excuse your selves with them in the Gospel I have bought this and that and I cannot come I have so many Custodiums I cannot mind these things I have so much to do in the world and it is to be minded A poor ditch-water that is preferred before this Wine of the Kingdom will dross and dung meat and husks which is Swines meat nourish your souls to eternal life make as much account brethren of these things as you will to slight now the matters of eternity time will come when you would give all the fruit of your labours if it were a thousand times more for one sight of Jesus Christ one taste of his love one hours communion withhim before you go hence and be no more Alas But some will say I am a poor sinner the vilest filthy creature lame and blind and have all my life time been feeding with Swine upon husks and swill and trash these delights of sin and pleasures of the world O my days are consumed in sin and doth he invite such as I and may I come Yea brethren you find the poor lame and blind from the hedges and high-ways side were invited to his feast if you come but to Jesus Christ he will open the eys of the blind he hath eyeâ—alve for you and he will be legs to the lame and cloathing to the naked if you do but come to him put on Christ It is not any other infirmities which will abide upon the best of Gods people in part that can exclude us or cast us out but only the want of the wedding Garment if a man be never so well furnished otherwise as he thinketh O therefore come Brethren the Feast is made for such as you you are invited to it the simple the man void of understanding that is to say the sinner for sin is folly in Scripture-phrase you are invited to turn in this day to the Feast the Marriage-feast which is begun here upon earth but will end in heaven therefore be not discouraged Ah but you will say I have no such appetite to the Feast to hunger and thirst and is there any invited to come to it but such as have an appetite what shall they do there I answer no marvel thou hast no great appetite until thou hast more communion with him if thou hast had any And no marvel if thou hast no appetite if thov hast never been with Jesus for thou hast so long lived upon trash that it takes away the stomack to the sweetest and wholsomest food in the world But withal remember this who ever will is invited to come brethren and take freely It may be thou dost not find poor sinner such a strong desire such a breaking of soul for longing but hast thou a Will wouldst thou have Christ wouldst thou have his body this meat indeed this blood this drink indeed this wine of the Kingdom and begin this Feast this Marriage-feast upon earth why dost thou not take him then come and take it freely O that this might be the day of his power to many of your poor souls that you might become a willing people that you might have a heart to close with him to take him upon his own terms that you might begin your heaven upon earth your communion with Jesus Christ I will but add one word more and that is this It is no indifferent thing whether you close with this invitation or no there is a necessity lies upon you to come to the Marriage-feast except you resolve upon it to perish for ever God he was wroth and sent forth his armies to destroy c. Ah what gnashing of teeth will there be to poor sinners in hell when they shall see their neighbours who heard this Gospel with them sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob at the table of Christ in his kingdom and themselves cast out Ah brethren I beg for you a believing heart you must either feast with Christ or starve for ever with Satan and his Angels and then not a drop will be had to cool your tongues now flagons are tendered you now wine and milk without money and price now rivers of pleasures at Gods right hand and fulness of joy is promised you is held out to you cometh a begging to you Ah then then brethren shall you beg for a drop and shall not have it rivers of burning brimstone will be your bathing when the Saints are swallowed up of those rivers of pleasures at his right hand then will you be chewing upon your gall and wormwood then will you be breaking your teeth upon your gravel when the Saints are drinking this new wine in the kingdom of their Father with Jesus Christ Ah think of it brethren think of it you have now your good things many of your eyes stand out with fatness you spend a world upon your lusts live like Epicures wantonizing in the abundance of your enjoyments how woful will that sentence be Son remember thou in thy life time hadst thy good things and now thou art tormented hadst thy wine and drinking unto drunkenness now the stings of it abide upon thee the Saints have their worst first and the best kept until the last but you have your consolation in this world and the wine of astonishment will be your portion for ever if you will not be perswaded Therefore take your choice brethren I set life and death before you and consider of it How will you escape if you neglect this great salvation you may now be received to the Feast the door stands open it will not alway be so it will be shut against you O how will you answer it another day before the Lord Jesus if you now trample under foot his blood and precious offers of his Grace though by the hand and mouth of a poor worm like your selves Thirdly Then Brethren let as many as have received power to believe in the Lord Jesus and so are admitted to the beginning of this Marriage-supper upon earth to inward fellowship with Jesus Christ in the Graces of his Spirit and merits of his death and resurrection labour brethren to prepare your selves for this Feast in heaven by feeding heartily upon these dainties upon earth the more men eat and drink the more their stomacks are extended usually and the more they will receive surely it is so in spirituals the more a soul feeds upon Christ and the more abundantly he drinketh the more he may it enlargeth the desires Hitherto saith our Saviour you have asked nothing little or nothing Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full the more abundantly the soul is satisfied with the goodness of the house of God the more will the mouth be opened to receive now as our capacities do enlarge so much the more fitter are we for this Marriage-feast O therefore let us not come to the table of the Lord brethren this sign and
to set his love upon his soul he believeth no such things nor the Papists neither Nor many a poor hypocrite Alas they think they have somewhat that deserveth him I some beauty is in us that the Lord saw and so it was meet for him to lay out his love upon us proud wretches that we are it is well we have an infinitely condescending love yea and powerful that can overcome our pride and swallow it up and love not onely poor creatures nothing-creatures but such as falsly suppose themselves somewhat when they are nothing else what would become of many of us Well sure it is because we know not our selves or know not what this love means else we should all of us easily subscribe to this 2. That he would be at such a price for such for alas brethren 〈◊〉 who would lay down his life almost for the cho cest of persons though some in an Agony of Passion and discontent have made themselves away for them they have doated upon yet here was some proportion between the persons loving and loved yea happily the person loved might be the more eminent person and therefore might stand off and a man when he doth this alas he is beloved himself he is wrapt by the violence of his passion out of his choice his understanding and judgement dethroned and then the Affections like wild horses O whither will they not hurry a man but in such a case a man is not a man but now in sobriety of minde consider it and who would lay down their lives and dye for the obtaining the rarest creature in the world for a spouse surely none O no Skin for skin saith the Devil and though a man imagine more to be in what he hath never injoyed then he findeth by experience in what he hath had the flower and cream of yet notwithstanding if a man be himself he will prize his life above all but if he would dye would he dye a most shameful death to have his life taken away by the most violent destructions and convulsions of minde so strongly working upon the body as to moulder it away by degrees surely hardly any man would ever venture in such a case as this Alas What is this to what the Lord Jesus hath willingly undertaken for worms what man would dye for a worm that it might live and he might have it put in his bosom or rather would be contented to â—ay down his body take up the form of a worm and therein dye the most miserable death that he might have worms saved from death and be his nearest relations for ever O doth not this transcend the love of Angels brethren Alas what is this to what Jesus Christ hath paid for poor worms at the best sinful dust and ashes and that we might live and live in union and fellowship with himselfe for ever Ah Brethren if God would but make us sensible what we are at the worst and what the Lord Jesus underwent in some measure for apprehend it fully we cannot but such as have ever tasted what it is to sip of the cup may apprehend more then others what dregs were at the bottom a drop how doth it put the soul into an Agony upon the rack that thou wouldst choose death rather then life O what then was the whole cup brethren that he should undergo this and should with his most precious blood be willing to purchase such poor abjects forlorn Creatures to be a spouse to him yea with his blood drawn from him through the very pores of the body by the very distractions of his soul and wresâ—ling with wrath O was there ever grief like this that the father put him to and was there ever love like this brethren O that we had hearts indeed to admire it 3. That after all this is done he should be at such pains to bring us to himself to wooe us to come himself to send us his messengers to strive with us by his Spirit as you know he strivd long with the old world and strived long with the Israelites in the wilderness and many of our souls can say it by experience he hath striven long with us by his spirit when we have been convinced our ways have been folly and misery and yet we would not yield how hath he followed us up and down with motions of his spirit and waited to be gracious and all but to have our consent to take him for ours Dear friends who are we that the Lord Jesus should thus ambire make so much ado with us to have our consent to take him to accept of him for a Husband O what desperate enmity is in our hearts against him that there must be so much ado to overcome it You would think that poor begger either a very crooked cross piece full of bitter hatred against a Prince or Noble-man that sues to her with all the intreaties that can be sends messenger after messenger cometh himself and beseecheth her to accept of him and yet she will not no is she well where she is desireth not either you will say she believeth not what he saith that it is in reality it will not enter into her heart to think he is real he is so far above her though he tell her he knew that is sensible of it yet maketh love to her meerly because he will and his heart is towards her not for any thing in her self she believeth not or else that she is a desperate enemy and hater of such a Noble-man and would rather perish there or languish in such a condition as an abject then accept of him O this is the condition of many of us brethren some poor deject dunbelieving souls alas their hearts even fail within them to hear that J. Christ should make love to them O it canot be sure to such a worm such a wretch so poor so filthy so full of rags vermin so full of sores and wounds full deeply indebted so deformed and loathsom every way O they know not how to receive this Others they are even stout and proud and care no more for these things then if Jesus Christ had said nothing at all as for them they are well enough if he will let them alone they desire not to mend their conditions by closing with him Now brethren to both these how doth the Lord Jesus apply himself Never were there more powerful Arguments used and never more powerfully prest then he presseth them and that with more diligence and patient waiting upon us and O what love what manner of love is this that all this floweth from A little to touch upou each of them brethren happily the Lord may be pleased to breath in them to some poor soul and as he doth at other times thus so this day brethren Even to you he is pleading with you for this very end that some poor sinners would be perswaded to close with him First then The Arguments are the most
so humble Abigail and from Bâ—az so humble Ruth and shall not this love of Jesus Christ infinitely greater then all humble such poor filthy creatures upon whom he hath set his love Thirdly Let us hence take notice then of the many precious priviledges of the Saints We live much below them because we study them not keep not the relish of them upon our hearts I mean endeavour not so to do the Lord give us hearts now lifted up to him First then As many as by believing are espoused to Jesus Christ they are one with him in the nearest union Surely it is not for nothing that the H. Ghost delights so to set forth the believers relation to Christ by this of a spouse to a husband you know that this is the nearest union among men of one person to another Kindred are near a man his children his brethren they are usually called their bone and their flesh as the men of Judah spake to David we are thy flesh and thy bone but this is aâ— a greater distance but now in Marriage two persons that were strangers one to another never saw the face one of another within a little while by this Ordinance of God are brought to such a nearness as that Father and Mother and Children if they had any before yet they are not so near to them they shall leave Father and Mother and be joyned to their Husband here this union is the stranger by how much greater the distance between the persons were and how much the closer the union is now it is made the distance was great whether we respect the dignity of the person there was no proportion a King and a Beggar are but a shadow and a dark one too to set forth this a King and a worm to take it and lay it in his bosom is nothing to this but chiefly in respect of enmity of mind alas that such as we are at the deadliest feud haters of God and of Christ not only strangers but enemies through evil works that those should be brought so near to Christ as to be made one with him this is something indeed An impotent and weak enemy that could do nothing against him not so much as move any longer then he upheld us and yet we should be look't upon indeed a potent enemy happily in policie may be concerned to such an union but a weak enemy rather would be trampled under foot But then the nearness of the union man and wife are one flesh saith the Apostle but he that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit The union of soul and body is nearer then of man and wife if too bodies could be acted by one and the same soul this were a near union indeed Why the Lord Jesus and the saints are one and the same Spirit whereby they are knit together in love this is a near union indeed Is this a light thing a small thing to be made so near the Lord of life and glory even the Children of Israel a people near to him who is like them that have Christ so near them of that are so near him Secondly There is a sweet Communion and Fellowship ariseth upon this a blessed imparting now of all his fulness to such a soul all that is Christ's is now yours his righteousness yours therefore the Holy City the name of it is called the Lord our righteousness Now his honour is yours where he is King you are Queen as in the old custom with the Romanes they used to say where you are Caius I am Caia saith the woman where you are Lord I am Lady be the poor Creature never so contemptible yet marrying with a noble person it dignifieth her with a rich person it enricheth her because she hath an interest in all But beloved that though this be matter enough to insist upon if I could enlarge things for fear of being too tedious There is fellowship-Communion between the Lord Jesus and the soul that others know nothing what it meaneth the Lord Jesus is more open hearted to them his secrets are with them they are the hidden Manna and they again are most free to power out their souls to Jesus Christ into his bosom to power them out like water as he will hide nothing from Abraham so Abraham will hide nothing from him such a confidence hath the poor Believing soul that he speaks boldly freely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with speaking all so the original word properly imports that which none else in the world shall know they will make known to Jesus Christ they can be more free with him then any other And not only because he already knoweth the heart as I conceive but out of a sweet confidence they have in him and experience of his bowels yerning over poor souls in such a Condition so that if he knew not all that was in their hearts they would out of this freedom open it to him Yea the Lord Jesus he dyed our death and grieves our griefs and we rise his resurrection and rejoyce in his rejoycings he partaketh with us yea indeed bears the heavier end and all indeed of our miseries and we partake of his joys the oyl of gladness we are anointed with But this is the second Thirdly another is the cohabitation of Christ with his people I will dwell with them and I will walk in them when the new Jerusalem comes down from heaven the Church of the Jews shall come in then he will especially dwell in them then the Tabernacle of God is with men but now saith the Apostle that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith though he be absent indeed in some respect at the right hand of his father absent in body yet he is present in spirit as the Apostle saith of himself as he would have us to be in Heaven have our hearts there and so to dwell there to have our conversations there our love there and where the heart is there the man is Animus non est ubi animat sed ub i amat well we then dwell with him and he dwels with us with him will I dwell saith the Lord. It is a Marriage duty to dwell one with another and if a believer have an unbelieving yoke-fellow if he or she will live with the believer they must not put them away they must not depart from them so it is here the Lord Jesus dwels with his people and this is no small priviledge to the Husband the Bridegroom at hand alway ready to pity and compassionate us in our sufferings within or without But this the third Fourthly he nourisheth and cherisheth them No man hates his own flesh saith the Apostle but he nourisheth it and cherisheth it as you have it there in Nathan's parable one poor Ewe Lamb and he laid it in his bosom and it did eat of his bread and drink of his cup by which are meant all manner of supplies
upon us no man desires that he knoweth not We think we are in health and strength of soul in as good a condition as any need nothing and yet are poor and miserable and blind and naked just like a poor man the strength of his disease works him off his senses as we say he thinkeeh he is well as ever in his life when alas he is drawiâ—g nigh the chambers of death his disease is so much the more dangerous Brethren sin 〈…〉 s our heads with such fumes of pride and self-confidence and carnal reasonings that we are ready to conclude all is well with us and I doubt many of us whom this concerneth will put it away from us upon this very account We are whole need not the Physitian so we have no desire to be healed the tender of a plaister by another to a man that thinketh he hath no wounds it is ridiculous they are more ready to mock at it then receive it so far are Sinners from providing an healing for themselves because they are not sensible of their need of it they desire it not Depart from us we desire not the knowledge of thy ways we are well enough without it yea more we have no desire to be healed because we are in love with our diseases not as a man that hath an issue he knoweth doth him good would not have it stopt but we have many bloody issues of sin and because of the pleasure and delight or proâ—t or humour or some things we please our selves with them for we are loath to part with them Augustine himself was loath to be healed so soon of his lust not yet Lord not yet said his heart when he prayed for healing the disease hath seized upon the will it self so that it is pleased and taken with the sickness the ill savour of our wounds the stench of them is sweet to us while we have a stinking nostril and therefore no marvel if we can never heal our selves there is need of this Lord Jesus to come with healing under his wings Thirdly We do reject healing and the Physitian When he would have healed us we would not be healed therefore much less can we do it our selves I would have purged thee and thou wast not purged c. Brethren how often hath the Lord Jesus called upon us all and have we not many of us as often refused Hath he not stretched out his hands all the day long all the day of Grace which hath continued long with us and we have been a rebellious a disobedient people we would none of his counsel either it is too mean as Naaman said when he was bid to go and wash in Jordan seven times and he should be cleansed What are not Abana and Pharâ—ar Rivers of Damascus better then all the waters of Israel so proud dust and ashes the Lord opens a fountain for sin and uncleanness proclaimeth to every poor sinner who ever will let him come let his disease be what it will bathe in this Fountain he shall be healed what saith the proud sinner are there not waters of our own will not our own repentance do it we are very backward through the pride of heart to receive even gratis as that proud Papist said He would not have heaven gratis this Pope is in all our bellies therefore the Apostle calls it a submission they would not submit to the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ So we look upon the blood of Jesus Christ as an unholy a contemptible thing will not trust wholly to this grace or else if not too mean yet the way that God goeth to work with a sinner to heal him it is too severe a bitter potion they must take down what must we so much bewail our selves must we search and try our ways rake in our wounds this we cannot indure this will cost us much smart and anguish as it did David and Peter and Ephraim poor foolish creatures we had rather dye of our wounds then to have them searched far from that temper of David we are Search me and try me though some of us I hope have been so exercised in the work of searching and mortification that we can many times say with the Psalmist Lord search us but alas many of us it is otherwise with we come not to the light lest our deeds should be discovered it would shame us you know Ahab could not indure to hear of his sins he hated Mâ—caiah and that cursed principle is in all our hearts we would be humored and daubed and have the hurt of our souls healed slightly because we cannot digest the severity and sharpness of the medicines we are afraid of the wrings and gripes the Prayers the Fastings it will cost us and therefore we are enemies to it 4. If we were never such friends to it if we would never so fain be healed it is not in our power it is above the sphere of our activity if the stripes had been laid upon us which were laid upon Christ when he was whipped with Scorpions alas every blow would have cut us in sunder and given us our portion in that lake that burns with fire and brimstone for ever You see brethren that they fetched blood at every blow of our blessed Saviour who was equal with his Father having an infinite Power and Spirit to uphold him and yet O how he ran down with blood dropping upon the ground when the world was to be drowned and overwhelmed all the veins of the earth were as I may say opened so now the Lord Jesus when his Spirit was overwhelmed and amazed as I may say and the Lord in a manner would now swallow him up My God why hast thou forsaken me all the voins the channels of his body were opened O how the blows did even almost fetch away the soul of our Saviour witness that Out-cry what had become of poor man iâ— this had been laid upon him Beside who can pardon our sins is there any but God that can pardon sins and is not this a great part of healing who can speak peace but he He will speak peace to his people he can do it with one word of his mouth he createth the fruit of the lips peace peace assuredly he createth it peace who can subdue a lust all the maceration of the body that the frame of Nature will bear will not do it as it is said of Hierom though his hair did even stand upright with fasting and lying upon the ground yet all would not do to subdue concupilcence he should have taken Gods way and then his help would have come in no no I will subdue their iniquities they are too stiff-hearted for any but the Lord Jesus none could break the heart of sin but he by being broken himself for our iniquities nor can any do it to death though wounded and bleeding and the heart be broken but he himself
like now if he were upon earth O how would poor Creeples set the best foot forward to come to him and such as had diseased creatures Lame Blind Palsie c. O how would they take themselves bound to bring them to Christ for healing and what is the body more then the soul Brethren You would think you were undone if you were lamed and could not stand upon your legs why this is nothing to have a heart and a heart Such a man is lame one leg shorter then another or walks with one foot in an higher way and the other in a lower and so halts and is this nothing O what would a tender mother give now if she had all her children and self under the plague at once or lying of the stone or gout at once one cryeth and another cryeth never pain like theirs What would a mother give now for such a Physitian and how ready would she be to carry them to him what is this to the plague of the heart and the stone in the heart and yet no out-cries at all nor care at all nay the Lord Jesus cometh himself is first in the thing visits with his salvation moveth intreateth to accept of pardon of healing and yet you will not what shall I say more Brethren 4. Consider that the Lord Jesus is most freely willing to heal poor sinners do you think if the Lord Jesus had not been in good earnest and hearty in the work of salvation of poor sinners he would have prepared such costly cordials made up of his own spirits and his own blood that so no disease might be so deadly but the soveraignty of the Medicine should be as lively Surely no did he ever refuse any that came to him for healing in the Gospel for healing of the body but rather while they came for healing of their bodies he did ex superabundanti gratia heal their souls they came to ask crums of him as the poor woman and he giveth them the childrens bread his flesh and his blood to eat and to drink to be food and Physick to heal and nourish them you have heard at large that none that come unto him he will in any wise cast out Therefore Brethren let me beg of you to labour with the Lord and with your own hearts and never give it over until he hath brought you and set you directly under the beams of this Sun of righteousness for the more direct they are the more power they have you know the reason beams of the Sun in winter will not heal the earth of its barrenness and frozenness but it s bound up and so some may have some glancing influence from Christ some kind of tasts and yet notwithstanding not amount to an healing though to an escaping of the pollutions of the world outward acts yet it is not healed to the bottom there are some lusts indeed that are like sullen weeds that will not live except it be in the shade and darkness as in wells and pits and the like where the Sun cometh not and therefore wherever the light of the Gospel cometh these are presently done away Some things are so gross as if there be but a glimmering of light discovered they fly away will not endure it but there are some secret lusts lie so close to the heart have cast out their roots so there and are so fastened in the spirit that except the Lord Jesus do shine in his strength into such a soul they will never up they will never wither nor dye nor the soul be healed but thus much for the Exhortation Lastly I shall speak a word of refreshing to such as tremble at this Word and every Word of God are indeed sensible of their condition by reason of sin and many sad complaints they make I may imagine but the Lord heareth the moan that every poor sinner maketh over his wounds and over his diseases before the Lord as you shall have a poor creature that feels he is wounded the heavy groans he fetcheth one cryeth out of the broken arm another of a wounded head a third of the stone a fourth of the plague O how it throbs and smarts when the Lord opens sinners eyes to see what they have done which they never saw before thus it is with them Why now poor sinner is this thy case dost thou see and know thy wound know this day there is healing for thee cast not away thy hope for so poor creatures are ready to say is there any healing for me there was never wound sure so deep as mine O never was there disease so loathsom so full of pain as mine yea here is a promise the Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings upon them that fear him and now thou beginnest to be afraid of him though before thou knewest him thou madest nothing of rebelling against him yet now thou dost as they say bring a man that is guilty of anothers murther before him he will bleed afresh So the Lord Jesus when a poor sinner guilty of his blood suppose the worst and this is that which wounds thee now why his blood will issue afresh to heal poor sinners what is it that thou art troubled with is it in thine eyes is the eyes of thy understanding darkened he will heal this how ready was he when the blind men cryed to his that they might receive their sight you know he healed them What wouldst thou have thy memory healed of its slipperiness and treachery he will heal that he hath done it for many a one in a strange manner What is it thy thoughts it may be are wandering and vain he will heal that what is it thy love it may be is full of dissimulation is not out of a pure heart and not â—ervent as it should he will heal that and for thy will of its pronness to sin this sin that sin thy own iniquity he will heal that and so for the Irascible part he will heal thee of those fears and troubles and inordinate passions vanities lusts and vain desires O but saith one my disease is a Relapse I have found strength against such or such a lust but I have fallen back again Be it so he will heal their back-slidings though it be true if any sins be talents these are they Yea he will forgive an hundred talents as well as thirty pence back-sliding is a kind of compound of all sins so much the sadder it is by how much there is a slighting and undervaluing the blood of Jesus Christ wherewith we have been purged and cleansed but is this thy trouble as this Novatianism is in every poor troubled conscience to question Whether ever God will pardon or heal if they fall after repentance though I must tell you usually it costs them more smart yet the Lord will heal even such as these what was not Davids sin a back-sliding and Peters a back-sliding the most fearful sin and the most remarkable
this terror and this bondage a means to their inlargement Ah blessed Prison that is only to make poor creatures willing to be at liberty well now this the Lord Jesus when he cometh and revealeth himself to a soul he brings him out of these labyrinths of fears and terrors letteth the poor creature see that himself is the way and the only way he hath undertaken the work for his people only if they will believe though they have no strength in them to do any thing nor to extricate themselves from the difficulties they find themselves in by reason they cannot fulfil the Law yet he is the mighty one upon whom help is laid and withal letteth them understand how his bowels do yern over them and how his heart is open ready to inlarge them and so perswadeth them to close with him and then they go forth when faith cometh so Christ is the end of the Law and the â—aw a School-Master to bring us to Christ But that is but the Sixth Seventhly Another part of this bondage is those after-claps of fears and terrours that after Christ hath been revealed to and in a soul may befall the creature alas you find it so they may be clapt up afterward in the pit of noise the horrible pit and be in the deeps and in darkness and like Jeremiahs dungeon sink in the mire where there is no standing they feel no bottom of their misery their fears are overwhelming or like Jonahs Whales belly they are in the belly of hell and all the waves and billows of God go over them O this is sore bondage however it be true that the Spirit of God is never any more a spirit of bondage to them to witness to them they are children of wrath afterward yet he doth not say but they may have bondage again and all fear hath torment and is bondage to the Spirit it doth fetter it and shut up and contract the spirits exceedingly Now I say the darkness of a mans own heart which doth naturally gender fear and Satan to help and the frowns of Gods displeasure for the present though he do not witness any more that a man is a child of eternal wrath and displeasure these may bring the poor creature into sad perplexities Well yet the Spirit of the Lord Jesus when he cometh brings also liberty with him from this bondage David will tel you so and Heman will tell you so do but consider what conditions they were in how came they to be delivered O lift up the light of thy countena nce upon me Son of God arise upon me shine upon my soul and then I shall be healed O restore to me the joy of thy salvation make me to hear joy and gladness c. Well the Promise doth extend even to this bondage also and to this may we refer the next I will speak of it distinctly Eightly There is another Bondage and that is the fears of death and judgement whereby many a poor creature is kept in Bondage all the days of their lives as the Apostle saith in that to the Hebrews to which I will speak a few words He came saith the Text and took part of flesh and blood that through death be might destroy him that hath the power of death that is to say the Devil and deliver them that through fear of death were all their life-time subject to Bondage Brethren death it self is a terrible thing the Simplex could say but hardly could he tell the reason of it for them that have no fear of God before their eyes but have put out the eye of reason and live like Beasts giving up themselves to commit wickedness with greediness though while they can keep off the apprehensions of death they may go on merrily but when that seizeth upon them it marrs their mirth it maketh a change in their faces and they are not now truly death is not so terrible in it self considered but that the stoutness of a mans spirit specially where there is no other consideration of it he may overcome it and live above the fears of it as the Heathens some of them did but now a man that knoweth indeed what death is not only a dissolution of the union between the soul and body taking down this mouldring Tabernacle but a Serpent with a sting it is where sin and guilt lies upon the soul it is the beginning of sorrows the arrest of the soul to judgement to come to receive its doom for all its bloody evils he hath been guilty of The wordling is not willing to give up his soul O he knoweth he can never answer for his wasting of his spirits and spending his time to lay up treasure here and in the mean time neglecting his soul and Jesus Christ and tenders of Grace he knoweth this well enough and therefore he will not yield up his Spirit they shall take it from him as it is in the Parable This night shall thy soul be taken from thee and so for any other sin and now I say this maketh death terrible and by reason of these fears of death men that have any sight or sense of their condition they are in Bondage all their lives long yea even the people of God themselves are in some measure under this bondage and according to the measure of the discovery of Christ to them and the power of faith in them is this fear and this bondage broken and the Lord Jesus came for this end to deliver them alas before his coming the Saints may be specially meant here who had indeed the knowledge of Christ to be crucified for Sinners and beheld him crucified though darkly in the sacrifices c. and in the promise from the foundation of the world but yet notwithstanding they had not that confidence usually but there was more room for doubtings and fears because they died still without the accomplishing of that promise now though such as had an extraordinary measure of faith and a prophetical spirit might see this clearly and so it might raise them much what above this bondage yet ordinarily I believe it was not so that they had such clear conviction of the freeness of grace and the abundance and riches of it in Jesus Christ and therefore it did not so fâ—lly quiet their Spirits in respect of fears of death and judgement they did not so clearly see the sting pluckt out therefore the Apostle saith those Sacrifices though they did hold out Christ could not make the comers thereunto perfect and therefore they were often repeated But now the Lord Jesus he hath by once offering for ever perfected compleated their salvation and therefore you shall find that the Apostle and others do so triumph over death and the grave and sin as we hardly find any before the coming of Christ and it must needs be so because now the Spirit which is the liberty of the Saints was poured out in a
in young persons this is the case Besides these passions they are wonderful unconstant and there is no judgement by them at all they do so strangely ebb and flow some mens natures are more passionate apt to grieve to be affected with every little thing and there a little matter will set their passions afloat others are more stock-like it is much that moveth their affection Now a little thing will not move them But suppose that thou dost not grow in these so much how is thy understanding dost thou grow there abound in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ before thou wast empty knewest very little now thou hast a Treasury of knowledge and thou goest on herein do we grow in our judgements Brethren dost thou not value Christ and grace at a higher rate then before counting all things dross in comparison of him dost thou not cleave to the Lord with more full and strong purpose of heart then before this is growth indeed to the purpose Eighthly If thou grow not in bigness dost thou grow in sweetness this is growth Brethren At first Christians run up to a great height a pace they grow in knowledge but afterwards they grow in the sanctifiedness of that knowledge Alas when they know much they know little as they ought Now thou comest to know it as thou oughtest so as to humble thee so as to endear thee to Christ more Now thou art more peaceable more apt to forgive less censorious hast not so much of that dividing spirit that formerly thou hadst dost thou grow I say in sweetness therefore if thou grow so so much in heat this is the fatness and the sweetness of the growth and there is great comfort in this Ninthly In the last place as David said of the Covenant of God and his family though he make it not to grow yet saith he this is all my hope and all my salvation yet he trusted in him It is God that maketh it to grow Brethren and he is free and rich in his influences and what if he make it not to grow for a time what then wilt thou question all his work in thee No no but rather labour to believe it away Here are many promises trust in him though he make it not to grow hang upon him still for this growth and if he still make it not to grow yet still make this thy salvation his Covenant if he see not such a measure fit for thee be humbled for what thou findest to be the obstruction but cast not away thy confidence though he make it not to grow and thus much for this FINIS Christ his Willingness to accept Humbled Sinners John 6. 37. and he that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out IN this Chapter after the Miracle of the five hundred men fed with five loaves and two fishes ver 9 10 c. which was no small Miracle indeed and argued devine power to multiply so small a quantity into a sufficiency for so many hungry bellies and here if ever was made good that that man liveth not by bread alone but by the Word of God and so it is when he hath never so much much more where he hath but little and inconsiderable hath but Pulse instead of dainty fare a cruse of oyl a little meal I say after this Miracle our Saviour had woon so far upon their affections if not their understandings though very carnal they concluded this was that Prophet which they expected ver 14. that is to say a special Prophet beside John the Baptist or Elias as they thought he should come again be born again misunderstanding that place in Mal. 4. and beside Christ the Messiah they expected another Prophet before him as the Antients Chrysost Theoph. Cyril and Beza also conceive and seemeth very plain in that place of John why dost thou Baptize if thou neither be Elias nor that Prophet nor yet the Christ where he is distinguished from Christ and yet me thinks here they were carried further in their apprehensions of Christ then to take him for such a Prophet for saith the Text Our Saviour seeing that they would come and take him by violence to make him King he withdrew himself into a Mount ver 15. therefore it should seem they had some kind of flash that he was the Messiah according to their carnal conceipt of the Messiah that he should be a temporal King and come in pomp they would needs now make him King Well our Saviour now going to his Disciples upon the Sea and when he came into the ship it was forthwith ashore O how sweetly and swiftly doth any work of Christ or for Christ go on when he himself is with us the multitude they follow him their bellies all this while were their instructers their gods and their guides ye follow me because of the loaves saith our Saviour and therefore he takes this occasion to stir them up to seek for that food that perisheth not they were sensible of the hunger of their bellies and were taken with his power to make such provision for the body even where there was nothing in comparison O but their poor souls were in a starving condition and they were not sensible of this and therefore our Saviour endeavours to raise their apprehensions somewhat higher spending much of the Chapter afterwards in setting forth himself the true the spiritual Shew-bread or bread of faces if they had but stomacks and appetites suitable to the necessities of their poor perishing souls But alas they had not aseeing eye nor a hearing ear nor a believing heart when they heard of bread of which if they did eat they should never hunger Lord give us this bread said they but they knew not well what they said for alas this bread was tendered to them but they had no mind to it as the fountain of water was near to Hagar but she saw it not so the bread of life was now offering himself to them but they knew it not and therefore our Saviour reproveth them you also saith he have seen me and yet believe not this bread is spiritual I am the bread but spiritually understood for it is the Spirit that quickeneth but the flesh profiteth nothing saith he even to his own Disciples who were already stumbled at this Sermon of his concerning eating his flesh and drinking his blood but saith our Saviour ye believe not that is to say ye will not take of this bread eat of it receive and apply the benefit of my death and resurrection and ascention and intercession and all I understand by this bread in a spiritual sense whereby the soul is nourished to eternal life and this was a sad symptom unto them that they were not belonging to Gods purpose of grace they had little ground to conclude it as yet for our Saviour saith all that the Father hath given me shall come as yet ye believe not ye have not
view beseeching the Father of Lights to bless and own it with like success and entertainment in the hearts of those that shall read it as he did when it was at first preached Remaining Christian Reader Thy friends in and for the Truths sake Samuel Winter Robert Chambers Christian Reader MY Design in these few lines to thee is not to commend the work that is here presented to thy view I suppose it will sufficiently commend it self And if it should be otherwise it is not I nor any other who by a bare testimony can add to the Merit of it For though I must ingenuously confess that since it was left with me I have not had time to read it exactly nor could I keep it longer in my hands to satisfie my self that way without some injury having been confined in my retaining of it with me to a certain time Yet so far as I read I have observed that with much satisfaction to my self which I judge may be acceptable to others both to instruct them as also to awaken quicken refresh comfort them so that those who are wise and will diligently observe what they read may be greatly edified thereby My intent is rather to speak of the man that precious servant of Jesus Christ Mr. Murcot who now is taken to his rest in that near Communion which he enjoyes with and in his blessed Head then of any particular work of his I first knew him when he lived in Wirral near Chester and there was reason that I should be familiarly acquainted with him at that time both because he was Preacher at a place and also to a people there to many of whom my self in former times stood related till the violence of the then prevailing Prelates expulsed me thence and also because he took to wife from among us Mrs. Hester Marsden well reputed of by us and who now survives him a serious Mourner under the heavy loss of him He was while he lived there the glory of that Countrey A very quick and lively and powerful Preacher he was and mighty in prayer Eminent for piety gravity and holy innocency warming and heating the hearts of the Saints by his doctrine and life a considerable part whereof he spent in holy Communion with them And over-awing and silencing the rest of men where he lived by his wise grave and harmless conversation Dearly loved he was by some and greatly reverenced by others But in Ireland especially in the chief City thereof Dublin to which place he went when he left Wirrall and where he ended his daies he became like Jonah his Gourd he sprung up as it were in a night his growth was wonderful in that place he filled that City I may say in some sense that Land with his shadow his fame went abroad through the whole Countrey and reached to many parts of this Nation also And when the Providence of the Lord carried me over thither which was about twelve moneths since and about six moneths after he had finished his course though my stay there was but for a little moment yet I met with the sweet savour of his precious name which was like an oyntment poured forth in all places where I travelled God was doubtless very remarkably with him for a great work was done by him in a short time as it is clearly witnessed by all good people that live there He spake the Word of God as one who was much with God and indeed he had alwaies much inward close Communion with God in secret before he revealed any thing of him or from him openly He studied the peoples distempers and found out that formality was the great epidemical disease among professors as indeed so it is every where in this declining age And he was wisely guided in the choice of such soul-searching Scriptures by which he might then separate the Sheep from the Goats the wise Virgins from the foolish which will be Christs work hereafter In a word for prolixity is not so suitable for one who now presents all upon report there being all the while he lived there a Sea betwixt him and me he was a most industrious vigilant Pastor and a most austere and self-observing Christian And this Crown of glory the Lord put upon him which few others have had the honour to wear he was like a rising Star ever to his death in a rising State increasing in spiritual height and stature every day and grew more eminent and excellent in his gifts graces labours usefulness and profitableness continually and he lived not to be at a stay much less to decline but when he was nearest heaven the Lord carried him thither He may be reckoned among the Lords Worthies of whom the world was not worthy The Lord hath taken him but his remembrance will not be so soon gone He will live while any that knew him shall live and afterwards also if the Lords blessing shall accompany the rehearsal of his life and death and his Sermons Printed in such sort as his blessing hath attended the passing and spending of his life and his dying and in the preaching of such Sermons All which were greatly sanctified to the people that beheld and heard them Now that it may be so shall be the earnest prayer of Thy real friend to serve thee in the Lord Sam. Eaton Christian READER I Never knew the Author of this Work in Person while he lived but being dead I know him by his Picture and that the Picture of his better and more noble part The first Part of this Book is formally so being a very exact draft of his whole Life and the image of his inner Man in all the Divine Colours Lights Lineaments and beauties of it Few men have found such a Penâ—il to draw them and few Pencils have found such a man to draw He was but a little while in the world but he lived long else he had never yielded true Materials for so long a History of his Life The following Parts of the Book are vertually so I mean the Picture of his better Part or the image of his mind in which though dead he yet speaketh and breatheth through every Page and Line Truth and Holiness Zeal for God and Compassion to the Souls of men his own Tasts that the Lord is Gracious and â—is longing Desires to make others partake of the same Grace which himself had tasted Read the Book and therein you have the Soul of a faithful Minister of the Gospel copied out It is an amazing Providence to see many unprofitable Drones Idol Shepherds blind Guides Men whose Graces are not at all discernable in their lives and whose gifts are sapless Spiritless and upon the matter useless in their Ministery live to old age and wither upon the Stalk while others of shining Graces of lively Gifts and of unwearied Industry in the Lords Vineyard are cropt off in the very blooming and as soon as shewed to the world called out of it
13 399 6 10 296 17 11 559 27 11 634 35 8 088 40 29 634 50 10 241  11 103 225 242 60 1 414 61 1 496 62 5 048  Jeremiah  2 2 185 13 25 321 17 09 269  Ezekiel  34 4 442 44 9 088  Hosea  2 19 074 7 11 105 14 4 85 86  5 633  9 115  Amos.  3 2 395  Jonah  1 5 144 151  Micah  3 11 405  Zephaniah  3 17 48  Zechariah  9 11 506  Malachy  4 2 411 429   431 434   436 438   478 558  Matthew  2 8 62 See in the first subject Circumspect walking c. 3 3 7 5 16 242 9 15 035 13 6 415 434  13 2  31 c. 562 16 24 594 18 3 579 19 22 381 22 2 36 53  19 497 24 28 672  37 173  45 3 25 from 1. to 14 Paraphrased from 5 to 18 33  3 103  5 119 140 to 144  6 197  7 221 240  8 262 286  9 301 314  10 319 325   338 363  11 377  12 ibid. 391 26 29 342  40 145  45 176 182 27 46 245  Luke  1 78 415 4 18 528 7 47 610 11 21 493  22 ibid. 12 29 513  39 208 17 26 151  27 ibid. 18 17 582 19 42 273 279 24 45 021  John  1 9 417  11 678 6 37 655  38 669  39 ibid.  45 653 8 32 484 566 605  33 481  34 491 10 17 368 12 32 672 14 21 394 17 9 41  13 350 533 20 23 401  Acts.  3 21 8 5 3 96 9 7 654 18 25 62. See in the first subject of Circumspect walking c. 20 26 679 26 18 270  Romans  2 4 128 4 15 485 6 7 492  17 499  22 542 7 13 548  14 61. See in the first subject of Circumspect walking 488 512  15 394  25 239 10 18 438 13 11 167  1 Corinthians  3 1 514 612 643 5 11 99 7 14 92  29 173 15 52 200 202  2 Corinthians  5 17 303 11 2 44 68  Galathians  1 6 483 3 2 485  23 500 4 24 486 5 17 238  Ephesians  4 13 576 5 8 495  15 53 55 57   63  16 See in the first subject of Circumspect walking  18 355 2 6 667 3 2 363  14 253  18 022  20 056 4 10 243  Collossians  1 24 127 2 4 250  15 493  19 569  1 Thessalonians  4 16 7 200  1 Timothy  4 15 639  Hebrews  1 2 416  3 039 2 24 502 4 16 62 11 40 433 12 13 665  17 285  James  1 2 337  19 461  1 Peter  2 2 630  16 540 3 19 436 4 18 309 5 5 249  9 619  2 Peter  1 5 624  12 328 3 17 250  18 249 604  1 John  2 20 104  24 24 3 2 351  9 12  3 John   2 618  Jude   12 589  Revelation  2 4 146  21 128 3 2 257 21 9 36 22 15 363 The Errata's following begins at The Parable of the ten Virgins PAge 2. line 30. blot out not p. 3. l. 29 for fast you read as fast as you p. 29. l. last for her own r. our own p. 71. l. 9. blot our for p. 75. l. 22. for we choose r. will choose p. 87. l. 5. for to fit loose r. to fit loose p. 105. l. 10. for bidden arts r. hidden parts p. 106. l. 23. for fall r. fill p. 115. l. 12. for All proressions r. All processions p. 117. l. 13. for widows case r. widows cruse p. 126. l. 34. blot out thou p. 165. l. 3. blot out and p. 188. l. 37. for he asleep r. be asleep p. 225. l. 17. for iâ— is r. is it p. 561. l. 29. for decy r. decay p. 428. l. 7. for Maditation r. Moditation p. 609. l. 32. for though be râ— though he MOSES IN THE MOUNT OR The beloved Disciple leaning on Iesus S bosom Being a Narrative of the Life and Death of Mr. John Murcot Minister of the Gospel and Teacher of the Church at Dublin Written by a Friend Prov. 7. 10. The memory of the just is blessed LONDON Printed by Robert White for Francis Tyton at the three Daggers in Fleet-street near the Inner-Temple Gate 1657. The Epistle to the Reader Christian Reader THOU maist haply be offended that I bring upon the Stage and present unto thy view the meer shadow of a man and not the living substance Sit but a while and thou shalt see something pass before thee worthy thy observation I must needs acknowledge a disparaging disproportion betwixt this Copy and the Original Had I drawn his Picture whilest alive I might have described his perfections in more resembling Characters but doing it since his death it cannot be expected I should draw him in any other then dead colours His Graces were more lively and sparkling in their exercise and operation then in this faint and languishing Representation However something I was willing to do to revive the memory of our departed friend and to make him known unto those who have not yet heard of him by the hearing of the ear Reader thou hast here a bright Torch that had much flame and but a little smoke and more matter for thy imitation then caution Be a follower of him who followed the Lord fully and having done his work is gone to receive his wages and to take up his place about the Throne Gods glory and thy spiritual advantage are in the eyes and aim of Dublin the 10 th of October 1655. thy souls friend J. G. Moses in the Mount OR The beloved Disciple leaning on Iesus's Bosom Being a Narrative of the life and death of Mr. Iohn Murcot Minister of the Gospel and Teacher of the Church at Dublin THE children of God are not without cause stiled his Workmanship his Building Every particular Believer is a little living Temple and made the Habitation of God through the Spirit such honour have all his Saints Christian Reader I am about to present unto thine eye a curious Piece a stately Structure framed by the hand of Free Grace in the Survey of which much of the wisdom and goodness of God will be eminently conspicuous I have several wel-furnished Rooms to lead thee to but must first pass through the Porch and Preface the grounds of my undertaking and so make the faâ—rer way for the ensuing Relation 1. It hath not been a thing novel and unheard of in the Church of God in such a way as this to
husks as many do but wholsom food Careful he was to preserve the poor Lambs of Christ from infection depredation If any sheep â—as stragling from the fold he would reduce and bring it back again if weak he would take it up in his bosom and carry it upon his shoulders His bowels were rowled within him and did exceedingly melt and yern towards those for whom Christ shed his blood The Lord having fixt him in the Firmament of the Church he proved not a wandring star his regular motion kept others within compass He was not a cloud without water as appeared by the flourishing growth of many Christians who sate under the honey drops that distilled from his lips How did he thirst after the salvation of souls and how anxiously inquisitive after the success of his labours It did not satisfie him that the seed was sown fruits must appear or else his heart is mightily troubled within him and little comfort taken in the comforts of this life It was an heart-breaking unto him that the hearts of sinners were no more boken their dry eys would cause his to overflow with briny tears The Lord did not give up his Ministry to the curse of a miscarrying womb and dry breasts He was able to say Lo here am I and the children whom thou hast given me Surely in labours he was more abundant then many others as his Closet Pulpit besides many other places can well testifie Recreations he declined so loath was he to be accounted a loyterer or idler in Gods Vineyard Having put his hand unto the Plough he did not at any time stand still he looked not back he sate not down in the cool and gentle shade but was always in an erect posture and continually pressing forward contented to bear the burthen and the heat of the day as knowing that the time of refreshing was shortly to come from the presence of the Lord. So eagerly bent was he upon his work that when seriously setled to it his necessary and appointed food was frequently neglected wife children and other Relations not taken notice of If any refreshing was urged he would say This is not the way to get my Fathers work done The Subjects that he pitcht on were usually adapted and accommodated to the temper of the Times and his own condition as Preaching both to others and himself It did not satisfie him that Truth was Preached unless it were seasonable and suitable The Sermons that he Prcached he throughly digested before hand and made them his own by a deep impression of them not only on his memory but affections so that he still spake from the heart to the heart They who beheld him in a Pulpir with a spiritually discerning eye thought the place to be as it were filled with smoak and signal expressions of the Divine Presence The growing and prevailing Corruptions of the Times he strongly opposed Errors though countenanced by great Ones were not basely baulked and passed by in silence The miscarriages of those in high Places were sure to meet with a severe and sharp rebuke He often bewailed and greatly mourned for the evil and dangerous consequence of corrupt men called to the Ministry who daub with untempered morter and slightly heal the wound that is made with a faithful hand When secure and sleepy sinners are at any time awakned by a stirring and a soul-searching Ministry and complain of the terrors of the Lord that set themselves in battle array against them these miserably-mercifull men with an oyly tongue labour to lick them whole again and skin over the sore they make it their design to bind up the broken bone without putting their patients to any pain perswading them that Ministers now-adays are too severe sour strict streight lacâ— and fright silly folk who do not understand themselves with Bug bears and Sear crows For a Waspish and inraged conscience thy provide a sweet and stupifying sop and so lay it to sleep again Thus are men flattered into a good opinion of themselves when in the mean time they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity Wo and alasâ— that ever men should be thus contentedly cheated of their souls and prefer their present ease before their future safety He who was chosen a Ruler in the Church was so in his Family which he ruled well and diligently instructed in the knowledge of Christ He prayed twice a day with his Family and expounded some portion of Scripture and in these exercises usually expended an hour and an half at a time In Singing he was much transported and even lifted up and delighted much in Psal 63. and 103. He was with Paul in fastings often and that not only when publickly required for he was herein often ingaged upon the account of his own personall concernments and condition In preparations for Fasts as well as in the celebration of them he was very solemn and severe as will afterwards more plentifully appear Food on such days he tasted not till late at night if any offered it was entertained with dislike in his very looks In Prayer at all times especially then he was copious inlarged spiritual powerfull to the melting of the Congregation into tears and sighs His love to the Ordinances was very great and his heart did even break with longing after that of the Supper and in preparation for it he would unbowel himself before the Lord and be very strict in the duty of self examination When his children were Baptized and had the Seals of the Covenant imprest upon them he would wonderfully rejoyce thereby declaring a sweet refreshing and full satisfaction With the Psalmist he had rather be a door keeper in the House of the Lord then dwell in the Tents of wickedness One day in Gods Court was better then a thousand elsewhere He would cheerfully chirp and sweetly warble out his high-strained Notes when with the Swallow neer Gods Alta but would mourn like a Dove and chatter like a Crane when the waters of the Sanctuary were dammed up and did not freely flow forth he would droop and hang the wing though under the broad spreading guords of carnal contentments He abridged and cut himself short in the use of the warrantable contentments of the present life He was unwilling to launch out too far lest he should lose the sight of his Harbor and a storm arise ere he got in again He was loath to swallow down large morsels for fear of an ensuing surseit and dismal dolefull distempers that might thence arise He knew that the fairest full-blown Rose was not without its grieving thorn and that a scratching Bryer lay lurking under the blooming leaves and therefore he passed over the most flowrie and fragrant walk with an hasty and trembling foot He was none of those whom the Apostle speaks of that mind earthly things His work was his wages His design was not to spread his roots in the earth
enabled me to surrender you up heartily at the â—earâ—ng of which he lifting up his hands blessed the Lord. To hâ—s wâ—fe he said haste haste Love for my time is very short and withall told his Sister I shall not reach midnight Then lifting up himfelf he said these raptures tell me I must be gone quickly The consideration of his approaching rest did wonderfully revive The Messenger of the Lord whispered him in the ear and told him his Father had sent for him home which happy tidings made his heart to â—eap for joy within him The glimmerings of the white Throne of the Lamb sitting on that Throne and of the glorious troops of Saints and Angels all in white about the I â—rone with the apprehensions and confident assurance of his bearing a part in the Musick of their Hallelujahs caused in him sublime elevations and springing exultings of spirit in a body depressed and bowed down with pinching pains and the agonies of an approaching death He is now in the Cutfields of Emanuels Land and is gotten almost to the top of the Mount and his soul impatient of delaies is ready to leap out of the crazy and declining Cottage of mouldring Flesh Paper being brought he began thus I resign my spirit into the hands of the Father of Spirits and into the bosome of my dear Lord c. To this there were but three or four lines more added for he was in haste and longed to be at home To his wife having in a very short space dispatched his Will he said Bury me in silence without Funeral Sermon I will have no manner of pomp but was perswaded to yeild to the intreaties of his wife as to a Sermon As his children were called for Doctor Winter came in to visit him who unexpectedly seeing death in his face said with a loud and lamenting voice Brother Murcot are you leaving us who with unaltered countenance said Yes and desired him to pray quickly His children being brought he said to his eldest Will Hester be a good child and serve the Lord His son being presented he expressed himself thus The Lord break thy stubborn heart When the little one hanging on the mothers brest was exposed to his sight he lift up his hands and said The Lord bless thee Being put in mind of his servants he affectionately and even smilingly looked up upon one whom he had been instrumental to convert and said Bess hath a better Master the Lord be with thee Bess The children being taken away and his wife coming to take her last leave and final farewel of him he alone lift up himself and kissed her Dr. Winter desiring an interest in his prayers he said The Lord strengthen you for the double work that now lies on you and withal desired him to pray with him which he did in a most pathetical and doleful manner groaning out his requests unto God The people though desired are loath to leave the chamber and hang so thick on the curtains bed-posts hangings doors having not the power to leave their dear and departing friend so that he is in danger of being smothered and dying before his time Drawing near his end his sister said to him Are you in charity with all the Lords people though differing from you Who lifting up his eyes affectionately said Yes She desiring him to manifest it by his last request he lifted up his hands and requested that all the Lords people might be one as his way was one Then stretching out his arms and lifting himself up he said with a loud and shrill voice Lord Jesus draw me up to thee which sweet expressions by a frequent and fervent repetition wasted his spirits so that afterwards he lay in somewhat a silent posture waiting for his change which was now neer at hand About nine of the clock he breathed out his soul into the bosom of Christ and quietly slept in the Lord. The Wednesday following being the appointed time of his interment great was the confluence of people who attended the corps unto the grave The Lord Deputy Fleetwood followed the Body after him the Council then the Maior Aldermen and Citizens in such numerous troops that the like hath not been usually seen in Dublin Dr. Winter preached his funeral Sermon on Heb. 13. 7. Remember them which have the rule over you who have spoken unto you the word of God whose Faith follow considering the end of their conversation Upon the face of the whole Congregation sate a black cloud of sorrow and disconsolation being not able to vent it on that doleful and uncomfortable occasion into showers The Body being brought unto the place of burial the sadned spectators and standers-by sighed him into his grave and mingling his dust with their moist tears departed and left him in his bed of rest Relation I would willing back with Exhortation A few words of spiritual advice in the close of the whole may be of use though from an inferiour hand And first to you my Brethren in the Ministry I address my self and earnestly intreate you in the bowels of Christ Jesus our Lord to remember That you are not only Church-Officers but Christians Spend not your whole time in reading books and studying other men you will do well to study your selves and to be acquainted with the frame of your own hearts The way which you point out unto others walk in your selves and conscientiously practise the duties which you pangatively press Beware of beams in your own eyes whilest you are diligently plucking motes out of your brothers eyes Let not your own cloathes be full of dust when you are brushing other mens backs It s not handsom for us to be alwaies sweeping before the doors of others and picking up the least offensive straw whilest huge heaps of dunghil filth lie before our own doors unremoved It opens the mouths of opposites when we are taken notice of to bind heavy burdens on other mens shoulders we in the mean time refusing to touch them with the least of our fingers Know we not the pleadings of many at the last day Have we not preached in thy name and in thy name cast out Devils whom yet Christ will spurn from his presence and cast forth as an everlasting abhorring What though Judas had the grace of Apostleship so long as he had not grace with his Apostleship It was a wise course that Paul took and deserving imitation who did beat down his own body lest having preached unto others he himself should become a cast-away What though Satan fall down from heaven like â—ightning before us if he be not cast out of our hearts We have more reason to rejoyce in having our names written in the Lambs book of Life then in having the Devils subject to us O whilest we passionately endeavour the salvation of others souls let us have an eye of tender regard unto our own One hint more at parting We cannot be too often put in
have to do with either towards God or towards men or towards our selves but there are many temptations accompanying it and particular conditions have their particular temptations and if we be not very circumspect and exact it is a thousand to one but we miscarry we are snared and taken and carried away captive to some vain imagination to some high thought to some base lust and there kept in strong holds and it may cost us somewhat before we be released again the world was never more full of snares then now brethren for beside the ordinary snares in our trading profession or way of gaining Lord how many snares are there it would be an infinite work to trace them through in all our relations Snares they are apt to steal away our hearts if lovely and desirable or else to occasion much sin another way if otherwise in Reliligion never so many never more seandall by the falls of eminent Professors never were there more various pretences to the Truth more false ways and every one pretending to the Truth so that it is somewhat difficult to find a solution for that Question what is Truth never was the world more full of witcheries then now more powerful in its enticements then now it is hard to bear the frowns of it upon the truth but more hard to avoid the imbraces of it and the smiles upon error and falshood if they think it be the way to thrive to be of this or that opinion men to whom gain is godliness they will rather burn incense to the Queen of heaven and tell the Lord to his face that his Prophet is a lying Prophet to speak against their way of worship which brought them in so much they had their corn and wine and oyl then and therefore they would not be beaten off by a Thus saith the Lord to the contrary will the Silver Smiths let Diana go upon easie terms and will not men stickle for a way of falshood if thereby come in their gain and preferments and will not all the world follow that way almost had we not need to walk exactly then to take heed where we tread besides if there were nothing but our own hearts they are as snares and nets to us how easie is it for us to be intangled in the cords of our own sins our own pride and self-confidence and self-love doting upon our selves and a world of iniquities each of them being a snare Oh brethren if you did walk among pits and pits covered from your eys if men did walk upon a bog ready to sink every step how would they walk Suspenso gradu Secondly The necessity of it to the end if we would reach the end of our faith the salvation of our souls it must be by an exact walking it is not a little form of godliness without the power spreading it self through your lives will do it else those in the 7. of Matthew had had a sufficient plea for themselves else the Pharisees had not been much out when they under a pretence of long Prayers devoured widdows houses but they were miserably mistaken Dear friends be not deceived let no man deceive you with vain words and tell you the way to heaven is broder then it is it is a narrow way and it is up the hill and if you will come to heaven you must not think that any by-path will bring you to it that there is any nearer cut then the Lord hath made Many shall seek to enter and shall not be able and what if that prove any of our cases who never were sensible of such a duty in strict close exact circumspect walking how wâ—ful will our conditions be men seek to enter but they will not strive they will walk hand in hand with the people of God ' but they will not walk exactly they will take a liberty to their spirits though their souls perish by it Thirdly The difficulty of the way should put us upon exactness it is a narrow way there is a necessity you heard before if you miss it you sink and perish but men think it is easie to find and keep but this is ignorance our Savioâ—ur saith it is a straite way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an afflicted way or a way crushed close together a man cannot tell almost how to miss the way to hell he may wink and walk thither he needeth no light to his feet the way of the wicked is as darkness and while they are in that darkness they may be sure they are in the way to destruction and he that is but a fool bungler at the service of sin is not ingenuous may make a shift to come thither how easily to tumble down the hill but to recover a mans self to get up the hill this is the labour indeed It is narrow and then it is not such a beaten path and therefore not so easie found some track there is but it is not so beaten and beautified with the feet of the shining Saints as to be easily discerned but it is rather a way in the ayr and indeed none can see it untill he be in it and therefore there is a necessity of exactness circumspection in walking if a man have a hard way to find be upon a great plain or a waste howling Wilderness where there is no way beaten and among enemies in danger to be destroyed this man had need look well about him to walk exactly indeed A third Motive may be because Iniquity abounds the love of many waxeth cold and therefore from hence it is that there are so many offences so carelesly given and so easily taken if Peter and the men of Knowledge have no more love then to walk so offensively have no more tenderness of others what need had the weak then to walk wisely circumspectly lest you be drawn away with the dissimulation of a Peter as Barnabas was he looked not so well to his steps as he should as on the other hand if you slip and fall and walk not wisely if thy foot slip and thou stumble there are few that are so spiritual and full of love as with the spirit of meekness to restore thee again it is too too apparent even in the eminentest Saints they are rather ready to a withdrawing a casting off communion and fellowship and therefore thou hadst need who ever thou art to walk wisely and circumspectly else thou wilt be in danger of giving offence to some of the little ones and woe be to him by whom offences come or else thou maist be insnared and stumble upon others miscarriages and so thy soul be destroyed or in danger of it as the Apostle speaks will not that man walk warily that hath stumbling block upon stumbling block is in a rough way and if he tread aside is in danger to put out a joynt or break his bones so it is here Fourthly How much honour hath God by a
when thou hast heaped up Gold as the dust and Rayment as the clay and withall hast gotten a wound in thy Soul a worm in thy Conscience the rot and canker eats into thy soul what hast thou gotten who will be the wiser man when the sins whereby thou hast gotten this beginneth to stare like so many devils in thy face though thou hast builded thee an house a fair house and chambers by wrong and he that dwels in a tent is contented with a meaner condition with a good Conscience when the stone beginneth to cry out against thee out of the wall and the timber out of thy chambers and thy ears are full and thy heart full of the cry of thy sins and guilt whereby this hath been gotten who will prove the wise man then O surely Religion maketh not men fools Secondly It may be a word of retortion and serve to fasten the folly then upon the wisdom of the World Wordlings think the people of God fools for their preciseness but the Saints know them to be fools will ye believe when the Lord speaks do not harden your hearts now and say thou speakest falsly in the name of the Lord. Read that passage of the Apostle and tell me what you think then The Wisdom of the World is foolishness with God is not God the only wise God and do you think the Lord can be mistaken though we that are poor weak creatures like your selves may be mis-judge yet sure the Lord cannot he is wisdom it self and it is foolishness with God he judgeth it so and believe it they are wise whom he maketh wise and they are fools and that is folly whom he accounteth so by the rule of contraries it followeth if to walk circumspectly be to walk as wise men then to walk loosly and at large is to walk as fools according to our Text I will give you but two or three Demonstrations of their folly it may be the Lord will convince some poor creature of the folly of his ways First It is folly for men to pitch upon a wrong end to place their happiness in any thing but the chief good indeed now this is evident enough too plain that men of the world they do place their happiness in worldly things they have their god to worship as well as the Saints The lusts of the flesh the lust of the eye and pride of life to which the Apostle reduceth all that is in the World their pleasures their riches their honours these are their ends to which they drive on all their designs and here they rest and sit down and look no farther many of them now is not this a gross mistake and grievous folly to end so low as the earth and what the would can afford which will appear if we consider 1. That none nor all these things will run parallel with the souls to eternity therefore if they could make a man happy as long as he enjoyed them yet afterward they would then encrease his misery when they leave him fuisse faelicem miserum It is perishing bread uncertain riches many times they make wings and are gone even he himself outlives them a miserable happiness that a poor mortal creature can out-live if not yet the soul out-lives them he can carry nothing away with him saith the Text the poor soul must appear in its nakedness before â—he Lord Judge at that day of appearing after death and soul and body to eternity after the Resurrection shall never be the better for them alas the remembrance then of your pleasures and honours and riches will be but a sting to your souls to eternity that such enjoyments you had and used them no better 2. As they continue not so while a man can keep them they cannot they do not satisfie the soul if any man could Solomon might have pickt out an happiness out of them when he had so much wealth to procure them so much wisdom to improve them so gave himself to find out but the sum is vanity of vanities not only vain but vanity and vanity of vanities and all is vanity the greatest vanity they are empty there is no substance in them they will not satisfie the soul there is no sutableness between such earthy things and a spiritual being nor equality between their greatest vastness and the largeness of a soul they can never fill it and therefore it can never rest but the more a man hath the more he would have still drinking doth but increase their thirst and therefore well might the Psalmist bebeast and befool himself for setting such an esteem upon them So foolish was I and ignorant and even as a beast before thee when he thought them to have more in them then they had and therefore that they were the happy men that flourished and it was in vain for him to cleanse his heart c. Secondly If they should or do propound a right end yet they miserably miscarry in the means towards this end For First There are some that are wise to do evil but to do good they have no knowledge at all and if men make God and Heaven their end is this the way to it will the way to the devil and the way to hell bring a man to Heaven and yet this is the course that most men run as if men would be saved by contraries and were Christians by antiphrases because they are most unchristian surely Brethren the Spirit of God and the Scriptures every where hath determined sin to be folly and calleth sinners fools therefore we read of working folly in Israel so much now if one part of Wisdom be to aim at the right end surely Wisdom agreeth notwith it self if this be another part of Wisdom the Wisdom to do evil which indeed is improperly called wisdom but it is a cursed skill and ingenuity which men have whereby they are more industriously wicked this is so far from Wisdom that it is the very height of folly Again Secondly It is the Wisdom of the World to get a name of Christianity and therewith satisfie themselves take the power who will so they have the name and pass for Saints gain is their godliness and when they have gotten the gain by it the Godliness they care not to walk in but in their pleasures of sin the shew of Religion is profitable but not the reality it is burthensom is not this folly with a witness can the Shadow be profitable and not the Substance the Shell and Husk and not the Kernel can that be profitable whose Praise is of men and not that whose praise is of God Again As the top and crown and quintescence of their folly they are wiser in their own conceit then several men that can render a reason as he spaaks of the sluggard and such are all those that will not be at pains for God and for Heaven if men might devote all the
pressing that we are capable of indeed For he setteth before us Life and Death life if we close with him death if we refuse him reject him It is not a thing wherein we may choose or refuse and no wrong to our souls no brethren but he tells us let our condition be what it will be we as dead as we may if we close with him we shall be quickned there is warmth enough in his bosom to revive us there are spirits enough in his love to fetch us again O we shall live condemnation shall be taken away for there is no condemnation to them that are in Jesus Christ our bolts and shakles shall be removed the obligations of our souls to the Justice of God it shall cease O brethren here is the case now a poor condemned woman ready to perish the Prince hath so much compassion on her that he intreats her but to accept of him to be espoused to him promise him marriage if so he will pardon all that is past she shall have her life Is not this a pressing Argument 〈…〉 doubtless it is to such a one as this when death is even present to her before her face is ready to be turned off the Ladder and now an offer cometh O if you will but Marry the Prince you shall be saved though before she refused and the Argument had not such force in it because the thing was at a distance yet now you would think her desperate indeed that should refuse it So brethren the Lord Jesus he doth at other times yea and when the soul is as it were on the wrack upon the Ladder under strong convictions the Sentence is received and it is even going forth to execution O now here is life and death before thee wilt thou now marry me be a spouse to me saith the Prince the Lord Jesus the King of Kings Are not these pressing Arguments 2. Again another he useth is his precious blood that he hath not thought too dear for us O brethren when he beseecheth us by such an Argument as this is by the Mercies of God as the Apostle hath it will it not turn all that is within us to him If a man though but inferior to a woman should shew so much love as to expose his life to hazard for her would it not be strong a Argument when he cometh to wooe her O remember my life my blood is not dear to me that it may go well with you will not this move her there 's a heart of stone it must needs be so Why truly brother this is the Argument every time that you have Jesus Christ held out Crucified before your faces O do you not hear how every wound speaks to you as well as for you to the Father O sinners why are your hearts no more towards me have I not dyed for you my blood my life was not dear to me for your sakes If you will not believe me Behold my hands and my feet yea my sides and my heart look upon me in the Garden trace me there where it trickled down my weary body and see how I have loved you and will you still refuse me will you still think that my heart is not towards you or shall your hearts not yet be towards me Yea have I not been willing to lose the light of my fathers countenance to be under a defection to be eclipsed for you which was so much the purer though nothing so dear to me as his love and it were upon me in the greatest heat and glory and my heart most affected with it yet to suffer an eclipse for you and will you not close with me will you not be perswaded 3. Again once more in the most pressing manner and powerful he followeth us up and down with these Arguments O with what bowels how do they yâ—rn over us every step he followeth us O why will you dye why will you endure the everlasting chains to pay the uttermost further when I offer you my merits my satisfaction for all your debts Look upon him weeping over Jerusalem O Jerusalem Jerusalem O with what affection that is the edge indeed of an invitation O if he were now Preaching to you I believe brethren he would do it with bowels And so did Paul that Saint in whom grace did so abound and to him O he warned them day and night with tears O why will ye dye will ye not believe will you not close with me can you find in your hearts to slight me set light by my love that is so drawn out towards you O what love is here brethren And then with what diligence and patience often he would have done this and wayts long How many years have some of us been thus besought to close with a Crucified Christ Again secondly This may serve for ever to keep us low if love work kindly so it works it melteth down the heart the very mountains high and towring thoughts and imaginations flow at his presence you see how it humbled Abigail when David sent to woo her she bowed her self with her face to the earth and said behold let thine hand mayd be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord. A Spouse to David Gods Anointed I am not worthy let me be a servant not worthy to wash his feet yea the meanest servant a servant to his servants to do the meanest offices for them to wash their feet So Ruth when Boaz took but notice of her and spake kindly of her Whence is it saith she that my Lord should take knowledge of me who am but a stranger yea thou hast spoke comfortably to me or to my heart though I be not like one of thy hand-mayds It is true the Lord would not upbraid his people with what they have been nor doth he ever do it yet they should keep it before them continually to keep them low So he saith he will betroth his people after their going a whering from him there is much in that expression and one thing among the rest is conceived to be this by Mr. Burroughs upon Hos That he would forget her former unkindness and unfaithfulness and she should be now not onely as an unfaithful wife received again but Marryed as a virgin as if she never had departed But though the Lord will not upbraid us as James saith yet we should keep upon our hearts the sense of our former vileness when the Lord first met with us in the way of his love so Paul doth I am sure God never tells them after the first time Why persecutest thou me he never told him afterward he had been a persecuter and what a blasphemous wretch he had lived But Paul by the spirit of grace and power in him he often looks upon his feet upon what he had been and that kept him in so sweet an humble frame O I am less then the least Saint Shall the thoughts of love from David
yea all grace abound that you should have all things and all-sufficiency in all things yea and alway have it so that you may abound O brethren there is more riches in such a promise then in a thousand worlds if we could but live by faith in such a promise we should be fuller handed and freer hearted and more abound in good works of all kinds Well this is the sixth Seventhly He will present them to his Father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing a glorious Church as there it is now alas Brethren the Saints sometimes lye among the Pots here the Apostle speaks of the top of the Saints perfection that which is due or which they are capable of There shall be no privation any more we are now but changing into his image from glory to glory then he will bring us to his father in full brightness of glory If the Church on earth brethren the glory of the Bride be so great as to be compared in her primitive purity to the glory of the Sun a woman cloathed with the Sun what will it be when Christ shall appear with him in glory No deformity shall there then be brethren but the Church shall be altogether lovely But here further by spot or wrinkle are meant the stain and deformity of sin onely or else the deformity of sin and suffering both Of sin if so then by spot we may understand any greater stain or blemish by wrinkle any less deformity by spot a gross sin by wrinkle an ordinary infirmity Or else by spot any sinful work by wrinkle any failing even in good works there shall be nothing but uprightness or else as some even Mr. Caryl making a double Metaphor yet to the like purpose there shall be no deformity which usually followeth age in things and persons In things an old garment is usually spotted and defiled In persons wrinkles use to deform them you know the moisture consuming the skin shrivels up and the beauty is gone now saith the Lord there shall be none of all this no such deformity no old things all shall be done away and all things shall become new they shall be like the purest garment in its gloss and lustre like the purest face in its flower no deformity at all Or else by spot we may understand sin and by wrinkle sorrow and so we know that sorrow will dry up the bones and marrow and moisture my flesh and my skin he hath made old that is to say by reason of sorrow it wrinkles the face breaks the beauty sarrows the Cheeks brings deformity upon the greatest beauty now there shall be no such thing sin there shall be none all pardoned yea all far removed none inherent as you heard before all glorious no deformity no vileness and then no sorrow neither to abate our fulness of joy but a merry heart a joy to swallow up now the wings shall be covered with silver and feathers with yellow gold yea those very afflictions wherewith we have been racked shall work out an exceeding and far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory specially if they be for Christ here is a priviledge indeed brethren nor any such thing any thing which themselvs or others may suspect to be a spot c. But then his presenting them to his father this is after the manner of men you know Isaac took his spouse and presented her to his father and brought her into his mothers Tent so will the Lord Jesus present his Church to his father here is my spouse now in that glory which I have put upon her the price of my blood this is my glory and he will not be ashamed to confess his people to own them for his Bride before his father at that day and then he will bring them into his fathers house there to abide with the Lord forever there to be swallowed up of his love and likeness forevermore O blessed soul that labours now under a body of sin and death and art loathsom in thine eyes lift up thy head this day draweth nigh every spot shall be done away yea there shall be nothing like a wrinkle upon thy soul O what will this be to the soul that is weary of sin indeed 4. Vse of the Doctrine shall be then to teach us the Dignity and Duty of a Gospel-Ministry Their dignity they are such as are intrusted with this great work to fit a spouse to Jesus Christ to reconcile her to him to espouse her to him they are no ordinary servants the Lord sends about such works yea even you see Eleazer was no mean servant the ruler of the house Princes send their Embassadors to treat about Marriages for them So we saith the Apostle in Christs stead as if he did beseech you To be the friends of the Bridegroom is no small priviledge but I will not stand upon this but rather a word or two of the Duty you may see how great it is that you may be the more moved to pray for them 1. Then the Duty lyes in this that we woo for Christ and not for our selves he that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom saith John but the friend of the Bridegroom envyeth him not that happiness but would further it what he can and that is his rejoycing this my joy is fulfilled saith he that people come in to Christ It is a sad thing brethren when we shall be found at the day of account to have spoken it may be but one word for Christ and two for our selves the Apostle tells us of some that should arise in the Church of Ephesus speaking perverse things to draw Disciples after them I pray you mind to draw Disciples after them not after Christ It is sad I say when men shall compass the Sea and Land to make a Proselyte to an Opinion much pains laid out this way and when all cometh to all it shall prove but Copper and not gold but Jesus Christ is little beholding to them or if we preach Jesus Christ and intend our selves to lift up our own names and not the name of Christ O this is great unfaithfulness saith the Apostle Paul speaking of that Corinthian Church much like ours I am of Paul c. were you baptized into the name of Paul was he crucified for you c. Alas saith he I have done nothing but wooed you for Christ espoused you to one Husband and not to so many The children of the Bride-Chamber are never called together to prostitute the Bride to them but to rejoyce and celebrate the Marriage with more solemnity Yea by how much the greater honor it is to have the charge of the Bride by so much the greater sin it is to deal falsly with Christ in it and to draw them after our selves when we should draw men after the Lord Jesus 2. Their Duty is to present them to the Lord Jesus as a pure virgin having espoused
up any of them instead of Christ But enough of this The Second thing or point of wisdom is in keeping that which we have the good we have that is a chief point of wisdom indeed Nonminor est virtus do you not count him a fool that takes great pains to get an estate to get much and is as lavish of it takes no care to keep it when he hath done lets one run away with one pâ—râ— another with another part why now here is the case an hypocrite a formal professor a foolish virgin hath something he hath common grace happily he hath many duties and services but all these will be taken away from him he cannot keep his garments nor doth he take the course to keep them for he that would keep these things must look after somewl at more the power of Christ within to inable to improve these to his glory else he that hath not from him shall be taken even that which he hath you have leaves of profession these shall be taken away But the Third thing is more considerable and that indeed I think will prove comprehensive of the two points and of wisdom and that is to avoid carefully the evil which they fear the greater the evil the greater should be the fear of it if he be a wise man Now the evil which we will speak of shall be the Soul-Evil which must needs be the worst corruptio optimi est pessima and evil by how much the more destructive it is by so much the more wisdom is requisite to avoid it and by how much the more eminent it is hanging our head this evil brethren is not the loss of outward things which are perishable not the suffering of temporal troubles these may run into the soul of a Joseph and a Job and they triumph over them their blessedness will be above all these they have oyl at top but what is it then 1. The Malum damni the great evil of loss is the loss of a precious soul that nothing is able to purchase but the blood of Jesus Christ if the blood of Jesus do not deliver thy soul there remaineth no more Sacrifice for sin if thou fall short of this which is already offered O what shall a man give in exchange for his soul when it is once lost shal he give ten thousand Rivers of oyl or golden Mountains or the fruit of his body Alas all this is nothing to the loss of the soul and what is the loss of the soul but the loss of the face and favour of God in Jesus Christ for ever that is the death of the soul which is the souls loss to be separated from him the loss of the beauty of the soul and the end of it to serve him and be glorifyed with him 2. The inflicting of the heaviest suffering is the poena sensus that is to say when God poureth out the burning coals of his wrath upon the naked Conscience whipping the naked and galled Conscience with Scorpions to eternity O this dwelling with devouring fire and everlasting burning without a shadow will make the sinners in Sion afraid and fearfulness surprizeth the hypocrites O it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Heb. 10. 31. According to his power so is his wrath as is the man so is his might said he of Gideon as is the ability so is the arm to lay heavy stroaks not to dispatch us as he said but to sink for ever he is able to destroy both soul and body in hell Now the means to avoid this evil are the same that before no other way in the world but to get into the City of refuge if they rest and stay by the way this evil will seize upon them and their blood wil be upon their own heads But wherein doth a formal professors folly and a Saints wisdom appear in reference to this 1. He that foreseeth not an evil coming upon him is not so wise as he should be the prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself this providence is a great part of prudence for a man to see a mist no further then under his feet like the beast is a great folly a wise man hath his eye in his head do you think that man that buildeth his house upon the sand did foresee the showers c. a house they must have somewhat to shade them from the weather but here is the folly to build upon such a foundation not foreseeing what is like to befall it O that my people were wise that they would consider their latter end they sit not down and consider c. 2. If they have now and then a hint of it yet they make no provision against it as it is likely Hypocrites have some grudgings sometimes and some discoveries of their hypocrisy rottenness of their houses they have builded and yet they heed it not this is worse is not this great folly yea how often are you warned and awakened and yet you will not stir if a man should see a storm coming that will destroy his house except he fortifie it and should not care were not he a fool they will not hide themselves from the storm 3. It is folly rather to run a hazard of a greater evil that is future though certain then to undergo a much less evil though present as for instance a man would rather venture his life unavoidably then he would take such a bitter potion the young man in the Gospel that went far he would notwithstanding venture his soul rather then his estate and is not this the Condition of many formal Professors Alas brethren if a little reproach or persecution for Christs sake come and the way of Christ be a disgraced way they count the riches of Egypt greater treasure then their souls and heaven and therefore venture all upon it O this is folly 4. Yea a man that would lose a far greater good to gain a less is a fool and what shall a man gain if he get the world and lose his soul and what shall an Hypocrite get by his close ways of unrighteous gaining if he lose his soul will it countervail it if laid in the balance together What will you gain if you have never so much reputation for wise and holy men which is the thing you seek likely many of you seek honour one of another and lose the soul in the mean time gape at the shadow and lose the substance O this is a folly with a witness that will part with Gold for Counters with Pearls for Pebbles and yet such is the Condition of a formal Professor of Christ If this be so then a man that contents himself with a profession of Christ without the enjoyment of him is a fool and the contrary is a wise man then First We see that God and the world are of two minds O that men would be but perswaded
shortness of our patience alas it is very short the Apostle to the Hebrews doth exhort them to hold out against persecutions to hold fast their confidence which hath recompence of reward Alas but it is tedious thus to run through fire and water to have wave upon wave and billow upon billow why it is true saith the Apostle But you have need of patience that when you have done his will you might receive the promise the promise of his coming the apearing of Christ who is our life Alas but can we endure it O it is long No saith the Apostle for yet a little while and he that shall come will come do not think it long think not he is slack he will not tarry O brethren a man under a hard bondage groaning as the Israelites did in Egypt thinketh every day seven until he be delivered and therefore the Prophet exhorts them to wait for the vision which was for an appointed time it would not tarry by the medicine you may gather the nature of the malady it was impatience under their bondage and trouble and therefore you find so many sad complaints in the Psalmist how long Lord c. how long wilt thou forget me for ever c. and so the souls under the Altar how long Lord holy and true wilt thou not avenge our blood And so under spiritual pressures suppose temptations from without or inward pressures a body of sin and death we are ready to cry out how long Lord how long How did Job long for death he had such wearisom nights and moneths of vanity when God made him possess the iniquities of his youth Well in this respect also he may be said to delay according to our apprehensions 4. In respect of the importunity of our desires as well as impatientcy under afflictions this is an impatiency too and might be a branch of the other but a man that hath not that pressure upon him yet if he be deeply in love with Jesus Christ and with his appearing O how importunate are his desires after it so that as the Apostle calls it there is an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a looking out after it with a neck or head stretched out as a man that looks for a thing stirring up himself stretcheth out his neck lifteth up his head that he may see as far as he can looking many a wishly look after the thing he desires or person he desires The proverb is true in this case etiam celeritas in desiderio mora est And in this case now a man is ready to think there is a delay when there is most swiftness when God is a most swift witness for or against such a person our desires run before it usually and so it seemeth to slack and come behind O when shall I come and appear before him in Sion Not only Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart c. but O how long wilt thou thou keep me prisoner in this Tabernacle of clay Now in all these respects he may be said to delay his coming but so much for the opening of the Doctrine Now for the Arguments I shall speak a little to them And the First may be this The time is appointed for his coming he hath appointed a time wherein c. which he will not anticipate so neither will he stay beyond it the Second shall be this it is to excercise his peoples patience to inure them to bear patience works experience and experience hope the richer the patience is the richer the experience is and the nearer we come to a full assurance of hope the riches of it Now the exercise of patience the spirit breathing in it to his people is that whereby it groweth and increaseth with the increases of God the patience of the Saints is one of their greatest exercises and therefore the Lord takes much pains with his people to make this jewel in their Crown shine gloriously Consider the patience of Job c. behold here is the patience and faith of the Saints and in another place it is ushered in with a Behold Now God will have our patience have its perfect work be as long and as broad as the tryals are And therefore he delaies his coming in that sense as you have heard this waiting for the reward after we have done the will of the Lord is harder then the other of bringing forth fruit with patience Another ground shall be 3. That the measure of the sufferings of Christ may be filled up in us the Apostle is said to fill up in his body the measure of the sufferings of Christ that is to say there is a proportion of sufferings for the body of Christ to undergo and he in his body filled up his measure in a great part not as if they were more righteous but his people being so nearly united to the head as that they and he make one Christ therefore the sufferings of his people are called the sufferings of Christ now there is a means to be filled up and this he will have filled because these less afflictions which are but for a moment they work out saith the Apostle not meritoriously a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory he was made perfect through sufferings and so must his sâ—ns which he bringeth to glory be made perfect through sufferings and drink of the brook in the way and so lift up their heads suffer with him and then be glorified with him now if there were not such a time as we count a delaying of his coming there would be no room for this 1. That the fulness of Christ may come in for there is a fulness of Christ as the Apostle cals it both of Jews and Gentiles as the several members of his body make up the fulness of his body and it is not compleat if any of them be wanting there is some of its perfection wanting indeed it is a glorious honour he puts upon the Saints and dear affections he sheweth and a near union that he accounteth himself not perfect without them until they be come in so this is the answer the importunate cry of the souls under the Altar receive how long Lord holy and true dost thou not avenge us and judge our enemies there were white robes given them and it was said to them they should rest yet for a little season until their fellow-servants also and their brethren also which should be killed as they were should be fulfilled If a man bid many guests to a Feast they must stay until they all come to sit down together As Christ is imperfect that is to say without his fulness with his body so is the soul in a sort without its body and as the Lord desires the work of his hands as Job speaks touching the Resurrection thou shalt call and I shall answer c. the soul may desire also that work of his hands to be re-united
that is to say without any tedious sickness such as Job had and therefore they encourage themselves in their evil ways they say what profit is there if we should pray unto him we prosper as well as any who is the Almighty that we should serve him Let him depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of his ways whereas a Job a Paul that are upright fearing God eschewing evil exercising themselves to keep a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men they shall be plagued every morning God shall take them by the neck and shake them to pieces and pour out their gall upon the ground and break them with breach upon breach Now brethren if Sinners were not reserved to a day of judgement and destruction that they should he brought forth to the day of wrath how would the Lord be righteous and just it is a righteous thing with God to render tribulation to them that trouble you â—but to you that are troubled rest with us Again Thirdly Remember this Thou despis 〈…〉 the riohes and long suffering of God not knowing that this goodness leads thee to repentance It hath a tendency thereto God is not slack but is long-suffering to us not willing any should perish he waits to be gracious Sinners he giveth you space to repent though he tell you not how long that space shall continue that while it is called to day you might hearken to his voice Now instead of turning to the Lord you despise this his patience let him wait upon whom he pleaseth you desire him not to wait upon you but let the day of the Lord come that you may see it because you prosper and your brests are full of milk and your bones watered with marrow as it is in the Original you make a scoff at the judgements of God and mock at all his terrors as if nothing concerning you What is this but not only to break the yoke of Christ and his Cords of obeisance but the Cords of a man and of love wherewith he draweth sinners towards Repentance it followeth in the text that such men treasure up wrath against the day of wrath after their own hardness and impenitent heart let them put off the day of judgement as well as they can they do treasure up wrath against the day of wrath treasures of wrath are abundance he stores up treasures as we do sin God seals up such mens sins among his treasures indeed you fill up many bags and apace as a few great stones will fill a bag over little stones will do nothing heightens your sins more then this the despising the goodness and patience and forbearance of God riches and treasures of goodness and long-suffering abused and perverted to a wrong end to encourage your hearts to strengthen your hands to sin Swell the treasures of the displeasure which hangs over your heads every moment Ah dear friends that God would give some poor hard-hearted Sinner a trembling heart at this word I doubt it is some of our cases do you know what you do Sinners you heap up sin they are gon over your head I that is not al you treasure up wrath against the day of wrath that day when all the treasures shall be broken open the Sluces opened and the tyde of streaming vengeance shall carry away poor sinners to that bottomless gulf O who may abide this day No Nor do not think You shall have worse then other men and you hope not so bad you never yet sinned as some others have done you bless God you are no Drunkards nor Extortioners you never sinned as Sodom nor as Gomorrhah suppose so Yet it may be more tolerable for them then for many of us who shall despise this long-suffering of God and the riches of his goodness to us The Lord of that servant that encourageth himself to sin upon his Lord his delaying his coming he will come in a day when he looks not for him and he will divide him asunder Either rend his soul from his body whether he will or no this night shall thy soul be taken from thee Sinners are not willing to part with theâ—r souls and no marvel when they behold hell from beneath moved for them Or else he will separate them from himself and the Congregation of his people for ever they shall not stand in the Congregation of his people though here they were mixed together Or else he will bring upon him the most exquisite tormenting evils as men sawn asunder or as Agag or as they Dan. 3. 29. So in the Evangelist And give him his portion with Hypocrites as some gloss it they are the free-holders of hell the lowest place they have for simulata sanctitas duplex iniquitas and therefore they shall receive double even according to their deeds See brethren we may be his servants in name and profession and he may commit to us the Stewards office also and if this be our own end a sad word for us as well as for you for loose and contentious and ungodly Ministers and yet notwistanding perish with deepest destruction if we despise this long-suffering toward us 3. Again It reproveth such as of prophaness of their spirits upon every slight occasion will be calling upon God to judge them appealing to him nothing more ordinary in prophane mens mouths then this the Lord judge them Yea more fearful indeed so fearful that I hardly think the Devil himself would so speak for they believe and tremble that God would damn them calling for that day upon every little vexation when men suspect them or censure them for any thing they would clear themselves and to that end use such fearful imprecations as these Ah wo be to them that say let the day of the Lord come what if the Lord should take such men at their word and put an end to his long-suffering and say Well judge thee I will this hour thy soul shall be taken from thee would they not be in an other Note you need not call for it it will come fast enough 4. It reproveth such as out of a conceit they have of their own innocency they will be calling for that day Job himself was blame-worthy that he presseth so much upon this O that I might come to him where I might find him that I might come even to his seat I would order my cause before him and fill my mouth with arguments I would hear the words which he would answer me and understand what he would say unto me And so again Chap. 13. Withdraw thine hand far from me and let not thy dread make me afraid then call thou and I will answer thee charge upon me what thou canst of wickedness or prophaness and I will clear my self or let me speak and answer thou me let me be the Plaintiff saying out the sad condition of my soul and do thou answer me justifie thy
proceedings with me Though he did well to retain his integrity and justifie that before men yet it was too much boldness to offer to enter into judgement with God and so earnestly to desire that day Alas brethren when he shall bring to light the depths of our hearts that we never saw who shall stand before him at his coming thus to lay us open if he enter into judgement with us indeed 5. It reproveth another sort and those are they that when their Consciences are a little galled happily by the Word or some other way they are ready to cry out for the day of the Lord they think mans judgement and mans day is very hard and harsh and hope to be relieved by this day of Jesus Christ doth the Lord make his Ministers sometimes sons of thunder and is not he the Father the God of thunders then is your day brethren so dreadful that you cannot bear it if while he sitteth to purge as a refiners fire you be scorched with that so that you cannot abide the day of his coming do you think to help your selves by putting yourselves upon the everlasting burnings It is true the word of God is a fire and if it get into a sinners Conscience it will scorch and burn and make the soul even fâ—y again but what is this to the flaming vengeance wherewith the Lord Jesus shall be clothed when he appeareth and his coming is you think we handle you roughly sometimes and you shall find more tender usage from the Lord Jesus O he is more merciful full of bowels indeed he is so infinitely more merciful but you will find him to be infinitely just as well as merciful Sinners he hath a Go ye Cursed as well as Come ye blessed to pronounce he will handle you more weightily then Creatures can if you be not ready for his appearing If you cannot bear the smoke of the bottomless pit over which you are held it may be sometimes will it be a mending your condition to leap out of the smoke into the fire It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God therefore it may serve to reprove such as would hasten this day of the Lord and yet can have no hope the Lord knoweth in the Evil day The next Vse shall be then to stir us up every one to wait for this day this coming of Jesus Christ specially the people of God You that hope for mercy in that day as he prayeth for the house of Onesiphorus what should we do but wait for it Yet indeed it may reach the Condition of all whether good or bad If he delay his coming then wait for his coming Onely the waiting of the people of God is somewhat of a different nature And therefore let me speak a little distinctly to the waiting of the Saints of God for that day wrerein there are two or three things included as several branches of this duty 1. There must be a love and desire to this coming of Jesus Christ and this presupposeth that that day and the coming of it will be good to the people of God for we cannot love or desire or will any thing evil under the formality of evil be a good day a day of transcendent gladness of heart when the Bride shall be taken by the Bridegroom presented to his father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing when there shall never be any estrangement between the Lord Jesus and the soul any more never any withdrawing any clouding any disturbance of peace any more will not this be a good day when our grace shall be all glory then shall we appear with him in glory And therefore Job speaks after this manner I know that my redeemer liveth c. in my flesh I shall see God whom I shall see for my self and mine eyes shall behold and not another therefore it is the same body by the which and not a new one which never had union with the soul before though my reins be consumed within me so we read it that is to say though inwards as well as outwards are consumed in the grave yet I shall see him but though is not in the Original and therefore it may be read without my reins are consum'd within me the reins are the s 〈…〉 of the desires therefore I have such desires after that day that even my reins are spent in them and consumed by them this is going forth to meet him indeed It is not every Christian that can desire this but such as are ready for his appearing whereof afterwards But then Secondly 2. In this waiting there is an Act of faith also to be put forth cast not away your confidence that believe there will be such a day it is certain though it be future though we see it not yet because he hath said it therefore believe it and if we so believe we shall not make hast that is to say more hast then is meet press hard forward toward the Mark Phil. 3. 13. 14. we ought to do but we should not take any indirect course to bring our selves to it so much the sooner as some by a dispatching themselves under a temptation when faith is overwhelmed or else by such cruel macerating of the body to beat it down that the frame of it should be quickly be dissolved though we should be weary of the body of sin and we cannot well be weary of it yet faith now should eye that glorious liberty of the sons of God and it maketh it present It is the substance of things hoped for it giveth it a being already and therefore this also is implied in this waiting And then 3. In this waiting brethren for his appearing which is proper to the Saints there is a patient continuance in the waiting a patient continuance in well-doing the Apostle mentioneth there should be desires not a fit and start but a Continuance in them and so a drawing out the acting of faith believing that day will come which shall put an end to all our fightings without and terrors within when we have need of patience when we have done all that we might receive the recompence the promise of temptation whether inward or outward our patience is put to it very sore yea and in a fit of ravishment with Christ then we would have no delay but in heaven we would be even that very moment and those holy flames are sweet but yet if the Lord see it good for Paul to continue in the Body and he must yet undergo more for Christ before he come to raign with him why he is satisfied and so ought we to wait patiently for this his appearing The Virgins waited it should seem and were forward and ready but their patience held not out as it should therefore labour for this But then Secondly For the waiting of Sinners Wait for this day for it will it come
and that is it seemeth to be just a little before their Lord cometh the L. Jesus for it was the cry that wakened them Behold the Bridegroom cometh Whether we look upon this coming of Christ to be his last and general coming so understand the ten Virgins collectively for al the visible Church then found on earth it is considerable that they shall generally be found sleeping you know how the Evangelist setteth forth in the former chapter wherein the Disciples ask him when those things shall be and what shall be the signs of his coming and of the end of the world When Jerusalem should be destroyed when he would come gloriously by his Spirit and word prevailing over the world suddainly like lightning passing from one end to the other as some understand that Or whether we make that coming of Christ and the end of the world all one It should seem this is to be referred to the answer to the third the end of the world as it was in the days of Noah they were eating and drinking and never minded were careless and asleep until the world was in a flood about them note here in the end they shall be asleep alike secure and drowsie and as little look for the end of the world until all be on a flame about their ears And Satans letting loose after the thousand years being imprisoned seemeth to speak sad work he will make among men immediately before the last end Or if we understand it distributively of each Saint as sometimes in the same Scripture the H. Ghost speaks of the Church collectively and distributively draw me we wil run after thee so here the Virgins they all slumbred and slept and so they might do if they did it singly near the time of his approach to each of them to take them to himself for ever or separate them from himself for ever which is the case of the foolish virgins I say it is alike considerable and may give us ground of a note of observation by and by It is true indeed some understand that in the beginning they went forth to meet the Bridegroom by a Prolepsis or Anticipation as if they did not go forth at all to meet him until after the cry was made but I cannot see the reason of it They would have it that Christians are very apt to be sleepy in the beginnings of their faith and work of faith which indeed may be so but methinks that doth not so well suit with the time of first-love which the Scripture often mentioneth men are usually most forward then and most watchful and wakeful then Nor do I know any inconvenience but they might sleep in the way in their journey going forth to meet the Bridegroom and methinks the tarrying of the Bridegroom being interposed between their setting forth towards him and their sleep doth plainly argue it if we may argue from these things but they will argue as much for the one way as for the other so that I would rather take it thus And however it be that with particular circumstance be not to be too much strained when we have the scope of the Parable yet remember that this we are now upon is the main thing if I understand it aright for this sleeping here is the privation of that watching which is a duty so often and so much pressed upon the Disciples in the former chapter and this and many other places and this appears to be the scope by our Saviours winding up all in that Exhortation therefore watch for ye know not what â—our he will come the foolish virgins and wise both were too foolish in this when he tarryed they slept and while they slept he came and what prejudice it was to them afterward likely you may hear more fully therefore saith our Saviour watch Therefore this if I do insist a little upon it I hope it will not be amiss it being the scope of the Parable They all slumbred and slept here it will not be amiss for the further opening the words to tell you What kind of sleep this is and the degrees of it for the kind you must know brethen we are not speaking of a bodily sleep whether ordinary or extraordinary from a natural or a supernatural cause such deep sleep as fell upon some though the Disciples were much blamed for their sleeping when they should have watched and prayed I take it their natural sleep was not there considered but as an effect of their spiritual sleep their souls were asleep and thence they slept when they should have been praying to have been a comfort to Christ in that his Agouy but we are now to speak of a spiritual sleep the sleep of the soul Indeed the soul considered as a spiritual being in its natural capacity properly never sleepeth but the body It is never weary of its actings but the body is which it useth as its instrument as it never groweth old so it never groweth sleepy and therefore we do not consider the soul neither in a natural capacity onely as it is a spiritual being but in a supernatural capacity that is to say as it hath some divine qualities put upon it whereby it acts and works towards God and towards Christ as natural Agents act by their qualities the fire by its heat so the soul by its faith and by its love and by its humility So then we are here considering not a naked soul but a soul as it hath either in reality or else in appearance put on Christ for righteousness and for holiness is raised up from that death in sin to a liâ—e of grace or love to God Now this soul so considered alas sometimes it fals asleep So much for the kind of sleep For the degrees of the sleep here they are two 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 two words and of two significations as indeed our own English words do plainly distinguish you know to slumber is much less then to sleep in our experience of it to slumber is when a man onely doth nap or nod he is not fast asleep as it were between sleeping and waking a little thing waketh him now he is awake and then is napping again but not so fast as to have the senses altogether sealed up as in a sleep then it is otherwise there must be much ado to wake a man when he is in such a sleep So it is in this case This spiriritual sleep there are degrees a napping and nodding now asleep and then awake again we are neither awake nor asleep there are interruptions successively in our sleeping and waking But when a man is asleep he goeth on away with it continueth so great a while sleep hath seized upon him lockt him and sealed up and made him sure as I may say which what it is shall farther be opened by and by onely here let us take up the Doctrinal Observations from the words which shall be onely these two
a Mariner near his port rowleth up his sails or as a piece of cloth rowled up one turn more and we are turned into the grave What then It remaineth that they that buy be as if they possessed not and they that have inheritances by Lot also be as if they enjoyed them not they that have wives as if they had none for the fashion of this world the Scheme the Mathematick figure of this world passeth away Was it not this which cast Solomon into such a sleep He offended by women though the wisest King So Mat. 24. 37. They eat they they drank 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as some observe It is a word used most properly of beasts living sensually in the delights of the slesh they feed themselves without fear as the Apostle Jude hath it out of measure and so in time there is a season for all things c. make not provision for the slesh c. O that there were more sobriety brethren and moderation among us appearing among us there would not be so much sleeping 6. Take heed of any sin unrepented of of continuing in it for surely that will damp the soul and cast it into a sleepe as you see in the cafe of Jonas David the brethren of Joseph O specially of such sins as stupifie and seal and harden sins of a high hand and against light against mercy with a high hand these are dangerous 7. Be often stirring up your selves as the Apostle speaks to Timothy stir up the grace of God that is in thee the gift in thee as fire under the ashes A man that is drousie had need to shake himself as Sampson did Ah brethren there is a carnal mind in us all which is death it deadens all that is good within us And except we do often stir up our selves labour to keep upon our hearts some quickning Considerations to press them home to hold them to the soul we shall do what we can we shall sleep or at least slumber And beg with David O quicken me according to thy word Alas life is his and all quickning and renewing grace is his therefore we should lye much before him for this mercy if we would not sleep indeed So much for this Use The next Vse of the Doctrine shall be an awakening word It may be brethren many of us that have this word alas are asleep and had need to be shaken and O that the Lord would even do it for us Alas It is not our word will do it it dyeth in the Ear and goeth no further as a bullet whose force is spent dyeth reacheth not the mark except the Lord add an Almighty force to it it will do nothing But I shall endeavour alittle this work by offering some considerations to you You that lye upon your beds 1. Remember in the first place that if Jesus Christ come while you are in this sleep you will be found unready what do you think that a sleeping will put your hearts into frame to meet the Lord Jesus with Surely no One of these two things will befal you either your works will be quite undone you will have your grace to get when you should enter into glory or never Or else if you have it not to get you will not have it in its brightness and lustre as Ornaments upon you ready to open to him to enter with him either your Lamps will be out or else they will be to trim when you should enter O that the Lord would inforce this Argument and his own exhortation Luke 12. 35. Stand ready therefore with your loyns girded and your Lamps burning wayting for his coming that you may be ready Do you think this can be comfortable to you 2. Do but consider seriously what danger we are in when we sleep when we give sleep to our eys and settle our selves to it when we strive not against it First The Philistims will be upon us as they were upon poor Sampson If Satan and our hearts can but sing us asleep then the Philistims are upon us as they were upon him and at last you see how sadly they destroyed him you see what danger Saul was in when he was asleep David might have taken his life from him And Sisera by a poor woman perished when asleep And so Ishboshâ—th when asleep Surely brethren the devil never lulls us asleep believe it but he hath some desperate design upon us which he cannot do when we are awake What danger were the Disciples in when they were sleeping when they should have prayed they were just entring upon the pikes and they were asleep and see what fearful work there was they were all scattered from him and Peter how fearfully he denyed him Could Satan think you ever have brought Lot to that wickedness if he had not been fast in a deep sleep It was strange sleepiness in him to drink so much of the wine Excess overthrew him Surely brethren if ever there were an hour of temptation this is one If it might be tolerable at any other time yet not at this for hell is broke loose the devil is come down and hath great wrath because his time is short O how he hunts after poor souls and who are so like to be drowned as poor creatures asleep Secondly Then God usually doth for sake a soul if he fall asleep As you see in the Canticles her beloved was gone he wayted upon her a great while she would not awake when she got up he was gone O what a sad case was Saul in When God had forsaken him answered him not by Vrim or Thummim and the Philistims were upon him it made him out of his wits almost Ah dear friends If the Lord being provoked by our unkindness giving our selves to sleep do let loose sin this or that lust upon us to worry us And himself depart and stand and see what the latter end will be this will be sad thou cryest to him he will not hear but is as one asleep to thee because thou wast as one asleep to him O what will you do in this day Thirdly Then he is least able to act grace when he hath most need of it because the spirit is withdrawn from him Jesus Christ is departed from him he cannot resist a sleeping he hath no strength A weak woman may drive a nayl through the Temples of a most valiant General then O what advantage hath Satan against us and sin against us The least temptation then 〈◊〉 too hard for us we have no strength to resist come what will come we are naked to receive the thrust And but that the Lord stays the hand of Satan that it shall not reach the heart how quickly would he give such sleeping souls their deadly wound 3 Consider yet further how we put the Lord Jesus to it to prick us and stir us up lest we should lye sleeping and sleep the sleep of death They say the Eagle will
King did Arauna give to the King liberally freely it was a great gift freely given So here it is a King that maketh this feast Kings usually have larger more noble spirits as they have larger purses and therefore at their feasts they use to shew the Magnificence and glory of their Kingdom And so doth God here Brethren A King yea the King of heaven the King of glory the King of Kings and King of Saints he will shew the glory of his Kingdom and his magnificence the excellency of his greatness in making this feast therefore surely there must needs be fulness of love and joy 3. It is a feast not an ordinary but a Marriage-feast and such used to be more then ordinary also being a time of greatest rejoycing you see the Marriage feast at which Christ was what an abundance of wine there was turned from water by our Saviour if you compute it it will appear some 300. gallons full six water-pots holding three measures a piece or two and each measure an hundred pints very great store indeed 4. It is a feast a Marriage-feast not only for a servant or friend being married but for a Son the only Son a Son and heir of all a beloved Son most dearly beloved all these surely will exceedingly heighten the considerations of the fulness of the feast brethren the fulness of that love which shall there be manifested and of the Believers joy in that love these things are heightned to us in that place of Matthew Indeed the very feast here in the Gospel is heightned by these considerations but much more then this Yea 5. Consider yet further It is a Marriage-feast for which preparation hath been making from eternity God hath been providing for it Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you before the world in these things he would have us surely to understand the decree and purpose of such a thing And withal we may note the greatness and magnificence of the feast You know men if they would royally entertain a Prince they make provision long before and as long as they can to get all about them the rarities that the earth or Sea affords specially if a King be the provider O Brethren the Lord hath been laying in as I may say this wine preparing it for us from eternity therefore surely it will appear in an unspeakable fulness Lastly It will be more constantly without interruption and lastingly without any end No interruption at all here we have our vicissitudes now we have a sweet cup a draught a full draught a flagon it may be to stay us when we are sick of love by and by we have nothing but our wormwood and our gall to chew upon now we can behold him have a glorious view of him and our hearts ravished with it by and by he is upon the Cross nailed by our sins and we cannot but look upon him with a mourning eye But there Brethren shall be no interruption nothing but eating and drinking this Love of God in Jesus Christ All his thoughts will be love to us and all our thoughts love and joy no room for one sigh for one tear of sorrow for one groan any more and then it is not for a term and then to end but it is for ever at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore For the time when and the place where this shall be It will be at that day in the Kingdom of the Father It will begin at the souls going to the spirits of just men made perfect it goeth to Christ this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise it goeth to the bosom of the Lord Jesus to Abrahams bosom and beginneth this feast But the fulness of it is not until the glorified body shall be united to the glorified soul and then both together shall be filled with this fulness of love and fulness of joy to all eternity For the place It is in heaven where Jesus Christ sitteth at the right hand of the Father There Stephen saw him and there he abideth where he is there the Saints will be some think this is typified probably by the upper Chamber where they did eat the Pass-over and the Supper but no more of that Now the second thing cometh under hand that is to say That they go in with the Bridegroom to this feast Wherein these things will be considerable First How he brings them in unto the feast And then Secondly Why it is so And then somewhat to the Application First then he may be said to bring them in and they to go in with him into the feast because he is the meritorious cause of their entrance into glory As he is the entrance of a Believer into the grace wherein we stand as the Apostle speaks so also into the glory There is no acceptance with the Father no access but in and through Jesus Christ as a poor creature hath no admittance into the presence and table of a King but that the son takes him by the hand and leads him in the Lord Jesus then is the meritorious cause he went to prepare a place for us Secondly he doth now as I may say when a soul is brought to heaven after the manner of men I may say he doth receive it and so present it they go in with Jesus Christ But Thirdly And chiefly at the last day at that day he shall come again with his glorious Angels to gather all the Saints together and so to bring them to his Father to deliver the Kingdom up unto him to present them as a Spouse without spot or wrinkle or any such thing thus he shall appear the second time without sin to them that look for him and so they shall for ever be with the Lord. Fourthly He brings them unto the Marriage they go with him even into those joyes unto that eternal bliss and glory he leads them into and there sitteth down with them at the Marriage-feast eating drinking with him this new wine in the Kingdom of the Father It is not only his bringing of them or their going in with him into the place where these glorious manifestations of God shall be for ever but even into the very depth of those discoveries and there he sitteth down with them For the Arguments Besides that none else could do it for us as you heard First His faithfulness to them requireth it He hath promised he will never leave them until he had fulfilled for them all the good that he hath spoken now this is spoken that he will give them glory as well as grace that he will give them eternal life and raise them up at the last day else he were not a faithful High-Priest nor a faithful Saviour if he should leave them short you know it was his last Will and Testament in that place of Ioh 17. and will he see his own Will and
think it is for carnal end for your corn and wine and oyl that you howl upon your beds you little think when you pray and seek after God it is for ends meerly that you might spend these things upon your lusts that you may appear to be some body be esteemed among men be of esteem among the Saints Well Brethren carry it as covertly as you can so that your own souls are juggled into a delusion it may be yet be not deceived God is not mocked men are apt to be deceived and think that their secrets of sinning their bread eaten in secret their morsels under the tongue shall never be discovered but the Lord seeth all this he knoweth you throughly he searcheth the hearts and tryeth the reins of the sons of men Secondly because he knoweth you therefore he doth not know you he approveth not of you it may be men do approve of you your praise may be among the Churches among the Saints but yet your praise may not be of God he loveth you not savours you not with that favour that he bears to his people indeed some love Jesus Christ had to the young man in the Gospel that was but near to the Kingdom of God he doth not disallow of a form and profession it hath its use the leaves of the trees of righteousness they may be for healing to others an holy profession and walking to the appearance of others may win others to Christ and yet a man may perish when all is done and a profession may serve as a Motive to quicken up themselves to look to the power if the power of godliness be not good and necessary why do men take up a form and if it be good why rest they in a form and neglect it but if there be no more he will not know such a man he doth not know him Thirdly What ever you dream of now he will pronounce that sentence upon you at that day O that dreadful sentence that he knoweth you not he never knew you Ah dear friends if the Lord would but single out any one of us and tell us we are the men what agonies would it put us into Ah Brethren this will make sinners ears tingle to hear this word from the Lord Jesus O let fearfulness surprize the hypocrites yea I tell you this will make your hearts to bleed and your heart-strings crack within you this will pierce you through with the sorrows of hell Ah dear friends if the voice of his Messengers discoursing of righteousness temperance and Judgement to come be so great as to make a Foelix a great man a stout hearted sinner tremble that was not converted O what will it be when the sentence is pronounced against them from the Lord himself for while you hear Preachers though it be terrible when the conscience is opened yet there is a Cordial at hand but when once pronounced by the Lord Jesus there is no more remedy if one word from the Lord Jesus when the Souldiers came upon him and he asked them whom they sought I am he saith he this struck them to the ground souldiers in such Garrisons in Countries kept by the sword they were won by use to to be men of stoutest spirits that would dare sometimes the very Devil himself and yet one word from Jesus Christ's mouth struck them to the ground O Brethren surely this word of sentence will speak men not to the ground but to the lowermost pit It will speak them dumb forthwith that they have nothing to say for themselves It will speak them into confusion and amazement it will speak them into the flames of hell in a moment O this roaring of the Lyon of the tribe of Judah who may abide If the Law was so terrible in the giving what will it be in the execution You read how the Mountains shook Moses himself trembled but the sentence of the Law is nothing to the sentence of the Gospel as this condemnation of hypocrites will be it is to men that have in appearance owned Christ followed him done much in his name and yet he will profess he never knew them they pretended acquaintance with him now but he will never own them You then Brethren that have only a semblance of holiness you seem to have somewhat and have nothing then shall be taken from you that which you seemed to have then your vizard will be pluckt off you pretend to be friends of Christ and of his people to be his Father Brethren and Mother but now will he profess he knoweth you not you that preach in the name of Jesus Christ and do not preach for his name for his glory but for your own he will not own you he will say to you he knoweth you not you rest in this your form this you are ready to plead and not stay your selves upon him he will not know you O but we do lean upon the Lord so you say but mark that of the Prophet you lean upon the Lord and say the Lord is among us and yet they build up Sion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity the heads thereof judge for reward and the Priests teach for hire that is to say their tongues may be hired to say any thing pass any judgement right or wrong and yet lean upon the Lord say you lean upon the Lord and yet will be drunk swear lye cheat over-reach be filthy and unclean allow your â—elves in c 〈…〉 mplative wickedness be sure the Lord will not know such You that regard any iniquity never so little never so secret in your hearts believe it the Lord will not own you he will not know you he will not here own you much less will he when it cometh â—o the judgement It may be thou mayest soar a higher pitch in respect of parts and gifts and confidence and pretend to live higher then other men as many men of higher dispensations they say now do but yet as the Eagle when at the highest pitch hath a learing eye after her prey below so have they such a learing eye a lingering heart after their iniquity and their mouths water at it but for shame O surely Jesus Christ will never own such fear and tremble at this word as many as it concerneth O how will such souls be filled with amazement when they made no other reckoning but to come to heaven if any men in the Countrey should be saved a man would have thought they should have been the men they have done much suffered much wrought wonders c. and yet when all comes to all the heart was never right with God and therefore the heart-searching Judge will never own them never care for them become of them what will he will never know their souls Secondly then it may be for a searching word to poor creatures O be not deceived God is not mocked he knoweth a Balaam to be a Balaam
though he profess never so much love to Israel And O if he would give me a house full of gold and silver I cannot go beyond the Word of the Lord And O that my latter end might be as his Yet the Lord can see he is but a wretch for all this therefore Brethren I beg of you that it may be a searching word to us all Whether ever we have known him or be known of him have you ever touched him with the touch of faith for the pardon of your sins for the healing of your corruptions and have you found healing come from him yea or no have you known him the power of his death the power of his life and Spirit yea or no If you have not the Spirit of Christ you are none of his whose ever you be and he will not own you be sure Brethren for his sons for his friends to admit you to the feast except you be his indeed Ah dear friends I doubt many of us will be found with the foolish Virgins following after the creature resting in somewhat else beside the Lord Jesus Do not think your crying Lord Lord will do it this you may do and fall short did not Judas come with his hail Master and kiss him and yet his heart full of treason against him was this his kindness to Jesus Christ and do not many of us kiss him salute him with a kiss of love and homage or obedience in shew and yet in our lives deliver him up to be scourged by our loosness of carriage that there is no difference between us and other men open the mouths of the wicked and this constantly and without a returning to him will he own such a soul think you O how can we be contented to be uncertain in our conditions lest when all is done we should be disowned shut out at that day Thirdly Then Brethren let us all labour and be exhorted to it to study to approve our hearts to God more then to men a needful lesson to us all and it will be our wisdom surely for alas what if men know us and own us and favour us as Saints and precious people and Jesus Christ will not know our souls will this countervail O Brethren see to it that your praise be not of men but of God! O how apt we are to be lifted up and cheared if men think well of us and dejected if we suffer in their breasts if they disown us to be cast out of their hearts would go to our hearts it may be and we could not be quiet Alas what is this to that fearful sentence I know you not If Christ disown us what is it if all the Saints should own us and if he own us what should it discourage us though they none of them own us O labour to be more inward Christians and build your comforts upon the sure mercies of David in Jesus Christ No matter what is the rising way in the world which is the rising Sun Look to the mind of Christ keep a conscience void of offence toward him and make this your work to be found in him when all is done not in your gifts not in your duties not in your graces but in Christ O such a soul knoweth the Lord Jesus and such a soul is known of him and shall be known to all eternity Fourthly Here is an encouraging word to poor doubting souls It may be they are ready to pass this fearful sentence upon themselves sooner then many a wretched hard-hearted hypocrite to whom it properly belongs No matter man though thy gifts be not so great as another mans thou canst do little or hast not those sweet refreshings and enlargements which another hath Is thy heart approved to Jesus Christ canst thou approve thy soul to him that thou lovest him as Peter Lord thou knowest that I love thee though it may be not so much as other Saints do nor so much as the great things he hath done for thee call for yet thou lovest him and wouldst fain love him more be of good 〈◊〉 for thou art known of him If any man love God he is known of God A Judas may be an open professor of Christ and come to him in the day And a poor Nicodemus at the first dare but come in the night it may be and was a very shallow Scholar in Christ's School which is the discouragement of many a poor soul And Judas in the mean time a renowned Teacher of others and yet behold how the one betrayes the Lord Jesus and the other sticks to him when he was dead and professeth him openly at such a time as that when there was most discouragement against it O therefore Brethren though your grace be weak and little at the first if there be the root of the matter in thee if thou canst approve thy heart thou lovest him there is nothing in heaven nor in earth thou wouldest have in comparison of him though thy infirmities be many temptations be many thou art a poor wearied creature it may be with thine own heart be of good comfort the Lord Jesus hath already owned thee and he will own thee in that day And me thinks Brethren as on the one hand when such bold confident souls that make no other reckoning but of salvation but they reckon without Jesus Christ when they meet with so sad a disappointment in stead of an admittance they meet with I know you not O how will their hearts dye within them So on the other hand when a poor trembling doubting Thomas that it may be knoweth not what to think of himself nor his condition he is searching and trying and praying and fasting and humbling running and pressing hard forward and can get little ground of his corruptions which much discourageth him O he walks tremblingly lest he should receive this fearful sentence at the last that the Lord Jesus knoweth him not hath never had any thing to do with him notwithstanding all his profession sin is in strength corruption prevails though it is the bitterness of his soul O when such a poor doubting creature that haply many times looks for nothing but a fearful sentence depart from me shall have this pronounced O come thou poor soul I know thee I have known thee from the beginning of the world though thou hast been doubting of my love yet I know thee though thou hast been made black with affliction and thy visage so marr'd as others knew thee not refuge failed thee no man cared for thee for thy soul yet I know thee though thou hast been wounded with many sins many temptations and walked under many a discouraged heart yet I know thee O how will this be as everlasting life from eternal death to such a soul So that the soul shall now have now more place for doubting the satisfaction shall come with a mandamus he will speak salvation to the heart that it cannot
in Winter the earth seemeth to be languishing and all things withered and dead when the Sun returneth how doth it heal it To it s here Beloved it is the Word and Spirit that opens the earth moistens the earth sweetly refresheth it calls forth the fruits thereof The fruits of the Spirit they are called as the fruits of the earth are called the precious fruits put forth by the Sun and by the Moon which shines by a derived influence from the Sun how precious are the fruits of the Spirit Brethren love meekness joy in the Holy-Ghost humility self-denyal these are the precious fruits put forth by the Sun the Lord Jesus by his Word and Spirit beating upon our barren hearts indeed he maketh the barren Wilderness to become a garden of God Again he healeth he reviveth the spirits which languish and are ready to go out as the poor Birds that in the Winter are hard put to it and some lye you hardly know where as if they were dead or dying when the Sun returneth how doth it refresh and revive their little spirits that were left before The night brings a heaviness and burthen along with it to the body but the morning when the Sun ariseth how doth it enliven and lighten Oh! so it s in this case many a poor soul can say by experience that when darkness hath been long on them they have no light no comfort no refreshing no breathing of the Spirit to their apprehensions in his Ordinances on their hearts O how have hands hanged down and their knees feeble and knock one against another for feebleness and that which was within them was ready to dye But now no sooner hath the Lord Jesus the Sun of righteousness looked on them but they have had their ankle-bones strengthened the joy of the Lord is their strength as Neh. 8. but I intend not here much to expatiate only these two or three things First then the first thing in this healing which is brought under the wings of the Sun of righteousness is pardon for our sins who forgiveth all-thy iniquities and healeth all-thy diseases these are exegetical one of another or may so be looked on Sin Brethren cuts off a creature from God and so maketh a wound which now is healed and made up when they are pardoned Make the heart of this people fat and let their ears be heavy their eyes closed lest at any time they should see with their eyes or hear with their ears or understand with their hearts lest they should be converted and I should heal them which Mark reads thus lest they should be converted and their sins be forgiven them So then forgiveness and healing are all one and its one thing surely included in that of the Prophet Hosea I will heal their back-slidings I will love them freely the justification freely by his grace as the Apostle calls it Poor sinner thou that ever knewest what sin was what a wound it was to thy soul knewest that thy pardon is a healing to thee So then this arising with healing in his wings is by his Spirit in his Word he conveyeth the blood of Jesus Christ the merit thereof maketh it over to the poor soul that believeth to the doing away of all the guilt So as a Sun of righteousness properly he healeth and this is the first Secondly He taketh away also the anguish and trouble that did arise from sin to the soul as when a wound is healed you know the anguish and smart is taken away though while it is healing it may be when searched and tented there will be smart and sore yet afterward it s taken away by degrees I know some of you have felt and haply some at present may feel the grief of your wounds O! how they will throb and beat and burn and smart sometimes broken bones are nothing to a broken heart nor the broken flesh any thing to a broken bone the Lord heals the broken in heart he bindeth up their wounds I have seen his waies and will heal him saith the Lord he speaks to the condition of a poor disconsolate soul under the wrath of God He was wrath and smote him yea he hid him and was wrath O how this troubles a poor soul he cannot but have his heart full of darkness and terrour and trouble that hath the face of God hidden from him well saith the Lord though he did walk frowardly before me gave me not my ends in smiting him yet I will heal him and wherein doth this healing consist Alas in restoring joy and comfort to him the poor soul now was over-whelmed with sorrow his heart now was ready to sink and fail within him and lest it should so do he will heal him and how is this but by his Word and Spirit therein which is the comforting Spitit he will create the fruit of the lips peace peace to him Here is a healing indeed the healing of broken hearts and broken bones it s the work that the Father sent the Lord Jesus for into the world in an especial manner that he annointed him for poured out the Spirit upon him annointed him with the oyl of gladness above his fellows that he might speak in due season that he might bind up the broken spirits Now the Lord Jesus Brethren our dear Saviour he delighteth to do this will and work of his Father O! he loveth to be doing with broken hearts And O that we had some work for the Lord Jesus this day he is among us now to see if there be any heart in this condition that he may heal us it s his delight to do it Well this is a second he hath his cordials as well as his purgatives his lenitives as well as his corrosives Thirdly he cometh with healing under his wings as to take away the anguish so also to purge away the filth of it to heal the running putrifying sore that it may not run and defile and pollute all that a man taketh in hand How much more saith the Apostle shall the blood of Christ purge our consciences from dead works that we may serve the living God With corrosives he eats down the proud flesh and the dead flesh he dryeth up the bloody issues then the person was healed when she touched Christ but the hem of his garment This is that which troubles many a heart more then the guilt of their sins and indeed the returning and recoyling of sin on them again and again occasioneth the questioning of their peace and comfort that they have had O how one cryeth out of this sin and another of that sin and walks heavily and sadly Well the Lord Jesus he will arise with healing under his wings for all these distempers Fourthly and lastly another healing is the taking away his anger manifested in outward calamities or diseases in a people or person I will heal their back-slidings and love them freely for mine anger is
be stirred because that maketh him sensible of his condition O! such a mans condition is very dangerous and is not this the case of our souls Brethren O! what malignity is in sin the poyson and filthyness and hurt of all diseases and wounds are little enough to set it forth by and how sensible are we of a wound of a disease of the body how insensible of the diseases of the soul Well in order to a healing the Lord give us a feeling But this is but the first But a little further to open the nature of sin on this occasion which our Doctrine administers to us that which is to be healed you have heard is sin and that which needeth healing is either a disease or wound they are correlatives that you have heard already it is therefore compared to many sorts of diseases wounds and putrifying sores and bruises But now I will speak a little Brethren to the ill qualities and consequences of sin considered as such which may tend to turn our hearts against it for the time to come First then there is pain and anguish in most diseases and in every wound and bruise and especially in cankerings festered sores this is a proper passion of a disease to have pain and truly Brethren so hath every sin a pain with it first or last it is true the cup of pleasures goeth down merily with Sinners but when it s down it is a cup of trembling to them do but look on Gain when he had sinned in pouring out his Brothers blood he quenched his bloody thirst but kindled a fire in his bowels which did consume him Oh every one that meeteth me will kill me fear hath torment as John saith and see how full of fears a poor sinner is The wicked flee when none pursueth the very stones and beasts being at enmity with them they fear they shall be murthered by each of them And how did Foelix tremble when Paul disputed of righteousness temperance and judgement to come as long as they can keep out the sight of God as they think they are well But bring a Sinner and set him as it were in the face of God let him but look on him as a righteous Judge of all the world and most mighty to execute his pleasure on Sinners and then tell me whether the stoutest hearted-sinner do not quail as usually at the hour of death for truly for the most part men seldom seriously eye their condition before then How did the Jaylour spring in trembling in the Acts Ah the Sinners in Sion are afraid Fearfulness hath surprized the Hypocrites who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire who shall dwell with everlasting burnings Alas the stubble will not endure before the fire no more can sinners endure to look on God as a consuming fire it maketh the very heart ach except altogether hardened from his fear to behold him because they know themselves guilty and lyable to those burnings There is saith the Apostle a certain fearful looking for of judgement and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries Can a poor condemned Prisoner look on the Iudge think on the Tree on which he must be hanged on the fire but with fear and trembling Can Belshazzar read his sentence on the wall the hand-writing but with terrour his knees knocking one against another Ah Brethren methinks Sinners that are yet in their sins should not read a leaf in the Bible each leaf concerneth him is 〈◊〉 doom but he should even smite his thighs together there is so much terrour and fear accompanying sin Memoria testis ratio index timor carnifex saith Bern. As the Saints have some antipasts of Heaven a bunch of Grapes before they come to Cannan an earnest of that joy unspeakable and full of Glory so doubtless Sinners they have some hours of darkness coming on them some wrings and gripes of a guilty conscience that sometimes made some of them run to an halter to a sword for ease none knoweth the hell of a guilty conscience but such as have felt it Oh the wrackings the distortions of the Soul The pulling of the very heart in pieces and the rending of the very Bowels in pieces with these imprisoned passions in the Soul But secondly Even in sinners that repent Brethren though the wound be then healing there is pain also you know Now the Lord Jesus cometh in mercy to rouze the soul to shame it out of its evil courses and is shame nothing a man cannot hold up his head he is confounded ye are now ashamed saith the Apostle of the things which ye have done before can you look back on your former vain and filthy conversation and your hearts not be ashamed your consciences not be ashamed there is inward shame and confusion though it appear not outwardly So in that place of Ezekiel Thou shalt remember thy ways and be ashamed that thou mayst remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified toward thee There will be a godly sorrow which works repentance and never was there any repentance without sorrow there 's a pricking of the heart and pricking in the reins Acts 2. 37. There is no rest in the flesh by reason of the sin and broken bones That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Is it not sin that turns away the face of God and what then can arise to the soul but trouble Thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled This is the first thing there is pain in sin and trouble it troubles our hearts and troubles our houses as it did Cains troubles the City and Country troubleth Israel Secondly In sin Brethren or accompanying it there is weakness and indisposedness when it s but growing on us it seizeth on the spirits the vigour first So how lazie and listless are we for divers days befâ—â—e it do appear and much more afterward Morbus is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How wonderfully doth sin unbefit us for duty we even move to it as an arm or foot out of joynt when a man endeavours to bow it one way it falls quite another way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lust where they are in prevalency they are like to wens in a mans body which suck up the strength nourishment that which should supply the rest of the members it turns to its own swelling So doth pride turn that which should humble us that which would inflame our hearts and melt us to it self and so weakens us keepeth our love at an under that we cannot so livelily vigorously serve the Lord. We complain of our weak hands and feeble knees our indisposedness to the service of God believe it this is the reason of it sin unmortified this makes men reprobate to every good work men of no judgement no dexterity at all to
heart and see could he do so for his child though a Mother may take down much bitterness for her child yet would she be content to open a vein to bleed to death to redeem its life when ready to perish I know David in his passion said Would God I had dyed for thee but if Absalom had been alive and in cold bood he had been put to it I question though his affections were strong to his Son but they would have been as strong to himself Self is a mans nearest friend but now the Lord Jesus you see did it for his poor sinful people yea for strangers for enemies Brethren consider of it If any of us were Physitians here is a poor wounded creature lies in the way as the poor man in the Gospel fell among thieves left wounded and half-dead which of us now could find in our hearts to open our own veins and be emptied of all our blood and liâ—e that such a poor wretch might be supplied now this the Lord Jesus doth for such Sinners as we are Brethren if there must be pouncing and pricking he endures it lancing he endures it contusion he endures it For he was wounded for our transgressions bruised for our iniquites the chastisement of our peace was upon him and through his stripes we are healed his stripes are not the bodily buffetings his crown of thorns and such things were nothing in comparison no it is the lashing of his spirit the wounding of his soul the travel of his soul the agonies wrestlings with his Fathers displeasure to an agony when God laid on him so heavily that he was ready to faint and sink and his soul almost fetched at every blow O dear Saviour that ever the cure of such sinfull dust and ashes should cost thee so dear and we so little prize it But 2. That which he prescribes to us though there be some bitterness in it yet no more then must needs it may be a sprinkling from the top of the cup of trembling which may put us into a fear and trembling so much as he seeth needfull to imbitter sin to us it is true if love were perfect here below while graces are imperfect and our ingenuity perfect the looking upon a crucified Christ for us would be the greatest imbittering of sin to us in the world but we are very dull an 〈…〉 ow of heart and therefore a little taste we must our selves that we may gather from thence what the Lord Jesus indured for us we that never felt what a wounded Spirit meant and what the clouding of the face of God from us meant though we may hear of the sufferings of Christ we are not able to be sensible of them and so not to prize that love as strong as death but when a poor creature hath had a drop or two of scalding wrath fall upon his conscience a lash or two though gently upon his spirit that maketh him roar in the disquietness of his â—oul O thinketh he then if a drop or two be so full of terror and amazement what then was the whole Cup what was the dregs how should I have born that if my blessed Saviour had not taken it off for me That which did so parch him who was the Green Tree that he said he thirsted surely would have consumed the dry If he were as a Bottle dryed in the smoak it would have consumed us to ashes If it made Him sweat in such a manner it would have altogether dissolved our frame that we should have perished for ever O if a little wrath when God hideth his face be such a Hell in many souls What a Hell then had Jesus Christ in his soul when wrath was poured out to the utmost for he was not spared a jot And then to make us out of love with sin wherein doth lie the very heart of the core and of the cure surely such are the bowels of God in Christ that as he delighteth not in the death of a sinner so neither doth he delight in bringing the creature to life through so much bitterness and grief if any other means would so effectually work us out of love with sin as this for the Wise God surely would take the most effectual course it is all needfull else he would never do it Why but you will say that hatred of sin is never kindly except the love to Jesus Christ be the ground of it ye that love the Lord hate evil this takes the ingenuous spirit off from Omissions and Commissions It is true but yet consider brethren wherefore do we love Him but because he loved us when his love is revealed and manifested this warmeth melteth the heart indeareth the soul to him until the Lord Jesus be pleased to open and unfold his bowels of love to a sinner he will never love him now whereby should we estimate the love of Jesus Christ to poor sinners but by the unsearchably rich 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he paid for them O the price of every drop of that blessed blood that run trickling down to the earth especially if it be considered by what means it was squeezed out of him this setteth a rate upon his love it is not love in word but in deed and in truth if nothing else will be a price to redeem them but his blood it shall go he is not dear of it to the last drop yea not to part with it by opening a vein but to have it extract out of the veins by the pores of his body O by the unspeakable weight of wrath upon his Spirit Now how can we judge of this except we have had a little taste of it our selves when we are put into a little sweat in our own wrestlings with the displeasure of God O then we see what our Saviour indured for us If a man would set the highest estimate upon love among men this should be the rate of it would they willingly have the face of God in Christ hidden from them for a year or two for the dearest friend they have in the world you that have felt what this lashing of your Spirit is that your breath was even gone at every blow and you were ready to perish and you had fainted except you had believed some secret undiscerned support Tell me would you redeem the life yea the souls of your dearest friends that you had in this world by lying under a wounded Spirit having a Hell kindled in your souls that should burn all your days I cannot tell I know dear Friends will do much one for another O saith one I could lay my hands under their feet to do them good O I could redeem their lives with my own Would God I had died for thee and haply because he saw he was in such a sad condition for his soul but David wouldst thou have been content to roar all thy days in the disquietness of thy soul to have his waves and billows to
of God of a lesser nature those with which the spirit is lashed are most sore and therefore the soul might be in danger to depart to iniquity to return to sin again how soon did Israel resolve of making them a Captain to return again Nâ—h 9. 17 If the Prodigal return in such distress to his Father and he should keep him hungring and languishing when he hath not so much as husks to eat surely this were the way to put him upon it to return again to riotous courses the peace of God keepeth them with God c. Sixthly Again because the spirit would fail which he hath made if he did not in due season break the yoak set them at liberty as a tender Father will not lose his child for want of the rod no more will the Father of spirits for want of â—â—shing our spirits yet on the other hand a tender-hearted Father will much less lose him by over-doing of it as he will not spare him indulge him to death so neither will he whip him to death hang â—rons and fetters upon him until they eat into his soul and consume him O no when the Father seeth the spirit of the child to fall and he beginneth to swoon under his rod under the yoak of fear which hath torment be it what it will be then he letteth the rod fall out of his hand fals a kissing of the child to revive him again we must preserve the spirits and maintain nature in Physick and if purgations have wrought the patient off his strength there must be a restoring with Cordials 1 Cor. 10. 13. he will not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able c. he will not suffer his people to perish and sink and go away in prison and bondage and therefore he causeth them to go forth and doth arise upon them to that end For the Application of the point there are several uses to be made of it First then take notice from hence what a grievous bondage the service of sin is this is the principal part of the bondage and all the rest are but the product of sin sin is pregnant it hath the seeds of all those terrors fears sorrows slavishness deadness straitness and all the rest in its womb but it self is the chief and therefore we are said to be sold under sin and sin is said to have dominion over us so many lusts Brethren in strength so many pairs of fetters there are about our legs and how then is it likely that a sinner should run the waies of Gods Commandments but I hope by what hath been said already it will be granted that a condition of sin is a condition of bondage only a little to aggravate this consideration to you and all little enough I doubt to startle sinners who are in this condition First consider it is the basest most sordid thing that can be you know a servile condition is mean and base in comparison of liberty and freedom take it at the best but to serve the basest of men who would not abhor this what spirit would stoop to be a drudge to a Master to rake Channels and cleanse Jakes who would not abhor this Brethren this is nothing to sin to the slavery of sin as it was the greatest honour in the world to be a servant a son of God Moses the servant of the Lord David my servant As you know servants do much bear themselves up upon the honour of their Masters So it is the basest servitude in the world to be in bondage to a lust for a man to sell himself into the hands of sin and Satan for a moments pleasure of sin this is base It is brutish for a man to subject his understanding and will to the passions of his lust dishonourable base passions for beasts are led by their appetites Secondly As it is base drudgery so secondly the poor sinner hath so many lusts and so contrary to serve and satisfie that he must needs be distracted between them one commands him this way and the other commands him that way as now for a man to serve his pride and covetousness or his luxury and covetousness these are contrary and distract and distort the mind and hurry him hither and thither he can enjoy no peace in his own spirit at all you shall see a man that will spend at no aim when he is in company and none seemeth to set less by the world then he at such a time but afterward when he recollects himself then he must run and drudge and hurry himself and all his family and drive faster then they are able to bear and all to make up that which he hath consumed upon his lusts is not this a miserable bondage to be under such contrary lusts Thirdly Yea consider that these lusts are most insatiable in drinking up a mans time and spirits and strength and will never leave a man while he hath any thing to lay out upon them more So you know the Prodigal spent all that ever he had upon his lusts all his patrimony his time and strength and spirits and all and so the wanton doth upon his Dalilah and thou mourn at the last saith the wise man when thy life and thy body is consumed and say how have I hated instruction and my heart despised reproof except it have all the precious workings of the soul it is not satisfied it must have all the thoughts be in them all though God be in none of them all that precious water must drive this mill as for covetousness now how is the soul under the power of that lust as I may say hanged up like a meteor in the air as the Evangelist hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be not hanged up as meteors in the â—ir as I may say between heaven and earth and be not careful â—aith our Saviour be not divided distracted in your cares O â—hat they shall eat and what they shall drink how they shall accomplish this and that design what a drudge is any man that is under the power of this lust he doth nothing but root in the world in other servitude if that a servant were maimed or dismembered lost an eye yea or but a tooth they must be let go for their eye-sake or for the tooth-sake but here sin doth nothing but wound the soul breaks a man consumeth him soul and body and yet will not let him go sin doth put a mans eyes out that so it may have the more full compleat command over the poor creature and stops the ears and strikes out the teeth and distasteth the pallate so that any thing of God hath no more relish then a chip to a soul maketh the poor creature lame for any lust harboured in the soul maketh a man go with an uneven pace and halt he cannot go uprightly and so it weakens the hands and maketh feeble knees and indeed like a woolf
sin but it prevails not to for sake it O no if any of all this would have done it what need the Lord Jesus then be annointed for that work to preach deliverance to the captives and the opening of the prison doors to them that are bound surely the Lord would do no nothing in vain but so much for this Application Then it may teach us the vanity of all conceit of liberty or freedom or going forth before the Lord Jesus come and shine upon a mans soul then they shall go forth not before what is the reason that the most of men can satisfie themselves with their condition as they do but they have some conceit they are at liberty were sinners perswaded that they are under the dominion of sin and Satan c. could they eat or drink or sleep what a fearful thing would we think it if the Devil had but power over our bodies to carry them whither he pleased to shatter and shake them at his pleasure but what is this to the having power over the soul over the will the affections the mind by keeping them in blindness and yet sinners do not believe they are in such a bondage but think they are free nor do I think there is any one thing doth keep more poor creatures in bondage then this they think they are free but let us see a little the vanity of such conceits First Some are so gross as to think they are born free when as you heard before We are born the children of wrath we are all born in the house of bondage in the Prison House and therefore we as well as our Parents are under bondage Can a slave bring forth any other then a slave If many of us look to the Rock whence we are hewen as the Prophet speaks we shall find that our very Parents were the servants of sin and it may be lived and died so and what then were they the slaves to Satan and can we be Christ his Free-men by Birth It cannot be surely It is very strange that men that know their Parents to be loose wicked prophane earthly carnal crearuâ—es that yet should bear up themselves with this priviledge they are born free they are Christians by birth such men little know what goeth to make a Christian can the bond-woman bring forth children that are free Secondly Others have a fairer pretence for it then this they think they are free by birth because they had faithful believing parents we have Abraham to our Father and we being his seed how can we be in bondage I must confefs Brethren this is something to me for as Satan hath servants born in his house in his kingdom so the Lord Jesus hath in his if bond-men were born bond-men and servants were born in the house then God hath servants also born to him and his servants are free in that sense that they are his servants and therefore it is remarkable in that of Leviticus they must let their servants go free and their children also for they are my servants saith the Lord whom I brought out of Egypt which was a Type of our spiritual bondage mind you the Lord calls them his servants his children as well as others only note here two or three things for the clearing of it First that this is by grace and not by nature for by nature and natural generation no man can beget nor woman bring forth any child that is free no though they themselves through the riches of grace are made free yet their children by nature are the children of wrath as well as others yea though they belong to the Election of grace and be saved whether they die in infancy or come to the acknowledgment of the truth and believe as the Apostle did yet by nature they are the children of wrath a sad condition our poor children are in by nature if parents did but well lay it to heart but what then doth this hinder but that by grace they may be free though by nature they are bound as the Apostle himself by nature was a child of wrath under the curse of the Law that is to say and in bondage but by grace he was free and why might not the Lord by grace make him free sooner if he pleased as well as later is it not all one with him can he not make children free as well as men if he please are not men purely receptives in the first grace and are not children as passive and receptive as any But secondly there is a freedom invisible and saving and a freedom visible and both by grace the freedom invisible when a soul is actually set at liberty from the power of sin and the bondage of his corruptions or else visible when there is ground for our judging they are so freed now many are visibly free that are not invisibly free at all so there is many an hypocritical professor that carries it so like a free-man of Christ that it would puzzle the most discernable spirit to discover that he is under the bondage of sin or Satan and yet he is so invisibly haply but visibly he is free that is to say appears to be so appears to be in Covenant with God for that is the freedom therefore where-ever Christ is spoken of as to preach liberty it is said still he is given as a Covenant to the people so many appear to be in Covenant and so visibly are such that invisibly are not and so the children of such holy parents who are in Covenant with God are visibly free though invisibly they may be in bondage that is to say they are in visibly in Covenant with God that is to say we have ground to judge charitably and hopefully of them that they are in Covenant with God and if they so die that they are â—aved by vertue of that Covenant there which for my own part I know no other revealed way of salvation and therefore if we deny them this we must either say there is no grounded hope of their salvation and I would be loath to be such a durus pater infanâ—um to deny all visibility of salvation to them Or else we must say the Lord hath left nothing upon record whereby we might have any comfort concerning little ones that die in that condition which what an impeachment it were to the wisdom grace of God in Christ I wish men would impartially consider And if they will say they may be saved can it be without the invisible grace have they not corrupt natures and the seeds of all sin in them and can any unclean thing enter into heaven and therefore sure they must be freed from sin and will we grant them the invisible grace that they come under that which is narrower and shall we deny them that which is larger would you think that man himself that should yield that a man may be in the Kings bed-Chamber but he may
use of indifferent things they scruple not any thing as clean or unclean in meats or clothes or days make no difference at all and hereupon they make account they are free whereas this may stand with a bondage unto sin notwithstanding O how may such men in the very use of this part of their liberty enslave themselves to sin to their lusts it is but a pretence many times their liberty is they wil use the creatures liberally and without scruplicity and nicety will nor suffer their consciences to be coy or tickle in such smal things wherein they have a liberâ—y whereas the very truth is they have no command of their Lusts nor Appetites and then liberty is the cloak of it they are so impotent they cannot forbear meat or drinks or such such rich apparel as is a question whether it become them or no they are brought under the power of these things and yet liberty is the pretence Surely brethren this is not to be free neither so much for this second Use whereby we may perceive how many of us that it may be think we were â—ree are yet in bondage to this day these mis-conceits of freedom set us not free a Prisoner dreams his chains are fallen off and he walks up and down at liberty but when he awakes alas his bonds are upon him still Seventhly No nor yet is every one that doth endeavour to fulfill the Law of God yet set free there is many a diligent soul very industrious and laborious it may be and as they think for heaven that would put the most of us to shame in this point and yet all this while alas they are working in their fetters in their bonds yea they do twist and work bonds they are held in the cords of their own services stick there and never go further these are not free neither it is not Moses any more then Abraham that can make free it must be the Son must do it yea truly for my own part I take it that these poor souls that are under the Law as a Covenant of life are in the most dangerous condition for alas they are in love with their bondage and so much the more because they take it for freedom A man is in love with his Fetters because they are gold he maketh account they will buy his freedom when he pleaseth when any offers to take them away what would you have me to part with my gold O no And so many a poor creature is in love with a Sepulchre full of rottenness and dead mens bones because it is painted and garnished how hard a matter is it to perswade many a Justitiary among us that he is in such a bondage and stands in need of this great power of Christ to make them free c. Well then do we move as heartless Christians do like Watches with outward motion come duties from us like fire from a Flint alas do we what we do by constraint or of a willing mind are we a free people is love our constraint as the Apostle 2 Cor. 5. c. 3. Vse Shall be then to take notice what an incomparable benefit the Gospel is that brings such glad tidings unto poor souls in bondage in prison Brethren do but imagine how welcom tidings it would be to a company of poor Gally slaves to tell them your Prince hath laid down your ransom for you and hath sent to proclaim Liberty to you if you will go forth O how their hearts would leap within them for joy they could hardly believe it at first but would be like them that dreamed there in the Psalms but when they come to themselves surely they would rejoyce more in it then if they had found great spoils you have heard it is the Gospel preached whereby this Liberty is held out yea and conveyed for the truth shall make you free and now to a man that is in love with the prison and not willing to come out the tenderings of Liberty is not so much but he that is weary of the nastiness of the Prison of the weight of his chains he whose spirit is overwhelmed with the pre-apprehensions of his condemnation and it may be never expected to come out of his prison except to be led to Sentence or to the Execution now for Liberty to be proclaimed to such and freely too O what a benefit is here Brethren if it were not for this Gospel of glorious Liberty what were the world but a prison a dungeon full of poor miserable Caitiffs shut up under sin to the revelation of the righteous judgement of God at the great Day it were better for us to die assoon as we are born were it not for this Gospel What miserable comforts were our Riches our Honours our Friends and Relations were it not for this Gospel A man in prison liable to condemnation under Bolts and Shakels tell him of wearing soft rayment or Royal dainties faring deliciously every day alas it goeth not down with him he is a prisoner in bondage nothing can be pleasing to him it deadens his heart his rellish to all things else liberty would be a sweet welcom message to him Brethren this is the tidings of the Gospel 4. Vse See here and admire the riches of this Grace of the Gospel in Jesus Christ that he should proclaim Liberty to the Captives notwithstanding their wilfulness in throwing themselves into these chains their willingness to continue in them and unwillingness to go forth to go out of them notwithstanding their being worn out as I may say and spent in this bondage so that they can very little be serviceable to him For the first of the aggravations of the bondage which tends to heighten the freedom and deliverance from it that we wilfully plunged our selves into it if a man be taken captive by the Turk against his will we pitty him much but if he wilfully throw himself upon them this takes away much of the compassion yet this is our case did not Adam sell us in the first transgression in which respect we are all to this day sold under sin yea more then so alas what sinner is there almost that liveth to any years but he sells himself with prophane Esau sells his soul and his hope of heaven and all for a Mess of pottage for a little moments satisfaction to his lusts Nay do we not all subscribe to that act of selling us under sin when we so willingly imbrace our chains In so much that some do even wear their chains as their ornaments glorying in their shame that is to say making their boast of their wickedness And that yet notwithstanding when no eye pittied poor sinners in this condition they themselves were so far from pittying themselves that they were pleased with the prison all men in the like condition with themselves cannot pity them the Saints alas want bowels to such as willingly are in bondage that yet
tell you that liberty is sweet it is not to be expressed If Paul had not been free he had had many a lash by those cruel tyrants If the soul be not free it is liable to perish to be whipped to death to eternal death with Scorpions ask but any of the people of God who have been wearied and almost worried with their lusts O the iron entered into their soul they did sit in darkness in the dungeon many a sad day and hour and at last Out of the depths they have called to the Lord he hath set them free O what an Heaven upon Earth they found it when they have been delivered in any measure from this bondage what would they take to be in the same condition again specially under the command of their lusts not all the world brethren the Lord perswade your hearts now now while it is to be had before you be called for out of prison to the judgement that you may go forth and enjoy this glorious liberty O but you would say Alas what should we do in this case we are convinced it may be some poor soul maâ— say of himself that this is a miserable bondage we are in even by sin and the consequents of it and we would fain be set free but we know not which way to go about it we are in a maze a wilderness a labyrinth a duâ—geon we grope and grope and cannot find the way out O what shall we do it may be this may be the case of some of our souls I will tell you what you shall do First Deny your own policy and wisdom know they will not set you free Judas had much knowledge and yet he hanged himself you will rather by depth of reasonings plunge your selves deeper the Gospel is foolishness to them through the pride in their carnal knowledge Secondly Labour to know the Gospel in its tenor and to close with it to believe it you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free truth truly known will set a soul free this truth is the truth of the Gospel for Grace and Truth come by Jesus Christ and it is observable that they are both put together Sanctifie them with thy Truth saith our Saviour thy Word is Truth There are three things here considerable First That there must be a through acquaintance with the bondage that we are under and the better condition of service how much the service of Christ is to be preferred before that of Satan for the truth is while a man knoweth no better he will be content to serve the worse there is never a sinner under the dominion of sin but thinketh he is the freest man and the people of God that are bound up in their Spirits to such a strict way of walking with God he thinketh they are the men in bondage but alas it is because he understandeth not his own condition nor is it a slight hint of such a thing that will usually prevail to a freedom from all sin therefore you must labour to study what this bondage is see what thou art exposed to by reason of it and see what a prfect freedom the service of Christ is O what great reward there is in the very keeping of his Commandments joy is such an inseparable attendant upon obedience that some measure of it followeth every good action as the very heathens themselves acknowledged much more then when the Lord Jesus is the Master and his service the work Secondly Thou must be acquainted with the commands of Christ his precepts are pure and they have an influence upon the heart that believeth them to bring him out of that bondage to set him free I do believe nothing more keepeth many a soul in bondage he knoweth not what the will of Christ is in such or such a particular else he would do it Be acquainted with Christ the summe of the Gospel you shall know the truth that is to say what he hath done to set poor creatures free became a servant obedient to the death was in bondage in prison in the horrible pit how he was put to it to overcome c. Thirdly and principally thou must be acquainted with the promises of the Gospel that are made to this end it is their excellency to help forward our freedom this part of the truth well known so known as to be closed with will make every poor creature free ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free and so this in the text the Sun of righteousness shall arise upon you with healing in his wings and ye shall go forth and so many other places sin shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under the Law but under Grace It is the very tenure of the Covenant and of the promises in Scripture that he will deliver his people save them from all their uncleannesses and subdue all iniquities for them yea though they work iniquity with both hands Vers 3. Either we know not these things or else we make not use of them we act not faith upon them the Lord doth love to have his people use the importunity of faith for nothing is so importunate as faith nor offers as I may say such violence to heaven as that doth O Brethren the Lord help our unbelief and forgive our neglect of our faith in this point if thou canst act it but weakly yet put forth some act of faith hang upon these promises tell the Lord he hath caused thee to hope upon this his Word else thou couldest not hope and thou dost hope in this Word else thy heart would altogether sink within thee and will he now make thee ashamed of his hope hath his promise ever failed a poor creature and will it now fail thee But beside this dost thou find thy heart moved made willing indeed to part with sin Art thou in good earnest in this business O yes saith the poor soul I would rather then my life be set at liberty for what good will my life do me if I must continually serve sin and grieve such bowels of love towards me in Jesus Christ have you searched do you know your hearts in this point it may be thou hast not that heed of trusting thy heart further then thou seest it it will deceive thee then but if thou hast searched it and beg'd of God to search it and thou dost not find but he hath through infinite riches of grace made thee willing to come out if thou couldst tell how I tell you Brethren if this be so the chains are fallen off from your hands and the bolts from your legs your freedom is in a great part accomplished only thou canst not find the way out of the prison O then follow Christ follow his Spirit when he moveth thy heart at any time to search and try maketh thee tender puts thee into a frame to bewail the evils of thy heart take
into fet ters under this Law So that if you look upon it in this subserviency to the Gospel though the creature may be put to much grief by it yet it is good when pardon is proclaimed that a Prince should cast those rebells into prison to make them willing of a pardon the Gospel is a savour of death to death you know and yet it is a sweet savour in them that perish and them that are saved the Gospel is never the worse for that and if the Law prove fetters to a poor sinner to keep him under bondage for ever and bind him over to everlasting Judgement this is through his own wickedness that he will not accept of deliverance in the Gospel where it is preached the Law is never the less good and holy But the second is the main thing how far we are said to be freed from the Law of God and how we are not freed from it First we are delivered from it as a Covenant of righteousness do this and live that is to say be thou exactly conformable to this Law for ever 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 want of suitableness to this Law is a sin and every sin the wages of it is death if thou break it but in one thou art guilty of all Alas Brethren the Law was weak through our flesh and could not justifie it could discover sin as a glass but not purge it it could work wrath work it out but it could not pacifie therefore the Lord Jesus came and took upon him that name the Lord our righteousness and he is now saith the Apostle the end of the Law for righteousness It was a School-master to whip us to fright us out of our selves to Jesus Christ therefore every soul in Christ now is delivered from the Law as a Covenant of life that is clear but this was mentioned before Secondly Now from the rigorous exacting of obedience for according to the Law nothing is obedience except perfect if a man miscarry in one thing he is guilty of all there must be a doing of every thing written yea in the fullest most spiritual sense of it yea a continuance in every thing to the end or else it is not obedience but now the Lord accepteth of the desires of the upright heart he heareth the prayer of such as desire to fear his name the will now goeth for the deed where the poor soul striveth to do and is not able Dear friends how sad a condition were we in many times if the Lord did so rigorously exact our obedience how often do we come to pray and can say nothing in his presence can scarce sigh or groan and in hearing and speaking his Word though we do stir up our selves to watch O how often do vain thoughts run away with our hearts now if we were under this exacting of the Law what would become of us what had become of Paul when he did the things he hated the things he would not c. if he had been under the rigour of the Law If there be first a willing mind that imprimis Brethren doth legitimate all the following Items though never so weak now the Law is in the hand of Christ as a Father who pittieth and spareth us alas what had become of the best of us else long since thus we are delivered Thirdly From the curse of it Gal. 3. 18. our Saviour being made a curse for us so that the curse of it doth not lie upon us to sink us that is to say the weight of the wrath or displeasure of God Nor yet as a compulsion to obedience to this Law as slaves and very wretched sinners may do much for the fear and dread of this curse of God but this the Lord delivered his people from he maketh them a willing people he now sheweth them greater reason against sin then ever they saw now opens to them the grave they see the rottenness of it which they saw not before now he opens his treasures of rich grace in Christ and so by mediation of the understanding works upon the will sweetly inclining it to God though there be a moral swasion by apposition of object as a Lamb is led by a green bush up and down yet this is not all there goeth more to the taking away the stone in the heart and giving a heart of flesh which doth most what lie in the making the will flexible and plyable not so much in sorrow and tears and meltings which doth many times accompany it and sometimes not at all or very little Pharaohs heart was hardened for he obeyed not he was stiff and stubborn and therefore said to be a stone Now I say a moral swasion will not reach to this a man may use much oratory to a stone and yet it remaineth a stone still a Preacher may hold forth sin to be sin and exceeding sinful and hold forth Christ crucified by them and for them before their eyes and yet alas all will not do they remain stones still No no an enclining of the heart he turns the hearts of men whithersoever he will as he did the heart of Esau to Jacob upon his prayer there was more then a swasion and as he did the thief upon the Cross in the midst of his torments and agonies of death then to think upon a Christ then to have his heart towards him that never regarded him in his life-time and in the midst of a people reviling him as you know and upon the Cross suffering and dying and yet then to be wrought upon argues a wonderful divine power put forth upon the will Well then when the will is overcome we are made free to the service of Jesus Christ now we can delight in the Law of God after the inward man it was a weariness to a sinner to hear the Word specially if it came near to him he could not endure to be grated upon and a weariness to pray now he delights in these things So far we are delivered from the curse as the great inforcement of Obedience Fourthly From the provoking power of the Law as you have often heard now that Law that was the occasion of the rebelling of lust is hid in the heart that we might not sin against him this is a great change indeed in a child of God from the former condition when before God would put his yoak upon our souls we writhed and pluckt away our neck would not endure it now it pleaseth us to be under it it is sweet and easie to us now it is a provocation to obedience that before was a provocation unto sin But now on the other hand we are not set free from the Law as a Law a rule of holy walking of new obedience our Saviour did not by fulfilling the Law destroy it but accomplish it because we were not able of our selves to do it he under went the rigour of it and took away all the condemnation of
in the Gospel inculcate this upon the Disciples fear not him that can kill the body but fear him that killeth soul and body And so if ye live after the flesh ye shall dye but if by the Spirit ye mortifie the deeds of the flesh ye shall live these threatnings surely would not have been written to Believers except they were to make some use of them to be as an awe upon their spirits to keep them from sinning to be a quickning to their souls Now on the other hand it is true that there ought not to be in us such a fear as to distract us to drive us from to weaken our Spirits to disable us from duty to cloud and drown all our delight in his waies to blot out our apprehensions of his loveliness and compassion and bowels so as to beget hard thoughts in our hearts of God which will produce hatred of him such a fear ought not to be in us and though there may be a spice of it sometimes even in the best when they are not themselves yet this is not the prevailing principle in the soul but an holy fear of offending him which ariseth from a mixture of love towards him and holy reverence and awe of him and of his Majesty and Greatness and truly Brethren this is no enemy to spiritual liberty But I must not dwell so long upon things But secondly the main thing that I know most troubles a gracious heart is that he finds himself so much under the power of sin O I find not this freedom this liberty you speak of I am a wretch then under the power of my corruptions O the sad complaints to Christians to men continually from some poor disconsolate souls and to speak a little for their consolation if the Lord breath in it First Brethren you must know this that as sin hath had a time of settling and rooting there will be a time of unsettling it thou art of yesterday it may be and dost thou think to be so free the first day as they that have many years been wresting and fighting and praying and fasting and mourning and believing down their lusts This is a great mistake it is infinite mercy that thou hast thy hands let loose and thy feet out of the mire and clay and that thou art set upon a Rock that thou hast now a standing and liberty to fight thou must not expect a liberty from fighting and conflicting with sin while thou art in the flesh mind you the Apostles two or three verses of the same Epistle to the Romans he saith the Law of the Spirit of life the powerful working of the Spirit of life hath set him free from the Law of sin and death and yet a few verses before O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sin and death thou groanest under the burthen whereby it appears thou art delivered in a great part thou art willing to be freed and when the will is disintangled the man is free in a great part Secondly Brethren know this for your comfort that your labour is not in vain striving against sin fighting with it you are sure to overcome though sin lie hard upon you you shall overcome it First the Lord he is able to break all the bonds if he will deliver Peter out of prison what shall hinder his chains shall fall from his hands the Iron-gates shall open of their own accord before him nothing shall be able to hold them It was somewhat hard for Israel to believe that they should be delivered out of Egypt and somewhat a strange Message of Moses at the first even as one should be sent to the great Turk to tell him the God of the Christians commands him to let them go but God tells him and them that he is that he is I am hath sent me the great God who is being it self and from himself he is what he is he is able to destroy the Egyptians dost thou believe this that he can subdue thine iniquities thy strong impetuous violent lusts Secondly then he will do it he heard Israel groaning under bondage and came down to deliver them he remembered his Covenant it was his faithfulness Brethren that brought him out the self-same day the Lord delivered them and the Lord will keep time to a day with thee that groanest under this bondage if thou werâ— but humbled if it had done its work upon thee for that and such like ends he would not suffer sin to prevail upon thee any longer for he letteth not lusts loose upon a soul to woorry it but to humble it make it out of love with sin to drive it to himself to make it for ever cleave closer to him now there is promise upon promise for this you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free he speaks this to his Disciples who did already know it in part know himself the truth the way and the life and the truth in opposition to shadows grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and it shall make you free how many promises are there as in the text therefore surely he will do it Now what an encouragement it is to fight when we are sure to overcome yea to endure hardship in this conflict But thirdly consider it is the very office of Jesus Christ the work which he received of his Father is to destroy the works of the Devil to destroy strong holds to lead captivity captive therefore he came into the world if it had not been for such poor creatures as are under bondage there had been no need of Christ he came to give himself a ransom for many and to preach deliverance to them and the opening of the prison to them that are bound you have heard already and therefore he was annointed of his Father and received the Spirit that he might set open the prison doors Now poor burthened souls if any such whose body ofsin and death presseth them down sore and they walk heavily goâ— to him spread your condition before him put him in mind wherefore he came into the world to set open the prison to loose the prisoners and thou hast an infirmity and haply been bound with it many years beseech him to exercise his Office towards thy poor soul the Lord loveth to hear his people earnest and importunate to plead it thus with him but if thou canst not yet be sure he will do the work which his Father hath given him to do and what is that but to set at liberty such prisoners as thou art that groan under the burthen and bondage of their lusts Fourthly Consider how pittiful a heart he bears to his people labouring under corruption when we are weak it may be sometimes the spirits of a poor creature are spent in labour in other services and he thinketh he should be as lively then as at another time but it is not likly so to be
at first it was little but every stone maketh some increase of the heap and yet it groweth not properly so a snow-ball it is greater with rolling but this is not properly growth nor augmentation but it is when there is somewhat inwardly received which by interchanges in man at last is turned into his substance and maketh an increase of it as a man doth his food and a râ—oâ— doth the juice of the earth which is concocted and becometh nourishment to the branches whereby they grow and increase this is properly growth Now to apply this proposition to the case in hand when we speak of growing in grace either we say the grace it self groweth or else persons do in this or that grace If the former then this doth not so suitably hold for the grace the habit of faith of love cannot properly be said to receive inwardly this or that nourishment but as qualities have added to them such or such degrees and so increase But if we say that a soul doth grow or increase in this or that grace then it will hold somewhat more exactly which is also a metonymical speech a met onymie of the subject for the adjunct to say the person groweth when indeed it is but the habit of grace which is increased the person continueth the same I say then it holdeth somewhat more near though haply the Simile will not yet run upon all four neither nor is it to be expected the poor believing soul then receiveth nourishment inwardly that is to say that which is nourishment to his faith to his love whereby he groweth therein some deeper knowledge of the riches the exceeding riches of the grace of God the riches of the Covenant of promises whereby his faith is increased and so somewhat more of the height and depth and breadth and length of the love of God in Christ towards him he knoweth which much heighteneth his love to Christ again Now remember this is not by any thing external external additions to a thing may make it appear the greater but not really the greater as a mans cloaths make him seem bigger then he is yet he is the same in them and out of them no bigger at all there is very great difference between a weight hanged upon a Clock the more weight the more the motion is hastened and a child that went but timerously and weakly the Spirit of life within him prevailing that he can run faster and so groweth in stature and agility there is much difference so there is much difference between an hypocrites growing in appearance in duties in services in zeal which appears to us for we can but judge the root by the fruit therefore we think they are grown there but all this while are mistaken for it is not the root of the matter within it is some external weight and that is hanged upon their affections some by-respect or another to their credit their profit their Kingdom as Jehu that setteth them a working so fast more then before there is great difference between such an one and a child of God such as David whose heart was perfect who from the inward revelations of Christ in them discoveries of his love teachings of his Spirit and quicknings they grow up more and more there is much difference I say But this is the second I am affraid I shall be too tedious herein yet I hope this will not be unuseful to make things as plain as I can as we go that we may understand what we speak of Thirdly The thing that groweth remaineth the same though increased the body that grows it is the same body still though much increased as a child and a man he is the same person when a babe and when a man only he is much increased by a continual nourishment So it is here a mans grace is the same the same habit of faith and of love but groweth much stronger as in the case of Thomas and the rest of the Disciples you see it it is the same that was a tender plant and now is become a strong Oak or Cedar only now it is more rooted then before and grown up and spread it self though a child of God have many shakings with contrary winds temptations and false Doctrines and sometimes his knowledge may be corrupted and sometimes his faith may be shaken yet I believe he is never pluckt up by the root and then planted again when once he hath received that grace and obtained that mercy to be faithful to believe and have the graces of the Spirit implanted in the soul these are never destroyed altogether once alive to God and that life never fails because the principle the fountain of it that feeds it never fails the seed of God abideth as the Apostle saith It is true there may be sickness and weakness and wounds and distempers that may hinder the growth of a child but yet he liveth and groweth afterward again yea more then he did before haply and this is the case and though David and Peter broke their bones though they be sore shaken yet they are not pluckt up by the roots as trees dead and so planted again nor doth any grace of Gods planting wither away altogether like Jonah's gourd the reason that is given for the withering away of some of the corn that was green is because it had not root This the third Fourthly Another consideration to make out further the nature of this growth is this there must first be a life before there be a growth either vegetative or sensitive or rational you know if there be no life in the tree if it have not a root alive to maintain it it groweth not at all stands at the same stay for proportion and groweth dry indeed and rotten and fit for burning and so there must be life in a man before he groweth when he is dead all growth ceaseth there is nothing but dissolution upon dissolution then and so it is in this case there must be a root a planting into Christ a grafting into him by his ingrafted word before we can grow up in him we must be one with Christ for you know that which had no root withered it may make a shew for a time and flourish even as the grass upon the house top but it withereth before it groweth up Paul may plant and Apollo may water but it is he the Lord that giveth the increase he that ministereth seed to the sowers both ministers bread for your food and multiplies your seed sown and increaseth the fruits of your righteousness Now this he doth in and through Christ for he is the only pipe through which grace is conveighed to us as things here are to be noted to make this out fully First that all the nourishment is from Christ as the breast-milk is from the mother that brought it forth so it is with us in respect of Christ he travelled his soul travelled with us he
argument whereby the grace of Christ is as highly advanced as by any other whatsoever that he should therefore increase the strength of his poor weak children that they may draw more strongly from him and their hearts more enlarged to receive more abundantly from his fulness as a strong child will draw harder and harder still the arms of the trees as they grow stronger and stronger so they suck more juice from the root still to feed them and carry them on Now I say this is sweet to the soul and it may be a character also of our growth if we do grow in grace indeed we shall grow up into him we shall find a greater drawing of our hearts after him still and suck more strongly from him This the first Secondly another thing comprehended under this growing up into Christ may be this that all our growth is to his honour it ends in him who alone is exalted by it it is the honour of the head when the members grow and become by the communication of the animal spirits more vigorous and active and fit for the discharge of their several works this is the glory of the head this may be understood two waies First it is the end of the thing it self finis operis the thing doth much advance him when others behold such a fulness of strength and power flowing forth from Jesus Christ upon the members to see the members of a body languid and weak and withered it is not for the honour of the head specially if generally so though there may be also particular causes as obstructions and the like but these are not so visible What an honour is it to Christ to see a poor soul th 〈…〉 now is as weak as water like the poor man in the Gospel Lord help my unbelief that ere long through the supply of grace from Christ is able to say My Lord and my God to see a poor soul lie languishing under a lust and not be able to stir and yet ere long able to triumph over it to see a poor soul that ere while was cleaving to the ground and to the dust could not get up the heart and now after a while upon Eagles wings running without weariness and walking without faintness is not this to the honour of Christ But secondly It must be so intended by us else our growth is not right in the end our end in desires of and Gods end in working we must look to the end Brethren we desire strength against this and that corruption to wax more valiant in this fight to conquer to triumph over them we would have such a measure of knowledge such a measure of faith but what is our end is Christ the end in all this is it that we may more advance him Ah that soul that indeed groweth into Christ Brethren groweth downward into the root can be content to be any thing to be nothing that his blessed Saviour may be advanced so it was with John Ah so with David if the Lord will lay me aside and I must not build him a Temple but my son must do it it is the Lord why should I not submit So if Moses must not bring them into Canaan he is contented O he would not have Joshua in another case envy for his sake he wished all the Lords people were Prophets God would have the greater glory when the Lord ofâ—ered to make of him a greater people O what then wilt thou do to thy great name the enemies will say then that thou broughtest them out to destroy them he had rather die and perish and be nothing then God should be dishonoured O dear friends let this be considered if we grow we grow up into him I say it may serve for a piece of tryal though delivered in this place I would have my whole discourse as applicatory as may be Sixthly In a true growth we must know there is an uniformity as you know one member groweth in the body as well as another if it be a true growth where some of the members receive no nourishment but all the growth is found in the root this is a disease and not the effect of the principle of life within them as you see it in the Rickets a disease now ordinarily known by that name but this uniformity is two-fold First in respect of the Church And secondly of each particular member thereof in regard of the graces of the Spirit which are growing in them First then for the Church of Christ there is an uniform growth there that is to say the Lord Jesus doth not communicate his sap and vigour and vertue so to one as to spend it on him and leave another without but every wild Olive grafted into the Olive either visible or invsible Church the visible there is meant in that place of the Apostle in whom the whole body being c. they receive accordingly either the common influences of the Spirit with the Ordinances whereby they grow up in that which we call common grace and one as well as another there is none sure but thriveth more or less Secondly for the invisible there is none so grafted but he groweth he is one Spirit with the Lord and therefore sure must needs grow that hath a continual supply of the Spirit as the Apostle in that forecited place the Lord Jesus in his invisible body hath no withered arm nor legs whatever there be in the visible whatever dead and drie sticks may cleave to the visible Olive there is none so cleaveth to the invisible it is impossible a soul should hold the head and hold inward communion and fellowship with him and yet not to grow but this is but for the Church which thus uniformly groweth one member as well as another Now secondly for particular members they also grow and that uniformly also grow not in one grace only or in this grace or that grace nor in another no but they grow uniformly that a man should be all faith and no love it is impossible or all love and no knowledge it cannot be there must be an uniformity in growth if right that were more like a wen and its growth then growth of the body you would not esteem that a growth that a man should grow all in the eye and it should become as big as the body almost so that he could see wonderfully but in the mean time the rest of the parts are as small as when they were born grow in one grace and grow in every grace grow in sincerity and grow in humility grow in faith and grow in love grow in all A timpany a growth of one member more then all the rest is monstrous and so it would be in grace Now though through defect or super fluity in natural causes there may be a monstrosity in a birth or growth yet it cannot be in respect of Christ who doth alike extend his influence to the growth and increase
when life is half run up the maximum quod sic as they call it but not in grace No while we have breath we must be growing the hoary head must be found in the way of righteousness going forward still the path of the just must be as the growing light shining more and more to the perfect day this we pray for that his will may be done by us on earth as the Angels do with that perfect plyableness forwardness chearfulness that they do it this we must press after to come as near it as we can even the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ to a perfect man which perfection I take not only for a perfection of parts as in some other places where many are said to walk before the Lord with a perfect heart as a seed is a perfect seed though no tree and a child a babe is a perfect child though not at mans stature perfect yet this I so take in this place therefore remember this Brethren while we are here we are growing if our growth be right there may be some accidental hinderances of which afterward which for a time may hinder but yet we shall afterward grow and never cease sit stil set up a Herules power and with a ne plus ultra there is no such thing in grace Brethren until it be swallowed up in glory therefore the desires of the Saints that have tasted indeed of this grace of God they are still kept above what they have received do but observe it and you shall find it so O they would have more still they are not strong enough to resist temptations they would have more softness and easiness of spirit toward God to echo to every hint of his will thy face Lord will I seek and this much tends to their growth even as the appetite after meat and nourishment doth to the growth of the body O how strong is it in children when they are growing but of that afterward haply you see then there is no time limited no never until you awake will you be satisfied with his likeness remember this Brethren I doubt many of us forget our selves here and think we may loyter and grow lazie when we are come to such a pitch believe it if your growth be right it will be continual you will go on still and in old age be fat and flourishing as the Psalmist speaks thus it ought to be and thus God hath promised it shall be and if it be not it is for our want of believing closing with it improving of it for the growth of our graces but so much for the opening of the nature of this growth For the Arguments I will not trouble you with many only something I shall speak that way and the First shall be this Because of Christ the Author and Finisher of our Faith who works in us both to will and to do of his own good pleasure his works are perfect he goeth through-stitch with his works he doth not bring his people into the Wilderness and leave them there but unto Canaan you see if he create a world his work is perfect he leaveth none of his works without the last hand and file to polish them therefore when he looks upon them himself he saith they are very good we may be apt to have over-waining conceits of our own works and therefore the Orator giveth a prudent advice to lay aside our writings for several years until the strength of our affection to that which is our own be wrought out and it may then appear as a strange thing to us that so we may the more impartially judge but this is a rule suited to the weakness of poor passionate bemisted creatures but for the Lord he is not subject to any such thing as passions all things being alike present to him from eternity and therfore cannot be taken with any newness of excellency in any thing therefore what he saith is good is very good and was it not a perfection of his living creatures that they should grow and multiply grow in number and then the young substance in stature to perfection and will he think you be more wanting to the new creature will he leave it until it have all its due perfections until every privation be filled up with a perfection Surely no must there be nothing wanting of perfection where he would make his power and his wisdom glorious and will there be any thing wanting think you when he cometh to make his grace glorious as he doth in the work of Redemption Surely no no no Brethren whatever God doth he doth it like a God if he ruine he ruines to the utmost so as no creature can even soul and body and that for ever and if he save he saveth to the uttermost from all imperfection and weakness in his people if God be as the dew to Israel he shall he must needs grow as the Lilly this is such a dew so sweetly distilling upon our souls O the gentle soft rain upon the mown grass maketh it to spring again grow again so a soul though cut down as I may say very low sometimes with a sharp temptation yet a refreshing from the presence of God O how it maketh him spring up again grace we use to say is of a growing nature and therefore though like a grain of Mustard-seed yet it groweth or as the seeds of the Cypress-trees which they say are so small as they are hardly discernable and yet they grow to a great tree and so in that place thy talent or pound hath gained ten pounds we our selves do not gain it though we traffick with it yet it is ascribed to the grace it self no Brethren nor can his grace in us increase it self for though it be a divine quality yet it is a creature though the new creature and therefore weak and cannot support it self much less increase it self it would quickly languish and faint and die were it not for a continual influence from the Lord Christ to supply it were it not for this supply of the Spirit would the members grow think you could they extend themselves from one dimension to another if it were not for the nourishment they receive no more can his grace grow without a continual supply as the light you know how in a moment it vanisheth if it be but cut from the influence of the Sun there is a glorious morning without clouds ariseth upon us the whole hemisphere is full of light if the Sun should now set would that light grow think you to the perfect day Surely no it would be night presently now we have a swelling stream it fills the Channel and over floweth its banks to the inriching of the ground about it but cut it off from the Fountain or from the Sea and what will become of it so that the growth the continuance of the stream is from the fountain so it
forth to convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgement And so saith the Apostle James he hath begotten us again of his own will by his word of truth and therefore by this means grace is kept alive by our keeping this knowledge and increased by the increasing of this knowledge Sanctifie them with thy truth thy word is truth saith our Saviour concerning his Disciples ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free he speaks here of a further progress for they were his Disciples already only he promiseth them further freedom and liberty from sin and this through the knowledge of the truth how do men that are not right escape the pollutions of the world but through the knowledge of the truth as it is in that place the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and how come they to wallow in their vomit again to return to wallow in the mire but by imprisoning and smothering the truth the principles they have received put out the light and then they may do what they please the truth is Brethren all grace is conveyed through the understanding of men and women because the Lord works upon us as reasonable creatures and therefore proposeth things to the understanding that it may Judge of them assent to the truth of them and judge the goodness of them and then propound them to the will to receive them to close with them they that know thy name will trust in thee the great reason wherefore poor sinners are strangers from the life of God is because of their ignorance as the Apostle saith therefore the heathen call not upon God because they know him not and therefore so many of us call not upon him as we ought because we know him not either we neglect it or else do it in a slight slubbering manne 〈…〉 t is because we know not God what a God he is searching the hearts great and glorious and jealous what is the reason that poor creatures trust not more perfectly to the grace that is revealed but because the eyes of their understandings are no more opened to behold the unsearchable riches of the grace which is in Jesus Christ which is able to swallow up all their mountainous sins wash out their spots though never so deep pay their debts though never so deeply charged if poor sinners did but know this they would trust more perfectly what is the reason we are so familiar with sin and make no more of it it is because we know little or nothing of it in comparison Ah poor creatures those that crucified Christ knew not what they did else they would not have done it and poor sinners now that stand it out in this their day and slight the offers of grace alas you know not what you do else you would not do it therefore if you would grow in any grace all graces in faith in love in any thing else you must labour to grow in knowledge O Brethren if we had but a clear understanding of the dimensions of the love of God the freeness and fulness of it that he should set his love upon such vile filthy polluted wretches such as had no comliness but loathsomness upon us and to bring us so near to himself to be one with him to be one Spirit and live and reign for ever with him as Children as a Spouse if the soul did but know this O how would it love 〈◊〉 Lord Jesus again would men be proud if they knew this as they ought to know it O no therefore look that you grow in this there were never more wayes and means to come to the knowledge of Christ and him crâ—cified then now if we be not wanting to our selves shamefully we cannot conclude ignorance of these things this is the way to grow A man of understanding increaseth knowledge learn of any body Secondly Labour to grow in faith the Disciples were sensible of this defect therefore they prayed that he would increase their faith Faith hath a wonderful influence upon the soul in respect of all the Graces of the Spirit Be it unto thee even as thou wilt Mat. 15. 28. saâ—â—h our Saviour to the Woman of Canaan if we were but strong in Faith if women would have their Wils this is the way and if men would have their Wils this is the way to labour to be strong in Faith Faith is that whereby the union and communion with Christ is maintained it is that whereby the soul cleaveth to him and therefore according to the strength or weakness of that Will the growth in other respects be also a strong Faith draweth strongly from him all the nourishment is from him and the supplâ—es of the Spirit whereby it is digested is from him Now a strong Faith draweth these from the Lord Jesus more abundantly to the soul then a weak Faith this is that whereby we suck the milk out of the breasts of consolation the Promises we feed upon Christ Eat his flesh which is meat indeed and drink his blood which is drink indeed no nourishment like to it we do by Faith partake of the fatness of the Olive and therefore accordingly grow in other Graces One saith of it that it is Faith that virtually is all Graces because Faith fetcheth in the supplies of Christ to enable to all whatsoever therefore it is that we are patient in tribulation because we believe and impatiency it proceedeth from the want of Faith he that believeth maketh not haste hence it is that we turn aside from following the Lord that there is so much unevenness in our walking we cannot walk uprightly with God because of the weakness of Faith if a man did believe God to be al-sufficient to have all fulness of good in him and a full defence from evil to be a Son and a shield would men for a little credit a little honour to avoid a little trouble in the flesh turn aside from followin 〈…〉 he Lord surely they would not How often doth our Saviour rebuke his Disciples for the littleness of their Faith they had Faith but it was very little How long shall I be with you how long shall I suffer you saith he in one place where they could not cast out the Devil And will not God take care of you much more then of Sparrows O ye of little Faith had they so much of his presence with them teaching them and yet were but of little faith Our Saviour was displeased with it he knew they could never do much to honour him while their Faith was weak as now in the Gospel and more difficult cases as Num. 11. c. But may he not much rather take us up for this the Spirit was not poured out as now he is and we have more then the bodily presence even the Spirit of Christ and great encouragement to beg that Spirit whereby we should exceedingly
our selves with a hope-well which we ought not to do we should strive to this of Thomas My Lord my God my beloved is mine and I am his canst thou say so upon good grounds thou mayst be a justified and a sanctified person which is done by the direct act of faith which is acted upon the Word of Promise and Christ in that Promise which the poor soul doth close with taking Christ for better for worse but now this is by the reflect act of faith and is grounded upon experience of our own condition ordinarily I see I feel that I do believe that I have chosen the Lord Jesus for my portion and therefore he is mine and I am his I have many sealings of his love to me many kisses of his lips it is given to me to believe to be upright with him I can approve my soul to him as Peter Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee thus the soul by laying up those experiences that it hath of God and laying them together doth from all come through grace to be able to conclude that the Lord Jesus is his to a full assurance of hope and faith and what an heaven upon earth is this Well labour after it though your conditions may be safe without it yet not so comfortable to your selves nor so honourable to him nor so profitable likely to others all which considerations if well weighed and improved I presume are motives enough to it You have the first thing in this general Exhortation and that is wherein we are to labour to grow and increase Now for the Motives in a few particulars and truly the first shall be that in the very Text we must labour for it because he hath promised it therefore we must pray for it and use all other means for prayer is one as afterward we shall speak God had promised he would bring Israel into Canaan but they must fight for it first to dispossess the Canaanites and so he promiseth health and strength to his people as choice mercies but they must eat and drink and use Physick as often as occasion serveth and it is an encouragement so to do because God hath promised us those things so far as good for us therefore use the means he promiseth fruitfulness to the earth what shall the plough-man therefore cast the plough in the hedge and never strike stroak it is true if God bid them stand still and only see the salvation of God it is somewhat else they must work and serve providence in the use of means so here it is promised O saith the Apostle work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is he that worketh Labour to be more spiritual in prayer to grow therein for it is his Spirit that beareth the heavier end of the burthen he helpeth our infirmities let this be an encouragement to stir up our souls to it because it is promised think not Brethren it is enough to sit still and wait when this will fall into your mouths or that an idle complaining will do it no no you must be up and doing and labouring to use the means and the more because he hath promised Secondly Every man would grow and come on in other things therefore we should much more labour to grow in the best things you would your selves and have your children come on and thrive in body you think their meat is not well bestowed as we use to say if they should not prosper at all but should devour like Pharaohs lean kine and be never the fatter you would grow in your names and in your estates and every man would be adding bag to bag house to house land to land and here they never think they are come to a full growth O that the Lord would but make you half so dilgent in taking half the pains to grow in grace as they do that grow in the world how should we prosper It is observable that the Apostle saith of Gaius that good man he wisheth he may prosper even as his soul prospereth it seemeth the good man his inward man was renewed though haply his estate or his body might wax old and decay yet his soul prospered and he maketh that a pattern of the prosperity of his outward man may we not say on the other hand O that your souls did prosper even as your bodies prosper You are fat and flourishing and feed your selves without fear much pampering of the flesh but the poor soul O how lean and thin and consumpsit it is what fat purses and lean souls Brethren whatever you profess while it is thus I must tell you there is much preposterousness in your endeavours that all this ado should be made for a lump of clay and the soul the precious soul the price of the blood of Jesus Christ neglected men can rise at midnight and with endâ— to follow their business set it forward if need so require and other occasions c. O if we could be perswaded to use but the like diligence for the soul upon the like occasion Thirdly Consider if you grow not you decline either you increase or decrease either you ebb or flow wax or wain for it is like a man that rows against the stream if he go not forward he is carried backward So it is here we have a stream of lusts to row against and if we go not forward be sure we go backward and therefore if you observe it the Apostle doth threaten the Hebrews upon this account because they went not forward with Apostacy they were in danger of falling away quite from God that go not forward therefore consider this seriously and surely it will put us on to look to our growth there is not an Ordinance wherein we appear before the Lord but either we soften or harden we get something or lose something by it it returneth not in vain not the Word nor any other appointment of his Fourthly Another shall be this we cannot else withstand enemies bear crosses alas a child is over-born by a touch he cannot withstand a potent enemy therefore we must labour to be strong men whom resist saith the Apostle stedfast in the faith there is no stedfastness but by faith nor any resisting but by this stedfastness if we give ground the Devil will pursue the victory if we turn our backs upon him now we cannot keep our ground except there be some strength It s true every child of God is born with his armour on him as is fabled of the race of those Giants so the Saints have their breast-plate of faith to keep the heart and the shield to preserve the body but as they grow in strength so are they able to weild their shield yea it groweth stronger and more able to bear off a blow Alas our Saviour saw his Disciples were not able to bear a temptation at that time John 18. 8. therefore let them go
daub and heal them deceitfully get it skinned over a little and so the world will do it building and planting and marrying and drinking and pastimes these may skin over the wound but it heals not and miserable is the condition of poor creatures so deluded but now they that are taught of God and learn they learn this effectually and practically that there is nothing in the creature that can do it Fourthly They learn this also that though all the world be but as a cloud without rain when the soul is a fire a Well without water a broken Cistern that leaks out all a Torrent a Brook that is dried up when the soul is parched and burnt up with the scorching heat of the displeasure of God O when the Lord setteth a soul in his sight and looks upon him as a consuming fire with his eyes as a flaming fire ready with a sight of him to devour him and he cannot get out of his sight O now the world all their comforts will not skreen them from his eyes but what will only the Lord Jesus he can be a cooling shadow to shadow us from this scorching heat and this the Spirit of the Lord perswadeth the soul we all of us will talk of it O Jesus Christ is our help and hope and look for salvation in no other but in him it is grown now so cusâ—omary a thing among us that it is in every mans mouth but to how few hath the Lord spoken this to our hearts that thus it is Fifthly Again another thing that we are taught of God before we come to Jesus Christ is this that he is willing to let out of his oyntments to heal he is willing to expend that precious balm of Gilead upon us else the soul will never come to him it is that that keepeth off many a soul a long time the Spirit of the Lord perswadeth the poor soul that though he hath been an enemy to Jesus Christ and grieved him and torn his wounds and rent his flesh with horrid oaths and blasphemies trampled his blood under foot have been never so horrid a transgressor yet he perswadeth him that the Lord Jesus is willing to receive sinners without exception if they come to him Suppose there was a Physitian whose skill were so great and his store of Medicines so inexhaustible and soveraign and his heart so large as that he proclaimeth to all that whosoever is wounded though never so desperately whosoever is sick unto the death one of the Stone another of the Gout another of the plague I will cure you all O then if poor creatures did believe this were perswaded of it they would come and not before O saith one mine is a plague sore and it is past cure mine is an hereditary disease saith another and so far gone I cannot be cured they come not and perish O mine is such a disease it will cost more pains and charge then I think he will be willing to be at to cure and therefore he cometh not to him and so perisheth just so it is in this case except the Lord do secretly insinuate it into the soul how willingly the Lord Jesus writ it upon his Spirit and that the Lord Jesus is willing to receive to heal to save the soul that will not come to him but thus much for these things which in the order of nature go before a coming to Christ now for the acts wherein it formally consist First then when the heart is thus made sensible of what is in himself working to death and what is not in himself nor in any other creature to save then I say there is from the teaching of the heart how able and willing the Lord Jesus is there ariseth a desire in the soul after the Jesus Christ not as if this did flow or were produced by the former apprehensions of a mans own necessities of Christ and of the fulness in him as a fountain and the openness of the fountain which is sealed to none that come for alas one grace though never so habitual and deeply rooted cannot produce another no not faith it self produce love but the Spirit which works faith works love in our hearts also much less then can a conviction be the cause of a conviction or a turning unto the Lord Jesus but it is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus when he hath so opened the eyes of an Hagar to see the fountain opened that was near her before but she saw it not and let us see that our bottle is dryed up and all other hopes in the creature perished then I say the Spirit inclineth the Will to come to Jesus Christ then he works sweetly though strongly an inclination a desire after him It is not in these things as in nature an ordinary providence concurring with the actings of the creature according to their necessities When Hagar saw the fountain she needs no further perswasion to go unto it her necessity was a cord strong enough to draw her yea a weight a spring to carry her swiftly to it but alas when we see the bottles dryed see that the creatures say it is not in us to be had and see there is a fountain opened yet such is the waywardness of our hearts yea such the enmity in our hearts against the Lord Jesus though the streams of his love toward us were as strong as death that we will not yet come to him we had rather sit down as you see some sullen creatures taken from their damms will rather perish then receive food at the hand of man such an indisposition and aversness to man there is and so it is in this case except the Lord Jesus come in by another act of his Spirit and bow the will and make us desirous of himself O then when this act of power is put forth the soul beginneth to long to desire after Jesus Christ O that I had him O that I might but have a sight of him then there is getting upon the tree by a low Zacheus then there is an ascending in this Ordinance and that Ordinance and everywhere the desire of the soul is for Jesus Christ this is a coming for the affections are to the soul as the feet to the body that which carryeth the soul in and out in all to this object or from that object O then when shall I come and appear before him Secondly In this coming to Christ is included a passing all other stands and rests on this side Jesus Christ many a poor soul cometh near to Christ and to the Kingdom of God and yet falls short of him as an arrow not drawn up to the head falls short of the mark and there it sticks where it fastens goeth no further So here some upon their convictions the discovery of their conditions run to this Ordinance to that to this duty to that as things that of themselves as performances should give rest to them and
displeasure when that cup of trembling and astonishment was to be put into his hand to be drunk off to the very dregs but yet he willingly undertook this took it off to the bottom that nothing might remain of the dregs to his people which potion put him into a bloody sweat filled him with horror and even astonished him but hath he done all this and is it possible he should now slight it by casting out any poor soul purchased with so dear a rate that now cometh to him O surely it cannot be Sixthly Because this would be to undo what the Father hath done For it is the Fathers work to draw a poor soul to teach them as you have heard before they can come to Jesus Christ No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him you could not have a desire towards the Lord Jesus not a breathing after the water-brooks the Fountain of life which is in Jesus Christ but that the Father hath breathed it into thee now the Lord Jesus if he should cast out a poor soul that cometh with such breathings after him would quench the Spirit would put out the light of Israel should destroy the works of his Father instead of destroying the works of the devil therefore surely it cannot be that he should cast out any poor soul that cometh to him that his Father hath drawn with the cords of a man and with the cords of love Is it the work of a Saviour to cut the cords whereby poor creatures are drawn to him and not rather of a murderer a soul-destroyer and can we have such hard thoughts of Christ our dearest Saviour O far be it from us this cannot be Seventhly He would hereby bring upon himself the imputation of delusion and mocking of poor sinners not only because of his Promise and offers of Grace but in two respects among others for I will not dwell too long upon these things First Because of the many invitations that he hath made to poor creatures to come to him O mind how he proclaims it to every one that thirsteth Come come buy wine and milk without money or monies worth you that have no worthiness nor any money to buy an acccptation come to the Waters and what then when they come to the Fountain to the Waters will the Lord Jesus shut them out cast them away is there any such imposture in him Come to me all that are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest what then is a poor soul perswaded of his burthen and where rest is to be had and cometh to Jesus Christ ready to sink at his foot and faint away under his burthen and will he there suffer him to perish and turn away his face from him I beseech you saith the Apostle as if God did beseech you by us to be reconciled to God ye rebels for so we are all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ye run-aways what do you mean why will ye perish Why will ye dye saith he O house of Israel why now if a rebel turn and his heart relent and he would fain close with this Prince of Peace that would fain be at peace with him do you think he will turn his back upon him Surely no he might have done it to the thief upon the Cross that truly repented and believed as to any if he would but if he should do so then sinners had something to answer indeed that there is reason wherefore we should not come to thee who would come to be mocked to be deceived tantalized to have the fountain opened and stand open for any to come that will come and when we are willing then to rowl a stone upon it is not this deceiving the Jews indeed took Christ to be a deceiver and therefore they came not to him I wish we be not many of us Jews in heart though we be Christians in name our conversation witnesseth to our faces for why else do not sinners come to Jesus Christ except they look upon all these invitations of Christ as delusions but take heed that as they perished so we also perish not in the same gain-saying Secondly He would be convicted of imposture if he should reject any poor soul that cometh to him because it is he also that draweth them as well as the Father else they could not come So he saith When I am lifted up I will draw all men unto me that is to say all that the Father hath given me I will draw to me and so he doth objective as the carkass draweth the Eagles together as the willow branch draweth the Lambs after it as a fair lovely object draweth the eye sweet melody draweth the ear and effective also for what the Father doth he doth also for he and the Father are one Now doth the Lord Jesus draw and perswade men send forth his Spirit which is his arm unbared and stretched out to lay hold upon the hearts of sinners to draw them to make them willing to accept of deliverance and salvation in him from the filthiness and power as well as from the guilt of sin and when they come will he shut them out were not this horrible deceit O surely Jesus Christ cannot so deceive poor creatures these are most unworthy thoughts of him Eighthly and lastly It is inconsistent with his bowels and tenderness which naturally he hath to poor sinners specially such as the Father hath given unto him could the Father shut out the Prodigal Son when he returned to him his bowels would not bear it he ran and met him c. Joseph made it a little strange at the first to his Brethren and spake a little roughly to them but mind you he could not hold he was fain to go into a place to weep egerere dolorem to empty his affection into tears for them to see those Brethren of his that had done him so much wrong dealt so hardly with him O when he heard them confess what they had done and their consciences smit them for it then doubtless his bowels were rowled together within him and for a while I say he made a shift to cover it and put some of them into prison but all this while his bowels were moved and was he not a type of Jesus Christ in this haply as I may say in other respects I shall not determine it but when a poor sinner cometh to Jesus Christ that hath sold him for a lust dealt hardly with him crucified him and now he is convinced of it he mourns for it and mourns over him did Josephs bowels yearn and do not the Lord Jesus his bowels is the love of women to be compared to the love of Jesus Christ O surely no he may seem for a while to turn his back upon a poor creature but all this while the fire of love is burning within and will burst out into a flame all this while what workings
there are in the heart of Jesus Christ towards a poor sinner as a Father that for a time to humble his child will make it strange to him O how full is his heart how much ado hath he to hold as Joseph to his Brethren O it is the rejoycing of Jesus Christ when poor sinners do come to him to see his seed to see his blood that was sowed and his Semen Ecclesiae to come up it is his rejoycing and will any Husband man in the world that sows precious seed when it puts forth beat it down again nip off the buds the tops of it it cannot be he is grieved when poor creatures will not be perswaded to come through hardness of heart and unbelief and waywardness we will not come to the fountain but sit down it may be some of us with Hagar weeping over our empty bottles and making sad moan and complaints for want of righteousness because of sin and yet come not to him this is a grief to him as it was among the Jews O did he ever in the daies of his flesh refuse any poor creature that came to him either for healing of soul or body which is the lesser yea when they came some of them for the healing of the body did he not heal the soul and all out of the abundant riches of his love to poor creatures O surely then now he is in heaven at the right hand of the Father being no less tender of his poor people if any come now he will in no wise cast them out Well the Lord write these arguments upon our hearts it may be some of us may have occasion or have at present need of them to perswade us of this truth We now come to the Application Vse 1. And first in the first Vse It may serve for a lamentation to lament the backwardness of our hearts to come to Jesus Christ for if our hearts were not backward to come to him what need all this ado to make poor creatures willing to come to Jesus Christ O what is the reason what a strange enmity is in our hearts against the Lord Jesus that we run away from him instead of coming yea though he follow with a Pardon in his hand purchased with his blood O I am Jesus who dyed for you turn unto me my heart is toward you turn unto me I delight not in your death turn unto me O why will ye die and yet poor creatures will not be perswaded to come to Jesus Christ O what is it what is it Brethren that can keep us off thus from Jesus Christ in our unwillingness to close with him to come unto him have not many of us many times clearly been convinced that our condition hath been slark naught that we stand guilty before God and he will by no means clear the guilty and convinced that in Jesus Christ there is a doing away of this guilt a bloting out of the hand-writings that are against us and contrary to us if we will but come to him No we are like sullen creatures will rather perish then come to Jesus Christ I do not believe but many of us are convinced and what shift can we make to smother our convictions I know not but it appears we come not to Jesus Christ As long as the Prodigal could have husks to fill his belly with he would not come home to his Father as long as ever the poor woman in the Gospel had any thing to spend upon the Physitians she came not to Jesus Christ as long as ever poor sinners can make a shift to daub over the breaches that sometimes the Word maketh upon their consciences they will not come O the fault lies in the Will Brethren Ye will not come unto me saith our Saviour that ye might have life how often would I have gathered you as a Hen doth her Chickens and ye would not they would rather perish then be healed by such an hand even the hand of Jesus Christ O the deadly enmity that is in every one of us by nature What we are not willing to part with sins and therefore we come not to Jesus Christ we are not willing to be healed wilt thou be made whole we are prophane and we would be so still proud and would be so still unclean and would be so still We know if we come to him put on Christ we must put off the lusts of our former conversation O wretched love to sin that preferreth it before the Lord Jesus before the salvation of our poor souls What are we loth through the pride of our hearts to take the shame of our iniquities Haply something of this nature kept off the Prodigal Is it not more shame to do sin then to acknowledge it when it is done what is it Brethren how strange a thing is it that men should take such pains to hew out broken Cisterns to themselves that will hold no water dig deep into the world to find some rest there exhaust their strength in duties in prayers and tears as many self-Saviours do specially the Papists and I wish there be none among us rather then they will come to Jesus Christ to accept of that righteousness that pardon which shall cost us nothing but acceptance O the pride of our hearts O the enmity of our hearts against the Lord Jesus and is there such an heart in every one of us Brethren Yea even in the best until he overcome us with his loving-kindness and is not this a thing worthy to be bewailed Yea if it were possible with tears of blood being such an aversion from the blood of Jesus Christ and the dearest love of our Saviour to poor creatures Or what is it Brethren is it the more love we find from Jesus Christ are our hearts the more averse from him if he did profess himself an enemy to us to destroy and slay us if we came near him to scatter us with the streams of flaming indignation issuing from his throne and presence we could do no more then run away from him as many of us now do O that we could lay it to heart The second Vse shall be to shew us the grievous nature of the sin of unbelief and haply this may make poor creatures afraid of straining curtesie with Christ and afraid to come to him because of their vileness c. to complement with him First Consider but the unreasonableness of the sin of unbelief above other sins indeed though all sin be unreasonable other sins they have some pretence of profit or pleasure but this hath nothing but wo and misery attending it condemnation But that I shall not insist upon for there is hardly any thing but Satan and a mans carnal reason will put a specious pretence upon it Therefore consider this unreasonableness First in respect of our selves that being plunged into such a depth of distraction and misery of sin and guilt and wrath that
where there is probability yea certainty of speeding if we come So the Lepers you know their argument If we stay here we must perish if we go we may escape So Esther she knew if she went not into the King at that time her neck was upon the block as well as the rest and if she did go in she might haply speed and prosper and therefore she ventures hard if the Scepter had not been held out to her it had cost her her life there but the body did lie at the stake as being starved for want or else designed to destruction by enemies but here soul and body lie at the stake and are in danger of perishing for ever there was only a possibility of escaping here is a certainty of escaping he will not in any wise cast him out O how cheerfully would Esther have run to the King if there had been such a Law that when ever the Queen cometh the Scepter should be held out to her so it is here there they ran a very desperate hazard but here is no hazard run here is a sure word of promise for it That heaven and earth shall pass away before a tittle of it shall pass away whoever cometh to Christ he will in no wise cast him out Seventhly It is a grief to the Lord Jesus that we should be thus wayward that we will not be perswaded of his good will toward us if we come to him that we should have such unworthy thoughts of Jesus Christ that he should make no more of his Word of promise his death his blood then to slight all falsifie all when poor sinners come to him according to his invitation he was grieved saith the Text because of the unbelief and hardness of their hearts It is said of the Jews O Jerusalem Jerusalem c. he wept over it when nothing would do to perswade them to close with him thou art grieved and Christ is grieved by this frowardness of thine Suppose the Father of the prodigal son in the Gospel had invited him to come to him promised him all the inheritance to put him in his bosom confirm his love to him no saith he I have mispent all I have undone my self fed upon husks as long as I could get them and now I am ready to perish not being able to procure them here I will sit and dye I cannot believe that thou wilt accept of me that thou canst ever love me or receive me more would not this grieve the father think you I know poor mourning soul thou wouldst not grieve the Lord Jesus I tell thee if thou wouldst not thou must come to him accept of his kindness and love believe his faithfulness and truth and so thy soul shall be established Vse 4. The fourth Use shall be then to exalt the riches of the Grace of Jesus Christ to poor sinners we might altus repetere and speak something to the purchasing of us at so dear a rate as his precious blood corruptible things as Silver and Gold are not worthy to be named the same day with the blood of Jesus Christ Alas there had been no possibility for us to come to him except there had been the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 paid and then to invite us to come to him and not only so but to draw us with the cords of a man and the cords of love that we should hear and learn of the Father be all taught of God which is the drawing of his Father without which we cannot come which what it is you have heard already formerly Brethren this is abundance of Grace yea more he hath promised and doth and will perform whoever cometh to him he will in no wise cast him out If the Lord Jesus had limited himself to such or such a sort of sinners that he would receive all that should not continue so many years in sin or sâ—all not rise to such an height in sin yet it had been much Grace to receive any but he excludeth none if any man come to Christ he will in no wise cast him out Are there not many souls in the presence of God that can set to their seals that this is a truth in Iesus if he would have cast out any what would become of thee and me who are the chief of sinners if he would have cast out such as have been drunkards covetous unclean effeminate what had become of them in 1 Cor. 6 Such were some of you and what would have become of some of us if he would have cast out all that have been bloody persecutors what would have become of Paul Ah poor soul bethink thy self in what filth and blood thou didst wallow before he put off his own comliness upon thee and then think if the Lord Iesus had limited his receiving of sinners that come to such or such a measure what then had become of thee O what abounding Grace is in the Lord Iesus towards poor sinners let us exalt it meditate much of it labour to heighten it in thy thoughts there will be no thoughts more sweet or profitable more melting of that stone in thy heart we so sadly complain of more indearing and engaging of the heart to the Lord Jesus then these are Vse 5. Vse 5. Then surely there is no falling away from Christ from justifying sanctifying Grace once received for what else is this coming to Christ but coming for righteousness for pardon for he is the Lord our Righteousness the Father hath found a Ransom now in his Son and this the poor sinner maketh after in Christ and for holiness also for he is made of God Sanctification as well as Righteousness and Holiness to the poor soul that cometh to him now he will never cast him out that cometh to him he will in no wise cast him out If he had said I will not cast him out except he sin to this or that degree after my receiving him it had been somewhat but I will not cast him out no in no wise will I do it O blessed bosom which will never shut out the poor soul that is once gotten in to it and if the Lord Jesus cast us not out when we come what can It may be some will say that we our selves may do it Christ will not do it I but the sinner himself may â—all off though he have been received of Christ put in his bosom warmed with his love it is true if a sinner were his own keeper it were somewhat like if it were left to the liberty of our wils whether we would abide in Christ yea or no we should quickly be lost again but it is not the Lord Jesus doth not only not cast us out except we cast our selves out but he holds us in his hand and the Father holds us in his hand and they are stronger then all None shall be able to pluck them out of his hand he lays hold upon the
wish it may be thou hast relations estate name as good as others yet thou canst not be satisfied all is nothing without interest in him thou runnest from Ordinance to Ordinance from one Congregation to another from reading to prayer yet findest no satisfaction in all I will say to that soul Thou hast an evidence and a clear one too he hath indeed received thee or thou wert never able thus to breath after him and though he may hold thee off for a while yet he will not shut thee out Thirdly Hath the Lord made thee willing indeed to have him to receive him as King and Saviour to be purified by him subdued to him as well as saved by him Alas I know not whether I am or no if not what then meaneth all thy stuffing thy bed with groans What mean those Rivers of tears shed over him what meaneth thy following so hard after him What is it possible that any man should make such heavy moan as some poor souls do for Jesus Christ and yet not be willing to have him If thou wouldest not have him me thinks thou wouldest rather run away from him then run after him what ascending is there up into this tree and that tree as the Lord Jesus passeth by in an Ordinance to get a sight of him and yet the poor soul will not be perswaded that he would have fain have the Lord Jesus when one sight of him would be so refreshing to them O go away rejoycing and triumphing in the Lord Jesus that ever he hath looked upon thee to make thee willing in the day of his power for surely thou art a willing soul who art so affected towards him and this willing Brethren surely is the very receiving of Jesus Christ it is the closing with him thus taking with one hand Christ for pardon and giving up a mans self to him with the other hand which is the thing thy soul groans for now if Christ Jesus be so willing to receive poor sinners and thou be so willing to receive him what can interpose to hinder or break the match surely nothing Fourthly Thou must be content to wait a while haply before thou have the comfort of thy coming to Christ before I say thou shalt suck the sweetness that floweth from him to thy soul for thou hast broken thy bones with sin which brought wrath upon thy soul as David complains O there was no rest in his bones and they must have a time to knit again A man will rather lie upon his bed a Prisoner a few daies then be a Cripple all the daies of his life therefore they say a Horse leg is incurable if broke he will not endure to be bound to lie quiet Submit to the Chyrurgians hand and skill the Lord Jesus will do it it is doing but alas such broken bones heal but slowly through many humors by reason of the abundance of sin in the soul may be it will be the longer but wait Remember the pains that Elijahs servant took to go up and down that steep hill Carmel with wearyness seven times and brought news of nothing at all until at last he sees a little cloud which filled the heavens So it may be with thee and it will recompence all at last there will be abundance of rain to refresh thy weary parched soul Fifthly Be frequent in acting of faith putting forth the acts of thy willingness to receive the Lord Jesus if he be willing to receive thee for hereby the habit of faith will grow stronger the little grain of Mustard-seed thou shalt see take strong rooting and spread it self and then the acts will be stronger and those will yet again strengthen the habit and by this means the grace will appear more visible So that at the last thou shalt even feel in thy very soul that thou dost believe if thou often put forth this act of recumbency upon him casting thy self upon the Lord Jesus into his arms at his feet and see if thou find it not that at last thou have not this witness in thy self that thou dost believe in the Lord Jesus And then happy soul thou mayest take the comfort of that condition Thou shalt never be cast out FINIS The first Table contains the General and Particular Heads as they follow in their order in the preceding Subject Circumspect Walking A Christians Wisdom THe Text opened Page 55. out of which this first doctrine is raised That it is a duty Christians are strictly charged with to walk circumspectly ibid. But first there is enquired what it is to walk circumspectly Here you have first the Matter of a Christians conversation expressed by walking which includes all a mans actions 1. Spiritual 2. Civil 3. Natural 55 56 This Latiude appears 1. In that walking is a motion 1. From other Principles 2. By other Rules then the men of the world walk by ibid. 2. There is a Terminus a quo from whence they walk and that is from sin ibid. 3. A Terminus ad quem and that is to God in Christ 57 4. This Motion is a progressive motion 5. It is a constant Motion 6. It it a pleasant ibid. Secondly Here you have the manner of this walking Circumspectly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now to this exact walking 1. There must go a Rule 57 2. Knowledge to understand and wisdom rightly to apply the rule 58 3. Keeping close to the rule 1. In not following a multitude as most do 59 2. In not following the Examples of the Saints further then they follow Christ 60 4. There must be a mending not only the external part but the inside and the Spirit of the rule 61 5. Carrying an even course towards heaven ibid. 6. Making it a mans work to walk exactly with 1. A watchful eye 2. A trembling heart The second thing in the words of the Text That it is a duty so strictly charged upon the Saints proved 63 The Reasons of the third thing in the words of the Text. Why this duty is charged upon the Saints viz. to walk circumspectly 1. Because they are the children of the light ibid. 2. Because their steps are more eyed then other mens 64 1. In regard of God himself 2. In regard of men 1. Many men watch for their Halting 2. Some men are scandalized by their uneven walking Either good or evil Men. 65 3. Because all have erring hearts and naturally love to wander ibid. 4. Because there are many by-paths whereinto they may step awry 66. The first Use shews that among the much profession of Christ there is little power ibid. The second use reproves 1. The People of God that come short of this exact Walking 2. Those that instead of following God fully have their hearts divided 67 1. Some that content themselves only with the shews of religion 2. Some that are all for morality and honesty of conversation 68 3. Some that neither fear God nor reverence Man ibid. Thirdly Those are reproved
refuse it the desire accomplished is a tree of life as hope deferred is a sickness of heart but now where a man could scarce act hope as it is the case of some poor creatures O when the Lord shall against their hope own them and that to eternity it will be unspeakably sweet this will fill them with fulness of joy and glory for evermore But so much for this Time and Text. FINIS CHRIST the Sun of Righteousness hath healing in his wings for sinners MAL. 4. 2. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and ye shall go forth and grow up as Calves of the stall MAlachy is the proper name of this Prophet it signifieth an Angel or Messenger only with the addition of ' as is usual when common names are made proper He is not so called as if he were an Angel incarnate as some have imagined nor yeâ— as if he had his revelation by Angels But haply the name might be put on him without 〈…〉 foreknowledge of what the Lord would call him unto haply 〈…〉 Prophetical Spirit it might appear that God would make h 〈…〉 Messenger But however such an one â—e was and 〈…〉 mporarie with Nehemiah because he exhor 〈…〉 to the building of the Temple as Haggai and 〈…〉 those corruptions among the Jews 〈…〉 the last sheweth to have been among 〈…〉 over the Jews as marriage with 〈…〉 ng the tythes Chap. 3. 8. Depravation of Divine worship Chap. 1. 13. and 2. 8. And that this is the last of the Prophets they themselves acknowledge therefore he admonisheth them that they should take heed to the Law of Moses keep that they might expect no more Prophets until the great Prophet the Lord Jesus come and John his fore-runner God did in Babylon cause Visions to perish from among them in anger There is none to tell when this calamity shall end said they in the Psalmist and now again he causeth it to cease from them that their expectations of the Messiah that great Prophet and of Elias his fore-runner might be raised and that by the want of Prophecy they might be the more ready to receive Christ that great Prophet and to praise him when he should be revealed the Law and Prophets Prophecy until John Zech. and Elizab. and Simeon and the Baptist were so immediately before him that they rather shewed him pointed at him come than prophesied of his coming After he had reproved those corruptions among them as you hear he threatneth spiritual Judgements on them he tells them their expectations would be frustrated they looked for the day of the Lord as if that would heal all their troubles No saith the Prophet it shall be such a day as you dream not of they looked for peace but behold trouble for light but behold darkness they looked for a day of shadowing from the displeasure of the Lord but behold saith he the day of the Lord shall burn like an Oven What day this is is very much questioned some would have it to be the day of the last Judgement only and suitably they understand the rising of the Sun of righteousness to be his last appearing that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 illustrious appearing But this seemeth not to be the All if it be intended here but this seemeth not to be a time for growing up as Calves now is the time of perfection in glory Nor yet secondly do I take it only of the day of their calamiâ—y when they suffered so much under the Grecians Kings of Syria and Egypt the Seleucidae and Lagidae the two leggs of that Image in Dan. as some understand it though this also might partly be meant But this day I understand to be the time of Christ's appearing and manifestation to Israel which to some would be a day of grace and rejoycing indeed to others a day of gloomyness according to that in this third Chapter The Angel of the Covenant shall suddenly come into the Temple but who may abide the day of his coming and who shall stand when he appeareth for he is like the Refiners fire and like Fullers Soap And alas the most of them would be found but dross and stubble which must be purged away they could not abide the fire So when they rejected the Lord Jesus how fearful a day came on them who could abide it At the destruction of Jerusalem 1100000. slain beside near 100000. taken captive This day burned like an Oven O! a devouring fire it was so fearful a thing it s to have a day of grace a day of Christ come on a people and yet they sleight it and reject it Greatest love rejected turns into greatest displeasure flaming love into flaming wrath heat of affection into a burning of an oven a furnace Hear and tremble Brethren at this we who now have a day of Christ and a day of grace lest we find it in the end such a day as this so terrible to us But now lest those mourners in Zion that did wait for the consolation of Israel did fear the name of the Lord were tender and did tremble at this his word should be discouraged he opens here a creek to let them in to hide themselves provideth a shadow a skreen to set between them and this consuming fire in the words of my Text But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness saith the Lord arise with healing in his wings Ye that tremble at my word shall not be scorched nor this smell of the fire pass on you as it was with the three children The day of the Lord shall be a wounding to others but it shall be a healing to you they shall be cast into a burning oven as stubble or hay but ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall So that the words are nothing else as I conceive but a Covenant of grace tempered into a cordial for poor drooping Spirits which might now be ready to faint to hear how terrible a day this day of the Lord would be which they had expected promising themselves so much happiness in it and their expectations should not be frustrated he would not make them ashamed of their hope But unto you that fear my name c. Here is Christ promised who is the Covenant the substance of it the mediator the surety of it and with him all things else Synâ—â—hdochi understood in these few things here implyed and expressed as light and healing and liberty and growth going on from strength to strength growing fat and flourishing prosperping into a Kingdom yea an everlasting Kingdom The Text then you see being the summ of the Covenant of grace must needs be a bundle of promises made to such as fear the Lord. I may not stand to open each of them until I come to speak particularly to them lest I hold you too long in the porch and we not be able to view any
when we are sinking and drowning we will not so much as put out the hand to lay hold upon a twig upon something held out to us is not this unreasonable and unnatural it raceth out the principle of self-preservation that is in every man by nature so that I will be bold to say the greatest reason in the world improved to keep off a poor soul from Jesus Christ is unreasonable it is the depravation of our carnal reason had it not been unreasonable if Hagar having a fountain opened her before her eyes and she languishing for thirst and must perish without it and yet would sit still is not this unreasonable Again If we look upon the Lord Jesus who seeks to us beseecheth us to accept of him of mercy of pardon in his blood the Creator cometh down to the creature poor worms who have our being by his Word and might be dissolved with his Word and yet we stand it out and will not accept of him who would bestow himself and his infinite all-sufficiency upon us and we will not is not this unreasonable that a Prince should seek to a worthless rebel to be reconciled and he will not hear of it If he had any need of us and upon that account would have poor sinners to come to him to make a supply of his wants it were something but all the want the indigency is on our part and therefore unbelief is the more unreasonable thing O how might we here break out and say hear ye heavens and give ear O earth for the Lord Jesus the Lord of both heir of all things the offended Majesty seeks to poor rebelling worms to be reconciled but they will not hear of it they come not in they close not with him Secondly As the unreasonableness of the thing so also we may take notice of the injuriousness of this sin of unbelief I would a little insist upon this sin the more because that though I find many a poor heart seemeth to be weary of sin and afraid of sinning against God in other kinds yet seeth not in the mean time how exceedingly he sins against him by his unbelief not closing with Christ and coming to him therefore see in the second place the injuriousness of this sin of unbelief how injurious it is to Jesus Christ Brethren for if the truth were known what is the reason wherefore we need so much ado why we come not in to him We either think he cannot save us our sins are so great O saith one there was never such a wretch as I though he have accepted of great sinners such as Paul and Manasses and Magdalen yet there was never such a wretch as I O surely my wounds are such there is no healing for them What is this but to make Jesus Christ weak and a Physitian of no value Is there any sin higher then the imbrewing their hands in the blood of Jesus Christ himself and suppose thou be such an one and this is that thou cryest out of thou hast come so often to the Lords Supper with a common heart which is to be guilty of his blood accessary to his death and cannot his blood cleanse even from the guilt of them that shed it were not many of the Jews sensible os this how dishonourable is this to Jesus Christ when we will be measuring of him by our selves we are apt to think of pardon and mercy as far as a mans a creatures bowels and thoughts will reach mind there is an end not minding that he is God as well as man this is an high wrong unto our Saviour O he will not saith the poor soul if he can yet he will not sure receive such an one as I O I am so laden and so loathsom a wretch what should he do with such an one as I What is it possible thou shouldest remember how many promises how many invitations how many expostulations he hath made what intreaties to poor creatures to be reconciled to him and yet call in question his willingness why what do you make of Jesus Christ O how doth unbelief in effect dethrone Jesus Christ disgracing the Throne of his Glory robbeth him of his mercy of his power his love his bowels of that which he most glorieth in and is not this injurious then to thy dear Saviour Would not you think it a wrong to you from one of your children that had offended you as highly as you can imagine suppose he had sought your life as Absolom did Davids and now the Father seeks thou suest to thy son O how many promises thou heapest up one upon another backest them with oaths wooest him intreatest him to be reconciled to accept of a pardon No he believeth you not notwithstanding all you can do or say that you are real in the thing is not this injurious doth he not wrong exceedingly in this as well as in the former and is not this the very case Thirdly See how much unkindness there is in this sin of unbelief as it is directly against the love the bowels of Jesus Christ which sound toward poor creatures in the Gospel in every intreaty to be reconciled to him Brethren what could the Lord Jesus do more for us then he did was not his life dear to him even to the death sor poor sinners that there might be a pardon for us and do we thus requite him even to slight it never to mind it or if we do sometimes a little yet to stand out and not to close with him What unkindness was it in the Jews it is so recorded of them he came to his own and his own received him not that is to say his own flesh and blood and so he is ours as well as others but he came of them according to the flesh in a nearer manner and sent to them in the first place they received him not But to come to Us poor Gentiles out-casts that were strangers afar off with a desire to make us near in his blood near to his Father and to himself is this love nothing to be thus slighted for how few among us do believe in the Lord Jesus notwithstanding all this nothing breaks the heart of a creature more then unkindness and surely Brethren me thinks the thoughts of this if our hearts were not stony should be a breaking of our hearts that we have hitherto so many of us dealt so unkindly with Christ as we have done But fourthly see the dangerousness of this sin of unbelief that we may be set a trembling by reason of this sin as well as any other and be weary of this as well as any other 1. Other sins have but their own particular guilt each of them particularly binding over a poor soul to wrath and entayling the curse of the Law upon a poor sinner so every sin doth every oath every lie every unclean thought wanton look adultery fornication of the body the heart or eye but unbelief
is that which binds the guilt of all other sins upon the soul besides its own proper guilt which is not the least as you have heard before I say it binds all upon the soul if Paul had not believed all the guilt of his persecution had yet lain upon his head O saith our Saviour if ye believe not ye shall dye in your sins not only in your unbelief but in all your sins so that this unbelief it is the very edge as I may say of all other guilt whatsoever and therefore how dangerous a sin it is judge ye you are terrified and affrighted with your grievous abominations rebellions filthiness of your waies you never think of it haply but your heart sinketh within you why know this this day that unbelief is that which keepeth all this upon the soul if that thou wouldst but aceept of deliverance in Jesus Christ take him close with him come to him he would not cast you out he would not turn you away without a pardon but the reason of your burthens upon you is because of unbelief Secondly It is dangerous because above other sins it brings a mans blood upon his own head that is a sad word me thinks that of the Apostle I take God to witness that I am pure from the blood of all men if you perish your blood will be upon your head that is to say you are guilty of your own death your own murther your own damnation and everlasting separation from God much more may our blessed Saviour say I am free from the blood of you all sinners I have dyed for you made an All-sufficient satisfaction to the Justice of my Father for all sins laid down a price enough to ransom you and yet you would none of me you cared not for it I have made this known to you else you had had some excuse some cloak but you have no cloak for your sins for your unbelief If I had not wooed you intreated you to be reconciled by my Messengers then it had been something to extâ—nuate at least but alas he hath done all this and more Brethren infinitely then I am able to speak for poor sinners and yet they will not close with him why then Jesus Christ is clear from your blood he hath done what he undertook to do of his Father spared not himself to the least drop of wrath and of his own blood and yet we will not come to him O this must needs bring poor sinners blood upon their own heads Thirdly This unbelief brings the blood of Jesus Christ upon our heads for if after all this that he hath done and said to perswade us to make us willing to close with him we stand it out are we not guilty of his blood as well as of our own If an unworthy receiving of the Lords Supper bring a man under this guilt will not an unbelieving heart in hearing of this Gospel bring a man under the same guilt for is it not the same Jesus that is held forth broken for sinners and the same blood shed for sinners that is held forth in the Lords Supper to the eye and in the Gospel Preached to the ear even so plain as if it were before their faces as the Apostle saith to the Galathians O me thinks this should make us afraid of resting any longer in this condition of unbelief and make us look about us the Jews as hard-hearted as they were could not endure their consciences prickt them I believe and did flie in their faces and therefore would not endure the Apostles to Preach Christ say they ye would bring upon us the blood of this man O me thinks this stirs the stoutest sinners among us I delight not to bring to you Brethren such sad things as these are nor to bring the blood of Jesus upon your heads but let us take heed we do it not our selves for we shall find that this will be the dregs of the cup of wrath if we will not be reclaimed that ever we have so much under-valued the Lord Jesus as to cast his love behind us by our unbelief The third Vse shall be then of Exhortation to every poor soul to come to Jesus Christ for you that are yet in your hardened condition never made sensible of your need of Christ I have the less hopes to prevail with you for this Doctrine is foolishness to such it is foolishness to speak much of the soveraignty of a medicine the readiness of a Physitian to heal to a man that feels not that he is wounded and such is the Doctrine of Christ and of faith to many a poor soul but there are some poor souls that haply are convinced of their lost condition by nature and see that all the water in the bottle is spent and yet cannot see the fountain near them opened haply for grief for weeping they are over-charged with sorrow and yet come not to Jesus Christ O that the Lord Jesus who hath received the tongue of the Learned for this end to speak a word in due season would speak by the mouth of his poor unworthy Messenger to such hearts What is the reason that thou wilt not come to Jesus Christ art thou resolved to sit languishing over an empty bottle and perish when there is refreshing to be had in Jesus Christ O no saith the poor soul I would not sit still and perish if there be healing and mercy to be had why dost thou not believe that he is able to save to the utmost where sin hath most abounded there Grace can superabound yea it is the glory of his Grace so to do If I thought there were any stuck at this I would spend a few words upon it but consider those Scriptures fore-mentioned but the main thing is whether Jesus Christ will accept of such a wretch as I have been saith one O you know not the vileness of my heart the horrid pollutions of my ways else you would have harder thoughts of me therefore thou art ready to conclude that he will not look at thee sure Let me here propound a few Considerations to thee First Consider how injurious it is to Grace to measure it by our thoughts limit not the holy one of Israel it is the Glory of God The Lord the Lord God gracious and merciful and that whereby he infinitely transcendeth all other gods and men Who is like unto thee pardoning iniquity transgression and sin and canst thou comprehend the Glory of God in thy poor narrow thoughts thou it may be thinkest O if any man had so offended me I could not have born it I could never have been reconciled to him again but if thou canst not it may be another can it is much that the Lord enables his people to love to pray for to be ready to embrace those that in the most bloody manner seek their lives if they come and close with Christ as the Disciples