Reason and in Accord among themselves there was a perfect Peace but Sin has raised an intestine War in Man's Breast The Law of the Members rebels against the Law of the Mind for there is no Man so prodigiously wicked and spoil'd of his Primitive Endowments but still there remains some Principles of Morality in the Mind so that his Conscience discovers and condemns the Vices he allows and practises which makes the Sinner uneasy to himself and mixes Vinegar with his Wine Besides since the Passions are disbanded into what Confusion is Man fallen How various how violent are they and often repugnant to one another How often do we change their Habits and Scenes in a day Sometimes we are vainly merry and then as vainly sad sometimes desirous and then averse and with respect to ourselves sometimes pleased sometimes vex'd sometimes amiable and sometimes odious we are more mutable than the Planet that is the Emblem of Inconstancy How often do Clouds of Melancholy darken the bright Serenity of the Spirit and cast a dreadful Gloom over it How oft do Storms of Passion disturb its Tranquillity The Breast of Man that was the Temple of Peace is become a Den of Dragons every exorbitant Affection tears and torments him 'T is true this is also a penal Effect from Divine Justice There is no Peace saith my God to the Wickd With which that Saying of St. Austin is consonant Jussit Domine sic est omnis inordinatus affectus est sibi poena 3. Sin has broke our Agreement with one another When there was a regular Consent between the superiour and lower Faculties in all Men they were in Unity among themselves for they were perfectly alike But the tumultuous and tyrannical Passions have engaged them in mortal Enmity 'T is the account St. James gives From whence come Wars and Fightings among you Come they not hence even of your Lusts that war in your Members Sin kindles and blows the Fire of Discord in Families Cities Kingdoms Sin is the Fury that brings a smoaking Firebrand from Hell and sets the World into Combustion Ambition Avarice the greedy Desires of Rule and Revenge have made the World a Stage of not feigned but the most bloody Tragedies In this Men are not like but worse than the Beasts for the fiercest Beasts of Africa or Hyrcania have a respect for their own Likeness tho they devour others yet they spare those of their own kind but Men are so degenerate as to be most cruel against their Brethren These are some of the Evils that proceed from Sin as their natural Cause And from hence 't is evident that Sin makes Men miserable were there no Hell of Torment to receive them in the next State Secondly I will consider the Evils consequent to Sin as the Penal Effects of the Sentence against Sin of Divine Justice that decrees it and Divine Power that inflicts it and in these the Sinner is often an active Instrument of his own Misery 1. The Fall of the Angels is the first and most terrible Punishment of Sin God spared not the Angels that sinned but cast them down to Hell reserved in Chains of Darkness to Judgment How are they fallen from what height of Glory and Felicity into bottomless Perdition How are they continually rack'd and tormented with the Remembrance of their lost Happiness If a thousand of the prime Nobility of a Nation were executed in a day by the Sentence of a righteous King we should conclude their Crimes to be atrocious innumerable Angels dignified with the Titles of Dominions and Principalities were expell'd from Heaven their native Seat and the Sanctuary of Life and are dead to all the joyful Operations of the intellectual Nature and only alive to Everlasting Pain One Sin of Pride or Envy brought this terrible Vengeance from whence we may infer how provoking Sin is to the holy God We read of King Uzziah that upon his Presumption to offer Incense he was struck with a Leprosy and the Priests thrust him out and himself hasted to go out of the Temple a Representation of the Punishment of the Angels by Presumption they were struck with a Leprosy and justly expelled from the Celestial Temple and not being able to sustain the Terrors of the Divine Majesty they fled from his Presence 'T is said God cast them down and they left their own Habitation 2. Consider the Penal Effects of Sin with respect to Man They are comprehended in the Sentence of Death the first and second Death threaten'd to deter Adam from transgressing the Law In the first Creation Man while innocent was immortal for altho his Body was compounded of jarring Elements that had a natural Tendency to Dissolution yet the Soul was endowed with such Vertue as to imbalm the Body alive and to preserve it from the least degree of Putrefaction But when Man by his voluntary Sin was separated from the Fountain of Life the Soul lost its derivative Life from God and the active Life infused by its Union into the Body It cannot preserve the natural Life beyond its limited Term. A righteous Retaliation Thus the Apostle tells us Sin came into the World and Death by Sin Even Infants who never committed Sin die having been conceived in Sin And Death brought in its Retinue Evils so numerous and various that their kinds are more than words to name and distinguish them Man that is born of a Woman is of few days and full of Trouble at his Birth he enters into a Labyrinth of Thorns this miserable World and his Life is a continual turning in it he cannot escape being sometimes prick'd and torn and at going out of it his Soul is rent from the Embraces of the Body 'T is as possible to tell the number of the Waves in a tempestuous Sea as to recount all the tormenting Passions of the Soul all the Diseases of the Body which far exceed in number all the unhappy Parts wherein they are seated What an afflicting Object would it be to hear all the mournful Lamentations all the piercing Complaints all the deep Groans from the miserable in this present State What a prospect of Terror to see Death in its various Shapes by Famine by Fire by Sword and by wasting or painful Diseases triumphant over all Mankind What a sight of Woe to have all the Graves and Charnel-houses open'd and so many loathsom Carcases or heaps of dry naked Bones the Trophies of Death expos'd to view Such are the afflicting and the destructive Effects of Sin For Wickedness burns as a Fire it devours the Briars and Thorns Besides other Miseries in this Life sometimes the Terrors of an accusing Conscience seize upon Men which of all Evils are most heavy and overwhelming Solomon who understood the Frame of Humane Nature tells us The Spirit of a Man can bear his Infirmity that is the Mind fortified by Principles of moral Counsel and Constancy can endure the Assault of external Evils but a
wounded Spirit who can bear This is most insupportable when the Sting and Remorse of the Mind is from the Sense of Guilt for then God appears an Enemy righteous and severe and who can encounter with offended Omnipotence Such is the sharpness of his Sword and the weight of his Hand that every Stroke is deadly inward Satan the cruel Enemy of Souls exasperates the Wound He discovers and charges Sin upon the Conscience with all its killing Aggravations and conceals the Divine Mercy the only Lenitive and healing Balm to the wounded Spirit What Visions of Horror what Spectacles of Fear what Scenes of Sorrow are presented to the distracted Mind by the Prince of Darkness And which heightens the Misery Man is a worse Enemy to himself than Satan he falls upon his own Sword and destroys himself Whatever he sees or hears afflicts him whatever he thinks torments him The guilty Conscience turns the Sun into Darkness and the Moon into Blood the precious Promises of the Gospel that assure Favour and Pardon to returning and relenting Sinners are turn'd into Arguments of Despair by reflecting upon the abuse and provocation of Mercy and that the Advocate in God's Bosom is become the Accuser Doleful State beyond the Conception of all but those who are plung'd into it How often do they run to the Grave for Sanctuary and seek for Death as a Deliverance Yet all these Anxieties and Terrors are but the beginning of Sorrows for the full and terrible Recompences of Sin shall follow the Eternal Judgment pronounc'd against the Wicked at the last Day 'T is true the Sentence of the Law is past against the Sinner in this present State and Temporal Evils are the Effects of it but that Sentence is revokable at Death the Sentence is ratified by the Judg upon every impenitent Sinner 't is decisive of his State and involves him under Punishment for ever But the full Execution of Judgment shall not be till the publick general Sentence pronounc'd by the everlasting Judg before the whole World It exceeds the compass of created Thoughts to understand fully the direful Effects of Sin in the Eternal State For who knows the Power of God's Wrath The Scripture represents the Punishment in Expressions that may instruct the Mind and terrify the Imagination that may work upon the Principles of Reason and Sense by which Men are naturally and strongly moved 1. Sinners shall be excluded from Communion with the blessed God in Heaven in whose Presence is Fulness of Joy and at whose Right-hand are Pleasures for evermore In the clear and transforming Vision of his Glory and the intimate and indissolvable Union with him by Love consists the Perfection and Satisfaction of the immortal Soul The Felicity resulting from it is so entire and eternal as God is great and true who has so often promis'd it to his Saints Now Sin separates lost Souls for ever from the reviving Presence of God Who can declare the Extent and Degrees of that Evil for an Evil rises in proportion to the Good of which it deprives us it must therefore follow that Celestial Blessedness being transcendent the Exclusion from it is proportionably evil And as the Felicity of the Saints results both from the direct Possession of Heaven and from comparison with the contrary State so the Misery of the Damned arises both from the Thoughts of lost Happiness and from the lasting Pain that torments them But it may be replied If this be the utmost Evil that is consequent to Sin the threatning of it is not likely to deter but few from pleasing their corrupt Appetites for carnal Men have such gross Apprehensions and vitiated Affections that they are careless of Spiritual Glory and Joy They cannot taste and see how good the Lord is nay the Divine Presence would be a Torment to them For as Light is the most pleasant Quality in the World to the sound Eye so 't is very afflicting and painful to the Eye when corrupted by a Suffusion of Humours To this a clear Answer may be given In the next State where the Wicked shall for ever be without those sensual Objects which here deceive and delight them their Apprehensions will be changed they shall understand what a Happiness the Fruition of the blessed God is and what a Misery to be uncapable of enjoying him and expell'd from the Celestial Paradise Our Saviour tells the Infidel Jews There shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and you your selves shut out How will they pine with Envy at the sight of that Triumphant Felicity of which they shall never be Partakers Depart from me will be as terrible a part of the Judgment as Eternal Fire 2. God's Justice is not satisfied in depriving them of Heaven but inflicts the most heavy Punishment upon Sense and Conscience in the Damned for as the Soul and Body in their State of Union in this Life were both guilty the one as the Guide the other as the Instrument of Sin so 't is equal when re-united they should feel the Penal Effects of it The Scripture represents both to our Capacity by the Worm that never dies and the Fire that shall never be quenched and by the destroying of Body and Soul in Hell-Fire Sinners shall then be tormented wherein they were most delighted they shall be invested with those Objects that will cause the most dolorous Perceptions in their sensitive Faculties The Lake of Fire and Brimstone the Blackness of Darkness are words of a terrible Signification and intended to awaken Sinners to fly from the Wrath to come But no words can fully reveal the terrible Ingredients of their Misery the Punishment will be in proportion to the Glory of God's Majesty that is dishonour'd and provok'd by Sin and extent of his Power And as the Soul was the Principal and the Body but an Accessary in the Works of Sin so it s capacious Faculties will be far more tormented than the more limited Faculties of the outward Senses The fiery Attributes of God shall be transmitted through the Glass of Conscience and concenter'd upon damned Spirits the Fire without them is not so tormenting as this Fire within them How will the tormenting Passions be inflam'd What Rancor Reluctance and Rage against the Power above that sentenc'd them to Hell What Impatience and Indignation against themselves for their wilful Sins the just Cause of it How will they curse their Creation and wish their utter Extinction as the final Remedy of their Misery But all their ardent Wishes are in vain for the Guilt of Sin will never be expiated nor God so far reconcil'd as to annihilate them As long as there is Justice in Heaven and Fire in Hell as long as God and Eternity shall continue they must suffer these Torments which the Strength and Patience of an Angel cannot bear one hour From hence we may infer what
in a day repeated Christ's Sacrifice was with Blood and an unbloody Sacrifice is not propitiatory nor can obtain Remission Where can they find in Scripture the Religious Worship of the Saints They set up an infinite number of Intercessors and rob our Saviour of his Glory as if he were defective either in his Compassionate Love to us for whom he mediates or in his Power with God They prefer his Mother before him in dispensing Mercy of which Sinners have the most need they represent him as strict and severe but she is composed of Sweetness he is the Judg she the Advocate and Saviour we will leave them to the jealous God I shall only observe farther that many erring Sects preserve their Allegiance to the Divine Authority in the Scripture for they do not assume an Infallibility to themselves but mistake the Sense of Scripture but the Papists by asserting that the Authority of Scripture depends upon the Testimony of their Church that is the Sun borrows its Beams from her Eyes and by arrogating an Infallibility to it do in effect renounce Homage to the Authority of God in his Word And from hence it is that the Adherers to that Religion are so inconvincible tho Sense Reason and Scripture discover their Doctrines to be plainly impossible Their Doctrine of Transubstantiation involves such Contradictions as destroy the Essence and End of Miracles Their Doctrine of the Pope's Supremacy implies there are two Monarchs of one Kingdom two Heads of one Body two Husbands of one Spouse No Errors are more strong and fatal than such as are arm'd with Authority especially if that Authority be esteem'd sacred But to return from this Digression tho not impertinent Compel them to come in The word signifies the use of all constraining Motives and the most earnest Intreaties that are congruous to prevail upon those who are invited to a Feast The same word is used Mat. 14. 22. And Jesus constrained his Disciples to get into a Ship which certainly was not by violent driving or drawing them but by his commanding Authority So 't is related of the two that were with our Saviour in the Journey to Emmaus that they constrained him to abide with them The Constraint was by earnest Intreaties far from Force The same word is used of Peter's compelling the Gentiles to live after the Rites of the Jews that was by his Example Thus the Nations were compelled to receive the Gospel by the Apostles the Ambassadors for Christ who did ardently in season and out of season pray them in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God Their Doctrine was recommended by the Holiness of their Lives and confirmed by the Lustre of their Miracles In short the Expression signifies how pleasing it is to God that those who are invited by the Offers of Grace in the Gospel should come to Christ to obtain Life and that the Invitation shall be effectual in the Hearts of those who belong to the Election of Grace The Proposition that I shall insist on is this 'T is the great Duty of the Ministers of Christ to use their best Endeavours to instruct and perswade Men to embrace the saving Mercies of the Gospel The Commission was immediately given to the Apostles but extends to the end of the World till the Ministration of the Gospel shall cease I will explicate the Doctrine in this order I. Consider what is implied the Aversness in Men from consenting to the Terms of Salvation offered in the Gospel II. The Means by which they are wrought on and induced to come to the Celestial Feast III. Prove that 't is the great Duty of the Ministers of Christ to apply themselves with a holy Zeal to bring Men to partake of the saving Mercies revealed in the Gospel I. There is an Averseness implied in the Expression Compel them to come in This will be evident by considering that the World the Flesh and Satan are Enemies in Combination against the Souls of Men and raise an Army of Objections against their submitting to the Terms of the Gospel 1. The World is the general Temptation the natural World and the corrupt World the Things and Men of the World hinder our coming to Christ. 1st The natural World comprising all the Creatures in it was originally very good both in respect of the Things themselves and their designed Use for they were beneficial to Man in order to his serving and enjoying the blessed God But since his Fall from the State of unstain'd Nature they are accidentally evil to him The Creatures are made subject to Vanity not willingly they are perverted from their innocent use to foment and gratify Mens vicious Appetites Therefore the Apostle declares the whole Creation groans and travels in Pain is in a kind of Agony ready to faint not for the Labour but the Indignities they suffer The Charge that God fastens upon Idolaters is true against Worldly Men Ye have taken my Silver and my Gold and have carried into your Temples my goodly pleasant things The Riches the Pleasures the Greatness and Glory of the World are the Idols of their Heads and Hearts The Interposition of the Earth darkens their Minds eclipses their Esteem of the Fruition of God as their only Happiness the Love of it alienates and estranges their Affections from him their Trust in it slackens their due Dependance upon him From hence it is that the World which made by God was a fair and bright Theatre of his Perfections to raise the Thoughts and Affections of Men with Delight and Wonder to the blessed Creator as 't is manag'd by Satan and abus'd by the Lusts of Men is the Shadow of Death such as some Trees cast that not only intercept the refreshing Light of the Sun but shed a malignant contagious Influence Strange Alteration The World is present and sensible and makes an easy entrance into the Bosoms of Men. Their Souls are surpriz'd and deceived by the Suggestions of the Senses that represent earthly things as great Realities spiritual and future things are to them but matters of Fancy and Conceit The present and succeeding World are like Counterballances as the one rises the other sinks in Mens Opinions When the World has got Possession of them it commands and captivates all their Powers and Faculties All the Preaching in the World is in vain a Throng of Business or loose Diversions causes the neglect of the great Salvation Represent to them the attractive Mercies of God his melting Bowels open'd in the Gospel to all repenting Sinners they are unmoved frozen in their Dregs Remember them that their Bodies are dying every day and their Souls are already dead and that without sincere coming to Christ they cannot be recovered to the Life of Grace and Glory 't is in vain tell them they must shortly appear before the dread Lord of Spirits and be accountable for all things done in this World and the Consequence will be eternal all is in vain they
the sight of God is our inherent Holiness they blaspheme the imputed Righteousness of Christ as a fantastick Apprehension they declare that good Works have the merit of Conâ—… and Condignity to eternal Life and that by Penance Satisfaction is paid to God for their Sins as if there were a Proportion between the one and the other They succeed the Pharisees in their proud and stubborn Resistance of the Gospel And among other carnal Motives that fasten Men in that corrupt Religion these have a special force as quieting Conscience and gratifying their Lusts that they can make Compensation for their Offences against God and that the Absolution of a Priest seals their Pardon thus being clear they may begin a new Score and return to their old Lusts with new Affections 2. As Self implies the Flesh with its Affections and Lusts so Self-denial and Sin-denial are of the same extent The whole Body of Corruption with all the parts of it even the dearest the most tender and most cherish'd by carnal Men must be mortified Severe Restraints are laid upon the desiring and the angry Appetites the Springs of all the Sins and Miseries in the World We are strictly commanded to pluck out the right Eye and to cut off the right Hand upon the most fearful Penalties the suffering Torments insupportable and everlasting The Gospel has the Perfections of a Rule 't is clear and compleat in the Direction of our Duty It teaches us to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this World Now carnal Men are apt to say with the Capernaites This is an hard saying Every one has a peculiar Favourite Lust the Sin of his Complexion or of the Country wherein he lives which if you pluck out of their Bosoms they will fly in your Face Men willingly enough hear Reproofs against Sins to which they are disinclin'd but if directed against their own Sins whether of Pleasure or Profit they will scorn the Reproof and storm at the Reprover They will perform some Duties that are consistent with their Carnal Ease and Interest but obstinately stick at others Herod is a notorious Instance of this 't is related he heard John Baptist gladly and observed him and when he heard him he did many things but his incestuous Affection made him prefer a filthy Harlot before the pure Law of God One indulged Lust captivates the Soul and keeps it under the Power of Satan If one Leg of a Bird be catch'd in the Net 't is as surely held as if its whole Body were entangled One Lust separates from Christ and is a Bar against our entrance into Heaven for Christ is the only way to it The Word of God is sharper than a two-edg'd Sword but carnal Men will interpose their Souls between their tender Lusts and the Word and receive its deadly Strokes to spare them The Lord Christ tells the Jews Ye will not come to me that ye may have Life They would readily embrace a Saviour that would allow the Pleasures of Sin and free them from the Punishment but their Wills were so strongly engaged they would suffer no Divorce from their beloved Lusts they chose Hell with Sin rather than Heaven with Holiness 3. The denial of Self includes all that in the order of Nature belongs to us Life and all the Supports the Comforts the Ornaments and Endearments of it the sweetest Relations Father and Mother Brother and Sister Wife and Children the richest Possessions Houses and Land must be always parted with in the Preparations of our Heart and Resolutions of our Wills and actually rather than desert our Duty Such a Supremacy of Affection is required by our Saviour that suspends the Operation of our Love upon all inferior things when they are in Competition with his Interest and Glory This Command binds all without exemption therefore he directs his Followers to be arm'd with Expectation of hard Entertainment in the World Now this Precept seems so severe to carnal Men that no Motives can reconcile their Affections to it If they are spoiled of the Advantages and deprived of the Pleasures of this World they are ready to complain as Micah to them who robb'd him of his Image and Teraphim You take away my Gods As if the Son of God were such a poor or illiberal Rewarder either defective in Power or Love that they should be Losers for his sake Thirdly The promised Rewards of the Gospel have no affective Force upon the Carnal Mind and Affections 'T is true the Gospel has open'd Heaven and brought Life and Immortality to light a State of entire endless Joy in the Presence of God Is it possible that Men should be indifferent and careless of their final Happiness 'T is almost equally difficult to induce Men to believe and chuse the Favour and Fruition of God as their only Felicity as to convince them they do not believe and choose it But their Actions declare their Choice and their Choice declares their Esteem for if his Favour were esteem'd an unvaluable Treasure it would be the chief Object of their Desires they would not forfeit it for all the World 't is therefore evident that the chusing the Pleasures of Sin and the Profits of the World is the direct despising the Favour of God And the account of it is clear for tho Heaven be a State of eternal and inexpressible Blessedness yet 't is future and spiritual it makes but a weak Impression upon their Minds and is unsutable to their Affections Can carnal Men have but an imaginary Representation of the World to come and their Assent to it is overshadowed and eclips'd by the present World with its Advantages and Pleasures they cannot relish a Happiness purely spiritual 'T is not the Goodness of the Object but the Inclination of the Heart that makes it desirable The wise Philosopher observes That such as the radicated Disposition and Habit of a Man is such will the End appear of him Therefore a supernatural spiritual Good cannot appear to a sensual Man so attractive as to be chosen as his Felicity Only the pure in Heart can see God and love him and enjoy him in his amiable Excellencies the Unrenewed have no certain nor satisfying Notions of the Happiness that his Presence diffuses among the Blessed above This will be discoursed of more particularly under another Head Fourthly Satan has a great Agency in Mens Opposition to the Gospel and their neglect of Salvation His Title the Tempter implies his constant Practice 'T is true he cannot hurt us against our Wills the Enemy without could not surprize us if the Traitor within the corrupt Nature did not give him Admittance he cannot immediately work upon the Will nor discern the Mind without our Consent he cannot obtain a Conquest over us therefore his prevailing Temptations do not disculpate Sinners that yield to them he rules only in the Children of Disobedience they are his
Grace in the Gospel The Sum of what has been discoursed of sinful and miserable Man is this The Understanding the directing Faculty is in ignorant Darkness and a dead Slumber not apprehensive of his Misery A dead Eye does not see its want of Sight nor a dead Heart feel its want of Life If the Head be obstructed with clammy Humours the whole Body is without Sense for the Nerves have their Root in the Brain and are the Channels to convey powerful Spirits to give Sense and Vigor and Motion to all the Parts The Will is a fierce and free Faculty commanding and active perverted and stubborn against the holy Law of God The Affections are exceedingly disordered and strongly inclin'd to sensual Things that flatter them with Satisfaction and very tumultuous and fiery against whatever shall cross their natural Inclinations Now how can one so stupid and refractory be made soft and flexible to the Call of Mercy As the Epicurean in Tully objects against the making of the World quae machinae qui vectes What Engines what Leavers were used in raising this vast Fabrick What he spoke in Derision may be said with Wonder What Engines what Instruments are used in craning up a Soul sunk below the Center to the highest Heaven What in making the new Creation that is more glorious and lasting than the first 'T is a Work respectively impossible not absolutely it can only be effected by the Power of God There is no Principle of Recovery left in fallen Man The Conversion of him from Sin to Holiness and from the Creature to God is a Miracle of Grace if he converted himself it were super-miraculous God can by his commanding Power bring Light out of Darkness but 't is plainly impossible that Darkness should produce Light The external Ministration of the Gospel without the concomitant Ministry of the Spirit is ineffective The Divinest Preacher cannot soften the Iron Sinew nor melt the Heart of Stone nor make the Rock to tremble The Prophet Isaiah whose sublime Eloquence overcomes all the admired Orators of the World yet complains Who has believed our Report to whom is the Arm of the Lord reveal'd The Angels of Light if they were sent from Heaven and were in this sense ministring Spirits they could not by their Seraphick Zeal and most excellent Eloquence change and reform Sinners One evil Angel seduced and corrupted the best Man Adam in the State of Innocence and Happiness but a Council of good Angels cannot restore one Man tho the least tainted to Holiness and Felicity No Creature can be a Creator the Sanctification of a Sinner is a new Creation 'T is only the Word of Life spoken by the Lord of Life that can raise dead Bodies and dead Souls Suppose the Word of God be assisted by his Rod yet that will be ineffectual to cleanse and change their Hearts without Divine Grace 'T is according to the wise Order of God whom the Word does not convert the Rod is made use of to cure and whom the Rod does not cure the Sword cuts off Prosperity furnishes the Carnal Appetites with delightful Objects and Men are easily induced to neglect their Duty like Children that forget their Lesson when they are at play Sense that reigns in Beasts and should serve in Men is then predominant But Affliction imbitters the carnal Sweets and is a proper Means to fix the Thoughts and restore the Mind to its Right and Jurisdiction as Blows and hard Usage bind up the ranging Fancy in distracted Persons tames and tires them and thereby reduces them to Sobriety Thus God is often pleased by Afflictions to shew Men their Transgressions to open their Ears to Discipline and effectually command them to return from their Iniquities But without the Instruction of his Spirit joins with the Voice of the Rod the utmost Effect of even sharp and long Afflictions is a forc'd and fading Repentance Constrained Devotion is like Fire struck out of a Flint hardly got and soon gone Thus 't is said of the Israelites in the Wilderness When he slew them they sought him they return'd and sought early after God but their Heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant How many open Rebels have been awaken'd by the fear of Death and when they have tasted and seen the Terrors of the Lord what Addresses what Submissions what Promises have they made to God but after their Reprieve how soon have they forgot the past Terrors and broke all the Bars of Reason and of their Resolutions and been as unreform'd as ever The wise Man tells us Bray a Fool in a Mortar pound him in pieces his Folly will remain in him Nay Miracles without the Application of them by Grace to the Spirits of Men are ineffectual to work Faith and Repentance The End of them is by the Evidence of Sense to excite the Mind to consider the Power that works them But they may astonish the Sense and the Mind not be convinc'd or if convinc'd yet they leave no permanent Operation upon the Hearts of the Spectators Moses charges the Israelites that notwithstanding they had seen all the miraculous Strokes of God's Power upon Pharaoh and his Servants yet the Lord hath not given you an Heart to perceive and Eyes to see and Ears to hear to this day When the Son of God appear'd in his own Likeness and did such numerous and conspicuous Miracles that compell'd the most stubborn Devils to acknowledg his Deity yet the Pharisees remained obstinate and inconvincible The Souldiers who saw him rising in Power and Glory and were almost frighten'd to Death at the sight yet continued obdurate in their Infidelity Our Saviour assures us No Man can come to him except the Father which hath sent me draw him The Words are full of Emphasis No Man the Negation is universal not only the Act is denied No Man comes but the Power can come no less than Omnipotent Grace draws him A carnal Man will not come to Christ for Life and he cannot will to come for his Mind is so fore-laid with Prejudice and his Will is so depraved and intangled with the love of Sin that he cannot sincerely desire to be set free Every delightful Sin is like a charm'd Circle out of which the Sinner cannot move We are not to conceive of this Disability as if Sinners had not deliberative and elective Faculties to consider and choose what is best such a Disability would be an Argument for their Innocence and Justification Neither as if Men had a Will to forsake Sin and wanted Power like a miserable Slave that sighs after Liberty but is fasten'd by heavy Fetters but the perverse Will keeps them in Bondage They serve divers Lusts and Pleasures and delight in their Fetters 'T is a voluntary culpable Impotence join'd with a strong Reluctancy to Grace 't is the impudent imperious Weakness of the Whorish Woman charged upon the Israelites and
Scepter of David so great a King the Royal Branch of his Family degenerated into a poor Carpenter The greatest in the World and the most proud of their Greatness the Luxurious Voluptuaries shall their Pomp and Delights continue with them in the Grave Can they reign and revel when their Bodies are in the Dust and their Souls in Hell Where is their admir'd Happiness Is it not all dead with them nothing will then remain but the tormenting Remembrance of their Folly But the Word of the Lord endures for ever 'T is an immortal Seed and makes the Ground 't is planted in to live for ever We are assur'd he that does the Will of God abides for ever The Blessedness of Heaven is everlasting as God the Object of it and the Soul that enjoys it There is nothing defective in the State above where Happiness is surrounded with Eternity This is worthy of our most aspiring Ambition of all our Hopes and Desires Now is it possible that the present World as empty as the Froth of the Sea as vanishing as a Puff of Air should be chosen before Celestial Happiness It is by the most so prodigiously are Carnal Men sway'd by Sense that like Brute Beasts they are violently drawn by present Things and little moved by Things spiritual and future The Devil brings ready Money in his Hands and tempts them with this present World The Son of God offers in his Word Eternal Happiness which is despised in the Comparison If one should choose a small Sum at present before the sure Reversion of an Estate that would enrich him all his Life would he not be despised by all for want of Understanding Yet Men allow that Folly in their own Practice that they would condemn in others But such is the Mercy of God that to perswade and prevail with us he uses all the Arguments that can work upon the Minds of Men. Hope and Fear are the strongest Springs to move us he therefore sets before us Heaven and Hell to attract our Hope and excite our Fear He makes use of Hell to kindle our Zeal in seeking the Kingdom of Heaven The most violent Passions are over-ruled by Fear Now in the threatning of Hell all the Motives of Fear are united Little Evils are despised not feared great Evils that may be easily avoided or apprehended very remote are not fear'd But Evils that are imminent and destructive are the most powerful Objects of Fear Now every Man in his sinful State hangs by slender Strings over the bottomless Pit and for his under-prizing and neglect of Heaven falls under the Sentence that determines his State in an everlasting Hell There is no dawning in that Darkness of Sorrow no refreshing in those Flames There is a restless Remembrance of what is lost as a Light that comes through a Cranny in a Dungeon that the forlorn Caitiff may remember the pleasant reviving Light of which he is deprived A thousand Years of Torment cannot expiate the Offences of those who disobey the Gospel they are full of Misery and fuller of Guilt that remains in its Weight upon them for ever The fear of this if duly believed and considered will bridle the strongest Desires after this vain World and make Men wise that they may not perish in their Choice To conclude Let those who are invited to this Heavenly Feast come with the Wedding-Garment 't is an Allusion to the decent Custom of wearing rich Apparel for Ornament and Lustre at Marriage-Solemnities to express Joy and to honour the Persons that are married Accordingly all that are in the Visible Church should adorn the Gospel by a Conversation becoming the Dignity and Purity of their high and holy Calling Unfeigned Faith that unites us to Christ and is effectual and evident in all good Works is the Wedding-Garment The Apostle exhorts the Romans to walk honestly as in the Day not in Rioting and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness not in Strife and Envy and whereas it might seem congruous to have added in direct Contrariety to those foul Sins Put on Temperance Chastity Patience and Charity he directs them to put on the Lord Jesus Christ because he is the only Fountain of supernatural Grace by which our Lusts are mortified Faith covers us with the Robe of his Righteousness and clothes us with the Garment of Salvation A counterfeit Livery of Profession will not make us accepted of God Is there any real Christianity without Faith in Christ and is there a lively Faith without Obedience to him Can you be a Subject without Subjection Christ is the King of Saints they are the Citizens of his Kingdom and only enjoy the Privileges of it How many are Christians in Title and Infidels in Practice They live in the bold Contempt of the Divine Law as if they were afraid the Justice of God should not have cause enough to condemn them or they would put it to a ventâ—â—e whether he would be true to his Threatning and punish accordâ—ng to his Law Others tho of a fair Conversation are but haâ—f-Christians they do not sincerely and entirely comply with the Terms of the Gospel to receive Châ—ist for their Prince and Saviour Let such remember the King came iâ— to see the Guests and saw a Man without a Wedding-Garment this signifies God's judicial Observation of all that are in his Church not one can escape his all-discerning Eye â—â—e closest Hypocrite is transparent in his Sight It follows in the Parable He saith unto him Friend How camest thou in hither withouâ— a Wedding-Garment Nothing will be available in Judgment not the most specious and glittering Profession without Faith in Christ and a renewed Heart and Life yet may fondly dream they may be saved tho not sanctified He was speechles reduced to a defenceless Silencâ— and Confusion The Heart of Man is deceitful above all things and above all things deceitful to it selâ— How often in the trial of his Spiritual State by Excuses and faâ—se Glosses he deceives and satisfies himself But there are no Apologies before the King all things are entirely open to his Eyes the Thoughts of Men will be their Accusers and their Works will depose against them And how fearful is the Judgment that follows Then said the King to the Servants Bind him Hand and Foot and take him away and cast him into outer Darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth Bind him Hand and Foot the Expression signifies that the revenging Power of God is inevitable and irresistible Cast him into outer Darkness that signifies the Separation from the reviving Presence and Communion of God there is weeping and gnashing of Teeth the Expression signifies the deepest Sorrow and higest Fury in the Damned What a Discord and Tumult of the tormenting Passions is there What Misery when the quickest Sense to feel and the greatest Evils to be felt are there Hell is an intolerable Climate where cold Despair and hot Rage are in
to add Drunkenness to Thirst. This casts such a foul Blemish upon the Justice of God that he threatens the severest Vengeance for it The Lord will not spare him but the Anger of the Lord and his Jealousy shall smoke against that Man and all the Curses written in this Book shall be upon him and the Lord shall blot out his Name from under Heaven Consider this ye that forget God lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver 6. The Sinner implicitly denies God's Omniscience There is such a Turpitude adhering to Sin that it cannot endure the Light of the Sun or the Light of Conscience but seeks to be conceal'd under a Mask of Vertue or a Vail of Darkness There are very few on this side Hell so transform'd into the likeness of the Devil as to be impenetrable by Shame What is said of the Adulterer and Thief Sinners of greater Guilt and deeper Dye is true in proportion of every Sinner If a Mans sees them they are in the Terrors of the shadow of Death Now from whence is it that many who if they were surpriz'd in the actings of their Sins by a Child or a Stranger would blush and tremble yet altho the holy God sees all their Sins in order to judg them and will judg in order to punish them are secure without any fearful or shameful Apprehensions of his Presence Did they stedfastly believe that their foul Villanies were open to his piercing pure and severe Eye they must be struck with Terrors and cover'd with Confusion Will he force the Queen before my Face was the Speech of the King inflam'd with Wrath and the Prologue of Death against the fallen Favourite Would Men dare to affront God's Authority and outragiously break his Laws before his Face if they duly consider'd his Omnipresence and Observance of them it were impossible And Infidelity is the radical Cause of their Inconsideration It was a false Imputation against Job but justly applied to the Wicked Thou sayest How does God know can he judg through the dark Cloud Thick Clouds are a Covering to him that he sees not And such are introduced by the Psalmist declaring their inward Sentiments The Lord shall not see neither shall the God of Jacob regard it Lastly The Sinner slights the Power of God This Attribute renders God a dreadful Judg. He has a Right to punish and Power to revenge every Transgression of his Law His Judicial Power is supreme his Executive is irresistible He can with one Stroke dispatch the Body to the Grave and the Soul to Hell and make Men as miserable as they are sinful Yet Sinners as boldly provoke him as if there were no danger We read of the infatuated Syrians that they thought that God the Protector of Israel had only Power on the Hills and not in the Vallies and renewed the War to their Destruction Thus Sinners enter into the Lists with God and range an Army of Lusts against the Armies of Heaven and blindly bold run upon their own Destruction They neither believe his All-seeing Eye nor All-mighty Hand They change the Glory of the living God into a dead Idol that has Eyes and sees not and Hands and handles not and accordingly his Threatnings make no Impression upon them Thus I have presented a true View of the Evil of Sin consider'd in it self but as Job saith of God How little a Portion of him is known may be said of the Evil of Sin How little of it is known For in proportion as our Apprehensions are defective and below the Greatness of God so are they of the Evil of Sin that contradicts his Soveraign Will and dishonours his excellent Perfections SERMON II. Genesis xxxix 9. How can I do this great Wickedness and sin against God 2. I shall proceed to consider the Evil of Sin relatively to us and prove it to be most pernicious and destructive If we compare it with Temporal Evils it preponderates all that Men are liable to in the present World Diseases in our Bodies Disasters in our Estates Disgrace in our Reputation are in just Esteem far less Evil than the Evil of Sin for that corrupts and destroys our more excellent and immortal Part. The vile Body is of no account in comparison of the precious Soul Therefore the Apostle enforces his Exhortation Dearly beloved Brethren abstain from fleshly Lusts that war against the Soul The Issue of this War is infinitely more woful than of the most cruel against our Bodies and Goods our Liberties and Lives for our Estates and Freedom if lost may be recover'd if the present Life be lost for the Cause of God it shall be restor'd in greater Lustre and Perfection but if the Soul be lost 't is lost for ever All Temporal Evils are consistent with the Love of God Job on the Dunghil roughcast with Ulcers was most precious in God's sight Lazarus in the lowest Poverty and wasted with loathsome Sores was dear to his Affections a Guard of Angels was sent to convoy his departing Soul to the Divine Presence But Sin separates between God and us who is the Fountain of Felicity and the Center of Rest to the Soul Other Evils God who is our wise and compassionate Father and Physician makes use of as Medicinal Preparations for the Cure of Sin and certainly the Disease which would be the Death of the Soul is worse than the Remedy tho never so bitter and afflicting to Sense Sin is an Evil of that Malignity that the least degree of it is fatal If it be conceiv'd in the Soul tho not actually finish'd 't is deadly One Sin corrupted in an instant Angelical Excellencies and turn'd the glorious Spirits of Heaven into Devils 'T is Poison so strong that the first Taste of it shed a deadly Taint and Malignity into the Veins of all Mankind Sin is such an exceeding Evil that 't is the severest Punishment Divine Justice inflicts on Sinners on this side Hell The giving Men over to the Power of their Lusts is the most fearful Judgment not only with respect to the Cause God's unrelenting and unquenchable Anger and the Issue everlasting Destruction but in the quality of the Judgment Nay did Sin appear as odious in our Eyes as it does in God's we should account it the worst part of Hell it self the Pollutions of the Damned to be an Evil exceeding the Torments superadded to them Sin is pregnant with all kinds of Evils the Seeds of it are big with Judgments The Evils that are obvious to Sense or that are Spiritual and Inward Temporal and Eternal Evils all proceed from Sin often as the Natural Cause and always as the Meritorious And many times the same Punishment is produc'd by the Efficiency of Sin as well as inflicted for its Guilt Thus Uncleanness without the miraculous Waters of Jealousy rots the Body and the Pleasure of Sin is revenged by a loathsom consuming Disease the natural Consequence of it
defers his Anger and loads them with his Benefits every day What is more astonishing than the Riches of his Goodness unless it be the perverse Abuse of it by Sinners to harden themselves in their Impieties But altho his Clemency delays the Punishment the Sacredness and Constancy of his Justice will not forget it when Patience has had its perfect work Justice shall have a solemn Triumph in the final Destruction of impenitent unreformed Sinners 3. The Consideration of the Evil of Sin so great in it self and pernicious to us heightens our Obligations to the Divine Mercy in saving us from our Sins and an everlasting Hell the just Punishment of them Our Loss was unvaluable our Misery extream and without infinite Mercy we had been under an unremediable necessity of sinning and suffering for ever God saw us in this wretched and desperate State and his Eye affected his Heart in his Pity he redeemed and restored us This is the clearest Testimony of pure Goodness for God did not want external Glory who is infinitely happy in his own Perfections he could when Man revolted from his Duty have created a new World of innocent Creatures for infinite Power is not spent nor lessened by finite Productions but his undeserved and undesired Mercy appeared in our Salvation The way of accomplishing it renders Mercy more illustrious for to glorify his Justice and preserve the Honour of his Holiness unblemish'd he laid upon his Son the Iniquity of us all This was Love that passeth all Understanding Our Saviour speaks of it with Admiration God so loved the World and hated Sin that he gave his only begotten Son to die for it that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting Life And how dear are our Engagements to Jesus Christ The Judg would not release the Guilty without a Ransom nor the Surety without Satisfaction and the Son of God most compassionately and willingly gave his precious Blood to obtain our Deliverance If his Perfections were not most amiable and ravishing yet that he died for us should infinitely endear him to us To those who believe he is precious to those who have felt their undone Condition and that by his Merits and Mediation are restored to the Favour of God he is eminently precious Who can break the Constraints of such Love If there be a spark of Reason or a grain of unfeigned Faith in us We must judg that if one died for all then all were dead and those that live should live to his Glory who died for their Salvation Add to this that in the Sufferings of Christ there is the clearest Demonstration of the Evil of Sin and how hateful it is to God if we consider the Dignity of his Person the Greatness of his Sufferings and the innocent Recoilings of his Human Nature from such fearful Sufferings He was the Eternal Son of God the Heir of his Father's Love and Glory the Lord of Angels he suffered in his Body the most ignominious and painful Death being nail'd to the Cross in the sight of the World The Sufferings of his Soul were incomparably more afflicting For tho heavenly meek he endured the Derision and cruel Violence of his Enemies with a silent Patience yet in the dark Eclipse of his Father's Countenance in the desolate state of his Soul the Lamb of God opened his Mouth in that mournful Complaint My God my God why hast thou forsaken me His innocent Nature did so recoil from those fearful Sufferings that with repeated Ardency of Affection he deprecated that bitter Cup Abba Father all things are possible to Thee let this Cup pass me He address'd to the Divine Power and Love the Attributes that relieve the Miserable yet he drank off the Dregs of the Cup of God's Wrath. Now we may from hence conclude how great an Evil Sin is that could not be expiated by a meaner Sacrifice than the offering up the Soul of Christ to atone incensed Justice and no lower a Price than the Blood of the Son of God the most unvaluable Treasure could ransom Men who were devoted to Destruction 4. The Consideration of the Evil of Sin in it self and to us should excite us with a holy Circumspection to keep our selves from being defiled with it 'T is our indispensable Duty our transcendent Interest to obey the Divine Law entirely and constantly The Tempter cannot present any Motives that to a rectified Mind are sufficient to induce a Consent to Sin and offend God Let the Scales be even and put into one all the Delights of the Senses all the Pleasures and Honours of the World which are the Elements of Carnal Felicity how light are they against the Enjoyment of the blessed God in Glory Will the Gain of this perishing World compensate the loss of the Soul and Salvation for ever If there were any possible Comparison between empty deluding Vanities and Celestial Happiness the Choice would be more difficult and the Mistake less culpable but they vanish into nothing in the Comparison so that to commit the least Sin that makes us liable to the forfeiture of Heaven for the Pleasures of Sin that are but for a season is Madness in that degree that no words can express Suppose the Tempter inspires his Rage into his Slaves and tries to constrain us to Sin by Persecution how unreasonable is it to be dismayed at the Threatnings of Men who must die and who can only touch the Body and to despise the Terrors of the Lord who lives for ever and can punish for ever Methinks we should look upon the perverted raging World as a Swarm of angry Flies that may disquiet but cannot hurt us Socrates when unrighteously prosecuted to Death said of his Enemies with a Courage becoming the Breast of a Christian They may kill me but cannot hurt me How should these Considerations raise in us an invincible Resolution and Reluctancy against the Tempter in all his Approaches and Addresses to us And that we may so resist him as to cause his flight from us let us imitate the excellent Saint whose Example is set before us 1. By possessing the Soul with a lively and solemn Sense of God's Presence who is the Inspector and Judg of all our Actions Joseph repell'd the Temptation with this powerful Thought How shall I sin against God The Fear of the Lord is clean 't is a watchful Sentinel that resists Temptations without and suppresses Corruptions within 'T is like the Cherubim plac'd with a flaming Sword in Paradise to prevent the Re-entry of Adam when guilty and polluted For this end we must by frequent and serious Considerations represent the Divine Being and Glory in our Minds that there may be a gracious Constitution of Soul this will be our Preservative from Sin for altho the habitual Thoughts of God are not always in act yet upon a Temptation they are presently excited and appear in the view of Conscience and are effectual to make us reject the
Reflections our Sorrow should be most afflicting our Humiliation deeper our Selfcondemnation most severe for those Sins which have been most dishonourable to God and defiling to us Not that we can make any Satisfaction for our Sins tho we should fill the Air with our Sighs and Heaven with our Tears but it becomes us to have our Sorrows inlarged in some proportion to our Unworthiness And this mournful Disposition prepares us for the Grace of God The Law does not allow Repentance but exacts entire Obedience 't is the Privilege of the Gospel that repenting Sinners are assur'd of Forgiveness without this Qualification 't is inconsistent with the Majesty Purity and Justice of God to extend pardoning Mercy to Sinners for they will never value nor humbly and ardently seek for Mercy till they feel the woful Effects of Sin in their Conscience only the stung Israelite would look to the brazen Serpent And this is requisite to prevent our relapsing into Sin for the Dominion of Sin being founded in the Love of Pleasure the proper means to extinguish it is by a bitter Repentance the Heart is first broken for Sin and then from it To conclude Let us renew our Repentance every day let not the Wounds of our Spirits putrify let not the Sun go down upon God's Wrath let us always renew the Application of Christ's Blood that alone can cleanse us from Sin SERMON III. 1 JOHN V. 2. By this we know we are the Children of God if we love God and keep his Commandments OF all the Marks that are useful in the Trial of our Spiritual State in reference to Eternity there is none affords a more clear and comfortable Assurance of God's special and saving Mercy than Love to the Saints This has often resolved the Doubts and quieted the Fears of afflicted enquiring Souls when other Graces have not been so apprehensible in their Operations But there is no Mark which the deceitful Heart does more securely rest upon through the mistake of Natural Human Love for that which is Spiritual and Divine It is therefore most worthy our serious Thoughts the Deceit being so easy and infinitely dangerous to shew what is the unfeigned genuine Love of the Brethren to which Salvation is annex'd to confirm the humble sincere Christian and undeceive presuming Hypocrites The great Design of St. John in this Epistle is to excite and enflame in Christians the Love of God and of their Brethren the two comprehensive Duties and bright Sum of the Law our principal Perfections in Heaven and Earth These he recommends by the most affectionate and obliging the most warming melting Perswasives the superlative Love of God to us and our Communion with the Saints in Nature and Grace In the former Verse the Apostle argues from the reality of the Effect as an Evidence of the Cause Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ that is the Saviour of the World foretold by the Prophets and expresses the Truth of that Faith in a sutable Conversation is born of God and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him Grace is not less powerful in producing tender reciprocal Affections between the Off-spring of the same Heavenly Father than the subordinate Endearments of Nature The Pretence is vain of Love to God without loving his regenerate Children And in the Text he argues from the knowledg of the Cause to the discovering of the sincerity of the Effect By this we know that we love the Children of God with a holy Affection if we love God and keep his Commandments There is but one Difficulty to be removed that the Force of the Apostle's reasoning may appear 't is this a Medium to prove a thing must be a clearer Evidence than what is concluded by it Now tho a Demonstration from the Cause be more noble and scientifical yet that which is drawn from the Effect is more near to Sense and more discernable And this is verified in the Instance before us for the Love of God who is absolutely spiritual in his Being and Excellencies doth not with that sensible Fervour affect and passionately transport us as Love to his Children with whom we visibly converse and who are receptive of the most sensible Testimonies of our Affection Accordingly the Apostle argues He that loves not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen As the Motives to love our Brethren from our Conjunction in Nature and familiar Conversation are more capable to allure our Affections and more sensibly strike the Heart than the invisible Deity who is infinitely above us by the same reason we may more easily judg of the truth of our Love to them than of our Love to God To this the Answer is clear the Apostle doth not speak of the Love of God as a still silent contemplative Affection confined to the superiour Faculty of the Soul but as a burning shining Affection like Fire active and declarative of it self in those Effects that necessarily flow from it that is voluntary Obedience to his Commands and thus it becomes manifest to the renewed Conscience and is a most convincing Proof of the Sincerity of our Love to the Saints The Text being cleared affords this Doctrine Doct. The Sincerity of our Love to the Children of God is certainly discovered by our Love to God and Obedience to his Commands For the Illustration and Proof of the Point I will briefly shew I. Who are described by this Title The Children of God II. What is included in our Love to them III. What the Love of God is and the Obedience that flows from it IV. How from Love to God and willing Obedience to his Commands we may convincingly know the Sincerity of our Love to his Children To explain the first we must consider that this Title The Children of God is given upon several accounts First By Creation the Angels are called the Sons of God and Men his Off-spring The reason of the Title is 1. The manner of their Production by his immediate Power Thus he is stiled The Father of Spirits in distinction from the Fathers of the Flesh. For tho the Conception and forming of the Body be the Work of his secret Providence yet 't is by the hand of Nature the Parents concurring as the second Causes of it but the Production of the Soul is to be entirely ascribed to his Power without the Intervention of any Creature 2. In their spiritual immortal Nature and the intellectual Operations flowing from it there is an Image and Resemblance of God from whence this Title is common to all reasonable Creatures and peculiar to them for tho Matter may be ordered and fashioned by the Hand of God into a Figure of admirable Beauty yet 't is not capable of his Likeness and Image so that neither the Lights of Heaven nor the Beasts and Plants of the Earth are called his Children Secondly By External Calling and Covenant
Wit to dispute and deride the most sublime and sacred Truths out of the World Their Faces are full of Death the Tokens of Reprobation are visible upon them The Issue will discover them to be the wretched Examples of that fearful Rule Those who are destin'd to final Ruin are infatuated Others are Believers in Profession and their own Conceit but Infidels in Practice Their Faith is but a vain Opinion a loose Assent to the Christian Doctrine because 't is the Religion of the Country but with our Radication and Establishment This is evident considering that the Doctrines of the Gospel are not meerly intellectual the Objects of Theory and Speculation but moral and practical the Objects of our choice and seeking This is a faithful saying and worthy of all Acceptation that Jesus Christ is come into the World to save Sinners Accordingly the unfeigned belief of them is seated not only in the Mind but in the Heart and is correspondent to the infallible Truth and transcendent Goodness of the thing revealed they make such an Impression on the Soul that the value of them is above Life and whatever comes in Competition is with despising Disdain rejected But when Men seldom remember and little regard eternal Things how specious soever the Profession is can there be a reasonable Belief of their Words against their Works Therefore in the Language of the Scripture all that do not first seek the Kingdom of Heaven and the Righteousness thereof are Unbelievers it being morally impossible that Men should sincerely believe and have a due Apprehension of it but it must be the great Design of their Souls and the main Business of their Lives to obtain it 2. Security is the constant Effect of Infidelity and hardens Men in their Sins and the neglect of Salvation so dearly purchas'd and graciously offered to them in the Gospel Direct Infidels set their Mouth against Heaven and defy the Furnace of Hell They are blindly bold and fearless of that Judgment that makes the Devils tremble Others tho not open and palpable Infidels are in a dead Calm not sensible of their Sins and have slight Apprehensions of their great Danger Infidelity lies at the bottom of their Security As the Egyptians in the thick Darkness that covered the Land moved not from their Places so many in ignorant Darkness sit down and are at rest careless of the Saviour that can deliver from the Wrath to come Only those who have strong Apprehensions of Evils imminent and destructive will fly to Christ as a Sanctuary and Shelter and submit to his Terms of saving them Secondly The Corrupt Nature will not submit to the Sanctity and Purity of the Gospel The forecited Scripture tells us the Carnal Mind is Enmity against God and that Enmity is arm'd with many strong Lusts-opposing his Law The principal Cause of rejecting the Gospel is common to all We will not have this Man to reign over us 'T is observable that as Holiness is that Attribute wherein God doth most excel and Men are most defective so the corrupt Will is most opposite to it The Justice and Power of God in some cases Men do approve and apply themselves to if injuriously accused or opprest they desire his Justice to vindicate their Innocence and revenge their Wrongs if in Distress and Exigencies they pray that his powerful Providence may regard and relieve them but they are extreamly averse from his Holiness shining in his Laws which excites his Justice and Power to punish those who rebel against it They are ready to say to Christ what the rebellious Israelites said to Rehoboham Thy Father made our Yoke grievous now therefore make thou the grievous Service of thy Father and his heavy Yoke which he put upon us lighter and we will serve thee They will measure out the scantling of their Obedience how far he shall rule and farther they will not yield But our Saviour declares I am not come to destroy the Law but to fulfil it 'T is true the Gospel is a Covenant of Grace a soveraign Composition of precious Promises of recovering Grace and pardoning Mercy but 't is also a Law and enjoins Repentance towards God and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As without Compensation to the Justice so without Conformity to the Holiness of God we can never be restored to his Favour and enjoy him as our Felicity Our Saviour prescribes this indispensable Rule to his Disciples If any Man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me This is a comprehensive Fundamental Duty and the natural Man has a strong Reluctancy to every part of it 1. Self-dependance upon our own Vertues and Duties for the obtaining the Favour of God and the Eternal Reward is very natural to Men it was the Condition of the first Covenant to which they cleave Men of a fair Conversation and unblemish'd in the Eyes of the World have some Sparks of the Pharisee in them who justified himself that he was no Extortioner nor Unjust nor an Adulterer nor as the profane Publican and that he fasted and paid Tithes Upon such Reasons many presume of the Goodness and Safety of their Spiritual State they take Pride and Content in themselves in their Moral Goodness and do not feel the want of a Saviour nor apply themselves with humble mournful Affections to him for Reconciliation to God Others think by the Worthiness of their Works to compensate for the Unworthiness of their Sins to commute one Duty for another and ballance their Accounts with Heaven not considering that if their Works were perfectly good they are but the Performance of their Duty if they had never sinn'd It was one great Obstruction that hinder'd the Jews from receiving the Gospel They being ignorant of God's Righteousness and going about to establish their own Righteousness did not submit themselves to the Righteousness of God One of a high Spirit will rather wear a mean Garment of his own than a rich Livery the Mark of Servile Dependance Pride resists Grace and Grace resists Pride The Law of Faith requires us to renounce not only our Unrighteousness but our Righteousness even the most excellent Graces and the Fruits of them in comparison of Christ and as a Foundation of obtaining the Pardon of Sin and Salvation for ever Our Righteousness is defective and defiled and cannot endure the trial of God's inlightning Tribunal All our Doings and Sufferings cannot expiate the least Sin we must only rely upon the Lord our Righteousness to reconcile us to God and that we may stand in Judgment He was made Sin for us who knew no Sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him not in our selves How hard it is to awaken Men out of the Pharisaical Dream of their own Righteousness is evident both in the Doctrine and Practice of those of the Roman Communion They assert the formal Cause of our Justification in
his Voice harden not your Hearts Yet against all the Evidence of the Word without and of Conscience within Satan so strongly deceives Men that they rebelliously neglect their Duty till their Time and Life are expiring But how unbecoming how difficult how hazardous is a late Repentance How unbecoming is it to put off God till hereafter Such is his glorious Majesty we should with the most reverent Respect and humble Thankfulness obey his first Call If a Prince should invite a Subject to come to him for some great Favour would he so break all the Rules of Decorum as to delay his coming by saying Hereafter will be time enough And what is the greatest Majesty on Earth to the God of Glory no more than a More to the Sun and proportionably the Indignity arises to neglect the Offers of his Grace Besides how incongruous is it to give the Flower of our Time and Strength to our Lusts and to reserve the Bran for God To spend the Age of our vital and vigorous Actions in the Vanities and Business of the World and to allow only our languishing Age for the obtaining of Heaven That Men should content themselves with dead Affections in his Service who is their Life that were so lively in the Service of Sin that is their Death How difficult is a late Repentance Can you repent and believe at your pleasure Men think that in their Age after the ebbing and retirement of the carnal Affections they shall more easily forsake their Sins but 't is a pernicious Deceit The native Corruption of Mens Hearts alienates them from a dutiful return to God and contracted Corruption by habitual Practice fastens them in Sin as their Centre In Youth when the Blood and Spirits are high and fierce the Body has a corrupting Influence upon the Mind but by Custom in Sin the Mind is so depraved that it heats the frozen Blood and corrupts the Body Suppose the exciting Grace of the Spirit be not totally withdrawn which has often been ineffectual Can it be expected that after Men have been hardened in the commission and continuance of Sin they should be more receptive of Heavenly Impressions A Disease neglected at first that stealingly slips into the Habit of the Body and gradually weakens Nature becomes at last uncontroulable and incurable How hazardous is it to neglect present Obedience to the Call of Divine Mercy Our Days in the Language of the Psalmist are but as an hand-breadth and can Men extend their Lives beyond their Span A vast Eternity follows without Dimensions an undivided Duration It is no more in their Power to continue Time to come than to recal Time past How many are surpriz'd by hasty Death in their Security and die in their unrepented Sins and perish for ever The wise Man alarms the Sluggard with approaching Poverty and his Expressions are very applicable to the Delayers of Repentance Death comes like a Traveller gradually by silent Steps and as an armed Man will irresistably arrest them and Damnation follows which they can neither repel nor discover till they are seiz'd by it O that deluded Sinners would consider that nothing so ripens them for Death and accelerates Judgment as the Presumption that the Season of Grace will continue notwithstanding their lavish and careless wasting it But suppose that Life be extended to the utmost Date can you expect that the holy Spirit should visit you that have been so long putrifying in the Grave and breath a new Life into you 'T is the most severe threatning My Spirit shall not always strive with Man and then their Case is desperate There is a fearful Example recorded in Scripture the old World was first drowned in Sensuality and resisted the holy Spirit till he was withdrawn and then the Deluge wash'd away those Swine in their Mire Can you expect that at last when the World and your Sins leave you God will accept and receive you You are commanded to seek him in your early Spring in the first Dawnings of his Light and Favour and is a poor Remnant of your Life sufficient for obtaining his Meroy The Harlots respected not the dead but contended for the living Child Satan and the World strive to have the prime and best part of your Lives and will God be contented with the dying Remains Or do you expect an easy Composition for all the Abuse of his Benefits because of his Patience Do you presume because he forbears so long he will readily forgive at last The Servant not call'd to an account till he was run into an irrecoverable Arrearage of ten thousand Talents was delivered to the Tormentors till he should pay all his Debt How are Men degenerated and fallen lower than the Brute Creatures The Stork in the Heaven knows her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their coming but Men know not the Judgment of the Lord. This Consideration made our compassionate Saviour dip his Words in Tears He beheld the City and wept over it saying If thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things that belong to thy Peace but now they are hid from thine Eyes O wretched deceived Souls how long will you neglect a Saviour and Salvation How long shall he wait to be gracious and expect your lingering Repentance in vain Remember the time of Grace is limited if you refuse Obedience to the present Call do you know he will renew the Offers of his Grace Now is the accepted Time now is the Day of Salvation Will this New last for ever There is no Now of Favour and Hope in Hell 'T is true God is merciful and 't is one of his Royal Titles The God of Patience though Threatnings are denounced against Sinners and Judgments are ready to seize upon them he repents and stops his Wrath but there is no State more fearful in this World than when Men by neglecting Repentance make God weary of repenting When Patience has had its perfect Work towards the Unrelenting and Unreformed Justice succeeds before God cuts off a Sinner he cuts off all his Excuses Read with Fear the first of the Proverbs Because I have called and you refused I will laugh at your Calamity and mock when your Fear cometh God's Frown much more his Scorn is infinitely terrible and insupportable Those who delay Repentance till the Body is diseased all over and Death is printed in the Countenance and the languishing Lights are almost quench'd and the vital Frame is near a Dissolution yet presume a few Sighs will transport their Souls to Heaven How just and dreadful will their Disappointment be However they are deceived God is not mocked as a Man sows he shall reap SERMON IX LUKE xiv 23. The Lord said to the Servant Compel them to come in that my House may be full II. I Am now to consider the Means by which Men are wrought on to accept of the Invitations of