them The mind happyly hath conceived and fadomed these truths and brought in these occasions and yet for all this the mind stirres not the heart workes not I say therefore when your meditation is thus raised you must have this skill to follow home the blow and make it worke kindly on the heart and that is done by these three things When your meditation is up there is another thing which is the following of it home to the soule and that appeareth in these three particulars The first is this when we have conceived aright of sinne and the nature thereof and the punishment due thereunto then doe not rest in the bare consideratiō of these things but never leave the heart be still musing of these things and bring these blessed truthes home to the soule binde these things on the wil and affections hold them and fasten them there force them upon the soule that the heart may not make an escape take notice of it it is a rule I would have you consider of never leave meditating til you finde your heart so affected with the evill as your mind judgement conceived of the evill before namely let the heart feele that evill it conceived let the soule feel that gall to be in sin which the mind apprehended to be in it you see these sinnes loathsome and abominable make the heart feel them and be affected with them the heart will fly off now therefore it is the cunning of a Christian to lay at the heart and pursue it continually and hold these truthes to the soule and at last it may be under the dint of the blow and the power of God makes the soule feele and finde and be apprehensive of the gall and bitternes and vilenes of the evill as before it conceived it so to be It is not enough for a man to exercise himselfe in the meditatiō of sin but a mā must bring his soule in subjection under the power of that meditation a man must not only chew his meat but he must swallow it also if he meane to have it nourish him meditation is when the heart swalloweth downe these sinnes that is when he labours so to be affected with sinne and the nature of it as it doth require Meditation in this case is like the beleaguring of a Citie when a Citie is wisely strongly beleagured and beset roūd about they doe two things first they batter it from without as much as they can and secondly they cut off all provision and reliefe from comming in and so the city being partly battered from without as much as they can and being hindred from all reliefe comming in in conclusion when they see the enemie is strong and no provision can come to them they are contēt to yeeld the City and render up themselves and if they send a parly to him that doth besiege it and say they are ready to perish why he bids them deliver then and they shall be provided for he bids them yeeld and they shall be succoured and before that day there is no supply shall be brought into the City So it is with meditation and here is the cunning of a Christian. Do as wise Souldiers doe cut off all provision that is by serious meditation bring thy heart to such a loathing of sinne that it may never love it more besiege the heart with daily meditation that so you may cut off any ease and refreshing that the heart may seeme to have in any sinfull course if the soule be looking after any sinne if the soule would goe out a litle to occasions and take delight in his corruptions the drunkard in his company and the wordly man in his wealth then batter that When you are thus affected beleaguer the way that you may finde no comfort no ease and when the soule is looking after occasions and lingering after his abominations then say to your hearts you will have your sins though you have your shame with them you will have your corruptions though you have your confusion with them when the soule would meddle with these let meditation knocke off these If you be still proud and malitious and quarrelling take heed you cannot have these but you must have hell and all you cannot have these but you must have destruction and all the mercy of God will be not abused and the justice of God will not be provoked and God will be revenged of you and at last the heart by this meanes will be troubled Why deliver up your sins then and your soules if your hearts find any sorrow and anguish why then yeeld up your souls unto Christ that you may finde as much comfort in a good way as you have done misery in an evill way Thus by meditation make the heart see those evills nay thus by meditation make thy heart see those evills and the punishment that shall be executed for those evills Secondly when you have made the heart thus affected with sinne then take heed that the heart doth not flie off and shake off the yoke Imagine meditation brings all those sins and miseries and vilenesse all are brought home to the heart and the soule is made sensible by this meanes Hold the heart there then labour to keepe the heart in the same temper that it is brought into by the consideration of sinne for this is our nature when the strooke is troublesome that lieth upon us and the sinnes are hainous that lie upon us and are committed by us these sinnes these sorrowes these judgements when the heart feeles this it is weary and would secretly have the wound healed quickly and the sorrow removed and the trouble calmed Take heede of this and labour to maintaine that heat of heart which you finde in your selves by vertue of meditation this is the pitch of the point as there must bee subjection unto meditation the heart must be so affected with sinne as it conceived it to be so there must be attention that is the soule must hold it selfe to that frame and disposition so wrought as it should be Looke as it is with a Gold smith that melteth the metall that he is to make a vessell of if after the melting thereof there follow a cooling it had beene as good it had never beene melted it is as hard haply harder as unfit haply unfitter then it was before to make vessell of but after he hath melted it he must keep it in that frame till he come to the moulding and fashoning of it So meditation is like fire the heart is like a vessell the heart is made for God and it may be made a vessell of grace here and of glory hereafter Now meditation it is that melts the soule the drosse must be taken away from the soule and sinne must bee loosened from the heart Now meditation doth this it melts the soule and affects the soule with the weight of sinne now when you have your heart in some measure melted keepe it
and sinne onely imputed made our Saviour to buckle under it Psalme 22. Davids heart was crushed with it Psalm 40. Nay the Apostle saith All the creatures groaned under it the earth groanes under sinners and is willing to vomit them up it is a burden to the Sunne to give light to the adulterer to see his harlot and it is a burden to the ayre to give breathing to a blasphemer that belcheth out his oaths against the God of heaven nay it is that which sinkes the damned into the bottomlesse pit it is such as Iudas had rather hang himselfe then indure the horror of Conscience for it let this therefore dash the foolish conceit of them which thinke there is no pastime but in sinne however men glory in sinne and take delight in sucking the pleasure of sinne yet the end will be bitternesse Their sweet meat will have a sower sauce and those sinnes which are so sweet will eate out all comfort froÌ„ their soules from everlasting to everlasting They were pricked in their hearts So that the maine point which fits our aime is this sound sorrow piercing of the soule of those that are affected with it they were not onely pricked in their eyes to weepe for their sinnes and to say they would doe so no more The adulterer is not only pricked in his eye that he would see his adulterous queane no he goeth further sinketh into the very soule and pierceth through the very heart It is with sorrow that hath any substance in it as it was with the repentance of Ninivie not onely the ordinarie and refuse sort of people forsooke their sinnes but even the King himselfe came from his throne and sat in dust and ashes yea the Nobles other subjects and the very beasts of the field did â—ast So it is comparatively with this sorrow it is not onely for the tongue to talke of sinnes and the eye to weepe for his sinnes but even the Queene of the soule which is the wil it selfe puts on sacke-cloth and the heart and all the affections as so many subjects follow after It breakes out into the eye and the frame of the heart shakes with it and the knees knocke together and the hands grow feeble it is not O Lord be mercifull unto us and so be gone But it must goe to your hearts and you may weepe out your eyes and cry your sins at the market crosse but have you put off the will and affection of sinning as well as the tongue of sinning the nature of this sorrow is marvelous strange consider it David saith Make me to beare of joy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce This sorrow that did seise upon David was not slight but it breakes all the bones which are the maine pillars and props of nature the burthen was so heavie and so great that it made all the burthen that was in him to shake And in another Psalm My moisture is turned into the drought of Summer This sorrow went so deepe into his soule that it did not only take away his outward refreshing but it tooke away all the moist humors the inward juyce the very oyle of life It is admirable which the Prophet Hosea saith Hosea 13.8 I will meet them as a beare bereaved of her whelps and will rend the kall of their hearts You must not thinke to have a whip and away but the Lord will breake the very kall of those proud hearts of yours rather then hee will suffer sinne to dwell in you where his throne should be And hence it is that this sorrow sinke many Did you never see a soule in distresse of Conscience he is all turned to dust and ashes this sorrow goeth to the quicke it is not a little touch and away but it breaketh the heart inwardly For the opening of this point let me discover these particulars First how the Lord workes this sorrow and how it is brought into the soule Secondly I will shew you the behaviour of the soule when it is thus peirced and this will shew the soundnesse Thirdly I will shew some reason why it must be so Fourthly I will answer some questions Fiftly make some uses and therein lay downe some ends how we may helpe forward this worke when it is begunne For the first I know God deales sometimes openly and sometimes more secretly But for the first how this pricking comes into the soule and how the Lord stabbs the soule and makes at a man to thrust him through This discovers it selfe in three particulars First the Lord commonly and usually lets in a kinde of amazement into the mind of a sinner and a kind of gastering As it is with a sudden blow upon the head if it comes with some violence it dazells a man that he knowes not where he is Just so it is generally with the soule the Lord lets in some flashes of his truth and darts in some evidences of his truth into the heart of a man the hammer of Gods Law layeth a sudden blow upon the heart and this discovers the vile nature of sinne as when a drunkard is drunke to day and will be so to morrow and the minister preacheth against that sinne and yet he will be drunke still and the blasphemer saith come le ts sweare the minister out of the pulpit now it may be the Lord lets in some suddaine truth that unmaskes the soule and drives him to sudden amaze that now he sees his corruptions to be otherwise then ever he did commonly he doth not yet see the evill of sinne but he is driven to a stand and a pawse and he doth not know what to say of himselfe nor what to thinke of his sinne there is a kinde of tumult in his thoughts and a confused cumber he knowes not what to make of himselfe and he goeth away in a kind of confused distemper Thus it was with Paul when he was running a long to Damascus and had gotten a lustie Steed to make hast suddenly there did shine a light from heaven and he heard a voice from heaven saying unto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me He marvelled at the matter and yet he did not know what the matter was and therefore he saith Who art thou Lord What wouldest thou have me doâ— As it was with Saul so it is most commonly with us all it may be a poore man drops into the Church and the Lord lets in a light and the Lord doth compas him about with some threatnings of the Law and shewes him the nature of sinne and the damnation that comes by it and thereupon his thoughts beginne to hurry in one upon another and he retyres home and thinks thus with himselfe surely the preacher spake strange things to day if all be true that he spake then certainly my conditioÌ„ is naught surely there is more in sinne then ever I thought of I did alwaies thinke that such sinnes as were grosse and
heart hath formerly received from Gods Spirit For sanctification comes after justification and after the soule hath received faith and grace then the heart hath a new power given unto it whereby it is able to set forth it selfe into any holy action so that in this a man is a free worker whereas sorrow in preparation is a worke wrought on me and I am a patient and doe onely endure it but I have not any spirituall power to doe any thing of my selfe Now mark what I say both these are saving for rows but they differ marvelously many thinketh at every saving work is a sanctifying work w ch is false for every saving worke is not a sanctifiing worke as the Apostle saith Those whom he calleth them he also justifies and whom be justifies he glorifies Glorification implies sanctification here in part and glory for ever hereafter there is a saving worke and calling but yet not sanctifying worke for vocation is when God so farre enlightenâ— the minde as to buckle the heart and to turne it away from corruption to him and then afterwards God brings the heart to be justified and then sanctified they are first called and then justified and then glorified The difference of those 〈…〉 is thus to be conceived in this similiâ—udâ—â— as it is with the wheeles of a clocke thâ—◠〈◊〉 quiâ—e wrong what must a man doe to set this clocke â—ight againe he must 〈◊〉 stoppe it 〈…〉 no longer wrong and then turne it and set the wheeles right now all this while the clocke is a patient and the workâ—man doth all Secondly wherein is thuâ— set right then the work man puts the plunmets and weights on it and now the wheeles can runne of themselves by vertue of that poise and weight they have gotteÌ„ so that these two are plaine different actions Just so it is with the 〈◊〉 of the soule the will and the affections which are as the wheeles of this great and curâ—ous clocke for the soule goes hel-ward and sin-ward and the minde knows nothing and the will and the affections imbrace nothing but hell and sinne now to bring these into any holy order the Lord must stoppe the soule and that is done by the discovery of sinne and by this humiliation of heart when the Lord lets a man see his sinne and saith to him If thou wilt have sinne thou must have hell and all together and then the soule saith if it be so I will meddle no more with sinne the adulterer will be uncleane no more and the drunkard will bee drunke no more Now when the soule is thus turned it looketh heaven-ward and God-ward and is content Christ should rule over it All this while the soule is a meere patient this is a saving worke a worke of Gods Spirit where ever it is soundly wrought and will in the end be faith and grace But now when the soule is seâ— heaven-ward God justifies a poore sinneâ— and pluckes him to himselfe by faith and adopts him to be his child then the Lord gives him of his Spirit and this is as the weight of the soule then by the power of that spirit the soule is able to runne right hath a principle of grace in it and the poise of the spirit of grace which doth possesse the soule makes it able freely to mourne for sinne and to have the heart inlarged in the service of God this is mainely the sanctifying worke Quest. The second question is this whether doth the Lord worke this in all and whether doth he worke it in all alike or no. For I perceive the hearts of many poore Christians are gasping for this the Lord never wrought upon me in this maner and my heart was never thus battered bruised therefore how shall we know whether the Lord doth worke this in all or no and in all alike Answ. For the answere of this question I will handle three things First the worke is the same in all Secondly the maner is different in the most Thirdly many have it in them and yet perceive it not how or when it was wrought First this work of contrition of heart is wrought in every one in this worke of preparation before he is or can be planted into Christ for the truth of this and the substantiall nature of it Scripture is plaine and reason is pregnant Scriptures are many I will only name three as that in Luke our Lord Jesus Christ came to seeke and to save that which was lost We may observe two things first the qualification of that party whom Christ will seeke and save he must be a lost man in his owne apprehension secondly see the certainty of salvation of such a one Christ came for this end he came to seeke up and save that which was lost Now Christ will not misse of his end he came for the lost sheepe then the lost sheepe he will have though the lost sheepe cannot seek nor save theÌ„selves yet Christ will save them Thus you see all men must be thus disposed before they can be saved and if thus fitted and disposed they shall be certainely saved It is not enough for a man to be in a miserable estate and damnable condition but he must also see it and his heart must be truly affected with it and finde and feele the but then of it not so much for the punishment but for the sinne whereby his heart is estranged from God and also God from his soule Now that the sensiblenesse of his lost condition is there spoken of and this man that hath it shall be saved may appeare because the sensiblenesse of a mans condition in regard of the punishment of sinne is such as a man may have and yet never have grace and salvation Cain had the feeling of Gods wrath and felt the punishment of it and so did Iudas also and yet they were never sought up nor saved The second place of Scripture is out of Iohn No man commeth to me except the father draweth him by comming you must conceive beleeving as in that famous place of Iohn He that comes to me shall never hunger and he that believeth in me shall never thirst Now this text implyes two things and they are profesly granted by the intendment of the Apostle for the people murmured why the Pharisies and the great ones beleeved not and followed not Christ to whom Christ answeres Vnlesse my father from heaven draw them they cannot come so that these two things are cleare first a man must be drawne secondly if he be drawne he shal surely come This drawing is thus much when God opens the eye of a man and makes knowne his sinne sets downe the heart in the acknowledgement of sinne so that he feeles the vilenesse and the burthen of it and is content to part with the fame When the Lord shal lay all a mans abominations upon him all his adulteries and all his thefts and
of the soule be sucked up Meditation breakes the soule and layeth waight upon the soule in this case It is a passage remarkable of Peter the text saith when our Saviour told Peter that before the cock crew twice he should deny him thrice in the last verse of the chapter the second time the cocke crew Peter remembred the words of our Saviour when he thought therupon he went out and wept bitterly the word in the originall is this the holy man catcht all together and heaped all the circumstances together and reasoned thus the cocke crowes now I remember the words of Christ oh what a wretch am I that should deny such a master that called me such a master as found me such a master as was mercifull unto me when I never saw my selfe nor my sinnes he plucked me out from my sinnes It is that master I have denyed he came to doe me good to save me and I have denyed him Nay even at a dead lift if ever I should have defended him I should have defended him now if ever stood for him I should have stood for him now but to deny my master and forsweare him that I should do it an Apostle beloved an Apostle thus honored that I should doe it when I professed the contrary what such a master denied by me such an Apostle at such a time before such persons and forced to it by such a silly maiden All these sinfull circumstances the manner of them the nature of them the haynousnesse of them the holy Apostle laid all these to his heart and his heart sunck under these circumstances thus gathered together and he went out and wept bitterly Looke as it is in war were there many scores that came against an army they might be conquered or many hundreds might be resisted but if many thousands should come against a small army it would be in danger to be overcome Meditation leadeth as it were an army of arguments an army of curses and miseries and judgements against the soule how ever one misery or plague will not downe but a man may brooke it and goe away with it yet meditation brings an army of arguments and tells the soule God is against thee wherever thou art what ever thou dost And then the heart begins to cry out as Elisha's servant did Master what shall I doe what so many sinnes and so haynous and so many judgements denounced and shall fall upon me for them Lord how shall I doe how shall I be delivered from these pardoned for these thus meditation brings home sin more powerfully to the heart The second argument is this as meditation brings in all bills of account so secondly meditation fastens sinne upon the consciences of those to whom the word of God is spokē more strōgly in so much that the soule cannot make escape from the truth of God delivered and from the judgements of God denounced against him Sometimes when men heare the word and threatnings denounced then their hrarts are touched and they goe away resolved not to commit sinne as they have done But when they are gone it workes not but the heart recoyles againe and goeth to his owne course againe The reason is because you meditate not on the word It is with the word as with a Slave if a man have never so good a salve which will helpe a soare in foure and twentie houres if a man shall doe nothing but lay this salve to the wound and take it off it would never heale the wound and no wonder Why he will not let it lie on the best salve under heaven will not heale a sore and eate out a corruption unlesse it be bound on and let lie So it is with the good word of God many a soule heareth the word of God and his heart is touched for his sinne and his conscience beginnes to be awakened but when he goeth out of the Church all is gone his affections die and his heart dies and his conscience is not touched no wonder you will not hold the word to your soules you heare sinne and not heare it you wil see sinne and not apprehend it and therfore it is that the word over-powers not your corruptions Do you thinke the salve will work when you keepe it not on The word of God is the salve conviction of Conscience is like the binding on of the salve meditations like the binding of it to the sore remember the truth which touched thee first and keep that on let nothing take it away from thy minde hold that good word close to the soule and it will keepe thy heart in the very same temper after the delivery thereof as it was in the delivery The Apostle Iames compares a slight hearer to a man that lookes his face in a glasse slightly that forgets himselfe what visage he had but saith Who so looketh unto the law of liberty and continueth therein he being not a forgetfull hearer but a doer of the word this man shall be blessed in his deeds the Law of liberty is the Law of God and this Law being a glasse You must not onely heare and be gone and slight and neglect it but you must continue in looking and then you shall see the complexion of your sinnes and the vilenesse of your corruptions when the drunkard heareth the basenesse of his sinnes and the adulterer the basenes of his abominations they looke themselves slightly in the glasse of the Law But they must carry away the glasse with them and looke themselves still the adulterer must say I am a prophane creature and my heart is polluted Conscience defiled and this soule hardned and I shal be damned if a man should thus looke and view his sinnes and carry away the glasse with him continually he would see his life so ugly and his heart so base that he could not be able to beare it If the pills be never so bitter yet if a man swallow them suddenly there is no great distast but if a man chaw a pill it wil make a man deadly sicke because it is against the nature of it so our sinnes are like these pills they goe downe somewhat pleasantly because we swallow downe our oathes prophannes our malice and contempt of God and his ordinances and we make it nothing to mocke at the religion of God and the professors of it you swallow downe pills now but God will make you chaw those pills one day and then they will be bitter Though the swearer swallowes down his oathes now yet at last the Lord will make him remember that he will not hold him guiltlesse but araigne him at the day of judgement and make him cry guilty at the barre and againe will make you chaw over your malice you hated the Lords word and the workes of his Spirit and this will condemne you Againe meditation doth beset the heart of a man that he cānot escape wheresoever he is meditation brings
his sinnes on the teaster of his bed this is thy covetousnesse and thy pride and for these thou shalt be plagued Looke upon these sinnes they are thine owne thou hast deserved punishments to be inflicted upon thee for them thus we see the grouÌ„ds how meditation must be raised We see how we may bring meditation home to the heart we see how also we may get the life power of meditation I thought to have propounded an example that you may see the practice of the truth delivered as imagine it were the sinne of the opposing of the word I would breake my soule withall first by meditation cast the compasse of this sin looke into the word see whatsoever the word hath revealed of this sinne The text saith by this meanes the anger of the Lord is marvelously provoked in so much that he will laugh at the destruction of such Nay by this meanes Christ himselfe is despised nay our condemnation is hereby sealed irrecoverably 2. Chron. 36.16 the text saith They despised Gods word till the wrath of the Lord arose and there was no remedy Nay hereby we aggravate our condeÌ„nation For Christ saith Mat. 11.22 Woe be to thee Bethsayda Woe be to thee Chorazin for if the mightie workes which have beene done in thee had beene done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented in dust and ashes But it shall be easier for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgement then for thee Nay the Author to the Hebrewes saith 2.3 How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation The case of such a man is desperate how shall we escape Thus you see the reach how farre this sinne goeth gather up all then and tell your hearts of this when they rebell and oppose the word of God How dare I doe this what provoke God so farre as to laugh at my destruction what despise Christ and his Spirit nay make my case irrecoverable and aggravate to my condemnation but if the heart will not stoope under this then call for conscience conscience to your charge and then conscience comes and chargeth the soule on paine of everlasting condemnation to heare and to be humbled And if this will not doe intreat the Lord to take the rod into his owne hand and bring these truths home unto the soule that it may never be quieted till it be humbled this is the course I would have you take to bring the truth home to your soules When the minister hath done his sermon then your worke beginnes you must heare all the weeke long he that never meditates of his sinnes is never like to be broken hearted for his sinnes take notice of this The text saith of these converts They were pricked in their hearts This clause of the verse discovers unto us that which brings in this shiverednesse and contrition of spirit which the Lord cals for at the hands of his servants Now give me leave to make way for my selfe by opening of the words that having taken away all the vaile from them you may more clearely see the truth delivered First let me shew you what this piercing or pricking of the heart is Secondly what is meant by heart You must know that sound sorrow or sorrow soundly set on is here meant by pricking and this word pricking resembles sorrow in three degrees For the word in the originall imports not only a bare pricking but a searching quite through and we have no word in our English tongue to answere the same word but onely a shiverednesse of soule all to pieces I say there are three things wherein pricking resembles sorrow First the body cannot be pricked but there must be some paine some griefe some trouble wrought by it and accompanying of it Secondly it is the separation of one part from another as the naturall Philosophers couceive and as the Physitian gives us to understand it is the sundering of two parts Thirdly the parts being thus pricked there is the letting of it out and if any blood or water be in that part thus pricked so answerably in this sound sorrow in heart there are three things I meane in that sorrow which is set home by the Almighty First there is a great griefe and vexation of soule Secondly by reason of the burthen that lieth upon the heart that cursed knot and union and combination betweene sinne and the soule comes in some measure to be severed and parted the soule being thus grieved with the sinne is content to be severed from it this is the thing we aime at Thirdly this knot of corruption being loosened and this closure being broken and the souldring betweene sinne and the soule being removed there is now a passage for the letting out of all these corruptions that the heart may be taken from under the power of sinne and be subject to the power and guidance of God This is the true nature of sorrow And by the way consider this unlesse the Lord should thus wound and vexe the soule the heart that prizeth corruption as a God as every naturall man doth would never be severed from it did the soule see onely the delight in sinne it would never part from it and therefore God is forced to make us feele this that we may be severed from our sinnes and be subject to him in all obedience Secondly what is meant by heart not to tyre you with any matter of signification this word implieth two things specially which concerns our purpose both may be implied and intended but the first is mainely implied and intented it is not the naturall part of a man which is in the middest of the body that is a fleshly heart but it is the will it selfe and that abilitie of â—oule whereby the heart saith I will have this and I will not have that As the understanding is setled in the head and keepes his sentinell there so the will is seated in the heart when it comes to taking or refusing this is the office of the will and â—t discovers his act there As our Saviour saith Where your treasure is there will your hearts be also And as the Apostle saith a man confesseth with his mouth and beleeveth with his heart So then they were not onely pricked as with a pinne but this sorrow seiseth upon the soule and pierceth unto the very will it was not outward overly sorrow but that which went to the very root and entred into the very heart From these words thus opened the Doctrine I might have handled from this point is that sins unpardoned are of a piercing nature they were not onely pricked because they heard the words but their sins peirced them but I will not meddle with this point though otherwise is were very usefull The use is this might take off the Imagination of those that thinke there 〈◊〉 no delight but in sinfull courses they are much deceived There is no gall but in sinne and there is no sorrow but from sinne
and stubbornnes be such vile sins in others then they are so in me and as there must be a sight of our personall particular sinnes so Secondly the soule must be set downe with the audience of truth and the conscience of a sinner should be so convicted as to yeeld and give way to that which is knowne as not seeking any shift or way to oppose that truth which is revealed his particular apprehension of sin is like the inditement of a sinner before God and his conviction is that which brings the soule to such a passe that the heart will not nay it dares not nay which is more it cannot escape from the truth revealed As when a man is only arested and no more he may escape therefore it is not enough particularly to arest the soule and bring it under command that it cannot shift from the truth revealed When the Lord comes to make rackes in the hearts of such as he meanes to doe good unto the text saith he will reprove the world of sinne that is he will convince the world of wickednesse he will set the soule in such a stand that it shall have nothing to say for it selfe he cannot shift it off for there is in every mans heart naturally such corrupt carnall pleading that it labors to defeat and put by the worke of the word that it may not come home to the heart As a man in battaile array labours to put by the blow that it may not hit his body so it is with a corrupt heart when the word comes home to the soule as it doth sometimes into the heart of a drunkard or an adulterer or a murtherer and the word of God seemes to stabbe the heart they put by the word of God by carnall shifts and so breake the power of it that it cannot have its full blow upon the soule and so the word takes no place to any purpose in them Now this kind of knowledge takes away all shifts that the soule hath nothing to say for it selfe and pluckes away all defence that the edge of the word cannot be blunted but that it will fall flat on the heart this is that I would put to your consideration punctually When there is that wisedome and knowledge revealed to the soule so powerfully that it prevailes with the heart and it gives way thereto so that all the replies and pleas of the soule be taken away and the soule falls under the stroke of the word not quarrelling but yeelding it selfe that the word may worke upon it and withall there is a restlesse amasement put into the heart of the creature and a kind of dazeling the eye so that the soule is not content now before it see the worst of his sinne that is revealed and then it lies under the power of that truth which is made knowne these two make it plaine The minister saith God hates such and such a sinner and the Lord hates me too saith the soule for I am guilty of that sin Many times when a sinner comes into the congregation and attends unto the ordinary meanes of salvation if now the Lord be pleased to work mightily at last the mind is enlightned and the Minister meets with his corruptions as though he were in his bosome and he answereth all his cavills and takes away all his objections With that the soule begins to be amased to thinke that God should meet with him in this manner and saith If this be so as it is for ought I know and if all be true that the Minister saith then the Lord be mercifull unto my soule I am the most miserable sinner that ever was borne Give me leave to open a passage or two this way Suppose there be an ignorant creature that knoweth nothing and he thinkes God will pardon him because he is so he need not consider of this or that which the minister calls upon him for see what God saith to such in Esay It is a people of no understanding therefore he that made him will not have mercy on them and he that formed them will shew them no favour You thinke to carry all away with ignorance but the God of heaven will shew you no pitty and he that made you will not save you When a poore soule begins to consider of this he that made us wil save us Will he not no he will not Not one of you not your wife nor children nor thy servant this drives the soule into amazement when the Lord works this truth in him and he frequents the ordinances more diligently and saies if it be so my case is fearefull In conclusion he finds every minister saith so and all writings confirme it and he seeth it is so indeed and it is the will and way of God Then the soule is cast and saith I see this is just my estate and condition therefore woe to me that ever I was borne This is right conviction and though his carnall neighbours come to him and beginne to cheere him up and say The Lord is more merciful then men are ministers must say something c. If the heart be truly convicted it returnes this answere and saith I have thought as you doe but now I see there is no such matter these are but figtree-leaves and will not cover my nakednesse It is true Christ came to save sinners and he came to humble sinners too he came to bind up the heart and he came to break the heart too This is a great part of the spirit of bondage spoken of Rom. 8.15 Wee have not received the spirit of bondage to feare againe When God hath revealed a mans bondage to him So that sees he himselfe bouÌ„d haÌ„d foot for marke it so long as a man keepes in these carnall shifts he is not in bondage But when he is once in bondage and fetterd he saith If ever any had a proud heart I am he If ever any were prophane I am he And if ever God hated such wretches he hateth me Now there is no escape there is no plea at all he will not go away say there is no such matter Ministers many say what they will No no the soule that is truely conuicted of sinne yeelds it selfe and saith I have sinned Oh what shall I do unto thee thou preserver of men saith Iob as if hee had said Lord I have no plea at all to make nor no argument to alledge for myselfe I onely yeeld up the bucklers I cannot say so bad of my selfe as I am I have sinned Lord what shall I doe unto thee Oh thou preserver of men thus it is with a heart truely convicted and throughly informed of the vilenesse of sinne he doth not withdraw himâ—elfe and play least in sight but he saith this is my condition just the Lord met with my heart this day God resists the proud prophane in heart and he resists me too I have heard much and would not be informed
Object Oh! many are they that have it could I feare God as I should and seeke for mercy as I ought then there were some hope but I have no heart to endeavour or desire after any mercy and I cannot bring my soule nor submit my will to yeild and therefore shall I ever have any mercy Answ. Why not thou too Doth God sell his mercy No he gives it freely God keepes open house Oh the freenesse of that mercy and goodnesse that is in God! he requires nothing of thee to procure it but he shewes mercy because he will shew mercy thou hast no will but God hath a will and his shewing of mercy depends not on thy wil but upon his owne freewil It is true God will make a man will and break his heart because no man otherwise can be saved but it is as true that Christ will give you brokennesse of heart as well as heaven and salvation I will take away the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh and cause you to walke in my wayes saith the Lord hold this truth in thy soule As there is no worth in the soule that can deserve any thing at Gods hands so there is no sinne the sinne against the holy Ghost only excepted that can hinder the freenes of Gods grace from saving of us if thou belong to him he will hale thee to heaven and pull thee from hell he will make thee lie in the dust and wait for mercy come groveling for his grace and that freely without any thing on thy part Who is a God like to thee saith Micah who pardonest iniquity because mercy doth please thee The Lord sheweth mercy not because thou canst please him but because mercy pleaseth him And in Esay he saith I am he that blotteth out thy offences for my owne names sake But the soule may say Object they were Gods people that did humble themselves and they had hearts to feare him Answ. See that in the twentie fourth verse Thou hast brought me no corne neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifice but thou hast wearied me with thy transgressions yet the Lord saith I am he that pardoneth thy sinnes Thou saiest if thou couldest pray and humble thy selfe there were hope of mercy the text doth not say It is a sinner but it is I a God that must doe it this is the freenes of his grace But some may object Object Is it possible that a man should receive any mercy yet be so stubborne and rebellious This makes way for drunkards to live as they list and yet thinke to goe to heaven Answ. I answer It is true the Lord will pardon thē if they belong to him but he will doe it with a witnesse the Lord will dowze that soule of thine in the veine of his vengeance but he will pardon thee too God will pardon thy sinne in Christ but he will make thee feele the bitternesse of sinne Lastly consider the abundance of mercy and goodnesse that is in God whereby he not only strives with us in the midst of all rebellions but he is more mercifull then we are or can be rebellious this helpes the heart of another thing that cuts it For when the soule seeth all his sinnes for number for nature so many and so abominable he saith Object Can mercy be shewed to such a wretch as I am Answ. Yes for as God is al-sufficient and his promise free so he hath plenty of mercy for the worst he exceeds in mercy all the sinnes that can be except that against the holy Ghost and therefore the soule throwes it selfe upon this the Apostle saith Where sinne abounds grace abounds much more lest any man should say Let us sinne that grace may abound the text saith in another place whose damnation is just This knockes off fingers though a sinfull wretch abuse God and Grace yet mercy will overcome the heart in this case but it will cost him deare though thou turnest the grace of God into wantonnesse the Lord will turne that wantonnesse of thine into bitternesse the Lord will sting that heart of thine one day and make thee see whether it be good to forsake mercy when it is offered it will be easier for Sodome then for thee when thou shalt see a company of poore Sodomites frie in hell howsoever God may bring thee to heaven yet he will make thee frie in hell and he will make thee thinke a Sodomite to be in a better condition for the present then thou art Object But some will say God cannot in justice save such a wretch as I am For answer to this see what Saint Iames saith Mercy rejoyceth or triumpheth over Iustice howsoever Iustice saith he must be plagued yet Mercy saith Christ hath made a plentifull satisfaction for him then mercy triumpheth over judgement so then if God be al-sufficient and his promise free and his mercy superabundant then we may be stirred up to hope for mercy from God our hearts may be supported herein for ever Now I come to some other particulars that are plainly exprest in our text First they made a free and open confession of their sinnes they did not stay till the Apostle went to their houses but they went to him and said Men and brethren you have spoken against the sinne of murder and we confesse we are guilty of this sinne they saw their sinnes and confessed them openly before the Apostles The Doctrine which ariseth from hence is this When the heart is truly broken for sinne it will be content to make open free confession thereof when a man is called thereunto or thus sound contrition brings forth bottome confession Men and brethren What shall we doe to be saved as if they had said the truth is we have heard of the feareful condition of such as have killed the Lord Jesus and we confesse whatsoever you have said he was persecuted by us and blasphemed by us we are they that cryed Cucifie him crucifie him we would have eaten his flesh and made dice of his bones we plotted his death and gloried in it these are our sinnes and haply a thousand more that then they revealed and this is remarkable They goe to Peter and the other Apostles they did not goe to the Scribes and Pharisees and that cursed crew Whence observe this by the way when the soule is thus truly broken generally it will never repaire to such as are carnall and wicked men for these people knew that the Scribes and Pharisees had their hands as deeply imbrued in Christs blood as themselves and besides they knew them to be such naughty packes that they would rather incourage them in their sinnes then any way ease them and recover them from the same therefore they went to the Disciples because they were holy and gratious persons and willing to succour them and it is certaine that soule was never truly broken for sinne
thing done by the soule the Lord is now fitting and preparing the soule for the presence of his blessed Spirit And in this great worke of preparation the Lord workes these three things First he stoppes the soule from going on any longer in sinne Secondly he wearieth the soule with the burthen of sinne Thirdly by hatred the soule is brought to goe away from those carnall lusts and corruptions with a secret dislike of those sinnes which he hath been wearied withall In all these the soule is a patient and undergoes the worke of humbling and breaking rather then it is any way active and operative Thus the heart is turned away from sinne and set against those corruptions which heretofore it was burthened with as it is with wheels of a clocke when the wheeles have runne wrong before a man can set them right againe he must stop it and turne it to its right place and all these are meerly wrought upon the wheele by the hand of the workeman for of it selfe it hath no poise nor weight to runne right but when the clocke-master puts to his plummets then it is able to runne of it selfe though the workemans hand be not there So the will and affections of a man which are the great wheels of this curious clock of the soule these wheels do naturally of thēselves run all hel-ward and sin-ward and devil-ward now before the soule can receive a new principle of grace first the Lord unmaskes a man and makes him come to a stand and makes him see hell gaping for him thus the heart is at a maze Secondly the Lord laies the weight of sinne and corruption upon him and that doth sincke the soule with the horrour and vexation and loathsomnesse of his sinnes Thirdly then the soule is carried away from sinne by hatred and dislike and saith Is this the fruit of sin that delighteth me oh then no more malice no more drunkennesse thus the heart is turned away but after the soule is once brought on to God by faith and goes to God receives the spirit of sanctification of which we shall speake afterwards this is a new principle of life and out of this gratious disposition the soule is now growne to hate sinne freely and to knocke off the fingers from corruptions and beat downe his lusts and to love God freely out of that power of grace which the Lord hath put into the soule Now you must know that all this while I speake of the first worke when the soule is turned by the spirit against his sinne being formerly burthened with the same sinne This doth ever accompany a heart truly broken for sinne There is this difference betweene sorrow and hatred sorrow feeles the burthen but hatred flings it away sorrow loosneth the heart but hatred lets out the corruption sorrow saith doth sinne thus pinch the soule and hatred saith no more sinne then thus the Lord by his Spirit prepares the soule For the proofe of this point see what the Prophet saith You shall consider your waies and your doings that were not good and shall loath your selves A poore Christian would teare his heart in pieces in the apprehension of his owne vilenesse and saith Good Lord shall I ever be plagued and annoyed with this sturdy malitious heart and shal I ever carry this vile heart about me that wil one day carry me to hell if thou be not the more mercifull this makes a man even fall out with himselfe Againe see what the Apostle saith for this thing you have had godly sorrow but what hath it wrought in you doth it worke a holy indignation and revenge against your sinfull courses that when thy soule seeth his filthy abominations rising swelling and bubling within thy heart it takes on exceedingly and wil scarce owne it self but lookes away from sinne and is weary of it selfe in regard of the same Nay if it were possible that thou couldest be content to live without a heart even to forgoe thy selfe that so thou maiest not be troubled with that vile heart of thine and so dishonour God no longer I beseech you observe it when a man is brought thus farre oh he cries to God and saith Lord was there ever any poore sinner thus pestered with a vile heart Oh that this heart should ever be so opposite against the Lord Lord except I had a better heart I would I had none at all thus the heart loathes it selfe and in what measure the soule is carried with a restlesse dislike of sinne as it is sinne in the same degree it is most violent against those sinnes whereby he hath most dishonoured God as you may see in Zacheus his heart did most rise against his master sinne so the Lord having humbled the repentant Church thou shalt defile thy graven Images of silver and the ornaments of thy golden Images thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth and say get you hence They hated all sinne but especially their Idolatrous courses so it will be with the heart that is truly broken he will cast away with hatred all his pleasing and profitable sinnes thus much of the first passage Quest. 2 The second passage is this Wherein doth this true hatred consist that a man may know whether he have sinne or no Answ. Answere this hatred or dislike consists in these foure particulars First if the soule doth truly hate sin then it is very willing to make search for it in every corner of the heart And any sinne that he cannot know himselfe he is willing that any Christian or any friend should make them knowne unto him A King that hates a traitor that would kill him and a man that hates a thiefe that would robbe him they are willing that any man should discover that traitor or thiefe and they will entertaine him kindly and reward him for it When the Ziphites came to Saul and told him where David was mark what he saith Oh blessed be yee of the Lord for you have had compassion upon me Just so it is with a broken bleeding heart that hath an open hatred against his corruptions if any Minister or Christian will make knowne some base lusts that lurke in his soule he will not flye out and say What is that to you Every tub must stand upon his owne bottome and if I sinne I must answer for it Nay hee will blesse the Lord for it and say Blessed be the Lord and blessed be such a Minister blessed be such a neighbour for they have shewed mee my sinne and had compassion upon my soule Secondly as the soule desires to have sinne revealed so it desires to have sinne killed and it makes no matter how it be killed or by whom so it be killed at all Hence it comes to passe that the soule which truly hates sinne is ever seeking to those meanes that are most able to give strength to him and to over come his corruptions and is
well pleased that any minister should meet with the base haunts of his heart and if the word hit wound that master-sinne of his hee is marvelous content therewith hee cares not from whom the help comes The sharpest and keenest reproofes that will shake his very heart and draw blood out of sinne and the most powerfull deliverer of Gods word that divides betweene the marrow and the bones hee likes best Nay though the great Cannons roare and Gods ordinances worke mightily upon his heart so that his corruptions may bee killed and subdued hee blesseth the Lord and saith Blessed be the Lord I have had a good day of it the Lord layed battery against this wretched heart of mine I blesse God for these reproofes and judgements threatned my heart is in some measure broken under them I hope my corruptions have gotten their deaths wound this day Thirdly as hee desires to see sinne killed in himselfe so hee is not able to see sinne in others but so farre as God hath put authority and opportunity into his hands he pursues it with deadly indignation As a man that hates a murderer hee will not onely keepe him from his owne house but hee pursues him even to the place of Justice So the Soule that truly hates sinne will not onely keepe sinne from his owne heart but hee will plucke it from the hearts of others so farre as possibly he may When Haman had a spleene against Mordecai hee was not onely desirous to kill him but hee would kill all the nation of the Iewes this was hatred indeed so it is with a broken heart If a broken hearted father have had a proud heart and hath beene wearyed with it hee labours to kill all the brood of those cursed distempers in his children Lastly hee labours to crosse and undermine all those occasions and meanes that have given any succour to his corruptions of heart the soule hath such a secret grudge against the thriving of sinne that it lothes all occasions that may maintaine his sinne as the drunkard and adulterer hate the place where they went in to commit sinne As in warre haply they cannot take the enemy but they will drive him out of the Country and burne downe all his Forts and fill up all his Trenches that hee may finde no provision so the heart that truly hates sinne and hath beene truly broken for it will hate all occasions and whatsoever may be any meanes to strengthen it Even all these proud and whorish lockes and these Spanish cuts all these wanton and garish attires and light behaviours which were nothing else but the Tent wherein his vaine filthy light heart hath lodged Thus it was with Mary Magdalen the reason why it is so is this because the heart that hath beene broken for sinne and burdened with the evill of it hath now found by wofull experience that sinne is the greatest evill of all others and therefore for the preservation of it selfe it will hate that sinne which separates betweene God and the Soule and with which the safety of the soule cannot stand Every thing in reason desires the safety and preservation of it selfe the soule knowes sinne to be the greatest enemy and therefore it is most invenomed with violence against sinne and â—aith Whence come all these miseries and what is the mint out of which all these plagues and Judgements come Is it not my sinne It is not povertie it is not sicknesse nor disgrace that pincheth mee but my sinne first caused all these It is the poyson of sinne in povertie and the poyson of sinne in shame and the wrath of God in all these by reason of my sinne These evills were not evill to mee but that my sinnes make them so Had I a heart to feare GOD and to love him and depend upon him in poverty God would inrich mee and in shame hee would honour mee and in misery hee would comfort mee It is not povertie nor shame that doth hurt mee but sinne lyes and venomes my soule And therefore the soule now cryes Men and Brethren What shall I doe to bee freed from these corruptions Great are the evills that I have found and marvellous are the plagues that I have felt by reason of my sinnes but farre worse will that portion bee that I shall have in hell in endlesse torments hereafter this will bee the perfection of all misery let it bee any thing rather then this it is better here now to be plagued then everlastingly damned The first Use is a ground of admirable comfort and strong consolation to all such as have found this dislike and hatred of sinne hee may be sure his heart hath beene broken for sinne and so consequently hee shall certainly have Christ and grace I doubt not but every soule is perswaded of this and saith Indeed if I could finde my soule greeving within me for my rebellions and sinnes then I did not doubt it but how shall I know whether my soule hath beene ever as yet truely wounded for sinne as sinne Answ. I answer if thou hast this hatred and thy heart is carried against thy sinnes with an utter indignation against them then certainely thy soule hath been truly broken indeed sometimes a man doth hate his sinnes more then ever he hath been burthened with them but thus it is commonly if thy hatred be good thy sorrow hath been sincere for how can thy heart goe against sinne except thou have found some evill in it and how canst thou be an enemy to corruption except thy heart hath beene wounded with it therefore let me advise all those that desire to have an evideÌ„ce of the worke of grace in their soules to goe in secret and examine their hearts whether they can make hue and cry after their corruptions can you be content that all your sinfull distempers even those that would affect you most should be made knowne either in publique by the ministry of the word or in private by some faithfull Christian and can you be content that he should come home to your hearts and dragge out your corruptions before the world then you have beene wounded for sinne and are enemies against it as David saith Trie me O Lord and examine me and prove my heart and my reines and see if there be any wickednesse in me He deales like a good subject that lockes all the doores and bids the officers search if there be any traitor in his house if any one hide the traitor he is a traitor himselfe in so doing so David as it were sets open the doore of his heart and saith Good Lord if there any wickednesse in me yet not discovered Lord let that word that Spirit and that messenger of thine finde it out reprove me convince me Lord and discover my hypocrisie and pride of heart This is an honest heart certainly Secondly when thou hast found out thy sinne by the help of the minister then