of the heart This is the very nature of sin The hearts departing from the living God Heb. 3.12 And therefore this is the great wrong of God There is but one thing in the world that God respects and this sin steals away Sin is the insurrection and rebellion of the heart against God it turns from him and turns against him it runs over to the camp of the enemy and there takes up arms against God Sin is a running from God and a fighting against God it would spoil the Lord of all the Jewels of his Crown It opposeth the Soveraignty of God A sinfull heart would set up it self in Gods Throne it would be King in his stead and have the command of all Sinners would be their own Gods Our tongues are our own who is Lord over us God shall not be God where sin is gotten up as Lord. It assaulteth the wisdom of God Vain man would be wise wiser then his Maker It charges the Lord with folly and proclaims it self the onely wise Sinners pretend to know how to choose for themselves and order themselves to their advantage better then God If God would let me alone to my self to be at mine own finding at mine own ordering it should quickly be better with me If every thing might be with me as I would have it my case would be well mended from what 't is now that every thing must go as God will have it All our quarrellings at Providence all our murmurings and discontents at our Lott are our hearts charging the Lord with folly It casts dirt on the holiness of God it disparages the goodness of God it abuseth mercy violates his Justice despises his Power In summe it disgraceth the Throne of his glory and layes his honour in the dust sets the Almighty below the lowest of his creatures Every companion shall be respected more then God every pleasure shall be loved more then God the Devil shall be feared more then God Where is his love VVhere is his fear VVhere is his Honour Nay where were the Lord might sin carry it Sin is the wrong of God and this wrong is the especial Object of this abhorrence A gracious heart would do no wrong he would not wrong his Neighbour he would not wrong his Servant his Enemy no not his Beast that he possesses But Oh should I wrong my God Hath he ever done me any wrong Hath he not been just to me Yea hath he not been ever good to me Kinde pityful patient bountiful Who hath fed me cloathed me kept me succoured me comforted me What friend have I in all the world What Father what Portion what Hope but the Lord What were I What had I but vanity but woe and misery had I not a God I cannot wrong my God but I wrong my self Prov. 8.36 He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul But if I did not if my Arrowes would not recoil could I go out with all this injury and suffer nothing by it Yet he is God whom I wrong he is holy he is righteous he is good he is glorious he is excellent he onely is God and shall I be injurious to him He is worthy he is worthy of all that I have of all the service I can do of all the respect I can give of all the Praise I can offer up if I had a thousand tongues if I had a thousand hands if I had a thousand lives if I had a thousand soules if I had all the Earth for an offring to the Lord all would be nothing to shew forth the praise that is due to his Name as he is God and I his creature and when I owe so much and have nothing to pay shall I steal from him Shall I rise up against him Wast thou not afraid to lift up thy hand against the Lords Anointedi 2 Sam. 1. Shall I not be afraid to lift up mine hand against the Lord himself To kick against God to fight against God Oh the Lord forbid What art thou O my soul What servest thou for If thou canst not tremble if thou dost not turn within me if thou dost not start back at the very thought of so great wickedness 2. The loss of God As was said before He that finneth against God wrongeth his own soul His loss is thy loss and more thine then his though no thanks to thee the Lord will be no loser at last when sinners have done their worst he can get up his Honour out of Dishonour he can recover his spoils out of the ashes if he had lost all the world he had lost nothing he is all things in himself When Earth and Hell have spent all their malice God will be God Holy Wise Glorious blessed for ever Though such be the malignity of sin that it would not give over till God ceaseth to be God yet God is above too high for sin to reach its Darts fall short of its Mark God cannot God will not sit down a loser by all that sin can do But what dost thou suffer what dost thou lose that sinnest against God The carnal world understand not what nor would make much reckoning of it did they understand it The loss of two pence goes often nearer them then the loss of God But now a Christian knows no other fear fears no other loss let God be secure and all is well Sin will be the wrong of God and the loss of God it may be a total and eternal loss for ought he knows at least if not assured God lost is the soul lost the Kingdom lost this is Hell the loss of God Better have no being better be a Dog or Toad then a man without a God or if he be not utterly lost yet to his present sence 't will be all one as if he had no God his peace is lost his comfort is lost and his soul is often given for lost from whom God is departed though but for a season he can take pleasure in nothing he can find rest no where whose God is out of fight He knows not what a God means who can spare him till Death or Judgment A Christian cannot live a day without him 't is night 't is all dark he knows no day while the Sun is set upon him How grievous do they find this loss who have proved what it is What wilt thou do for me whilest I go childless What can be done for me whilest I go Fatherless Here is my house here are my friends and my lands but where is my God My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Now I see what this Earth is without an Heaven now I see what ease and pleasure and carnal friends are and how little they can do for me Yea what is prayer What are Sabbaths What are Sermons Sacraments Promises whilest God looks not down Oh I was wont to meet with God here these glasses were my Windows into Heaven and then how pleasant were they to me
tempt Christ as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of Serpents Neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the Destroyer Now all these things happened unto them for exsamples and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall Mark these things are our examples Are they examples to us and not warnings too Are they warnings to us and must we not by them learn to fear and beware Let him that thinks he standeth take heed lest he fall My soul standeth in a sure place my mountain is so strong that I shall never be moved I am safe enough I am in Christ and shall not come into condemnation But whatever thou thinkest as sure as thou thinkest thou standest take heed take heed lest thou fall That is not onely into the same sins but into the same condemnation that 's the sence of the place Rom. 11.20 Because of unbelief they were broken off thou standest by faith Be not high-minded but fear No need of fear No need of threatnings What may we burn half our Bibles Can we spare so great a part of what is written Have we out-grown the use of judgments assoon as ever we are partakers of mercy Have we out-grown the use of the Scourge assoon as ever we are entred into Christs School Do we finde all too little Mercies Threatnings Judgments to keep our hearts in order And yet is it more then needs There are two Parties in us we are flesh as well as spirit and must not the flesh be frighted Will Love prevail with Lust This Slave sure this son of the Bond-woman must be kept in awe Hath God no wanton children No rebellious children And must these have no other Discipline but stroakings and dandlings Believe it Christians God will not have his terrors lost nor lost to you God will sometimes make his children feel that he is a terrible God He is Terrible out of his holy place Beware you be not presumptuous children There is a threefold Presumption There is a Presumption Upon Temptation in confidence of strength Upon sin in confidence of Mercy Upon sin in contempt of Mercy and Justice 1. A Presumption upon Temptation in confidence of strength Some unwary souls not knowing what spirit they are of supposing themselves too hard for the Devil will be venturing within his reach as if they would dare him to try his skill and power who having forgotten this Prayer Lead us not into temptation put themselves into the Tempters hand the falls of such will teach them to understand their folly 2. Presumption on sin in confidence of Mercy And that either in confidence of mercy already obtained I am in Christ and my sin shall not separate me from him whatever I do I have a Pardon in my hand Or in hope of mercy at last I have to do with a merciful God and therefore may venture on a little farther hereafter I will repent and then I need not doubt of remission 3. Presumption on sin in contempt of Mercy and Justice I will have my sin though I never find mercy I will have my will and my way and run the hazard of what follows I will take my course and come on me what will This last sort who presume to sin in contempt of Mercy and Judgment who are so drunken with their sensual delights and given over to the hardness of their hearts that they neither value Mercy nor fear wrath What do you talk to me of Mercy and Judgment to come Give me my pleasures and my liberties and my mirth and my money think not to make me such a fool to let go the pleasure and comfort of my life for I know not what uncertain fears or hopes Such as these have one foot already in Hell If it be not yet thus with thee thou darest not contemn either Mercy or Judgment Beware thou be not Presumptuous neither in the former sences Be not bold upon Temptations think not that thou art strong to overcome a Temptation when thou art so weak as not to fear it he that fears not a Temptation understands not it or himself But especially beware thou presume not upon sin in confidence of Mercy Grow not over bold upon love or patience Laesa patientia fit furor God loves me therefore I may be bold to take the more liberty the less care the less watchfulness the less fear because so much Love Spit in thy Fathers face because he weeps over thy neck Smite him on the face because thou hopest he will not strike again Tear his Bowels because they are so tender towards thee Be froward stubborn wanton and idle because thou hast found him so indulgent Christians consider whether such wickedness hath not sometimes been found in some of our hearts But take heed you will finde though he be a tender yet he will not be a fond Father where he loves he will be feared Some as bold and as confident as you have felt to their cost what 't is to abuse patience and kindness his Arrowes in their hearts his Terrors in their souls hath made them to know that the God of love is a terrible God And look to it if thou yet wilt adventure wilt be a wanton still froward or idle or heedless still he will either lash thee into better manners or cast thee out as no childe of his but a Bastard and Rebel If thou wilt not take warning by others take heed lest he make thee a warning to them which shall come after Christians know that though God be tender of his Saints yet he is jealous for his Name he tenders them as the Apple of his Eye but not above the least title of his Honour As God will have us love our Neighbour so he will love his childe but as himself First himself and then his childe He will not bate an Iota of his glory to save a world As little offences done to his little ones so little sins allowed by them are as Mill stones about the neck If they allow it in themselves yet Heaven and Earth shall pass away and fall to nothing ere he allow it in them God will not and therefore his children dare not indulge themselves in little sins They therefore fear because he whom they serve is a jealous God 2. Their own ingenuity This fear is from Love and good Nature and is most properly the fear of children Children fear because God is jealous and so do Slaves but onely Children because God is good Children fear because they love Slaves fear although they hate Children fear to be unworthy Slaves onely to be unhappy and miserable There 's nothing more contrary to an ingenuous nature then to abuse goodness and kindness to abuse goodness hath as black an aspect with him as to provoke Wrath. Hos 3.5 They shall fear the Lord and his goodness in
faith let not that man think he shall receive any thing of the Lord Jam. 1.7 And can he think to receive any thing that neither believes nor prayes That neither prayes in faith nor prays at all Phil. 2.12,13 It 's God works in you both to will and to do What then Therefore sit you still and do nothing No such matter therefore work out your salvation with fear and trembling saith the Apostle The promise of God was never intended to make the command of God of none effect God in promising grace promises a power for duty and as he doth not give so we must not receive â—hat power or grace of God in vain Whilst he gives what he requires he still requires what he gives That promise of God ye shall be my people though he undertake to make it good yet it is also the matter of our stipulation And in this promise wherein the Lord assures us what de facto we shall be is included a Precept wherein we may understand what de jure we ought to be In undertaking to give us a new heart a tender and obedient a persevering heart the Lord doth promise both to make us what we should be and to help us in what we are bound to do and gives us at once a clear hint both of our mercy and our duty This is the sence and summ of that Promise The Lord will work all that in us and will help and cause us to perform all that which is required unto salvation and so the Promissum on Gods part doth not make void but establish the Debitum on ours Do we then make void the Law through Faith Nay we establish the Law Though it be certain as to the event that all that 's necessary to salvation shall be accomplished in us God hath undertaken that yet it is altogether as certain that God hath made our loving him fearing him obeying his whole will and our sincerity and perseverance herein so necessary that we cannot otherwise be saved Christians mistake not nor abuse the grace of the Gospel The Lord never meant your mercy should make void your Obligation to duty Redemption from sin was never intended as a toleration of sin He gives not his Spirit in favour of the flesh What he undetakes to work for you was never with a mind to maintain you in idleness Tit. 2.11,12 The grace of God that bringeth salvation teacheth us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world Though you are saved by grace yet you are still in a sense debtors to do the whole Law Perfect Obedience to the whole Law even to the utmost Iota is still due from you and if it be not in your hearts to pay all that you owe that is if there be any duty commanded in the whole book of God that you must be dispensed with that you will not set your hearts to observe and obey if there be any one sin that you must be excused in and will not part with if there be any the highest pitch of holy Care Activity Industry Zeal for God and Holiness that you will not be perswaded to press hard after this is an evidence of such an unsound heart as hath no part in the Gospel or the salvation thereof Perfection is still due though sincerity will be accepted Sincerity shall be accepted but what is sincerity less then an hearty willingness to be perfect attested by a striving and pressing on to that mark which is set before us O admire and bless the Lord the Lord for grace but do not turn the grace of God into licentiousness Shall we continue in sin because grace that abounded Will ye thus requite the Lord Will ye thus deceive your selves O foolish people and unwise Will you slight him because he hath loved you Kick at him because he hath cared for you Shake off his Yoke because he hath secured you the Crown Will you serve his enemies because he hath saved you from them Will you nourish your diseases because he hath said he will cure you Will you live and not eat Reap and not Plough Will you not eat because he hath given you meat Will you not run because he hath given you Leggs Nor work because he hath given you hands Nor watch because he hath given you eyes Or will you tempt the Lord and call that your trust in him Awake from such madness Christians say not If God will I shall whether I take care or no believe or no repent or no be obedient or rebellious whether I wake or sleep work or be idle my unbelief my disobedience my negligence shall not make the faith of God of none effect But rather since God hath said you shall let thine heart answer I will walk in his statutes Arise O my soul up and be doing work out thy salvation because its God that worketh in thee to will and to do Shake off thy sloth set to thy work run out thy race since God hath said thou shalt not run nor labour in vain And look to it for however thy Idleness or greatest Unfaithfulness will not make void the Covenant of God yet will it make manifest that thou hast no part nor lot in it But to all these glorious things that have been spoken possibly some will reply O if all this be so then happy Saints indeed Happy are the people that are in such a case yea blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. But will the Lord indeed do all these things for Mortals Will he take notice of Worms Shall such dry bones live Will he set such vile dust as the Apple of his eye Is not this too good to be true Too great to be believed Are we not all this while but in a Dream or a fools Paradise Oh that I were sure the one half were as it hath been told me Too great to be believed As if it must be questioned whether the Sun light because it dazles our eyes But what certainty would you have Is all this too great for the great and Almighty God to do who hath said Isa 55.9 As the Heavens are higher then the Earth so are my wayes higher then your wayes and my thoughts then your thoughts Can he not do it who can do all things Will he not do it when he hath said he will Will the Lord mock Can God deceive Shall his Word yea and his Oath too those two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lye can these fail If you should hear the Lord himself speaking to you from Heaven with audible voice My Covenant I make with thee and it is my intent and purpose to perform every word that is written in it according to the plain import and meaning thereof there shall not a tittle fail neither will I alter the thing that is gone forth of my lips Heaven and Earth shall fail but my word shall not fail
nothing but love to restrain us from sin and constrain and quicken us to duty Christians have wee but one thing to do in all wee do sometimes wee are busie in doing nothing Though there bee a Prayer in our mouths the praises of God in our mouths Christ heaven holiness glory a new heart a new life upon our tongues there 's nothing within no prayer no praise no Christ nor heaven what have we been often doing in the closet in the family in the congregation when wee seemed to have been praying nothing nothing but sowing wind and good words Sometimes we have too many things in our hearts what a world of carnal devices and fleshly projects have wee wrapt up in the garment of our Religion Peter's sheet had not a more heterogeneous miscellany of creatures four-footed beasts wilde beasts creeping things and fowls of the air than our religious duties have of designes and ends Wee have men to please our pride our bellies to offer sacrifice to wee bring our farms and our oxen and our trades before the Lord are not our hearts which should bee the houses of prayer the houses of merchandise are wee not talking or pursuing or in a journey or a sleep or driving bargains O Christians if wee were privy to one anothers hearts as God is privy to them what abominations should wee see brought into the holy places What monsters would our most sacred services appear VVhich whilst the out-side is onely viewed are applauded and admired Is this our singleness of heart Oh! for shame and blushing and confusion of face Oh! for a Vail to hide such hearts from the jealous eyes of the holy God a varnish a fair out-side hides all from men but nothing but a dark Vail of shame and sorrow and tears and repentance a Vail dipt in Blood in the blood of Christ will hide them from the eyes of the Lord. Oh how little plainness and singleness of heart is there in our ordinary course in our dealings and conversings in the VVorld how little faith or truth is there in us how little trust is there to us what doubling what deceitful dealing defrauding over-reaching undermining are wee guilty of how false are wee in our promises how insignificant are our words what an uncertain sound do they give our yea may often stand for nay and our nay for yea Psal 12.2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour with flattering lips and a double heart do they speak trust yee not in a friend put not confidence in a guide Blessed bee God the Lord hath a Generation on whom this cannot bee charged Children that will not lye nor deceive though Satan and this evil world binde up all in a bundle they are all naught they are all false vain boasters and deceitful workers there 's none up-right no not one but thanks bee to God Satan is a lyer the accuser of the Brethren is a false accuser God hath his children that will not lye But woe bee to those professours by reason of whom the offence cometh Christians hath God promised to give you one heart Let it bee once said this day is this Scripture fulfilled O may you bee the accomplishment of this good word Hath God promised to give you one heart Do not you say but I will not take it two are better than one I have found so much the sweet of deceit that there 's no life like it Hath God said I will give one heart let not any one among you say But I fear he will not Make not the promise of God of none effect either by your impiety or unbelief Doth God promise to give this one heart hee that promised it doth also require it Bee thy self Christian Let it bee said thou art what thou art bee true bee but one have but one heart and let thy one heart have but one tongue but one face and but one thing to do Beware of hypocrisie beware of carnal policy make not thy God to serve thy flesh call not the serving of thy flesh a serving of God and make not thy serving of God to bee a serving of the flesh Bee not divided betwixt God and the World O how easie would our lives bee did we finde our whole souls running one way taking up w th God as the adequate object of all our powers the marke of all our motions and the reward of all our labours did all our streams empty themselves into this Ocean and all our lines meet in this one center Did God onely draw and allure our hearts and the sincerity of our hearts give motion to all our wheels Guide our eyes govern our tongues order our steps animate our duties direct and quicken us in all our goings Oh how sweet oh how beautiful were such a life the Sympathy betwixt our hearts and end there 's sweetness the harmony of our hearts and waies there 's beauty O how sweet are the drawings of love the free and full closure of our Spirits with God dissolving themselves into his Will acquiessing resting satisfyed in his goodness is a sweetness which no man knows but hee that tastes it the harmony of the power of the soul within its self of its motions and actions in the life there 's the beauty which will eclipse the glory of the world Christian bee it thus with thee and thou hast the blessing that covenant blessing which the Lord hath promised in saying I will give them one heart CHAP. XII An Heart of Flesh 4. AN Heart of Flesh Ezek. 36.26 I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an Heart of Flesh The old heart is a stone cold as a stone dead as a stone hard as a stone but I will take away the stone and give an heart of flesh An heart of flesh is a soft and tender heart Flesh can feel any thing that 's contrary to it puts it to pain Sin makes it smart it cannot kick but it is against the pricks by its rebellion and resistance against the Lord it receives a wound it cannot hit but it hurts it self A soft hand gets nothing by laying on on an hedge of thorns A soft heart when it hath been medling with sin is sure to smart for it It can neither escape the pain nor yet endure it and what it cannot bear 't will take warning to avoid it Flesh will bleed A soft heart will mourn and melt and grieve when hard hearts are moved at nothing Flesh will yield It s apt to receive impressions The power of God will awe it his justice fear it his mercy melt it his holiness humble it and leave the stamp and image of it upon it And as the Attributes so the Word and Works of God will make sign upon it Who sets a seal upon a stone or what print will it receive upon the wax the print will abide God speaks once and twice but man hardned man will not regard it Neither his
to be God as forget to be gracious c c Psa 77.9 While my name is Jehovah merciful gracious long-suffering abundant in goodness and truth I will never forget to shew mercy to you d d Ps 103.17 with Ex. 34.6,7 All my waies towards you shall be mercy and truth e e Psa 25.10 I have sworn that I would not be wroth with you nor rebuke you for the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindness shall not depart from you neither shall the Covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on you His omnisciency as our Overseer Mine Omnisciencie shall be your overseer mine eies shall be ever open observing your wants to relieve them and your wrongs to avenge them f f 1 Pet. 3.12 Ex. 3.7 Mine ears shall be ever open to hear the prayers of my poor the cries of mine oppressed the clamours calumnies and reproaches of your enemies g g Psal 34.15 Exod. 2.24,25 Zeph. 2.8,9,10 Surely I have seen your affliction and know your sorrowes And shal not God avenge his own Elect I will avenge them speedily h h Luk. 18.7,8 I see the secret Plots and Designes of your enemies against you * * Jer. 18.23 and will disannul their Counsels i i Esay 8.10 with 29.14,15 Psal 33.10 I see your secret integrity and the uprightness of your hearts towards me while the carnal and censorious world condemn you as Hypocrites k k Job 1.8,9,10,11 2 Chron. 15.17 Your secret Prayers Fasts and Tears which the world knoweth not of I observe them and record them l l Matt. 4.6,18 Act. 10.4 Your secret care to please me your secret pains with your own hearts m m Mat. 25.34,35,36 2 Chron. 34.27 your secret self-searchings and self denyal I see them all and your Father which seeth in secret shall reward them openly His wisdom as our Counsellor My wisdom shall be your Councellor If any want wisdom n n Jam. 1.5 let him ask of me and it shall be given him I will be your Deliverer When you are in darkness I will be a light to you o o Mic. 7.8 I wil make your way plain before you p p Esay 43.19 and 57.14 You are but short sighted but I will be eyes to you q q Esay 42.6,7 and 49.6 I will watch over you to bring upon you all the good I have promised r r Jer. 31.28 with 32.24 and to keep off the evil you fear or to turn it into good Å¿ Å¿ Psal 91.10,14 Jer. 24.5 You shal have your food in its season and your Physick in its season Mercies Afflictions all suitable and in their season t t Psal 23.2,3 1 Pet. 1.6 Esay 27.7,8,9 I will outwit your Enemies and make their Oracles to speak but folly u u Esay 19.11,12,13,14 The old Serpent shal not deceive you I will acquaint you with his devices w w 2 Cor. 2.11 The deceitful hearts you fear shal not undoe you I will discover their wiles I know how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust to the day of judgment to be punished x x 2 Pet 2.9 Trust in me with all your hearts and lean not to your own understanding y y Prov. 3.5,9 I am God that performeth all things for you z z Psal 57.2 I will forfeit the reputation of my wisdom if I make you not to acknowledge when you see the end of the Lord a a Jam. 5.11 though at present you wonder and reach not the meaning of my proceedings b b Jer. 12.1 that all my works are in Weight and in Number and in Time and in Order c c Ecc. 3.14 If I force you not to cry out Manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all d d Psal 33.4 145.10 Psal 104.24 His Justice as our Avenger and Rewarder My Justice shall be your Revenger and Rewarder e e 2 Thess 1.6 2 Tim. 4.8 Fear not to approach fury is not in me f f Esay 27.4 My Justice is not onely appeased towards you but engaged for you I am so fully satisfied in the sacrifice of my Beloved that Justice it self that was as a flaming sword drawn against you shall now greatly befriend you and that which was an amazing confounding Terror shall now become your relief and consolation g g Eccles 3 16,17 and 5.8 Psal 96.10,11,12,13 Psal 97.1 with 99.1 Under all your Oppressions here shal your refuge be h h Psal 6.9 and 103.6 Let me know your grievances my Justice shall right your wrongs and reward your services i i Psal 146.7 Heb. 6.10 You may conclude upon your Pardons conclude upon your Crowns conclude upon Reparations for all your injuries and all from the sweet consideration of my Justice k k 1 Joh. 1.9 2 Tim. 4.8 2 Thess 14.5 1 Pet. 2.23 the thought of which to others is as the horrour of the shadow of death If you sin despair not remember I am just to forgive you If you are at any pains or cost for me do not count it lost for I am not unrighteous to forget you I am the righteous Judge that have laid up for you and will set on you the Crown of righteousness Are you reviled persecuted defamed Forget not that I am righteous to render tribulation to them that trouble you and to you that are troubled rest with me Though all your services and sufferings deserve not the least good at my hands yet as I have freely passed my promise to reward them so I will as justly keep it His Omnipresence as company for us Mine Omnipresence shall be company for you l l 1 Chro. 22.18 Josh 1.5.9 Esay 41.10 Surely I will be with you to bless you m m Gen. 26 24. I will never leave you nor forsake you No Bolts nor Bars nor Bonds nor Banishment shal remove you from me nor keep my presence and the influences of Heaven from you n n Gen. 3â— 21.23 I am alwaies with you o o Matt. 28 20. In your darkest nights in your deepest dangers I am at hand with you a very present help in the time of trouble p p Psal 46.1 and 34.18 I am not a God afar off or asleep or in a journey when you need my counsel mine ear or mine aid I am alwaies nigh unto them that fear me q q Psal 145 18. No Patmos no Prison shall hinder the presence of my grace from you r r Rev. 1.9,10 Act. 16 25,26 My presence shall perfume the noysomest Wards and lighten the darkest Dungeons where you can be thrust Å¿ Å¿ Act. 12.7 Esay 58.10 His Holiness as a Fountain of grace to us My holiness shall be a fountain of grace to you
hand crown you t t Rev. 2.10 and set you in Thrones u u Rev. 3.21 Mat. 19.28 and you shal judge men and Angels w w 1 Cor. â— 2,3 and you shal have power over the Nations x x Rev. 2.26,27 and you shall set your feet upon the necks of your enemies y y Psal 49.14 Lo I have set the very day for your enâ—aiment z z Acts 17.31 I have provided your Crowns a a 2 Tim. 4.8 I have prepared the Kingâ—om b b Mat. 25.34 Wherefore do you doubt O you of little faith These are the true sayings of God c c Rev. 19.9 Are you sure that you are now on Earth so surely shal you be shortly with me in Heaven Are you sure that you shal die so surely shal you rise again in glory Lo I have said it and who shal reverse it You shal see me face to face and be with me where I am and behold my glory d d 1 Cor. 13.12 Ioh. 17.24 For I will be glorified in my Saints and admired in all them that believe e e 2 Thess 1.10 and all flesh shal know that I have loved you f f Rev. 3 9. For I will make you the instances of my grace g g Eph. 1.5 6. and 2.7 in whom the whole world shal see how unutterably the Almighty God can advance the poor Worms-meat and dust of the ground And the despisers shal behold and wonder and perish h h Act. 13.41 for they shal be witnesses to the riches of my magnificence and exceeding greatness of my Power * * Luk. 16.23 They shal go away into everlasting punishment but you into life eternal i i Mat. 25.46 Our Triumphant Ascension into heaven For no sooner shal their doom be past but the Bench shal rise k k Mat. 25.41,46 and the Judge shal return with all his glorious Train with sound of trumpet and shouts incredible shal he ascend and shal lead you to your Fathers house l l Psal 45.14,15 Mat. 25.23 Joh. 14.2 with 2 Cor. 5.1 Then shal the triumphal Arches lift up their heads and the everlasting Gates stand open and the heavens shal receive you all and so shal you be ever with the Lord. m m Joh. 12.26 1 Th. 4.17 And now will I rejoyce over you with singing and rest in my love n n Zeph. 3.17 and Heaven shal ring with joyes and acclamations because I have received you safe and sound o o Luk. 15.10,23,25,27 And in that day you shal know that I am a Rewarder of them that diligently seek me p p Heb. 11.6 and that I did record your words q q Mal. 3.16 and bottle your tears and tell your wandrings r r Psal 56.8 and keep an account even to a cup of cold water of whatever you said or did for my Name Å¿ Å¿ Mat. 10.42 Blessed Eternity You shal surely finde that nothing shal be lost t t 1 Cor. 15.58 but you shal have full measure pressed down and running over thousands of years in Paradise for the least good thought and thousand thousands for the least good word and then the reckoning shal begin again till all Arithmatick be non-plust For you shal be swallowed up in a blessed Eternity and the doors of Heaven shal be shut upon you and there shall be no more going out u u Dan. 12.2,3 Rev. 3.12 Luk. 16.26 Glorious company The glorious Quire of mine holy Angels the goodly fellowship of my blessed Prophets the happy society of Triumphant Apostles the royal Hosts of victorious Martyrs these shal be your Companions for ever w w Mat. 8.11,12 Heb. 12.22,23 And you shal come in white Robes with Palmes in your hands every one having the Harps of God and golden Vials full of Odours and shal cast your Crowns before me and strike in with the multitude of the heavenly Hosts glorifying God and saying Hallelujah the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth x x Rev. 7.9,10,11,12 and 19 5.6 Blessing honour glory and Power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever y y Rev. 5.13 In short I will make you equal to the Angels z z Luk. 20.36 of God and you shal be the everlasting Trumpets of my praise a a Rev. 7.10,11,12,15 You shal be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of my House and I will make you drink of the Rivers of my pleasures b b Psal 36.8 You shal be an eternal Excellency c c Esay 60.15 and if God can die and Eternity run out then and not else shal your joyes expire Beatifical Vision For you shal see me as I am d d 1 Joh. 3.2 and know me as you are known e e 1 Cor. 13 12. and shal behold my face in righteousness and be satisfied with my likeness f f Psal 17.25 And you shal be the vessels of my Glory whose blessed use shall be to receive the overflowings of my Goodness and to have mine infinite Love and Glory poured out into you brimfull and running over for evermore g g Rom. 9 23. 2 Tim. 2,20 Rev. 22.1 And blessed is he that hath believed for there shall be a performance of the things that have been told him h h Lu. 1.45 The Lord hath spoken it you shall see my Face and my Name shall be written in your foreheads and you shall no more need the Sun nor the Moon for the Lord God shall give you light and you shall reign for ever and ever i i Rev. 22.3,4,5 He taketh us for his people And as I give my self to you for your God and all things with my self so I take you for my Covenant-people k k Heb 8.10 Esay 43 1. and you shall be mine in the Day when I make up my jewels saith the Lord of hosts and I will spare you as a man spareth his own Son that serveth him l l Mal 3.17 The Lord shall count when he writeth up the people Surely they are my children m m Psa 87 6 Esay 63.8 I do not onely require you to be mine if you would have me to be for you but I do promise to make you mine Lev. 20.26 Ezek. 36. 28. and to work in you the conditions which I require of you I will circumcise your hearts to love me o o Deu. 30.6 I will take out the heart of stone p p Ezek. 36.26 My Laws will I write within you q q Jâ—… 31.33 Yet you must know that I will be sought unto for these things r r Eze. 36,37 and as ever you expect to partake of the mercies I charge you to lie at the Pool and wait for my Spirit and be diligent in the use of the meanss
venture on the Truth dare you venture your souls on the Falshood of it Dare you stand forth and say If this word be not a lye let me be damned for ever I am content that the everlasting worm shal gnaw my heart that the infernal fire shal burn my flesh and bones and soul for ever and ever if it prove not at last a meer Forgery and Imposture Do you believe the Scriptures to be true indeed If you do what do they preach to you Do they speak any thing if not this That there is another life and death besides that which is within the kenn of mortal eyes that the other life and the other death are Eternal that upon your being found within or without the Covenant of God hangs your eternal judgment either for life or death that whilst you are in a Covenant with death and in a course of iniquity you are without the Covenant of God and can have no benefit by it that under sin and out of Covenant out of Covenant and out of Christ out of Christ and under Condemnation Are there any things which that word which you profess to believe to be as true and to stand as sure as Heaven and Earth are there any things that this speaks more plainly then these things and such like What and yet secure in a state of sin Aliens from God enemies of all Righteousness and yet in quiet Are you resolved to sell Eternity for time life for death a soul for the pleasures of sin Is this the choice you have made and are you resolved to stand to it Let me have this world my Portion here my good things here and then let me be damned in the other world Let me sin here and suffer hereafter let me laugh here and lament hereafter let me flourish and prosper and live at ease and in honour and in pleasure and at liberty here and let my Prison and my Pain and my Anguish and my Plagues be beneath there let me be torn let me burn let me roar let me die so I may be rich and be merry and rejoyce a while here let time be my Heaven and eternity be my Hell speak in earnest is this your choice or that you may not be put to it to make a new choice will you take upon you to make a new Gospel And dividing what God hath joyned together will you joyn what he hath divided Will you write this for Gospel Holiness and Hell sin and glory Christ and the Curse the Devil and the Crown Let the wicked hold on his way and the unrighteous his thoughts let him still run away from the Lord and be shall have mercy and from his God and he will abundantly pardon Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto death and few there be that finde it but broad is the gate and wide is the way that leadeth unto life and the whole world are going in thereat Blessed are the proud in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are they that laugh now blessed are the froward the merciless the impure in heart the persecutors for Righteousness sake for great is their reward in Heaven Within shal be the Doggs and the Swine the Whoremongers the Sorcerers the Drunkards the Ruffians the Blasphemers the Gallants the Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a lye And without shall be the Lambs and the Doves the Holy and the Humble and the Meek and the Merciful and the Upight in heart and the Poor in spirit and Peace-makers the persecuted for Righteousness sake and whosoever loveth truth and maketh God his trust these shal go into everlasting fire but the ungodly into life Eternal Are these the Articles of your Creed Is this your Gospel if it be O what is your Heaven If it be not if the old Gospel must stand Oh where are your souls Are your souls lost and are they not worth the recovery Why will ye dye turn and live Oh when shal it once be As an Embassadour for Christ to whom is committed the word of Reconciliation having hinted to you what 's Law so in the name of the Eternal God I publish to you the everlasting Gospel The Lord God having entred into a Covenant of life with the first Adam for himself and all mankinde in him this Covenant being broken whereby sin hath entred and death by sin and all the world is now becom guilty before God bound over to the vengeance of eternal Fire and under an utter impossibility of recovery by ought that that Covenant can do hath out of his abundant grace made a new Covenant on which whosoever shal lay hold shal be delivered out of the state of Death and Wrath into a state of Life and Blessedness Rom. 8.3 What the Law could not do being weak through the flesh God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and with him this gracious grant that whosoever believeth in him shal not perish but have everlasting life Ioh. 3.16 And this is the Covenant that hath been declared unto you This new Covenant is a Marriage-Covenant Hos 2.10 I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee to me in righteousness and in loving-kindness and in mercies In it the Lord makes offer and invites you to accept of an Husband and a Dower The Husband is the Kings son the Lord Jesus Christ and with him the lost Kingdom and all that belongs to the Kingdom of God for a Dower Liberty for the Captives the opening of the Prison to them that are bound riches to the poor eyes to the blinde feet to the lame healing to the diseased and life to the dead And whoever among you all who are persons under the Law held by the cords of your sins whose souls are fast bound in fetters of Iron who are willing that your Covenant with death be made void and your agreement with Hell be disannulled and will joyn your selves to the Lord and be brought within the bonds of this Covenant all the blessings of this Covenant are made over and stand sure unto you The Grant is made the Deed is drawn and sealed the Lord hath set to his Seal come you in and seal the Counter-part set to your seal and the Match is made up Christ and with him all things are yours and you are his Accept and live refuse and dye for ever Come on then sinner what sayest thou Dost thou consent Dost thou accept Or as Laban to Rebekah Wilt thou go with this man Let me espouse thee to this one Husband onely let me first tell thee The matter is solemn and thou must be serious 'T is for life 't is for Eternity Consider therefore and let thine heart lying prostrate before the Almighty come in and make answer to these demands which from him and in his great and dreadful Name I make unto thee 1. Wilt thou have Jesus for thine Husband Understand before thou answer The taking
Christ from henceforth unto death Thou wilt have Christ but when Shall this be the Marriage-day VVilt thou from henceforth be the Lords or when shall it be Must it be to morrow first or next moneth or next year or some time or other thou knowest not when May we not take thy promise as they did the Prophecy Ezek. 12. Is it not for many dayes to come is it not of the times that are afar off To morrow thou wilt hereafter thou wilt as good as thou hast said nothing As good thou hadst said never as not yet Speak Soul wilt give thy self to the Lord wilt presently if thou wilt how long wilt thou abide with him wilt thou not endorse on thy Deed of Gift a power of revocation wilt thou not repent not return again from Heaven to Earth wilt be chaste and play the Harlot no more wilt be faithful to the death obedient to the death Is this thy voice I have opened my mouth to the Lord and I cannot go back As the Lord liveth nothing but death no not death it self shall part thee and me I am perswaded I am resolved that neither life nor death Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other Creature shall separate me from the love of God or withdraw me from Jesus Christ my Lord. Now Soul gather up all this together stand thou before the Lord the God of all the Earth and this once more say Wilt thou have Jesus Christ for thy Husband dost thou choose him for thy Lord wilt thou cleave to him in love wilt thou lean upon him for righteousness and strength for righteousness to pay thy debts and for strength to pay thy vows wilt thou be subject to him thou knowest the commandments how holy how strict they be Wilt thou obey them in all things wilt exercise thy self to godliness in the strictness of it wilt be a thorow-pac'd Disciple wilt not content thy self with such a cold or lukewarm indifferency in Religion as thy lazy flesh will bear as thy credit thy safety or the temper of the times will bear wilt follow thy Lord fully Wilt thou take up thy lot with Christ be it better or worse shall his Father be thy Father his Inheritance be thy Inheritance yea and his Sufferings thy Sufferings his stripes his bonds his poverty be thine wilt thou espouse not his Crown onely but his Cross too whither ever he goes wilt thou go where he dwells wilt thou dwell wilt say where ever my Lord is there let his Servant be Wilt thou forsake all others all thy sins wilt thou be made clean wilt give up thy sores and thy ulcers thy filthy and fleshly lusts to be purged out does thine heart stand disengaged from every sin is there not any one iniquity concerning which thine heart sayes Let this stay with me wilt search out thy sins wilt accomplish a diligent search sweep every corner search every chamber of thine heart life wilt go down to the bottome of thy great deep to find out what lodges there wilt faithfully endeavour no more to allow thy self in any known iniquity wilt use all Gods means for the conquering and casting them out Wilt forsake the world wilt cast away thine Idols shall thy Mammon be no more a god nor a demy-god to thee shall it neither carry away thine heart from him nor so much as share with him in it wilt thou not bow down to this golden Image nor serve it wilt thou no longer serve thy greedy appetite shall thine heart no longer go after thy covetousness wilt thou abandon thine estate thy pleasures thine honours thy friends and companions so far forth as any of these divide or entice or steal away thine heart from thy Lord When ever they say Come away wilt thou say Get you hence VVilt forsake the Devil wilt fear and flie from and no longer hearken to his temptations wilt no longer regard his promises nor his threatnings his flatteries nor his frowns Coming off from the tents of all these wilt cleave unto thy Lord from henceforth from this day forward and not depart from him for ever Wilt hold on thy course wilt run out thy race wilt be faithful to the death wilt hope to the end for the grace that shall be brought unto thee at the revelation of Jesus Christ What sayest thou If thou sayest no as the Lord liveth thou speakest this word against thine own life If thou refusest to enter into this Covenant thou sayest I will not be the Lords I will none of him I will not live let death and wrath and chains and plagues be my portion for ever I will not be the Lords I will not leave my sins and my pleasures and my companions for his love that is I will be a Fool and a beast and a Devil I will die and will not see life Mistake not thy self be not deceived 't is a matter of life and death that is before thee 'T is whether Heaven or Hell a God or no God a Christ or no Christ a Soul or a lost Soul everlasting life or everlasting Fire shall be thy portion that stands now to be determined by thy consent or refusal look to it be wise this once for eternity Consent and thou art blessed consent and he is thine and with him the Kingdome Thy Lord hath given his consent already view the hand-writing the whole New Testament which is written in blood and sealed as 't is written there thou hast his I will in every line almost visible before thee put to thine and 't is done What sayest thou dost thou consent shall thine heart come in and put to thine hand and subscribe for thee I will Let that be done and then say after me A form of words expressing mans covenanting with God O Most Dreadful God for the Passion of thy Son I beseech Thee accept of thy poor Prodigal now prostrating himself at thy Door I have fallen from thee by mine iniquity and am by Nature a Son of Death and a thousand-fold more the Child of Hell by my Wicked practice The Terms of our conversion are either from which or to which But of thine infinite Grace thou hast promised Mercy to me in Christ if I will but turn to thee with all my heart Therefore upon the Call of thy Gospel I am now come in and throwing down my Weapons submit my self to thy Mercy The Terms from which we must turn are Sin Satan the World and our own Righteousness which must be thus renounced And because thou requirest as the Condition of my Peace with thee that I should put away mine Idols and be at defiance with all thine Enemies which I acknowledge I have wickedly sided with against thee I here from the bottome of my heart renounce them all firmly Covenanting with thee not to allow my self in any known Sin but Conscientiously to use all means that
I know thou hast prescribed for the Death and utter Destruction of all my Corruptions And whereas I have formerly inordinately and idolatrously let out my affections upon the World I do here resign my Heart to thee that madest it humbly protesting before thy Glorious Majesty that it is the firm resolution of my heart and that I do unfeignedly desire Grace from thee that when thou shalt call me hereunto I may practice this my resolution through thy Assistance to forsake all that is dear unto me in this World rather then to turn from thee to the wayes of sin and that I will watch against all its Temptations whether of Prosperity or Adversity least they should withdraw my Heart from thee beseeching thee also to help me against the Temptations of Satan to whose wicked Suggestions I resolve by thy Grace never to yield my self a Servant And because my own righteousness is but menstruous Rags I renounce all confidence therein and acknowledge that I am of my self a hopeless helpless undone creature without righteousness or strength The Terms to which we must turn are either ultimate or mediate And forasmuch as thou hast of thy bottomless Mercy offered most Graciously to me wretched sinner to be again my God through Christ if I would accept of thee I call Heaven and Earth to record this day that The ultimate is God the Father Son and Holy Ghost who must be thus accepted I do here solemnly avouch thee for the Lord my God and with all possible veneration bowing the neck or my Soul under the feet of thy most sacred Majesty I do here take thee the Lord Jehovah Father Son and Holy Ghost for my portion and chief good and do give up my self body and soul for thy servant promising and vowing to serve thee in holiness and righteousness all the dayes of my life The mediate terms are either principal or less principal The Principal is Christ the Mediator who must thus be embraced And since thou hast appointed the Lord Jesus Christ the onely means of coming unto thee I do here upon the bended knees of my Soul accept of him as the onely New and Living Way by which Sinners may have access to thee and do here solemnly joyn my self in a marriage covenant to him O blessed Jesus I come to thee hungry and hardly bestead poor and wretched and miserable and blinde and naked a most loathsome polluted wretch a guilty condemned Malefactor unworthy for ever to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord much more to be solemnly married to the King of Glory But sith such is thine unparallel'd love I do here with all my power accept thee and do take thee for my Head and Husband for better for worse for richer for poorer for all times and conditions to love honour and obey thee before all others and this to the death I embrace thee in all thine Offices I renounce mine own unworthiness and do here avow thee to be the Lord my Righteousness I renounce mine own wisdome and do here take thee for mine onely Guide I renounce mine own will and take thy Will for my Law And since thou hast told me that I must suffer if I will reign I do here covenant with thee to take my lot as it falls with thee and by thy grace assisting to run all hazards with thee verily supposing that neither life nor death shall part between thee and me The less Principles are the Laws of Christ which must be thus accepted And because thou hast been pleased to give me thy holy Laws as the Rule of my life and the way in which I should walk to thy Kingdome I do here willingly put my Neck under thy Yoke and set my Shoulder to thy Burden and subscribing to all thy Laws as holy just and good I solemnly take them as the rule of my words thoughts and actions promising that though my flesh contradict and rebel yet I will endeavour to order and govern my whole life according to thy direction and will not allow my self in the neglect of any thing that I know to be my duty Onely because through the frailty of my flesh I am subject to many failings I am bold humbly to protest That unallowed miscarriages contrary to the setled bent and resolution of my heart shall not make void this Covenant for so thou hast said Now Almighty God searcher of hearts thou knowest that I make this Covenant with thee this day without any known guile or reservation bebeseeching thee that if thou espiest any flaw or falshood therein thou wouldest discover it to me and help me to do it aright And now glory be to thee O God the Father whom I shall be bold from this day forward to look upon as my God and Father That ever thou shouldest find out such a way for the recovery of undone sinners Glory be to thee O God the Son who hast loved me and washed me from my sins in thine own blood and art now become my Saviour and Redeemer Glory be to thee O God the holy Ghost who by the finger of thine Almighty Power hast turned about my heart from sin to God O dreadful Jehovah the Lord God Omnipotent Father Son and Holy Ghost thou art now become my Covenant-friend and I through thine infinite Grace am become thy Covenant-servant Amen So be it And the Covenant which I have made on earth let it be ratified in Heaven CHAP. XX and Last An exhortation to the Saints COme ye People beloved you that are highly favoured The Lord is with you Blessed are you amongst men and women The Likes are fallen to you in a pleasant place yea you have a goodly heritage Come and enter upon your Lot let your hearts be glad let your glory rejoyce but that your joy may be full hearken to these following counsels Make sure your interest in the Covenant Rejoyce not in that that 's none of thine Make sure all lies upon this Your life all the comforts and concernments of it both your eternal safety hereafter and your success in all the parts of your Christian course here depend on your interest in the Covenant VVhat have you if Christ be not yours and what have you in Christ if you be not in Covenant whence are your hopes either of mercy at last or of prospering in any thing at present but from the Covenant of Promise And what have you thence if your name be not in it Oh give not rest to your selves till this be put out of doubt what ever duties you perform what ever ease or hope you finde hereupon what ever transportation of affection you feel in your hearts in the midst of all enquiry But am I in Covenant How shall I know that you 'll say why make a strict and narrow enquiry whether those special graces already mentioned be wrought upon you Common mercies though even these be Covenant mercies to the Saints yet