon the wicked Psal 37.32 God shall rain snares fire brimstone and an horrible tempest shall be their cup. Vers 12. Secondly The wicked watcheth the righteous and seeketh to slay him yea the wicked plot against the Just and gnasheth upon him with his teeth Let a Lyon put on a Lambs skin yet he is a Lyon still yea and the more dangerous so though the wicked may carry themselves Saint-like yet they are wicked men still and the more dangerous is it for Saints to have to do with them Ps 97.10 God preserveth the righteous and delivereth him out of the hand of the wicked what hath God delivered you who are his Saints out of the snare of the wicked so that your soul hath escaped as a bird out of the snare and will you run into them again O take heed of abusing so great a mercy as to return unto that world out of which the Lord hath once chosen you lest he