in the sense there 's grief for torment and fear to touch a serpent or a toad delight in meats that are pleasant and hatred of them that are noysome But the Lord doth not call for these sensitive passions to be seated upon him and on heaven they are seated aright as they stand so a moderation be kept they have no need to change objects The affections of the heart these are the affections the Lord doth call for the out-goings of the heart as the sense is afraid of a Lyon so is a godly heart afraid to sin against God as the sense is joyful to have ease after trouble so a godly heart is joyful with a good conscience in Christ as the sense loves that which doth feed it so a godly heart loves God that doth nourish it and therefore Austin and Galen and Scotus and why say I them the Scriptures say the affections are motions in the heart Mine Eye affecteth my heart saith the poor Church Lam. 3. 51. that is when she beheld the lamentable distresses of the daughters of Sion this stirred up the affection of pity in her heart Thirdly As the affections are the motions of the heart so they are the forcible motions of the heart every little motion in the heart is not an affection but only the forcible motions of the heart a man is then said to set his affections upon God when his heart goes with force unto God for as God appoints every creature his task and to seek out its own good so he gives it a force for to do it the stone its nature is to fall downwards and God gives it a weightinesse that it may fall downwards with force the stomack its nature is to take food when it is empty and God gives it a hunger that it may take it with force every creature hath not only its motion to move it to its own good but it goes to it with force so God hath given affections to the heart as weight to the stone and hunger to the stomack so God I say hath given affections to the heart that it may seek out its good with a force so that then does a man set his affections upon God when he sets all his forces to God-ward When David had given 847 millions 382 thousand 500 pound in silver and gold of his own charges to the building of Gods house for so the learned may gather out of two Chapters in the Chronicles you may well think he employed all his forces thereto but what saies the Text I have set mine affection to the house of God 1 Chron. 29. 3. Thus ye see when â—ht sets his affections to Gods house he put to his forces the affections are the forcible motions of the heart when a childe of God praies with affection he prayeth with force when he stands for God with affection he stands for him with force Fourthly As the affections are the motions and the forcible motions of the will so they are the sensible motions too For the will stirs up the inferiour faculties of the Soul and they stirre up the humours and parts of the body to make the greater resistance to that which it disaffects or the greater embracement of that which it affects This is one reason why the affections are called passions for they make the soul to suffer and the body to suffer The affection of Joy makes the spleen for to suffer and anger makes the gall for to suffer and fear makes the heart for to suffer yea the affections make humours bloud spirits members even bones and all the body for to suffer Hence it is when a man sets his affections upon God his fear the fear of God makes him tremble his Love the love of God makes him to weep for his sins the shame of it that he should dishonour his God makes him to blush before Christ Grief for his sins many times dries up his moisture and Zeal for his glory consumeth his flesh so was it with the Psalmist when he was full of affections towards God and saw how men did disobey his Commandments see what sensible motions were in him Mine eyes gush out with rivers of waters because men keep not thy Law Psalm 119. 139. Ezra was so affectionate for God that knowing how the people transgressed it made the colour to come in his face and to blush before heaven Ezr. 9. 6. as Demetrius blusht for his father Philips offences the Orator that pleaded King Philips defence did not doe him so much service as the blushing of Demetrius his sonne This was the effect of his affection to his Father it shewed it self in his blushing for the offences of his Father Thus the affections are the sensible motions of the Will Fifthly and lastly They are such sensible motions as are according to the apprehension of good or evil For when there is but small apprehension of good or evil the affections are weak and may hardly work on the body at all but when there is a great apprehension of either not only the soul is deeply affected but also the body is mightily compatible Nay if the apprehension be deep indeed the affections break out into raptures as dancings and leapings of the heart which are the raptures of joy ravishments and enamorings which are the raptures of love meltings and bleedings and breakings of spirit which are the raptures of grief astonishments amazements which are the raptures of fear confusion and the like which are the raptures of shame the affections burst forth into such raptures as these when the apprehension is deep Olofernes his eyes were ravisht with the slippers of Judith because he was deeply in love with her Iacob shooken almost dead at the sight of his sons bloudy coat because he was deeply affected thereat The Roman Senate were affrighted with the sight of the Carthaginian green figges that Cato did shew them such raptures have the Saints very often in their prayers to God being helpt with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered Rom. 8. 26. because they have a deep apprehension of the corruption that is in them Thus ye see what the affections be they are forcible and sensible motions of the will to a thing or from a thing according as it is apprehended to be evil or to be good In the next place let me shew that a carnal man cannot set these his affections upon God or upon Grace which may appear by Reasons First Affectus sunt alae animae as the Proverb goes The Affections are the wings of the soul If the birds wings be lime-twig'd and glued to the ground she cannot fly up now a carnal man his affections are glued and lime-twig'd to the things of the world or the things of this life and therefore it is impossible he should flie up unto God I reade in the life of good Anselm walking in the fields he saw a shepherds boy that had taken a bird and tyed a
stone to her legge and as the bird would be offering to mount the stone pulled her down she had such a weight on her leg she could not fly up this good father fell a weeping to consider that so it was with men carnal men though perhaps they think to flie up to God by many good purposes they are still born down with their sinnes their affections are clog'd security deadnesse of heart self-love and love of the things here below like milstones made fast to their heels their affections cannot mount up to God Hast thou more affection to a game then a Sermon more affection to sit drinking in Ale-houses then to be reproved for thy sins more affection to a good booty then a good duty alas how canst thou set thine affections upon God thine affections are earthly affections and therefore they cannot be placed upon God Rom 1. 26. there reade of vile affections God gave up the Heathen to base and vile affections so these are base and vile and carnal affections that thou art given unto thine affections are malice and envy and revenge which cannot be set upon God they are worldly fears and worldly sorrows and worldly joys and worldly pleasures and worldly delights these are thine affections these can never be placed upon God They are vile affections too base and dishonourable to God Thine affections are lime-twig'd by Satan they cannot sore up unto God This is the first reason why a carnal man cannot set his affections upon God because his affections which are the wings of his soul are glued to the earth Secondly Affectus sunt inclinationes animae The affections are the inclinations of the Soul as a man is affected so he is inclined and therefore the affections in Scripture are called the bent of the soul My people are bent to backsliding from me Hos 11. 7. that is their affections to me are unstable unconstant and fickle How stands such a one bent as we say that is how stands he affected A man is bent to that which his affections are on now then is it possible that a carnal man should set his affections on God when his heart does not stand bent unto God the muck-worm his heart stands bent to the world the voluptuous his heart stands bent to his pleasures the proud man his heart stands bent to get credit and be well thought on the natural man stands bent to be carnal and earthy and how can such men set their affections on God when their hearts stand that way bent are thy affections bent that way that thy bent goes that way do thine affections go Thou art merry and jocond and joyful to day tell me what is it for is it because God is glorified by thee No No thy mirth and thy joy stand otherwise bent Thou hast been angry and revengeful what was it for was it because God is dishonoured and thy lusts have been violent Alas no thy anger and thy wrath stand otherwise bent thine affections are the bent and inclinations of thy heart and therefore if thou be inclined to things that are earthy thou canst not place thine affections upon God nothing can go against its own bent and inclination unlesse by the omnipotent power of the Spirit of Christ David knew this well enough that his affections could never be to God and his righteousnesse if his heart did not that way stand bent and therefore he praies God Incline not my heart to any evil thing Psal 141. 4. Let not mine affections be on any evil thing for then I should be that way inclined This is the second reason why a carnal men cannot set his affections upon God because the affections of the heart are the bent of the heart Thirdly Affectus sunt passiones animae saies Damascen The affections are the passions of the Soul When the heart is affected with a thing it lets in that thing and it suffers a change by that thing when a man is affected with anger at a wrong or an injury we say he is in a passion that is he lets in the wrong and there does his heart bite upon the wrong and chafe at it thus he is passionate When a man is affected with love to a pleasure he lets in the pleasure and suffers it to prevail on the heart now then a carnal man cannot set his affections upon God nor his Grace because he cannot let it in to prevail over his Soul he will not suffer it to enter can he be in a good passion for God can he be angry and cholerick to see how Gods Spirit is grieved can he be grieved at the lusts of his heart which he joyes in can he be zealous for Gods truth and for the beauty of holinesse Alas alas no He cannot let in these things into his heart nor Christ nor grace nor holinesse nor humility nor self-denyal nor any saving grace that is Christs can get entrance into his heart and therefore he cannot set his affections upon God When the Apostle had exhorted the Hebrews and now was concluding that he could exhort them no further he concludes on this manner And I beseech you brethren suffer the word of exhort ation Heb. 13. 22. He labours to work on their affections that they would let in his exhortations into their hearts he does not say Suffer me to exhort you for he had exhorted them already and had taken their leave but suffer it to enter into your hearts now if you be carnal thou wilt never suffer Gods counsels to enter you will never suffer the word of reproof neither will ye suffer a resignation Suppose we should pull down all the unnessary Ale-houses in the Parish would ye suffer it Suppose we should root out all your game-houses and the like would ye suffer it Suppose we should make every man pay his 12. pence a day for every time he is absent from Church and have all disorders punisht in the Town would ye suffer it Suppose we should come to your houses and exhort you and reprove you and tell you of your sins and labour to reform you and your families alas would ye suffer it No your passions will rise ye would be so farre from affecting these things as that your affections would be against them nay ye would be in passion against me carnal hearts cannot set their affections upon God why because the affections are passions as I have proved already and the soul doth suffer its affections The affections do alter the heart but a carnal heart will not be altered by the word nor by Christ nor suffer his graces to enter Fourthly Put the case a man set himself wrong Affectus sunt perturbationes animae The affections are the perturbations of the Soul if once they go wrong and the reins be laid on their necks they are like wilde horses to the soul to carry her whether she would not they are the disturbers of judgement and violent tyrants over the
carnal mans affections be so wrought on as ye have heard that they are not rightly wrought on First Because they are not kindely wrought on They are chafed and heated very much but they are not kindely wrought on The affections must be kindely wrought on otherwise they are not wrought on aright they may be violently and passionately wrought on there may be a great deal of pudder wrought in the affections but never are they rightly wrought on unlesse they be wrought upon kindely Be kindely affectioned one to another with brotherly love saies St Paul Rom. 12. 10. The Galatians that would have pluckt out their eyes for Saint Paul they were strongly affected with Saint Paul but they were not kindely affected If they had been kindely affected with him or his Doctrine they would not have hearkned to false Apostles as they did A carnal man natural reason and knowledge out of the Word may work on his affections his conscience and self-love whereby he is loth to be damned and glad to be saved when he dies these may work on his affections and cause him to weep for his sins and give over many corruptions and to be strongly affected but alas he is not kindely affected It 's only the love of God shed abroad in the heart that kindely affects one But it 's self-love and not love of the Lord Jesus that affects him he is not kindely affected Secondly A carnal mans affections are not judiciously wrought on They are wrought on in a fit at it but they are not wrought on with judgement they have not the true beginning of working which is sound judgement S. Hierom saies of the affections of Christ respectu Christi semper sequuntur rationem Christs affections had alwaies the right beginning which was true reason and judgement And therefore S. Matthew notes especially the beginning of his sorrow He began to be sorrowful and very heavy Mat. 26. 37. He had a right beginning of it The natural beginning of the affections is this when the judgement is first poysed and the heart is first fired this is the natural beginning of the affections So that the heart must first be wrought on and the spirit moved before the affections can be judiciously wronght on And therefore saies S. Iohn Christ troubled himself He groaned in spirit and he troubled himself Joh. 11. 33. He was exceedingly affected with sorrow for Lazarus his death and his kinsfolks sorrows and distrusts they were in and he troubled himself we translate it he was troubled but in the original it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he troubled himself his own judgement and his spirit and his heart stirred up his affections to be troubled His affections were wrought on judiciously A carnal mans affections though they be much wrought on yet they are not wrought on judiciously Now he is in the minde to be strict and to be godly now he weeps and takes on can ye wonder his conscience now jerks him and is quick but when a few tears and a few labours and endeavours that way have contented his conscience as his conscience is apt to be satisfied the man is of another judgement then quickly He is of the judgement then tush what need I be so strict and precise Thus he is affected not upon sound judgement Affected he is and strongly affected too for the while but he is not affected judiciously Thirdly A carnal mans affections are not wrought upon regularly His affections may be are wrought upon by Gods justice and judgements because God is a consuming fire against sin because God is severe against the works of iniquity because he hath made heaven-gate to be straight These are the grounds of his work His affections are wrought upon this way therefore he weeps and therefore he praies and therefore he reforms and therefore he is affected But this is not regular affection he is affected with fear but it is not the fear of Gods goodnesse not Gods mercy and goodnesse were there no other attribute in God he might look long enough before he would fear his mercy that 's a ground of presumption to him but he fears Gods judgements and his justice he doth not tremble and quake to consider that God is a merciful God and a good God whom he hath sinned against The true Israel of God They fear the Lord and his goodnesse Hos 3. 5. their affections are regular they are affected with fear of Gods goodnesse But a carnall man is not affected with the fear of Gods goodnesse He is affected with the fear of Gods justice his affections are wrought on irregularly Fourthly A carnal mans affections are not wrought upon universally Some affections are wrought on and others are not No he hath a contradiction of affections He hath some good affections to God and to grace and he hath some affections that are contradictory to these Some sinnes he grieves under some he is glad under some commandments he delights to be doing and some he delights to be breaking I do not mean part flesh and part spirit for so the best godly souls under Heaven have a contradiction of affections they have some affections of the spirit and some affections of the flesh contradicting and opposing one another I do not mean this But a carnal man hath such a contradiction of affections as that his carnal affections give the other the lye He is affected with sorrow for his sinnes but he is not troubled for his usury He is affected with desires to leave his sins but not to leave his sinful dependances As Esau he was affected with weeping for his missing of grace and the blessing but not for his pleasures and sensual delight Is not this a contradiction of affections He found no place of repentance though he sought it carefully with tears Heb. 12. 17. He was affected with weeping after repentance but he could finde no place to bestow it in There was not elbow-room enough for repentance in his heart He made some room in some part of his heart for repentance but not in all He found place for it in some of his affections but not in all He is affected but he is not affected universally He hath a contradiction of affections in his soul so that a carnal mans affections though they be wrought on they are not wrought upon universally It is true a carnal mans affections may be exceedingly wrought on then I pray examine your selves Two persons I would have to examine themselves First Them that think their affections are set upon God For as for them that are absolutely carnal whose affections are buried in the things of the World and have no affection at all unto grace or unto holinesse speak not to them their own consciences condemn them to be rotten and are as good as a thousand examiners I doe not speak to them If they will not hear their own conscienceâ—s much lesse will they hear me I speak
against sin and thy hope is deferred thy hope comes not yet thou art not able to withstand thy corruptions not able to subdue such a lust no if thou beest affected at all with any hope thy hope is deferred as yet but hath it made thy heart sick wert thou ever sick at heart for this grace if it have not made thy heart sick it is a sign thou wert never rightly affected with hope for if thou wert it would make thy heart sick to be so long without it as thou hast been May be thine affections are so strong set on the world that thou hast been world-sick and crosse-sick and trouble-sick and anger-sick and revenge-sick and coveteousness-sick as Ahab was sick because he knew not how to get Naboths vineyard 1 King 21. 4. May be thou art crost and sick of vexation may be thou art incensed and sick of revenge or impatiency but art thou sick after grace Aristotle cals the affections Aegritudines animi they are the sicknesses of the soul if the soul be affected indeed she is sick if she speed not Fourthly He that is truly affected with grace hath his conversation in heaven whence all grace does descend Animus est non ubi animat sed ubi amat the soul is not where it animates not where it sojourns but where it affects and therefore thou livest in heaven if thou beest truly affected with heavenly things he that is truly affected with grace is most affected with the fountain of grace which is God God is the fountain of all grace and if thou beest affected with it thou art chiefly affected with God Alas thou mayst have a good memory a good wit and good parts and be affected with them and rejoyce that thou hast them But all the question is this art thou affected with God the fountain of grace a wicked man may be affected with grace in the bucket and yet have no love to grace in the fountain it affects him well enough to have some but he does not so like it to have much Omne nimium vertitur in nigrum monachum thinks he It 's the property of the godly to be affected with God Rejoyce in the Lord O ye righeeous Psal 33. 1. Be ye affected with God himself saies the Psalmist One he is affected with pleasures another he is affected with honour and respect another he is affected with profit another he may be affected with grace too but it is the godly man only that is affected with God himself Examine your affections are ye affected with God himself are ye affected with his glory It does infinitely stand us in hand to have our affections set right which I will prove by these 8. arguments First Hereby only are we marriageable to Christ When a man goes a woing for a wife all his care is to get her affections he will never marry her if he be wise if he may not have her affection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saies Philo The affections are the womanhood of the soul he will never marry her if she be nor a woman for him much lesse will he marry her if she be not a woman at all he will not have a man for his wife she shall be a woman certainly if he ever mean for to marry her she is not marriageable but only for her affection what a miserable soul then is thy soul if thy affections be not right thou art not marriageable to Christ This is the rule of all wives and of all Spouses thy desire shall be to thy husband Gen. 3. 16. Thine affections shall be to him or thou caust not be his wife He is a monster in nature that will have a wife whose affection is set on another What dost thou take Christ for a monster that thy soul should be married to him when thine affection is forestalled If thine affections be to the world and to the strumpet-like things of the world Christ cannot abide thee Knowest thou not that the love of the world is enmity with God Out thou filthy strumpet-like soul betrothest thou thine affections to the world and yet hopest to be married to Christ thou art not marriageable to him if gains and pleasures and vanities and such like base paramours be welcomed to thy heart thou canst not be married unto Christ thou art the worlds Spouse and the devils Spouse when thine affections be inordinate Uncleannesse and inordinate affection the Apostle puts them together Mortifie your members which are on the earth fornication uncleannesse inordinate affection Col. 3. 5. So that thy soul is a filthy and an unclean soul that hast these inordinate affections unmortified in thee thy soul is a fit Spouse for the unclean spirit and not for Christ and therefore it deeply concerns you to have your affections set right because thereby only are ye marriageable to Christ Secondly Hereby only doth the soul set up favourites in her heart those are the hearts favourites whom the heart most affects Now if Christ be not thy hearts favourite what a woful condition art thou in It hath been the undoing of many a Prince the having of ill favourites and that soul must needs be for ever undone that hath ill favorites in her heart As soon as Joseph was in favour with the Keeper of the prison Ioseph presently had all at command nothing was done but Ioseph was the doer of it Gen. 39. 21. He was no sooner in favour but he was Dominus fac totum as we say he ruled all then Look what thy heart does affect that is in favour with thy heart that is dominus fac totum If thy pleasures and thy vanities be once in favour with thy heart Christ can have no command of thy heart no further then thy lusts will give leave thou canst not reform any thing that is amiss no further then thy lusts will give leave wouldst thou repent or stand for Gods glory thou canst not unless thy lusts do give leave wouldst thou be reproved or well counselled thou canst not unless thy lusts will give leave as long as thy lusts are in favour with thy heart they govern all they command all thy minde goes as they tend thy thoughts come as they call thy courses are as they will I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians and they shall spoil the Egyptians Exo. 3. 21 22. When they were once in favour with them they might spoil them and rob them and borrow Jewels of them and never pay them again they might do any thing when they were in favour with them O the misery of the soul when the world or pleasure or sinne or the like are in favour with it they spoil it and rob it and bereave it of all the jewels it hath Christ can doe nothing to any purpose with that soul that favours other things besides Christ Now if thine affections be not set right thy favour is not right set this is the reason
ever hold them O could we take hold of them it were well they are fair handles for us to take hold by O if we could but truly affect your hearts with the truth then we might have some hope to convert you As Epictetus saies of wrongs and of injuries and all things in the world every thing hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Every thing hath two handles O saies he if a man could take hold of every wrong at the right handle then he would bear it patiently so I may say of your haarts Your hearts have two handles I pray God the Word may take hold at the right handle of your hearts The true affections of the heart if ever the Word take hold of them it hath taken hold of the right handle Is it not then a lamentable thing that mens affections are misplaced alas they are the hold of the heart and the heart can never be taken unlesse they be set right Sirthly It may appear how infinitely it stands you in hand to set your affections aright because they are the souls stomack that which the soul doth affect that reedeth and filleth the soul as meat doth the stomack Is it not necessary to be careful what meat we doe eat if we eat trash it will kill us if we feed upon poyson it will poyson and infect us Now that is the food of thy soul which thy soul does affect and thine affection is thy souls stomack to hunger after it thine affections are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saies Aspasius they are the appetite of the soul Such then as your affections are such is your food Should you see a man feed upon dirt and upon Bricks and upon carrion certainly you would say unlesse he be broken therefrom it will kill him No remedy but it will kill him without doubt And wilt thou feed thy soul with vanities and with trash and with poyson Every thing is trash besides Christ every thing is poyson besides Christ and his graces if thou feedest upon any thing besides Christ and his spirit thou feedest upon trash and upon poyson Now if thou set thine affections here below thou feedest upon trash Thou murderest thy soul with such food its rank poyson and yet thou feedest upon it That which thou affectest that 's thy souls food As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2. 2. milk you know is the babes food if it have not its food it cannot possible live But the word is the milk and the food of the soul and that the Apostle would have you to set your affections upon Desire it or affect it saies he where note your affections are the stomack of your soul The Word is your food All other food is but trash and it feeds you accordingly O ye poor souls that feed upon poyson all the day long that diet your souls with nothing but trash and filth and froth how long will you do thus O set your affections on things that are above these are the wholsome food of your souls c. Seventhly it may appear how infinitely it stands you in hand to set your affections aright because they are the main matter of grace They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They are the materials of grace as Aristotle saies of the vertues they are nothing but the right ruling of the affections so may I say of grace with a little alteration the main work of grace is the ruling of the affections aright it takes them off from the things here on earth and lifts them up to the things that are in Heaven When grace dâ—th convert a man it doth not take away the affections but it ruleth them Thou wert angry before grace doth not take away thine anger No oportet virum bonum esse iracundum saies Cicero A good man must be angry I say grace does not take away thine anger but it ruleth thine anger and teacheth thee to turn it against sinne and against the dishonour of God Thou wert merrily disposed before of a cheerful constitution grace doth not come to take away thy mirth but to rule it Whereas thou wert merry with vanity and ever laughing at jests and at fooleries now grace makes thee merry in Gods service and to rejoyce in the Lord. Thou wert of a sad spirit before but perhaps it was for crosses and losses and discontents and the like grace comes not to take away thy sorrows but to rule them to make thee weep and mourn at thy deadnesse and unthankfulness toward the Lord Jesus Christ Gratia non tollit sed attollit naturam Grace does not take away nature but it taketh it up The affections are natural grace turns them into spiritual this I say brethren that ye may see how that grace runs along in the affections as water in the pipe The affections are the matter of grace As the soul is in the body the body is the matter and the soul is in it and so makes up a living creature A man had need look to his body for it is the due matter of his soul so it is with the affections thou hast need to be careful of them for they are the matter of grace and therefore the Apostle cals the affections the members yeeld your members servants unto righteousnesse Rom. 6. 19. that is as expositors expound it yeeld your affections thereto For they are your souls members and the materials of grace is not fear the matter of the fear of the Lord and love the matter of the love of the Lord and sorrow the matter of repentance from sin now if the affections be the materials of grace what a desperate condition are ye in that set your affections upon the things here below you throw down all the matter of grace How can ye have any grace when ye cast away in the kennel all the matter for grace Grace requires the affections for its matter and thou hast no matter for this grace Thou hurlest away all thine affections upon thy pleasures and thy profits and thy vanities thou art so far from all grace as that thou hast no matter for grace Eighthly It may appear how infinitely it stands you in hand to set your affections aright because they are arguments what ye be According as your affections are so are your souls if I could see what your affections run on I could see what ye all be whether Saints or wicked whether of God or the Devil The affections are the arguments that a man is a man When the people of Lystra took Paul and Barnabas for gods and would have sacrificed to them Sirs saies Paul Why do ye thus whereas we are men of like passions with you Act. 14. 15. that is affections we have fear and joy and grief and love and the like passions with you Now if the bare having of affections be the arguments that a man is a man then surely the goodnesse or
preaching will not work on mens affections their affections are bewitcht O foolish Galatians who hath bewitcht you that ye should not obey the truth before whose eyes Iesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you Gal. 3. 1. Paul among them had preached Christ to the life so evidently and so plainly had he preached Christ crucified as if they had seen him crucified before their eyes Certainly thought he these peoples affections are bewitched that are no better wrought on When Galba would perswade the Spaniards against Nero for his cruelty he set out so visibly his cruelty that they might even see it with their eyes Lycurgus so expressed the difference of good education and of bad that the people might even see it with their eyes Not as though preachers should do as they did or as some that I have read of have done who brought a dead skull into the pulpit that the people might see death even with their eyes We have no such warrant in Scripture but they must do it with the lively teaching of the truth And therefore the Apostle sayes that true preaching is in the demonstration of the spirit 1 Cor. 2. 4. When the truth is demonstrated with evidence Secondly By being full of affections himself Affection in the speaker is likely to beget affection in the hearer It cannot be otherwise saies Cicero Cicero being an excellent spokesman whenever he pleaded before the people of Rome to beget any affections in them he would be sure to put on those affections himself If he would move them to grief he would be full of affection of grief When to pity he would be full of affections of pity when to anger his countenance would be ful of anger The highest point of moving the affections in another is to be endued with those affections thy self sayes Quintilian It is an old maxime in Oratory and in all moving of the affections of others Pectus est quod facit disertos It is a mans own breast that makes him to be affectionate and eloquent If a mans own breast be piteous and full of compassion and bowels that man is an eâ—oquent perswader to pity If a mans own breast be loving and kinde and full of affections that man is an eloquent speaker to move love Si vis me flere dolendum primum ipse tibi If thou wouldest have me weep weep thy self first What mean you to weep and break my heart sayes the Apostle Act. 21. 13. it burst his very heart to see others stand weeping about him There be many clamorous Preachers sayes Calvin who declaim against the sins of the people and thunder against the iniquities of their Parish and make as though they had a great deal of zeal that never move a jot the affections of the people are not stirred up a whit because the people see plainly through all their actings and vehement enforcements that such Ministers are not affected themselves but only exercise their sides and their throat as if they would act it on a stage But O sayes he labour to mourn for their sins in thine heart before thou labour to move them Be thou more affected thy self then thou undertakest to affect them S. Paul did so move the affections of Dionysius and Damaris and others at Athens that the Text sayes they clave to S Paul Certain men clave to him and beleeved Act. 17. 34. He preached so movingly that their affections did even cleave to him as he preached How came it about that he stirred up affections in them look into the 16. verse and there you shall see he was greatly affected himself His spirit was stirred in him sayes S. Luke when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry He could not have stirred up affections in them if he had not been filled with affections himself O beloved our hearts are grievously straightned and our souls are wofully stopt that we are not more affected our selves at your miseries then we be would it not fetch tears from our eyes and groans from our bowels to see how desperately ye are hardned but that we are too little affected our selves you know the damned abuses in your Parish the cursed sins that reign in your houses and the stupid security ye are in yet nothing can move you Your consciences cannot be ignorant ye are carnal and are not yet Saints nor born again many of you your consciences can tell you ye are Saints or else ye are hell-hounds and if ye die as ye are ye have no evidence for heaven but ye may be damned ere long for all that ye know Ye can hear this every time ye to Church and yet no reformation no shew of humiliation no shew of grace nor repentance nor any thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what weeping Simonides can weep sufficiently for these things Paul knowing some abuses among the Corinthians that many of them were like to be damned for ever out of much affliction and anguish of heart sayes he I wrote unto you with many tears 2 Cor. 3. 4. penè quot syllabas tot lacrymas as Haymo speaks that is he shed as many tears as he wrote syllables he could hardly write for wetting the paper with tears which he wrote on O that we who are Gods Ministers could be so affected the Lord lay it not to our charge that we are not but O that our heads were water and our eyes were a fonntain of tears that we might weep day and night for these things Ye think your souls are safe alas we know they are desperate We know that your drunkennesse will damn you and your swearing and lying and company-keeping will undoe you We know your pride and your hardnesse of heart are symptomes and infallible marks of such as are yet no better then reprobates Ye hope your crying God mercies will help you we know they cannot Ye hope that Gods mercies will relieve we know they will not unlesse ye be new creatures Ye trust God will not be so strict as we say we know he will Ye imagine ye are not led by the devil though ye sin thus and thus we know ye be and the devil the God of this world rules in your mindes and your consciences Neither are ye able unless ye be Atheists and devils incarnate to deny God to be God and his Scripture to be Scripture ye are not able to deny it O that we would sigh and sob and groan in our pulpits O that we could even wet our cushions with tears and yearn over your souls as we preach I beseech you consider will you never beleeve nor be affected till ye feel it Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not see but they shall see and be ashamed and the fire shall devour them Isa 26. 11 I protest unto you I could finde in my heart to fall down on my knees to every one of you all were it profitable to beseech you to consider
A TREATISE OF THE AFFECTIONS OR The Souls Pulse Whereby a Christian may know whether he be living or dying Together With a lively description of their Nature Signs and Symptomes As also directing men to the right use and ordering of them By that Reverend and faithfull Minister of Gods Word M. William Fenner sometimes Fellow of Pembroke-Hall and late Rector of Rochford in Essex Finished by himself DEUT. 6. 5. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might LONDON Printed by A. M. for J. Rothwell at the Sign of the Sun and Fountain in Pauls-Church-yard near the little North-door 1650. To the Reader GOd made man as all things else for himself Gods glory is the end for which man was made the fruition of God is the happinesse to which he was appointed that he might be subservient to this end and obtain this happinesse he bestowed on him a reasonable soul consisting of an understanding and a will that by the one he might contemplate and behold the beauty of the Lord by the other he might embrace him The understanding as the eye of the soul to discern truth the will as the feet of the soul to carry it to good The understanding though furnished with excellent knowledge in things naturall was chiefly enriched with the knowledge of God the first Truth the will though let out to the desire of good naturall was especially enamored with God the chiefest good and whilest these faculties continued in those postures man continued in the happy and holy condition of his primaeve creation the corruption and misery of the soul is the aversion of these faculties from this object the corrupâ—ion of the understanding the ignorance of God the corruption of the will the abhorring of God man lost not his faculties by his fall but their integrity he hath an understanding still but in regard of heavenly things blinde and vain quick-sighted in other things he hath a will still but averse from God and pursuing with eagernesse things terrene the reparation of the soul is the resetling of these faculties on their proper objects and this is that which is required My son give me thy heart give me thy understanding to know me give me thy will to cleave to me by loving and fearing me by delighting and hoping in me These acts of loving fearing c. commonly called by the name of Affections I speak with submission to better judgements are only the motions of the will by which it goeth forth to the embracing of its object which is Good which considered in the general nature is loved considered as in the fruition is delighted in considered in the future as attainable if with ease is desired if with difficulty is hoped for If the will or these Affections be fixed on their proper object there is no danger in the excesse God cannot be loved or feared c. overmuch the only danger in them is either in misplacing upon a wrong object or their loose adhering to the right both these the Apostle rectifies Be not drunk with Wine in which is excesse but be filled with the Spirit Covet the best gifts Thus Christ invites his Church Drink ye be drunk O my beloved This drunkennesse saith Ambrose makes men sober And this the subject of this ensuing Discourse published for thy benefit Reade consider pray and the Lord give thee understanding to conceive of it and a will to conform unto it The Table THe right use and ordering of the Affections Page 1. Doctr. A naturall man cannot set his affections on God or upon things above 3 What the affections are ibid. 1 They are motions ibid. 2 They are motions of the will 4 3 They are forcible motions of the heart 5 4 They are sensible motions 6 5 They are according to the apprehensions of good and evill 7 Reasons 1 They are the wings of the soul ibid. 2 They are the inclination of the soul 8 3 They are the passion of the soul 9 4 They are the perturbation of the soul 11 Nine degrees wherein the affections may be wrought on In 5. of them a carnall man may have his affections wrought on but in the last four he cannot 13 1 The heart is enticed by them ibid. 2 The heart is somewhat touched therewith 14 3 The heart is somewhat bowed by them ibid. 4 The heart is stolen away with them 15 5 The heart is inflamed upon them ibid. 6 The heart is overturned from what it was 16 7 That the heart be engaged for God 17 8 The heart is glued to a thing by them ibid. 9 The heart may be quite given up to the thing it affects 18 Affections of the wicked cannot be set on Christ but may be raised towards Christ ibid. Proved by five Arguments 1 By the sparks of right reason ibid. 2 By the knowledge out of the Word 19 3 By knowledge and conscience quickned 20 4 By the horrour of their estate 21 5 By self-love 21 Affections may work the wicked to do some speciall duties as appears in five instances 27 Fourth Reason though a carnal mans affections be wrought on yet they are not kindely wrought on 28 First they are not 1 kindely 2 judiciously 3 regularly 4 universally Examine whether your affections are right or no 31 Demonstrated by four signs ibid. It stands us infinitely in hand to have our affections set right proved by eight arguments 35 It is a Christians duty to set his affections on God two reasons 45 The necessity of it for three Reasons ibid. All the good of the creature is not thy good proved by 4 arguments 48 It is best to set our affections on God for 3. reasons 52 Vse It is a blessing to have affections 54 Affections not sinfull for three reasons ibid. Affections are necessary and why 57 Four impediments our affections are not set on God 62 Two grounds to set our affections on God 67 Means to set our affections on God 69 Means to get up the bottom of the affections 85 Ministers must labour to stir up the affections of the hearers 90 How a Minister must stir up affections 95 It is a great sinne to set our affections on earth proved by 4. arguments 105 The degrees of the affections ibid. The extremity of the affections is zeal 118 Zeal what it is in five demonstrations ibid. Zeal is due only to God for five reasons 122 God demands the zeal of the affections 127 Very dangerous to deny God the zeal of the affections in holy duties 132 It is a lamentable condition we are in when our affections run contrary to God by eight arguments ibid. Seven signs whether the zeal of our affections be set on God 145 Zeal cannot abide any sin 147 Not in any person childe wife rich c. ibid Five means to make us zealous 170 Be exhorted to be zealous against thy worst enemies Sin Satan c. ib. Without zeal
thou must never do good to others ibid. Nor encourage the Ministers of God ibid. Nor can you be excellent ibid. Zeal makes us like Angels ibid. Zeal as fire against coldnesse and lukewarmnesse ibid. Seven motives to set your affections on God 175 A TREATISE OF THE AFFECTIONS The I. Sermon COLOS. 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above and not on things which are on the earth THe subject of the Text and this Treatise is the affections shewing the right use and ordering of them which is a thing of continual and great concernment for they will never be idle but still running out and bringing into the soul either healing or hurtful objects and so authours either of our woe or welfare and certain signs either of our happinesse that we are risen with Christ or misery that we are still dead And concerning these the Apostle First Implies a disease and distemper that they are disjoyned from God and that desperately Secondly Applies a medicine a way to cure them to bring them back and place them upon their first and right object God and things above The first he intimates to us in three things First By calling them inordinate affections and such as can never be set right without they be mortifyed Mortifie your earthly members Fornication Vncleannesse Inordinate affection c. ver 5. He terms them inordinate and masterlesse affections and he commands us to mortifie them Secondly By shewing they are buried in the things of the world and never can be raised up again but only by the power of the resurrection of Christ If ye be risen with Christ seek those things that are above ver 1. Ye can never be able to make your affections seek upwards unlesse ye be risen with Christ Thirdly By supposing they are naturally as Solomon saies of a fools wrath as heavy as a stone the affections are so naturally as heavy as a stone which fals down to the earth and cannot ascend except it be heaved up Set your affections on things above and not on things on the earth They naturally sagge downwards on things that are earthly but let them not doe so no heave them up and set them upon things that are heavenly If you be risen with Christ These words are to be construed with all the exhortations Saint Paul doth here give If ye be risen with Christ seek those things that are above If ye be risen with Christ set your affections on things that are above If ye be risen with Christ mortifie your earthly members and your inordinate affections c. If ye be not risen with Christ it is but a folly for me to bid you do this ye cannot mortifie your affections nor raise up your affections to God ye cannot possibly do this except ye be risen with Christ The point then is this which I will handle by way of coherence A natural man cannot set his affections upon God or upon things above For our more intelligible proceeding in this Doctrine as likewise in the whole treatise of the affections which I desire to goe through let me tell you First What the affections be The affections are the forcible and sensible motions of the heart or the will to a thing or from a thing according as it is apprehended to be good or to be evill There be four things to be considered herein First The affections are motions They are the motions of the heart The motions of sinne saies Saint Paul Rom. 7. 5. that is the affections of sin for so it is in the original so that then are a mans affections set upon God when the heart hath its out-goings to God and therefore the Scriptures call the affections the feet of the soul for as the body goes with its feet to that which it loves so the soul goes out with its affections to that which it loves I thought upon my waies and turned my feet unto thy testimonies Psal 119. 59. that is I turned mine affections to thy Testimonies Look to thy feet when thou comest into the house of the Lord. I have refrained my foot from every evil way Psal 119. 101. Their feet are swift to shed bloud Rom. 3. 15. The Soul hath no other way to come at that which it loves but only by its affections can the muck-worm bring his bags and his coffers to his Soul can the voluptuous man bring his dogges and his hounds and his bowls to his Soul No though his Soul loves such vanities as these it cannot move to them but only by its affections Currui similes sunt equis pernicibus affectus saies Lactantius The affections are the Souls horses that draw her as it were in a Coach to the thing that she affects a man is moved by his affections By Anger he moves out to revenge by Desire he moves out to obtain by Love he moves out to enjoy by Pity he moves out to relieve the affections are the motions of the Soul When the unbeleeving Jews had an affection of envy at Saint Paul the Text saies They were moved with Envy Act. 17. 5. so the Soul of the godly is moved with affection to God This is the first thing the affections are motions Secondly As the affections are motions so they are the motions of the will I know Aristotle and most of our Divines too doe place the affections in the sensitive part of the Soul and not in the will because they are to be seen in the beasts But this cannot be so for a mans affections do most stirre at a shame or disgrace which could not be if the affections were in the unreasonable sensitive part the unreasonable sensitive part of a man is not sensible of credit or esteem call the desires of the appetite greedy and gluttonish the appetite is senselesse of any disgrace and therefore the affections must needs be in the heart the Scripture places the affections in the heart or the will Being affectionately desirous of you we were willing 1 Thes 2 8. Saint Paul couples his affections and his will together in one and his affection that he had to the Thessalonians he seats in his will How could the Apostle command us to set our affections on God and the things that are above if the affections were in the sensitive and unreasonable part can a man make his material stomack to hunger after God or the thirst of his sentitive appetite to thirst after Christ alas the sentitive part is not capable of a command or precept No if the affections were only in the sensitive and material part of the soul then how could they be in the Angels the good Angels have affections all the essential parts of the affections and so have the bad The good Angels Which things the Angels desire to look into 1 Pe. 1. 12. The evil Angels or Devils The Devils beleeve and tremble Jam. 2. 19. I confesse there be certain animal and analogical affections that are
the contrary as wicked Ioabs affections were so bowed to God-wards and for the good of his Church that he was willing to die in his defence Be of good courage saies he let us play the men for our people and the cities of our God and the Lord doe what seemeth him good 2 Sam. 10. 12. See how he rowzes up his valour and his generous affections to fight for his God his affections were somewhat bowed unto God and yet he was a wicked man The fourth is The affections may be wrought on so far that the heart may be stolen away with them this you may finde in the story of Absolom who with his beauty and the propernesse of his person and the flattery of his lips and his courteous complement with the people of the land he did so winne their affections that the Text saies He stole the hearts of the men of Israel 2 Sam. 15. 6. So grace is so beautiful and the Word of God hath such kinde promises and kinde speeches with it not complemental as Absalâ—ms but real and truly amiable that it may steal the affections of a carnal man as the Israelites stole from the Aegyptians and they knew not how so grace may steal thine affections and take them with its beauty and yet thou be a wicked man for all that As Paul with his preaching did so steal away the affections and the hearts of the Galathians that for a need they would have pluckt out their eyes and given them to Paul they were so strongly affected with him and the Gospel he taught them Gal. 4 15. Neverthelesse Saint Paul sayes they were foolish and carnal The fifth is The affections may be wrought on so farre that the heart may be hot and inflamed by them That this is another degree of the affections you may gather from the avenger of bloud when any had unwittingly and unwillingly killed his brother the Lord commands him to fly quickly to a City of refuge lest the avenger of bloud should kill him in fury and anger The words go thus lest the avenger of bloud pursue the slayer while his heart is hot Deu. 16 6. While his heart is hot that is while he is in the heat of his passion while his anger and the affections of revenge are hot the affections may be raised so high that they may set the heart in a heat upon a thing which it affects So a carnal man may have his affections heated and inflamed towards God and towards grace Saul had a great zeal to Gods Church 2 Sam. 21. 2. Iehu was zealous for God Come with me saies he and see my zeal for the Lord 2 Kin 10. 16. Zeal is the heat of all the affections and therefore Iehu was heated in all his affections for God his affections were hot to root out Idolaters his affections were hot to cut off Gods enemies and to reform abundance of sinful abuses in the Kingdom he was zealous his affections were heated towards God and yet Iehu was no better then a carnal man for all that Thus farre may a carnal mans affections be wrought on for grace and this is no argument that he hath set his affections upon God as shall afterwards appear Therefore there be four further degrees which are only to be found in the godly The sixth then is The affections may be wrought on so far that the heart is quite overturned from that it was before I say the affections may be wrought on so far that the heart may be turned upside down by them So it was with the godly they were even overwhelmed in affections for God with the fear of the Lord and their hearts turned upside down with grief for their sinnes Behold O Lord for I am in distresse my bowels are troubled my heart is turned within me for I have grievously rebelled Lam. 1. 20. Her soul was even battered with affections of repentance and humiliation her soul was distressed with terrours her bowels were troubled and contracted with fears and her heart was turned upside down with sorrows and all for her sins for I have grievously rebelled saies she No wicked man under Heaven had his affections ever so wrought on that was not converted upon it As Iob saies of his birth He was curdled like Cheese so here in the second birth her heart was curdled like Cheese c. My heart is turned in me saies she This is a higher working on the affections then any carnal man hath The seventh is The affections may be wrought on so far that the heart be engaged for God As a womans affections towards a man may be so deep as that she engageth her heart unto that man and resolves to have none other husband but him So when the affections are so deep in love with grace and with Christ that the heart is once engaged for Christ to be a widow for ever unlesse he will be pleased to count her his Spouse the world shall never have her heart more the flesh shall never have her heart more nor devil nor lust nor any other sin shall ever have her heart more she is so farre in love and affection with Christ as her heart is engaged for Christ this is a godly soul Who is this that engageth his heart to approach unto me saith the Lord Jer. 30. 21. If pleasure come saying set thine affections on me no saies the heart mine affections are engaged already if her old lusts and her old lovers and her old acquaintance come saying set your affections on us no saies the heart I am engaged for another even for Christ and his graces this is a deep working on the affections indeed when they are engaged for Christ The eighth is The affections may be wrought on so far that the heart may be glued to a thing by them Iamblychus the heathen hath a pretty phrase to this purpose a wicked man he cals him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bound in and nayled in his affections he is even nayled and glued to the things of the world his heart does even stick to them like pitch and Tarr to the Ship So it is with a godly soul his heart sticks fast unto Christ and the commandments of Christ I have stuck unto thy Testimonies saies David to Christ Psa 119. 31. How came his heart to stick to Christs testimonies His holy affections were the glue his affections clave to Gods Law The ninth is The affections may be wrought on so far that the heart may be quite given up to the thing which it affects Solomon had such affections to wisedom that he gave his heart to seek it Eccl. 1. 13. As we use to say he hath my heart what can he have more all mine affections are set on him if he have my heart and all So a godly heart is so deeply affected with Christ and his righteousnesse as that Christ hath his very heart and all He gives up all
why thou art wedded to the world and wedded to thy lusts that thine affections cannot be unto Christ When Hadad had great favour with Pharoah Pharaoh even married his own wives sister unto Hadad 1 Kin. 11. 19. He made him his brother he brought him into the nearest relation he could whenas his favour was set towards him So if thou favourest the things of this life thou weddest thy soul to them What an infinite indignity is this unto Christ that such base and sordid things should be in favour and Christ not be thy souls favourite Thirdly Hereby the soul is convertible and reconcilable to God Be a man never so crosse and crooked never so cruelly and implacably bent to transgresse yet as long as there be affections in him to be wrought his heart may be won Though a Kings wrath be as the roaring of a Lyon though he be never so fallen out with a man yet as long as there be affections in the King patience wisedom and humbling ones self and the like these things may perswade him by long forbearing is a Prince perswaded Pro. 15. 15. Without a man have any affections in him he is not capable of perswasion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saies Aristotle The affections are they whereby a man is mutable For though it be a weaknesse to be mutable yet when a man is evil and wicked it 's a blessed weakness that he is mutable from that wickednesse Now if a man be grievously set upon mischief though he be an enemy of all grace and of goodnesse yet as long as there be any affections left in him he is not an implacable enemy no his affections are a possible subject to be wrought on the Word and the Spirit may perswade him and therefore what a care should we have of our affections because thereby we are placable and reconcilable to God The Apostle yokes these two together without natural affection implacable Rom. 1. 31. for a man as long as he hath any natural affection left he is never implacable still he may be perswaded unlesse he degenerate in his affections and prove to be unnatural if the affections depend on this fashion he is not only wicked and an enemy to grace but he is an implacable enemy think then what wrong ye do to your own souls so unnaturally to set your affections to let them degenerate as you do and wander after vanity Beware how ye doe so ye goe about to divert all possibility of conversion and provoke the Lord to count you implacable enemies to grace and to the scepter of his dear Sonne Fourthly It may appear how infinitely it stands you in hand to set your affections aright because the affections are the hands of your souls Ye cannot take hold of any thing in the world to doe you any good but by your affections For as hands are to the body so the affections are to the soul Will a man be so mad as to put his hand and his fingers out of joynt alas he cannot take hold of so much as his meat for to eat it So the affections are the hands of the soul He that hath clean hands a pure heart Ps 24. 4 that is he whose affections are clean and heart pure I will wash my hands in innocency and so will I compasse thine Altar Psal 26. 6. that is I will purge mine affections and so I will pray I will that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath 1 Tim. 2. 8. that is lifting up holy affections without the distempered affections of wrath or anger or the like the affections are the hands of the heart whereby it takes the word or the Commandment or any thing to it Now what a horrible thing is it that these hands of thine should be put out of joynt as long as thine affections are to the things here on earth they are all out of joynt thou canst never take grace Ye cannot take hold of a promise nor of the word unlesse your affections be right I know that Faith is the right hand of the soul whereby it takes hold of that which is good But alas the hand of Faith is clumbsie without the affections Such a one had a crosse how did he take it say we that is how is he affected under it ye take it ill to be reproved of your sins ye take it ill to be warned and admonished either in publike or private Ye take it ill to be told of the judgements of God against your lusts Alas how can ye do otherwise ye cannot take it well when your affections that should take it well are set upon vanity wilt thou binde up and hamper thine affections in the things of the Earth alas thy hands are quite bound thou canst not take hold of Christ or of Heaven Thou dost even pinion thine own soul and shackle it for Hell What does the Devil when he shackles a man like a prisoner for hell and damnation he bindes him hand and foot and so casts him into utter darknesse he bindes up his heart and affections that he cannot weep nor he cannot repent of his sins he cannot rejoyce in grace nor in goodnesse he cannot delight in the word he bindes up his affections which are the hands and feet of the soul and so fits him for hell and destruction above all things then be sure that thy hands be loose and thine affections at liberty to set them upon Heaven Fifthly It may appear how infinitely it stands you in hand to set your affections aright because they are not only the hands but the handles of your hearts as your hearts can catch hold of nothing that is good unlesse your affections take hold so nothing can take hold of your hearts but by your affections If ever the word do convert you it must catch hold of you Jesus said unto Simon henceforth thou shalt catch men Luk. 5. 10. that is the preaching of the Word it shall catch men when thou preachest Now one of the first holds that it catcheth is by the affections Men are affected with the Word and so it comes to convert men now beloved had you not need to have a care of affections seeing they are the handles of your hearts were it not for them the word could never catch hold on you There is no hold to be had of such a man as we say that is his affections are slippery Beloved here you come to Gods house miserable wretched souls in your sinnes alas how is it possible that ever Gods Ministers should catch hold of your hearts your affections are the main hold that we can catch of you If your affections be not here but run after the things of this life we can have no hold of you you have nothing that we should take hold by Indeed we may catch hold of your understandings that 's nothing unlesse we take hold of your affections they are as slippery Eels we can scarce
vainesse of these affections are the arguments that a man is a Christian man or an ungodly man I beseech you consider what a woful distressed condition ye are in if your affections be vain and earthly ye carry a brand in your hearts that ye are not of God that ye are yet the slaves of Satan and the servants of unrighteousness and your end is no better then eternal death and destruction Affectus virum indicat Your affections shew you what men and women ye be c. The IV. Sermon Colos 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. HItherto it sufficeth to have spoken of the coherence of the words wherein ye â—ave heard First What these affections be Secondly That a wicked man cannot set his affectious on God Thirdly How far forth a wicked man may have good affections and how they differ from the godlies Fourthly How they may examine themselves and finde that their affections are not set right Fifthly Eight several arguments to convince them what a woful condition they are in till their affections are set upon God Now for the words they contain a special duty that a Christian is bound to namely to set his affections upon God The Apostle presses it strongly First Because it is an infallible mark of our being or not being in Christ If ye be risen with Christ c. set your affections on things above As if he should say Ye say ye are risen with Christ come then and demonstrate it now that ye are risen with Christ If ye be risen with Christ this will infallibly follow Ye will set your affections above it cannot be otherwise If your affections be not set above doubtlesse you are not risen with Christ Those that are Christs saies St Paul have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts Galat. 5. 24. He takes it for granted that if they be Christs they have crucified the flesh and the affections to the World-ward and set them upon God Secondly He presseth it as a matter of reasonable equity the competition stands but between two Either things in heaven or things on earth One of them ye must set your affections upon ye cannot set your affections upon both if ye set your affections any where ye must needs set them upon one of these two Mark the competition Set your affections on things that are above not on the things on the Earth now there is a necessity of reason that election should be made of the best that we should set our affections on the better of the twain to wit the things that are in Heaven which are infinitely better then the things here on Earth Set your affections on things that are above and not on the things on Earth So that hence ye may see the necessity of this duty We must set our affections above or which is all one upon God The strength of this necessity will the better appear if we consider these four things First That God is the principal object of our affections as the eye is made to be set upon colours and the ear is made to be set upon sounds and the smell is made to be set upon odours so the affections are made to be principally set upon God The affections are so naturally due unto God that if it be not God the souls affections are set on it makes it a God or an Idol And therefore the Apostle bids us mortifie our inordinate affections evil concupiscence and coveteousness which is Idolatry Col. 3. 5. when our affections are set upon gains and upon profits and the things of this life the Apostle cals this coveteousnesse and this coveteousnesse he saies it is Idolatry because the soul makes Gold a god and silver a god and profit a god by setting its affections thereupon As the eye doth either see colours or else it sees a thing under the likenesse of a colour colour is the principal object of the sight and therefore if it be not a colour which it sees as the eye may see light as the light of the fire the light of the Sun but it sees it under the likenesse of rednesse or whitenesse or some other colour It appears by a colour or else it cannot see it So beloved it is either God our affections are on or we idolize it as a God Indeed we may affect other things as mediums and in reference to God but look where we set our affections that is our God Only fear the Lord and serve him with all your heart 1 Sam. 12. 24. We must set our affection of fear only upon God The affections are the souls attendants Doth not a servant wait only upon his own Master whom he gives his attendance unto him he maketh his Master and whom should the soul wait on but only upon God the affections are the souls attendances upon whomsoever she bestows them she waits upon it as true God My soul saies David my soul wait thou only upon God Psa 62. 5. Give thine attendance to none but to him Thine affections of love and of joy and of hope and desire these must wait upon God for to worship him Thine affections of fear and of care these must wait upon God to provide what ever may please him Thine affections of hatred and of grief and sorrow and the like these must wait as a guard to keep off what ever may offend him thine affections are principally for God this is the first ground the affections were made for God Secondly As the affections were principally made for this purpose to be set upon God so nothing but God hath that which the affections look for It is God which the affections look for and where can the affections finde it but only in God there is none good but one that is God Mat. 19. 17. The young man would have thought he sought for good in a right place when he sought for it in Christ But as Chrysostome observes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when he lookt upon Christ as a meer man Christ tels him he was mistaken in calling him good there is none good but one that is God Christ himself as near as he was unto good as he came nearer to it then any creature in heaven or in earth yet if he had been a creature and men had set their affections on him as their good being a creature they had set their affections amisse why callest thou me good saies he so much more doth every creature answer Thou thinkest riches honors and pleasures are good Why call ye me good may they all say there 's none good but one that is God Will a man seek for the Sun in a pale of water Indeed if the Sunne shine on the water there may you see it But if the Sun do not look on it you may look over all the waters in the world and never finde the Sunne in them all So will you set your affections on
You must have this same new heart otherwise ye cannot set your affections on God For there is a heart that will set its affections on God and there is a heart that will not The Lord wishes his people to have the former kinde of heart the heart that will set its affections on God O that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep my Commandments alwaies Deut. 5. 29. There is such a heart beloved O that we had it I say there is such a heart that will fear God and set all its affections on God and such a heart ye must get or else it is in vain to command you this duty all the Sermons ye see are in vain that ye have heard to this day all the exhortations and admonitions ye have had since ye were ye see plainly they are in vain to many of you as your affections were earthly twenty years ago so they are still as they were carnal and worldly heretofore so they are still your hearts are the same hearts your hearts are stark naught and therefore your affections cannot sore up unto God Ye can have no quick affections in praier no melting affections at the word The Sabbath comes but your affections are not on it a Sacrament comes but what poor affections you have to it your consciences may witnesse Ye sit in your shops or ye follow your callings or ye go about your earthly employments and your affections are below 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saies Maximus the Sparrows foot is bound with a cord she cannot fly up unto God Your hearts are not spiritual and this is the cause your affections are so carnal Peradventure ye lop off now and then some part of your carnal affections as Tarquinius lopt off the heads of his poppies but ye do not cut up the roots It may be ye go about to heave up your affections in good duties sometimes as the key lifts up the spring in the lock but the key is no sooner turned but down goes the spring so down go your affections presently again And therefore I premise this as a first ground ye can never set your affections on God till ye have gotten new hearts The second ground is this Ye can never set your affections upon God unlesse you feed upon Christ by faith If ever the soul feed upon Christ by faith it cannot but set its affections upon God I remember an invention of Queen Artemesia who when her husband Mausolus was dead not knowing how to keep him fresh in her affections as long as she lived she caused her husband Mausolus his body to be turned into ashes and mingled them in her drink so she buried her husband in her bowels and this way she took to keep her affections fresh unto him This indeed was unnatural in her to eat and drink her own husband but faith teacheth us to feed upon the Lord Iesus Christ this will take off our affections from the world we shall never hunger after the world more nor thirst after the things of this life more if ever we feed upon him I am the bread of life saies Christ he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that beleeveth on me shall never thirst Joh. 6. 35. If ever we beleeve the sweetnesse of the promises of Christ the pleasantnesse of the commandments of Christ the preciousnesse of the graces of Christ and the love of Christ and the benefit of Christ our affections will be to him Nothing can take off thy affections from the world but faith in Christ He that beleeveth in Christ cannot set his affections upon the world Can a man set his affections upon the world when he verily beleeves it to be drosse and dung in comparison of Christ Can he set his affections upon earthly pleasure that beleeves it is madnesse It is certain men never beleeved in Christ since they were born that set their affections upon the things of the world they have not one dram of Christ Christ is altogether lovely Cant. 5. 16. He is all love one that commands the affections Thou beleevest in the world and not in Christ if thou set thine affections upon any other but Christ Thou beleevest thou canst have pleasure and delight in something beside Christ profits and gains in something beside Christ ease and content and comfort in something beside Christ if thou set thine affections upon any thing beside Christ Alas thou canst never set thine affections upon Christ as long as thou beleevest not only in Christ If thine earthly affections transport thee to be earthly fly under the wing of Christ as Chickens under the wing of the Hen lest the Kite devour them These are the two Grounds that I give you First ye must have new hearts and secondly ye must be beleevers in Christ or else ye cannot set your affections upon God The foundation being layd let me now help you with some means to set your affections on God I could help you to abundance of means but I desire to help you to such means as are easier to use then to set your affections on God For if they be not easier then this duty they cannot properly be said to be helps to this duty The first then is this Often pray to God that he would gather up our affections from the things of the world and unite them unto him Our hearts are divided and scattered up and down among the things of the world Carnal friends have some of your affections our gains and our livings and our maintenance have other-some our pleasures and delights and fleshly refreshments have other-some our earthly businesses and cares and employments our credit and the like these have abundance of our affections Thus our hearts and affections are scattered up and down among the things of the world if ever we would have them set upon God we must be frequent in praier that God would unite together our scattered hearts to set our affections upon God This was the practice of David O Lord saies he unite my heart to fear thy name Psa 86. 11. His heart was scattered up and down in a thousand peeces Some peeces of his affections run after one thing some after another And therefore he praies God to unite his heart together to fear his Name If God would once gather up his heart from all its vain haunts and unite it together then he could set his affections his fear and his love and his delight and the rest upon Gods Name Iejunio passiones corporis oratione pestes sanandae sunt mentis saies Hierom as the affections of the body are to be healed by fasting so the affections of the soul are to be healed by praier as long as they are carnal they are the plague and pestilence of the soul and praier must heal them As Father Latimer said to good Ridley pray pray O pray pray so may I say Pray pray I beseech you
bottom God will shame thee Though the Apple look never so well yet if it be not sound at the core at last it will be manifest Though the Egge look never so lovely yet if it be addle within at last it shall appear God will unmask thee one day and make it appear thine affections were never right at the bottom This David used as a means to provoke him to get a sound heart at the bottom Let my heart be sound in thy statutes that I be not ashamed Psal 119 80. The affection of shame a man would be loth to be put to and he knew he should be put to it one time or other if he were not sound at the bottom And therefore he labours with God that his heart might be sound in his statutes he was not content to have good affections that way but he labours to have sound and solid affections that might be sound at the bottom That I be not ashamed sayes he What a shame will it be to see thee a damned Goat at Christs left hand that now art esteemed a good Christian If thou beest not right at the bottom so it will be Give me leave to tell you one thing that occurred in an experience of mine own I was once a saying to a Gentleman who was exceedingly affected at the Word and professed great love to my Ministry and that he would defend it and make much of the Word O said I there be many that yet seem very forward to approve of the Word and to defend it c. that when the Word comes to meet with their bosome sins and gives them no rest in their consciences I fear me will set against Minister and Word and all ere it be long O no God forbid sayes he I were unworthy to live if I should do so Well well said I I pray God it may not be so as I say but mark it and peradventure you shall see it with your eyes Within one fortnight this Gentleman that seemed to be such a friend at my first coming to the Parish being met with in a Sermon and feeling his sin a sin I little imagined he was guilty of to be reproved and condemned in the Pulpit he never would be known to me more but opposed me as long as I stayed there he was affected but his affections were not sound at the bottom and therefore he came to this shame God grant it have humbled him by this time if now he be alive It is a good rule in morality Affectus mendaciter se subjiciunt rationi The affections will fain a submission to right reason It is true in Divinity the affections will seem to submit unto grace when they do not For as long as the bottom is not sound they cannot be set truly upon God they are nothing but flashes like plushes of water after a showr that are dried up quickly This is the eighth means to set our affections on God to get up the bottom of our affections and set them on God Beloved these are the means whereby ye may set your affections on God now see how nearly it concerns you to use all these means and to make conscience of this duty and this will appear if ye consider these two things First The affections are the bonds of the soul that is wicked whereby it is fast bound unto sin thou canst never repent nor be saved as long as thine affections are not turned Can a prisoner go that is fast bound in the stocks Thine earthly and carnal affections fast binde thee in sinne if these bonds be not broken thou canst never go to God When Peter saw a carnal affection in Simon Magus the Sorcerer presently he tels him I perceive thou art in the gall of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquity Act. 8. 23. He does not say only in iniquity but also in the bond of iniquity for his carnal affection was a bond and he was fast bound in his sins The Prophet preaches hell and damnation against such men and such women for alas how can they get out when they are bound and corded to their pleasures and the things of the world Wo unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as it were with a cart-rope Isa 2. 18. Great carts are drawn by the cart-ropes so all a mans sins are drawn to him by these cords Chrysostome expounds these words both of their sinnes and their woes they draw both them The cords of our affections are the hearts tyers to sin they do even tye the soul unto sin that it cannot get loose Wo is to them sayes the Lord. Be the affections all like unto bonds and cords and cart-ropes to tye the heart to sin What a woful case are ye in till your affections are set right look what ye tie them unto that do ye draw after you if you fasten them on the things of this life them ye draw after you if ye fasten them on Grace and on Christ and his Word them ye pull after you Never was Sampson so fast bound with Delilahs wit hs as he was with his affections to Delilah sayes Gregory Ah poor slavish soul thou art in the Devils stocks as long as thine affections are not fastened aright thou art heart-bound and soul-bound and conscience-bound thou art fast bound in his cage How neerly then concerneth it you all to get your affections to be set upon Ye are even the slaves and bond-slaves of hell and therefore as ever ye desire to flie from the vengeance to come use all these means with all conscience that ye may set your affections on God Secondly Earthly affections are the fore-stallings of the heart the heart is prepossest already with the things of this life and is prejudicate against the things that are above and therefore there is no hope to perswade you as long as your affections are set upon the things of this life When our Saviour Christ perceived how the Pharisees affections hawkt after credit and honour from men being prepossest with desire of humane applause he tels them plainly they could never beleeve nor seek the honour of God Ye cannot beleeve sayes he how can ye beleeve which receive honour one of another and seek not the honour that cometh from God only Ioh. 5. 44. It is a grievous thing to be prejudicate and prepossest with another good beside God It is a miserable task to be to reason with a prejudicate man he will not yield no by no means will he yield when once he is prejudicate As long as our affections are set on the world our hearts are prejudicate and therefore go we about the means prescribed whereby our affections may be set at rights never till then can we hope to convert you or to work any good on your souls The VII Sermon Colos 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. ARe the affections the motions of the heart
a companion It seems he told it so by rote as we say shewing no affection at all in his telling Why sayes Demosthenes hath he beaten thee I do not beleeve he hath beaten hee No sayes the man he was much troubled to hear him deny it and so he spake eagerly and in a chafe I am sure he beat me thus he did and thus he did and do you not call this beating now I beleeve sayes Demosthenes I beleeve now he hath beaten thee indeed now I hear the voice of a man that was beaten So if we should dreamingly utter our voice and reprove our hearers they scarce beleeve they are reproved because they do not hear the voice of a reprover Let us deliver uses of terror to them they hardly beleeve any terrour in it because they do not hear the voice of terrour But when the Minister is affected aright and his affections direct the carriage of the voice along the voice it self does more significantly expresse the matter and this no question is very moving But then let me tell you if this be it ye look for and if ye can be carping at a Minister for the want of this what the Lord accounts of you He sets it as a brand upon the wicked Jews that they were affected with the Prophet Ezekiels pleasant voice when they were affected with little else Ez. 33 32. even a rare and a worthy Moses may be defective in this case and wo is the people that findeth fault But however be the voice of a godly Minister never so mean yet there will be ever some hidden grace in it whereby more or lesse it appears unto the consciences of them that have ears to hear This is the fourth thing whereby a Minister may stir up affections by the due carriage of his voice Fifthly I might adde by a decent action For my part I have little reason to name it but verily it is a blessing of Christ to them that have it for they have a great advantage over the affections of their hearers Cicero sayes some were esteemed viri diserti eloquent and moving men but for want of action they could not put their gifts in practise habiti sunt infantes they were esteemed infants in this profession sayes he Action we see is much employed in the preaching of the Prophets and the holy men of God Ezechiel was commanded to stamp with the feet Isaiah commanded to go naked Ieremy commanded to put a yoke on his neck Iohn Baptist was tota vox he was all-voice the voice of a cryer in the wildernesse Mat. 3. 3. his eyes spake and his face spake his hands spake and his body spake yea his life and dyet and all spake he was all-voice The Prophets streched forth their hands to the people in fulnesse of affection I have spread forth my hands all the day unto a rebellious people Isa 65. 2. S. Paul set his eyes upon Elymas the sorcerer Act. 13. 9. O full of subtlety and all mischief thou childe of the devil thou enemy of all righteousnesse wilt thou not cease to pervert the right waies of the Lord the Lords hand is upon thee and thou shalt be blinde c. It is counted a grand sin in old Eli that he did not frown on his sonnes 1 Sam. 3. 13. why does the Text express Elies not severely threatning his sons by this action of frowning but only because they that do severely threaten do use to frown Thus ye see how that Gods Ministers have used action to move affections The VIII Sermon Colos 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. MUst our affections be set upon God then this reproves them who set their affections on the earth The matter is reduceable to four heads The first is the multiplicity of the affections they are very many in number The second is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Checker-wise order of the affections As they are many so they are complicated and platted one within another that look what they are set on they knit the heart to it The third is the degree the affections are in in regard of other acts of the soul The fourth is the extremity of the affections which is zeal From all these four heads I will shew you the wofull aggravation of this sin not to set our affections on God First From the multitude and multiplicity of the affections a man cannot set his affections upon earth but he must set them all upon earth the affections they all go together and are many Not only four as Boethius doth count them nor only five as Galen does reckon them nor only eleven as Aristotle does number them nor only twenty as Cardan does sum them but they are like a swarm of Bees as Laelius Peregrinus does compare them for multitude Plato sayes they are innumerable without question they are many Now what a wofull aggravation is this of this sin to set thine affections on the earth Thou settest all thine affections thereon if thou settest one thou settest all for they all go together Like the Angels that sinned they all fell together So when the affections fell off from God they all fell together Like the two eyes of the body they both look one way like the two ears one doth not hear one sound and another another If thou lovest those things that are carnal it is certain thy desires are all carnal thy joys and delights and thy hopes are all carnal thy fears and thy griefs and thy sorrows are all carnall if one of them be set on the things here on earth all are were there but one affection that way it were the lesse but if thine affections be set upon these things not one nor two nor ten but numberlesse multitudes whole swarms of affections are all earthly Thou art altogether brutish and foolish Ier. 10. 8. That is thine affections are altogether brutish and beastly altogether filthy or stinking for so the word signifies Psal 14. 3. That is thine affections are altogether stinking and noysome affections I proved before that when the affections are carnal they all like so many devils do bewitch thee O foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you It is grievous enough to be plagued with one devil He must needs run whom the devil drives one devil will drive thee fast enough to hell One affection if it were single will hurry thee fast enough to hell what then are the whole legions of affections they are like the legion of devils that entred into the Swine the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea Luk 8. â—3 They ran with all violence to be drowned when a legion of devils did drive them So thou must needs run with all violence down into the lake when a legion of affections like a legion of devils doth hurry thee Sâ— acuique Deus fit dâ—ra cupido sayes the Poet. The very heathen man saw this that every mans
evil affection was his devil and therefore the whole legion of affections are a legion of devils Do ye not see how ye are tost up and down all the day long tanquam pila diaboli as the devils tennis-bals as Odo speaks from worldly delights unto wordly desires from desires unto fears from fears unto melancholies from melancholies to angers and vexations from them again unto carnal comforts these are all like a legion of devils that hurry thee up and down till thou art hurried to hell c. If thine affections be carnal they are a legion of devils to drive thee It is a merry devil that makes thee so greedy of pleasure and of mirth a surly devil that makes thee so cholerick and touchy a giddy devil that makes thee so fearful and timorous an unclean devil that makes thee so desirous of drinking and company-keeping Anger and wrath is a devil Let not the soul go down upon thy wrath neither give place to the devil Eph. 4. 26 27. That is do not give way to thy wrath when thou givest way to thy earthly desires thou givest way to the devil When thou givest way to thine earthly delights and thy sorrow and thy melancholy thou givest way to the devil Look how many earthly affections thou hast that thou givest the way to so many devils are in thee Dost thou think thou art a childe of God when thy conscience tels thee that such and such earthly affections have way in thy heart alas thou hast a devil Be sober for your adversary the devil 1 Pet. 5. 8. mark every giddy affection is a devil our adversary the devil comes with it Yea so many earthly affections so many devils and wilt thou set thine affections upon things that are earthly if thou dost thou hast a legion of devils within This is the first head the multitude and the multiplicity of the affections the affections are many The second head is taken from the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the checkerwise order of the affections As the affections are many so look where they are set there they are platted and woven and hampered together God that first created man upright and good he gave him affections so to twist and hamper his heart upon good that it might be the harder to loosen it He gave him the affection of love to embrace good If the good were wanting he gave him the affection of desire to hunger after it If the good were possible to get he gave him the affection of hope to expect it if the good were once gotten he gave him the affection of joy to delight in it If there were any danger to lose it he gave him the affection of fear to be afraid of it If the good were once lost indeed he gave him the affection of grief and of sorrow to lament it If he should meet with any thing that would hinder him in the prosecution of good he gave him the affection of hatred to oppose it c. Thus God embroydered the affections and wove them together that still mans heart might be knit by the affections to good and to God And wilt thou now set thine affections on the things of this life thou little thinkest how thou twistest and hamperest thy soul about these things thine affections will make thee live and die a carnal wretch Had not Erasistratus cured Antiochus of his carnal affection it had cost him his life for he was sick of it unto death Galen sayes he met with many sick patients if he had not cured their affections he had never recovered them The affections hamper the soul unto death So if thou set thine affections on the things here on earth they will so hamper thy heart that unlesse thine affections be cured thy soul is desperately incurable they entangle thy soul thou canst not get free And therefore S. Peter cals falling into earthly affections he cals it entangling If after they have escaped the pollutions of the flesh they are again entangled 2 Pet. 2. 20. That is if after they have once gotten out they fall in again because they cannot fall in again but their lusts and affections will not entangle them again Be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage Gal. 5. 1. Paul knew if the Galatians were addicted to the Ceremonies of the Law they would affect them more then the Commandments of Christ And therefore he gives them advice no further to use them because their hearts would be intangled if they did No man that warreth intangleth himself with the affairs of this life 2 Tim. 2. 4. A souldier had not need to have a new married wife or a new-born childe or a new-purchased ground a new-planted vineyard a new suit at Law in the Chancery Alas then his affections would be a gadding when he should be fighting O my wife at home and O my childe at home and I would I might taste of my vineyard at home and O that I could follow my cause in the Court this were to intangle him in war he could not fight valiantly Thus the affections do intangle a man So if thine affections be earthy they will entangle thee thou canst not be free for the seeking of heaven or of Christ thine affections are so complicated and hampered thou canst be in no place in no estate nor condition but some affections or other will entangle thee Thou lovest thy land and thy living and thy things in the world O how are thine affections intangled what case soever thou art in thine affections lie checker-wise and will have thee If thou beest rich the affections of pleasure or delight or security there they will have thee If thou beest poor the affections of desire and discontent this thou desirest and that thou wouldest fain have there thy wishings and wouldings and carkings will have thee If thou beest crossed or troubled or afflicted the affections of grief and of sorrow and of melancholy these there will have thee If thou beest injured abused or provoked which fals out very often the affections of anger and revenge these then will have thee If thou beest in danger of sicknesse or distresse or losse of this or that the affections of fear and the like they lie in ambush to catch thee If thou comest to the Word and there thou art told thou art a damned man as long as thou livest as thou dost the affections of vain hopings and trustings they lie in scout for to take thee thus thou art intangled when thine affections are earthy in what case soever thou art in they intangle thee Sometimes thou art merry and jocond for a pang anon thou art melancholy and sad for a fit Sometimes thou art angry with a servant or a childe or a wife or a neighbour anon thou art pleased Sometime a danger comes and fears thee anon it is gone and thou art secure Sometimes one affection sometimes another Sometimes a hating and sometimes a loving sometimes
are come to be carnal affections they are ripened And therefore the Apostle does usually call the carnal affections by the name of lusts The Gentiles walked in lusts excesse of wine revellings c. 1 Pet. 4. 3. that is they walked in their carnal affections because the lusts are then strengthned when they come to be affections Now beloved consider what a hideous condition it is to set our affections on the earth it strengthens our lusts We give a knife to a cut-throat to stab us cherish a company of vipers in our bosome to poyson us We encourage fierce enemies to battel against our souls So S. Peter can tell us Dearly beloved I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from filthy lusts which warre against the soul 1 Pet. 2. 11. they warre against the soul they are the devils Infantry yea Chivalry too they are his Souldiers to murder the soul with spiritual death and eternal damnation If ever thou lovedst thine own soul thou wouldest kill sinne in the cradle supplant it and take it by the heel as Iacob did Esau in the womb thou wilt never overcome it else Deny it the first entrance as the Angel shut the door upon the Sodomites cast out the bond-woman with her brat too as Sarah did Hagar and her little one as Gregory speaks Thou wilt never be able to subdue it otherwise Thou wouldest crucifie thy lusts and mark the first risings thereof thus thou wouldst do if thou hadst a care of thy soul But wilt thou let thy lusts grow and get armour to kill thee wilt thou let them gather strength and ripenesse to damn thee there is not a lust of them but it comes like an armed man to fight against thy soul now if thou set thine affections too on the things of this life thou dost strengthen it and weapon it yet more What a wretched misery is this thy lusts war against thy soul to undo it and yet thou dost strengthen them yea thou dost encrease them helpest their forces O fools when will ye understand do we not see how we are overpowred by our lusts do they not every day conquer us in the open field There is not a prayer we make but deadnesse of heart gets the day like a Conquerour Not a duty we perform but lukewarmnesse proves victor Nay our lusts do not only overcome us but they leade us in triumph Some of our lusts carry us up and down from gaming to fretting from fretting to revenging from revenging to swearing from swearing to lying from one sinne to another as they list And our lusts are so strong that war against our souls that we are not ashamed to lay down our bucklers and say we cannot resist I was angry alas it is my nature and I cannot master it I rap out an oath now and then alas I was provoked and I cannot help it I must say and doe as such an one would have me he is my friend I cannot deny him Thus our lusts have given us mortal wounds and have murdered our souls and all this is because our affections are earthly for they encrease all our lusts and make them more able to vanquish us Thirdly If thine affections be carnal so be thy purposes Men purpose according as they affect He that affects such a good bargain will purpose to make it He that affects pleasure will purpose to take it He that affects any thing will purpose to have it First men conceive a thing to be good then they affect it and then they spend thoughts of it and then they purpose to have it if they can Barnabas exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord Act. 11. 23. He joyns these two together their purpose and their affection to God because they could never cleave unto the Lord but it must needs be with the purposes of the heart Well now consider what enemies we are unto God what enemies too to our own souls that set our affections here below we can never have reall purposes to amend or turn unto God We may purpose and purpose a thousand times over but still we are broken off from our purposes they all come to nothing as long as we affect the things of this life Can the fire have a purpose to freeze can the stinking dunghil have a purpose to smell well can a Swine have a purpose not to wallow in the mire No how can this be when they are affected with contrary qualities there is no counsel in such purposes as these Without counsel purposes are disappointed Pro. 15. 22. If thou dost purpose to do this or that and not consult whether thou be able to doe it yea or no no wonder though thou beest disappointed of thy purpose Thou art carnal and hast a purpose to be spiritual thou art full of earthly desires and hast a purpose to hunger after Christ Thou art a company-keeper a worldly and a proud fool thou hast a purpose to be otherwise Alas such purposes as these will surely be disappointed because they are purposes without counsel thou shouldst first take counsel how to crucifie thy affections if thus thou wouldst do thy purposes would stand What an egregious sin is this then to set thine affections on things that are carnal thou art vain and hast no purpose to be otherwise thou secure and hast no purpose to shake off securiry no purpose to give over thy carnal appetites and thy customes and the lusts that thy conscience does know of thy own conscience can point thee out many lusts that thou livest in and thou hast no purpose to leave them O how does this provoke the Lord Jesus to wrath Which of us does thus purpose in his heart I absosutely purpose henceforth to use all the means under Heaven for the saving my soul I have gull'd it to this day now I purpose to do so no more now I will every day examine my conscience every day keep company with the godly I will never sort with my old company more I have used my body like an Idol now I purpose to mortifie it c. Alas our affections will not let us It is certain thou never hast a good purpose to God for thy soul as long as thine affections are earthly All thy purposes are instar paleae sayes a Divine they last for an hour or a day or a health like the chaffe which the winde drives away Fourthly Because if thine affections be carnal so are thy devices and contrivings When a man sets his affections on any thing as he spends many thoughts thereupon and purposes to have it if he can so he deviseth with himself whereby to attain it Davids enemies whose affections were set against him they devised how they might crosse him All that hate me against me do they devise my hurt Ps 41. 7. What a company of devices hath the glutton to satisfie his palate the revengeful person to satisfie his
wrath the covetous person to scrape himself maintenance it's endlesse to recount what innumerable devices men have to compasse what their heart does affect Phalaris deviseth new torments Nero deviseth new cruelties Sardanapalus propounds a reward by a cryer to him that could devise out new pleasure the wicked Lawyer and troublesome Parishioner deviseth new quillets and put-cases to fetch over his poor neighbour the proud minion deviseth new paintings of the face new washings of the body new curlings of the hair new deckings of their neck new-fangled attires and the like the covetous deceiver deviseth new cousenages new conny-catchings pollings rackings gullings c. The Usurer new usuries new covenants and reaches It were long to rehearse what devices are in men to fulfill their unruly affections These wretches are abhorred of the Lord. Solomon sayes there be six yea seven things which the Lord hates and abhors Pro. 6. 16. And in the next verse save one he sayes that a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations is one of them The Lord numbers these men among the damned crew of the Heathen inventers of evil things Rom. 1. 30. Wo unto them that devise iniquity sayes the Prophet Mic. 2. 1. Now see thy wofull condition whoever thou art whose affections are carnal thy devices are all carnal thou dost not devise how thou mayst best serve Almighty God how thou mayst best overcome sinne how thou mayst best glorifie Christ Which of us does set his head a work every day how he may best pray and best repent and best hear and best do every good duty alas there is little such devising among us because our affections stand not this way If our affections were set upon God we would be studying and contriving how to purge all our families how to propagate the glory of God in the Parish how to exhort and reprove and provoke one another to godlinesse A liberall man deviseth liberall things Isa 32. 8. he devises how he may releeve Gods poor Saints how he may set the poor on work how he may help forward the Gospel with his purse if he can finde how An humble man deviseth humble things a peaceable man deviseth peaceable things a holy man deviseth holy things if our affections were set right we would all lay our heads together how the Parish may best be reformed how our scandalous houses may best be removed how the Word that we hear from Sabbath to Sabbath may best be put in practise among us thus it would be if our affections were set upon God but because our affections are not set so hence it comes to passe our devices are carnal The IX Sermon â—ol 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. THere remains the fourth head which is the extremity of the affections and that is zeal Zeal is due only to God and the things of his worship and therefore hence we may see how infinitely they sin that set their affections on things here on earth because they rob God of his due zeal which is the extremity of the affections is due only to God and the things of his worship Phinehas was zealous for his God Num. 25. 13. he gave the zeal of his affections to no other but God Now what is zeal Zeal is a high strain of all the affections whereby the heart puts forth all its affections with might upon that which it absolutely affects five things therefore there are which concurre to the making up of zeal First A high measure of the affections Every measure of the affections is not zeal a man may affect a thing coldly and lukewarmly that is not zeal As a covetous man may have lukewarm good affections to the word But this is not zeal I say zeal is a high measure of the affections Zeal is a metaphoricall word in the Original it 's taken from the seething of water over the fire Every measure of heat in the water is not seething No seething hot is a high measure of heating The Apostle confesses how the false Apostles affected the Galatians They zealously affect you sayes he Gal. 4. 17. he confesses they did affect the Galatians and he confesses they did highly affect them in a very high measure if it had been as well as it was high they zealously affect you that is they highly affect you Clavasius a Casuist for the Pope having run through all the Alphabet of questions in the end of his Book concludeth with zeal Zeal sayes he is a high measure of heat of affection such an one sayes he as I have shewn unto Christ in writing this Book It 's a most devillish saying for his Book is little else then a hellish rhapsody of blasphemies to Christ and magnifyings of his holy father the Pope But therein he sayes right that zeal is a high measure of the affection Secondly As zeal is a high measure of the affections so it is of all the affections I do not say any one of the affections alone or of sundry together But it is a high measure of all the affections Bonaventura and other of the School make it only of love Ludovicus Vives makes it to be compounded of two affections indignation and pity Others to be mixed of anger and love this is not so for zeal is a high strain of all the affections And therefore the Apostle sets it as a generall height of the affections in generall It 's good sayes he to be zealously affected in a good thing Gal. 4. 18. he does not only say it 's good to be zealous in love or zealously angry but generally it 's good to be zealously affected in a good thing Sorrow for sin is good and therefore it 's good to be zealously affected with it Desire of grace is good and therefore it 's good to be zealously affected with it So that then we may be said to be zealous for God when our love to him is earnest our desire of him is earnest our joy in him is earnest our indignation against whatever may dishonour him or dislike him is earnest when we think nothing too good nothing too dear nothing too much to bestow upon him A man may love God in a lukewarm measure hate sin in a lukewarm measure grieve for his corruptions desire faith and repentance delight in good duties pity the miseries of others fear to transgresse Gods Commandment a man may have all these affections thus in a lukewarm measure as this is displeasing to God so it is not zeal Zeal is a high measure the highest strain of all the affections Thirdly As zeal is the highest measure of all the affections so it is with all the might of the soul For when a man does zealously affect any thing his affection is mighty upon it Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with â—ll thy soul and with all thy might Deut. 6. 5. that is thou shalt love him zealously
that he was glad for to hear it would God that all the Lords people were Prophets Num. 11. 29. I confesse a good man may be discontented hereby at the first flesh and blood was stirring in good Ioshua himself at that time Moses forbid them sayes he But a godly soul will check himself and pull down his spirit and force his heart to be glad and rejoyce in the goodnesse of others though it be a seeming disparagement to him A good Minister rejoyceth to hear of another Ministers gifts that out-strips him A good man rejoyces to see others that are better and better beloved then himself though younger and inferiour and meaner otherwise But if thou dost not joy to see men zealous for God it is certain thou art a wretch may be thou thinkest much thine eye is evil because they are so good and so godly and the like this is an argument of a gracelesse heart may be thou art apt to judge hardly of such and such because they are holier and preciser then thy self O but if thou wert zealous thou wouldest rejoyce for to see it Hast thou a better gift then another thou art bound to help him hath he a better gift then thou he is bound to be helpfull to thee It is a good saying of Austin Tolle invidiam tuum est quod habeo tollam invidiam meum est quod habes Take away envy and look wherein I excell thee is thine I will take away envy and then look wherein thou excellest me is mine If thou be zealous thou wilt rejoyce howsoever Be he a childe thou wilt rejoyce that he is better gifted then thy self nay for that may a carnal heart do and be proud he may rejoyce that his childe is better-memoried better-witted better-gifted then himself O thinks he this is my childe this is my sonne this is my daughter never a father or mother hereabouts can say they have such a childe This is nothing but pride But be it a servant yea be it a stranger be it one whom thou countest thine enemy thou wilt rejoyce in his gifts so God may be glorified no matter though I be disgraced yea I count it my honour that my shame in the world may be the stirrup for Gods honour to get up thus thou wilt reason if thou hast a spirit of true zeal It is greatly to be bewailed how many symptomes of Atheism are amongst us in this regard For men are so far from rejoycing in the forwardnesse of others that they grumble and they thunder at nothing so much as that any should be forward and zealous for God they had rather have an hundred boon-companions then one zealous man rather be acquainted with twenty that are carnal then one that is holy in his wayes I thank God sayes one we have never a Puritan in our Parish I am glad we can say we have none of these singular fellows in our town sayes another I speak not of such as the Law doth count Puritans enemies to the State and the Church it is a blessing indeed there be none such but of the godly that are called Puritans by the impure tongues of the wicked the State hath no better friends under heaven the Kingdom no better Subjects in the world then are they for these are they that pray away Gods judgements from the Land that are earnest with the Lord in prayer for the King and Councell and the Church while the men of the world by their drunkennesse and whoredomes and coveteousnes and security and contempt of Gods Word are pulling down vengeance on the Nation and provoke God for to plague us But these are they that most people have little joy in O my brethren where we have ten or twenty such Puritans in our Parish I would to God we had an hundred I tell you the day will come that the worst drunkard in the Town would give a world if he had it he were such a Puritan In this sense the very Heathen man sayes that every good man is a Puritan Integer vitae scelerisque purus An entire man of life and a pure man pure from the sins that others do live in Had ye any zeal towards God ye would be glad that all the Countrey were such Puritans The sixth sign of zeal towards God is zeal to Gods Church and his people Paul before his conversion you may know his zeal was not right because his zeal was against the Church Concerning zeal sayes he I persecuted the Church Phil. 3. 6. His zeal was against the Church and therefore not right but after his conversion he had a zealous care of all the Church his zeal was then to the Church If the Church were not well O how it troubled him If the Church were well O how it comforted him If the Church were any where persecuted or infected with errour and doctrine of devils then he was frequent in prayer for it often would he labour and sigh and mourn for it and be writing for the good of it Now the Saints and the people of God these are the Church Unto the Churches of Galatia Gal. 1. 2. that is unto Gods people in Galatia To feed the Church of God Act. 20. 28. that is the people of God Greet the Church that is in their house Rom. 16. 5. that is the Saints that are in their house In all Churches of the Saints 1 Cor. 14. 33. these are the Church of God Now if thou be zealous for God thou wilt be zealous for Gods Church Examine thy self Dost thou mourn for the troubles and disquietments of Gods Church that the Church is so afflicted in all parts of the world Does it prick thee to the soul Dost thou go to God and put him in remembrance Remember the Children of Edom O Lord how they said down with it down with it even to the ground remember Lord the Tobiahs and Sanballats of these times remember Lord how they cry down with thy people down with them root them out c. This is an infallible sign to try thy heart by If thou be zealous for God thou wilt zealously affect the Church of God Nehemiah cannot smother his grief but it would shew it self in his face even at the Kings elbow when Ierusalem lay waste Vriah cannot finde in his heart to eat and drink freely or take the pleasure of his own house as long as the Ark of God and Israel and Iudah abode in tents Thou must needs be affected with the Church if thou beest zealous for God If thou beest zealous for God thou must needs love there where God loves God loves the very gates of Sion he loves his Church better then he loves all the world besides And so wilt thou if thou beest zealous for him The Church is the whole company of his Saints upon earth One Saint is dearer then a million of other men It is a good saying of Syracides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eccl. 16.
hankring Who would be thus troubled with his affections he cannot go by an Alehouse but his affections water to go in he cannot see a pair of Tables but his affections hanker after a game he cannot meet with an injury but his affections itch to revenge he cannot speak well nor do any thing which is commendable but his affections must be swelling with pride Who I say would be thus troubled with his affections Though God had forbid Lots wife to look back upon pain of his heavy displeasure neverthelesse her affections did so hanker after her house and her countrey and her ancient acquaintance that she looked behinde her Gen. 19. 26. Her carnall affections did so haunt her every step she took that they never lind till that she lookt back They are greedy dogs they look to their own way Isa 56. 11. Thine affections if they be not set right they are like greedy dogs in the Kitchin that are ever looking to the platters be the Mistresse eye never so little off they are licking instantly So thine affections are ever hankering after that which thou affectest and therefore thou art best to set thine affections on God for look where they are set there they will be hankering If ever thy heart be turned to God and thine affections converted to him they will ever be hankring and looking after God At that day shall a man look to his maker and his eyes shall have respect to the holy one of Israel Isa 17. 7. At that day that is when God shall convert them then their hearts shall ever be hankring and looking after God O then set thine affections on God if thou desirest thy heart should hanker after God Thou art yet no better then a wretch till thus it be with thee If thine affections be ever hankering after thy pleasures and thy copesmates and thy vanities thou art never well but when thou art at them The Sermon is quickly tedious and prayer tedious and godly discourses are tedious unto thee why because thy minde hankers about othergates matters as long as it is thus thou canst not be saved Look unto me sayes Christ and be ye saved all the ends of the earth Isa 45. 22. Ye can never be saved unlesse ye hanker and look after me sayes the Lord as the Heliotrope or the turn-sol that ever looks towards the Sun so a gracious heart does after the Lord. God counts it an honour unto him that the soul should be ever a hankering and ever a looking after him Aestimari nos put amus toties quoties aspici sayes Seneca it is a true saying we think we are esteemed when men do look after us So God counts it an honour to his Majesty when our souls do hanker and look after him It is true the things of this life may chance to draw away our mindes now and then and make us look after them but if we have any grace so much as a grain of mustard-seed our souls will ever be hankering and looking after God So it was with Ionas though his corruptions had made him to look off from God neverthelesse he could not abide to be in that case his heart is again looking and hankering after God oh for the light of his countenance oh for his grace and his Spirit oh for power and strength yet to be resolute for God Yet will I look again towards thy holy Temple Ionah 2. 4. Let God afflict me I cannot but look to him let God fling me into the Whales belly I cannot but hanker after him let him cast me into the belly of hell yet will I look again sayes he his affections were set upon God and therefore did his heart ever hanker and look after God This is a sweet motive to perswade us if we would once set our affections on God our souls would ever hanker and look after God The fourth motive is taken from the spurrings of the affections they spur a man to that he affects they are animi calcaria as Melancthon does call them they are as it were the spurs of the soul What is the reason that men go on in any businesse like lazie jaded Asses sayes Vives because they have no affection to it What is the reason they go so sluggishly on to good duties they sit so senselesly still in seats at a Sermon they kneel so lumpishly and dead-heartedly in prayer to God because they have no spurs in their sides they have no affection to these things Now if we would set our affections on God we would feel in our bosomes a certain spur that spurs us to every good word and work a gracious heart is said to stir up it self Exod. 36. 2. God counts those prayers no prayers that are not full of these spurrings and stirrings there is none that calleth upon thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold on thee Isa 64. 7. Dost thou call upon God and hast thou no spurrings nor stirrings in the duty dost thou not spur up thy self to pray with good life the Lord sayes thou dost not call upon his name at all As ever thou desirest to be stirred up and spurred on to good exercises set thine affections on God they are the spurs of the soul the soul goes cheerfully on when it goes with affection The fifth motive is taken from the heartinesse of the affections and therefore the heart is many times and often in Scripture put for the affections My heart sayes Deborah is towards the Governours of Israel Iud. 5 9 that is mine affection is towards them O ye Corinthians our mouth is open unto you our heart is enlarged 2 Cor. 6. 11. that is our affections are enlarged Look whatever thou affectest thy heart is set upon it this motive is strong to perswade for if the affections be in a manner the very heart of the soul this may well move us to set our affections upon God wilt thou settle thy heart any where else but only upon God O how hainously does the Lord take it at thy hands that thou hast no more heart unto him He gives thee his Word and thou hast no heart to it he gives thee his Sabbath and thou hast no heart to it he gives thee his Sacrament and his Ordinances and his Sanctuary and his Commandments and thou hast no heart to them O the Lord is so angry with thy soul that he cals thee a fool and a sot and he repents that ever he hath vouchsafed these things to such wretches as thou art Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisedom seeing he hath no heart to it Prov. 17. 16. Wherefore sayes God and to what end is a price put into your hand to get wisedom Ye might have gotten wisedom a long time or ere now how to be new creatures and in Christ how to get grace and peace and mercy with God ye have had abundance of prices put into your hands a price
The fifth motive is taken from the instability of our affections if our affections be set upon the things of this life they must be fain to repent of it at last whatever come of it whether we be saved or damned it is certain we shall repent of it if ever thou go to Heaven God will make thee repent that ever thou hast been so vain so carnall so voluptuous so proud God will make thy heart ake for it I abhor my self sayes Iob and repent in dust and ashes Job 42. 6. O I could even spit in mine own face I could even be content to gnash my teeth at mine own soul that ever I sinned thus and thus now I repent it in dust and ashes O that I had never done so were it to do again I would never do it for a thousand worlds thus if thou go to heaven thou wilt be fain to repent it And if thou go to hell thine own horrour and thine intollerable torments and plagues will force thee to repent it too that ever thou hast set thine affections on earth then thou wilt curse thine own self and ban thine own thoughts and fret and stamp at thine own madnesse that thou shouldest set thine affections upon the things of the world when thou mightest have had a Saviour and a God if thou hadst been wise and wouldest have been ruled Magni emitur poenitentia alas such repentance costeth thee dear When it hath cost thee thy soul and brought thee to hell and utterly undone thee for ever then thou learnest how to repent When Dives was in hell then he repented that ever he was so hard-hearted to Lazarus Send Lazarus c. O he would now ask him forgivenesse send such a poor wretch now I will make him restitution Lord send now thy commandments and now we will obey them Lord now send thy Ministers unto us and we will hear them send us one Sermon more and now we will do it As sure as God is in Heaven you will repent it another day that ever you set your affections thus on the things of this life Beloved were it not better by ods not to set your affections thus at all then when ye have done it repent it when all comes to all Non admiseris cuius postea paeniteat Do not commit that if ye be wise which ye must repent when ye have done it This very Sermon if ye will not hearken now to obey it I say this very Sermon your consciences will be sure to vex you withall Such a Sermon I heard and there I had a warning then I was told of this vengeance I endure but I would not listen O woe is me and my rebellion that I did not I beseech you consider it set your affections otherwise then ye doe set them graciously on God or else ye will be forced to repent for ever The sixth motive is taken from the â—ealousie of the affections Beloved when a Husband suspects his wives affections are not to him there is an affection of jealousie arises in his heart to revenge it a man cannot abide that his wife should give her affections to another So beloved God is a jealous God when he sees he cannot have thy affections to him he hath made thee his creature he hath hired thee for his servant nay he espoused thy soul as a wife and a Spouse to his own Son and if he may suspect that thy affections are otherwise set he will be jealous against thee This will be the grievousest revenge of all revenges that are possible No revenge like the revenge for the turning ones affections awry Let a man be wronged though never so much nothing but anger and choler does arise to revenge it but if he suspect the want of affection in his own wife then it is not an anger alone that arises to revenge it but a jealousie Dost thou not know what jealousie is I tell you it is the revengefullest passion that ever arose in the breast Jealousie is the rage of a man therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance he will regard no ransome neither will he rest content though thou givest many gifts Pro. 6. 34 35. We have a good Proverb From jealousie the good Lord deliver us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sayes Oppia The heart of jealousie is wilde and all savage A man is not only angry but directly in a rage that is jealous So God expresses himself by a fury and a rage saying my fury shall break out against them and I will not pity them When thine affections go a whoring from God he will be revenged on thee deeply he will take no ransome no ransome by Christ no ransome in the world couldest thou give him a whole world for the sin of thy soul he will not accept it What sayes the Husband when he is jealous what hast thou defiled my bed and played the whore and so forth I will make you an example he eats himself up till he is revenged he will mark every cast of her eye every gesture of her body every tread of her foot every thing now shall be matter of suspicion she shall not speak to any man in the street but he will suspect it is wantonnesse She shall not be able to go one step out of doors but he will suspect it is to her base lovers So if we set our affections wrong upon other things besides God God will never put it up at our hands He will then be extream to mark whatsoever is amisse not one idle word but he will be precise to observe it not one vain thought but he will be curious to note it not one foolish fashion but he will set it down in his note-book he will then be extream with thee Ye have read and heard the Ten Commandments often and often Ye know what is said in the second Commandment Thou shalt not do thus and thus For I the Lord thy God am a iealous God and visit the sins of the fathers upon the children If thou set up these Idols in thy heart to affect the things of this life take heed of this jealousie I the Lord thy God am a jealous God c. He will visit not only thy sins upon thee but he will look what thy father hath done and thy grandfather hath done and thy great grandfather hath done If any of them have been drunkards he will visit it on thee if any of them have been swearers and worldlings and wicked he will visit it on thee From his jealousie the good Lord deliver us The seventh motive is taken from the tyranny of our affections if they be not set right If our affections be not set upon God they are the sorest Tyrants that can be to tyrannize over us Philo compares the tyranny of our affections to the four hundred years bondage of the Israelites in Aegypt Ye remember what wofull and slavish bondage they were put to in Aegypt
insomuch that they groaned under it and cryed out unto God Pharaoh played the Tyger-like Tyrant over them and made them weary of their lives so do the affections tyrannize over a man that is carnall and earthly they do so besot him and befool him that he knows not how to come out of his sins they do so harden him and obdurate him that no preaching nor counsell can convert him they do so occupie and task him and busie him that he can finde no while to save his own soul or bethink himself of escaping of hell and damnation he is in hell before ever he thinks on it seriously they plague him like Tantalus sayes he and leave his soul in the lurch after all his vain hopes he can never be free for God The Apostle speaking of the lust and affections of the world how they allure men into vanity he sayes they promise men liberty but they are the servants and slaves of corruption 2 Pet. 2. 19. A man would wonder how one should be in bondage with a pot or a pipe with a bowl or a game with a carnall friend or an use he hath gotten but so it is that nor Minister nor Sermon nor warnings from God nor any thing can free him still he is enthralled Now consider are our affections such tyrants when they be set upon the things of this life O let us set them upon God If they can captivate us to God and bring us into a golden bondage with grace and with goodnesse we are happy Seest thou how the wicked are tyed to their sins and their lusts so if thine affections were set upon God thou wouldest be tyed unto God O it 's an admirable tye this to be tyed unto God This is it that the wisest man in the earth adviseth us to My son sayes he keep thy fathers commandments binde them continually upon thy heart and tye them about thy neck Pro. 6. 21. Thine affections are these stay-bands and these typers if thine affections be set upon the Word they will tye it to thy soul if they be set upon grace and love to Gods Ordinances his Sabbaths and his waies they will tye them to thy heart if thou wilt not set thine affections upon God thou art a very slave a very slave unto Satan and to sinne thou art not only in a wofull condition as thou art but they tye thee fast to it and if God may not be so much beholden to thee for thine affections to him-ward he will intrap thee and take thee by them as a Bare is taken by a Collar and hale thee to judgement Thou hast little affection or none at all to the Word may be thou comest not to be reproved and amended by the Word but thou comest to have some knowledge and some pretty sentence to talk on or some fine story or passage to speak on As I live saith the Lord I will answer thee according to thy thoughts may be thou comest that thou mayst scrape up some hopes to have mercy and heaven at the last may be thou comest to snatch up some sentence or other that may secure up thy conscience if there be ever a passage of mercy that thou wouldest fain have As I live saith the Lord I will answer thee according to thy thoughts and thine own vain heart that which thou camest for in the Word as I live saith the Lord thou shalt have it Thou dost not come to learn how to be holy and be stricter then thou art but though thou beest no stricter then thou art already yet to have some hopes to be saved for all that FINIS Doctr. What the â—ffections â—re 1. The affeâ—â—ions are â—otions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 L. 6 de vero cultu cap. 17. By faith Noah warned of God moved with fear c. Hâ—b 11. 7. 2. The affections are motions of the Will Stoici vocant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Simolicius in Epictetum 3. They are forcible motions of the heart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est impetus ut Salmâ—sius vertit Motio animi quâ— ad aliquid fertur sive sponte sive aliunde incitata 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 voâ—atur Stoicis 4. They are the sensible motions of the heart 5. They are such motions as are according to the apprehension of good or evil Iudith 16. 9. Gen. 37. Reasons The Affections are the wings of the soul Affections not subdued 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Simplicius in Epictetum Aâ—sâ—lâ—us They are the Inclinations of the Soul 3. They are the passions of the Soul Elias was â—uâ—ject to like passiâ—ns as we are Jam 9. 17 That is subjeâ—â— to like afâ—ctions with us 4. They are the perturbations of the soul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. The heart is enticed and allured by them 3. The heart is somewhat bowed by them 4. The heart is stolen away with them 4. The heart is enflamed by them 6. The heart is overturned from what it was before Job 10. 10 7. The heart is engaged for God 8. The heart is glued to a thing by them De vita Pythag. The heart is quite given up to that which it affects The affection may be thus raised 1. By the sparks of right reason that regulate the affections Lib. 2. Eth. cap 6. 2. By knowledge out of the word that raiseth up the affection 3. By knowledge and conscience quickned Eâ—estro 4. By a deep apprehension of the horrour of their estate Mal. 2 13. 5. By self-love Which may First make a man be loth to commit sinne In vitus feci as â—e said in the Comedy And vomit up a dear sin committed by himself and be sorry that others should commit it 3. And not dare to venture upon a sin though he lose by it 4. And to be forward in Religion run to persecution 5. And to be ravished with the joys of the Spirit Reasons 4. 1. The carnal mans affections are not kindely wrought on 2. They are not judiciously wrought on 3. They are not regularly wrought on 4. They are not wrought on universally 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saies the Text. We must therefore examine our selves especially those That think their affections are set on God 1. He that truly affects grace affects nothing so much as grace Vers 23. 2. He must needs have expressions of grace Proverb 3. He is troubled with any interruption Aristot 4. He hath his conversation in heaven whence grace descends Hereby only are we marriageable to Christ l. de sacrif Abel Cain 2. Hereby only doth the soul set favourites in the heart 3. Hereby the soul is converâ—ible and reconcileable to God Râ—et c. 1. 4. The affections are the hands of the soul Mat. 22 1â— 5. The affections are the handles of our hearts Epist 6. Affections are the souls stomack L. 3. ad Nico. c. 3. 7. Affectioâ—s are the main mâ—tter of â—race Arist 8. Affections are arguments what we be It is a Christians duty to set his affections upon God 1
soul they make a man walk as they list and therefore the Apostle cals them the lusts of concupiscence wherein a man walks 1 Thes 4. 5. in the original it is the affections of concupiscence they are cruel and masterlesse misleaders of a man now a carnal man his affections are such they are disturbances and perturbations unto him they will so trouble him and tosse him up and down from lust unto lust from sin unto sinne that he shall never be able that is carnal to set them upon God Iambiychus cals them the nayls of the soul whereby it 's nayled to the things of the body would a carnal man repent alas his affections disturb him would he pray and hold out in that duty his affections are importunate to be otherwise occupyed would he exhort and reprove and be rebuking his neighbour for sinning against God his affections they are against it he is ashamed for to doe it he is afraid he shall have a flout for his labour would he forsake his coveteousnesse and drunkennesse and company O his affections are so strong to them that he is not able to draw his heart from them The very Heathen brings in all the world thus speaking of themselves nitimur in vetitum semper cupimusquè negata so headstrong are the affections when they are wrong as Medea in the Poet video meliora proboque she saw the good and she liked the good but her affections transported her quite to the contrary thus it was with Herod the king when he heard there was another king of the Jews born in the world and that Wise men from the East were come for to doe homage to that new King the Text sayes he was troubled Matth. 2. ◠fear and shame and grief and vexation and all his affections they were all up in arms and would not let him be quiet they troubled him saies St Matthew Yea they made such a disturbance in Herod they did so baffle his judgement and busie his thoughts and torture his minde that they drove him to murther God knows how many scores of poor Infants before they would be quiet they made him a mad man Thus the affections are grievous perturbations when they are once come to be mis-placed and if they be such perturbations as they are alas how can a carnal man set his affections upon God they are masterlesse wilde horses and he cannot subdue them they are bedlams and frantick misleaders and he cannot overcome them they are desperate things his affections are so giddy and unruly that he can never be Christs as long as his affections are alive unlesse they be set upon the tenters and put upon the wreck and tamed perforce they will never be right and therefore saies the Apostle Those that are Christs have crucifyed the flesh with the affections and lusts Gal. 5. 24. Those that are Christs have done so or else they could never be Christs because the affections are perturbations and disturbances most woful perturbations they are And this is a fourth reason why a carnal man cannot set his affections upon God because his affections are perturbations and like a company of wilde horses that will not be ruled The II. Sermon Colos 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. THus I have shewn you First what the affections be Secondly how a carnal man cannot set his affections upon God But here it may be objected Cannot a carnal man have good affections to God and to grace The people were so affected with Iohns preaching and with his baptism that they would have been angry and zealously affected against that man whoever he was that should have said it was not of God they would have stoned such an one to death Luk. 20. 6. the people most of them were carnal yet they were thus affected with his preaching Certainly a carnal mans affections may be marvellously wrought on For the clearing of this doubt Let me shew you nine degrees wherein the affections may be wrought on in five of them a carnal man may have his affections to be wrought on and in the last four of them he cannot First I will name you these nine degrees of the affections of the heart The first is when they are so farre wrought on that the heart is enticed and allured much by them Thus the eloquent Ministers in Corinth it seems they wrought upon the peoples affections exceedingly their words were so drawing and their speech was so inticing that they came flocking to them Saint Paul confesseth he would not preach so with the enticing words of mens wisedom 1 Cor. 2. 4. what good should I do if my preaching were such it's true I might allure you and move you and entice you and stirre your affections but alas this would never bring you to faith and repentance with power this might tickle your hearts peradventure a little but not soundly comfort you The second is when the affections are wrought on so far that the heart is somewhat touched therewith As a man when his affections are moved with any at a disgraceful word he saith this toucheth me indeed When God turned the affections of Israel unto Saul indeed some of them had no affection to Saul How shall this man save us say they they despised him in their hearts but God turned the affections of the rest upon Saul for to follow him The Text saies of them The Lord hath touched their hearts 1 Sam. 10. 26. That is he set their affections upon Saul that they might follow Saul up and down As when the Needle is touched with the Loadstone then it will turn it self presently to the North their affections were touched and therefore they followed after Saul So many men their affections are touched at a Sermon their affections are not only allured but receive a touch from the Word there is some vertue goes out of the Word as some went from Christ to the Woman that had but a touch of his garment so their affections have but a touch from the Word and some vertue goes to them for the affections are termed the touch of the heart It 's good for a man not to touch a woman 1 Cor. 7. 1. That is not to set an amorous affection of the heart upon a woman Thus farre a wicked mans affections may be to the Word they may be touched by the Word The third is When the affections are wrought on so far That the heart is somewhat bowed thereby this is another degree of working on the affections to bow the affections as ye may reade David bowed the heart of all the men of Iudah even as the heart of one man 2 Sam. 19. 14. that is by his kinde speeches and friendly message he sent he inclined and bowed their affections unto him So a wicked man may have his affections bowed unto good whereas his affections stood sturdy before or may be they were bowed another way before now they be bowed
that he hath unto Christ It 's true no wicked man in the earth hath his affections thus farre wrought on but it is marvellous to think how far a mans affections may be wrought on for Christ and yet be a carnal man It 's proved already he cannot set his affections on Christ but he may raise up his affections a good way towards Christ and now I will prove it First the ignicles and embers of right reason that God hath made natural to his heart may regulate his affections to be chast and sober and kinde and liberal and just and morally humble and patient and merciful c. and to observe the things contained in the Law Natural reason directs men to love their parents and their children and one another thus the very Heathen themselves guided their affections with Religion as it were the vertues of morality saies Aristotle they doe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They finde out a Medium or a golden mean in the affections and hold them unto it And therefore S. Paul knoweth thus much and how that some of the Heathen were so wicked that they would put out the light of their own reason and be drunk and lustful and proud and mercilesse and disobedient to parents he condemns them especially for this that they were without understanding and without natural affection Rom. 1 31. that is because they put out that natural reason and that natural affection that were in them Because their affections might have been naturally set upon those things Their very natural reason might have ruled their affections and set them upon vertues of morality So that thus farre thou maist go and yet be a carnalist thine affections may run to be civil and morally honest and the like natural reason may raise up thine affections from drunkennesse and lust and from natural injustice and from swearing and lying and filthinesse of speaking and the like I say natural reason may raise up thine affections from these Indeed it may be thine affections are violent and greedy and sensual to tempt thee to some of these sinnes but natural reason may take them off from such sinnes as these Are thine affections so vile as to follow thy blowzing and thy company-keeping we need not quote Scripture to convince thee thy material stomack cries out it is a sinne for it grumbles at it Thine eyes and thy legges and thy heels cry out it s a sinne for they doe betray it Look upon thy purse it cries against thee for it thou hast emptied Look upon thy Children and thy Wife they cry against it for them thou hast beggard Look upon thy fields and thy land and thy inheritance they cry against it for them thou hast morgaged and impaired Look upon the stinking dunghil it bids thee hold thy nostrils at the stinkingnesse of this sinne for there is thy spewing and thy vomiting and so of the rest of these sinnes natural reason may easily raise up thine affections from these Which if thou hast done already and art civil and moral thou art yet gone no further then a Naturian may go Thou maist do that and yet be a Carnalist Secondly Because thou hast more means then the means of bare nature thy knowledge out of the Word may raise up thy affections exceedingly knowledge may awe the heart and move it with the affection of fears that it go not against its own knowledge Herod feared Iohn knowing that he was a just man Mar. 6. 20. Herod his affection was stirred with fear at the hearing of Iohn why he knew he was a good man and he knew it was just as he preached he knew it was God Word And therefore he feared not to obey him he was afraid to go against him Nay his affections were more raised then so he heard John gladly and did many things He was affected with joy at his Sermons and his affections were wrought on to break out into act and to doe many things I do not reade he struck at any thing but only his darling corruption His affections were so wrought on that it should seem he reformed many sins in his Court and many of his Courtiers he began to set up some worship of God in his Palace All this was by reason of knowledge he knew Iohn was a good Preacher he knew he preached the truth and the truth overpowred his affections Now he had no such elbow-room for to sinne as he had in his ignorance Now he fears to do many sinnes that before he feared not why because his knowledge was enlightned This is no argument that thou art a childe of God because thou reformest many things Alas thy knowledge is convinced thou must so the very devil himself was overpowred by his knowledge when the devil knew Christ was Christ â—e could not but confesse We know thee who thou art the holy one of God Mar. 1. 24. Happily thou fearest to go flatly against the Sermons thou hearest thou fearest to live so bad as thou didst happily thou rejoycest to hear the Bell ring to a Sermon and art glad to hear the preaching of a Minister happily thine affections are so wrought on that thou art moved to do many things not to suffer such potting and cupping in thy house as thou usedst not to endure such disorders in thy family as thou wert wont alas alas this is good yet and O that others were proficients thus farre this is further then many doe go but this thou mayst doe and yet be a Carnalist Thou knowest this is the truth of God and this stirres thine affections a little Thirdly God may be he hath quickned thy knowledge a little and quickned thy conscience and made it tell thee the horrour of thy sins and this may raise up thine affections many steps higher not only to mourn for thy sinnes and be full of the affections of sorrow but also to goe mournfully and sadly up and down to pull down thy proud looks to take on lamentably because of thy former iniquities As Ahab Thus the word made Ahab rend the very clothes off his back and fling off his royal robes and put on sackcloth in their room it made him have no minde to his meat but to fast yea to go softly too saies the Text 1 King 21. 27. When Ahab heard these words he tore off his clothes he abstained from his meat and went softly Ambulabat demisso capite that is he did not goe so proudly up and down with such a carere in the streets as before No he hung down his looks he went sadly and softly up and down as he went Thus farre too thou maist go in raising thine affections and yet be a Carnalist Thou maist be smitten in thy soul for thy sins as to go softly and sadly and mournfully up and down to have little lust to eat thy meat for thinking of thy sinnes to go poorly and meanly and have little minde to go bravely I say thine
to them that think tâ—eir affections are set upon God Secondly Them that though their affections be set upon Christ yet they think they are not affectâ—d aright for many Christian souls are rightly affected and doe not think so Examine your selves whethe◠〈◊〉 be râ—htly affected or no. First He that is truly affected with grace and with Christ and his Word He affects nothing so much as he doth grace A carnal man may be greatly affected with grace bâ—t there is something he affects more He affects his vanities â—ore and his profits more and his pleasures more Herod it is â—rue he affected John Baptist he knew he was a just man and â—e feared him he affected his preaching for he heard him â—â—ladly he affected the practise of his doctrine for he did many â—â—ings he was affected greatly with these good things but there was some things he was affected with more The daugâ—ter of Herodias affected him more She pleased Herod saies â—e Text Mar. 6. 22. he was not only affected with her dancing but affected to content She pleased Herod Iohn Baptist did not please him he had not content in his Ministry Nay her dancing affected him so much that he was willing to part with half of his Kingdom to gratifie her Whatsoever theu shal t ask of me saies he I will give it thee to the one half of my Kingdom This was more affection then ever he shewed to Iohn's Doctrine He never said to Iohn or his Doctrine I 'le part with a quarter of my Kingdom nay he would not part with his whore noâ— his lusts for that Nay he would rather see Iohn dead aâ— well as he affected him then misse of his pleasures or not gratifie his Lords I 'le give thee saies he to his damosel I l'e give thee one half of my Kingdom Give me then saies she Iohn Baptists head in a Charger The foolish King had noâ— wit enough to say Iohn is dearer then all my Kingdom No he affected his teaching well but his pastime better Examine thy soul by this mark thou art affected with gâ—ace but is there nothing thou art affected with more thou art glad to hear a Sermon but may we not see thee gâ—adder at thy sports thou art glad to part with an hour a Gods worship but art thou not gladder to part with two at thy profits a childe of God is affected with grace most let credit flie let profit flie let carnal relations flie let life let living let all that he hath flie rather then leâ— a good duty of grace flie away he is most affected witâ— grace there is nothing he affects more or so much Secondly He that is affected with grace and godlinesse aright mâ—st needs have expressions of grace he cannot but shew it â—e can as easily carry fire in his bosome and hide it as coâ—â—eal grace Can a man be deeply affected with sorrows aâ—d not shew it in his face can a man be deeply affected with passions of anger and of wrath and not shew it in his â—ountenance hands feet lips nostrils eyes forehead â— yea and all a mans gesture and carriage will shew whaâ— affections are in him Affectio taciturna nulla est affectio Every passion hath its proper dialect Concealed affection is no affection at all or but small and as good as nothing So if thou beest affected with grace 't will shew it self in thy speeches in thine actions in thy waies 't will shew it self in thy calling 't will shew it self in thy company 't will shew it self at the table 't will shew it self in the market thou canst not be affected with grace but thou wilt be an open professour of grace Can a man take fire in his bosome and his clothes not be burnt Prov. 6. 27. If fire be in thy bosome all that come near thee will feel the very smell of it in thy clothes The affections 〈◊〉 a fire The fire kindled saies David Psal 〈◊〉 that is 〈◊〉 affections did kindle he strove for to hide them but he could not can you not be religious but you must shew it saies the mocker of all goodnesse No it is a sign thou hast no affection to holinesse because thou wilt not 〈◊〉 Thou canst hear God dishonoured with Oaths and noâ— shew thine affection against them thou canst come in company and suffer unprofitable language and not shew thine affections to holy discourse a sign thou hast no affections that way thou mayst say thou art affected with grace but â—ow doth it appear It appears not 〈◊〉 thy praiers little or no affecâ—â—on in them it appears 〈◊〉 the Sabbath little or 〈◊〉 to the sanctifying of it Like the stupid fool in the Comedy who being willing to be thought to be angry he knew not how to shew it but only by saying Irascor I am angry saies he one would think if he were angry he needed not to say he was angry the affection of anger would have expressed it self but he had no other reasons to be thought to be angry but only his saying I am angry So thou hast no other expressions of affection at the word or at grace but only thou sayest I am affected therewith Concealed affection is no affection De non apparentibus de non existentibus eadem est ratio it s a good rule in Law There is the same reason for things which appear not that is for things which exist not Certainly here it is most true I may be confident to say if thine affections appear not thine affections are not Thirdly He that is affected with grace or with holinesse if he be never so little interrupted he is troubled it 's like the stopping of a water-course the water swels and is troubled exceedingly that it cannot passe like the Woman in the Gospel whose affections were to Christ to anoint his head when his Disciples had cast in a rub in her way that it had been better bestowed on the poor why trouble ye the woman saies Christ Mat. 26. 10. Christ knew it troubled her affections to be hindred from their course he that is truly affected with Christ or his Spirit if he light not on Christ the sooner he is even sick of love I charge ye O ye daughters of Ierusalem if ye finde my beloved that ye tell him I am sick of love Cant. 5. 8. her poor soul was even sick at heart for her Love because she could not come at him examine thy self in this point I am sure thou hast been long enough without Christ thou art 20. or 30. years old and all this while thou hast been without Christ thou saist thou art affected with a Christ O thou wouldest fain have Christ thou wouldest fain have him live in thee ever answer me now art thou sick of love for a Christ Hope deferred makes the heart sick Pro. 13. 12. Thou saist thou art affected with hopes after grace thou hopest for grace and for strength
the things of the world it is good your affections look for can ye finde any good in these things alas alas thou mayst have all the things of this world yet if God do not shew thee his face and his grace in the same stultus ad cribrum thou runnest to them as a fool to a sive The sive seems to hold a great deal of water but by pulling the sive from the water the fool lost all the water So riches and wealth and pleasures as long as thou hast them in grace and in God they are like sives in the water full of water as long as they are in So these are full of good as long as they are in God and in grace But if thou dost not set thine affections upon God thine affections are befooled and therefore thou must set thine affections upon God because nothing but God hath that which thine affections look for It is Good which the affections look for and thine affections can finde it no where but in God Thirdly As nothing but God hath that which the affections look for nothing is good but he so nothing is my good but only he for if it be good and not my good this discontents mine affections mine affections look at my good I know compassion and mercy and love may look at the good of another but then they consider some kinde of propriety in that other either as my brother or friend or my neighbour still the affections have an eye unto my good thine affections to thy good Now nothing in the world can so truly be said thy good as thy God Other goods are called this worlds goods 1 Joh. 3. 17. They are the goods of this World rather then thy goods But God is thy goodnesse Thou art my goodnesse O Lord saies the Psalmist Psal 144. 2. Thou canst not say of thy pleasures this is my goodnesse nor of wealth this is my goodnesse nor of any thing in the world this is my goodnesse the good that is in it is the goodnesse of the thing not thy goodnesse if I should say this is thy goodnesse it 's all one as if I should say thou hast no goodnesse for that is none of thine but only by possession it is not thy goodnesse And therefore how canst thou set thine affections upon it First It is only the good of thy body it is not thy good Anima hominis est homo saies Plato The soul is the man rather then the body If the things of this life be the goods of the body then how canst thou set thine affections upon them Thine affections are the affections of thy soul Meat is good let thy body hunger after it and thou sinnest not drink is good let thy body thirst after it thou errest not but wilt thou set thine affections upon it when it is not thy good but only the good of thy body it is not thy good means and maintenance is the good of thy body house and lands and livings these are the good of thy body let the desires of thy body be to them this is well yet but if the desires of thy soul be thereto if thou set thine affections upon them thou art a beast because they are not thy good As Theophylact well observes upon the rich man in the Gospel Soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years Luk. 12. 19. take thine ease eat drink and be merry see the basenesse of this fools affections saies Theophylact to eat to drink and to be merry these were the goods of his unreasonable part to rejoyce in Gods Law to rejoyce in holy thoughts and meditations these are the goods of the soul of the reasonable soul of a man Now the fool he had none of these goods laid up and yet he saies Soul thou hast much good laid up for many years whereas that very night he died and was damned for ever the things of this life then are not thy good and therefore thou must not set thine affections upon them Secondly It is not thy good because it is not as long as thou art Thou must live for ever in heaven or in hel Now all the goods of this life last but this life and when thou diest thou must leave them to others and therefore they are not thy goods Were they thy goods thou mightest carry them away with thee when thou diest but this cannot be Canst thou carry thy barns and thy houses to heaven or to hell with thee canst thou carry thy dogs and thy hounds and thy pleasures and thy preferments to another world with thee No no and why then dost thou set thine affections upon them when they are not thy goods for to carry with thee where ever thou goest if thou wouldest set thine affections upon grace and upon God thou shouldest set thine affections upon thy goods these are thy goods as long as thou livest and these are thy goods when thou dyest and these thou mayst carry with thee whithersoever thou goest Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not saies Solomon for riches certainly make themselves wings they fly away as an Eagle Pro. 23. 5. wilt thou set thine affections upon that which is not Wealth is not and pleasure is not and all the things of this world are not they make themselves wings now may be they are a bird in the hand but by and by they are gone there 's a wing of prodigality a wing of change and of mishaps and of casualties wings of losses and other occurrences and though thou couldest clip all these wings with thy wisedom yet the wing of death and mortality will carry them all away in a moment and then whose shall they be thy pleasures then whose shall they be thy gains and thy comings in whose shall they be sure it is they shall be none of thine and therefore set thine affections elsewhere thou must set them upon God 3. They are not thy good because they will not take thy part Will any man set his affections on him that will not take his part how can I affect him that will not affect me if he will leave me in the lurch I can never affect him as my friend Alas all the things of this life will leave thee in the lurch thou mayst perish and be damned for all them They will never deliver thee from the hand of hell when thom comest before the tribunal of Christ dost thou think it will profit thee to say Lord I have hunted and hawked and gamed and sported and I have been merry will it benefit thee to say Lord I have builded and purchased and encreased my livings and my rents I have a good house and a good farm and good friends Will this advantage thee No miserable comforters are they all canst thou say Lord I have built up thy Church and thy worship I have purchased zeal and holinesse and purenesse and glory to thy name I have been persecuted and
hated of all men for thy Name sake and I am in Christ c. If thou canst say thus this would be thy good indeed but if thou canst not say thus though thou beest Gallinae filius albae thou mayst perish with the devils and cursed fiends for evermore for all the blessings of this life Set thine affections then upon God truly God is good to Israel saies the Psalmist Psal 73. 1. He is good and he truly is good thou canst not say so of all the things under Heaven thou canst not say truly riches are good to me Pleasure truly is good to me peace and plenty and liberty truly is good to thee they are good but they will never be good to thee when thou hast most need of good then they will leave thee in the lurch these do thee no good then This is the third as nothing but God is good so nothing is thy good but God Fourthly As nothing is thy good but God so nothing can rest thine affections but God When thou affectest any thing wherefore dost thou affect it but only to rest contented therewith when thou hast it and therefore thou must set thine affections upon God because nothing can rest thy soul but only thy God Rest in the Lord. Psal 37. 7. Return unto thy rest O my soul Psa 116. 7. God is the rest of the soul if the soul ever get him it resteth content the affections are in a maze if they be not set upon God like a man in a quagmire he sinks deeper and deeper so a man sinks deeper and deeper in desires and in wishes that hath not his affections upon God there is nothing can give the soul rest if the soul rest not in God Will meat in a dream and drink in a dream give satisfaction to our hunger our thirst So are all the good things in this world Is 29 8. Go to all the wicked men in the earth let them desire and have their desires still they desire and further their desire and yet they desire after millions of desires their affections are as far for to seek for rest as if never they had sought All the things in the world are like some Ale-house-beer which will never quench the poor Travellers thirst like the eating of salt neats-tongues the more they do eat the more they are athirst hungry meat He that desireth silver shall never be satisfied with silver he that affects pleasure and vanity shall never be contented nor satisfied therewith give him ones he affects tens give him tens he affecteth hundreds give him hundreds he affects thousands give him them he affecteth millions thou canst never get rest till thine affections are pitcht upon God Quo plus sunt potae plus sitiuntur aquae It 's God only that resteth the affections Now if these be so is it not our best way to set our affections on God where we may have rest for our souls nothing besides can give us any rest First because nothing but God is all good Every good besides God hath but one or two goodnesses in it None but God hath all goodnesses in him what is meat good for but only to feed one when thou hast it thou must desire again to have rayment for meat will not cloth thee what is rayment good for but only to cover one when thou hast it thou must desire again to be fed for rayment will not feed thee what is money good for but only to buy with when thou hast it thou must desire again to be recovered of thy sicknesse for money will not cure thee of the Feaver thus no good thing in the world can give thine affections a rest because they have but one or two goodnesses a piece in them but the Lords goodnesse is infinite he is all good if thou hast him thou wantest no manner of thing that is good They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing Psa 34. 10. for every good thing is in him He is bread to the hungry and drink to the thirsty and health to the sick and liberty to the captive all in all to them that set their affections on him Frustra fit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciora If thine affections go to any creature thou fetchest but a little good at once thine affections will be fain to go a thousand and a thousand times over and over thou gettest so little at once that thou shalt be tempted to be affecting the oftner but if thine affections go to God thou goest to the fountain there thou hast it by drops never enough here thou mayst have it at once Who would be so mad to fetch water at a Cock that runneth by drops when the Fountain is by Secondly because nothing but God is the ultimate good Thou affectest the things of this life alas they will never giverest for still there is something beyond them but God is the utmost of all goods when the soul is once setled on him it hath no further to go like a stone when it 's come to the centre it hath no further to go I am Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end the first and the last saies Christ if the soul be in Christ Christ is his last the soul is at rest why it hath no where to goe whether should we goe saies Peter to Christ thou hast the words of eternal life Joh. 6. Christ first and Christ next and Christ last Christ is the utmost and ultimate good of the soul the soul hath no further to go and therefore here thou must fix thine affections fix them upon Christ Thirdly because nothing is it self without God the things of this life they are good I confess but they are not themselves without God if God be not in them the very good that they have is not in them When thou affectest pleasure and delight answer me why dost thou affect it is it not for the good that is in it when thou affectest profit or health or peace or friends or credit or whatever thou affectest tell me in thy conscience why dost thou affect them is it not for the good that is in them they are good therefore thou affectest them but if thou hast not Christ and God and his Spirit and his grace if thou hast not the Lord in these things they are not themselves neither have they the good that is in them Riches is no riches without grace but a snare health is no health without Christ but a curse peace and pleasure are not themselves without God but poyson thy good parts are thy bane thy money is thy vengeance thy goods are a witnesse against thee without Christ If thou beest not in Christ if not a new creature one day thou shalt curse that ever thou wert born and therefore much more shalt thou curse that ever thou hadst means or maintenance or life or health or any thing the more thou hadst of
these blessings if Christ be not with them as he is not if thou beest not a new creature I say if Christ be not in them the blessings are not themselves they have not the good that is in them without Christ David had a Castle and a Buckler and a Horn but they were not themselves without God Lord thou art my Castle and my Buckler and the Horn of my salvation David had a servant to make his bed in his sicknesse but to let us know that this blessing was not it self without God he puts the phrase upon God who made his bed in his sicknesse no blessing is it self without Christ or without God He hath all the goodnesse that is in it The Heathens have a pretty phrase whereby they set out a happy man Vndecunque Deus When God is every where about him about him in his means and his riches about him in his house and in his goods about him in his friends and acquaintance about him in his pleasure and mirth he is not happy unlesse God be in every thing that is about him they are but the carcasses of good if God be not in them Thus you see we must set our affections on God Here then we are taught That it is the blessing of God that we have affections implanted in our hearts For how could they be set upon God if it were not a blessing that we have them There is a main controversie between the Philosophers the Stoicks and the Peripatetiques concerning the affections the Stoicks do stifly maintain that it is an evil to have any affections at all and therefore Zeno defines the affections to be unnatural stirrings of the heart averse from right reason which is false for this is the definition of affections as they are corrupt and not as they are affections the affections in themselves are not sinful First Because Adam and Eve had affections in innocency If the affections were all sinful in themselves Adam and Eve in their innocency could not have had them for they were created without sin but they were created with affections as love and joy and delight and hope and fear and the like Before Eve ever sinned we see plainly she was afraid to eat of the forbidden fruit indeed when the devil had-ripened his temptation then she went fearlesly on for to eat it but when the devil assaulted her at the first O saies she We may not eat of it lest we die Gen. 3. 3. Lo she was afraid for to eat it at first I confesse before the fall may be they had not all the affections in act because there were no objects for all the affections to work on they had nothing to grieve for nothing to be angry at nothing to despair of but for my part I think they had distinct objects to work on though not in themselves for they had not sinned as yet yet they had distinct objects in the world for all their affections to work on for should they not grieve to see God dishonoured by the fall of the Angels should they not hate and abhor backsliding from God though there were none in themselves neverthelesse the affections of fear and hatred were given them to keep away sin and apostasie from God Now if the affections were in Adam in innocency they could not be sinful in themselves Secondly Because Christ took our affections upon him If the affections were sinful in themselves he could not take our affections upon him for he was made like unto us sin only excepted and therefore if the affections were sins he could not have taken our affections but he did take them as the Gospel doth abundantly shew He had our affection of joy Iesus reioyced in Spirit and said I thank thee O Father c. Luk. 10. 23. He had our affection of sorrow My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death Mat. 26. 38. He had our affection of anger He looked round about on them with anger being grieved at their hardnesse of heart Mar. 3. 5. He had our affection of desire with desire I have desired to eat this Passeover with you before I suffer Luk. 22. 15. And so of the rest If Christ took our affections upon him our affections are not sinful in themselves Nay he did not only as the Son of man take our primitive affections as we are men but he was Ben Enâ—sh he was the son of frail man Psa 8. 5. And he took out miserabiles affectiones our affections of infirmity upon him I do not mean the affections of sinful infirmity for he knew no sin but I mean the affections of our frailty and infirmity as fear and fellow-feeling and the like We have not a High-Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin Heb. 4. 15. This then is an undeniable argument that the affections are not sinful in themselves because Christ did assume them Thirdly Because the Lord doth command us to be angry Be angry and sin not saies he he commands us to grieve and be sorry for our sins Therefore also now saith the Lord turn ye even to me with all your heart and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning Joel 2. 12. He commands us to fear Work out your salvation with fear and trembling passe the time of your sojourning here in fear Be not high-minded but fear I will forewarn you saies Christ whom ye shall fear fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell yea I say unto you fear him Luk. 13. 5. He commands us to be ashamed of our evil doings and is offended if we be not thou hast a whores forehead and refusest to be ashamed Jer. 3. 3. If the affections were sinful in themselves the Lord would not command us to shew our affections on this wise it 's true they are sinfully used and corruptly perverted among men the more is the pity but they are not so in themselves Neither do I deny but there be some natural affections that are naturally now as corrupt nature does stand that be sinful in themselves as envy and malice and the like which never can be regulated nor guided by any moderation but are quite to be rooted out but these affections are not properly natural they are no otherwise natural then lice and vermin are natural to Carrion then filthy and noysome weeds are natural to a cursed ground these must be utterly rooted up and stubb'd out of our hearts because to speak properly they are unnatural affections and sinful in themselves but our natural affections are not sinful in themselves Nay more let me tell you the affections are not only not sinful but it is an infinite blessing of God that God hath given us affections First Because if we had no affections at all we should be like stocks and like senselesse stones The Philosopher was in a doubt
whether Brutus were not a block or a brute because he had no affection at all to his own children whom he could see murthered before him with dry eyes The Lord himself counts that man a very block that hath no affection in his heart Have ye no regard all ye that passe by behold and see if there were any sorrow like my sorrow Lam. 1. 12. q. d. What are ye such blocks and stupid stocks that ye can shew no affections at my sorrow And therefore it 's reckoned among the symptomes of a heart that is desperately hardned not to be affected with any thing to hear the Word and not to be affected therewith to pray unto God and not to be affected with Gods presence to be in affliction and not to be affected with remorse I say this is a symptome of a hard heart And therefore it is a blessing of God that a man hath affections within him Secondly because as Plutarch the very Heathen observes were it not for our affections our nature would be lazy and idle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Like a Pilot at sea without winde alas the ship would goe slowly were there no windes stirring to drive it So the affections saies he are to the soul as the winde to the sails of the ship as the ship could not sail apace without windes so the soul would go slowly about any thing if the affections did not carry it When Davids affections were hampered about with worldly fears fears of his enemies and griefs at his persecutions which he suffered he went slowly on in obedience but as soon as his sails were up then he ran like a ship in the sea with a great winde I will run the way of thy Commandments when thou shalt inlarge my heart Psa 119. 32. As soon as God would help him to spread the sails of his heart and enlarge his affections then he would run like a Fleet pinnace in the Seas I will then run the way of thy Commandments saies he this is an infinite mercy of God who seeing how dull we are unto good how slack to good duties how slow to holy performances vouchsafes us these windes and these sails for to carry us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saies the same Philosopher The affections are like wheels and like Chariots unto reason If a mans reason be never so good he knows he is bound to repent and be godly and obey yet if he have no affections thereto he goes like a chariot without wheels he goes without force he cannot go at all but if he have affections thereto the affections are like wheels and like horses to carry him amain Draw me saies the Christian soul unto Christ draw me and I will run after thee Can. 1. 4. She praies that Christ would draw her by the affections of love for she speaks of love the virgins love thee saies she ver 3. Draw me with thy love too and then I shall run after thee like the Chariots of Aminadab that is drawn by quick Horses she would run as with wheels unto Christ if her affections did once carry her As Cicero saies of the affections of anger it is cos fortitudinis it is the whetstone to valour so I may say of all the affections they are all whetstones to good if a man have any grace Hast thou love It is a whetstone to obedience hast thou grief It is a whetstone to repentance hast thou anger it is a whetstone to zeal c. What is the reason men come so slowly on unto good the reason is this because their affections stand another way Men repent but slowly and amend their lives but slowly encrease in grace but slowly why this is the cause their affections are to the world they run on in their pleasures and their vanities they run on in their earthly employments and businesses why their affections are thereto O beloved it is an infinite mercy of God that we have affections given us of God for these may quicken our dulnesse unto grace Thirdly Because the affections are good channels for grace to run downin Be there never so full a fountain of good water yet if it have not a channel to run all along in the fountain may be ever a bubling but it choaketh it self for want of a channel So though God should put never so much grace into thy heart yet if it should have no channel to run down in it would smother it self Now God hath given thee affections like channels for grace to run down in Art thou covetous and full of desires what a fine channel is that for grace to run down in it is the easier for thee to covet the best things art thou of a cholerick and angry constitution what a fine channel is that for zeal to Gods glory to run down in it is the easier for thee to be zealous in Gods worship art thou melancholy and of a sad disposition what a fine channel is that for repentance to run down in it is the easier for thee to despise the vain pleasures of the world and to sorrow for sin art thou merry and of a cheerful nature what a fine channel is this for delight in the Lord to runne down in it is the easier for thee to joy in the holy Ghost art thou fearful and of a timorous spirit what a fine channel is that for fear of Gods judgements and truth to runne down in it is the easier for thee to tremble before God and fear to offend him Solomon was full of the affections of love it is true he let lust after women and uncleannesse a while run down in that channel but when grace and repentance recovered his soul what an excellent channel was it for love unto Christ to run down in Never was there such a lovesong to Christ as the Canticles since the creation of the world to this day and therefore it is called Canticum Canticorum The Song of Songs Cant. 1. 1. Certainly Ieremy was a man of a sad constitution but see what an advantage this bent of affection was to him it was a channel for spiritual sadnesse to run down in Oh that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears to weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people Jer. 9. 1. The woman in the Gospel which was a sinner a whore in plain terms one bewitched with the affections of love to her lovers as soon as ever any grace did look into her heart see how these affections of love did advantage her She loved our Saviour more affectionately then Saint Peter himself She loved much saies the Text Luk. 7. 47. Before no question but she was full of her whorish and strumpet-like tears now the channel was turned she washt Christs feet with her tears and wipt them with the hair of her head and she loved much saies the Text. It is such an admirable advantage to be full of affections that the
the Wesil is so bewitched that she gives up her self to be devoured but of all the bewitchings in the world the bewitching of the affections are the most dangerous Eucilides was in so deep an affection to his own beauty that he was bewitcht with it were not Sampsons affections bewitched with Delilah were not Herods affections bewitcht with Herodias were not Judas his affections bewitcht with the gain of thirty pence that for it he should deny his own Master S. Paul tels the Galatians their affections were bewitcht S. Hierom thinks verily the devil was in them The Drunkard is bewitcht with his cups the Adulterer with his whore the angry man with his choler the vain man with his vanities the carnal man with his flesh that they will damn their own souls rather then be new creatures Beloved are not ye bewitched in your sins when all the preaching and teaching and warning ye have had cannot yet turn you from your sins unto God to set your affections above this is a grievous let that sends millions to hell their affections bewitch them Ye need no Devils to tempt you to sinne if your affections be once set on it they will bewitch you as bad as any devil can bewitch you Nay the devil cannot bewitch you to sin but only by your affections If ever thou save thy soul thou shalt finde it a great task to unbewitch thine affections to set them upon grace Thirdly Another let is that as the affections are the bewitchings of the heart so they are the estimations of the heart If the thing be not good enough to be affected which the affections are set on they esteem it worthy to be affected Quisquis amat ranam ranam putat esse Dianam Many of you know the old Proverb If a man should set his affections on a frog there 's little goodnesse in a Frog why it should be affected but if a man should set his affections on a Frog he would esteem it as comely as another would Diana The affections if they be set upon vanity they do utterly besot one Look upon the Drunkard he thinks it 's a fine life to be potting and piping in the Ale-house which a man in his wits knows to be base and brutish and hellish Look upon the vain Gentleman he thinks it a fine life to be hunting and gamballing and bragging and flanting and challenging and to be sird and to be worshipt at every word Which a wise man knows to be foppish and foolish and devillish The affections blinde the judgement and befool the understanding and make a man to defend himself in a course which in very deed will leade him to hell When the children of Israel had set their affections on their lusts Moses thus speaks to them Do ye thus requite the Lord ye foolish people and unwise Is not he thy Father c. Deut. 32 6. Natural affection would leade a childe to be obedient to his father and seeing their affections were crosse set the Lord cals them a foolish people Their sinful affections did besot them and befool them Samosatenus was so besotted with the love of a certain woman that he forsook his faith and religion for her I reade of a pretty parable to this purpose When Vlysses had left his men with Circe the witch she changed them all into diverse sorts of beasts Dogs Swine Lyons Tygers Vlysses complained she had done him great wrong for changing his men into beasts on that fashion wrong saies she I have not done thee nor them any wrong Doe but ask them now whether they doe not like the condition they are in So Vlysses demanded first of the Hogge whether he would be a man again or not He answered no by no means For now he could fill his belly and lie down on the dunghil and sleep And so he demanded of the rest and they all save only the Elephant they all replyed they had rather be beasts as now they were This parable is made to shew how the carnal affections besot one to esteem the pleasures of sin the gains and profits and beggerly things of the World and prefer them before holinesse and righteousnesse and purenesse and strictnesse of living One his affections besot him in a love-lock or long hair that he cannot be perswaded to shave it off another his affections besot him in a Tobacco-pipe another in a filthy gotten custome another in some other base haunt of the heart all the preaching under Heaven cannot disswade them therefore they do so esteem them and prize them and think they are so pleasing a noble minded Christian would wonder how it is possible they can so Fourthly Another let is that as the affections are the estimations of the heart so they are the most natural temperaments of the heart Spiritual and heavenly affections are the good temper of the heart and carnal or earthly affections are the evil temper of the heart and therefore it 's hard to change ones affections because the heart it self must be taken a peeces as it were if one would alter his affections An earthly heart is not a right soyl for the spiritual plants to grow in Gardners have daily experience what a coil they have to keep an herb from dying in their gardens when the garden is not a right soyl for it they are fain for to dig it and dresse it and water it and tend it yet scarce will it grow there when it is not a right soyl for it Men must get themselves new hearts and new mindes if ever they would have their affections renewed Fashion not your selves to the world saies the Apostle but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minde Rom. 12. 2. Unlesse your minde be renewed ye can never spy a pleasing fashion of the world but O your affections will be to it When David had misplaced his affections on Bathsheba another mans wife and his affections had been mad upon adultery and on murther what does he doe He goes to God in praier for a new heart he could never have new affections else Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Psa 51. 10. He could not get new affections till he had gotten a new heart This is a miserable impediment that lets multitudes of men and women from setting their affections upon God because their hearts are not a right for such affections as these May be they trim their affections as the very heathens have done with morality as a Barbor trims and shaves a mans head but the hair grows again because the head is the hairs soyl So the carnal affections will grow again spiritual and heavenly affections will not grow there for the heart is not a right soyl and this is a shrewdlet and you must labour continually to remove it And therefore before I help you with means how to set your affections on God let me give you these two grounds First
pray unto God evermore again I say pray I have not time to pray so often I do pray in the morning and evening but my businesses are so many c. This may be thou objectest Not time enough sayst thou Finde out some odde times besides morning and evening steal into some corner or other belabour thy heart before God O sayst thou I finde it a hard thing to stir up mine affections I am a very Stoick 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have no affection I cannot compel mine affections to God Canst thou not but thou canst compel thy heart for to pray thou canst tug and pull at thy heart in thy praiers and this will fetch up thine affections Praier is not only a mouth to beg Physick but also it is Physick it self whereby Christ cures the affections of the heart The poor beggar the more he is driven to beg the more affectionate he is in describing his miseries you shall see some beggars to set forth their misery and cry so lamentably as it would burst a mans heart with pity and compassion ones bowels would even yearn but to hear them I doe not mean your lazie canting beggars but distressed Lazars indeed So beloved pray if ever thou be used to it it will scrue up thy heart and raise up thine affections exceedingly I doe not mean that lazie-hearted and canting kinde of praying of most wretches that hath no more affection in it then there is savour in the white of an Egge But set thy self to prayer indeed and by it Christ will quicken thine affections Alas thy heart is divided and scattered up and down among the things of the world and therefore strive with God that he would gather up all the peeces into one thou must have all thine affections and all the peeces of thy heart gathered up into one if thou wouldst set them upon God I will give them one heart that they may fear me for ever saies God Ier. 32. 39 your heart and the affections of your heart are divided and scattered up and down into a thousand peeces one upon one thing another upon another and God hath promised that he will gather up your hearts into one and give you this same one heart that ye may fear him and set all your affections upon him will ye misse such a gracious promise as this for want of asking it and begging it and praying for it this is the reason why men have such earthly affections as they have because they are not frequent in praier to God to be helped Prayer is an excellent help to winde up your affections to God This is the first Often prayer to God The second is this Light up a candle in thy heart that it may see what to set thine affections on in God Get knowledge of God Ignoti nulla cupido unknown unaffected thine affections are unruly and thou canst not rule them to Godward yea but thou canst get knowledge Knowledge will help thee exceedingly The affections we see plainly that come nearest to reason are soonest of all ruled And the affections that are remotest from reason are more hard to be ruled A man commonly will sooner rule his affections aright then a woman or a childe because a man hath more reason The Philosophers shew this by the example of a Horse or a Bul. A Horse is sooner tamed then a Fish because a Horse is more capable of knowledge and of reason as natural reason and knowledge can naturally rule the affections so spiritual reason and knowledge can spiritually rule the affections And therefore if thou wouldest rule thine affections aright to set them on God labour to know God every one that loveth God knoweth God 1 Joh. 47. He must must needs know God that loveth God for how can he set his affections of love upon God if he doe not know God knowing therefore the terrour of the Lord we perswade men 2 Cor. 5. 11. S. Paul perswades the affections of the people why because he knew the terrour of the Lord and he was able to make them to know it too and therefore hereby he endeavoured to perswade their affections to fear God and to serve him They that know thy Name will put their trust in thee for thou never forsakest them that seek thee Psal 9. 10. David speaks peremptorily they that know thy Name they will place their hope and their trust and their confidence and all their affections on thee They will so certainly if they know thee if once they know what a good God thou art how true of thy promise how gracious to thy children how sure a friend thou art never forsaking them that seek thee He concludes it positively they that know God will set their affections on God Can a coverous man know a rich purchase and not have an affection to it can a beggar know his alms is a hundred pounds and have no affection to take it as long as the woman of Samaria did not know Christ she stood pratling and wrangling and jeering at Christ she had no affection neither to him nor the water of life that he could give her she had more minde of her well and her water-pot though she were in Christs company yet because she did not know she never askt him a drop of grace nor would she give so much as a draught of her water to Christ But what answer did he make to her If thouknewest saies he who it is that saith to thee give me to drink thou wouldest have asked of him and he would have given thee living water Joh. 4. 10. If thou hadst known who I am thine affections would have been eagerer then they be Beloved ye hear the word and have no affection to tremble at it Ye hear Gods Commandments and have no affection to do them ye live in your sins many of you poor damned souls to this day and ye have no affection to be humbled Alas alas ye are blinde and ye know not But if ye had known what a damnable case ye are in what a word it is ye reject whose Commandments they are which ye break whose bloud it is ye contemn if ye had known God and the truth that is of God ye would have been otherwise affected then ye are Occultae musices nullus respectus saies Suetonius Be the musick never so pleasing yet if it be not known none is affected therewith You 'l say ye do know God what doe and have no more affections to obey the Commandments of God ye lie in fiat terms saies S. Iohn He that saith I know him and keeps not his Commandments is a lyar and there is no truth in him 1 Joh. 2. 4. I confesse thou mayst know many things about God and never have thine affections set upon God to obey him but this knowledge is in a reprobate there 's no truth in this knowledge The truth is not in him saies the Text. Knowledge may be in him but the truth
of knowledge is not in him And if thou dost not know God no marvel though thine affections be not set on him Incognitum non amatur Unknown unkist as we say This is the second help to set our affections on God to know God The third is this Occasion thine affections this way Be it never so hard to 〈◊〉 corrupt nature to set thine affections upon God it is easier a great deal to give them frequent occasions to be set upon God A theevish companion may be is afraid for to steal lest he should be taken yet if a booty do ever and anon offer it self pretty handsomely and fairly and covertly unto him then he will steal it Occasio facit furem Occasion makes a filcher the postern door maketh a thief as the Proverb is That gives him an occasion for his villany as it is in evil so also in good Occasion thine affections alwaies to good at last they may take hold of it Be often thinking and meditating and remembring of God let thy thoughts and meditations give occasion to thy heart in the end it may take it The Apostle gives this as a reason why Titus was so well affected with the good people in Corinth namely because he thought of and remembred their obedience to God His inward affection is the more abundant toward you whilest he remembreth the obedience of you all 2 Cor. 7. 15. if we would often busie our thoughts and remembrances of God this might winne our affections to God Thou givest thine affections so many thousand occasions to be set upon the things of this life thy tongue is accustomed to speak of little else thine ear accustomed to hear little else thy minde and thy memory accustomed to think of little else thou givest thy heart so many occasions to set its affections on the things of this life that I wonder not thine affections are not set upon God This is the reason why men are so touchy and so cholerick and revengeful and envious and malicious this is the reason why they are so apt to be overtaken with inordinate pleasure or covetous desires or carnal sorrows and griefs and the like they give their hearts occasions to be so they are not choice of their company they are not wary of the beginnings of sin they entertain too many thoughts of injuries and crosses and afflictions and profits and vanity in the world many occasions they give to their hearts to set their affections thereon The heart when it haâ—â— an occasion to sin is like the wilde asse in the Prophet in her occasion who can turn her away Ier. 2. 24. The wilde asse if she have an occasion of lust no body can turn her away from her lust as Tremellius observes occasion is a main thing in matters either of sin or of grace If Peter had not given his heart an occasion to be tempted by being in the Hall doubtless he would have been better occupied then in denying his Master if David had not give occasion to his lusts by looking carelesly from his roof for all that I know he had been at his prayers when he was a whoring with Vriah his wife If Lot had not given occasion to his flesh by drinking of Wine he had been a blessing of God for his mercy the while he was committing of incest Capillataest occasio Occasion hath a foretop how easy is it to be taken hold of The Galatians are commanded that their liberty be not used as an occasion to the flesh Gal. 5. 13. for as soon as the flesh hath an occasion offered presently it 's likely to take it Women must not give an occasion to the Adversary to speak reproachfully 1 Tim. 5. 14. Let no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brothers way Rom. 14. 13. Occasions to evil are all dangerous as the flesh is ready to take all occasion to sinne so the spirit to take an occasion to good And therefore if thou wouldest set thine affections on God give thy heart as many occasions that way as thou canst keep such company as may occasion thy heart to be affected with Christ Compose thy self to be often thinking and meditating of the Word and of such things as may occasion thy heart to set its affections above And when thy heart hath such occasions as these offered unto it presse it and urge it to take hold of the occasion Premenda occasio saies Horace good occasions are to be prest upon If thou wouldest make conscience of this duty to occasion thine affections aright they would be set quickly upon God This is the third help to set thine affections on God give thine affections often occasion that way The fourth is this Let thine affections be often woed to God never misse if thou canst choose the preaching of Gods word there is never a godly Minister but is Christs paranymph he is a friend of the Bridegroom Joh. 3. 29. Whensoever he preaches he comes on Christs errand to wooe thine affections to Christ Christ does as a great Prince that minding to marry a wife out of a far Countrey sends over his paranymphs to wooe for him to get her affections if it be possible So beloved we that are Gods Ministers we are Christs paranymphs we preach to wooe your affections to Christ And therefore never misse the preaching of the Word it 's the wooing of your affections to Christ they say women love to be much wooed Love then the preaching of the Word that wooes thee and wooes thee again and again O what infinite need hast thou of coming continually to the Word thine affections are infinitely coy this they must have and that they must have Like a vain Damosel she must have her geegaws and her fashions she must have her pleasure and her will and her ease and thus it must be and so it shall be if she marry him she will not have the man else He hath such adoe to get her affections either he is too homely or too base or too strict or too ill-favoured or too poor or somewhat Now may be he hath her and then her thoughts change then again she is inclined and then her affections are off My brethren so it is with our souls our affections are to this and that and I know not what If Christ will not let them have their pleasures and their ease and their profits and their vanities Christ is not for them They must have the credit in the world they 'l not be mockt at for puritans and for hypocrites they 'l not deny father nor mother nor self nor any of these things they are loth to be held in so strictly as Christ doth indent But Christ will not marry us unlesse our affections be wholly upon him Blessed is he that is not offended in me Many are offended at the precisenesse of his word many at the bitternesse of the Crosse many at the shame of the world they
and sober-clothed and sober-employed This is the fifth means to set our affections on God To be sober in all things The sixth is this when we see how apt our affections are to fly out upon vanity to clip their wings of much of their lawful liberty not only to abstain from things that are evil and unlawful but also to abstain from many things that are lawful There be a thousand lawfuls that thy heart does affect which if thou do not abridge thy self of thou shalt never be able to set thine affections upon God This rule Socrates the very Heathen observed no man can be safe from falling into unlawfuls but only this man saies he that abstains from many things that are lawful It 's lawful to drink strong drink but for thee that art apt to over-desire it it is dangerous It 's lawful to go finely but for thee that art apt to be proud of it It is not safe to goe to the utmost of what is lawful If thou usest the utmost of a thing that is lawful one step further is unlawful It is not wisedom to go to the utmost ridges of a rock just at the brow of a high cliff though the ground thou goest on be sure yet thy going is not sure how soon mayst thou slip with thy foot how soon may a giddiness in the head come upon thee and then thou break thy neck Perhaps thou mayst go steady yea but perhaps not but topple down on a sudden and be dashed to peeces It was lawful for Dinah to go forth and to see the daughters of the land but thus she fell to be ravisht and used like a whore Gen. 34. 1. It was lawful for Iehoshaphat to visit King Ahab but his using this lawful visitation drew him to partake in some measure of his sins It was lawful for Daniel to eat the portion of meat that the King gave him but he would not Dan. 1. 8. That very lawful thing if he had used it it would have defiled him All these things are lawful for me sayst thou yea but all these things are not expedient because if thou takest thy liberty in all things that are lawful thou wilt quickly be a slave to thy lusts and under the power of inordinate affections All things are lawful for me saies the Corinthian yea but I will not be brought under the power of any sayes S. Paul 1 Cor. 6. 12. As if he had said all things of this nature are lawful but I count it not expedient to use them for all that why because if I should take liberty in this kinde I should be brought under the power of my sinful affections Cavendi sunt affectus ne illius nos ipsos subjiciamus sayes Peter Martyr Take heed of thine affections they will instantly inslave thee Follow not thy pleasure so much as thou mayst nor thy profits and earthly employments so much as thou mayst drink not and sleep not and jest not so much as thou mayst for if thou dost thine affections will be caught or ere thou art aware Many men and women they will be enquiring and questioning what is not this lawful and is not this lawful Is it not lawful to have a little recreation every day Is it not lawful to be merry and to tell a merry tale and to break a jest now and then Is it not lawful to sell Ale and keep a victualling house Is it not lawful to wear such a geegaw or to plat ones hair after such or such a fashion These questions sound like the speeches of fools that are likely to be gulled in their affections by Satan For what though they be lawful I do not deny they are lawful but the question is this Be they safe and expedient for thee when thine affections are sure to be needlesly agog upon these things O do not needlesly endanger thine affections if ever thou mayst remedy it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saies Chrysostome Look thou be not a slave of thine affections thine affections itch after this and that look thou do curb them if thou dost not curb them of many things that are lawful thou wilt never be able to set them upon God This is the sixth means to set our affections on God to clip their wings from flying upon the things here below The seventh is this to be abundant in the exercises of godlinesse We must be abundant in prayer and in all other exercises of godlinesse When Paul had exhorted good Timothy to be exercised in godlinesse 1 Tim. 4. 7. in the next verse he gives him a reason why he so exhorts him Because saies he godlinesse is profitable unto all things If godlinesse be profitable for all things then certainly its profitable for this to set our affections upon God Abound then in good duties abound in good conference abound in good and gracious acquaintance abound in godly meditations This was Davids means whereby his affections came to be earnest upon God O how I love thy Law it is my meditation continually Psal 119. 97. his affections were even wrapt up in his God O how love I thy Law he was not able to expresse how his affections were wrapt O how love I thy Law How came they to be so the reason was this He was abundant in godly meditations It is my meditation continually Abundance in any thing causes the affections to abound The voluptuous man is abundant in his pleasures he abounds with his hunting and hawking and gaming and merriments and therefore his affections are abundantly set hereupon The covetous man his minde abounds in thinking of the world his memory abounds with remembring the things of the world his tongue abounds in talking of such matters his labours and his cares abound in this kinde and therefore his affections are abundantly set upon these things There is nothing makes the affections so excessive as abundance Abound then in the exercises of Gods worship if thou wouldest have thine affections to be abundant that way Never think thou canst pray enough hear enough speak holily enough examine thy soul enough nor sanctifie the Sabbath enough never think thou canst reform enough or do any duty enough Men serve God as little as they dare they pray and hold out in their prayers as little as they dare they shew themselves for God as little as they dare these mens affections can never be upon God because they love not to be abundant in good duties thy heart is a great deep Psa 64. 6. It is not a little winding or a little turning will fetch up a Bucket out of a deep Well So the heart I say is a great deep a little praying and a little hearing and a little amending will not fetch up the affections from this great deep unto God no Thou must be abundant in goodnesse and in the duties of goodnesse if thou wouldst have thine affections set upon God provided alwaies that thy heart be renewed and quickned
otherwise abundance will cloy thee The more thou prayest the lesse affections thou wilt have the more thou hearest and the more thou speakest of Religion or of grace the more formall thou wilt be thine affections will be lesse set hereupon O my brethren this is a cursed crasis and disposition of soul to be spiritually cloyed in this manner abound and abound right else it s to small purpose if thou abound in good duties and abound right this will set their affections upon God Abound in a thing and be the thing never so bad it will soon command thine affections Let a man be abundant in playing drinking or abundant though it be but in the taking of hot waters I have known some their affections were so to it that it killed them Beloved abound then in good duties this will take off thine affections from the world and set them on God This is the seventh means to set our affections on God to be abundant in the duties of holinesse The eighth is this Labour to dive down to the bottom of thine affections the sweetest is at bottom as we say So the affections that are sweetest to the heart are at bottom And therefore dive down to the bottom and get up the bottom of thine affections and set them upon God thine affections are never set upon God till them at the bottom are set upon God A man may set the shallow of his affections upon God when the bottom is set upon the things of the world There is many a close hypocrite he thinks his affections to the world are now dead but they are not dead the Fox seems often to be dead to seize the more cunningly on his prey So the affections will seem to be dead to the world that so they may be the more cunning to feed upon the things of the world they seem to be dead that is the shallow of them seems so but the bottom still is alive to the world that is not set upon God Beloved a man may set the shallow of his affections upon a thing which the bottom of his affections doth hate See this in Ammon his affections were to Thamar and he loved her O he would seem to be sick for her I the shallow of his affections were to her but anon out comes the bottom when the bottom of his affections once did come out then he did hate her He hated her worse then he loved her 2 Sam. 13 15. dive down then to the bottom of thine affections and labour with all might to get up the bottom and set them upon God Here 's a man he hath good affections to repentance and amendment good affections to be godly and have grace he reforms much and he professes much you would wonder to see this man a year hence to persecute the Minister and to oppose Gods people and make a mock of the power of Religion but this you may see if the bottom of his affections be not got up and set upon God Get up the bottom and set that upon God or it is nothing There be three means to get up the bottom of thine affections and set them upon God First Be humbled after all thy turning unto God this will get up the bottom of thine affections to God A wicked man before he is turned unto God may be humbled as Ahab was humbled and Iudas was humbled and Pharaoh too and many other sinners they are humbled before ever they have turned from their sins When once they have turned from their prophanenesse and their impieties then they begin to think well of themselves now they are well think they indeed before ever they are turned they may be humbled Thus a drunkard and a whoremonger may be humbled thus a mocker and a prophane person may be humbled their consciences may pull them by the throat as long as they live in these sins and then their affections are stirred exceedingly they may weep and sigh and groan and tremble and be ashamed of their doings they may be humbled thus before they are turned but when they are once turned from these sinnes then they begin to be quiet and secure and to hope well Alas alas the bottom is not up yet But if thou wouldst get up the bottom of thine affections be humbled after all thy turnings to God So it was with good Ephraim Surely after that I was turned I repented and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded Jer. 31. 19. Ephraim was humbled after that he was turned It was not before he was turned but after he was turned he repented and was humbled This got up the very bottom of his affections and all unto God See how full of affections he was He smote upon his thigh he was in a holy rage at his own soul he blushed he was ashamed yea he was even smitten with confusion of face before God All the bottom of his affections was up his zeal his sorrow his shame and the whole bottom of all came up then because he was thus humbled Secondly Keep no close lust no corruption in secret unmortified As this is a means to get up all the bottom of our affections and set them upon God so it is a sign too whether we do so or no. For when a man is willing to be searcht who may be was suspected of stealing if he be willing to be searcht to have his pockets and his house searcht and his coffers searcht and all his haunts searcht Search me sayes he I have it not he that is willing thus to be searcht it is a sign he hath not stoln it So it was with the Psalmist for having sayd that his affections were set upon God and against them that were against God he bids God search him and see if he could finde that it was contrary Search me O God and know my heart or as some translations have it and try the ground or the bottom of my heart see if there be any way of wickednesse in me Psal 139. 23 24. As if he had said If I have any secret corruption that I favour my self in I confesse the bottom of mine affections is rotten but I am willing to be searcht Search me O God and try the ground or the bottom of my heart and see if it be not so as I professe it to be I say as this is a means so it is a sign too A means it is to get up the bottom of the affections and set them upon God For as long as a man hath any secret lust any bottom corruption which he favours himself in he can never set the bottom of his affections upon God Thirdly consider God will shame thee one day if the bottom be not sound thou mayest have good affections for the while and be held for a very good Christian and a forward Professour but if thine affections be not solid and sound at the
and must we set them on God this may teach us one lesson by the way we that are Gods Ministers must take notice from hence how to qualifie our preaching namely to stir up the affections of mens hearts Every man sayes Rodolphus Agricola that hath any learning at all is able to teach but concutere affectibus audientem to shake mens affections and turn mens hearts he is an extraordinary man that can doe this after this manner was the preaching of our Saviour he did so move the affections of his hearers that the Text sayes they were astonished at his doctrine Mat. 7. 28. Why so the Exangelist makes answer in the next verse for he taught them as one having authority and not as the Scribes that is non ita frigidus ut Pharisaei he was not such a frigid and cold Teacher as the Pharisees and Scribes were the people sate like immoveable stocks in their seats when the Scribes were a teaching they were not moved a jot but our Saviour was a powerful Teacher he taught them as one having authority and not as the Scribes his Sermons were moving and forceable Iohn the Baptist wrought strongly on the affections of his Auditors they could not possibly hold but cryed outrâ—ght as they heard him The people askt him What shall we do the Publicans cryed out Master what shall we do the Souldiers also whose affections are as hard to be moved as any yet they cried out too and what shall we do Luk. 3. 14. This use is plainly grounded on my Text. Gods Ministers ye know are Gods Instruments to bring men to faith and repentance and reconcile them to God and therefore if this be your duty to set your affections on God we must labour to work on your affections to provoke you to doe it The reasons of it are these First Because the Word is full of affections full of affections of love to wooe a man to God full of affections of pity to yern upon men in their misery full of affections of terrour to terrifie the wicked and therefore that Minister that preaches not affectionately preaches but one half of the Word he preaches but the dead corps of the Truth as I may call it he does not preach the life and the soul of the truth The affections of a speech are the soul of a speech both make up the whole of the Word Is not my Word like unto fire and like a hammer that breaketh the rocks in peeces Ier. 23. 29. If the Word be a fire he that delivers it coldly delivers the Word otherwise then it is Would you not say that a man were ridiculous who when his neighbours house is on fire should go and coldly advise the Parish in this manner O my dear neighbours you should do well to look to your houses lest fire fall upon them as now of late I understood it hath done I pray let me perswade you to provide water otherwise all your goods and mine too will be consumed to ashes it is true that this man sayes but would not men deem him a fool the truth is the truth of affection and he leaves out the affection of the truth Nature hath taught us another course in such a case He would run crying into the street fire fire help help for the Lords sake water water in all haste alas alas we are undone quickly speedily run for ladders pull down this rafter here cut down that beam there untile the house what mean you stir hands arms legs hie thee for water run thee for iron crooks crows hooks buckets haste haste we are all undone Here now is the affection of the truth the like must a Minister do who knowing his people wallow in sin in the state of hell and damnation as many as go on in their courses he ought not with filed phrases and mellow-mouthed words nor with cold exhortations admonish his hearers but he must put in the affection of the Word in his Sermons he must cry fire fire the fire of hell is among you the fire is kindled sin is entred into the soul O the water of tears tears repentance repentance help your selves for Gods sake the devil stands ready to devour you death watches unawares to strike you hell-mouth gapeth to swallow you look about you stirre your selves and consider or ye perish in a moment Leave off your ryots down with your pleasures away with your vanities put on Christ quickly work out your salvation with fear and trembling See ye not men die daily before you on a sudden falling to hell haste haste flatter not your souls time is uncertain the danger is too certain the punishment eternal damnation is intolerable Thus must a Minister preach this truth It is a truth full of affection the affection must be delivered as well as the body of the truth All the imaginations of the thoughts of mans heart are only evil c. Gen 6. 5. As this is a truth so there is a great deal of affection in this truth the affection of loathing Do we think when the Lord said it he said it coldly and nakedly all the imaginations c. No he said it with a great deal of affection of loathing c. O Jerusalem Jerusalem c. O that thou hadst known c. As this is a truth so there is a great deal of affection in this truth affection of pity There is a great deal of affection in every threatning a great deal of affection in every command a great deal of affection in every promise in every truth Christ does not bid us preach the letters and syllables and propositions of his Word but his Word Now my Word is like fire sayes God fire is the stirringest element of all elements and therefore if there be any feeling at all in you the Word is able to stir you even as if ye had a fire in your bowels Beloved either we that are Gods Ministers are unskilful to handle the Word or else ye are senselesse and stupid if ye do not sit upon hot coals for to hear it it will make the drunkards heart ake to hear what this Word sayes to him it will make the worldlings heart ake and the secure Christians heart ake The Word is fire Did not our hearts burn within us while he opened to us the Scriptures Luk. 24. 32. The Word did so inflame their affections that their hearts burned to hear it Does not the godly heart burn to hear the sweetnesse of Gods promises and burn when the Scriptures are opened to direct thee And so on the other side does not the Usurers heart burn when the Scriptures are opened that rip up his sins Does not the carnal professors heart burn now and then as he sits when the Scriptures are opened to shew him his rottennesse there be such scorching texts in the Word texts of death texts of judgement texts of hell and damnation they may well make a wicked heart
desiring and sometimes hoping Thus thou livest and thus thou diest and perishest for ever through the intanglements The third head is taken from the degrees the affections are in in regard of other acts of the soul And here is a subdivision of heads 1. The affections provoke thoughts and therefore if the affections be earthy the thoughts are all earthy 2. The affections encrease lusts and therefore if the affections be carnal the lusts are all carnal 3. The affections inferre purposes and resolutions and therefore if the affections be to the things of this life the purposes and resolutions of the heart are so too 4. The affections inferre devisings and contrivings and therefore if the affections be vain so are the devices From all which thou mayst see the infinite misery thou art in if the affections be set here below First Because if thine affections be set here below so are thy thoughts When Saul had a treacherous affection unto David he made as though he did affect him so well as to make him his sonne in law it was a treacherous affection but the Text sayes so were his thoughts Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistims 1 Sam. 18. 25. As his affections were treacherous so his thoughts were in like manner treacherous The affections are the feet of the soul as I told you now when these feet run to evil so do the thoughts Their feet run to evil their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity Isa 59. 7. So that look what thine affections are to to that are thy thoughts You may remember what was proved to you of the thoughts if thou dost habitually set thy thoughts upon the things in this world to be thinking of thy sports and thy pleasures thine apparrel and thy fashions thy meat and thy drink thy means and thy living if thy thoughts be set hereupon thou art a man that never hast repented since thou wert born thou hast yet no part nor interest in Christ thou art yet no better then a damned wretch heir apparent of hell and everlasting destruction Thus it is with thee if thy thoughts be habitually thus set but if thine affections be set here below so without question are thy thoughts 1. Because if thine affections be earthy so are thy thoughts the affections provoke thee to be thinking of such things as thou hast most minde to Haman did mightily affect honour and therefore his thoughts ran upon his honor and promotion The King had no sooner said what shall be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honour but presently his thoughts were agog Haman thought in his heart whom would the King honour but me Esth 66. When Haman was affected with wrath against Mordecai instantly such were his thoughts He thought scorn sayes the Text Est 3. 6. David speaking of his enemies that were ill-affected against him he sayes that their thoughts were against him all their thoughts are against me for evil Psal 56. 5. So that if thine affections be carnal thy thoughts are carnal and thou canst not think seriously of the good of thy soul Come and let me think seriously how do I think to be saved may not a reprobate pray as well as I pray hear the Word as well as I hear it beleeve as well as I beleeve Did not wicked Esau that sought a place for repentance carefully with tears repent as well as I Had not cursed Balaam as good meanings as I he would not for a houseful of silver and gold go beyond the commandment of God Alas alas your carnal affections will not suffer you to think seriously of your souls Hast thou ever thought seriously whether thou beest a new creature or no whether Christ be in thee yea or no what if I should die now have I evidences for Heaven yea or no The Scripture saies thus and thus so and so they must live that look to be saved do I live so God sayes such and such shall be damned namely all that live in any known sin God cannot lie Is there never a sin I know I live in poor woful soul thy carnal affections have not suffered thee to think seriously of these things since thou wert born May be now and then thou hast some loose thoughts of some such matters stragling thoughts glancing running thoughts of thy soul and of heaven and of death but thou never dost seriously think of them No thine earthly affections doe provoke thy thoughts otherwise thy affections have such influence into thy thoughts that Macarius cals them affections Is not this then a pitiful condition to set our affections here below to be drawn away from thinking seriously of our souls they drive thee to hell and will not permit thee to think seriously whither thou goest till thou art there O grievous condition will a prisoner that is condemned to be hanged to morrow be thinking how he may get him new clothes and a new suit will he be thinking how he may purchase how he may have a good supper If he be thinking on such things when he shall be hanged to morrow for all that he knows he is sure he is condemned and the gallows is built and the halter is provided and if he get not a pardon it is certain he shall be executed and he knows not yet whether ever he shall get it may be he may if he seek hard if he now be thinking of pleasures and profits and the like when his life lies at the stake you will say he is wofully affected with these things and wilt thou be so affected with the things of this life when thou mayst be in hell to morrow thou art sure the sentence of damnation is upon thee yet and thou shalt surely be damned being as thou art wilt thou I say be thinking of eating and drinking and playing and buying and selling and trading and the like alas thou art yet but a damned man Take no thought sayes Christ what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink but seek ye first the kingdom of God Matth. 6. 33. Let not the condemned prisoner take thought for a supper but take thought how he may save his neck from the rope This is the first if thine affections be carnal so are thy thoughts Secondly Because if thine affections be carnal so are thy lusts It 's true a godly man hath carnal lustings for he is partly flesh but then he hath good lustings too for he is partly spirit the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these two are contrary the one to the other so that he cannot do so well as he would Gal. 5. 17. he hath sinful lustings but he hath spiritual lustings to crucifie them but if thine affections be earthy thy lusts be all earthy nay thy lusts they are ripened and strengthened The carnal lusts properly and especially are the first offer of the heart unto carnal affections So that when they
Nimrod was a mighty hunter Gen. 10 9. that is he was zealous at his hunting Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine Isa 5. 22. that is that are greedy and zealous in the pursuit of their appetite in that kinde David danced before the Lord with all his might 2 Sam. 6. 14. that is he did it zealously Zeal is when the heart raiseth up its affections with all its might on a thing And therefore lukewarmnesse is called negligence in the Scripture Cursed is he that doth the work of the Lord negligently As he that fights negligently shews not all his might in his fighting so he that goes about any duty of the Lords service negligently his heart does not shew all his might in it It puts not forth all the might of its affections upon it Lukewarmnesse then is the negligence of the affection and cursed is the man that does the work of the Lord negligently sayes the Text. But zeal is the might of the affection Fourthly As zeal is with all the might so it is the putting forth of all the affections When the heart affects a thing and puts forth all its affections upon it reserving no part of its affections for any thing else this we call zeal Herod affected the preaching of Iohn but he did not affect it zealously he did not put forth all his affection upon it he reserved a main part of his affection for his pleasure And therefore he was not zealous in hearing Hence it is that the Scripture cals lukewarmnesse deceit fulnesse as Divines do observe Cursed is the deceiver Mal. 1. 14. that is cursed is the lukewarm person that offers God lesse then he hath offers somewhat and reserves back somewhat that puts not forth all his affection upon God and his Service Zeal is the putting forth of all the affection As when the heart affects God and affects nothing in competition with him this is to be zealously affected towards God When the Jews had crucified Christ and persecuted Paul and forbidden him to preach the Text sayes the wrath of God was come upon them to the utmost 1 Thes 2. 16. That is the zeal of Gods fury and anger and vengeance was on them He kept nothing back he was not angry a little nor wroth a little but he put forth the affection of his wrath to the utmost upon them So when the heart puts forth the utmost of its love upon God and the utmost of its delights upon his Word and the utmost of its fear on his Name and the utmost of its affection on his Commandments then it is zealous But if he keeps back ought to bestow it elsewhere it 's a deceiver and a lukewarm heart Fifthly As zeal is the putting forth of all the affection so it is upon a thing which the heart does absolutely affect A man may affect a thing when he does not affect it absolutely He affects such or such a thing but he affects it not absolutely He affects it perhaps with a degree of affection as far as twelvepence will go he places may be a groats worth of affection upon a quire of paper If he be askt five pounds of silver for a quire of paper he does not affect it at that rate and therefore he does not affect it absolutely But if a man have a true zeal of affection to a thing he affecteth that thing with absolute affection let it cost what it can he affects it let it cost him all charges and all pains and all difficulties yea though it cost him his life he will have it then he does absolutely affect it So that then is a man zealous for God and for grace when his affections stand absolutely that way May be he will be glad so he may get it at an easie rate but if he cannot alas he must have it he concludes upon that though it cost him sighs groans every daies strivings every daies labour praying meditating repenting parting with all his lusts although never so dear O his soul does affect it on that manner he must and he will have it rather then life This man is zealously affected towards grace and towards God because he affects it absolutely Thus Iob was zealous in affecting Gods Word he esteemed it above his necessary food Iob. 23. 12. He does not say above his daily food for so he might do and not be zealously affected therewith but he affected Gods Word above his necessary food above all food absolutely without which his life could not confist without which a man dies such food as this comes nearest of all outward things to be absolutely affected A man affects it above lands and above livings above his silver and his gold above all his pleasures and his gaming 's a man will part with them all rather then part with his necessary food Yet Iob affected Gods Word above it And therefore he affected it zealously This is the last thing in zeal It is upon that which does absolutely affect Albeit now it may partly appear by the very definition of zeal that it is due only to God a man must not be zealous about any thing nor zealously affected with any thing but only with God and his worship Neverthelesse we may yet further prove it First Because Zeal is the religious part of the affections of the soul Now the religious part of them are due only to God I profited in the Jews Religion being zealous of the traditions of my Fathers sayes Paul Gal. 1. 14. he makes zeal the character of his Religion Seest thou a man zealous then after profits and most earnest to get means and maintenance and the things of this life that man makes gain his Religion Seest thou a man zealous after any thing that 's his Religion Zeal is the religious part of the affections and therefore it 's due only unto God Secondly As zeal is the religious part of our affections so also it is the most of every affection and therefore only due unto God Zeal is the most of every act that a man does That which the minde mindes most and studies most that it mindes zealously that which the memory remembers most which the heart wils most it wils zealously That which a man fears most and loves most and desires most that it does zealously Now if zeal be the most of every act of the soul it must needs be idolatry to place it any where else but in the service of God Dost thou meditate most and think most of the world thy thoughts are idolatrous Dost thou talk most and confer most of the things of the world thy words are idolatrous Dost thou cark most and care most dost thou love most and rejoyce most in any thing of this life thine affections are idolatrous Dost thou sorrow most for crosses and losses and disgraces and the like more then thou grievest for thy sins thy grief is idolatry That 's the hearts Idol which it
if thine affections be lukewarm to God thou mayst wish that God might be glorified but if he be not thou canst endure it Thou mayst pray to God for grace to heal thee of thy deadnesse but though he do not thou canst bear it But if thine affections were so farre hereto as to be zealous they would be impatient thou couldest never endure it Zeal is the impatient degree of the affections whereby when the soul does affect a thing it is impatient without it And therefore zeal is due only to God Thus ye discern the evidence of this truth that the zeal of our affection is due properly to God The X. Sermon Colos 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. THE Uses of this are these First Hence we may learn that God demandeth the zeal of our affections If the zeal of our affections be due unto God I beseech you take notice that God demandeth his due Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his Name and so God demandeth his due in our affections If I be a Father where is my honour if a Master where is my fear Mal. 1. 6. he does not only call for some honour and some love and some fear but he cals for his part where is my part sayes he Where is my fear Gods part of thy fear as I have shewed is the zeal of thy fear Gods part of thy love and thy joy and thy hope and the rest is the zeal of the same This now God demands of thy soul Where is my fear may be thou lovest him a little and his Commandments a little may be thou fearest him a little to offend him and disobey him thou fearest a little this is not Gods part the zeal of thine affection is Gods part and he cals for his part Where is my fear Secondly Hence we may learn that we must upon pain of Gods infinite displeasure give him the zeal of our affections whensoever we pray to pray to him zealously bleeding for our sinnes and melting under our wants and yearning for his graces Whensoever we praise him to praise him thus zealously rejoycing in his mercies and admiring his goodnesse Whensoever we enter his Courts to enter with zeal reverencing his footstool trembling at his Word in all our waies seeking how we may be most zealous of his glory for if God demand the zeal of our affections there is no keeping back Ananias was smitten dead for keeping back a little piece of money when God did demand it Cursed is he that keeps back a blow when God doth call for it God demandeth our zeal and wo is us if we keep back Thirdly Hence we may gather that we are in the state of damnation if we do not give God the zeal of our affections if God require it upon pain of damnation and we are bid to give it him upon pain of his everlasting displeasure then certainly we must needs be in a state of damnation if we do not give it Now this is proved by four Arguments First That man is in the state of damnation that never repents I need not prove that ye know it well enough he is sure to perish that never repents Though thou hast taken up all the outward duties of religion thou never repentest unlesse thou be zealous if thou be zealous then thou hast drawn out of Christ wine-seller as Bernard observes on the Canticles Introduxit me rex in cellam vinariam the King hath brought me into his wine-seller he expounds it of the souls drawing of zeal from Christ but if thou beest not zealous in repentance thou never repentest Be zealous and repent Rev. 3. 19. First he sayes be zealous and then he sayes repent First thou must resolve to be zealous or else thou dost not repent If a man have wronged a neighbour though never so mean he must be sorry for it or else he doth not repent of it if a man have wronged a Noble-man he must be more sorry for as the wrong is the greater the greater the party wronged is so the greater is the sorrow that is required to repentance If a man have wronged the King it must be greater sorrow yet till the sorrow be somewhat answerable to the greatness of the King who is wronged But if a man have wronged a God this must be the greatest sorrow of all sorrows otherwise thou dost not repent Repentance is the rending or breaking of the heart so sayes the Prophet Ioel it is not a lukewarm or a little grief that will break the heart Repentance is the humbling of the soul sayes David it is not a little bowing and a little bending will humble it before God Repentance is the mortifying or the killing of sin as Paul cals it alas sinne is like the heart of Oke that will be a hundred years a dying so sin will be long a dying it is not a little pricking and a little compunction will kill it Repentance is called repentance unto life in the Scripture it is not a little chafing and a little rubbing and a little Aqua-vitae will fetch a man from death untâ— life No no beloved thou never repentest unlesse thou be zealous And therefore the Apostle makes zeal a part of repentance 2 Cor. 7. 11. No zeal no repentance no repentance no salvation 2. That man is in the state of damnation that is not a beleever in Christ If a man be not in Christ by a lively faith he cannot be saved The Prophet prophesying of Christ saith thus Vnto us a childe is born and he shall be called wonderful the Prince of peace and the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this Isa 9 6 7. Never is Christ conceived in any man under heaven but the zeal of the Lord of Hosts doth perform it Doth he enlighten the minde or purge the heart or cleanse the conscience zeal does perform it Can I be so in love with Christ as to deny my self for him and not be zealous to him Can I count all my parts and all my gifts and all that I have as Paul did to be drosse â—nd dung for the worth I finde in Christ and not be zealous of him Can I hunger after him and pant for him and be sick of love till I have him and not be zealous towards him Thus we must doe otherwise we are not in Christ And therefore Moses confounds faith and zeal as if they were all one and both in one Phinehas was zealous for Gods sake Numb 25. 11. That is he was zealous and faithful both for so the Psalmist expounds it that was counted to him for righteousnesse sayes he that was speaking of his zeal in executing of judgement that was counted to him for righteousnesse Now ye know nothing can be counted to a man for righteousnesse but only faith and therefore by zeal there is meant faith This is an undeniable argument If a man have faith he is
zealous otherwise he hath no faith If he have no faith he cannot be saved 3. That man is in the state of damnation that loves not God He that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha that is let him be accursed and accursed for it is the greatest curse in the world it is the curse of the Gospel Let him be accursed and double accursed that loves not Christ Now a man never loves God if he be not zealous qui non zelat non amat He that is not zealous in love does not love love is termed zeal in the Scripture Iehu indeed the truth was he had no love to God he thought he had though and therefore when he would tell Iehonadab he had love to God he tels it in these words Come and see my zeal I have to the Lord of Hosts 2 King 10 16. That is see the love that I bear to the Lord of Hosts Zelus debet esse non modò in affectu verumetiam in intellectu is a saying zeal must be in the minde and zeal must be in the affections both are required to this zeal that I speak of If thou beest not zealous it is most certain thou hast not a jot of true love Zeal is more seen in that affection then any if there be any and therefore if there be no zeal in thee to God and his wayes there is no love thou art yet under wrath 4. That man is in the state of damation that was never taught of God Christ promises that all that are his shall be taught of God taught of God to be holy as he is holy taught of God to love one another taught of God to walk in all newnesse of life Every man look what he is taught in therein he is zealous Paul before he was converted he was taught in the ceremonies and his Fathers and therefore therein was he zealous I was traditions of taught sayes he according to the perfect manner of the Law of the Fathers and was zealous Act. 22. 3. Alas poor soul had he been better taught he had been better zealous I doe not speak of the outward teaching of the ear only but also of the inward teaching of the heart his very heart such was the policy of Satan his very heart was taught in those things and therefore he was zealous of them The covetous mans heart is taught to be earthly therefore he is zealous for the world The proud mans heart is taught to be proud therefore he is zealous for his credit and esteem The voluptuous mans heart is taught to be vain therefore he is zealous of his pleasures Alas such were never taught of God The devil teaches them and their lusts teach them and the examples of others teach them Alas if thou beest not taught of God how to walk in newnesse of life thou canst not be saved it is better to be unborn then untaught and this as you see cannot be without zeal unto God 5. That man is in the state of damnation that cannot yet be pitied If thou beest zealous for the things of this life and not zealous for heaven zealous for thy pleasure and not for Gods glory thou art not to be pitied and thou wilt have pleasures take them and thou wilt to hell goe who will pity thee Deformitas sceleris aufert misericordiam It is true it would pity a mans heart to see a poor soul weeping and howling for his sinnes and yet go to hell It would pity a man to see a blinde Papist whipping himself praying on his Beads giving all his goods to the poor confessing his sins to his Confessor fasting and afflicting his body zealous in his blinde superstition and all to save his poor soul and yet go to hell it would pity a mans heart I say to see such a man goe to hell as how can he otherwise yet it would pity a man because he is zealous for God in the blindenesse of his zeal As it pitied the Apostle to see his brethren go to hell that were blindely zealous for God Brethren my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved for I bear them record they have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge Rom. 10. 1 2. It pitied him that such as were blindely zealous for God should perish But whom will it pity to see thee go to hell thou hast no zeal at all that way No no thou art zealous after the things of this life and after thy lusts as God told Ierusalem Who shall have pity upon thee O Ierusalem Thou hast forsaken me sayes he Ier. 15 5. Who will pity our drunkards and our whoremongers who will pity you that are zealous in your sins and abominations ye are not so much as the objects of pity Is it so that the zeal of our affections is due only to God Is it so that God does demand it and that we are bound upon pain of death and damnation to give it to God Is it so that we never repented we never beleeved never were in Christ never loved God never were taught of God never can be pitied unlesse we give the zeal of our affections unto God Then O then let us consider the lamentable condition we are in as long as the zeal of our affection runs otherwise I beseech you consider these eight things which may convince you what a woful condition ye are in First Zeal is the fire of the soul Look what thou art most zealous upon that sets thy soul in a fire Every man and woman in the world is set on fire of hell or of heaven Now if heaven have not set thee on fire hell hath set thee on fire thou art set on fire of one of these two As it is the blessedest thing that can be to be set on fire of heaven to be zealous for the glory of God and the saving ones soul zealous for the getting of grace and zealous in the duties of religion so on the contrary it is the cursedst thing that can possibly be to be set on fire of hell Thou which art a swearer a lyar a filthy speaker whose mouth talketh of vanity thy tongue is set on fire of hell the tongue is set on fire of hâ—ll sayes the Apostle Iam. 3. 6. Thou which art a voluptuous man that lovest thy pleasures and delightest in vanity more then in better things thy heart is set on fire of hell thou which yeeldest to the temptations of Satan the devil tempts thee to go proudly in thine apparrel and thou yeeldest the devil tempts thee to smother thy conscience and thou consentest The devil tempts thee to put off thy better obedience till another time and the temptation takes hold there is never a temptation of Satan but it is a fiery dart the fiery darts of the devil Eph. 6. 16. Well does the Apostle call them fiery darts of the devil sayes Saint Chrysostome
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for such sayes he are the sinfull lusts and affections they are all fiery set on fire of hell this is one misery and this not a small one zeal is the fire of the soul and if it be not set upon God it is set on fire of hell Secondly Zeal is the running of the soul If thou beest not zealous for God thou runnest away after the things of this world thou dost not only go after vanities but thou runnest not only go after thy pleasures and thy profits but thou runnest As the affections are the feet of the soul so zeal is the swift running pace of these feet I will run the way of thy Commandments sayes David that is I will be zealous in it It is a long way to heaven especially now since the fall it is a very long way to heaven and death will overtake us before ever we can get there unlesse we run and therefore Saint Paul commands us to run fast enough lest we never get there So run that ye may obtain 1 Cor 9. 24. Now had we not need to set our zeal right for that way we run that way our zeal stands If the zeal of our affection stand to Godwards we run onwards to heaven but if it stand to the things here below we run onwards to hell I reade of Tiberius Nero who when his brother Drusus lay sick in Germany he ran two hundred miles in twenty four hours to visit him But we may finde tanker runners then so in sinne some in drunkennesse and good fellowship as they call it others in security and hardnesse of heart others in one sin and others in another and as they run themselves so if there be any that are stricter then themselves they wonder that they run not with them to the same excesse of ryot 1 Pet. 4. 4. Mark run not with them where note themselves run into ryot May be sometimes they have sudden and violent affections to good as if they were all on a fire for the present like the young man in the Gospel he came running to Christ and kneeled down to him sayes the Text Mar. 10 17. O he was all upon the haste he does not goe to him but he runs as many men and women have very good moods and violent pangs of goodnesse now and then but alas it was nothing but a flash for by and by he was as ready to be gone as ever he was hasty to come and then he ran on in his security and coveteousnesse of minde Do ye not see how fast many of you run on in arerages with God If we could see Gods debt-book might we not there reade Item ten thousand oaths thou hast sworn Item millions of millions of filthy words thou hast spoken Item a hundred millions of millions of wicked thoughts thou hast thought Item a thousand lazie prayers thou hast made Item 20. hundred Sabbaths thou hast prophaned Item fourty Sacraments thou hast unworthily received Thus ye have run on as if ye thought every day seven years till ye are in hell Thus it is with you when your zeal is set any where else then on God Thirdly Zeal is the predominant element in the soul Look what the soul is zealous unto that is the predominant temper of the soul if thou beest zealous for God Christ is predominant in thee if thou beest zealous for the things of this world the world is predominant in thee Non datur temperamentum ad pondus sayes the Philosopher there is no temper but something is predominant You never heard of a soul that had as much of the world in him as of Christ and of Christ as of the world No as he is zealous to one thing so one thing or other is predominant in him Men-pleasing is predominant in one pride predominant in another and pleasure predominant in a third Whatsoever a man is zealous unto that is his predominant element Now if thine affections if the zeal of them be not set upon God then something or other in the world is predominant in thee O what a misery then is it to be lesse zealous for God then for the world the world is predominant in thee this is the character of one that yet is no better then a reprobate Lovers of pleasure more then lovers of God 2 Tim. 3. 4. when pleasure is predominant and not God He that loveth father or mother more then me is not worthy of me c. sayes Christ Mat. 10. 37. when carnal relations are predominant and not spiritual this I say is an evident character of a wicked man for what difference is there between a godly man and wicked man both have sinne in them this is the difference a godly man hath sin in him but grace is predominant and therefore he is called a godly man A wicked man hath many good graces in him but sinne and wickednesse is predominant and therefore he is called a wicked man the denomination is from the part that is predominant The beasts of the earth because the earth is predominant the fishes of the Sea because the water is predominant a brick-house not as though there were no wood in it but because brick is predominant Mark all thy thoughts which is predominant in thee the world or Christ mark all thy speeches which is predominant earth or heaven mark all thy cares which is predominant to busie thee most O what a wofull estate art thou in when sin and corruption is predominant in thee If thou be more zealous after the things of this life then after grace and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord Thou canst never enter into Gods kingdom because sin is predominant in thee Fourthly Zeal is the self-cruelty of the soul If thou beest most zealous to God thy zeal is a holy cruelty to thy self Master spare thy self sayes Peter to Christ Get thee behinde me Saran sayes Christ he was zealous for the redemption of the world and he would not spare his own life Zeal is a holy cruelty of the soul it will spare nothing nor life nor credit nor living nor any thing M. Fox that was zealous in his love to the poor he was in a holy manner cruell to himself to give the very clothes off his back rather then the naked should not be covered Love is as strong as death and as cruell as the grave Cant. 8. 6. Durus sicut inferi zelus as Ambrose expounds it zeal is as hard as the grave A man that is zealous is a hard man to himself that he may be free unto God not as though true zeal were hard and cruell indeed unto his own soul but I mean to his own fleshly desires and respects he is the mercifullest man to his own soul under heaven Now then see what a woful estate thou art in if thou beest not zealous for God for if the zeal of thine affections gad any where else
thou art the cruellest man to thine own soul in very deed and in truth as possibly can be Thou squandrest away Gods mercies thou treasurest up Gods wrath thou livest in those sins which thine own conscience can tell thee are sins thou bestowest thine affections upon the things of this life which should be given to God thou damnest thine own soul That time which God vouchsafes thee to get grace in thou wastest it away upon vanity thou art more earnest for the good of thy carkasse then for the everlasting weal or thy soul thou partest with Christ rather then with thy lusts O thou art durus ut inferi thou art as cruell as hell to thine own soul Thou knowest that whosoever comes to the Sacrament unworthily or unpreparedly or not a new creature he eats and drinks his own damnation thou knowest this well enough thou knowest that the Lord sayes so in his Word Yet thou art so cruell to thy own soul that for all this thou wilt venture thou knowest that he that comes to this supper without a wedding-garment shall be cast into utter darknesse where is weeping and gnashing of teeth thou knowest this full well and thou canst not deny it Yet thou art so cruell to thy own soul as to come hither without it thine affections are so eager after the things of this life the very zeal of them all that thou art even cruell to thine own soul Durus ut inferi as cruell as hell it self to thy self O the cruelty of thine earthly zeal it makes thee fearlesse and witlesse to sinne against God which the Angels of heaven durst not doe for a thousand worlds It makes thee sinne against Christ and cast off his yoke without which thou canst be never saved it makes thee choak the motions of Gods Spirit and strangle thine own conscience Durus ut inferi zelus may we well say this zeal is as cruell as hell and yet it is in every one of us all that is not zealous for God Fifthly Zeal is the brand of the soul When a man is zealous in any passion whatever it be we see it sets a brand upon a man we call him a cholerick man that is zealous with anger he is very touchy say we We call him a fretful envious man that is zealously given thereunto We call him a melancholy man that is much in his sadnesse Zeal which is the Much of every affection it sets a brand upon a man So when a man is zealous for good it sets a good brand upon a man as Aemilius for his goodnesse was called Aemilius the good Antoninus for his piety was called Antoninus the pious so in Scripture one Barsabas was called Iustus the just So it should seem too that Simon was a noted man for some passionate and affectionate forwardnesse and therefore he was called Simon Zelotes that is Simon the zealous Luk 6. 15. And so we see though it be counted a mockage by the ignorant world it is observed by them which are without that Gods people are zealous Look whatever a man is zealous in that is able to brand him Now if thou beest zealous for the world or zealous after thy pleasures or any thing else in the world it brands thee in the forehead for a carnal wretch as Elymas the sorcerer Iudas the traytor It stigmatizes thee for a worldling or a drunkard or a company-keeper or voluptuous or whatever it be thy zeal is most in Every man is more zealous for one thing then he is for another either for God or something else in the world the. Question is whether art thou most zealous for if thou beest more zealous for any thing else then thou art for God it brands thee for a wretch Such an one a very worldling such an one a very muck-worm such an one a very spend-thrift such an one a very gamester and a royster such an one a very tatler such an one an Orlando Furioso such an one a hard man Look where thy most is that does truly brand thee before God and good men that are able to discern thee The XI Sermon Col. 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. THe sixth is Zeal is the transportation of the soul out of it self When a man is zealous in a passion he is transported out of himself the passion hath command of him and not he of his passion As a man that is all on fire with anger or with choler it transports him out of himself and he is under the command of his anger his anger rules him it is well for him now if his anger be good but if it be carnal what a woful condition is he in If a mans zeal be good and for God he is happy As David was zealous for God he was transported out of himself he was not his own man No sayes he I am thine Lord save me for I have sought thy precepts Psal 119. 94. he sought Gods precepts with such zeal that he was not his own man he was under the command of his zeal his zeal was to God and it did captivate him to God I am thine sayes he He was at Gods dispose not at his own for his zeal transported him out of himself Himself would transgresse but his zeal would not let him Himself would be carelesse but his zeal would not suffer him He must do as his zeal would have it He had not the command of himself No he was at the command of his gracious zeal It was well for him it was good for now on the contrary if a mans affections be set upon the things of this life he must have pleasures and he must have his living and his maintenance and he must have this his affections are set on it he is zealous after them this man is not his own man he is a servant of his lusts As David said I am thine Lord so he may say on the contrary I am thine World I am thine Pleasure I am thine Satan I am at thy command and thy service As the Text sayes Paul a servant of Jesus Christ Iude a servant of Jesus Christ for they were zealous for Christ and their zeal made them not their own men so I may say of a wicked man Esau a servant of sinful pleasure and delights Demas a servant of this present world Diotrephes a servant of his own ambition for they were zealous of these things and their zeal made them slaves thereto Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin Ioh. 8. 34. sayes Christ to the Jews servant say they we were never servants we are free servants sayes he yea ye are the servants of sinne ye go about to kill me sayes he Are not ye the slaves of sinne when ye will be obedient to your lusts to doe such an ill office as to murther me I know there be two kindes of slaves and servants some that are in arctâ custodiâ close prisoners Such
servants of sinne are they that are kept so close that they cannot go one step beyond prophanesse Some in libera custodia are false prisoners When a mans lusts hold him in a longer chain like birds in a larger Cage which may be is free to be a professour and come to Church and hear and pray and be civill and when he is once at the length of his chain his lusts pull him back the former are affections Gallislaves chained to their seats and their oars the latter are their sluggish messengers to go up and down of their errand And therefore the devil which takes all advantages of a mans affections is said to hold him captive at his pleasure 2 Tim. 2. 26. O sayst thou I am not the devils captive at his pleasure I will not swear nor swagger nor be drunken as some will alas alas it is not the devils pleasure to have thee a drunkard or a swearer it is his pleasure to use his servants some for one service some for another it is not his pleasure to employ thy tongue in swearing No he 'l employ thy tongue only in talking civilly of the things of the world It is not his pleasure to use thee for drunkennesse and whoredom but to go on in security and formality and presumption O what a hideous case art thou in the zeal of whose affections is not set upon God! What will not thine affections command and then if they command thou art not thine own man thou must obey Let coveteousnesse command how wilt thou curtail thy prayers to God in the morn how seldom wilt thou be thinking of God all the day how wilt thou cark and pinch and spare Let mirth and jollity command thee how wilt thou jest and fool and hoit and play and giggle and mock any thing for pastime Let revenge command thee how angerly wilt thou look how snappishly wilt thou speak how churlishly wilt thou bend thy fist or how basely wilt thou study to do a displeasure how apt to misconstrue what thy neighbour doth how ready to entertain any flying rumour of him thus thou art not thine own man but harased and hurried up and down by thine unruly affections till they have undone thy soul for ever O consider then the wofulnesse of this thy slavery when the zeal of thine affections is thus disjoyned from God Consider quickly if thine affections keep thee in service long they 'l keep thee ever the longer a man stays in service the more fool he is Alterius ne sit qui suus esse potest In the Law of God it is written that if a servant after seven years bondage did still love his Master the Law sayes thus let his Master boar his ears and make him serve for ever Exod. 21. 5. well take heed thou lovest to live on as thou dost and thou likest thy slavish courses too too well take heed I say lest thine ears be nayled to thine affections and thou be made a slave for ever I fear me we have many of such slaves their ears boar'd with an awl and their souls then bound prenâ—ice for ever to the waies of Death Seventhly Zeal is the strength of the soul zeal carries all the strength of the soul with it leaves none behinde And therefore the Scripture puts these two things together ones zeal and his strength Lord where is thy zeal and thy strength sayes the Prophet Isa 63. 15. If he ask where his zeal is he asks where his strengh is for zeal is the strength of the soul Ye know Iacob wrestled with God for a blessing and his effectuall fervent prayer prevailed but how does God expresse it he expresses his zeal thus By his strength he had power with God Hos 12. 3. his prayer was a zealous prayer and therefore it was a prayer with strength by his strength he had power with God He prayed and he prayed with strength he laid all his strength that he could on the duty and by his strength he had power with God Look what a man is zealous unto all his strength goes to it he leaves none behinde O the misery of a carnal heart that is not zealous for God he hath no strength at all left for God or the saving of his soul Would he pray alas he hath no strength to pray with His prayers are as weak as bul-rushes Would he resist sin he hath no strength to resist it with His striving to resist it is nothing able O how hardy is be to commit sin the charges and the cost that is in drinking does not terrifie the drunkard from his drunkennesse the cost that is in garish apparrell does not terrifie the proud from their vanity in cloaths The disgrace that is in sinne does not terrifie the Adulterer from his lust The fear of fathers and mothers displeasure does not terrifie the spend-thrift from his ryot No wicked men are hardy that way because their zeal goes that way But to that which is good how weak is thy heart Ezek. 16. 30. nihil metuendum vidit metuit tamen the least crosse look of a father or a mother or a great man scares him One twelve-penny charges affrights him One petty difficulty damps him because his zeal stands towards another point take him at the plough there he can be strong to labour he 'l toyl he 'l sweat he 'l hold out Take him at prayer he is as weak as water take him at a Tale or a Story he 'l remember it well and repeat it after you his memory is strong take him at a Sermon his memory fails him take him in a businesse to manage his wit is strong his parts strong he hath an excellent reach but take him in mortification he is as weak as a man without understanding This is the misery of thy soul when thy zeal is not set upon God The devil is the strong man Mat. 12. 29. and thou hast no strength to encounter him thy lusts are strong to inthrall thee and thou hast no strength to be free and yet thou pishest at these things Men think nothing of the devil as though he were nothing but a scare-crow they defie him every hour in the day they jest at him saying the devil is a fool they 'l paint him on their wals and call for him as though they would give him a challenge I remember a pretty Proverb that I reade the Germans have Non pingendus est Diabolus in pariete quia sponte sua venit Paint not the devil on the wall he 'l come soon enough of his own accord I am sure he comes too soon to beguile men too soon to bewitch and befool men too soon to disarm men from all strength to that which is good If he can once set thine affections on the things of this life he hath gotten the victory and thou art not able to recover Eighthly Zeal is the full confidence of the soul that does a man chieflyest trust to
which he is zealous upon He that is zealous for the world he trusts to the world otherwise he would not be zealous for it He trusts to have pleasures and he trusts to have goods and he trusts to be esteemed that is zealous about them What do you trust to bear all before you as we use to say when we see a man hot and zealous upon any thing the soul would not be zealous but that it verily trusts to prevail Thus shall â—ine anger be accomplished and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal Ezek 5. 13. God was confident of the fullfilling of his wrath why because he had spoken in his zeal Indeed God may well be so were he neverso little angry but the words do expresse the nature of zeal It 's the full trust of the soul to speed A wise man will not be hot upon any thing unlesse he trust to go through stitch If zeal then be the full trust of the soul what a mad man art thou not to be zealous for God Thou trustest to the world and trustest thy pleasures and trustest thy passions thou dost not trust God If thou trustedst the Lord God thou wouldest be zealous for God Alas alas thou canst not trust God thou never labourest to please him He that depends on a man and must be for to trust him for help and assistance he will not offend him Alas what trust can he have to him if he offend him continually when the Sydonians and the Tyrians had offended K. Herod their countrey being nourished by the Kings countrey Act. 12. 20. they laboured to please him again So if thou wouldest trust Almighty God thou wouldst labour to please him and to be zealous for his Name and not make him thine enemy by thy sinnes and iniquities Thou which blasphemest his Name with thine oaths and abusest his creatures with thine intemperance and prophanest his Ordinances with thy carelessenesse and neglect and displeasest him all the year long Alas how canst thou trust him thou makest him thine enemy canst thou trust one that he 'l befriend thee that vows he will hang thee canst thou trust he 'l help thee at all hands that is provok't to undoe thee thou art a damned man if God do not pardon thee Thou art a wofull wretch better thou hadst never been born if God give thee not grace And canst thou trust God he will be good to thee what and displease him day by day offend him every foot No no thou mayst trust him he will confound thee Thou which art a lyar thou mayst trust him what he sayes in the Apocalyps All lyars shall be cast into the lake of brimstone Thou which art a swearer mayst trust him he 'l never hold thee guiltlesse Thou which art a drunkard and a company-keeper and a whore-monger mayst trust him thou shalt never inherit the Kingdom of Heaven thou which talkestidlely and improfitably mayst trust him he 'l call thee to an account at the day of judgement Thou which hardenest thy neck against the reproofs of the word mayst trust him he 'l destroy them without remedy this he hath past his word he will do and herein thou mayst trust him thou canst never trust him for mercy or grace or any good thing thou displeasest him daily and makest him thine enemy And how canst thou trust him what thinkest thou does not he know how little thou carest for his Commandments how little thou respectest his Ordinances how basely thou usest him in thy waies indeed if thou wert zealous for his glory and zealous to please him in holinesse of life and zealous to obey him and seek him then thou mightest trust him Thou canst never trust him otherwise By this time thou mayst see what a woful condition thou art in if the zeal of thine affections be not set upon God But many poor souls may demand how then shall I know whether the zeal of mine affections be set upon God I answer thee There are seven signs whereby thou mayst know it The first If thine affections be notable to God-ward a man may have a little hope and a little grief and a little joy and a little pity and no body see it But if it be zealous it will quickly be notable every one when once it is zealous every one will note it When Epaphras was zealous to save souls in Colosse what sayes Saint Paul of him I bear him record he hath a great zeal for you sayes he Colos 4. 13. Paul could not but note it in him he saw so many strong expressions of it This holinesse and forwardnesse is very remarkable But if on the contrary there be no notable expressions of grace in you alas there may be some goodnesse some pity some grief some motions but this is no zeal it is not remarkable If a man be zealous for the world his scraping and sparing is notable his toyling and studying and talking that way is very notable I will bear him record he is a worldling the world is so much in his speeches the world is so much in his courses and so much in his face Look upon his wayes he is so combred with thoughts of the world Look into his family there be so few good duties of grace and so many tokens of the world Look upon his meetings his discourses of edifying are so scarce and of the world are so copious I will bear him in record he is a worldling Were we zealous for God there would be divers signs and expressions of our zeal unto God Saint Paul when he would make it plain to the Corinthians that he was an Apostle to them he tels them truly the signs of an Apostle were wrought among you 2 Cor. 12. 12. If we were zealous for God ye might answer Truly the signs of true zelots are wrought among us ye that professe Christ what signs of true zelots are there in you if your brethren be secure and grown-dull do ye labour to quicken them If the Gospel do not thrive do ye labour to further it if grace be little stirring in the Parish does Heaven ring with your groans and your prayers if zeal were existent among you it would be notable and remarkable among you we might say I bear you record it is so nay the wicked without would observe it we bear them record they keep a great stir about heaven our lives would convince them May be they would hate us and reproach us the more but this is certain our lives would convince them as Christ's did the Centurion doubtlesse this is a righteous man Luk. 23. 47. So your lives would convince all their consciences doubtlesse they are strict men doubtlesse they are humble and meek and religious Thus it would be were we zealous But if our religion be not notable hardly notable to our selves we can hardly tell whether we have true faith and repentance and zeal at all yea or no much
private Christians that are said to labour with him in the Gospel This this beloved would cause Religion to thrive here among us Thirdly Consider I pray you thou wilt discourage us that are Gods Ministers except thou be zealous If men would be zealous in hearing and zealous proficients it would make us go cheerfully on in our callings When Titus told Paul the fervent minde of the Corinthians it encouraged the Apostle when he told us your fervent minde we rejoyced the more 2 Cor. 7. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so it is in the Original when he told us your zeal Saint Paul was cheared to hear that What greater discouragement to a Schoolmaster then that his scholars should be dull and not profit What greater disheartning to a Captain then that his souldiers should be fainthearted and without life and what greater grief to a Minister then that his people should be senselesse and livelesse It made Ieremy weary of his life It made the Prophet Micah lament bitterly Wo is me I am like the Grape gleaners It made the Prophet Isay cry out I have laboured in vain On the contrary when the people are zealous and forward and drink in the words of eternal life with all greedinesse and bring forth fruit with abundance this makes a Minister go merrily on in his function Zelo Ecclesia Dei congregatur saith Saint Ambrose It is zeal that does gather a Church the zeal of the Minister and the zeal of the people the Lord quicken us in his mercy that we may encourage one another daily Let us be encouraged by you when ye are reproved be not offended You think the Minister spights you alas we have no reason to wish any of your fingers to ake much lesse to wish that your souls should perish When S. Paul commanded that the incestuous Corinthian should be delivered to Satan did he wish him any hurt No Deliver him unto Satan sayes he for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus 1 Cor. 5. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. sayes Chrysostome No mortal man loved that offender in Corinth more then Paul did sayes he when he would have him delivered unto Satan It was only that he might know he was a damned wretch unlesse he amended and that the devil should have him unlesse he were humbled What was his reason his reason was this that his soul might be saved in that day O the Minister preaches damation so often he is unmercifull to our souls O my brethren we intend you the greatest mercies of heaven in so saying it is that ye may not run into damnation but may repent and beleeve the Gospel Do not thus discourage us whom God hath sent to you as his Ministers to labour in the word and doctrine among you but stir up your selves to be zealous in hearing and obeying that we may give up an account of your souls unto God with all cheerfullnesse Fourthly consider You can never be excellent if ye be not zealous A Christian should strive to excell aut Caesar aut nullus nothing but the best should suffice a Christian Wouldest thou then be excellent get this same zeal zeal runnes after the best things Covet earnestly the best gifts 1 Cor. 12. 31. The Word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be zealous after the best things Wouldest thou be excellent in prayer and excellent in the duties of religion be zealous therein A Christian is like fire fire mounts up absolutely aloft and ascends above all So does a Christian he is better then all the men of this world put them all together like Iob there is none like him in all the earth Every man else fain would be excellent a worldling strives to excell others in wealth a politician to excell others in wisedom a scholar to excell others in learning a tradesman to excell others in his profession He is of a base spirit that does not desire to excell in some thing and shall not a Christian then desire to excell in grace Fifthly Consider I pray who ye may be like if once ye be zealous ye may be like unto the Angels of heaven they are spirits and flaming fire sayes the Apostle Heb. 1. 7. if thou art zealous for God thou art a bodily Seraphim though thou canst never be without sin as long as thou livest in this world yet as Gregory speaks in the mouth of zeal thou mayst swallow up thy sins nothing will devour and consume sin so well as true zeal O get a coal of this fire then from Gods Altar and heat thy heart with it and while thou mayst be like the blessed Angels of God be not like the brutish sons of the old Adam Zeal is it that maketh an Angel to be an Angel Angeli sine zelo nihil sunt sayes Ambrose the Angels are nothing without zeal If thou hadst zeal unto God then thou mightest be like unto Angels Sixthly Consider what infinite need thou hast of true zeal Suppose a great frost and a tedious cold winter were a coming and then no firing were to be had would not men buy as much fewell as they could get and stack it and store it that they might have it at their need otherwise they were not able to live nor to dresse their own sustenance they would certainly starve if they should have no firing in such a cold time Beloved I speak to such as have ears to hear there 's a cold time of religion a coming and the wrath of God is ready to break forth to plague mens souls with key-coldnesse this way because they have despised the zeal of the Lord and no firing to be had then God knows how soon the power of Gods Word may be taken from us You who love your own souls look about lay up some firing and be not slothfull in all this businesse do all diligence to store up grace for your selves this will help you to zeal not slothful in businesse fervent in spirit Rom. 12. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so it is in the Originall zealous in spirit If ye will not be slothfull in businesse ye shall quickly be zealous in spirit O get quickly the spirit of prayer to be zealous in prayer by faith it will be the best string to your bow it will be your only thing left nothing left you but prayer in secret unto God had not ye need to be diligent for that When a poor cripple hath nothing to trust to but only his begging he will ply that When a poor day-labourer hath never a foot of ground nor any thing but only his fingers end to maintain him and his family he he will be sure to employ them alas if he should have a wound in his hands or he should lose the use of his fingers what shall he do when a mans house leans mainly upon one pillar he will
look to that pillar Thus it is with thee Thou shalt have little else besides prayer thou must get it out of thy fingers ends Now we that are Gods Ministers study all the week long to quicken you here when ye come to Gods House while ye are thinking of other matters but if God should once take away us from you all the work lies upon your backs and ye have little else besides Prayer and Gods Word for to help you O therefore be not slothfull in this businesse get a sure hold in Christ that ye may be able to hold in the evil day No matter though the world do deride you for if ye have true zeal sayes Chrysostome ye will fear praise or disprase no more then if you were all alone in the world and no man besides you If no perswasions can prevail with thee to the trading for this zeal that I speak of hear what the Lord Jesus doth peremptorily threaten It shall come to passe that I will spue thee out of my mouth The XIII Sermon Col. 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. HItherto I have shewn how the affections must be set upon God and especially the zeal of them I have shewn the wofull estate of that soul that doth not set its affections this way together with sundry uses of the point Now let me perswade you with motives to this duty namely to set your affections on God The Apostle in this place useth five strong perswasions hereto as the words may also be construed First by a strong obtestation as a mother perswades her childe as ever thou art my childe do this for me If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things that are above If ye be risen with Christ set your affection on things above 〈◊〉 as ever ye be risen with Christ do it as he beseeches the Philipians If there be therefore any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the Spirit if any bowels and mercies fulfill ye my joy Phil. 2. 1 2. q. d. as ever ye acknowledge any comfort in Christ as ever ye beleeve any communion of the holy Ghost any mercies and bowels in God fulfill this exhortation this is a strong perswasion indeed for if this cannot prevail with you ye deny all the comforts of Christ ye deny all communion of the Spirit ye deny all the mercies of God and therefore it is strong as a mother counts it a strong entreaty to her childe as ever thou art my childe as ever thou takest me to be thy mother obey me in this for if her childe will not yeeld he must needs deny the womb that bare him and the paps that gave him suck Wilt thou deny the Lord Jesus wilt thou deny his resurrection and all interest in it if thou wilt not deny it set thine affections on God as ever thou art risen with Christ be sure for to do it Wilt thou set thine affections upon the things of this world when Christ entreats thee as ever thou art his to set thine affections on him Secondly The Apostle here perswades by a strong argumentation for ye are dead sayes he vers 3. Set your affections on things above not on things on the earth for ye are dead ye are dead to the things of this life will ye set your affections to those things ye are dead to ye are dead to the things of this life if ye be Christs and therefore set not your affections on them mortui non mordent as we say dead men bite not one another with slanders and reproaches did ye ever see a dead man go up and down drinking and bowzing whoring and gaming and carking and caring I 'le assoon beleeve that a dead man can do this as a true Christian I confesse that corruption may carry a good Christian into sin but he is dead to these courses he cannot set his affections hereon he is dead and will ye set your affections on the things of this world now ye are dead Bring a childe of God to your drinkings and your whiffings his affections are dead he hath no heart to them bring him to your sportings and your vain merriments and your fooleries you shall see him so dead to them that ye shall have no delight in his company S. Paul makes this an argument ab absurdo How shall we that are dead to sinne live any longer therein Rom. 6. 2. How is this possible I shall as soon beleeve it as that a dead man should walk along your streets in a winding-sheet What know you not this sayes he what a Christian and yet his affections on such courses as these this is impossible how shall ye So that this is another strong perswasion because ye are dead therefore set not your affections below Thirdly The Apostle here perswades by a strong reason Christ is your life ver 4. Life is sweet it is true and a mans affections are strong to his life vestes ac omnia vendes thou wilt part with cloaths and part with moneys and part with lands and part with all for thy life thine affections are strong set to life Now Christ is thy life or else thou art but a damned wretch if thou beest a true Christian Christ is thy life and wilt not thou set thine affections on thy life his Commandments are thy life his Word is thy life his ordinances are thy life his promises his favours his bloud are thy life and wilt thou not set thine affections on thy life If thou beest a true Christian thou wilt pray for life and repent for life and sanctifie the Sabbath for life and put up an injury and be obedient to God for life all thine affections conspire together for life thou lovest thy life and thou desirest thy life and thou rejoycest in thy life and thou fearest that which is hurtfull to life and hatest that which is contrary to life all thine affections will be to thy life and therefore set thine affections on Christ for he is thy life Fourthly The Apostle here perswades by a strong deduction When Christ shall appear then ye also shall appear with him in glory ver 4. this is an excellent motive to set thine affections on God because he will bring thee to glory every man affects glory Now all the glory of this world is a blaze as our Proverb is a good Proverb it is it is but a blaze and not worthy thine affections none but base hearts will affect this thou art the childe of wrath and damnation from the cradle to the coffin thou art going to hell and confusion if thou beest not a new creature in Christ and wilt thou affect to be a Gentleman affect to be a Knight or a Lord wilt thou affect to get credit and honour and repute among men to be praised by mens mouths this is even as if a thief should affect credit as he is going to
the gallows Set thine affections then upon God and upon Christ when he appears he will help thee to a kingdom of glory Christ is the King of glory Who is the King of glory it is the Lord of hosts he is the King of glory set thine affections on him then The vulgar have a pretty saying He that is in favour with the King is half a King What may not such an one doe what may not such an one have if he be in favour with a King potens potentum amicitia Potent is the favour that a man hath with him that is potent And therefore set thine affections upon Christ let thine affections be in favour with Christ what is that then thou canst not have thine affections are potent if they be in favour with him all power is given to me in heaven and earth sayes Christ Mat. 28. 18. Christ is very potent if thine affections be not set on him he is potent enough to damn thee if they be he is potent to save thee and when he appears then shalt thou appear with him in glory Fifthly The Apostle here perswades by a strong illation or inference Mortifie therefore sayes he mortifie your earthly members inordinate affection c. vers 5. mark he cals the affection when it is not set aright upon God he cals it inordinate affection if thine affections run more after the things of this life then after Christ and his Word and his Commandments and his Ordinances thine affections are disorderly they are all out of order Order is to be observed in all things and wilt thou suffer disorder break in upon thy soul disorder turns all topsie turvie disorder will undoe a whole Kingdom if a Kingdom be out of order it must needs go to wrack If a family be out of order it must needs be brought to nought nothing can stand without order no art can consist without order and certainly thy soul cunnot stand without order if thine affections be out of order thy soul is in civill wars and cannot stand but must perish Now if thine affections be not set upon God they are all out of order What 's the reason that men are so forgetfull of their souls if their bellies do hunger they remember to fill them if their backs be naked they remember to cloath them if their markets be not made they remember to dispatch them but their souls may perish and be damned they do not remember them What 's the reason of this their affections are out of order Ordo est mater memoriae Order is the mother of memory a man can never remember his businesses if all be out of order Saint Paul rejoyced to behold their order in Colosse Col. 2. 5. he was glad to see that all their affairs were in order why then he hop't all would go well with them David prays God to order his steps Order my steps in thy Word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me Psa 119. 133. He knew that his lusts would be like masterlesse hounds he should have no hoe with them if his soul were out of order Order my steps in thy word sayes he and let not any iniquity have dominion over me If thine affections be out of order alas every lust will domineer every corruption will be like a masterlesse hound as we say Iob saith that death is out of order Iob 10. 22. And Aquinas and other Divines thence do observe that hell is out of order and wilt thou suffer a disorder to come among thine affections alas they will be so busie about the things of this life that thou shalt finde no while for better employments no while for repentance and amendment no while for bethinking thy self of thy waies to provide for thy soul Disordered persons are busie-bodies saies the Text. We hear there be some among you that walk disorderly among you and are busie-bodies 2 Th. 3. 11. If thine affections be disorderly they will be so busie that thou shalt never finde leasure to trafick for Heaven or the salvation of thy soul Beloved this must needs then be a strong perswasion to set your affections above because otherwise thine affections are all out of order Thus far the Apostle here helps us with motives expressed in the context That which the Apostle begins let the theme of my Text go further in the same Many and sweet motives there are that we may be stirred up to this duty by to set our affections on God The first motive is taken from the easinesse that our affectiput us in to prosecute any thing we affect if our affections be set on a thing they make it easie to prosecute if thou affect the things of the world thine affections make it easie to labour and to toyl easie to rise early easie to sit up late easie to travell and go through any other difficulty the covetous man thinks his labour to be easie so he may gain and get profit the voluptuous man thinks it easie to hunt and to hawk and ride himself out of breath so he may have pleasure and delight Take thine ease sayes the rich man in the Gospel take thine ease eat drink and be merry Luk. 12. 19. He thought it easie to pull down and to build up easie to gather in his harvests and his wealth easie to be an Epicure and a drunkard and voluptuous why because his affections were set hereupon is it so that thine affections are able to make any businesse easie O set thine affections upon God repentance will be easie mortification will be easie and self-denial will be easie and to suffer all the reproaches of Christ will be easie if once thine affections were setled that way knowledge is easie to him that understandeth Prov. 14 6. The scorner seeks it sayes Solomon and he cannot finde it the worldling seeks it and he cannot finde it it is hard sayes one to know how to pray and be holy it is hard sayes another to know how to repent and give over my sinnes and be strict and I cannot do it No that is because thine affections are bent another way but if thine affections were set upon Heaven this knowledge were easie Come unto me ye that labour sayes the world I will make it easie to travell and cark and care come unto me sayes pleasure I will make it easie to be merry and to laugh come unto me sayes the flesh I will make it easie to be revenged on him that does wrong thee I will make it easie to obtain this and that So sayes the Lord Jesus Come unto me ye that labour and I will give you rest my yoke is easie Mat. 11. 30. Whatever thou affectest come to it and thou shalt finde it to be easie A man would wonder how the labouring man will sweat and work till he is faint to get a little maintenance the reason is this he affects it One would wonder what dangers Alexander did run through
admittit sayes Quintilian the school admits all sorts of scholars So I may say of you the School of Christ admits all sorts of sinners among you There is never a wretch among you all but if now ye will be content to go to Christs school ye shall be admitted to learn The Lord give you hearts so to do O then set your affections on God the affections are the softnesse of the heart and this is the way for to soften them The XIIII Sermon Col. 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. A Beginning hath been made to perswade you with motives that ye would set your affections on God Five motives have been noted that our Apostle handles in this Chapter and six motives that the theme it self does afford you Give me now leave to go on in the same point and to help you with more For if this point be not copious with motives no point can be copious All perswasion is by moving the affections whatever the theme be now when the affections themselves be the theme the matter of necessity must be copious and abundant other motives remain to set your affections above The first is taken from the everlastingnesse of the affections Our affections are everlasting in our soul especially some of them and those that are not when the soul is in hell the very want of them are a little hell to the soul for there shall be no joy no delight no hope no comfort no love and as the Stomack when it wanteth its meat it devoureth it self so these affections when the matter is wanting they shall eat up and devour up the soul There 's no matter in hell to joy at no matter in hell to delight in no comfortable matter to hope for no amiable thing for to love and this shall vex the soul with weeping and gnashing of teeth neverthelesse many of the affections whether a man go to heaven or to hell are everlasting affections joy and delight and love and all the liking affections shall be everlasting in heaven fear and horrour and hatred and grief and despair and shame shall be everlasting in hell there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth sayes the Text he does not say there shall be love or joy c. Now are the affections everlasting in the soul know this nothing but God can hold the soul tack as we say everlastingly It 's true we may affect meat for a while and raiment for a while and maintenance for a while and houses and wives and husbands and recreations for a while till we die but when death comes death takes off these objects for ever If thine affections were mainly set upon these things when these are all gone alas where art thou then thou art at a losse for ever and ever As Zophar sayes of the wicked though he had the world at will while he was living yet sayes he he shall perish for ever like his own dung they which have seen him shall say where is he Job 20. 7. Before he was at his pleasures and his profits and his businesses in the world there he was where his affections did run but now when his pleasures are all gone his house and his lands and his markets are all gone alas where is he He is now at a losse Zophar knew well enough where he is when he dies he is in hell to be damned and tomented for ever but he expresses it thus to shew that now he is at a losse Set thine affections then upon grace and upon the fear of the Lord for though thou diest this cannot die with thee It was a good answer of Stilpon when he lost his countrey and his children and his wife and his house and Demetrius said to him How now Stilpon where art thou now art thou not at a losse now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at a losse sayes he No no I have vertue still and righteousnesse still so if thou shouldest lose means and maintenance friends stays hopes health and all thou couldest not be at a losse were thine affections set upon Christ thou wouldest have thy faith still thy comfort still thy peace of conscience still assurance of heaven still Thine affections are everlasting and therefore set thine affections upon such things as are everlasting otherwise thou shalt be at a losse one day for ever and ever The second motive is taken from the infinitenesse of the affections the affections are infinite and therefore nothing in this whole world is able to satisfie them He that loveth silver shall never be satisfied with silver nor he that loveth abundance with encrease Eccles 5. 10 give him tens he would be glad with twenties give him them he could afford to have hundreds give him them he could desire thousands when he hath thousands he is never the nearer nothing satisfies him Give Alexander a world he desires another Take me a silly man give him a Curateship he desires a Vicaridge give him that he desires a Parsonage give him that he desires two Benefices give him that he desires a Prebendary an Archdeaconry and then a Bishoprick and if he were Pope of Rome he were not satisfied Take a voluptuous man give him pleasure to day he desires more to morrow from Cards to the Tables from them to Bowls from them to huntings and hawkings and so on he is never satisfied till he dies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sayes Eustratius the affections are infinite even as the fire all the forrests and all the woods and all the fewell under heaven can never satisfie the fire give it faggots it could burn logs give it logs it could burn whole trees give it trees it could burn whole houses give it them it could burn the inhabitants Nay Solo compares the affections to the fire of hell aud the mouth of the grave that can never be satisfied Hell and destruction are never full so the eyes of man are never satisfied Pro 27. 20. The eye is never satisfied with seeing the ear is never satisfied with hearing still it desires further what news Pro. 30. 15. he compares them to the Horseleech give give sayes the Horseleech it 's ever sucking more and more and more it 's ever desiring the affections are infinite there 's nothing in this world can ever satisfie them did ever any meals meat so satisfie the stomack that it should never hunger more did ever suit of apparrell so satisfie the back that it should never wish to be cloathed more did ever Rent so sarisfie the Landlord that he should never desire another day to receive more The affections are infinite nothing in the world can ever satisfie them What good reason then is there to set thine affections upon God God is infinite and he can satisfie them He filleth the hungry with good things Luk. 1. 53. If the affections hunger after God he will fill them
ephippia Bos piger optat arare caballus the lazie Oxe that is toyling at the Plough he is weary with it he could wish he were used like a Horse to the saddle that would be lesse wearisome he thinks then the Plough the Horse that is toyled with its riding O he is weary with it he could wish he were used to the yoke that would be a far easier life Thus mens waies do weary and cloy their affections the proud Minion is wearied and cloyed with such an odde fashion O she must have another the gamester is wearied with such a kinde of sport he must have another the delicate palate is cloyed with such tasted meats it must have others Certainly thine affections are wrong set when they are apt to be cloyed on this manner O therefore set thine affections on God there thou shalt never be cloyed I know a man may set his affections to Godward and be weary but then they are not right set when he is weary They served God amisse when they said behold what a wearinesse is it Mal. 1. 13. If they had gone a right way to work they had never been weary nor cloyed with serving of God But ye brethren be not weary with well-doing 2 Thes 3. 13. that is set your affections aright upon and so be never weary with it the affections will never be cloyed when they are truly set upon God the flesh will be weary but the spirit cannot be weary God gives the soul full absolute content the soul is at rest when it is set upon God As the stone is never cloyed with lying on the ground because there is its rest so God is the rest of the soul The greatest glutton in the world will come at last to say I have eaten too much the greatest drunkard I have drunken too much the greatest spend-thrift I have spent away too much his affections are cloyed but set thine affections upon God thou canst never come to too much never be godly too much never be heavenly too much never be in Gods favour too much never in Christ too much thy spirit can never be cloyed too much of one thing is good for nothing say people it is not needfull to be too much pure and too much precise lesse would serve the turn whosoever thou art that canst say or think so it is sure thou never knewest the meaning of grace O say they does not Solomon say a man may be too much iust Be not righteous overmuch neither make thy self overwise for why shouldest thou destroy thy self Ecc. 7. 16. Is it not enough to be weary of goodnesse but ye must misconstrue and blaspheme the Word of God too This is the meaning of Solomon Solomon never said so himself but he brings in thy filthy blasphemous mouth thus saying Tush be not thou righteous overmuch why shouldst thou destroy thy self why shouldst thou be so precise to be called a Puritan to be hated and reviled to destroy thine own credit and thy pleasure and thy liberty Indeed as it follows we would not have thee overmuch wicked c. ver 17. A little pleasure will do well a little vanity a little liberty a little revenge a little gainesse of apparrell a little mirth at the pot will doe well but be not wicked overmuch I say these are thy hellish speeches and none of Solomons Solomon does but bring thee in speaking as the Prophet Isay does such as thou Let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall die O beloved if ye would set your affections on God your affections could never be cloyed The fourth motive is taken from the preciousnesse of the affections the affections are the precious motions of the heart the heart counts that precious which most it affects Now what a shame is this to set thine affections then upon the things of this life thou hast a base heart to do so Hast thou a Kingdom to set thine affections upon Hast thou a God and a Christ and a Crown for ever and ever all glory and honour to set thine affections upon and wilt thou set thine affections upon drosse and dung and such base things as these dost thou not know that all thy vanities and thy pleasures are base in comparison of Christ all thy silks and thy sattins all thy gentility and thy pomp in the world are vile in comparison of grace and of glory Dost thou not know how God scorns all these things in comparison of the excellency of his grace and favour thou hast a very base and a vile heart if thou wilt set thine affections upon these things So every wicked man is called a vile person Psal 15. 4. The vile person will speak villany Isa 32. 6. Great Nineveh the Prophet cals it vile Nah. 1. 14. The vilest men are exalted Psa 12. 8. If we should see a Lords son keep company with them that are meaner then is fitting will ye not say he is base If we should see how Sadernapalus a King would sit spinning and wheeling with the Maids and Domitian the Emperour sit catching of flies and hanging them up would ye not say they are base they do things unworthy themselves themselves should be Noble and Honourable and Royall and yet should so vilifie and debase their own selves on this fashion What a Christian be gaming and hoyting that might have joys unspeakable and glorious a Christian going to Alehouses or oother base places that might go into the Courts of the Almighty a Christian complain of the frown of a man whose breath is in his nostrils that might have the favour of Heaven a Christian angry at a trifle a Christian not able to endure the losse of a little earthly silver that might have all the riches of glory what a base man is he what basenesse is this in thee Ah thou thinkest basely of God and basely of Christ and basely of grace and basely of the Kingdom of Heaven that settest thine affections more on the dirty and beggerly things of this life then on him The Proverb of a fool is He is penny-wise and pound-foolish So thou art penny-wise and pound-foolish wise for the things of this world and foolish to the things of God The best things of the earth compare them to grace are no better then a penny to a pound what a strange thing is this that we should be thus basely foolish not affect a Sermon more then a Play not affect the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ more then an earthly bargain There is a homely saying but it is a most true one A Fool will not give his bawble for the Tower of London his affections are more on his Hat and his Feather then on any thing else 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He is very serious about ridiculous things Fie for shame brethren let us not be so prophanely conceited of grace so basely minded as to set our affections here below when we are called to set them on God
Reason Because it is an infallible argument of our being or not being in Christ 1 Reason Because it is a matter of reasonable equity Yea of necessity 1. Because God is the principal object of our affections 2. Nothing but God hath that which the affections look for Because nothing is good but God Chrysoft 3. Because nothing is my good but only God 1. The good of the creature not thy good because but the good of the body 2. Because not so long as thou art 3. Because they will not take thy part Iuv. Sat. 13. 4. Nothing can rest the soul but only God 1. Because nothing but God is all good 2. Nothing but God is the ultimate good 3. Nothing is it self without God Vse It is a blessing of God that we have affections Apud Cic Tuscul 4. The affections are not in themselvs sinful 1. Because Adam and Eve had affections in innocency 2. Because Christ took our affections upon him 3. Because God doth command the use of the affections 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vol. Arâ—â—â— Eth. l. 2. c. 6. Reasons why affections are necessary 1. Because without affections we should be like stocks 2. Because without affections we should be lazie and idle l de virtute morum in fine Plutarch ubi supra 3. Because affections are the channels of grace Iust Mar. Apol. 8. pro Christ ad Antâ—â— The first impediment that hinders the setting the affections on God because it is an hard thing to turn an antipathy or sympathy 2. The 2. impediment Because affections are the bewitchings of the heart Plutarch sympos l. 5 c. 7. Heliodor lib. 3. Hist 2. Del-Rio Disq mag lib. 2. c 3. 3. The 3. impediment Because affections are the estimations of the heart Chrys hom 7. in Iob. 4. The affections are the most natural temperaments of the heart 1. Ground We cannot set our affections on God unlesse we have a new heart Estsimill tudo Angeli Poliâ—iaâ—â— de irâ sed paulo secus applisat 2. Ground Nor unlesse we feed on Christ Means to set our affections on God 1. Pray to God to gether up your affections from the things of the world Hierom in Marcum 2. Light up 2 Candle in thy heart Suetonius 3. Occasion thine affections this way Oâ—casiones faciunt latrones Horat. 4. Let thine affections be often wooed to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5. To be sober and temperate in all things A man may be drunk with any passion Hier. Com. in Ezek. cap. 34. 6. To clip the wings of our affections by abstaining from much of our lawful liberty Vid banc regulam apud Greg l. 5. moral hom 3. super Evang. Pet. Mart. Chrysost in 1 Cor. 6. 1. 7. To be abundant in the exercise of godliness 8. Dive down to the bottom of thine affections Means to get up the bottom of the affections 1. Be humbled after thy turning unto God 2. Keep no close lust unmortified Vid. v. 21 22. 3. Consider God will shame thee one day if the bottom be not sound Regula moralis It concerns us to use all these means 1. Because the affections are the bonds of the soul Chrysost 2. Because earthly affections are the fore-stallers of the heart Ministers must labour to stir up the affections of their hearers L. 1. de invent c. 1. Keck Ecc. Rhet. l. 1. c. 3. Reasons 1. Because the Word is full of affections 3. The word looks to be obeyed with affections 3. Men are very dull in affections to embrace the Word A Minister must not stir up affections by the enticing words of mans wisdome 1. A Minister must stirre up affections by preaching to the life A saying of K. Iames 2. By being full of affections himself Summa movendorum affectuum in eo est ut prius ipse sis molus Quin Hor. de art Poet Com. in 1 Cor. 2. 4 Cal. Multâ— sunt clamosi reprehensores qui in vitia deciamitando vel potius fulminando mirum zeli arâ—orem prae se ferunt interea ipsi securi ut videantur per lusum latera guttera â—xercere vesle at Christiani â—astorus est flere secum priusquam alios ad fletum provocet plus apud se retinere doioris quam aliis faciat Dabis voci tuae vo cem virtutis si quod suades prius ipse tibi persuasisse cognoscaris Bern. Simonides apud Arist Epiced Haymo Jer. 9. 1. 3. A Minister may stirre up the affections of others by being godly himself L. 1. Rhet. cap. 2. Quis tulerit Graâ—chos c. Iuvenal L. 1. Sent. Spiritual Tetrast 4. Tit. 2. 7. Gregory 4. A Minister may stirre up affections by his voice Plutarch in Demost 5. By a decent action It is a great sin to set our affections on the earth Four Arguments to convince this truth 1. If a man sets his affections on the earth he sets all his affections on it Gal. 3. 1. 2. Affections hâ—mper and intangle the soul He was in love with his Noverca L. de ludo parvae sphaerae 3. The affections are in a high degree in regard 〈◊〉 the acts of the soul 1. As the affections are so are the thoughts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Macâ—r hom 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Macar hom 16. Thinking is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pla. Sophist 2. If thy affections be carnal so are thy lusts They are like stirpiâ— fibrae as Chrysostom compares them like the strings at the roots of the Tree Apud Damascen â— par c. 7. Gregory 3. If thine affections be carnal so are thy purposes Car. in Pro. 15. 22. 4. If thy affections be carnal so are thy devices Qui praeter usâ—â—ata mala alia excogitant â—asil Theodoret alij in loc The extremity of the affections is zeal and it is due only to God Zelus quid 5. Things in zeal 1. A high measure of affections 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clavasius saith it 's fervor Divinae charitatis 2. Zeal a high measure of all the affections In prol sâ—n dub 3. 3. With all the might of the soul 4. The putting forth of all the affections 5. Upon a thing that the heart doth absolutely affect Zeal is due only to God 1. Because it is the religious part of the affections 2. Because zeal is the most of every affection 3. Zeal is the peculiar pitch of every affection 4. Zeal is the most spending part of the affections 5. Zeal is the impatient part of the affections Vse 1. God demands the zeal of our affections 2. We are bound to give God 〈◊〉 affections Jer 48. 10. 3. On pain of damnation 1. In Cant. Serm. 49. August Saâ—it unus quisque quod didiclt Proverb 1. Zeal is the firâ—â— of the soul Chrysost 2. Zeal is the running of the soul Tiberius Nero. 3. Zeal is the predominant element in the soul 4. Zeal is the self-cruelty of the soul 5. Zeal is the brand of the soul Ambros Act. 1. 23. 6. Zeal is the transporting of the soul out of it self 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—ayes Aristotle servants have no leisure 7. Zeal is the strength of the soul 8. Zeal is the confidence of the soul Sperant omnes quae cupiunt nimis sayes Lucian Rev. 21. 8. Signs whether the zeal of thine â—ffections be set on God 1. Sign If thine affections be notable to God-ward 2. If thou beest impatient of sinne 1. Zeal cannot abide any sinne 2. In any person 1. In friend 2. In childe 3. In wife or husband 4. In a rich man 5. In ones self 3. It cannot be quiet without assurance of Gods favour 4. Glaadness to further and be furthered in the waies of God 5. Rejoycing to see the â—orwardnesse of others Camment in Iob. 6. Zeal to Gods Church and people The 7 sign shewing most zeal when the Lord threatneth to be going away Ferrum quando calet cudere quisque valet Means to make us zealous 1. Frequent Meditation Hier. Ep. ad Deme triadem 2. A constant practise of godliness Philos Seneca Psal 119. Ver. 154. Ver. 156. Ver. 149. Ver. 159. Ver. 88. Ver. 107. 4. Shunning the occasions of sin Gen. 14 23 Nemo diu tuâ—us periculo proximus Terent. 5. Means to eschew the beginnings of sinne VigilanduÌ„ est maximè tentationis initio Greg. Exhortation to be zealous 1. Else you can never be revenged on your worst enemies Iuvenal Sat. 13. 2. Zeal enables us to doe good unto others Theodoret in locum 3. Peoples zeal encourageth Ministers Mic. 7. 1. Ambros Chrysost 4. Zeal makes a man excell Proverb 5. Zeal makes men like Angels Gregor Ambros 6. We have greatneed of zeal In the context are these motives to set our affections on God 1. Because else we deny our interest in Christs resurrection 2. Because we are dead to the things of this world 3. Because Christ is our life Vt vitam redimas Horat. 4. Because Christ will bring us to glory 5. If our affâ—ctions be not let on Christ they are out of order Other motives to set our affections on God 1. Because it is easie to prosecute that we affect L. 4. c. 12. de doctr Christ 1. A man is not ashamed of what he affects Agesilaus Philopaem 3. What the â—ffections be upon they will hanker after that Seneca de tranq 4. Our affections spur uâ—on to what we affect Melan. in Ethic. Lud Viv. l 3 de animâ 5. 6. Affections are the softnesse of the heâ—rt Phi. Iud. l. de sacrif Ab. Cain Quint. Other motives to move the affections 1. From the everlastingnesse of the affections Stilpon Plat. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sen in Epist 2. From the infinâ—tâ—nesse of the affections Ca. 7. l. 10 Ethn. ad Nicon Horat. Boeth Luk. 2. 28. 3. From the cloyedness of the affections Hor. Ep. 14 In omnibus rebuâ— magis offendâ—â—nimium quam parum Cic. 4. From the preciousnesse of the affections 5. From the instability of the affections 6. From the jealousie of the affections 7. From the tyranny 〈…〉 affection◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vid. Ezek. 14. 3 4 5. c.