for what the World will give thee instead of it thou shalt consider when it is too late and say with that unhappy King that sold away his Kingdom for a draught of water Alas must I for so short a pleasure lose so great a Kingdom Ninthly Another thing that it concerns thee much to roul about and consider with thy deepest thoughts is the horrour and confusion of those that must be banished for ever from the face of God and sentenced to everlasting misery There 's none that escape that place but those that frequently think on it and believe it it s well worth thy serious Consideration to preserve thy soul from such a fearful destruction Many a man whom God hath awakened to believe those terrible endless torments have retired themselves from all worldly noise and disturbance that they might live under the power of these thoughts as the best preservative against these torments And is not thy Soul as dear and precious to thee as their's to them and deserve as much compassion from thee Surely though it is not thy duty to think actually of the woful and miserable estate of unbelievers all the day long Yet it 's of absolute necessity that some serious thoughts should be spent on that subject till the fear thereof make void and prevail over all Carnal worldly fears whatsoever And make thee more industrious to prevent that misery than thou art to escape the scorn and and reproach and all the sufferings and miseries of this life otherwise thou art never like to escape it And methinks thou should'st easily believe that Hell is more to be feared than all the Calamities of this Life and the loss of this Life it self But thus it will never be if thou art not one that dost often represent it to thy thoughts A danger though it be never so great yet if it be both out of sight and mind also will fright no body nor have any the least influence upon our endeavours to escape it The evil must be before the eye of our sense or understanding that works upon us to take the best course for our security and defence And the nearer we apprehend it to be the more hast we make to get away from it And whether a wicked man hath no reason to think his woful misery near even at the door I leave any man to Judge that hath any competent use of his understanding what can you name almost that 's more uncertain then this Life and so soon as ever it ends then begins his distress that shall never end But yet let him not be too confident that it shall not begin before Many a man hath felt the torments of Hell on this side the grave and this Judgment hath commenc'd before his life hath been concluded some mens sins go before them to Judgment saith the Apostle and some mens follow after 1 Tim. 5.24 There is some men feel the Vengeance of a righteous Judge even in this Life Spira professed that he felt the consuming fire of Gods wrath in his heart and Conscience whilst he was alive and openly blasphemed his Maker wishing that he was above him for he knew as he said that he would have no mercy on him O Sirs the intollerable pains that every impenitent Sinner must speedily undergo are well worth the pains of a few hours Consideration to prevent and if you think it not so you may spare your pains a little longer till your lamentable experience shall put you quite out of all doubt If indeed the diversion of your thoughts from so sad an object were the way to secure your Souls and to keep out of that devouring and unquenchable fire then you might well excuse your selves from troubling your minds with such thoughts as these But though you may quench the spirit of God that moveth you to Consider of this and to let it sink into your heart that you may seek for mercy whilst it may be had yet you cannot quench the flames of Hell nor extinguish that fire that must feed upon your soul and body for ever O how much better is it cooly to Consider the intolerableness of Gods wrath then to feel the burning heat and extremity of his indignation when there is no remedy If it were indeed but a flea bite you might slight it and keep your thoughts for something of more weight and moment Or if it were unavoidable perhaps you might do wisely not to torment your selves before the time nor invite such a guest till it comes of his own accord 'T is to no purpose to think of such sufferings which thinking will not prevent But believe it it is no flea-bite nor a matter to be slighted Fire and Sword and Rack and all the inventions of Cruelty that were ever found out are but Sport and Recreation to the Judgment and Condemnation of the Life to come And because the loss of God and Heaven seems such a tolerable punishment to these Vessels of wrath Let me tell them that there 's no part or member either in their Soul or Body that shall not be racked with perpetual and eternal pain And can thine heart endure or thine hands be strong when he shall come to deal with thee Ezek. 22.14 Thou would'st eat thy bread with trembling and drink thy drink with terrour and astonishment if he should pour out on thee some few bitter drops of his displeasure now in this life Thou even thou saith the Psalmist to Almighty God whose Judgments thou despisest art greatly to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry Psal 76.7 what trembling eyes and what a failing heart have they whom God doth a little terrifie with some frowns of his anger here on earth you may hear them cry out in the morning would God it were evening and in the evening would God it were morning for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear and for the fear of thine eyes which thou shalt see Deut. 28.6 51 67. How dolefully doth Job complain under his outward sufferings though he had Integrity to support him and the root of Comfort was within him Job 19.28 Death it self it seems would have been welcome to him under the heavy pressures which he felt as we may see in Job 3.20 21. c. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery and life to the bitter in Soul which long for death but it cometh not and dig for it more than for hid treasures which rejoyce exceedingly and are glad when they can find the grave Why is life given to a man whose way is hid and whom God hath hedg'd in for my sighing cometh before I eat and my roarings are poured out like water And how David was ready to faint away many a time under the apprehensions of Gods displeasure it 's the design of many a passage in the Psalms to tell you Psal 51.8 Make me to hear of joy and gladness that the
negatively and affirmatively that is prove us guilty or not guilty of this sin according as we are or are not guilty of them First They that have not a higher and greater love to God than to any other thing else are guilty and forgetters of him The reason is because what we love we remember and what we love best we remember most And on the contrary what we do not love and care for we forget and the less we care for it the more we do forget it Art thou one therefore that lovest God above all than he will have the highest place in thy Remembrance I do not say he will be thought on as often as any thing else because God hath laid such duty upon most of us that requireth more frequent Thoughts of other things than of him but yet our thoughts of him will be frequent and though they be fewer than our thoughts of other things yet whatsoever their number be they will more command the Affections and Actions than all other thoughts whatsoever or else we shall come under the dreadful guilt of forgetfulness of God Secondly Thou art a forgetter of God if any one sin do habitually prevail in thee and do lead thee captive for the most part because this will extinguish the love of God in thee and consequently all worthy Remembrance of him Art thou one therefore that allowest thy self in any one sin then thou art a forgetter of God or if thou dost not trouble thy self with such thoughts nor dost much matter what prevails rather any thing than puzzle thy self with reflections on thy self thou forgettest thy self and therefore must needs forget God For the knowledge of thy own necessities of which sin is the greatest is one necessary requisite to the due Remembrance of God But I intend not to insist on these Lastly As I implied before if thou hast a worthy Remembrance of God thou dost competently understand and consider the ordinary works of God So I say now Thou wilt much more reverence and observe the extraordinary works of his Hand and applaud his Justice when his Judgements are more signal The reason is because these are more apt to provoke consideration which is ready to sleep when things run on in a constant course and order And therefore who is it that makes any matter of a River that runs on a constant stream or course But if it stop without any visible cause all the Town and Countrey comes to behold it Who regards the Sun Moon and Stars that are obvious to our daily Eye Or the orderly site and motion of them They are but few but if there appear two Suns or two Moons or a Star extraordinary never seen before what running and gazing every where and they that will scarce step out of doors to behold an ordinary Star will break their Sleep and lose their Rest and venture their Health to see a dreadful Comet or Blazing star The like may be said for the motion of them who minds the daily rising and setting of the Sun But if it should stand stand still a day or go backward ten degrees as it did in the days of Joshua and Hezekiah Joshua 10.13 2 Kings 20.11 Who would not take notice God will not be slighted in his ordinary daily works but when he doth a Miracle or a strange and unusual Work he calls for a more special attention and reverent observation It 's sinful not to go on and not to lift up an Eye and acknowledge God and observe his VVisdom and Power in his common Providences but it 's wicked stupidity not to stop and consider Providences that rarely come to pass and seldom fall out Doth not every extraordinary act of Justice call out and say Come behold and see what Desolations he hath wrought in the Earth Psal 46.8 VVhen he is shaking a Nation by VVar and overturning the Glory of it or when scourging a Nation with Pestilence or Famine he doth in effect say Be still and know that I am God I will be exalted amongst them I will be glorified in them or on them Psal 46.10 Justice is one of his essential Perfections and when that is cleared and sin made odious by remarkable penalty and the devouring evils that it ushers in then God is acknowledged and glorified And when this is done by the voluntary act of those that feel the hand it 's an act of terrible affrighting Justice in the beginning but glorious wonderful and most endearing mercy in the end The Lord is now throwing us by heaps into the place of forgetfulness because we have so remarkably forgotten him Who hath fed us with the finest of the VVheat and Honey out of the Rock Psal 81.14 I mean with the blessings of Heaven and Earth and doth he not expect that we should be silent and meditate terror Esay 33.18 And applaud his Justice and Holiness and that our Bowels should more yearn over the distressed cause and interest of Holiness which our sin hath injured than the Carcases of our dearest Friends that fall like Dung upon the Earth It is most certainly true that every honest faithful heart that 's sincerely dedicated unto God and which God will own hereafter that he is more heartily troubled in his deliberate thoughts for the wrong sin hath done to God than for the saddest calamity it brings upon men VVhat man that hath the love of God and Holiness predominant in his Heart that can particularly think of the sins of this Nation and the City which is the chief Theatre of this present Judgment the Atheism gross and open Prophaneness perfidious Hipocrisie shameful Ingratitude beastly Filthiness Contempt both of Mercy and Judgment Pride of both sorts Spirit and Flesh Luxury Injustice and Oppression and with what a publick impudent Face they are committed and that after such Obligations so fresh before our Eyes VVhat true Child of God can consider this and not cry out in some true sense of Gods dishonour My Bowels my Bowels I am pained at the very Heart my Heart maketh a noise within me Jer. 4.19 And though he doth compassionate the suffering Nation and those in particular that feel this severity yet consideration forceth him to say from his Soul Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee for thy wickedness is bitter it reacheth to the very Heart Jer. 4.18 VVe have liv'd under excellent light and means in a Nation where our dearest Saviour hath been made known this 1600 years 1. Almost from his very Passion and we have liv'd under a profession of Faith and have acknowledged our high engagement to love and obedience of our Redeemer How frequent have the obliging names of Saviour and Redeemer been in our Mouths and our Lips have droped free Grace and Mercy like the Honey-comb and our words to him have been smoother than Oyl and yet what could we have done more wickedly than we have done if we had no Faith at all If we
pine away thy self from day to day with earnest desires and endeavours after it Thou wert made for God and thy Soul will be restless till it return to him Consideration would convince thee that thus it is think then more frequently what is that work thou wert made for Thirdly The next thing worth your most serious Consideration is how well you have answered the end of your Creation You see what a wise just holy and impartial God you have to do with and that you are his Creatures and wherefore he hath made you and endued you with such Faculties and given you such various helps and encouragements Now consider how well you have used them how you have improved your several Talents and served your Maker and kept the Statutes and Judgments he hath given you Have you had your heart in Heaven or in Earth ever since you came hither Have you lived to God or without God in the world Have you lived in the love and praises of your Maker and in perfect obedience to his Laws or have you not rather extinguished all love of God in your hearts and violated all his righteous Laws and preferred the wisdom of the Flesh before the wisdom of the Spirit and set your selves to oppose his Government Though it may be you have not sinned against him on set purpose and directly opposed him yet have you not neglected to consult his will and when you have known your duty in many particulars have you not refused to obey Let your own Consciences be the Judge Have you kept the fear of God always before your eyes Hath no corrupt communication proceeded out of your mouth Have no idle blasphemous wicked thoughts crept into your hearts Have you been just and righteous in all your dealings towards God and Men Have you stood up for the honour of God against all his Enemies and faithfully reproved Sin and done all your works with respect to Gods glory or have you not overlooked that and minded your own worldly interest and cherished revengeful proud ambitious thoughts in your own hearts and countenanced Sin in others at least have you not been silent when Gods Name hath been lightly used in every trivial matter and his Sabbaths profan'd and his Word derided There 's none of us but must confess we have neglected this great work too much at the best how much more at the worst Our Hereditary Corruption was enough to make us odious in the pure Eyes of God for ever what then shall we plead for our Actual Sins which are multiplied to such a number that we cannot reckon them up So that there is no man that is not liable to the Wrath of God and the Condemning Sentence of his Law Consider whether you have not been treasuring up Wrath all your days and destroying your selves and preferring Dung and Dross before him Did he make thee to affront and dishonour him and prefer a trifle before him Did he make thee to scrape after the world to make provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof Bethink thy self and consider whether thou hast discharged thy Duty and answered the Ends of thy Creation and done all to the glory of God and you will see Cause enough to abhor your self Fourthly Being thus obnoxious to Gods displeasure and liable to Death and Condemnation consider in the fourth place whether you are sensible of your Sin and Misery and whether you have accepted the grace which the Gospel offers to you There 's no remedy but you must perish for ever and have the Judgment of Everlasting Condemnation if Consideration do not bring you to Repentance and wound your hearts with the bitter sense and feeling of your Sin O consider that it was the mere mercy of God that any such terms were offered to you he might have left you as he did the fallen Angels and therefore if now you shall slight a pardon and refuse to lay your sin to heart and to be humbled and broken for it and to come to Christ with a loving and thankful heart that he would cleanse and purifie you by his Word and Spirit your case condition will be the more doleful your Judgment at the Great Day will be more Intolerable I know you have verbally Renounced the World the Devil and the Flesh in your Baptismal promise but have you Really and Unfeignedly Renounced them in heart and life Are you Convinced that nothing can wash away the stain of any the least of your Sins but the Blood of Christ much less wipe away the Sins of your whole Life Have you throughly considered the necessity of his Blood to procure your Pardon the necessity of his Spirit to Sanctifie you And that there is no Name under Heaven by which you can be saved but his but if you be such that loath your selves for all former Sins and are weary of a corrupt and sinful Nature and Christ be the chiefest among ten Thousand to your Soul then though you have so much crossed the end of your Creation and committed so much Sin it shall not be charged on you the Blood of Christ will certainly cleanse you from all your Sin If this faith be not yet wrought in you consideration must open and soften your Heart and make way for it If you did but frequently consider what priviledges they are forthwith admitted to that do believe and what a fearful looking for of Judgment there remaineth for unbelievers you would hasten to make your escape from the Stormy Wind and Tempest Suppose that some Mortal distemper had seized on you and this will certainly be your case ere long do but a little consider what the priviledges of a believer will be worth to you then how sweet the promise of forgiveness by Christ will be to your tast Yea sweeter than the Honey to your throat Psal 119.103 Do but let your thoughts run upon this Subject and tell you How happy you would count your self if you were united to Christ and a true member of his body reconciled to God and pardoned adopted into his family and received into his especial protection what would you give then to be acquitted from all your former sins to have the sting of Death pull'd out to land safe at your desired Harbour to dye in the Lord and to have a Convoy of blessed Angels to carry your soul to endless Joy say what you would give then to be secured from the sensible sears of Hell and Death and to lie down in the Grave in Peace and Safety and to have nothing then to make you afraid Why if you are a Penitent Believer and belong to Christ there will be comfort for you in the Hour when all the World shall signifie nothing to you Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil Prov. 1.33 When natural strength will be sure to fail you and your Soul is going out from your Body where it hath so long dwelt
that have not given up your Names to Christ Your foolish Friends may flatter you and your own fraudulent Heart may cheat you but the Word of God tells you plainly what will be your doom if by Faith in Christ you do not escape it How can you do to read such a Text as that in Luke 12.20 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Night shall they require thy Soul of thee 1 by a usual Hebraism shall thy Soul be required of thee for when there is no Nominative Case go before the Verb it 's taken impersonally 5. Lastly God is thine Enemy and that contains all the Misery that can be thought or spoken Who can do a worse turn to himself than to make God his Enemy Who can befriend that Man that hath God for his Adversary or plead his Cause for him When Saul in distress comes to Samuel as he thought for counsel what a sad Answer doth he return him Wherefore dost thou ask of me seeing the Lord is departed from thee and is become thine Enemy 1 Sam. 28.16 And it was the bitterest part of Job's suffering that he thought God was his Enemy Wherefore hidest thou thy Face and countest me for thine Enemy Job 13.24 Thou even thou art greatly to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry faith the Psalmist Psalm 76.7 We may bear the Frowns of a Mortal Man though he were never so great yea though all the World should frown there 's some Refuge against that If all Men and Devils should storm and rage against us it 's possible for a Soul to comfort it self against this and find out a shelter But whither wilt thou fly when God pursues What will you do in the day of visitation and in the desolation which shall come from far To whom will you fly for help saith the Prophet to the wicked Israelites that had provoked God to be their Enemy Isaiah 10.3 There 's no flying from him Whither shall I go from thy Spirit Or whither shall I flee from thy Presence If I ascend up into Heaven thou art there If I make my Bed in Hell behold thou art there If I take the wings of the Morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the Sea even there shall thy hand lead me c. Psal 130.7 8 9 10. There 's no escaping his hand If he come to tare in pieces there can be none to deliver Psalm 50.22 Stay a little thou that art an impenitent unbeliever and consider a while what this importeth viz. To have God for thine Adversary I 'll tell thee in brief It implys these three Things 1. First All the Attributes of God are against thee and feel it thou shalt either sooner or later 2. Secondly All the Creatures will set against thee first or last 3. Thirdly Thine own Conscience shall side with God against thee and to make thee perfectly miserable shall fall upon thee with the greatest Fury and Madness 1. If thou reject the gracious Offers of Mercy by the Gospel and refuse to have Christ reign over thee all the Attributes of God are engaged against thee The inflexible Justice and Wisdom and Holiness his infinite Power and never failing Truth and Veracity will all combine to make thee everlastingly miserable Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do righteously Gen. 18.25 Will Infinite Power let such Contempt of his Grace which hath stooped so low go unrevenged Will he suffer the proud Sinner to Spit in the Face of his Son for unbelief and rejecting him is no better and not wipe off that aspersion by the eternal ruin and perdition of the sinner Will it consist with the perfect Wisdom of God to look down upon the unbeliever and see him trample such amazing Love and Mercy under his feet not once nor twice but so many Years together as make up the Number of his Life and not recompence such base Ingratitude and wicked Presumption according to its desert If there be Truth and Faithfulness in God thou canst not scape He cannot deny himself 2 Tim. 2.13 Dost thou believe it If thou believest not yet he abideth faithful and let me tell thee again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he cannot deny himself He hath spoken and will not alter the thing that is gone out of his Mouth He that believeth not the Son shall not see Life John 3.36 Nay he that believeth not 〈…〉 already because he hath not 〈…〉 the Name of the only begotten Son of God John 3.18 I know he delighteth not in the misery or ruin of any of his Creatures and therefore is slow to Anger and proceeds leasurely to Judgment and strikes not till there is no Remedy after he hath used all the Methods of Mercy and Pity to reclaim the sinner and hath invited him time after time year after year to have compassion upon his own Soul and accept of Christ and pardon with him yet when no Means will succeed and the case of the sinner is quite desperate neither will he be drawn to believe however he speed Judge now what a disparagement this would be to the Wisdom Justice Holiness and Veracity of God not to pass Sentence upon such a sinner and then what a one it must be you may easily understand If they that despised Moses Law died without Mercy of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy who hath troden under foot the Son of God c. Heb. 10.28 29. c. If God strike he hath a hand like himself 2. Secondly All Creatures will set against thee for they are his Armies and he is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lord of Hosts All thy Friends and Acquaintance will come in and bring their Witness and Accusations against thee even thy bosom Confederates shall cry shame on thee and add Affliction to thy Misery O what a killing Consideration will it be then and I would it were so now if possibly it might prevent that woful day to be overwhelmed with Misery and Desperation and when thou shalt cry out with Job Job 19.21 Have pity upon me have pity upon me O my Friends for the hand of God hath touched me and he shall find none near him to speak one word of ease to him but all his bitter Enemies This will cut him to the quick and bring down his stomack when it is too late Then if it were possible to believe in hope how earnestly would he wish to see one of the days of the Son of Man Luke 17.22 3. Thirdly To compleat his Misery his own Conscience shall fall upon him with the greatest violence It will upbraid him with wilful stupid unbelief and the most monstrous ingratitude It will bring to his remembrance the kindness of his Saviour such a one as was never heard of It will tell him of his Blood and Sufferings and how fain he would have washed him and embraced him with Mercy and he flew away and scorn'd Deliverance and slighted all
Excellency and Perfection may justly challenge our greatest Love and Esteem yet the unparallel Good he hath done us doth call for much more Nimii durus est Animas saith Seneca qui si Amorem non velit impendere nolit rependere It 's a base Nature indeed and highly unreasonable that will not pay Love with Love Can we be content to receive all from God and to repay nothing back again He that gives him not the prime and choice of his Affections gives him nothing in the Scripture Account yea he is reputed a Hater of him Luke 14.26 If any Man come to me and hate not that is love them not less his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters and his own Life also he cannot be my Disciple Let but some of those Numberless Favours which thou hast received from him be but a while considered and it will utterly shame and put to silence this odious sin And the unthankful hard-hearted sinner that is not melted by such love as this must needs be confounded in the serious thoughts thereof either here or hereafter Here in Repentance or hereafter in Torment 1. Thou hast thy very Being from him without which thou wert uncapable of any Love or Kindness from God or any Creature He gave thee that very Heart which thou deniest him and whereby thou slightest him He gave thee thy Memory to remember him Thy Mind to think upon him He gave thee that Faculty of Love that it might burn continually towards him Ungrateful Soul to set any thing above him in thy Love and Esteem That hadst been a Brute and no Man if it had pleased him and might'st then have wanted such a gift to bestow on him or any other thing 2. The same Hand that gave thee thy Being at the first doth yet continue it and preserve thee every Day and Night every Hour and Moment If he should but subtract his Hand thou would'st soon dye and return to thy Dust again Thou hast forfeited Life and deserved Death over and over How oft hast thou run upon destruction and he hath saved thee and reversed the Sentence of Death when the Law hath condemned thee And lengthned out this Life to thee that thou might'st repent and live for ever And dost thou live by his meer grace and favour every day and yet lovest him not above all other things This is highly absurd and unreasonable 3. Thy Life and all other Comforts are not only the Fruit of his Bounty but of his meer Grace and Mercy They have been all forfeited a thousand times over Every Sin calls for Sentence and Execution upon the sinner and condemns him to universal want and misery But the Blood of God hath purchased them back again to thee and the hand of God hath restored them and recovered so base a Wretch into a state of favour and condition of hope And under each of these comprehensive Mercies infinite particulars might be reckoned up And now what canst thou set up in Competition with Him Thy Wit Thine Understanding Thy Health Strength Beauty Friends Riches Honour Life Or any Provision that 's made for it These all belong to him They are his Talents Art thou a Debter to all or any one of these that thou shouldst serve love or esteem them more than him who is so incomparably thy Benefactor Reason 3d. Thirdly God deserveth our greatest love because he is to us The most suitable Good Now that 's the most suitable good that doth most fitly and fully supply all our Necessities and satisfie our most rational Desires Now who or what can pretend to compare with him in this respect or stand in a competition with him There are Two great Necessities which every Soul lies under 1. The one is in respect of Sin The 2d in respect of Suffering and Misery which Two comprize all the Wants and Necessities of Man Both which none is capable of removing but Christ our Redeemer who is God-Man blessed for evermore And for the first Sin It exposeth every sinner to two great Wants The One of Pardon The Other of Sanctification In the want of either of which it 's plainly impossible that any Man should be happy And this needs no other Proof that the bare Explication of what Pardon and Sanctification are 1. Pardon is but the Removal of Guilt which every Sinner doth contract Now Guilt being an Obligation unto Punishment Pardon must needs be the dissolving or nulling of that Obligation which if it should continue and not be removed the guilty sinner must needs be terrified and affrighted with the sense of his obnoxiousness to God's displeasure who perfectly hates Sin and loves Justice and Righteousness more than all his Creatures and therefore must needs resent any Affront done to them as it were to the Apple of his Eye where such Guilt lies upon any Creature which sense cannot but arise in every Sinner when Conscience is awake which will be sooner or later And then he that knows God is his Enemy cannot sure be happy since he hath infinite power and wisdom against him And this is the very Case of every one that lies under Guilt unremoved he hath Almighty God for his Enemy And as the want of Pardon cannot consist with Happiness so neither can the want of 2. Sanctification For as he that hath God for his Enemy cannot be happy so neither can he that is an Enemy unto God And such a one is every unsanctified and unrenewed Soul who being unlike to God cannot take pleasure in him nor have any complacency in those things which are suited to his blessed Nature But loves them just as the Bird doth the Snare from whence he will fly and escape with all the speed he can But he that cannot love God above all and delight chiefly in his Ways can never be happy because these are the only Ways that can perfect his Nature and make him happy Pardon and Sanctification being thus explained it evidently follows by clear consequence that without these two the sinner cannot be happy but such a one is every Man and therefore without these two Supplies no Soul can be happy Thus much being evident and demonstrable it is as plain that none can remove the Guilt and Filth that sin implies but God who alone can remit sin and sanctifie the sinner and dispose him by Holiness to the Love of God and all Righteousness wherein his chief happiness doth consist The Second grand Necessity which Man lies under which indeed comprehends all Necessities whatsoever is Misery or Suffering which comprizeth all that Evil in Effect which sin doth in the Cause All that Sickness and Sorrow and Trouble and Fear and Discontent and Death and those sad Expectations after it are the Fruit and Effect of Sin by Resultancy oftentimes and always by way of a Righteous Punishment and Compensation Yea Sin is such a Monster that it not only deserves but also inflicts Evil upon
the Letters of which every Word we read is composed or as it is to give restorative Food to a distempered Body before the peccant Matter be purg'd out that is the cause of the Distemper But then though it be the first step in Religion and the first acceptable Service we can perfornâ—â—â— God It is not there that we must rest we are not there to sit down and advance no further as if we were gotten to Hercules Pillaâ—s and there were no higher Perfection to be attained in Religion And to mistake the subordinate and subservient part of God's Service for that which is more perfect and principal for hereby Sin and the Devil will get these Two great Advantages 1. God will be misrepresented both to our selves and others and he that is so full of Compassion and Mercy and all amicable and lovely Perfections will be thought by the Religion which he preserâ—bes to be cruel and unmerciful and to delight in the Torment and Affliction of his Creatures For Men will be drawing his Image by such a false Pencil And then 2. They that make it their whole endeavour to weep and mourn and afflict themselves for their sins will thereby disable both Body and Soul for any Service of God at all and both destroy their Bodily Health and overthrow their Reason And so whilst they are bewailing their Sin and as they think are conquering of it they do but entangle themselves the more and utterly waste that strength that should mortifie and subdue it And the reason why God doth speak so much in his Word in approbation of the sorrowful broken and contrite Heart which I doubt is the Reason of these Mens mistake is because such Persons have need of such Encouragement and might otherwise faint under the Anguish and Burthen of their Spirits and therefore because he would not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax till he hath brought forth Judgment unto Victory He gives these Cordials to such as are under the Pangs of the New Birth But he had much rather that Men would leave the Principles of the Doctrin of Christ and not stick always at the Foundation of Repentance from Dead Works and of Faith towards God Not that we are to shake hands with Repentance and sorrow for Sin after we are once heartily converted unless we could be sure to commit no more sin But then sin will need a more short and transient sorrow when we presently bewail it so soon as ever it is committed But our first Repentance and Sorrow will cost us hotter Water and put us to â—â—â—e trouble If a Man that hath a long Journey to go should set out a quite contrary way to the place whither he is to go and so travel on till he hath spent half or more of the time that is allotted for his Journey you must needs think that will cost him more vexation and trouble to get into his right way than after he is gotten in if he should chance to step out a Mile or two A small Errour is more speedily corrected than a great one of long continuance But yet it is always true That it 's better to prevent sin and keep out of it at the first than to get out of it by Repentance Though by Accident and through the Mercy of God it may sometimes prove better to the sinner that he did fall into sin if he doth afterwards heartily rerepent of it But absolutely and in it self it is not better And he that should presume to let loose the Reigns to Sin upon that account I believe would find it much worse But before I produce those Considerations which through the Blessing of God may stir up and strengthen this Affection which must prepare the way for Faith in Christ which lays the Foundation for all Joy and Peace I will first shew what this Godly Sorrow doth imply or what Acts are included in it if it be such as will work Repentance never to be repented of And here let me Note That Repentance is sometimes taken by a Synechdoche for the whole Work of Conversion and then it includes Faith in it so it 's taken Luke 15.7 There shall be joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance So Luke 13.3 5. Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish where Faith also is implied So Acts 11.18 Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life where Repentance is named as the only condition of Life which without Faith also in Christ cannot be had and therefore it is included Sometime Repentance is taken only for Contrition and then usually Faith is joyned with it So Acts 20.21 Testifying to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ And in this latter sense I here take the word Repentance when I make use of it And so Repentance or Godly Sorrow is a deliberate Act of the Soul performed upon the Motions or by the Assistance of the good Spirit of God whereby a Man being touched with unfeigned Sorrow and Remorse for all that he hath sinned whither in his Parents or in himself either inwardly and in secret or else openly and in the sight of Men is now resolved to close with Christ as his only Remedy against the Guilt and Power of it So that you may perceive by this Description that sincere Repentance and Sorrow for Sin must imply these following Acts or otherwise it can never be an advised and deliberate Act nor conclude in a firm resolution and purpose to take Christ as his only sufficient Saviour First It implys a deep Conviction of the Holiness of God and his sin-hating Nature And that you may as soon reconcile Light and Darkness as God and the least Sin whether you take it in its Material or Formal Consideration In its Material Consideration it 's nothing but Deformity and Absurdity and Contradiction to all Right and Reason And in its Formal Respect it 's a thwarting God's Will that 's supreme and governed with infinite wisdom and a breach of his righteous Law And in both these Respects it must needs be the Object of Divine Hatred and Abhorrence surely he must needs abhor to see a Creature cross his own Will and oppose his own Government and when he hath endued him with reason to see him act so absurdly Hence the Psalmist tells us That such as are foolish cannot stand in his sight he hateth all the workers of iniquity Psalm 5.5 And if an imperfect Saint such a one as David hath such an aversation to such Works and the doers of them that he can say depart from me all ye workers of Iniquity much more doth he that is of spotless purity hate all Filthiness and Pollution which every sinner hath some degree of If the Lord were not an utter Enemy to all Iniquity he had never turned so many Angels
the Nails afresh into his Side and Hands and to persecute him whom God hath wounded yea and that for thy sin Hast thou the Heart of a Man or fierce Savage Beast that canst add Sorrow to such Afflictions Is it Nothing to thee that he was such a Man of Sorrows and so despised of Men and smitten of God What when thou thy self art the Person for which he hath borne all this Is it no matter to thee though he was led as a Lamb to the slaughter and as a Sheep dumb before the shearer Isa 53.7 Wo to thee that ever God made thee a Man if thou art become such a hard-hearted Rock He submitted to all this that he might prevail with God on the one side to be reconciled unto sinners and that he might prevail with sinners on the other side to repent and be reconciled unto God The former part of his Work he hath already done He hath gained his Father's Consent And wilt not thou Consent to lay by thine Enmity to God to confess thy former sins and to return to thy Obedience It shall be more tolerable surely for the Devils themselves that never had such Mercy offered them in the Day of Judgment than for such hard-hearted impenitent sinners But this is not all that Christ does for them he bears with them in wonderful patience sometimes he casts a gracious Look upon them as once he did upon Peter as if he would melt them in despight of all their obstinacy And seems to say to them What sinner shall I suffer and wilt thou suffer too rather than repent and live Shall I bleed to the very death to save thee from destruction and wilt thou have no Mercy upon thy self Turn thee Turn thee Why wilt thou dye O impenitent sinner Sometimes he frowns upon the sinner and threatens him with a sorer and heavier Condemnation if he will not repent and all that he might gain his Consent He assaults him on all sides that he might recover him by Repentance unto that happy state which he doth so much desire to see him possessed of He sets the Motives of Eternal Life and Death before him and gives him many a precious Hour to ponder and consider them He sends his Spirit also to knock at the door of his Heart that he may be let in Wo a thousand Times to that Man that will not be invited to Repentance by all these Means Good it had been for that Man or Woman if they had never been born Sixthly It is the End of all the Ordinances of God and every Providence to work this Godly Sorrow in our Minds and Hearts and bring us to Repentance It is the First intention of the Ministry of the Word to kill sin in us by Repentance and then to bring us on to the Life of Faith and Holiness And all the Doctrines that are taught and delivered to us in the Ministry of the Word are to drive on this Design The Doctrine of God's Attributes and Perfections is but the better to inform us of our Duty and what Service is due to such a Majesty so related to us and to qualifie and prepare our Hearts to a reverend and humble Performance of our Duty And to shew us what a sin it is either to neglect it or slight it over And consequently to bring us to judge abhor and condemn our selves when we have any of this Guilt upon us All the Doctrines that concern our selves and that teach us what we were by Nature and what we are by Practice and what we may be through the Grace of God and the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus serve effectually to shame and humble us and to break our very Hearts in the sense of that Misery that sin hath brought upon us If God made us such beautiful lovely Creatures and we have made our selves such deformed loathsome sinners doth it not become our Duty and highly beseem us to afflict our souls with the bitter remembrance thereof especially when God offereth Mercy to such penitent afflicted sinners All the Doctrines that concern our Brethren what do they serve for but to teach us the Extent of our Duty to them and the hainousness of our sin that have so much failed in all the respects that we owe to God and Men That so the more distinct sight and knowledge of our sin may make our Repentance more sound and compleat To what end are all the Terrible Threatnings of God's Word against Sin and Sinners but either to prevent the Sin or else to humble the Sinner after he is fallen under the Threatning and to work upon the Passion of Fear that by it the sinner may be awakened to consider what he hath done And whither to serve all the Promises but to perfect that work more kindly which the Fear of Judgment hath begun There 's not a Doctrine that 's Preached and Published to us by the Ministry of the Word but what comes on this very Errand and hath a subserviency to this End and should be effectually managed to such a purpose by all that are intrusted with this Sacred Office Some helpful Considerations to provoke to the Sublime and Excellent Duty of Joy and Delight in God To Sing his Praise and to be Thankful to him Judaei dicunt prohibitum esse homini ulla refrui in hoc Mundo sine benedictione Et quicunque fruitur re aliquâ ex hoc Mundo sine benedictione perinde est acci spotiaret Deum Berach fol. 35. Scriptures enjoyning Joy and Delight in God with Thankfulness and Praise First Joy and Delight in God Psal 37.4 Delight thy self in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart Deut. 28.47 Because thou servedst not the Lord God with joyfulness and gladness of heart for the abundance of all things therefore thou shalt serve thine enemies in hunger and thirst c. Phil. 4.4 Rejoyce in the Lord always yea and again I say rejoyce Hab. 3.17 18. Although the Fig-tree should not blossom neither should Fruit be in the Vine though the labour of the Olive should fail and the Field should yeild no Meat although the Flock should be cut off from the Fold and there should be no Herd in the Stalls v. 18. Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation Psal 68.3 But let the righteous be glad let them rejoyce before God yea let them exceedingly rejoyce Isa 64.5 Thou meetest them that rejoyce and work righteousness Rom. 14.17 The kingdom of God is said there to consist in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost John 15.11 These things have I spoken that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full 1 Thess 5.16 Rejoyce evermore Nehem. 8.10 The joy of the Lord is our strength Psal 32.11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoyce ye righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart Psal 66.1 2. Make a joyful noise
bring God to thy Remembrance and such a light both in Nature and in Scripture to discover it and such Assistance to fetch it in by Meditation into thine Understanding and Affections and such opportunities to learn what is thus suggested and when there is such sweetness in the very act of Learning and the benefits that directly flow from thence are so incomparable the final reward so unspeakable refuse not to apply thy Heart to the highest Wisdom All other thoughts that are not subordinate to this Remembrance have a greater or lesser tendency to discontent and vexation but these are the only comforting and reviving Meditations If thou dost not forget thy self thou wilt remember him If thou dost not forget thy later end thou wilt remember him If thou wilt but remember the days of Anguish and Trouble that are coming on thee thou wilt remember him Thou wilt then say be not far from me when trouble is near and there is none to help O let him not be far from thee now keep him in the midst of thy Heart renew thy thoughts of him as thou sittest in thy House as thou walkest by the way as thou liest down and as thou risest up Deut. 6.8 Imagine thou seest him in his Word Suppose that thou beholdest him in his Works think thou hast a taste of him whilst thou art feeding thy self and refreshing thy Body with its daily Food and Sustenance For thou livest not by Bread alone nor by such dead things as these but by the Word and Blessing of God that only can give thee life Deut. 8.3 Matth. 4.3 Oh how much doth man undervalue himself whilst he remembers not whose Coin he is and whose Stamp he bears He turns the fairest Gold into a Counter and uncoins himself and can never understand his own worth if he leave God out of his thoughts If thou wouldst think of thy own reasonable nature and put that question to thy self which was maliciously put to our Saviour by the Phariseâ—s and some of Herod's Disciples Mark 12.16 Whose is this Image and Superscription And this would bring God to thy Remembrance that hath fearfully made thee Psal 139.14 Thou art Brass indeed if thou canst impute such a stamp as this to any other cause and give away this Divine Royalty as thou dost if thou forget the Mint out of which thou camest and where thou wast stamped if thou remembrest any thing or hast any kindness or respect for thy own Soul acquaint thy self with God remember him and be at peace Job 22 21. To provoke to this Duty besides what hath been already hinted I shall only suggest thus much further by way of Interrogation First Doth God remember thee every hour and canst thou make shift for all that not to remember him If thou didst not need the Heavens that hang over thy Head nor the Earth that hangeth under thy Feet nor any of those Creatures that stand round about thee If thou wouldst spare the light and influence of the Sun and want the Air that 's turned in and out at thy Nostrils and keep in the little spark of Life without the Meat and Drink that feedeth it every Day and the hot Embers that cover it every Night I mean the warm Bed and Sleep wherewith it is cherished and refreshed or if thou couldst bid all Creatures to go and come at thy pleasure then it were a more excusable sin not to remember God but when it is so great a certainty that these are all the means and instruments that he hath made and doth use to conveigh his Blessings to us and that we cannot live a moment without one or other of them thou art an Atheist in Judgment or Practice if thou forget him Thou mayst as well stand without a Foundation or see without Eyes or hear without the hearing Faculty as live without one or other of his Mercies every moment If thou hadst nothing else to endear the thoughts of God to thee and to make the Remembrance sweet even the mercies of a meer private nature have a mighty force to one that doth but consider them If we do but acknowledge what we have deserved it 's no contemptible mercy nor to be slighted to be freed from those evils which are so many ways incident to us and which we have so well deserved not to be stricken with Blindness or Deafness not to be smitten with Distraction or Madness not forsaken of Health and Friends all outward Comforts not driven to pinching necessities of Hunger Thirst Cold and Nakedness as many are These privative mercies should amplifie the goodness of our Redeemer to us and make the thoughts of God more welcome Not to want any Member of thy Body nor Faculty of thy Soul nor a very good portion of Food Health and Friends especially if they be Friends indeed nor other Provision for a comfortable Life and yet to want an Eye to look to the Fountain nor to remember the Giver that deals with us so contrary to our deservings is a fearful case and condition The Church in her Captivity when she was in the hands of cruel Tyrants and Oppressors yet even in that condition could find out a Not that did not a little affect his Heart with thankfulness It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed Lam. 3.22 As if she had said we are in distress but we might have been in Hell we are cast down but we might have been utterly cast off A Soul truly convinced of his sin and humbled knows the value of such mercies as these Not tormented with those acute Diseases that gives us no rest day nor night not afflicted with the Stone or Gout or Iliack Passion not seized on with a hand of Judgment from Heaven not visited with the Plague or any other dreadful Sickness What an Indictment made up of such Mercies might be drawn up against one that blots God out of his Remembrance And if mercies of this kind are such an obligation to this duty what are the positive mercies of a whole life yea of a year month or but a day It 's hard to reckon up the kinds and sorts unless we should insist upon meer generals that comprehend numbers under them Such as are Temporal Spiritual Personal or Relative it 's not very easie to reckon them up The comforts of Life Health to those that have it Estate Name mercies of Food and Rayment Friends House Recreation Protection but the particulars under these who can recite Our relative mercies how various Never a one relation but would puzzle our thoughts to muster up the mercies thereof and give in the particulars the good we do them the good we receive of them every sight of them every enjoyment of their company discourse love to us our love to them In a word All our comforts are theirs and theirs reciprocally ours and so each have the mercies twice over See now whether we have brought the matter and in what a
of him may be our sweetest daily Exercise and Imployment But without Consideration you cannot approach him nor get any transforming reviving sight of him His Ways are in the Seas and his Paths are in the deep Waters and Foot-steps cannot be known nor track'd without frequent Exercise of your Considering Faculty Psal 77.19 Secondly As we have the matters of greatest importance and necessity to Consider so we have many special advantages to excite and awaken Consideration One would think the worth and weightiness of the Object should be spur enough to quicken us to this Work and command our thoughts if there were no other motive to prick us forward but we have many current helps many a loud call from the Word of God set on by his appointed Servants that are sent forth on purpose upon this Errand Many providential help both sweet and terrible and something besides the common course strange and unusual and therefore more fit to set the Mind a thinking from what cause they come and what they drive at The veryest Atheist is sometime blank'd at some strange and unheard of events and knows not what interpretation to make of them nor whether to refer them for having denied the true Author of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They become vain in their imanations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And their foolish Heart is darkned Rom. 1.21 Yea that arch Opposer of Providence Epicurus himself had not made such a progress in Forgetfulness of God and the denial of a Deity governing and over-ruling the Affairs of the Earth but that he was so startled by some effects that he observed that he could not utterly wipe the notion of a Providence out of his Mind When a Blasphemer is struck dead in the very Act of his Blasphemy and Vengeance lights upon another with a fearful imprecation in his Mouth and some effects are so anomalous and besides the course of Nature that it is no thanks to the most Atheistical to bring in their Witness and to confess the Wisdom and Power and Justice of God Let a Man that truly worshippeth and feareth God in such a time of dreadful and publick Calamity as this is applaud the Justice of God and freely confess his handy work and assign the notorious publick allowed and encouraged sins of the City and Nation for the meritorious and provoking Cause It may be a purblind thick sighted Beast whose God is his Belly and whose Glory is his Shame that is drunk with Sensual Pleasure Phil. 9.13 will tell you that such a mortality comes about in the revolution and circle of so many years and will rake the Kennel for the Cause and ascribe the effects to the naughtiness of the Streets rather than to the naughtiness of their Hearts or look up to the true efficient to whom these causes they usually fasten upon are but subservient and all that they might hide their shame and that they might perswade themselves and others that their sin hath no hand in bringing such a scourge upon us but yet for all that when the Judgment comes a little nearer to them and begins to find them out and awaken them to Consideration which they had no time for when they were running from one brutish pleasure to another then they begin to see and to be confounded with shame They cannot now laugh out of their Hearts all serious thoughts of a Life to come nor make a jest of a Holy Life as they did in the day of their delusion but would give a World if they had it to die the death of the Righteous No wonder that strange and extraordinary Providences whether they be of Mercy or Judgment jostle the most sottish and inconsiderate Mind and awaken it to think other thoughts of all things than they did before and enforce an Heathenish Earthly Mind that spent all its thoughts upon vanity before to say that all is but vanity and God's Favour is the only ground for true Contentment if this good fit would last which Consideration hath brought him to But alas â—o sooner is the Providence over that brought him to Consider but he grows careless again and sleeps into Atheism and whilst things run in a constant Channel and keep a constant course God is not in all his thoughts Psal 10.4 Now they think that Repentance and Faith and Self-denial are the work of Cowards yes and such as believe that God hath as great hand in the orderly course and motion of things as when they go out of order and Water that is a fluid body and should run stands still and Fire that should burn doth not Let but a Man consider and it 's as easie to believe that it s as great a power must enable the Sun to run it's race as to stand still or go backward to preserve the Societies of Men as destroy and waste them with a devouring Plague All the difference is Men now consider that would not before and conclude at least that it 's the safest course to live the Life of the Righteous though there were no God and oh that all would so conclude and hold fast such a conclusion and live accordingly then they would quickly see more and more evidence of God in the Word and the necessity of his Service and the excellency of his ways and rise up to a higher conclusion That when as before they could say it was the safest way to renounce worldly Pleasure and to mortifie their Lusts and to addict themselves to the Love and Service oâ— God now they would be able to say that it 's perfect madness not to take this course It 's a Wisdom to be laughed at to be wise for this Life and neglect the Life to come A little Consideration would shew the nakedness of such pretended Wisdom and among other helps this of Publick Calamity where Plague or Famine or any extraordinary Judgment sweeps away thousands calls the rest to come and behold the works of the Lord what Desolations he hath wrought among us Psal 46.10 Be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the People I will be acknowledged by these careless and Atheistical Sinners ver 11. And if the Lethargy of Mens Minds be not great they will consider those that were even lost before for want of attention to the Word and Works of God will awaken now or it 's too much to be feared never shall I call it therefore a Judgment or a Mercy which the compassionate God hath sent upon this Nation that gives us so much advantage to come to sober thoughts Doth it not give some check whether we will or not to the external acts of Pride Luxury and Uncleanness whereby the inward Acts are weakened and we have time to reason with our selves and are better disposed to consider when freed from the clog of worldly cares and from the fumes of a surfeited Body overcharged with Meat and Drink and from the flattering Friend that make us
believe we are well when our case is too much to be lamented and God hath not left this Town altogether without this Mercy If Consideration be so preparative to the highest Wisdom and so necessary to the Knowledge and Love of God and all solid Content and Peace then all the means whereby it is promoted should be welcome to us And our Deafness to these Providences and Inconsideracy notwithstanding we have so many advantages to bring us to Consideration of their miserable woful condition that forget God hath the greater sin This is the second help to Consideration that should humble us for the neglect of it viz. because we have so many advantages to awaken us to this duty Thirdly As Consideration is a work of absolute necessity where there is time and Capacity in regard of the worth and greatness of the matters which so much concern us and in regard of the help and assistance that God gives us to this duty so the Fruit and Benefits of Consideration are unspeakably great I shall name two 1. It is Wisdom to consider yea it 's both a sign and a cause of it where Consideration is it argues there is Wisdom already and the frequent exercise thereof will make the Person wiser and both are intimated Psal 107.43 Whoso is wise will observe these things There Consideration is a sign of Wisdom and they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. Here it is the cause it produceth Understanding and Wisdom in a higher measure so that Wisdom is both the antecedent and consequent of Consideration and doth both go before and follow after it Sin in Scripture is frequently branded with the name of Folly because it proceedeth from Folly and maketh a Man more and more foolish that committeth it Psal 85.8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak for he will speak peace unto his People and to his Saints but let them not turn again to folly i. e. Sin Job 4.18 He charged his Angels with Folly that is with Sin and so threw them down to Hell And they that are guilty of it are called Fools and Foolish Psal 5.5 The Foolish cannot stand in thy sight Who are they the later clause telleth us Thou hatest all the workers of Iniquity And that it proceedeth from Folly from whence it is denominated we have evidence enough in Scripture The Fool hath said in his Heart there is no God Psal 14.1 Where Atheismâ—s ascribed to Folly as the Fruit of it First a Fool and then an Atheist where by Fool is meant not a Natural or one that 's born with a Crack or Defect in his Intellectuals but one that 's weak thorough wilful Inconsideracy and by works of Darkness hath clouded and sotted his Understanding as those in Rom. 1.21 Whose foolish Heart was darkened by their vam Imaginations So Jer. 4.22 My People is foolish they have not known me The sense whereof may be so as to make Folly either the cause or the effect of not knowing God viz. Because my People are Foolish therefore they know not me or else because they are ignorant of me therefore they are Foolish Now then as nothing doth more promote Folly than Inconsideracy so nothing doth more befriend Wisdom than Consideration It digs deep and finds out the bottom and discovers the highest Cause of all things which is the true Description of Wisdom contemplative or as it is in the Understanding for so the Schools define it Sapientia vera est radicare de omnibus secundum altissimam Causam Altissima autem Causa est Voluntas divina sive lex quae voluntatem Dei Hominibus manifestat When the careless inconsiderate Person whom God hath blessed with Health and Content and Success looks no higher than the Air he breaths in to which he ascribes his Health or the Estate he hath to which he attributes his Content or his own Prudence to which he imputes his Success On the other side when the Inconsiderate Person whom God hath afflicted is pur-blind and can see no farther than an unwholesome Air a bad Dyet an envious troublesome Neighbour or the general Contagion now among us by the which he thinks he is afflicted in his Estate Name or Health I say when the Inconsiderate Person either in Prosperity or Adversity stops here and goes no further the considerate Person is wise indeed and looks above and beyond all these and seeth the Spring that setteth all the Wheels a going the primitive and over-ruling cause that commands all the other 1. Suitably to their own Nature 2. And according to the counsel of his own will In the one appears his admirable Wisdom in the other his Almighty Power And according to this judgment of things he is both affected and instructed and therefore his Heart is not lifted up with Pride but thankfulness unto God when he is enriched with his Mercies and the Streams wherewith he is refreshed set his Heart a longing for the Fountain This effect upon David had all his temporal Mercies they made him cry out for the Living God Psal 84.2 My Soul thirsteth for God for the Living God when shall I come and appear before God Psal 42.2 And this influence they will have in a sincere degree and measure upon all true Believers neither will they make any sinful haste to get away from the Rod when God sendeth it they know nothing can come without his special appointment And therefore though Troubles flow in upon him and come toward him like a swelling Tide and threaten to swallow him up though Enemies come upon him with Rage and Fury and the Devil and his own Corruption come upon him like a Tempest as if they would bear down and utterly overwhelm him yet in this he is confident he cannot utterly sink if he be a Believer Though a sinner doth evil an hundred times and his days be prolonged yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God which fear before him but it shall not be well with the wicked neither shall he prolong his days which are as a shadow because he feareth not God Eccles 8.12 13. So Esay 3.10 Say ye to the Righteous it shall be well with him for they shall eat the fruit of their doings And as Consideration is the direct way to Wisdom which is in the Understanding so it is a ready way to that other Wisdom which is in the practical Faculties This Wisdom the Schools define to be Habitus discretivus optimi Finis Electivus optimorum mediorum Such a habit as disposeth a Man to discern and intend the best end and to elect the best means The highest end that an inconsiderate Man doth intend is no higher than the World it is at best but some Sensual Comfort some Carnal Satisfaction that 's fitted to his baser part and does no better service than accommodate his Flesh I confess his Soul also may seem to be content whilst he hath a fulness
as these and to take this day into your sober consideration Though you should think on the greatest worldly matters and your thoughts be imployed in the management of the Affairs of a Kingdom yet if you think not upon the Affairs of this great and wonderful day you do but trifle and dream away your precious life They that have but a Cause to be tryed before a Judge of Nisi Prius that very much concerns their Estates cannot but remember it and consider how they may come off with success but those that are to be tryed for their Lives cannot sleep nor talk it out of their mind by Night the terrible Apparitions of it in their fancies interrupts their repose and sleep and the horrible thoughts of it in the day time strikes them mute and damps all their discourse And shall not a day far more remarkable where you must undergo a Tryal for your Eternal Estate and Life be considered And it is the more worth your consideration because the Judge before whom this Tryal must be made is He that made thy self and all the World clothed with his Robes of Majesty and Justice He that delivered into thy hands thy Reason Memory Judgment Freewill Senses Honours Estates as Talents to be now accounted for Did not all the Priviledges of thy Birth and Education Did not all the Mercies of thy Infancy Youth and Riper Age come from above Deny it now if thou canst And were not all thy choicest dearest comforts as Pearls begotten by the Dew of Heaven His Circuit is not confined to one Nation or piece of a Nation but the Circuit that he will ride in that great day shall be the Heaven of Heavens with a glorious Train and Retinue of Saints and Angels and the people that shall be gathered before him are are the whole Creation of Angels and Men the matters that must then be brought to Examination and Tryal are the secret and more publick actions of our whole lives the Witnesses that shall be produced shall be such as are beyond all Exception viz. mens own Consciences the Devil and his Angels that are continually watching our miscarriages and the Judge himself that can tell the time the place the persons with whom or the things about which the wickedness hath been committed and the Question that shall be then decided in the face of all the world shall be whether the persons thus tryed shall live or die for ever These are no fidling trifling matters to be slighted nor unworthy your serious forethought and consideration besides the Judge is inflexible and cannot be bended by force bribery or entreaty If you look into Psal 50.4 5 6. you shall see with what circumstances of Majesty and Terrour this Judg's Process is described and set forth a fire shall devour before him and it shall be very tempestuous round about him he shall call to the Heavens from above and to the Earth that he may judge his people and the Heavens shall declare his Righteousness for God is Judge himself Were this day well believed and considered men would not live in any fashion nor think and speak any thing that comes next nor do actions that they dare not call themselves to account for They would fear their own Consciences more than a thousand Witnesses which in despite of them will be privy to all their actions I warn thee to take heed of this Witness for it will betray thee If thou art wise when thou hast any wickedness to commit see that neither God nor the Devil nor thine own Conscience have any eye upon thee and then thou canst find no place nor time in which thou canst be secure As it is the great policy of Satan to hide this day from thine eyes and to keep it out of thy thoughts if he can that he may take thee Captive at his will so it should be thy chief care to have it continually before thine eyes that thou mayst escape his temptations The lively frequent thoughts of this day made Paul so unwearied in the work of the Lord and so importunate with his hearers Knowing the terrours of the Lord saith he we perswade men 2 Cor. 5.11 And it was the great Argument he used with Tim. to spur him up to the like diligence 2 Tim. 4.1 2. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the Quick and the Dead at his appearing and Kingdom Preach the Word be instant in season and out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and Doctrine And when he did but cast a flash of this day into the eyes of Felix you know what effect it had on him Acts 〈◊〉 24.25 Though Paul was but a Prisoner at the Bar and Felix his Judge upon the Bench yet when Paul reasoned with him of Righteousness Temperance and Judgment to come the Text saith Felix trembled It 's madness to put this day out of thy mind which God hath put into his Word as the most powerful Curb to all Sin and the most irresistible motive to a sober righteous and a godly life Be not afraid to entertain this day into thy Meditations the consideration and forethought of this day doth not make it but make thee ready for it whether thou thinkest of it or not it cometh on apace and thine eyes shall shortly behold the Solemnity of it either to thy terrour or to thy unspeakable joy S. Hierom thought he heard the very Trumpet sound continually that must call all the world together whatsoever he was doing the Voice was never out of his ears All the Musick of Worldly Delights and Pleasures would be but as sounding Brass and a tinkling Cymbal to one that hath this Trumpet frequently in his hearing think but believingly of the terrible Pomp and glorious Solemnity of that day and then think of vanity and folly with delight if thou canst These thoughts would drown the petty thoughts of worldly matters as the Report of a Cannon doth a Whisper or as the Sun obscureth the smallest Glow-worm And if any thing would stop thee in a course of sinning these thoughts would do it Thou would'st think it a poor shift to fly to the dark to cover thee when thou committest any iniquity if thou didst but consider that what is done in secret shall then be proclaimed upon the house-top and God will find Evidence enough to convince thee that thus and thus thou didst when he kept silence◠yea thou shalt betray thy self by thy own confession This is another Object of thy thoughts and very worthy thine often Consideration Eighthly Another thing that you should frequently steep your thoughts in is the joys of Heaven and unexpressible happiness of the Saints in Light there the Fountain of all Bliss and pleasure shall stand open and the Face of glorious Majesty shall be revealed Here we behold him but in a glass and see but a glimpse of his back-parts but then we shall see him face to face
a one that hath unsearchable Wisdom to Rule us infinite Power both to protect us and break our Enemies in pieces and is not profited by our Service Job 22.2 Can a Man be profitable to God as he that is wise may be profitable to himself Thou owest thy hearty Subjection unto God He made thee and is thy rightful and absolute Sovereign and when thou hadst turn'd Traitor to him He hath not set thee up as a Monument of his terrible Wrath and Vengeance But hath laid the Government upon his Son so nearly allied to us by the Assumption of our Nature and relaxed the Rigour of his Law promising to accept sincere Service and Love though perfect Obedience be due O what a◠Aggravation will this be of our Sin if we still continue it after the Grace of God hath so much abounded towards us Rom. 6.1 and persist in our Rebellion we know too well what it is to be Rebels against God our Redeemer but we little imagin what it is to be sentenced and condemned for Rebels at the great and terrible Day 2. Secondly Every Unbeliever hath the Guilt of all his former Sins fast bound upon him not one of them is pardoned every Commission yea and every Omission every idle Thought and Word and Action with all their several Aggravations stand still upon Record uncancell'd God hath pass'd an Act of Indempnity and Oblivion and proclaimed wonderful Grace and Mercy to penitent Sinners but the Unbeliever whilst such hath no share nor portion in it The Blood of Christ hath infinite virtue to cleanse sinners from all unrighteousness 1 John 1.9 but it 's only such as do believe The Law of God the Creatour or Covenant of Works which threatneth Death to every Sin is still in Force to such as are not the sincere Subjects of Christ by Faith the wrath of God abideth upon such John 3.36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Every violation of the Law makes it due to the sinner and Faith in Christ is the only means to remove it but where that is wanting there it continues and abides If one sin unpardoned will sink the Soul of the transgressour into everlasting condemnation into what unspeakable misery and horrour will that vast Number that he hath committed force the sinner who will not come unto Christ nor submit himself to his Redeemer Look to thy self and answer it as thou canst that wilt not come unto Christ to be thy Advocate and answer for thee stand upon thy own Legs as well as thou art able that wilt not bottom thy self by Faith on Christ endure the storm of God's wrath as well as thou canst that wilt not anchor thy Soul upon the Redeemer of the World Thou seest the worst of it if thou canst make light of it it 's but bearing all the Sins thou hast committed upon thy own Body and Soul and the Wrath of God due to them And if thou takest this to be a tolerable and a light Burden continue still in thy unbelief 3. Thirdly If thou art no true Subject of Christ by Faith in him thou art a Slave of Satan and a Vassal to thine own Corruption There are but two principal Masters Christ is one whose Right it is And Satan is the other though an Usurper If thou wilt not devote thy self to him who is thy lawful Lord and Master thou wilt be under the Commands of a Cruel Tyrant There are but two Generals Christ the Captain of our Salvation Heb. 2.10 and Satan the Ring-leader to destruction and one thou must fight under There are but two sorts of Servants either thou art the Servant of Righteousness or else thou art the Servant of Sin Rom. 6.16 If Christ do not dwell in thy Heart by Faith Ephes 3.17 Satan hath got possession and thou art a Member of that wicked Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. that efficaciously worketh in the Children of Disobedience Ephes 2.2 He formeth thy Conceptions frameth thy Discourses animateth all thy Actions steereth thy whole Conversation and when there is need instigateth thee to any Wickedness though thou art secure and little suspectest 't is he that prompteth thee in all thou goest about If thou hadst an eye to see what influence he hath upon all thy Actions it would make thee to abhor all thou doest Indeed there are wicked Habits and Dispositions that strongly move and hurry thee into the same wickedness which the Devil would have thee to commit for if thou wert meerly passive it would be thy Misery but not thy Sin But now having no part in Christ thou art at once led by thy own Corruption and the Enemy of all Goodness into all Sin and Mischief No Turkish slavery comparable to this wherein the sinner is wounding and tearing and wracking himself every day and yet though he feels the smart sometime perceives the mischief he doth himself he cannot nor will forbear You would look with pity upon a Madman gnashing and cutting himself and bless God that you are sober when you see the pernicious Effects of Madness And yet if you are impenitent unbelievers you are guilty of far worse Cruelty to your Souls 4. Fourthly If thou art a Unbeliever thou art not sure to be one Day longer out of Hell and Eternal Misery thou hangst over the Pit of Destruction by the single Thread of thy Life and if the Twine break as it is a Miracle it doth not every hour all the World cannot save thee Let not a deceived Heart turn thee aside that thou canst not by Faith in Christ deliver thy own Soul nor say is there not a Lye in my Right Hand Esa 44.2 Thy Riches and thy Honours cannot prevent thy Death much less can they procure a Release from it least of all can they Ransom thee from Destruction thou art hasting to it every Moment and thou knowest not what one Day or Hour may bring forth Prov. 27.1 As sure as thou livest so surely thou shalt dye for ever if thou go forward in unbelief when once thy Breath is departed from thy Body and how many ways that may be stop'd who knows And wilt thou yet stand out against the gracious Offers of thy Redeemer and linger in Infidelity and run the hazard of Eternal Destruction Nay it s no hazard but as undoubtedly certain as the Word of God is true O that unbelievers would ponder this that they would but consider their latter End what a few Breaths more they have to fetch before they are turned into Everlasting Despair How dare you lye down to sleep lest you should awake in Hell How dare you rise lest it should be to Judgment and Condemnation How can you enjoy your Life one Moment that know not but that the next Moment you must exchange it for Endless Torment and Misery And how will you do to give up the Ghost
such a Case How much more would a sinner bewail his Offences committed against him that is his Creatour and Sovereign and hath absolute dominion over him and the power of Eternal Life and Death in his hands Thou canst not endure his displeasure if he doth but frown Nor live without his favour if he should totally withdraw it but an hour As he commandeth the Sun to shed his light and influence upon thee so he clotheth the Heaven with blackness and maketh Sackcloth their covering when he pleaseth Isaiah 50.3 If thou didst but know and consider the one half of the infinite Mercies he doth bestow upon thee and the worth of them it would make thee sure to break into bitter complaints for all thy odious Transgressions especially when thou knowest before-hand That the Penitent are so sure to speed and find Mercy with him This is a Third Act That Godly Sorrow if it be sincere doth imply even a deep sense of all the Obligations every one of us lies under to abstain from all Appearance of Evil. Fourthly He that would bewail his sin aright must be sensible how shameful it is and destructive to his own Soul and Body It prevents his Reason and makes him far more vile than a Creature that wants that Faculty It animates his Senses to all insolency it makes his Passions masterless and unruly it destroys the Health of the Body the Peace and Composure of the Mind it fills the Conscience with perpetual Remorse and Unquietness And all these Effects do as naturally flow from it as Poyson doth from a Toad or Serpent And thus it would punish it self although God should inflict no other punishment than what will inevitably follow such sinful inordinate Acts and such abuse of the Reason and Faculties that Man is possessed of It procures the hatred of God and the shame of Men and breeds a continual Worm at home that will gnaw in twain the Thred of this Life and will then feed upon Soul and Body to their everlasting pain and torment hereafter Fifthly He that is truly penitent and doth lament his sin as he ought doth know and consider the Merit of his sin and what Wages it deserves He is sensible that the least sin committed against such a Majesty by a Creature so much obliged and enabled to the contrary deserves damnation and that he can make God no recompence for the wrong and injury it doth him And he understands in some good measure what Eternal Damnation doth imply And then when he calls to mind the infinite Number he hath committed and how oft he hath deserved such a dreadful Reward and that yet he is invited to Repentance and knows that he shall find Mercy if he repent from the bottom of his Heart This melts him into Tears and dissolveth his rocky Heart and maketh it to feel what heretofore he made light matter of Sixthly As the penitent sinner is sensible of all the foregoing Particulars so he is acquainted with his own personal Transgressions not only that he is a sinner in general but what actual wickedness he is every day guilty of How little his Thoughts Words or Actions come up to the Rule at the best and how often they utterly thwart and contradict the Rule and what are his Master-Corruptions and where the strength of his sin lies He is also deeply sensible of his sinful Nature that he brought with him into the World and how cross it is to the Will of God expressed in his Word and Law and altogether unlike the Nature that God gave Man at the first Seventhly He doth hereupon judge himself exceeding vile and even loath himself for his Abominations Ezek. 36.31 When he thinketh upon his odious ways he is heartily ashamed and counteth himself unworthy of any outward Mercy and wondreth at the Mercies that God doth bestow so contrary to his deserts He seriously judgeth himself more wretched and miserable by reason of his sin and an Object of greater shame and contempt than if he had liv'd in the greatest poverty and want without sin as knowing that one makes him contemptible only to such as judge according to outward appearance but the other to those that judge righteous judgment He knows that sin makes him a Beast or a Devil in Humane shape and is a Disgrace and Reproach to all his Faculties and quite perverts the very frame and design of them For what is sin but an absurd and unreasonable Act Actus debito ordine privatus as the School-men define it and supposeth the Senses and their Objects to be in chief power and command and the nobler Part I mean his Rational and Immortal Spirit to be chained up and lye by as a Prisoner in Fetters or which is worse to be a voluntary Servant and Drudge to the stinking corruptible part of Man What Lord that hath the Spirit of a Man would endure to be a drudge to his Servant It 's a sad sight to see a Prince a Captive to his Subjects or a Lord to be in the hand and power of his Slaves led up and down in Chains at the will and pleasure of him that is but of a base and degenerate Breed compared with himself It was a great aggravation of Job's pitiful Condition that contemptible persons had him in derision whose Fathers he would have disdained to have set with the Doggs of his Flock Job 30.1 That Children of Fools and Base Men that were viler than the Earth made him their Song and By-word and that they did abhor him and flee far from him and not spare to spit in his Face vers 8 9 10. It was a very doleful pitiful sight to see Edward the Second so barbarously entreated by Gourney and made to sit upon a Mole-hill whilst the Barber shaved him and to take cold Water out of a Ditch to wash him with which the patient King seeing told them that in despight of them he would have warm Water at his Barbing and therewithal poured down Tears in abundance It 's a much sadder Spectacle to see Sense trample upon Reason and the Flesh that is of so base a descent to domineer over the Soul that 's born of God and is of the Blood-Royal made to rule and govern as the very Heathen could tell Animi imperio Corporis servitio utimur saith Salast And what 's the Fruit of such a Monstrous Disorder when Flesh and Sense do exercise such an oppressive usurping Power and that Faculty that makes a Man is perfectly cow'd Why This unspeakable Mischief is the Fruit thereof Earth is preferr'd before Heaven The Creature before the Creator The momentary pleasures of Sin before the durable and everlasting Felicity And Men chuse rather to be Termers in these decaying Comforts that expire with their Lives than to have the Propriety of an Eternal Inheritance hereafter that shall never be out-dated These and the like Considerations make the sinner to judge himself a vile Person a Reproach to Humane
Reason can easily stir or command is a great Enemy to this Duty He therefore that would be always fit for this Duty must with all his Might resist the true and principal Cause of Sadness I mean Sin and when he cannot prevent it he must speedily repent of it and turn from it and renew his Faith in Christ and then his Soul will not refuse to be comforted but will chear up and at length attain such a good measure of Alacrity as will become Christianity and constantly dispose him to this Duty provided his Body be not oppressed with melancholy Fumes and Vapours For in such Case the Art of the Physician must be joyned with the fore-mentioned Prescriptions And such Temperance and Exercise of the Body must be used as may reduce it again and make it fit to subserve a chearful Mind There 's no greater pull-back nor obstruction to this becoming generous heavenly Work than a sower dejected and contracted Spirit The Jews had a Proverb amongst them that Spiritus sanctus non descendit super Animum maestum which though taken without limitation is not true because the Spirit of God works Godly Sorrow and dwells in the contrite Heart that 's broken for sin to revive comfort and bind it up again yet with some restriction it contains a very great Truth viz. That the Divine Spirit in it more Noble and Excellent Operations of Love Joy and Delight and those other Affections that have a very near confederacy with these and chearful Obedience which results from these doth not descend upon those that are of a sad and heavy Heart whilst such But they are first exhilerated and cheared by the Heavenly Comforter before they can get up to these higher Duties And though Godly Sorrow for sin be consistent enough with some Spiritual Joy and Concomitant Affections before mentioned whilst it keeps its just degree and measure yet when it proceeds to Heighth and Excess and goes beyond its just Bounds it greatly indisposeth to Works of that Elevation But the Sorrow of the World worketh Death and is therefore very inconsistent with Works that require the greatest Life yea the sorrow and dejectedness that arise from the Temper and Complexion of a Melancholick Body do very much hinder the Soul in these more sublime and raised Operations And the more voluntary it is through the wilful neglect of Means either Medicinal or Moral whereby it may be shaken off still the greater Enemy it is to the joyful Heavenly Work When therefore we prepare for this Work every weight must be cast away and the sin that presseth down and all indisposing dulness must be shaken off as much as may be And therefore Elisha to make way for the Holy Spirit in these noble Operations of it calls for a Musical Instrument 2 Kings 3.15 the better to compose and exhilerate his Mind And it came to pass whilst the Minstrel played that the Hand that is the Spirit of the Lord came upon him 2. He must be of a competent Candour and Ingenuity towards Men One that will readily do good and as easily acknowledge it when it is done by others That affects not to conceal his own Infirmities nor the Worth of others but can quickly spy out both That judgeth not according to outward Appearance but judgeth righteous Judgment And is prone to take every thing by the right handle and to pass the fairest construction upon every thing He that 's disingenuous and base towards Men will be so towards God For it is in other Affections as it is in Love Now he that loveth his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen Is the Argument of the beloved Apostle 1 John 4.20 3. He must be very well contented with his Condition None more Averse to the Duty in hand than he that 's displeased with his Estate How can that Man be thankful unto God for any thing he hath that liketh nothing Male-Content filleth a Man with rage and bitterness against every thing almost as supposing it to contribute something to his uneasie Condition It puts him frequently upon sinful study and contrivance to better himself And it is so far from disposing any to the sweet Temper I am now speaking of that it prompts him to be angry with every one Such a one tasts no sweetness in any good he hath be it never so great and therefore forgets all but his discontents He pores wholly upon his Misery and nothing else seems worthy his observation And that Man that hath no eye to observe any Comfort that he hath will never think himself obliged to him from whom they come and such a one is most unfit for a Thankful Acknowledgment 4. He must have made some good progress in the work of Mortification and be pretty well weaned from all Sublunary Good and Pleasure That hath no strong propension to Sensual Comforts and Carnal Delights but hath got a considerable Conquest over the Flesh with its Affections and Lusts And hath a Love that 's rational and doth propend most to that which most deserves it For how can he perform the highest Acts of Spiritual Life that is not first dead to those things that do stifle and utterly quench the Spiritual Life Or how can he thank God aright for any thing that is not in a capacity to make a true judgment of what God doth bestow which is the Case of every one that hath his Affections inordinately wedded to these Earthly Contentments Such a one cannot take a worldly Cross or Reproach and Shame and Sickness and other Afflictions to be such Mercies as they sometimes are nor thank God sometimes for them more heartily than for any outward prosperity 5. He must have a deep Sense and Perswasion of the Certainty and Excellency of Eternal Things The Immortality of the Soul The worth of God's Favour The unspeakable Misery of the damned And the Felicity of those that must live for ever with God otherwise the Pleasures of this World are but a Dream and the Happiness of this Life but a shadow and all the Comforts that are tyed to this state so fickle and unsatisfactory that a wise and considerate Man will not much regard them unless as they be Pledges and Fore-runners of a better Felicity and so cannot rise to any high pitch of Joy and Thankfulness whilst it hath no better Materials to erect such a Frame nor better Motives to this Duty Thus much for the Matter or what is prerequisite to make way for these High and Heavenly Acts of Gratitude and Praise which are always accompanied with some degree of joy and delight in God which formally and principally imply First A due observation and worthy estimation of the Amiable Perfections of God and of his Grace and Favours towards us If we overlook these and our Eyes be in the ends of the Earth when they should be intent upon the infinite Majesty and his Mercies towards us every
out of Heaven for their sin nor prepared such a place of endless and unsufferable Torment for such as are found guilty of it in the General Account He had never brought such a Deluge upon the old World and swept away all of them save Eight Persons Nor dropt down such a consuming Fire upon those Four Citys and the Inhabitants thereof Man Woman and Child if he had not been a bitter Enemy to sin If you should see a Father that tenderly loves his Children and bears a most dear Affection to them to persecute them to the Death and express the greatest Cruelty towards them you would surely say that it must be some high Provocation that can thus prevail to extinguish such inbred natural Affection to them And if you could be consident that he were a just and righteous Person that would not do such a cruel Act without a great and weighty Cause you must then say That they must be guilty of some horrid Act that can thus turn the Bowels of such a tender Father and exasperate them into such a rage The Case is the same here only with this difference that God hath infinitely more love and tender bowels to us his Creatures and the Workmanship of his Hands than the tenderest Father or Mother here upon Earth Isaiah 49.15 Can a woman forget her sucking chila that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb yea they may forget but I will not forget And yet what terrible and remarkable Judgments doth he execute upon some of them both here and hereafter Not only single Persons but whole Nations yea how dreadful and heavy is his hand upon those that are his Children not only by Creation but Regeneration also insomuch that they often complain that the Arrows of the Almighty stick fast in them and drink up their Spirits Job 6.4 Thus Job David Heman and many others of God's dearest Servants have complained Can any Man of reason ever think that ever God thus deals with them without some great and weighty Cause especially when it is so certain that Fury dwelleth not in him Isaiah 27.4 And he cannot be moved by any of those wild irrational and ungoverned Passions as Man is He that believes not this either believes that there is no God or else knows not what such a Being doth essentially involve But yet though we have a fall certainly that God is more tender and affectionate to Men than any Father or Mother in the World yet it is as certain that he loveth Righteousness and Equity and Truth more than all the Creatures in the World because these are a part of his own Essence but Creatures are not And therefore he stands obliged to vindicate these though it be with the Ruin of all Mankind And thus he would certainly do even destroy all the Works of his Hands if his righteous Law which is but the Transcript of his Nature could not be otherwise righted He can make another World with a Word of his Mouth But he cannot make as I may say with reverence another God Every sin strikes at the very Being of God and toucheth the very Apple of his Eye And therefore the Word of God tells us plainly That Sin is the only Make-bate between God and his Creatures that hath pull'd down all those heavy Calamities and Judgments upon the World that ever we read or heard of But the Death of his only Natural Son for the Sins of the World which he took upon him to expiate and satisfie for is such a demonstration of God's deadly and implacable Hatred against all Sin and Ungodliness that no Man in reason should ever after doubt of it Every Man that is truly penitent and sorry for his sin is apprehensive of this in some good Measure And this is the First Act that Godly Sorrow and Repentance doth imply Secondly He that unfeignedly grieveth for his sin must be very sensible how dishonourable it is to God I know it 's beyond the reach of any Creature to do him any real Dishonour But yet doth he not lose his Reputation amongst Men by every sin that is committed Are not some or other animated thereby to do the like or else if it be secretly committed is not the sinner himself more hardned thereby and disposed to more perverse unworthy Apprehensions of God It is certain he is He cannot think him so holy just and righteous as he is because Judgment is not speedily executed on him And how doth the Devil triumph and all those malicious Spirits that attend him to see a Child so unnatural to his Father as every sinner is to God How doth it feed his Malice and Pride to see him make a Creature that cares so little for him as every sinner doth He that is affected with his sin to purpose knows and is cut to the heart for the dishonour done to him by his sin and that he hath so much stained his holy Attributes and Perfections and mis-represented him to the World Thirdly He that is truly penitent for his sin is deeply sensible of those great Obligations he lies under to perform a perfect obedience to God He is his Creature I and the chief of his Creatures in this lower World made on purpose for his service shaped in his own likeness fitted for it encouraged to it That can never be happy but in his Favour and therefore was sufficiently concerned to seek and prize it above all things And to shun and avoid sin whereby he must needs lose it All Creatures upon Earth were placed at his Feet and put into his Hands to give him their best Assistance and Encouragement for this Service The good and welfare of the whole inferiour World depended upon his Obedience to God and the observance of that Law he had written upon his very Nature And therefore so soon as ever he sinned he involved all the Creatures that were made subject to him in the same Curse and Condemnation so that the whole Creation is now in Bondage and groans to be delivered into the glorious Liberty of God's Children And the earnest expectation of the Creature waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of God Rom. 8.19 21 22. Never was any Child so much obliged to observe the Will of his Father Nor any Subject to Obey his rightful Prince and Soveraign Nor any Slave and Vassal to fulfil the Command of his Lord as we are to do the Will of our Creatour But what do I make such a Comparison as this There 's a thousand fold more obligation upon us to tender a perfect Obedience to God than there can be upon any Subject or Child or Servant to obey the strictest Laws of the best Father Lord or Sovereign here on Earth And yet what Man so mad as to incur their displeasure if they can help it Or who would not wash away such an Offence with many Tears if there were any hope to find Mercy and Favour with them in