own Bloud to this end thou eatest of his Bread and drinkest of his Wine and thus thou sealest the Covenant Dost not thou remember O my Soul how the world Was lost by eating of the forbidden Tree Behold by eating of this Tree of Life thou shalt be saved for ever in the breaking of the consecrated Bread thou seest how Christs Body was broke for thee in pouring out of the Hallow'd Wine thou seest how Christs Bloud was spilt for thee when the Holy Bread is reach'd out to thee thou seest Christ reaching out his crucified Body to thee that thou mayest see in his hands the print of the nails and put thy finger into the print of his nails and thrust thine hand into his side and shelter thy self under that wounded and mangled Body against the wrath and indignation of God When the sacred Wine is given thee thou seest how Christ offers thee his Bloud for the remission of thy sins canst thou behold so great a love and not loose thy reason in the admiration of its greatness when thou seest such condescension such kindness such compassion O canst thou forbear crying out O my Lord what do I see what mean these longings of Almighty God after my happiness what means this industry of that incomprehensible Being to be at all this charge and pains to make me blessed God that might sport himself with my everlasting groans what need he have cared whether I were saved or no God Who can be happy without company and needs no society but his own whence is it that this mighty God humbles himself thus to dust and ashes layes aside his Robes of Glory and wooes me to be content to lye for ever in his Arms and Bosom would no other remedy serve turn to recover me but the death of the Son of God God on whose Laws I have trampled Whose Authority I have slighted whose promises and threatenings I have undervalued that he should be thus concern'd for my welfare and contrive how to advance me unto Glory and contrive it by such stupendious means too will God suffer that I may not will the Eternal dye that I may not fall a prey to the second Death will God be crown'd with Thorns that I may wear an incorruptible Crown of Glory will God be affronted abus'd and scorn'd that I may inherit Glory and Honor and immortality what manner of love is this where is the spring of it what 's the impulsive cause of it how full of miracles is every circumstance here how pleasant is this contemplation What! God love a little slime and earth O my God! how wonderful is thy love it is all Ocean here is no shore to set my feet on be astonish'd at it O ye Heavens and tremble O thou Earth the Eternal the Immense Creator of Heaven and Earth stoops to a miserable creature the God who fills Heaven and Earth with his Presence bows down to a poor inconsiderable worm he that sits on the circle of the Earth and before whom all the Inhabitants of the Earth are as Grashoppers humbles himself to take notice of a poor forlorn wretch Here is love indeed Stay me with flaggons comfort me with apples my Head grows giddy with the Precipice here is an abyss of Love which I cannot fathom my head swims at the sight of it Sense can furnish me with nothing like it I am silenc'd here is a love answers all arguments that are brought for going on in sin Help me O thou blessed Spirit Help me O thou who art fairer than the Children of Men Help me thou who art all Love and Life Help me to admire thy Love In this Love are a thousand charms in this Love are omnipotent enforcives to love God above all the world Run O my Soul run into this Banqueting-house the Banner whereof is Love Is it so and must thou have perish'd and been undone for ever if the Son of God had not come in the Flesh and expiated thy crimes and doth not that Almighty love deserve thy Love see how the ambitious love the applause of men and wilt not thou love him who is brighter than the Sun see how the rich man is enamour'd with his stately Pallace and canst not thou love him who hath done that for thee which no Friend no Money no Gold no Silver could have purchas'd viz. reconciled thee to an offended God wilt thou slight this Love and hope to go unpunish'd wilt thou make this Love a refuge for wilful sins and hope for the light of Christs countenance will not he who loved thee beyond all presidents and examples double and treble his indignation upon thee if this Love cannot melt thee into a truly Spiritual life could the Devils but have such an offer of being partakers of the love of Christ how would they rejoyce and triumph and Love and Honour and Obey their God again as once they did when they were inhabitants of Heaven and wilt thou beworse than a Devil and spurn at that Love which Angels stand astonish'd at were it thine own case O my Sou wouldst not thou revenge such ingratitude with all the severity imaginable and doom the wretch that should affront such condescension to the direst Flames Be wise O my Soul and provoke not that God to swear in his wrath that thou shalt never enter into his rest who flees unto thee on the wings of mercy to embrace thee thou canst never have a more glorious sight of Gods love on this side Heaven than is discovered to thee in this Sacrament and if ever thou wouldst be perswaded to resign thy self entirely to thy Blessed Redeemer make his Will thy Will and desire what he desires and hate what he hates and love what he loves O come hither to the cross and see the Son of God weeping for thy sins come hither and see him sweat drops of Bloud for thy iniquities and offering thee pardon and reconciliation and peace with God and access to the Throne of Grace and union and communion with him and if this be not enough a title to Eternal Happiness or a right to that Throne himself doth sit on But why so backward O my Soul to come to the Table of thy Lord where thou mayst drink Wine and Milk without Money and without Price where thou mayst be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and eat of the living Bread whereof whoever eats shall live for ever hast thou forgot the peremptory command of Christ Do this in remembrance of me Is this remembring thy dearest friend to think of him solemnly but once or twice a year shouldst not thou remember him as often as thou hast an opportunity should thy Saviour remember thee no oftner than thou dost his death and passion how fearful would thy condition be canst thou represent his Love too often to thy mind and affections canst thou remember thy sins that brought him to the Cross too often art thou afraid of thinking too much of this
for indeed a flash of Thinking is no more Consideration than a few wandring sparks can be said to warm a spacious Room and as in cold Weather Men do not get themselves a heat by a step or two but by such exercises as put the Body into a violent motion so neither will a careless thought now and then heat the heart within but Consideration which puts the Soul into a strong and vigorous motion or agitation is that which must kindle the holy fire and shed life into all the faculties of the inward Man Not to mention here that the word was originally us'd to express the industry of Astronomers who by diligent contemplation and observation of the stars their Motion Position Conjunction Influences c. gave a judgment of the several Phaenomena or appearances they met withall from whence it was afterward applied to Men who seriously and attentively ponder things of moment whether Civil or Sacred The Scripture usually expresses it by laying our hearts close to our wayes as if it were with Consideration as it is with Mens listening to a confus'd noise and laying their ears close to a Wall with design to get a more distinct knowledge of it And indeed without Consideration Eternal Life and our Duties in order to it appear no very great attractives Consideration clears up those Notions dispells the Clouds and Mists that dwell upon our Reason wipes away the Dust discovers unknown Worlds and makes even such things as were vulgar obvious before look with a new face they being found upon Consideration things of greater consequence of greater comfort of greater necessity of greater virtue and efficacy than before they were believed to be It is much with Consideration as it is with Microscopes and Magnifying Glasses what contemptible Creatures do some little Animals and the smaller sorts of Plants appear while beheld with our naked eye but view'd through Dioptrical Glasses what curious Fabricks do we spy How inconsiderable an Insect is a Flie How despicable a Creature is a Mite Yet he that through such Glasses beholds in them all the perfections of the largest Animals the multiplicity of their parts the variety of their motions and how curiously every limb is wrought how mathematically all their little members are framed and set together cannot but wonder at the spectacle and break forth into admiration of the immense Wisdom of their Maker Consideration is that Glass which represents spiritual objects in other colours than before were observ'd and detected in them Sin that look'd but with a faint red before through this Glass appears all Scarlet and Crimson Gods Laws which before were hardly regarded so much as humane Injunctions through this Glass appear so beautiful so rational so wise so wonderful so suited to an intelligent Nature that a Man with David cannot hold but must cry out O how I love thy Law it is my meditation all the day The New Jerusalem which look'd but like an ordinary Building before when view'd through this Glass the Towers and Bulwarks of it are seen glittering afar off the Pearls and precious Stones it 's paved withall shine with more than ordinary lustre and that which look'd but dull and weak before now dazles the Spectators eyes with its oriental brightness But this will further appear if we enquire into the essential parts or necessary ingredients of these spiritual Opticks Consideration as it is the Sun that enlightens this Microcosme Man and irradiates the benighted faculties of the Soul so that it may have this virtue there is required and it cannot be Consideration without it Self-Examination Expostulation and strong Resolution I. Self-Examination That man who examines not his spiritual estate or condition whether he is that sinner that shall be everlastingly miserable whether the threatnings of the Gospel concern him whether he finds those qualifications in himself which the Son of God requires of all that shall be Heirs of glory whither he feels those things in his Soul which men that have a title to the great Inheritance are sensible of and whither he walks in that strait way and strives to enter in at that narrow gate the Holy Ghost doth speak of He that with Gallio cares for none of these things is so far from considering that he doth not believe the immortality of his Soul or another World For were his heart season'd with a sound belief of that future state he could not but enter into his Closet and reflect In this Bible in this Book which I do believe contains the Oracles of God and his peremptory Will concerning the salvation of men I find stubborn careless unconverted sinners adjudg'd to eternal torments I find God protest he will know none in the last day so as to shew them favor but such as dare deny themselves for Heaven and heartily endeavor to do the Will of their Father which is in Heaven I find God swear that men who prefer their Farms and Oxen and secular Concerns before his Injunctions and Commands shall never taste of the great Supper of the Lamb. Am I one of these stubborn unconverted careless men or no Why should I be afraid to ask such a question when there is no less than Eternity in the case If I am none of this number What means the bleating of Sheep and the lowing of Oxen in mine ears What means my earthly mindedness What means my living in wilful Contempt of so many commands of the Son of God I take no pains to be sav'd some little formalities and complements of Religion serve my turn and satisfie my Conscience I can put off the great God of Heaven with the Worlds leavings and throw him a dull heartless prayer at night when I have been wallowing in sin all day I am for no devotion that 's either expensive or troublesom to flesh and blood and such ejaculations as do not molest me in my pleasures and as my flesh can easily spare without any detriment in its satisfaction I am willing to lay upon Gods Altar I feel little or no sorrow for sin no remorse no compunctions when I offend a gracious God A temporal advantage affects and revives me more than all the joyes of Heaven If I do sometimes resolve to leave either my grosser vices or my more secret iniquities the next company or divertisement takes me off again and I make no more of breaking my solemn promises of better obedience than if God were a meer stock or stone that takes no notice of affronts and injuries Self-denial I am so great a stranger to that I know not what it means The graces and fruits of Gods Spirit Love Joy Peace Goodness Faith Temperance Meekness Patience Long-suffering have so little of my desires and affections that I think it but time and labour lost to bethink my self how to be Master of any of them Why should I flatter and deceive my self Why should I sooth my self into kind thoughts of my condition that is so
apparently dangerous Thus it is with me why should I deny it Why should I call light darkness and darkness light put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Whom do I cheat all this while is it not my own Soul And what shall I gain by it in the end Shall I think my self sufficiently holy when I am so little acquainted with the first rudiments of Holiness Shall I think my self a Child of God when that which I do is fitter for a Child of the Devil than for a Favourite of Heaven Conversion or turning to God which the Holy Ghost doth so often and with that vehemence and earnestness inculcate implies an universal change of my disposition and inclinations And where is that alteration that renovation of the Mind Will and Affections My Affections are carried out after Froth and smoke as much as ever My Love is set on Trifles and is regardless of the highest and chiefest good as much as ever I hate Seriousness and delight in childish impertinent Gayeties as much as ever The promises of the Gospel are as inconsiderable in my eyes and the riches of this World as glorious and ravishing as ever and I can dispense with the want of spiritual consolations while I have but my share in these outward comforts My feet run in the wayes of destruction and my eyes are dazled with external pomp and grandeur as much as ever An amorous Song is more pleasing to me than the most harmonious Psalm The Word of God is but a dead Letter to me while a Romance or a Book that Treats of Folly and Vanity Transports me into more than ordinary content and satisfaction And what I must eat And what I must drink And wherewithall I shall be cloathed Are questions I have a far greater desire to be resolved in than to know what I must do to please God and to be happy for ever If I have made light of the Thunders and Threatnings of Scripture I do so still If I have prefer'd my secular Interest before Gods Honour and Glory I do so still If I have feared Men more than God I do so still If I have been loth to do good with the Temporal blessings God hath confer'd upon me I am so still And what Sins I leave it 's more because I have no inclination to them or because I am afraid they 'll spoil and blemish my Reputation in the World than because I love that God who made me and hath obliged me by a thousand Favours to esteem and prize him above all And is this the Coat of the Sons of God Is this the Livery of a Christian indeed Is this done like a Man that lives upon Gods Bounty is fed by his Charity supported by his Alms and maintain'd from his Store-house and cannot subsist one moment without his Concourse and hath not a better Friend in all the World than him who is the Fountain of living Waters Consideration one great design of it being to know how the case stands between God and our own Souls such a Self-examination must of necessity be the Corner stone of this spiritual Building and comparing our Lives with the Rules of the Gospel and the proper characters of such as are in a likely way to enjoy God for ever may justly challenge the first Seat in this intellectual Paradise But then as building of a stately Gate without a House answerable to it doth but expose the Builder to derision and contempt so Self-Examination without a serious Expostulation with our own hearts is but to make the Accuser of our Brethren laugh at our vain attempts and God scorn the endeavour that could be crusht in the Bud and tired before half its Race is run II. Expostulation rouzes the Soul from her Slumber and drives it away from the soft Doune it would have rested and repos'd it self upon and gives the first blow for Self-Examination only threatens it to that Tree of Death I mean to the reigning power of Sin and I see not how Sin can shelter it self any longer or what excuses it can make for its stay and continuance where the Soul doth summon it to appear before the Bar of Conscience and enters into such reasonings and interrogations as these Are these things so and do I stand trifling with my salvation Do I run the hazard of everlasting flames and do I lie playing in the Suburbs of destruction Either I believe an eternity of Torments that shall attend a careless sinful life or I do not If not why dare not I profess my denial Why do I play the Hypocrite and make the World think I do believe it What 's the reason that I cannot shake off the fears of it if I would never so fain Why does something within me check me when I would be so profane as to deny it Can I ever be serious and not believe it But then if I believe it what a mad Man am I to loyter when the Candle I am allow'd to work by is almost burnt out and I know not how soon it may please my great Master to extinguish it Do I lead a life which is the readiest way to eternal Vengeance and shall I not step back and prevent it Can I imagine God will blow out that everlasting Fire to gratifie my vicious temper or destroy that Tophet out of tenderness to my Lusts and Corruptions Can I conceive it possible that God will go from his Word to please a stubborn Sinner or prove a Lyar that I may go with greater ease to Heaven Do I know that I shall be miserable if I continue in that course I have held on in hitherto and am I in love with eternal ruine Am I certain that Iniquity will be my confusion and am I resolv'd to dye I have all the reason in the World to believe that it was the Son of God that was the Author of those Threatnings and Comminations I find in the Gospel Do I believe him to be the Son of God and can I imagine that the least tittle of his words will perish I have run up and down in the World these many years and hunted-after those Vanities which sensual Men do dote upon But will these save me when I dye Will not the remembrance of my eager pursuit after these Butterflies and Gaudes fill me with anguish and sorrow Have I liv'd in the World all this while and am not I nearer Heaven than I was some years ago Must my body engross all my endeavours and must my Soul be starved I have a Soul that cannot dye and must not dye and must shortly appear before Gods Tribunal and shall not I study its safety and happiness as much as I am able Lord God! should Death arrest me before I have made my Calling and Election sure how fearful how wretched would my condition be should it fall to my share to howle in outward Darkness how should I curse the day that ever I was born should those Tortures the
Earth they enjoy a perpetual Sun-shine we are allow'd no more but Moon-light we see as it were through a Glass darkly they face to face their light like that of the Sun never lessens ours like that of the Moon is sometimes greater sometimes less and sometimes we have none at all How often doth the afflicted Beleever walk in darkness God hides the Light of his countenance from him and he is troubled sometime he is all joy by and by all darkness again sometimes he is like St. Paul wrapt up into the third Heaven sometimes like Men that see God's wonders in the deep he goes down again to the depths and his Soul melts because of trouble how cleer are the apprehensions sometimes he hath of the love and mercy of God! and he seems to be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the depth and breadth of the love of God how often on the other side is a vail drawn over all these bright Conceptions and he groveling in the dust What flouds of Consolation doth God sometimes pour out upon his Soul whereas at other times those comforts come down in drops which use to come in showers how great sometimes is his strength against temptations how weak his courage at another how chearfully sometime can he cry out I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me how mournfully is he forced to express himself at another I see a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bringing me into captivity to the Law of Sin Behold O my Soul the vast number of the Stars and Lamps of Heaven how wise how powerful is that God that made them who can look upon those curious Lights without admiring their Creator Behold they rise and goe down at his command and do not fail one minute of their appointed time how should this teach thee obedience how chearfully shouldst thou run at the command of thy God these glorious Stars though their number be vastly great yet they never clash or disagree one with another how should this engage thee to unfeigned charity and peaceableness how should this put thee upon promoting peace and concord and agreement among thy neighbors and doe not these Stars put thee in mind how e're long thou shalt shine as the Stars in the firmament for ever Happy hour Blessed day when thou shalt be cloathed with splendor and immortatity when thou shalt see night no more and shalt need no candle neither light of the Sun but the Lord shall give thee light and thou shalt reign with him for ever Come down lower O my Soul I have not done yet with Gods wonderful Works reflect upon the Air in which all sensitive Creatures breathe without this Air the whole Creation would dye it 's this that keeps Men and Beasts and all Plants and Herbs alive and is not the Holy Spirit of God O my Soul the very same to thee that the Air is to all creatures without this spirit of God to enlighten to move and to direct thee thou hast the name that thou livest but thou art dead it 's this spirit must give thee life it 's he that must warm thee into a practical Love to God it 's he must teach thee how to pray it 's he must help thy infirmities and bear witness with thy Spirit that thou art a Child of God beg this rich gift at the hands of God and thou shalt have it seek it and thou shalt find it knock at Heaven Gate for it and God will open and grant thee thy hearts desire Behold O my Soul how vain and foolish these men are that will not believe the Being of Angels or of Spirits because they never saw any can they see the Air and why do not they question whether there be such a thing as Air or no this Air supports all Creatures so doth thy God much more The Eyes of all do wait upon him and he gives them their meat in due season he opens his hand and fills the desire of every living thing Psal. 145.15 16. When this Air yields to all gross Bodies and lets them pass without opposition how doth it read to thee Lectures of Patience and Humility in that flexibility thou mayst see the sinfulness of thy inexorable temper the odiousness of thy revengeful desires and reviling again when thou art reviled and giving the offender as good as he brings the Air reproves thee when thou art deaf to all entreaties to be reconciled to him that hath injured thee when thou wilt not yield to the humble supplication of distressed creatures and when thou opposest thy own humour to all the rational perswasions of wiser men than thy self Look upon the Fire 0 my Soul and behold how differently it acts upon Bodies it meets withal how it consumes the Hay and Stubble and cleanseth and purifies Gold and Silver doest thou not see here as in a Glass how thy God destroys the workers of iniquity and advances and encreases and purifies the desires and affections of a devout and religious Soul thou seest how hard and black Iron is when it is not near the Fire and how bright and tractable it becomes in the fire and is not this the true picture of a sinner while he is a stranger to the Law of God he hardens his heart as Flint and Adamant no threatenings pierce him no promises prevail with him no judgements fright him no providences move him no mercies melt him he feeds upon Gods Blessings as Swine do upon Acorns without minding the hand that throws them down he hears Sermons but they awake him not he is intreated and he slights the invitation he is reproved and laughs at the reprehension but when that Holy Fire the love of God enters into his heart how flexible how tractable doth he grow how doth the love of God constrain him to avoid sin and to bid defiance to all the works of Darkness he that before scorn'd to hear the glad tidings of the Gospel how doth he now submit to Christs easy yoak he that before thought such a duty unfit and improper for a person of his quality how cheerfully doth he now bow and yield to it he that before had a thousand excuses why he could not do what Christ enjoyns him how doth he now lay all those idle apologies by he that before was churlish becomes now affable and courteous he that before was apt to be very angry at the least affront now bears it more quietly he that before put off the Eternal God with the meanest of his endeavours now is willing to give him the fat and strength of his affections he that before could hear Ministers call to him and call again without effect now cries out Sirs what must I do to be saved he that before could not be perswaded to walk in the strait way now runs in the way of God's Commandments Blessed Fire which consumes not but illuminates never suffers the heart to be harden'd
Printed for Sam Lownds neare y e Sauoy 1677. THE GREAT LAW OF Consideration OR A DISCOURSE Wherein the Nature Vsefulness and Absolute Necessity OF Consideration In order to a truly Serious and Religious LIFE is laid open By ANTHONY HORNECK Preacher at the SAVOY Psal. 119.59 I thought on my wayes and turned my feet unto thy testimonies Lactant. Lib. 1. Instit. Benè dicere ad paucos pertinet benè autem vivere ad omnes London Printed by T. N. for Sam. Lownds near the Savoy in the Strand M.DC.LXXVII IMPRIMATUR Octob. 25. 1676. Guli Sill R.P.D. Henr. Episc Lond. à Sacris Domesticis TO HIS GRACE Christopher Lord Duke of Albemarle c. Lord Lieutenant of the Counties of Devon and Essex Gentleman of His Majesties Bedchamber one of His Majesties most Honourable Privy Council and Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter c. My LORD May it please your Grace I Dare not call this Address Presumption the usual Compliment men give to Persons of Honour in Dedications of Books but Duly and the greatest Service I can pay you It 's the cause of God and the cause of Mens immortal Souls I am defending in this Treatise a Subject which claims attention from all degrees of men and wherein the most puissant Prince is as much concern'd as the meanest Vassal It is a future estate and what becomes of men when their bodies do drop from them and what they must do to inherit that eternal glory which a merciful God hath been pleas'd to promise them that I intend to speak to and if there be such a thing as a retribution after Death and our Souls When they leave their earthly Tabernacles must come to an after-reckoning and appear before the dreadful Tribunal of a just and infinite Majesty certainly that man is unjust to himself and an enemy to his own preservation that dares neglect his preparation for that great and tremendous Audit and prefers not meditation on that last account before all the sensual enjoyments of this World My LORD We are fall'n into an Age wherein some few daring men indeed their number is inconsiderable compared with the more sober part of Mankind have presumed to mock at a punishment after death and term'd that a Bugbear deriv'd from the tales of Priests and the melancholy of contemplative men which the wiser World heretofore was afraid to entertain but with most serious reflections When the ripest and most subact judgments for almost six thousand years together by the instinct of Nature and Conscience have believ'd a future Retribution it 's pretty to see a few raw Youths who have drown'd their Reason in Sensuality and scarcely ever perus'd any Books but Romances and the lascivious Rhapsodies of Poets assume to themselves a power to controul the universal sense and consent of Mankind think themselves wiser than all the grave Sages that have liv'd before them and break Jests in their Riots and Debauchery's upon that which not only Christians but Jews Mahometans and Heathens the subtilest and most knowing of them have ever since we have any Record or History of their Actions and Belief profess'd and embrac'd with all imaginable Reverence And are not things come to a fine pass My LORD when Christianity the clearest Revelation that was ever vouchsaf'd to men hath been receiv'd confirm'd and approv'd of in the World above sixteen hundred years and the greatest Philosophers in many of those Countries where it hath taken Root have not dared to doubt of the truth of it the convincing power that came along with it proclaiming its Divinity and Majesty that these bold Attentates should now begin to arraign its Authority and put us upon proving the first Principles of it as if the World were return'd to its former Barbarism and we had once more to do with Infidels as if men had divested themselves of Humanity put on the nature of Beasts and were sent into the World to understand no more but the matter and motion of the Malmsbury Philosophy I confess I have sometimes blamed my self for accusing these Libertines of Atheism when I have understood what mortal Enemies they were to Lying and Nonsence for how should not they believe a God that cannot speak a sentence but must swear by him or the truth of the Christian Religion that put so remarkable an Emphasis upon 's Wounds and Blood or another World that do so often imprecate Damnation to themselves or the being of a Devil who do not seldom wish he may confound them Would not any man conclude That Persons who do so exclaim against every mistaken and misplaced word and are such perfect Masters of Sence and value themselves so much upon their Veracity must needs believe the existence of those things they make use of in their ingenious Oaths and Curses the pompous Ornaments which in this Licentious Age set off the Glory Wit and Gallantry of such accomplish'd Pretenders But though we must not be so unmannerly as to accuse these Wits of contradictions in their discourses yet any man that doth not love darkness better than light may soon perceive how faulty this way these Scepticks are there being nothing more common with them than to smile at the Notion of that God by whom they swore but just before and to raille that day of Judgment which they seem'd to acknowledge in their absurd wishes and imprecations Some have I known who in a serious Fit have been pleas'd to tell me That if they could be sure there was another World and a Retribution for Good and Evil none should exceed them in strictness of Conversation and exact piety of Life and I am so charitable to believe that these spoke the sense of most of the rest and that the imaginary want of certainty in this dubious Point diverts them from venturing on that innocence and purity which was the glory of the primitive Christians But may it not be requisite to enquire whether these Doubters have ever taken the right way to be satisfied If one that had never heard of such a City as Exeter should be told that a Friend of his lately deceased there had left him a Thousand pound and he should reply that if he were certain there were such a City he would repair thither and yet would not enquire of those that are able to inform him might it not be presumed that such an one had no mind to be satisfied And I durst appeal to the Consciences of these men that doubt of an after-retribution whether they did ever sincerely and impartially desire or endeavor to be satisfied about it Did they ever do what every rational man ought to do that is willing to be ascertained of the truth of a common report Did they ever put themselves to half that trouble to be convinced of the certainty of a future judgment that they put themselves to when they would know whether the Title of the Estate they would buy be good or no. Do not
Body A Soul that can build it's Nest among the Stars of Heaven walk through yonder Mansions and taste of the Rivers which make glad the City of God A Soul which can wing it self into the Clouds and survey the Crowns and Scepters laid up for those that dare despise the World and have their Conversation in Heaven A Soul which can enjoy a Paradise while the Body is in trouble and rejoice in him who is All in All while the fierce Winds are whistling about her ears The vast reach of these Souls we have their fitness to receive Divine illumination their strong desires after Immortality their secret actings without the help of a Body their hopes of Heaven their fears of Hell all proclaim the certainty of an eternal state or condition they are intended for This eternal state imprinted on our Natures discover'd to the Gentiles proclaim'd by the Son of God preach'd by Angels confirm'd by Apostles reveal'd to Christians believ'd in the World as it relates either to Bliss or Misery to Joy or Torment to Honor or Dishonor so how to enjoy the one and avoid the other must in all probability be the great object which God design'd Mens Souls should be chiefly employ'd about For as there cannot be a thing of greater moment than Eternity so he must be a Sot a Beast that can imagine that God who ever intends the noblest Creatures for the noblest Ends will give Men leave to busie themselves altogether about picking of straws and pleasing a few sensual Lufts when he hath given them Souls capable not only of labouring and seeking after but obtaining a Kingdom which fades not away And when we sweat and toyle and labour to make provision for twenty thirty forty years what do we do but proclaim our obligation to be infinitely more concern'd how to provide for that state which must never have an end And as it was the goodness and wisdom of God to make us capable of an everlasting duration so we should be injurious to both if we did not suppose that God hath order'd and appointed means whereby it 's possible to save our selves from the wrath to come He that takes a view of Gods proceedings and dealings with Men ever since the Creation of the World cannot but stand amaz'd at the cost and labour and pains and means and motives and arguments God hath us'd to make Men sensible of their everlasting interest and to engage them to a serious preparation for that World they must live for ever in This serious preparation must necessarily be a holy blameless spotless life for the means must ever be sutable and agreeable to the nature of the end And Heaven being a holy place perlect holiness reigning there it 's not to be imagin'd how perfection of holiness can be enter'd upon without a considerable progress in holiness here no man reaching the highest step of a Ladder without the lowermost and one might as well flatter himself that his Trade by such a time will bring him in Ten thousand pounds when he is so far from minding his Trade that he contrives only how to run with others into excess of Riot And indeed to plant this holiness in Men the means have been so various so numerous so potent before the Law under the Law and under the Gospel that one may justly admire the whole World doth not stand candidate for Heaven and all the Inhabitants of the Earth do not take the Kingdom of God by violence Before the Law the continual pleadings of the long-liv'd Patriarchs with sinful Men to improve the light of Nature that Primar of Divinity the many Visions Revelations Dreams Signs Wonders Voices from Heaven the Ministry of Angels Gods Patience Forbearance Long-suffering and sometimes Exemplary Justice the Examples of holy Men Gods love to those that honour'd him the signal blessings he bestow'd on those that made him their highest and chiefest good what were all these but so many calls and entreaties that Men would by holiness prepare for a future happiness Under the Law God was so far from being weary of using means and taking pains with Men in order to this end that he seem'd to have reserv'd those Ages for larger and fuller Demonstrations of his Power and Munificence and if the people of Lystra had any ground for their exclamation the Jews had far greater reason to cry out That God was come down to them in the likeness of men For while other Countries were left in darkness and like Moles suffer'd to wander in the shadow and vally of death they as if they had been made of purer Clay seem'd to be the Darlings of Providence and the Favourites of Heaven Heaven bow'd to them and under its protection they went as under a Canopy of State and might with greater reason than the Sultan have challeng'd that lofty Title The shadow of God And with that Persian Emperor stiled themselves Kinsmen of the Stars Their eyes saw Miracles almost every day and with their daily Bread they receiv'd daily Prodigies and in the midst of their Rebellion God like the Sun when smiling through a Cloud shew'd them a merciful Face not that he approv'd of their Impiety but because by these Beams he would warm their hearts into obedience Their Blessings came down upon them not in drops but in showers and their Prosperity like the Cinnamon Tree was so fragrant that strangers might smell it a great way off before they saw it The Waters of Life were continually flowing into their Bosomes and though God now and then frown'd upon them what Father would not sometimes chide his Son yet his Indignation which like Flints sent out Fire upon their penitential Tears strait way return'd to its former coldness The Rocks poured them out Rivers of Oyl they wash'd their Feet in Butter and one might say of their Land as he of the Isle of Rhodes They were bless'd with a continual Sunshine Their Prophets what mighty what powerful Men were they Men that like Lamps consum'd their own Oyl to light their Auditors to Heaven or like Silkworms spun out their own Bowels to deck their Hearers with Garments of Righteousness Where words could not prevail Tears were the means to supple and affect them and it seems there is not stronger Rhetorick in the World than these Here one Prophet spoke like an Orator there another like a Logician Here one endeavour'd by Eloquence to charm them there another by clear Reason to convince them Here one threatned there another promis'd Here one wooed there another thundred Here one came with a Scepter of Love there another with a Trumpet of War Here one offer'd his hand to save them there another made bare his arm of revenge Here one offer'd an Ark to those that desired mercy there another rain'd down floods of Curses to drown the obstinate Here one represented God with his Sword drawn a smoke going up out of his nostrils and devouring fire out of
Damn'd feel be inflicted on me how should I wish that I had liv'd all my dayes in Desarts and Wildernesses and spent my whole time in praying and praising of God and given all my Goods to the Poor and liv'd upon Bread and Water and undergone the greatest hardships and severities outpray'd a Saint and out-fasted a Hermit rather than ventur'd my Soul in so slight a bottom as worldly mindedness must necessarily be should that burning Lake be my Habitation for ever O how I should imprecate all my merry Companions that did allure me to run with them into Folly and Vanity O how I should wish that my eyes had never seen them that my ears had never heard their names that my tongue had been torn into a thousand pieces when first it entertain'd Discourse with them that my Arms had been cut off when they embrac'd those pleasures which like Syrens cheat men into misery and calamity O how I should curse the place where my Sins were committed the persons that occasion'd them the hour that ever I thought of them O how I should wish that I had improv'd those opportunities I do now make light of and believed Moses and the Prophets that gave me warning and turn'd to God while the doors of Grace stood open and applied my self to the Ministers of the Gospel and taken directions from them what I must do to be sav'd How should the possibility of such misery fright and terrifie me into watchfulness and seriousness Is not Eternity more to me than a moment of time Can that Gold and Silver I enjoy and do so much prize and adore be any motive to the great Judge of Life and Death to absolve me Can the pleasures of Sin be antidotes against Sin or my Jollities procure a pardon in that day when God shall judge men according to the Gospel What makes me thus stupid that I should forgo the Milk and Honey of Canaan for the pitiful Garlicks and Onions of Egypt What Devil doth possess me that I should prefer Dancing and Revelling for a few hours before endless joy where is my reason What 's become of my understanding Am I bewitch'd besotted beguil'd that I should believe a few flattering motions of flesh and blood before all the Oracles and Inspirations of the Holy Ghost Can there be any thing more reasonable than Christs precepts What is there in them that should discourage me If God had commanded severer things is not Heaven recompence enough I that forbear the greatest Delicacies shun the choicest Dainties will not be tempted to eat of the most palatable Dish when I am sensible it will bring upon me the pain either of Collic or Strangury Nay I that lying under a raging painful Distemper wish my self a Beggar or the poorest Body alive and would be content to stoop to the meanest offices so I might be but freed from the Malady which torments me can I scruple to obey these Laws when it is to avoid an eternity of pain and flames Was not Dives as stubborn as I can be and have not I reason to believe if he were on earth again he would think the Law of Charity the easiest and the reasonablest Law imaginable Have not I reason to believe he would go beyond Zachaeus leave himself but just enough to live on and study how to do good with the rest Have not I reason to believe that the Lawes of Christ would seem very facil and practicable to him Can I think he would say A Little more sleep and a little more slumber and delay his obedience He that hath felt the misery of another World would think nothing too good nothing too dear nothing too costly to sacrifice to him who is the King immortal invisible blessed for evermore God that gave me these Laws and hath entail'd everlasting bliss on my sincere obedience certainly knew best what was fit and expedient for me and he â—hat is acquainted with my sitting down and mine uprising and had a hand in my frame can I think he would prescribe me any thing prejudicial to my happiness These precepts as they are effects of the greatest wisdom so they cannot but be highly beneficial and promote my spiritual interest for they drop from a God that 's infinitely good as well as infinitely wise so that not to submit to them is not only to stand in my own light and to hinder my Soul from its proper food and nourishment but to make my self wiser than the Almighty and to extol my reason above his Omniscience and to accuse his immense wisdom of rashness and folly and shall I add blasphemy to my disobedience Am I afraid God is not enrag'd enough against me or that his Anger is not red enough shall I throw brimstone into the flame to make that consuming fire more terrible Is it such a pleasure to have God my Foe Is it such a satisfaction to have him that can destroy both Soul and Body into Hell for my Adversary such Labyrinths such Inconveniences do I cast my self into by my sinful life and are these encouragements to continue in it Is this the Wedding garment I may triumph in Shall I sing in Chains rejoyce in Fetters glory in my Shackles be proud of the Devils Service boast of my Slavery When is it that I intend to be clean shall I delay it one moment longer that know not but I may be in Hell before the Clock doth strike again Dull blockish heart what dost thou mean Dost thou stand upon the brink of destruction and art thou not afraid Dost thou see a crucified Jesus stretching forth his Arms to embrace thee and dost thou feel no warmth no heat no zeal no affection Dost thou see the great burning Lake before thee and dost not thou quake and tremble Dost thou see the Revenger of blood upon thy heels and wilt not thou run into the City of Refuge Dost thou see the Angel of the Lord preparing to rain down Fire and Brimstone on thee and wilt thou not save thy self in Zoar What hinders thee What is it stops thy progress Art thou still in love with that which will undo thee Why should Father and Mother Wife and Children Brethren and Sisters Lands and Houses make thee lose a Crown Hath Gods Favour no Temptation Is there no Charm in his Love Hath Heaven no Beauty If thou must be miserable hadst thou not better be so here than hereafter Shall the present Food flatter thee into eternal hunger And because the Tree is pleasant to the eye wilt thou prepare for being expell'd out of Paradise for ever Will a few pleasant Cups counterballance thy everlasting Thirst Wilt thou venture an everlasting storm for a present calm And run the hazard of an endless Tempest for a few months Recreation O Wretch that I am the Devil was never crucified for me never spilt one drop of blood for me never endured Agonies for me he never wore a Crown of Thorns for me he
never tasted of the shameful death of the Cross for me and shall I flie into his Arms How often hath he disappointed me in my hopes and desires and shall I fawn upon the Enemy lay force upon his Kingdom of darkness in despight of all the Bars and Bolts and Guards which the great King of Heaven puts between me and Damnation I have been abused and cheated by Sin these many years and shall I be cheated still Does not my blood rise at the very thoughts of it I that will not be cheated in my Trade or Dealings with men shall I suffer my self to be imposed upon by a lying Devil And when I study how to be revenged on him that hath sold me a Peble for a Pearl a Bristol stone for a Diamond and endeavour to prevent the like deception for the time to come shall I in these great concerns of my Soul where the Cheat is so apparent where to discover it I need do no more but open my eyes where God and his holy Angels and all the Ministers of the Gospel assure me of the fallacy where the Cheat is of that dangerous consequence too borders upon eternal Damnation shall I be so disgenerous so base so low-spirited as to suffer my self to be thus grosly abused and deceiv'd O Monster Why so cruel to my own Soul Why so barbarous to my immortal part Why so inhumane to my spiritual interest Why so mad to run into the fire Why such an enemy to my own good Have not I enemies enough but I must make my self my greatest Foe Shall I join with that roaring Lyon and teach him how to devour me Shall I give him advantages against my self first let him deceive me and then laugh at me first let him seduce me into the Net and then punish me for being taken I believe my Children if they tell me that they have seen such a House on fire and believe my Neighbors if they assure me there are Thieves broke into my House and believe a Physitian who affirms That such a Powder or Herb is perfect Poyson and shall not I believe that God who hath prepar'd and fore-ordain'd these everlasting burnings I hear and read of and must needs know the terror of them shall not I believe him when he tells me and protests upon the word of a God that if I do not betake my self betimes to another course of life I shall assuredly fall a Prey to those endless burnings Shall not I believe that God that feeds me and protects me and knows all things and can do all things and never intended me any harm but hath given me such evidences of his kind inclinations to me that I must deny my own Being if I question his willingness to have me come to the knowledge of the truth I choose a present Agony to keep off an After-evil and am content to prolong torment so I may but prolong this mortal life and shall not I to avoid those endless tortures mortifie a silly Lust subdue my extravagant Desires and inflict so much Pennance on my self as to cashier all darling and bosome iniquities What means my Conscience it 's not quiet under all the pleasures of sin it 's ready to accuse me when it gets me alone it twitches me I find it is a hard matter to rock it asleep and when I think it 's fast like a Gyant it awakes again and frights me with flashes of the next Worlds flames and shall I break through all those Funeral Torches to invade Damnation Such Expostulations if the heart be not all Rock and Adamant cannot but startle the Sinner in his Licentiousness make him stamp with his feet and force him into other resolutions which is the third ingredient of this great Art Consideration III. Strong Resolution This is the necessary consequent of the preceding Expostulations if they be serious and not used only out of formality and the Soul that is by this time stung into a sense of its danger and cryes out Lord what have I done will soon fall from thence into such resolutions as these Does the case stand thus and must my sinful life expire into the Worm that dies not must my Frolicks dye into endless howlings and must my sport of sin be crusht into never dying anguish and my wilful contempt and neglect of Gods Will be turned into Chains of Darkness for ever Is it so as God hath told me And why should he tell me so if it were not so Why should he fright me with painted fire And how could it consist with his Wisdom and Integrity to deceive me with Bugbears and Chimera's If this be the fate of a sinful life then tell me no more of Dalila's tell me no more of Impediments or Excuses or Delays If this be the fearful Exit of Sensuality and Irreligiousness there is no dallying with sin I 'll get rid of it whatever it cost me I 'll hearken to its soft Airs no longer I 'll be charm'd no more with the lovely looks of that Harlot its curious Dresses its trcacherous Glances shall commit a Rape upon my Affections no longer I will not for a few jolly hours neglect my eternal safety Eternity is not a thing to be made light of I believe there is such a thing and why should I be such a Changeling as not to provide for it with all imaginable care and industry I am gone Farewell Applause and Greatness of the World Farewell ye little shooting flames of sensual pleasures which serve only to delude not to revive or enlighten an immortal Soul Farewell my old Acquaintance that cocker'd and helpt to please those Lusts I now abhor Farewell ye dangerous Friends that would have drag'd me into Hell and would have had me kind to you even into eternal fire Farewell unhappy men who would have had me venture on that burthen of Gods anger which Devils cannot bear and tempted me to be miserable for companies sake I must either have no peace with God or none with you The friendship of God and the World are incompatible and would you have me leave my God my happiness my joy my comfort my refuge my hiding place my riches my treasure to follow you to a place of endless torments I see I see what all your follies will come to I am convinc'd that if there be a happiness hereafter as I am persuaded there is the course ye take cannot be the way to that Paradise Molest me no more I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep Gods righteous judgments I see a City which hath foundations whose Builder and Maker is God I behold afar off a House made without hands eternal in the Heavens Farewell temptations farewell corrupted deceitful heart I 'll believe thy false suggestions no longer I have a surer word of Prophecy to lay hold of How often hast thou taught me to cover my sins with plausible names that I might not be forc'd to leave them
seek not the good but the loss and desolation of my Soul I 'll seek the things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God I 'll set my affections on things above and not on things on earth I am dead to all these sublunary Vanities and my life is hid with Christ in God and when Christ who is my life shall appear then shall I also appear with him in glory Without such resolutions as these Consideration is lame and feeble it 's practical Consideration that must do the work and it is these resolutions make it so the necessity of which Consideration is the next thing I must endeavor to demonstrate CHAP. III. The absolute necessity of Consideration in order to a serious life Gods frequent commands to that purpose Our Reason and the power of Consideration we are furnish'd or endu'd with prov'd to be given us for this end Without it Men have cause to suspect that their Reformation is counterfeit WHat we have said hitherto is not a thing indifferent left to our liberty and discretion to mind or to neglect it as we shall see occasion If labouring after a better life if endeavouring to get a share in the incorruptible Crown of glory if attempts to compass the eternal felicity of our Souls if studying how we may be admitted into the Quire of Angels and enjoy the society of the First-born which are written in Heaven if contriving how we may arrive to that fulness of joy God hath both reveal'd and promis'd be indispensably necessary this Consideration must be so too If Self-preservation be not a thing indifferent Consideration cannot possibly be so For the great object of this Consideration is how we may preserve our selves from being undone for ever how we may guard our Souls from everlasting perdition how we may avoid the second death and how we may make our happiness lasting and durable proof against the gates of Hell and the assaults of that roaring Lyon who walks about seeking whom he may devour God that commands all the powers of Light and Darkness and hath the same power over us that the Potter hath over his Vessel and hath made us capable of being govern'd by Moral Laws and hath created us on purpose to be ready at his beck and may force us into obedience by plagues and thunders if we are loth to be courted by smiles and favours and afar off sees all the dangers we are subject to and knows what Armies of Enemies lie in ambush and watch our fall it 's he that peremptorily commands this Consideration A Sovereign Prince expects to be obey'd and he that dares refuse or slight his reasonable command is justly lookt upon as a stranger to Loyal principles and well may God who is All-wise and can do nothing that 's unreasonable expect submission to a precept so great so good so advantagious both to Soul and Body as will appear in the sequele Consider your wayes is a Law which God to shew he is in good earnest inculcates twice in the same Prophecy Hagg. 1.5 7. And for that the Dream is doubled it is because the thing is establish'd by God said Joseph to Pharaoh Gen. 41.32 The same we may say of repeated Exhortations And indeed when the famous Moses bids the people under his charge and care to keep the statutes and the commandments which God had graciously vouchsafed them that it might go well with them and with their children after them the great preparative he requires for this religious frame is Consideration Deut. 4.39 40. as if without this all attempts of obedience were vain and all endeavors to serve God in Spirit and in Truth were no more but water spilt upon the ground It was upon the same account that St. Paul as quick-sighted as the other peremptorily tells the Romans that they would never practically approve that good and acceptable and perfect will of God without they were transform'd by the renewing of their mind i. e. made a new improvement of their minds by Consideration For Consideration rebuilds the house that 's fallen to the ground makes the mind new removes old prejudices against a serious life and transforms the judgment into other thoughts and conceptions carries away the rubbish which oppressed the Soul and leaves it not till it becomes a new creature Rom. 12.2 What can St. Peter 1 Pet. 1.13 mean when he presses the Christians of those dayes to gird up the loins of their minds but this great Duty we discourse of Consideration as it is a convocation of our thoughts so it ties and unites those thoughts to the great object the one thing necessary and as it were girds the Soul that it may keep within the rules of the Word of God and may not run out into strange desires or inordinate affections but be more expedite and nimble in her Travels to the Land of Promise The truth is from the mind as from Aarons head the precious oyntment runs down to the skirts of our garments This is the great wheel which sets the lesser orbs a going and if that be impregnated with principles of goodness and seriousness and these enlarg'd and spread by Consideration the will and the affections will soon be persuaded to follow that star till it brings them to Bethlehem the house of mercy In our civil affairs it 's the mind must first be fully persuaded either of the necessity or conveniency or danger or advantage of things before any wise resolution can be taken and we may justly conclude that in spiritual concerns men begin at the wrong end if they do not season their minds with such reflections as may make a deep impression on the will and affections For that these may resolve to follow God and may be ravish'd with his love and apply themselves to his wayes and may hate every false path and detest their former exorbitances and deviations we must necessarily suppose there must be some spring to feed them which Spring can be nothing else but Consideration And because the more objects the more flowers this Consideration feeds upon the more effectual it is and the greater seriousness it produces and the most signal change it works the Holy Ghost therefore in order to this end particularizes several things and commands them to be taken in as promoters of this excellent work Hence it is that we are sometimes call'd upon to consider our latter end Deutr. 32.29 sometimes the works of God Eccles. 7.13 sometimes the last judgment or the great account men must give of their works whether they have been good or whether they have been evil Psal. 50.22 sometimes the testimonies of God the sweetness beauty perfection worth and excellency of them Psal. 119.95 sometimes the future reward that God hath promised to them that fear him 2 Tim. 2.7 sometimes the holy Life Example and Christian constancy and magnanimity of Christ Jesus Hebr. 12.3 sometimes Gods correction and chastisement together with
man tell me here that this is to make man independent from God and to assert that men may convert themselves and change their own hearts and give themselves that repentance and faith which the Scripture everywhere asserts to be the gift of God For Gods power and glory is so far from receiving any prejudice by this Doctrine that I know nothing can advance and promote it more than this way It 's confess'd that Conversion is the work of God but then he expects I should do my part and work according to the power he hath given me and improve the Talents he hath already bestow'd upon me and trade with them and make use of the faculties I have and exercise them as much as I can in order to a serious change of life and in the use of such means God will be found as we see in Cornelius Acts 10.4 And his holy Spirit shall come down and make the work effectual and bless those honest endeavors with grace and mercy and make the wheels go merrily which went but heavy before and turn that piety which proceeded from fear of Hell before into a sincere love to God and to the beauty of holiness and make that obedience universal which was but partial and by halves before and that 's a kindly Conversion To indulge our selves in laziness and idleness and weariness of Gods service upon pretence that we must wait Gods time and stay till God is pleased to work upon our hearts is no better than mocking of God For God who hath protested that he 'll cast out none that will but come to him and never left himself without witness and is engag'd by promise to be a rewarder to them that diligently seek him hath no where in his Word promis'd to work upon our hearts except we will use such means as he hath given us power to make use of in order to Conversion and he that lets the power God hath given him for this use lie dead doth but imbezle the gift of God and with that unprofitable servant layes up his pound in a Napkin and consequently can expect no other answer than was return'd to him Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee thou wicked servant thou knewest that I was an austere man taking up that I laid not down and reaping that I did not sowe Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury Therefore take from him the pound and give it to him that hath ten pounds And as for those mine enemies that would not that I should reign over them and it seems such are all those that will not improve those powers God hath given them especially this of Consideration in order to be reclaim'd from the errors of their wayes bring them hither and slay them before me Luke 19.22 28. And indeed he that can sit down and consider what losses may befall him what mischief may happen to him if he keeps company with a turbulent quarrelsome man and thereupon shuns his society will find in the last day that he might as well have sate down and consider'd what evil a sinful life would bring upon him His reason to be sure is capable of taking the one into Consideration as well as the other and he that believes he hath a Soul must be supposed able to think of dangers that may befall his Soul and since Consideration is that which represents all dangers in very lively colours and by that means affects and makes impressions upon the whole man there is no person but may safely expect Gods blessing upon such Considerations not upon the account of merit but because God hath most freely and most graciously promis'd his assistance where men shew their willingness to work in his Vineyard And that 's the reason why Conversion in Scripture is sometimes attributed to man and sometimes to the Father of lights from whom every good and perfect gift descends and why we read in the same Prophet Make your selves a new heart and a new spirit Ezek. 18.31 And I the Lord will give you a new heart and a new spirit will I put within you Ezek. 36.26 Because God expects the sinner should take his ways and preposterous actions and the danger which hangs over his head into serious Consideration represent the odiousness and disingenuity and unseasonableness of his sin to his mind and muse upon that endless happiness he may arrive to weigh the comforts and consolations he may enjoy on this side Heaven and God will encourage him gather the Lambs with his Arms and carry them in his bosome i. e. prosper those sincere endeavors and water them with the dew of his benediction till the byas of the Soul is chang'd and turned towards Heaven Consideration is the Bed where the incorruptible Seed is sown and on the ground thus prepared the Sun of Righteousness doth shine and by his warmth produces in the Soul all manner of pleasant fruits Cant. 7.13 Consideration like the Pool of Bethesda draws the great Angel of the Covenant down who stirs the Pool and gives it a healing virtue and immediately the blind receive their sight and the lame walk and the Lepers are cleansed and the dead are rais'd up Matth. 11.5 That God hath sometimes by miraculous means converted and turn'd men from their irreligiousness and contempt of holiness we do not deny but though these miracles might be the occasion of their Reformation it was still Consideration that digested these miraculous Providences and engaged these men to enquire what they meant and for what end they were sent and how they should escape if they neglected so great a salvation It was this made them argue that as these Calls were great and full of wonder so they challeng'd entertainment and submission answerable to so great a mercy It was this made them see the love of God and wonder whence it should be that God should overlook so many thousands and knock at their gates pass by Palaces and be content to take up his rest in their poor habitations It was this made them ponder that after such Admonitions and Exhortations from Heaven there was no standing still and that contempt of such extraordinary Providences must needs fall very heavy on the Soul one day and sink it into the nethermost Hell upon which Considerations and Expostulations they resolv'd to close with Christ and with the terms of the Gospel But all this will more fully appear if we can prove That without Consideration Conversion or Reformation of life cannot but be counterfeit Conversion being a change of the whole man and loving God better than the world or minding Heaven more than earth an immortal Soul more than a frail dying body there can nothing be imagin'd under God more likely to prevent our being deceiv'd with a form of godliness than Consideration That the Devil very ordinarily transforms himself into an Angel of light and imposes
upon our minds by shadows of virtues as it is his interest so it is a thing as common as our yielding to temptations of that nature Daily experience is a sufficient witness how men deceive themselves with a varnish and paint of Piety and flatter themselves that they are ordain'd to eternal life and in a way to those Regions of bliss when they are not Because they acknowledge and profess that God is infinite perfect glorious and the Supreme Governor of the world and that in him we live and breathe and have our Being and that it 's he that rules the great wheel of Providence they conclude they love him better than their riches or pleasures here when they do nothing less indeed no more but what Parrots may do which being taught can repeat the same words and be never the nearer that wisdom which makes men wise unto salvation We see how men because they have no inclination to some gross notorious sins that other men are guilty of are apt to conclude that they mortifie their lusts and put off the works of darkness walking soberly as in the day-time and because they frequent the Temple of the Lord they are presently true hearers of the Word Because such a man is not drunk every day but is sober now and then he believes himself to be a very temperate man Another because he doth not cheat so notoriously as his Neighbors concludes he is just honest upright and fair in his dealings Another because he works hard in his Calling and doth no body wrong fancies he doth all that 's fit for a Christian to do Another because he hath sometimes a good thought of God and can send up a short ejaculation to Heaven is very confident he meditates and contemplates the Almighty Another because he hath some faint breathings after him knows nothing to the contrary but he is as zealous for Gods glory as any of his acquaintance can be Another because he hath now and then a melancholy thought of his sins and confesses them to Almighty God concludes he doth repent as well as the best and because he often wishes for salvation and hath a good opinion of holiness and goodness he doubts not but he is made partaker of the Divine Nature That these are Cheats and Delusions is evident to any rational man The Gospel doth not offer Heaven on these terms and it is not partial but universal obedience that Christ requires of his followers He is resolved Heaven shall cost them more than these little services come to and they shall not impose upon God however they may deceive themselves But then how shall these or any other Cheats be discover'd and avoided but by Consideration True Conversion consists in resisting and conquering such Delusions but how shall they be resisted if they be not known how shall they be known if men consider not whether the course they take be either agreeable to the way God hath prescrib'd or like to bring them to that happiness they aim at It 's Consideration must manifest which is God and which is the Cloud which is Gold and which is but Guilt which are the waters of Jordan and which are the rivers of Damascus which is Corn and which are Tares which are the fiery tongues and which is the Glow-worm light which are Jacob's hands and which are the hands of Esau. There are not a few sins which look very much like virtues complying with mens impieties looks so like Humility Flattery so like that Charity which bears all things and hopes all things and believes all things and endures all things reviling again when we are revil'd so like doing justice worldly mindedness so like providing for our Families lying for profits sake so like a work of necessity and self-preservation and bearing a grudge to him that hath offended us without discovering it in our actions so like curbing our passions that few men will think themselves concern'd to part with them except they consider which is the pure and which the sophisticate mettle How like saving knowledge doth that knowledge of God look which puffs up the Soul and tempts men to despise others that are not arriv'd to the same measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. There is no distinguishing of them but by the effects and how shall the effects be discriminated but by Consideration I cannot avoid being deceiv'd if I do not sit down and reflect Lord I pretend to knowledge of the Cross of Christ but doth this knowledge make me humble and vile in mine own eyes Doth it discover to me my spiritual poverty and make me prefer others before my self Doth it make me prize Christ above all And doth it engage me to count all things Dross and Dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Doth it make me stand under the Cross of Christ and breathe and pant after his precious blood like a man truly sensible both of the worth and want of it Doth it produce that mind in me which was in Christ Jesus Dost thou feel this O my Soul How happy art thou if thou art sensible of these operations Do not deceive thy self doth not this knowledge thou pretendest to make thee secure and careless Doth it not make thee sit down contented without the life of Religion Doth it not persuade thee to believe that thou art a Christian though thou dost not imitate Christ in his holy life and conversation Does it not make thee proud and self-conceited and think more highly of thy self than thou oughtest to think and like the Pharisees look between anger and scorn on those that know not the Law if so how is the knowledge of Christ Jesus in thee The same may be said of Faith it 's Consideration must separate it from presumption and satisfie me whether it be of the true Eagle-kind or no it 's impossible to know whether my faith be of the right stamp or no without I make such inquisition as this Faith is a gift or fruit of the Spirit which I am apt to believe God hath blessed and enrich'd my Soul withall and I thank him that I am not born an Heathen or Infidel But what power hath my Faith upon my Affections Doth it purifie my heart and drive away those lusts that have taken up their residence there Doth it make me cut off my right hand pull out my right eye when they do offend me Doth it make me live like a person that believes the Omnipresence and Omniscience of God Doth it make me cautious and afraid of offending that God whom I believe of purer eyes than to behold iniquity Doth it make me embrace Christ both as my Redeemer and Governor both as my Saviour and my King Doth it engage me to resign my will to his Will and to receive the Kingdom of God as a little child without disputing his commands or contradicting his injunctions Doth it work by love And doth it drive me to give God my
world takes up their hearts and engrosses their affections when we see how all their Plots Designs Contrivances Desires are for the world and when they mind onely fleshly things as the Apostles phrase is Phil. 3.19 What I mean by the world none can be ignorant of that hath either read what wise men have written concerning it or hath heard the Word of the Gospel sounding in his ears For indeed it 's not the least part of our Commission to dehort and dissuade men from fixing their Affections on these sublunary objects and but that continual inculcating of the same thing would make our Auditors nauseate the most wholsom Lessons we could not do them greater service than by making such Dehortations the perpetual Subject of our Sermons All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life saith the great Divine 1 Joh. 2.16 Whatever outward object serves to gratifie sense whatever here below is most commonly desired and lusted after whatever makes for satisfaction of the flesh or of our sensual appetite all is comprehended under this name And indeed it is with these worldly comforts as it was with the garden of Eden some are for food some for tryal some to keep our bodies serviceable to our souls some to prove our souls whether they 'll rest on these broken Reeds or seek their rest and acquiescence in him that is the Creator of all And accordingly the Almighty thought fit to limit the use of these terrestrial felicities and to signifie in his Word that his intent in giving them was that they should be our servants not our masters that he design'd them as advantages to us not hinderances in admiring and adoring the immense goodness and bounty of God and that he appointed them for our use no farther than they would serve to promote his glory and the eternal felicity of our immortal souls But here we find men generally live the reverse of Gods designs and intentions and instead of using these visible comforts in order to a greater end make that their home which was intended only for their Inn and are for erecting Tabernacles to dwell there which God design'd only as a thorow-fare And to this unhappiness preposterous education which most men are subject to doth very much contribute For whereas we should be educated into Reason and a right apprehension of things we are usually educated into sense and deceptions and those that have the care of us and should teach us self-denial in these outward things and by that means engage our souls to fix on nobler objects do commonly present us with nothing but sensual satisfactions All their Discourses to us are of the World and of the magnificence greatness splendor and ravishing aspects of these outward gayeties and the first principles they teach us are how to please sense and to pamper our appetite and though now and then they teach us some little Notions of Divinity yet it is in such a sensual way that it amounts to no more than a formality and divertisement and being a thing that 's taught by the by it makes little or no impression upon our affections But whatever disadvantages men lie under upon the account of their sensual education one would think when they come to the full use of their reason and are capable of understanding the vanity emptiness unconstancy of these lower objects and of apprehending that they were only intended as Ladders to raise us into contemplations of our great Benefactor in heaven when they arrive to this ripeness of understanding come out of their apprenticeship set up for themselves become as it were their own masters and enter upon the possession of that estate which before was managed by others one would think I say they should then begin as there is commonly an alteration of our temper upon the alteration of our fortunes to rectifie those sensual principles which their Nurses and Tutors have shed into them and wash away the stains those fond Masters as indeed men may be kill'd by kindnesses and like that Olympian Victor be stifled with Posies have unluckily imprinted on their souls But alas there are so very few that having gone thus far stop and attempt to captivate their appetites to the obedience of Reason and Religion or seek to elevate their souls above the dung and trouble of the World according to the intent of their Maker that most men sink deeper and deeper into the gulf of sensual desires open the gates wider make the door larger for sensual satisfaction to enter in nay if it be modest and loth to enter compel it to come in and to give their spirits an infusion of carnality to water and keep warm the seed of worldly inclinations and find out wayes to encrease their Thirst to add heat to their Fever to provoke their sensual appetite to enlarge it self as Hell and fearing they have not been sufficiently or faithfully enough instructed in the enjoyment of these worldly felicities they try experiments and conclusions to find out new satisfactions and thus plunge themselves into the main Sea being charmed by the Sunbeams playing and glittering upon the water and the curling of the waves And the impressions which were made on the wax when soft and tractable remain when it 's grown harder by a continual hurry of worldly cares and businesses which they are content to admit of they make their souls the least object of their solicitude and were they ask'd as that profane Duke What they think of Heaven it's like they would answer in his language or think so or at least act as if they thought so That they have so much business on earth that they cannot think of Heaven Thus their very spirits become flesh and their souls turn to earth as well as their bodies Whence it comes to pass that their minds being altogether sensual impregnated with worldly cares and satisfactions and all their faculties employ'd in contriving how to get a greater share of earth than they have already or at least to keep and preserve what they have there is no room for this Consideration of their spiritual estate or condition They hearken to nothing with any zeal or attention or life that doth not carry either some worldly profit or pleasure with it and that which charms or wins them must be the musick of temporal interest Consideration how they shall be saved hereafter there is no Lands to be bought with it no Mannors to be purchas'd no Houses to be built no Countries to be conquer'd no Honours to be got by it It brings in no Riches it fills not their Coffers with gold and silver it doth not give them respect and credit with Princes and Men of Quality it doth not cover their Tables with dainties and delicacies it doth not furnish them with portions for their children It doth not feed their bellies nor put them into a condition to lie on beds of
the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God This would shew them Christ Jesus on the Cross this would bespeak them in the language of the Prophet Who is this that comes from Edom with died garments from Bozrah Wherefore is he red in his apparel and his garments like him that treads in the Wine-fat Isa. 63.1 2. This would shew them that the blood which trickled down from that sacred head trickled down upon the account of their follies and transgressions that their oaths and curses and blasphemies were the thorns that prickt his head that their lasciviousness and fornications and adulteries were the spears that open'd his side that their boldness in sinning their resolutions to be damn'd made the tears gush from his eyes that their hatred their malice their envy their revengeful desires were the hands that did buffet him that their covetousness and worldly-mindedness and neglect of their duty towards God and man were the Rods that smote him that their evil thoughts and idle words and extravagant actions were the furies that spit into his face that their perfidiousness their treacheries their hypocrisies were the nails that were struck through his hands and feet that their labouring after Hell their endeavors to be miserable their contempt of the goodness of God made him sweat drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane that their delight in abusing God and in trampling on his Laws was that which made him shreek out to the amazement of Heaven and Earth My God my God why hast thou forsaken me that the heat of their lusts was the cause of his drought and proved the gall and vinegar that was given him to drink that their sinful lives kill'd him and their deadness in duty murther'd him that their impatience and unbelief haled him to the Cross and their impenitence was the cause of that purple flood which the Angels for the rarity and strangeness of it descended from Heaven to behold Consideration would lay before them all the curses of the Law the terror the consumption the sorrow of heart that anguish that attends sin in the end the troubles of Conscience it will raise ere long the frights the disquiet it will produce This would represent to them the flames that Dives felt and made the Wretch cry out for a drop of water to cool his burning tongue This would shew them what blackness sin doth cast on their understandings and that their being baptized into the Christian Faith doth signifie little except they leave their sins and that they do name the Name of Christ in vain without they depart form iniquity This would shew them their error in flattering themselves with the hopes of Gods mercy and demonstrate to them how ridiculous it is to believe that God will pardon them because they pardon themselves or that he will forgive them because they are loth to suffer This would shew them that God sees and hears them and will judge them and set their transgressions in order before them for all the seeming delay of his vengeance Consideration would discover to them the pardon and reconciliation they must go without if they do not speedily return the blessings they deprive themselves of the comforts they bid defiance to the light the favor of God and the mercy of Christ Jesus they must for ever want and be destitute of if they flie not into his arms with the greatest expedition and alacrity This would aggravate their sins make them appear in their proper colours and shew that they are no better than Cockatrices Eggs and Spiders Webs Have not you seen the crafty Spider weave a Net and then lie close in an ambush till the silly Fly dazled perhaps with the curiosity of the Net hastens to those unhappy Labyrinths but while she is sporting her self in those chambers of death out comes the Murtherer and leads the Captive wretch in triumph home Consideration would shew them that thus it is with sin that with much fair speech as that Harlot Prov. 7.21 22 23. it causes the sinner to yield with the flattering of her lips she forces him He goes after her straightway as an Oxe goes to the slaughter or a fool to the correction of the stocks till a dart strike through his liver as a Bird hastes to the snare not knowing that it is for life This kindness Consideration would do them Thus and thus it would tell them and this is it men are afraid of and therefore care not for entertaining it Their sins afford them present satisfaction and the pleasure they promise is brisk and lusty on their fancies their body feels it their eyes see it their ears hear it their tongue tastes it it tickles all their senses it makes them merry and jovial and makes their blood frisk and dance in their veins It makes them forget their sorrows and puts the evil day far from them Frequent converse and long acquaintance hath made their friendship with sin inviolable And though it is really the greatest evil and the cause of all evils in the World though it murthers while it laughs and poysons while it smiles and cringes though it is so merciless that not contented to kill the body it attempts the soul too yet having like the Prophets Ewe Lamb 2 Sam. 12.3 been nourish'd and kept by its owners for many years and being grown up together with them and having eaten of their meat and drank of their Cup and lay'n in their bosoms and been to them as a Child the fondness is grown so great that nothing can make them willing to part with it Hence it is That Consideration is look'd upon as a sawcy ill-bred unmannerly Messenger that would part the dearest friends divide sin from their souls and cause a civil War in their bowels destroy the reigning power of Vice attempt its strong holds and storm its fortifications They lie encircled in its arms and though they hang all this while over Hell-fire by a twin'd Thread though God all this while shakes his Rod over them and while they hug the sin is preparing the instruments of death and whetting his Sword and bending his Bowe and making it ready yet it seems such is the present hearts-ease sin affords so sweet is the sleep it yields that men care not for being awak'd by Consideration We should wonder to see a man that 's ready to starve for want of food refuse the bread or meat which we offer him and wonder to see a person that 's ready to perish with cold reject the fire and cloathing we have prepared for him and wonder to see one who is blind scorn the help of him that would certainly restore him to his sight and wonder to see one who is fallen among Thieves and Robbers make light of the assistance of a Prince who offers to rescue him out of their hands And dost not thou wonder O my soul at the insufferable stupidity of sinful men that entic'd with the
love with eternal ruine V. Impediment V. Danger of losing their unlawful gain It 's a thing not unusual for men to thrive by sin and to prosper by iniquity to grow rich by oppression and to advance in wealth by unlawful callings to get money by pleasing other men in their lusts and to procure a livelihood by injustice and complying with the Vices of the Age we live in The Devil must have some rewards to bestow else his Kingdom would soon expire and though his rewards as well as temptations are deceitful yet rewards they are and being present and visible and consequently apt to make the deeper impressions they invite more strongly and caress men into desire and appetite Men many times would not venture on sin but that they believe it is the way to gain and the known road to advantage and emolument And as sin is judged to be the way to profit so they look upon 't as the onely means to preserve what they have got and acquired If Absolom had not had a Kingdom in his eye he would hardly have dared to rebel and Viper-like to prey upon the bowels that did feed and nourish him Demas sees how plentifully the Heathen Priests did live what credit what honour what wealth and glory they enjoy'd and that makes him forsake Christianity and embrace their wayes It was gain made Demetrius so zealous for the worship of Diana and the Masters of that Damsel that had a familiar spirit so earnest for telling of fortunes and unlawful divinations And we know who they were that told the Prophet Jeremy As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth to burn incense unto the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink-offerings unto her for then we had plenty of victuals and were well and saw no evil But since we left off to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink-offerings unto her we have wanted all things and have been consum'd by the Sword and by the Famine Jer. 44.16 17 18. And indeed this principle that a sinful life is the only profitable life doth so spread and infect the hearts of men that most are afraid to sit down and consider their ways for fear Consideration should make them weary of a sinful life and consequently make them quit and cashier the gain and profit they do reap by it Profit is the great Goddess the world adores and to preserve that men employ their strength and friends and make use of all opportunities to secure it it 's that which they are truly jealous of and which is as dear to them as their lives and which makes them climb rocks and clamber mountains and fight their way through all impediments that would oppose and cross it Touch that and you touch the apple of their eye and whatever cause they are zealous for though other reasons may be pretended yet profit and interest commonly is the true cause that inflames their passions and makes their spirits fervent and they seldom matter whether it be by lawful or unlawful ways that they have made their fortunes so they be but made and advanc'd to such a pitch they 'll be sure to protect what they have purchas'd and it is not an easie matter shall snatch it out of their clutches Consideration that unruly faculty would create ill thoughts of such gain in their minds and therefore as men that are loth to meet their Creditors and when they see them afar off turn out of the way that they may have no occasion to speak to them so the generality of men do carefully shun Consideration as an unhappy Remembrancer that will put them in mind of things they do not desire to hear and touch the sore they would not have handled or medled withall and search into those wounds they would not have healed up or come under the hand of a Physitian I do but think what a world of Religious men we should have how men would flock to Christ from all corners what a number of pious Souls would appear in all places if we could assure them that a serious life will for certain furnish them with an estate answerable to their luxurious appetite and I am apt to believe were men confident and could they trust to it that they should get an estate of 9 or 10000 l. per annum by frequent reading praying meditating and obedience to Christs commands the greatest part would make a hard shift to consider how to leave their sins and vices and apply themselves to reformation we should hear no more of the excuses they now make that they have no time or that their condition is such that they cannot serve God as they should The impossibilities they now pretend would all vanish and they that now rack and torment and tire themselves for a little profit upon prospect of so considerable an advantage would turn their pains and labour another way and become very devout worshippers of the Holy Jesus and find no such trouble in a circumspect life as now they do Should Christ appear in a visible shape from Heaven to the Swearer or Drunkard or Fornicator or Adulterer or Covetous or any other of the sinful Herd with vast glittering Treasures in his hand nay could we the Ministers of the Gospel secure such a Loâ—dship such a Principality such a Kingdom such an Empire to any of these sinners upon condition they would part with their Vices sure it would be a mighty Temptation to them to shake hands with their darling impieties for I see they sell their Souls to the Devil for 2 3 or 400 l. many times and I am so charitable as to think they would save them for a far more considerable sum It 's like some would be so brutish so swinish so sottish and yet but very few neither that would rather starve than leave their sins dwell rather in a Hogs-stie than renounce wallowing in the mire of their follies and live upon bread and water rather than deny their lustful desires and stoop to the meanest lowest and most sordid condition in the world rather than bow to the noble commands of Christ Jesus but one might engage safely for the generality of sinners profit and riches being the great loadstone that makes men willing to do any thing I see how if a Prince or other great person men depend or hope for something from dislike such a sin they are guilty of they can forbear it and comply with their Princes will and devotion I see how a person of quality can frown all his family into seriousness and the most vicious servant he hath for fear of losing his Masters favour and the good place he hath under him will find a way for profits sake to subdue his inclinations and take leave of a sinful pleasure since it is so that
he cannot enjoy that and his Masters good will together And therefore could we promise Temporal Crowns and Scepters and Estates and were we able to perform our promise upon mens quitting of their sins it 's very probable Holiness and Seriousness would be mainly embrac'd and follow'd and what is now out of fashion would be as much the mode then and a person that would not conform to the rules and orders of a serious life would look like an Antick as much as he doth now that dares be truly good in a sinful and adulterous generation But seeing all the Divinity we teach cannot increase their Trade and make their rocks drop with honey and sill their trunks with shining clay they look upon that holiness we press and recommend to them as a very beggarly business and mind it only on the By when they have nothing else to do And this is it confirms them in their fancy That a loose and vicious life is the only gainful life a Maxim notoriously false and which Consideration would soon scatter were it but call'd in to do its office this would represent to them how their gain which hath so ill a foundation must necessarily be a Moth in their Estates and how promising soever their gettings may be for the present they will soon bring a consumption on their fortune and prepares for their greater sorrow and vexation This would represent to them how such gain doth purchase the wrath of God and procures treasures of Gods indignation how it prognosticates a more plentiful condemnation and is a presage of richer flames hereafter This would lay before them that saying of Christ Matth. 16.26 What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul This would shew them their stupendious folly in venturing eternal torment for a little trash and discover to them how dear they buy their plenty Consideration would let them see That a serious life is in despite of all the suggestions of the Devil to the contrary the way to the greatest gain and yields the most durable profit and lays a foundation for riches which grow not old and fade not away and that peace with God is a far greater treasure than all the gold of Ophir and reconciliation by the blood of Jesus a nobler possession than all the jewels and pearls of the Indian Monarchs and that the Apostle was in the right when he counted all things but loss and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Phil. 3.8 This would shew them That Friendship with God and fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ is worth more than Ten thousand worlds and represent to them the groans of the damn'd in Hell who were they to live over their days again would sell all they had to purchase this Pearl and give Ten thousand millions of gold if they had them for this friendship because this friendship would blow out their flames and cool their burning Tongues which all that mass of wealth will not do Consideration would lay open all the riches a serious life procures it would let them see that the intercession of Christ Jesus is entail'd upon 't a blessing inconsiderable in the eyes of the world but which men will one day set a higher price upon when it is too late To have an Advocate in Heaven who answers all the cavils and exceptions and accusations of the Devil against our sincere endeavours who controlls the rage and malice of the enemy steps in while the Foe is arguing against us shews his merits his wounds and the marks of his nails and makes our imperfect services pass for current Coin in the Court of the Highest covers the weaknesses and infirmities of our duties perfumes our devotions with the precious odors of his satisfaction offers up our prayers in his golden Censer throws his garment over us stops the Lyons mouth that 's open'd against us contrives our happiness promotes our interest with God and pleads not to cast us away from his presence nor to take his holy Spirit from us what profit there is in having such an Intercessor none will ere long be more sensible of than those who have been destitute of the benefit of this intercession and indeed none share in that mercy but men that dare apply themselves to that serious life whereof Consideration is the Key Consideration would shew them That this serious life gains the assistance and illumination of Gods Spirit And indeed to have the mind so purged as to see the vanity and emptiness of all sublunary objects the beauty of holiness the odiousness and loathsomness of sin the transcendent excellency of God the designs of Gods Providence the methods of Gods Mercy the reasonableness and equity of his proceedings and to be so assisted from above as to dare to oppose the most pleasing Temptations though they charm never so wisely and to esteem one hours communion with God above all the preferments and glories of the world for in this manner the Holy Ghost assists those that apply themselves to a serious circumspect life he that sees no profit no gain no advantages in this priviledge may justly be supposed to be quite blinded by the god of this world Consideration would let them see that the Promises of the Gospel are other gets riches than plenty of Corn and Wine and Oyl that there is no distress no calamity no misery wherein these Promises cannot hold a Believers head and support him against fainting that these can give content when nothing in the world can quiet the Soul and that these can make men triumph when they are made as the filth of the world and as the off-scowring of all things Consideration would let them see the unspeakable gain which attends the serious sincere and self-denying Christian when he comes to dye This would shew them that the immarcessible Crown of glory the reward of a serious life doth infinitely transcend all that the world can imagine advantageous and profitable Nay Consideration would discover to them That a serious circumspect life entitles men to temporal gain as well as to spiritual and eternal advantages This would shew them that more men are ruined in their estates by a Vicious than there are by a Religious Conversation and that Drunkards Whoremongers Adulterers Ambitious and Quarrelsom men break sooner and oftner in the world than those whose business it is to keep a Conscience void of offence towards God and man This would shew them that this worlds Goods are not ingrossed or possessed altogether by men who slight God and their own Souls but that even many of those who truly fear God have a very large share in temporal plenty and prosperity and that many times men thrive the better for a serious life and a secret blessing attends them plenty steals upon them beyond expectation and as if some good Angel were at work
Go into houses where mad men are kept and see whether thy deportment and practice be not as like theirs as one thing can be like another it 's the character of mad men to choose means altogether unsutable to the end they design if they offer to kindle a fire with shining brass or attempt to build a house without materials or think that a Net will secure them against the bitterest Frost or hope to be Masters of a Trade without learning of it or talk of being acquainted with such a language when they have neither Books nor Men to converse withall we justly look up on them as distracted and would not one think thou art besides thy wits that hears thee hope for Heaven without taking the way that leads to it And talk of being saved when thy actions savor only of preparation for eternal misery To hope to be saved by following the dictates of thy flesh is as wise an act as to hope to be warm by sitting upon Ice or by surrounding thy self with Snow-balls Thou wouldst take that man to be besides himself that should choose to lie all night in mire and dirt when there is a convenient Bed provided for him or that should-prefer sleeping on a Dunghil before reposing himself upon a cleanly Couch And dost not thou act the same madness when thou preferrest lying in the Arms of an Enemy before resting in the bosome of a gracious Redeemer And hadst rather rest in sin more odious and loathsome to God than any Dunghil than delight thy self in him whose service is perfect freedom Can there be greater madness than to prefer Stone before Bread and a Serpent before a Fish And is not thy Distraction as great to esteem a sinful pleasure more than the favour of God And set by the Dross and Dung of this World more than by the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Is this thy wisdom to neglect thy weightiest Concerns and spend thy time in admiring Bubbles Is this thy wisdom to prefer a few drops before an immense Ocean of blessedness an Atom before an Infinite and the small dust upon the balance before Mount Zion which can never be mov'd Is this thy wisdom to thrust away salvation with both Arms and to oppose the endeavours of that God that would even compel thee to come to the Supper of the Lamb Is this thy wisdom to lie in a Dungeon when a Palace is prepared for thy reception And to be enamor'd with deformity it self when thou art courted by him who is altogether lovely Is this thy wisdom to relie on broken Reeds rather than on the Rock of Ages And to trust more to Castles in the Air than to him who is the Ancient of dayes and hath promis'd neither to leave nor to forsake those that call upon him faithfully And when the case stands thus with thee when thou art as mad as thou canst well be sure thou needest not be afraid that Consideration of thy wayes will make thee so Consideration Why this would make thee sober This would bring thee to thy right senses again This would make thee live like a rational man again This would restore thee to thy Wits again This would cure the Distempers of thy Brain This would be so far from promoting that it would chase away all madness and distraction This would clear thy Understanding and rectifie thy Will and Affections and make all thy faculties move more orderly Consideration would let thee see what madness it is to despise him whom thou standest most in need of and to neglect that now which upon thy Death-bed thou wilt wish thou hadst minded day and night This would shew thee what a folly it is to slight the Fountain of living waters and to hunt after broken Cisterns which can hold no water and to esteem a Wilderness a Land of Desarts and of Pits a Land of drought and of the shadow of death a Land which no man passes through and where no man dwells infinitely more than a plentiful Countrey Jer. 2.6 This would shew thee what a folly it is to forfeit the favour of him that must be thy Judge one day and to make him thy Foe without whose mercy thou must fall a prey to Hellish furies to scorn that Provision now the crums whereof thou wilt be glad to gather one day and to mock his kindness now when one day thou wouldst rejoyce at the least smile of his countenance if thou couldst but have it This would shew thee what a folly it is to be ravish'd more with a painted Coronet than with the real glories of a Kingdom and to rejoyce more in the present pomp and adoration of a Stage than in thy right to the reversion of a Crown and what distraction it is to think that the great God who changes not will make those blessed who renounce his bliss and quench Hell-fire for men because they are resolved to run into it to make those like unto the Angels of God that will live like Beasts here and prefer those to this Throne that would not have him to reign over them This would shew thee what a folly it is to make merry at the brow of a Pit and to sing Care away when thy sins call for mourning and lamentation Consideration sinner would let thee see That there is no Wisdom like that Wisdom which makes men wise unto salvation and that those who deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts living soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and that glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ are the only men that are in their Wits and that the rest who forget their calling and walk not worthy of the vocation wherewith they are call'd do really unman themselves and live below their reason This would let thee see that those who give all diligence to add to their faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity and are not barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ are the men that choose the fittest means for the greatest end and that he that works to day in Gods Vineyard and so numbers his dayes that he may apply his heart unto Wisdom and lives like a person that remembers he hath a Soul to be saved is the man who governs his Affairs with discretion This would let thee see that men do pretend to Learning in vain while they are ignorant of mortification of their members which are upon the earth and of that spiritual life which is every mans greatest interest That the Logician who resolves all knotty Arguments is but a Fool while he knows not how to keep himself from the snares of the Devil and that the Grammarian who rectifies the errors of Speech is but a mad man while he takes no care to rectifie the errors
share in that reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ but those that turn to God with all their hearts and with all their souls and are weary of sin and heavy laden with the sense of it and in sober sadness resolv'd to submit to Christs yoke and government for though all mankind share in the possibility of enjoying this reconciliation and the Pardon may be truly said to be purchas'd for them and for their use yet all are not made partakers of the actual possession of it because all men will not consent to fulfill the conditions upon which that reconciliation is offer'd them viz. unfeign'd repentance and sincere obedience for the time to come Shimei was a man condemn'd to death 1 Kings 2.36 it 's like some Courtiers of Solomon got him his Pardon the King grants it but requires this one thing of him that he shall build him a house in Jerusalem and dwell there and go not forth thence any whither and fulfilling this condition without all peradventure he might have liv'd happy and safe as the best of his Neighbors but when he must needs be running after his servants and prefer a small advantage before perpetual safety he justly suffers the punishment the King appointed for him The Son of God by the blood of his Cross hath in truth gotten all Christians their Pardon but is resolv'd none shall enjoy it but those that will forsake their sins and resign themselves to his guidance and direction A reasonable demand a condition so equitable so just so easie that no man in his wits but must say as Shimei unto Solomon The saying is good As my Lord the King hath said so will thy servant do But then if the Pardon the Son of God hath obtain'd for them appear so inconsiderable a thing in their eyes that they do not think it worth enjoying and certainly they do not think it worth enjoying that will not agree to so reasonable a condition no marvel if they fall a prey to that wrath from which the Son of God is ready to deliver them and if their blood be upon their heads that do despight unto the Spirit of Grace and count the blood of the Covenant wherewith they were to be sanctified an unholy thing So that although a true Believer and a sincere Penitent may boldly say with the Apostle That Christ hath redeem'd him from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for him Gal. 3.13 And that ChriSt hath wash'd him from his sins with his own blood Rev. 1.5 And that he hath an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous who is the propitiation for his sins 1 John 2.1 And that Chris't hath made his peace with God Col. 1.20 Yet men that are strangers to the sanctifying work of Gods Spirit cannot be said to have at present during their unregenerate estate any other benefit by the death and passion of Christ but a possibility of all those great and glorious advantages and it 's possible for them to be freed from the Curse of the Law to be admitted into the number of those that shall be sav'd to enjoy remission of sins to escape the wrath to come and to see God face to face in Heaven and all this by virtue of Christ's death if they will but shake hands with their darling Vices and agree to a practical love of their Maker and Redeemer and Sanctifier To think that unconverted sinners do actually enjoy these benefits is to contradict Scripture and to give the Apostles of our Lord the Lye who unanimously tells us That these mercies are not effectually apply'd to the Soul till the Soul by sincere repentance and reformation of life applies herself to Christ Jesus And indeed this is the prodigious mercy of the second Covenant that God for Christ's sake will accept of sincere repentance in stead of perfect obedience which was the great condition of the first agreement between God and man and looking upon the precious blood of his Son will pass by whatever Men have done before if they will be in love with sin and destruction no longer and sincerely endeavor to please him in those commands which design nothing but our interest and happiness These things are not very hard to be understood but the generality of Christians seem resolv'd not to understand them that they may not be obliged to take their ways into serious Consideration This Doctrine That Christ hath freed them from the wrath of God in their sense makes Religion sit soft and easie upon them and doth not disturb them in their sensual enjoyments It 's a comfortable Doctrine to flesh and blood never could any thing have been invented more agreeable to their Lusts and if God had studied to do them a kindness he could not have done them a greater than to let his Son suffer all that is to be suffer'd by them and so after their delights and sinful satisfactions here conduct them into a far more glorious Paradise If it be so truly Consideration is Vanity and the Preachers are Fools and mad Men to press it upon their Auditors But who sees not that this is an invention of the Devil first to darken the sinners understanding and when the Candle is out to rob him of his everlasting happiness And Sirs will you be rob'd thus quietly of your bliss and glory Will you suffer yourselves to be stript of all you have without the least opposition Is it possible for you to believe That the Son of God came down from Heaven to encourage you in offending God and made himself of no reputation for you that you might render your selves contemptible in the sight of the Almighty and dyed for you to give life to your sins and follies How absurd how impertinent how contradictory is this Belief Love God and encourage sin Holiness itself and find out a way to promote iniquity Can there be any thing in Nature more silly or ridiculous This is abusing the Cross of Christ not trusting to it and you that make it an occasion of sin take heed it do not prove a stumbling block unto you and instead of Crucifying sin in you do not harden you in it It is a thing not unusual with God to punish sin with sin and if Men will be filthy in despite of all endeavors to purifie them from their filthinesses to doom them to continue filthy still and to make that their judgment which at first was only their transgression so great a love and written in such legible characters too slighted and abused and made a help to sin improved into licentiousness may justly be supposed to draw down that judgment we read of Isa. 6.9 10. Go and tell this People Hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this People fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert
and the wit of Man can use against it This sure makes it more than probable that it is a Plant which God himself hath planted in the Soul Would he consider with himself I believe there is a God and I cannot but allow that God impartial justice To deny him this is to deny him Perfection and consequently to deny his Being for the notion of a God implies absolute perfection If this God be just how shall I judge of his Justice I have no other rule to go by but that justice which all Mankind believes to be justice If God be our Governour as certainly none hath greater right to it because in him we live and breathe and have our being he cannot but be a righteous Governour and how can he be a Righteous Governour without distributive justice without making a just difference by rewards and punishments between the obedient and disobedient and When I see God makes no just difference in this life by rewards and punishments between those that serve him and those that despise and contemn his Will what can I conclude but that he intends to make it in the life to come or after this life is ended Which way he intends to do it is not material for me to know as long as I am assur'd that this Soul I carry within me will be the principal subject of these joyes or miseries He is most certainly able to preserve that Soul which he hath made capable of being govern'd by moral Laws and Precepts and to be wrought upon by moral perswasions into obedience to his Laws he is most certainly able I say to keep our Souls in being even when they leave the Earthly Tabernacle of their Bodies and to punish or reward them according to their Works these Souls being the principal Agents in good or evil and he that was able to create the Body is certainly able to raise it again and unite it to the Soul that so both may participate of the same fate Nay the necessity of these after-rewards and punishments enforce a necessity at least of Gods preserving the Soul for these rewards and punishments and what way soever God hath to preserve our intellectual part after death it s enough to me or to any rational man that according to the notion and apprehension we have of justice he cannot be just without he doth preserve it either for reward or punishment For that God doth not sufficiently reward and punish Men in this life daily experience gives me sufficient testimonies The wickedest of Men are very often the greatest in the World and those that oppress such as truly fear God swim in all manner of plenty and ease and riches and honour And though its true that such men have sicknesses and dye yet those are things common to good and bad and can be thought no just differencing retributions Those that make it their business to observe Gods Laws labour to approve themselves his most obedient Subjects and his most faithful Servants ordinarily suffer great injuries are unjustly arraign'd condemn'd executed undergo tortures of cruel mockings of scourgings of bonds of imprisonments And their Accusers or Judges may be have all that heart can wish their Eyes stand out with fatness neither are they plagued like other Men or if they be sometimes afflicted the affliction is not at all answerable to the horridness of the crimes they commit How gently do many of these Monsters dye upon their Beds no Lamp expires more leisurely than their breath while the other that meditates in Gods Law day and night dies with disgrace and shame or is most barbarously murther'd and butcher'd Can I look upon all these passages and occurrencies and not conclude another world I must eiher conclude there is no Governour of the World or if there be one that Governour will certainly find a time if not here yet hereafter to manifest his Justice to reward the Innocent and to punish those that bid defiance to Heaven Either Man is a nobler Creature than a Beast or he is not if he be not what means his Reason his Speech his Power to express his Mind and to examine the nature manner ends causes and designes of all things his dominion over all the Beasts of Earth c. If he be we must not affirm that of him which will certainly declare him more miserable than the Beasts whose spirit goes downwards If there be no other World no Judgement to come no after-retribution why is man possessed with the fear of it This fear is a thing of that consequence and hath so great an influence upon Mens Lives that from that fear according as Creatures are either possest with it or want it they may justly be call'd either happy or miserable Beasts I see are not capable of these fears and consequently cannot be disturb'd with the apprehension of such things and therefore must necessarily be more happy and nobler Creatures than Men who are not only capable of such apprehensions but by a natural instinct feed and cherish such thoughts as these And can there be any thing more absurd than to call an Ox or Lion or Elephant a nobler Creature than Man and yet this must necessarily follow if there be no other world Man would be the most miserable Creature in the world being so apt to be tormented with those fears if he did dye into annihilation and he might justly wish himself a Beast and lament that God had put such a clog to all his delights and merriments and accuse his Maker of Injustice or Cruelty for frighting or possessing him with fears of that which never was nor is nor will be Such considerations would most certainly satisfy any rational impartial Man and deliver him from halting between two opinions and convince him that he doth not cease to be when he dies that there is a just Judge and that he will in a short time find it by woful experience if a serious return to God prevent it not that when the jolly sinner banishes all thoughts and contemplations of this Nature from his Mind he turns Monster Changeling Devil nay worse than Devil for the Devils believe a world to come and tremble and it s meerly want of consideration makes him so 3. The same defect makes him wonder at the malapertness and impertinence of Divines that in every Sermon almost pronounce Eternal Flames to be a due and just punishment for Temporal sins Let the vain man but call his thoughts together and summon his understanding to take a view of such Topicks as these Why should I think it incongruous to Gods justice to punish sins committed here with an Eternity of pain and anguish Hath not he power to do with his own what he pleaseth May not he affright stubborn sinners with what punishment he hath a mind to Had I a Servant to whom I were as kind as to my own Child whom I had rais'd out of the Dust and heap'd innumerable Favours upon
of Consideration makes his discourse so loose and wanton It 's this makes him embrace every litle conjecture about the shortness of Hell torments before the solid arguments that evince an Eternity of God's displeasure against stubborn sinners It 's this makes him prefer a May-be before a Real-known-Truth and the man that makes sport with Eternal misery shall he be more acceptable company than the gravest and most judicious Divine whose Reasons he cannot answer Alas did the Drunkard When he comes to himself again Smite upon his Thigh and say what have I done how odious is this Vice I indulge my self in How like a Beast do I live How unworthy of that Reason which the wise Creator hath bestowed upon me How unworthy of those Mercies I daily enjoy How would many of the sober Heathens have scorned a temptation to such a sin What follies and extravagancies doth it involve me in How do I prostitute and expose my self to the contempt and scorn of Men that know me How can I hear the Apostle protest that no Drunkard shall enter into the Kingdom of God and go on Will not God take an account one day and examine how I have spent my time and can I spend my time worse than by exceeding irrational Creatures in sensuality What brute but a Swine would disorder it self as I do my Body What can I plead in excuse of so soul a crime ls this renouncing the Devil and all his works as I vow'd to do in Baptisme Is this adorning the Gospel of my Saviour as my Profession requires If I fear not Hell-fire why do not I fear impoverishing of my self and Family How do I dispose my self for all manner of sin by this enormity What crime is there that I am not fit for when my Reason is overwhelmed with Drink How do I embezel the Gifts of God when I abuse his Creatures thus How do I pervert the end of Gods bounty when I make that to ruine and destroy my nature which was intended to preserve it What difficulty is there in leaving so gross a vice which threatens so much mischief and misery Is it such a pleasure to make a Pond of my Body is it such a pleasure to deprive my self of Reason Is it such a pleasure to be laught at by all men that maintain Sobriety What hurt hath God ever done me that I should thus wilfully affront him How soon might I vanquish this sin if I would in good earnest resolve to be allur'd by my old companions no more And why should they be dearer to me than my God my Soul and a good Conscience Will these companions save me when I come to dye Will it not be far more comfortable to have none of this load to burthen and oppress my Soul What if God should strike me dead in a drunken fit Doth not Dives his calling for a drop of water to cool his burning Tongue affright me How do I prepare for Diseases by this Vice and if there were no Hell no Judgement to come how should the inconveniences which attend this sin discourage me Lord if neither the Plagues which wait upon the offence in this World nor the terror of that which is to come can disswade me how justly may God pour out all the Vials of his wrath upon me How justly may he plunge me into the Red Sea of his Indignation and leave me to the rage and malice of that Divel whose voice and suggestions I do now obey Did the sot but blow those sparks of Reason he hath left into such considerations as these how horrid how nauseous would the sin appear but want of consideration makes him transform the Image of God into the Image of a Beast and makes him drink away the Poors relief and his own Estate This is it makes him a Thief for he robs the poor and sometimes hiS own Family of that sustenance and support he owes them as he is a Man and pretends to be a Christian this is it makes him laugh when he should wish for rivers of Tears and for a Fountain of Water to deplore the sadness of his condition on here and the more dreadful state of his Soul hereafter Did the swearer but seriously consider what a foolish weak sordid and impertinent thing it is to mingle profanations of God's Name with his Speeches he would soon take pains to avoid it and set a mulct upon himself for running upon the same Rock again Would he but think good God! how irrationally do I act if I believe there is a God what can I fancy that God to be sure I must fancy him such a Deity as the Heathen worshipp'd one that hath Eyes and sees not Ears ' and hears not a Deity of Brass or Stone that I can securely play withal a Deity that 's not at all jealous of his Honour and Glory and can sit down under every affront that 's put upon him should the meanest of my Servants make use of my name in every trifling discourse in every foolish story and whenever he is pettish or peevish I should take it very ill at his hands and why should I think God will endure that from me which I would not allow in my Foot-Boy or Valet de chambre I must confess there is no bait no temptation to this sin He that robs upon the high-way is tempted by an apparent profit that the Covetous huggs his Gold and pays Adoration to his Money as to his Saint That he beholds the Sun when it shines and the Moon walking in brightness no marvel for he sees it hath a kind of Almighty power can make foes friends unlock Gates break the strongest Barrs give him admission into company of the highest quality c. The dissembler hopes he may save his credit and reputation and fortune by not speaking what he thinks but in swearing I can have no prospect of advantage and I must only act the Devil love sin for sins sake Fornication and Adultery do yet pretend some pleasure but this I cannot do in swearing the greatest Masters of pleasures never reckon'd this sin as an ingredient of carnal satisfaction and though there is no real necessity for any sin yet for this I can pretend no necessity at all were a knife set to my Throat were my Life in danger were I to dye presently upon the spot if I did not swear I might have some colour of argument for it but when there is nothing compels me to it but my own wilfulness I deserve no pitty no compassion if God lashes me with the severest Thunders ' There is no sin that 's more in my power to avoid than this the most barbarous Heathen can shun it and shall I pretend impossibility I see it engages me to very great uncivility I cannot but offend all sober company by it they must needs be uneasy in my society and to hear God abus'd and how ill I do with to my own Soul cannot but grate upon
Soul Is this giving all diligence to make my calling and election sure when I am infinitely more concerned how to secure a small sum of Money than I am to secure those Treasures which fade not away Will God give a reward to Men that stand yawning and stretching themselves in his Vineyard unresolv'd whether they shall work or no A reward indeed they shall have but such a reward as hypocrites receive a reward from which Good Lord deliver us And am I so stupified that nothing of all this can move me neither the Glory of God nor the interest of my Soul nor all that can be said against my want of Zeal and fervency of Spirit Were these reason laid home by serious consideration it would rowze the Soul from her slumber and make her see how dangerous her rest is and how deer that sleep will cost her she is for the present lull'd in if it be not suddenly dispell'd and scatter'd but want of consideration makes the careless sinner fancy God such a one as himself one that is pleas'd with his indifferency in Religion as well as himself this is it makes him entertain very gross absurd and unreasonable conceits concerning that all Wise most Excellent and most lovely Being despise a Treasure of infinite value trample on the pearl of price and forget what the hope of God's calling is and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance is in the Saints Had the Covetous but a Heart to think with himself vain foolish man How loath am I to confess my self guilty of this vice How do I deceive my self with the fair names of good Husbandry and Frugality but will these delusions stand the fire Will these Paper Walls be proof against everlasting burnings if there be such a sin as covetousness and that sin so odious to God and his Holy Angels as Christ and his Apostles make it and so great an impediment to everlasting happiness as the Scripture represents it it must needs be worth knowing whether I am infected with this plague especially since my behaviour and actions look as if I were why should the Apostle call this sin Idolatry but because it makes men set their affections on the World more than upon that which is to come and more on their Riches Estate or Incomes than upon God and everlasting Glory whereby God is robb'd of his Honor and that high Esteem and Love which is God's due as he is God is given to be creature which in Gods sight is Lighter than nothing and vanity and is not this my case How is my Soul fix'd upon this World How close doth my heart stick to the profits and advantages it affords How is my Soul bound up with my Corn and Wine and Oyl How do I fancy that all my happiness is gone when these outward comforts are gone Did sin ever grieve me a quarter so much as a temporal loss Did offending a Gracious God ever cost me the tenth part of the Tears I shed for being deprived of a little shining Clay How hearty is my joy under the blessings of Gods left hand How little am I affected with the blessings of his right How far greater satisfaction doth my thriving in the world give me than my thriving in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ How loath am I to honour God with my substance How unwillingly how grudgingly do I part with any thing considerable for Charitable uses How loath am I to part with any of this worlds Goods for Gods service How happy do I count my self when Religion doth cost me nothing How loath am I to be any at charges for Heaven How doth it grieve me when I spend any thing upon Religion How do I dote upon these sublunary vanities How far greater pains do I take to be rich than to be happy for ever How can I dispense with a sin for profits sake How little of my desires and breathings hath God and a bleeding Saviour How dull am I under the most lively descriptions of the joys of Heaven How dull under the stupendous offers of Grace and Mercy How dead under the joyful message of pardon How dull when tempted by all the ravishing arguments of Gods love to love him above all What means my unwillingness to take God for my greatest portion What means that quickness sagacity and wisdom when my Riches Plenty or worldly prosperity is concerned and that strange dumpishness when God courts and beseeches my Soul to lay hold on Eternal Life Are not these evident signs that the World draws and attracts my Heart most powerfully God sees my Heart is not upright with him he sees I am afraid to take up with him alone he sees how covetousness hath possess'd my Soul and can I cherish this root of an evil in my Breast and not tremble at the danger my Soul is in Am I by the Apostles verdict an Idolater and do I make light of so great a guilt if no Idolater must expect a Crown of Glory alas what can I look for but Eternal Darkness when I read that it 's easier for a Camel to enter through the eye of a Needle than for a rich man who sets his heart on his Riches to enter into Heaven am not I frighted with the expression I find how this sin deprives me of a Holy communion with God and shall I loose my greatest comfort and support and satisfaction for it If any man love the World the love of the Father is not in him and can I be contented without the love of God if God be not my friend what doth the friendship of the whole World signify When my Soul must leave this Tabernacle and appear before Gods Barr O God I shall have so many witnesses against me that I shall not know what to say or whether to betake my self for refuge the Poor will accuse me because I have not open'd my Hand and Heart to them my own Conscience will accuse me because I have not been a good Steward of the means God gave me the Ministers of God will accuse me because whatever was laid out upon my Pride and Lust was thought too little and the least kindness I shew'd to those that wait at Gods Altar too much The Devils will accuse me because having a Soul so great so noble so precious I did employ it chiefly in scraping a little Dross and Dung together nay the Lord Jesus will accuse me because his example of contentedness and Heavenly mindedness would not allure me into imitation God will accuse me because having furnish'd me with all the motives and encouragements imaginable to mind Heaven more than Earth I preferr'd this Earth before all the joyes of Heaven and how shall I bear up under all this weight Would the poor deluded Worldling but let such thoughts sink into his Heart what a damp would it strike on his strong desires after the World and how would it make his immoderate love
to these sublunary Riches break into longings after a nobler Inheritance but neglecting this he Serpent-like feeds on Dust and prepares for anxiety discontent and vexation of Spirit and for a miserable death like a Hog lies rooting in the Earth and buries his Soul in a Chest of Money despises all admonitions to Charity and like the Smiths Dog can hear the hammering and beating of his Master and endure the sparks flying about his ears without being stirr'd or concern'd at it Hypocrisie is a sin which the painted Christian does not easily part withal yet would he reflect like a person that hates to sow pillows under his own Elbows can I read Christ's discourses against the Pharisees and not ask my own heart whether the Pharisees temper be an emblem of my complexion Have I no self-end in any Religious Duty What is it puts me many times upon doing good applause from Men or the love of God Do not I pretend God's Glory sometimes when I aim at nothing but mine own Do not I draw nigh to God with my Lips when in my heart and conversation I deny him Do not I by pretending to please God neglect my Duty to my neighbor Am not I more severe in pressing the lesser concerns of Religion than I am in urging the greater Doe not I commend that in a rich or great man which I can reprehend in my inferiors or meaner persons Do not I require those Duties of other men which my self am loath to practise Do not I applaud my self for my own sanctity while I despise others whom I fancy not so Holy as I am Am not I more curious to know other mens conditions than mine own Am not I more zealous in publick than I am in private Am not I Religious for filthy lucre's sake Do not I make a gain of Godliness and use Religion as a cloak to cover my secret sins Do not I make Devotion a scaffold to erect my own credit and profit by What is hypocrisie if this be not Though I can hide it from the sight of Men can I conceal it from him who knows my down-sitting and my up-rising and understands my thoughts afar off Can I remember the fate of Judas and not think of a serious repentance Can I hear the Son of God call so often Woe Woe to ye Hypocrites and hug the sin in my bosom Shall I harbor a Snake there which will sting me into endless gnawings of Conscience How shortly will all these delusions be discover'd Before I am a few days older God may summon me and lay open all my deceits and juglings in Religion Do I think to blind the Eyes of him in whose Book all my Members are set down Is the portion of Hypocrites no discouragement What promise in the Gospel can I lay hold of during this condition They all run to the upright in heart and must I go without these Cordials Must I see others run away with these Treasures while my self can expect nothing but Gods curse and anger Must I see others go to possess the Promis'd Land while I must stay behind in a Wilderness Must I see others gather Manna and feed upon the rich clusters of Canaan while my own Soul must perish for want of that Bread of Life Lord who shall abide in thy Tabernacle who shall dwell in thy Holy Hill He that walks uprightly and works righteousness and speaks the Truth in his Heart And must I have no seat in yonder Mansion No House in that Jerusalem which is above No habitation in that City which hath foundations whose Maker and Builder is God O my Soul stay not here in Mesheck dwell no longer in the Tents of Kedar Away and hate this Garment spotted by the Flesh. Such serious thoughts would check Hypocrisie but the vain man hardens his Heart against them locks them out will give them no entertainment and that makes him serve God to please the Devil and turn Religion into a meer shew and formality burn in Words and freeze in Deeds and like that Son in the Gospel say I goe Sir but he goes not From the Premisses we may easily guess what to think of other sins viz. that the great cause of them is want of consideration and therefore the Holy Ghost likens men that live in any sin or indulge themselves in any transgression to a Horse that rushes into the Battel and considers not what he doth ventures among Swords and Arrows and the greatest dangers without recollecting what will be the issue of it Jer. 8.6 Consideration is the Bridle that must govern our sense and appetite take that away and the Beast runs away with the Rider and hastens him into a thousand inconveniences CHAP. VI. Of the various advantages of serious consideration it 's that which makes a man master of all Christian Duties it helps a man to improve sublunary Objects into Heavenly Contemplations It 's the greatest support under afflictions disposes a man to be a worthy receiver of the Lords Supper Prepares him for an Angelical Life on Earth makes him prudent and discreet in Secular affairs and businesses THough in the preceding Chapters we have already in a great measure discover'd what Men may hope for from Consideration and of what use it is to a truly serious and Christian life yet we must not leave so rich a subject thus without giving an account of some other positive advantages which do render it very desirable to a rational man And 1. It hath most certainly a very great influence upon all Christian Duties whatever qualification Christ or his Apostles require or recommend it 's by consideration of the excellency and dignity of that Duty that Men must expect to arrive to it The first and great Commandment is Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and will all thy Soul and with all thy mind But he shall never be master of this Duty that doth not frequently and seriously consider the immense and stupendous love of God to him and indeed then I may hope to be acquainted with a sincere and cordial love to God when I give leave to such considerations as these to impregnate my understanding O my God can I think of so great so holy so infinite so merciful so munificent a Being and forbear to be enamour'd with thee whence are all my Mercies but from thee thou art the Spring the Fountain of them all Whatever Blessings are convey'd to me by the hands of Second Causes they come originally from thee and thou mov'st and order'st those Second Causes to come in to my assistance By thee have I been upheld ever since I was born when I lay in the shades of nothing thou didst awake me into a Being gavest me a rational Soul a Soul capable of admiring adoring and worshiping thee and ever since thy mercies have follow'd me and thou hast been a pillar of a Cloud unto me by day and a pillar of Fire by night what Parts
Man or can I spend too much time in commemorating so glorious a Favour when God allows me six dayes in the week to follow the business of my lawful Calling cannot I allow one day entire for his service Are the concerns of my Soul so trivial that they do not deserve one day in the week or is Salvation so easy a thing that to spend much time in the contrivance of it is altogether needless I can allow a whole day sometimes two or three for the recreation of my Body and must my Soul have none to feast it self upon God and endless Glory Alas how little do those flashes of contemplating God in the week days which are so often interrupted by worldly businesses warm the Soul how little are mens affections wrought upon by those sits of Devotion except they take a whole day to warm their Souls at the beams of the Sun of Righteousness Alas How little seriousness doe I see in those Families where this day is not Religiously spent where every person is permitted to use their liberty and where the publick Exercises in the Church are not seconded by private Discourses and Prayers and Celebrations of the goodness of God where is my self-denial if I cannot deny my self in my worldly discourses or thoughts one day how can I hope my Spiritual wants and necessities should ever be discover'd to me except I do in my closet apply what I have heard in the House of God and water the incorruptible Seed that is sown in my Heart by self-examination that it may grow and sprout and bear Fruit O the joy the comfort the satisfaction I might reap from the sincere sanctification of this day how quietly might I lye down at night after so sweet a converse with God all day how soft would my rest be having worked in God's Vineyard so many hours how joyfully might I rise next morning and comfort my self with the happy remembrance of the blessings my Soul hath receiv'd the day before Thus to observe and to improve this day would be a Prologue to my everlasting rest a Preface to my Eternal repose in Abraham's bosom a Presage that I should e'r long rest from all Tears and sorrow and pain and anguish and from all the temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil and be admitted into the Quire of Angels to praise him day and night who lives for ever and ever In this manner all other Duties may be compass'd the Beauty Glory usefulness of them thus spread before the Understanding Will and Affections are apt to work upon these Faculties and they being prevail'd upon the Eyes the Ears the Hands the Feet will quickly do their part and shew their readiness to obey the commands of their superior Officers II. It helps men to improve external objects into very comfortable contemplations When I take a view of the Sun and Moon and Stars or reflect on the Air Fire Earth and Water Consideration may furnish me with very excellent Truths and the noblest Lessons of Religion Consideration can metamorphose objects and spiritualize them and find out the secret designs of the Almighty in those Creatures which the sensual man looks upon and like a Beast passes by without any admiration for after this manner it may argue Take wings O my Soul fly up to yonder Heaven where the Almighty hath set a Tabernacle for the Sun which is as a Bridegroom coming out of his Chamber and rejoyces as a Giant to run his race Behold how this glorious Planet when he rises revives every living thing with his kindly beams and will not the increated Sun from whom this bright star borrows his shining rays when he shall rise unto the Spirits of Men made perfect in the last day fill them all with unspeakable joy and gladness and as a dismal uncomfortable darkness succeds when this created Sun doth leave our Hemisphere so think how dreadful how full of horror and disconsolateness that darkness must be which must unavoidably fall on wretched impenitent sinners that would take no warning when the increated Sun shall withdraw from them his beatifical Presence for ever behold this created Sun how many thousand kindnesses it bestowes upon Mankind and doth not this put thee in mind of the Father of Lights from whom every good and perfect Gift descends how much bigger is this shining Body than the whole Earrh and dost not thou remember how before thy God all Mankind are as Grashoppers or rather as the dust of the Ballance nay lighter than nothing and vanity The Sun that he may enlighten the whole World is forced to go from one place to another but thy God at one and the same time without moving his station can fill Heaven and Earth with his Glory Behold O my Soul the next great Light the Moon which the nearer it approaches the Sun the brighter it grows in that part which looks toward Heaven though it becomes darker in that part which looks towards the Earth and when it is opposite to the Sun looses all that brightness it had in its conjunction with the Sun and is only clouded in that part which respects this lower World and dost not thou see a very lively emblem of a converted and an unconverted sinner in this luminary Behold the nearer thou approachest the Sun of Righteousness in purity and holiness the greater luster and the greater happiness thou receivest the Inhabitants of Heaven behold thy brightness and Innocence and applaud it though sensual Men may be think thee all darkness all obscurity because thou dost not wallow in Works of darkness with them they may be look upon thee as mad and distracted because thou art so busy so earnest so zealous to please thy God and spendest so much time in praising and magnifying and glorifying of him but those that dwell in yonder Region of Light and Bliss know that then and not till then thou art master of thy Reason and dost act like a person that 's capable of being made partaker of the Divine Nature On the other side when thou turnest thy back upon God walk'st opposite and contrary to him whatever respect and credit thou may'st have from the World God and his Holy Angels look upon thee as darkness thy understanding which is that part which properly looks towards Heaven looses all its brightness and no marvel for God alone can satisfy it and he being gone that part must needs be perfect night and no marvel if upon this darkness thy love runs altogether for the world and thy affections are altogether carried out after the dross and Dung of this transitory Earth if thy thoughts are all engaged about the World all thy Speeches employ'd about the World and thou becom'st Wise for the World and loosest all thy wisdom for God and for Salvation O my Soul canst thou look upon the Sun and Moon and not remember how differently God deals with Triumphing Saints in Heaven and his militant Church here on
but purifies it doth not straiten the Soul but elevates it doth not clog it but refines it doth not confound it but sublimes it destroys the dross but preserves the Gold and burns away all unclean and inordinate passions and all immoderate cares of this world but raises the Soul above the world and engages it to fly above those things which serve only to fill mens hearts with anguish and vexation Let this object rest a little O my Soul and look upon that Earth thou walkest on this is the place our Bodies must necessarily rest in but when thou seest that center of of all heavy Bodies forget not to think who it is that is thy proper Center and Resting-place This is a groaning bleeding dying Saviour think O my Soul on Solomon what pains that Monarch took to find Rest for his Soul He gave himself to Wine laid hold on folly made him great Works built him Houses planted him Vineyards made him Gardens and Orchards and planted trees in them of all kind of Fruits got him Servants and Maidens procured great possessions of great and small cattel gather'd Silver and Gold got him Men-singers and Women-singers and all the delight of the Sons of Men and whatsoever his eyes desired he kept it not from them Eccl. 2 3 4. c. He withheld not his heart from any joy yet behold when he looked on at the works his hand had wrought he found it was nothing but vanity and vexation of Spirit in all this his Soul found no rest till it came to learn this great lesson Fear God and keep his Commandements and then Peace and rest did flow in upon his Soul with a Spring-tide God is thy rest indeed O my Soul and when thou canst hide thy self in the wounds of thy Great Redeemer then then thou art safe and the Gates of Hell are not able to prevail against thee Canst thou see how plentifully the Earth provides for Mankind and forget what provision God makes for thee that thou may'st not miss of the Crown of Righteousness hereafter and when thou seest how all things the Earth produces praise their Creator in their way and shew forth his Glory canst thou be silent or forbear to be perpetually extolling the goodness of that God that hath given thee a tongue on purpose to speak those praises whereof other creatures make but a dumb shew thou seest how this Earth produces Gold and Silver and if this Earth be so Glorious what will Heaven be if the House which God vouchsafes to his enemies be so splendid what will his own Palace be where none but himself and his Servants shall dwell for ever if the outward Court be so magnificent what must the Presence-Chamber of the King of Kings be if Gold and and Silver by their glittering dazle the eyes of spectators here what will the beatifical Presence of Almighty God doe which is beyond all the shine and luster that Gold and precious Stones afford From the Earth 0 my Soul launch out into the Waters how useful are the Lessons suggested to issue by this Element canst thou look upon water and not reflect on the grace of God which hath appear'd to all men how this washes the Souls of Believers from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit how it quenches the fire of sinful Lusts in men how it takes away mens thirst and greediness after there sublunary comforts how it cools the Soul under the greatest heat of misery how it makes many of one mind as the innumerable Atomes of Flower goe together in water to make up one loaf of Bread and unites millions of Men under one Head the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold the Springs and Fountains which like Pearls adorn the curious Fabrick of the Earth canst thou call them Fountains and doth not that name put thee in mind of the Fountain of life the Fountain of Wisdom the Fountain of living Waters and the Fountain open'd for the House of Juda and Jerusalem for Sin and for Uncleanness doe but think what riches flow from that everlasting Spring Thy God is the very Fountain of all Beings in him and to him and through him are all things he depends on no Causes he hath need of no assistance nothing can hurt him but all things depend upon him he is the beginning of all things without a beginning the end without end the great Cause without a cause infinite unlimited immense and incomprehensible Refresh thy self O my Soul in this never-fading and inexhaustible Fountain admire him serve him love him desire him despise all other things in comparison of him for he alone can supply all thy wants and necessities content thy affections here and fill thee with everlasting comforts hereafter III. It wonderfully supports men under afflictions for our impatience lies in our minds and when the disease begins then its fit the cure should begin but which way should the mind be cur'd but by Consideration it's this must answer all the objections that Flesh and Bloud suggest to the mind it 's this must silence all the arguments which seem to justify our murmures against the dismal providence we meet withal and the thoughts which cause our discontent must be expell'd by thoughts of our demerits and Gods justice and without all peradventure that man shall be able to bear his tribulation better that thus reasons the case with himself why art thou cast down O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me hath thy God a hand in this affliction or hath he not if he hath not where is his Providence if he hath why dost thou grumble Doth not thy God know better what is expedient for thee than thy self Is he all wise and doth not he know what medicines are fittest for thee thou art his creature and may not he do with his own what he pleases thou hast sinn'd against him and must not he correct thee thou hast affronted him and must not he use his Rod thou hast forsaken him and must not he shew his displeasure against thy ingratitude dost not thou correct thy Child when he is stubborn and dost thou let thy Servant goe without chiding that doth neglect the business thou hast recommended to his care may be thou hast serv'd thy God and led a sober life but was it a life so blameless that it had no defects and must not those defects endure that fiery Tryal that they may be burnt away Hast thou receiv'd the good at the hand of the Lord and shalt not thou receive the evil also how long hath God spared thee who might long ago have poured out the vials of his wrath upon thee hast not thou reason to thank him for chastising thee but now who might have done it much sooner Alas why shouldst thou think he doth thee wrong by sending this cross upon thee who hast deserved no less than damnation are not Rods gentler than Scorpions and drops of Gods anger more tolerable than flouds of his
displeasure thou art in pain but what is this to Hell-fire thou art in torments but what is this to the Agonies the unhappy Spirits in the burning Lake endure how great a mercy is it that it is not worse with thee The Waters of Marah which are but to the Ancles now how soon might God increase them to the Knees and make them a River that could not be pass'd over and he that doth but frown now how easily might he thunder Consider O my Soul thou art not call'd to Persecution to Gibbets to Fire to the Sword to Grid-irons to wild Beasts as the Martyrs of old were if thou complainest now what wouldst thou do if thou wert call'd to Martyrdom Look upon Jesus the Author and Captain of thy Salvation who was made perfect through sufferings art thou better than the Son of God look upon the Apostles look upon the Primitive Saints that were torn assunder stoned slain with the Sword wandred about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins were destitute tormented afflicted and art thou a greater Saint than they why shouldst thou expect better dealing at Gods hands than they thou art not alone in misery thou hast whole Armies of Holy Men to bear thee company canst thou look upon yonder Heaven and repine canst thou behold that Glory which God hath prepared for thee and think much of these fiery Trials the hopes of a Kingdom makes a Captive Prince merry though he is in prison and shall not the hopes of yonder joys keep thy heart from sinking when a Socrates can chearfully submit to the unjust Sentence of the Athenians upon no other account but this because it was God's will shalt thou who art a Christian lye fretting at thy trouble as if thou meanst to resist and controul God's will wilt not thou give God leave to use that priviledge in his great House the World which every Peasant uses in his Cottage and lay what burthens he pleases on his Servants Shall he say Suffer thou this affliction and wilt thou answer with that ill-natur'd Son in the Gospel I will not Look O my Soul look upon the benefit thou wilt receive by this providence thou wast proud before stay awhile and this calamity makes thee humble thou didst despise thy God before have a little patience and this trouble will drive thee hence to thy Fathers house thou didst play with the bread thy Father gave thee this cross will teach thee how to prize it thou didst trust too much to thine own strength this calamity will make thee relye altogether upon him who hath promis'd not to leave us nor forsake us God knows what thou wantest and how thy wants must be supplyed He prosperity would undo thee he therefore takes it away and like a tender Father cries Do thy self no harm He sees such a blessing would make thee surfeit he therefore wisely prevents thy disease by depriving thee of that mercy He sees such a comfort would be but a Knife or Sword in thy hand and kill thee he therefore snatches it away because he would preserve thee from Eternal ruine he sees thou art too much in love with this world he therefore embitters thy sweet morsels to make thee weary of this barren wilderness and in love with that Kingdom which fades not away Dost thou blame a Physitian because he gives his Patient a bitter potion and wilt thou blame thy God for not pleasuring thy pallate with dainties which would encrease thy distemper wouldst thou followthy Saviour in Sun-shine only and not go with him into the Garden of Gethsemane wouldst thou inherit his Crown of Glory without wearing his Crown of Thorns here wouldst thou be with him on Mount Tabor only and not accompany him to Golgotha wouldst thou be about him only when he rides in triumph into Jerusalem and forsake him in the Desart wouldst thou follow him only while the loaves doe last and abandon him when he wants bread for the multitude wouldst thou own him only when men cry Hosanna and run away from him when they cry out Crucify him wilt thou eat of the same Bread he doth and not drink of his Cup too God would save thee by that burthen which lies upon thee and dost thou prefer a little froth before an Eternal weight of blessedness hadst thou rather enjoy thy good things here than lye with Lazarus in Abrahams bosom God sees thou canst not be happy without this affliction and wilt thou prefer living deliciously for a few days before the rich Banquet God hath prepar'd for his favourites in Paradise O my Soul it s but a little while yet and thy Prison will be changed into a Palace thy Poverty into Eternal Riches thy Bondage into perfect Liberty thy Persecution into endless Joys thy mourning Songs into Halelujahs thy Sorrow into Rivers of Delight Alas what is a Prison God's Presence can make it a Heaven Walls cannot keep out the Smiles and Glory of the Highest What is poverty it may consist with being a Favourite of God and he that hath nothing in this world to boast of may have an incorruptible Crown to lay hold of and be really richer than the weakliest of Mankind What are slanders and reproaches they cannot hurt the Soul whatever injury they only do the Body they come sometimes from Men whose tongue is no slander and this may consist with honour from God and reputation in the Court of the Almighty What is persecution a Cloud which soon passes away and he that chearfully endures it great is his reward in Heaven Despair not O my Soul thou hast to deal with a God who will lay no more upon thee than thou art able to bear but with the temptation will make a way to escape that thou mayst be able to bear it one that doth not afflict the children of men willingly one that will certainly if thou obstruct not his operation by thy unbelief cause all these troubles to work together for thy Eternal good May be thy troubles are altogether Spiritual and thou dost not complain so much because thou art destitute of outward conveniences as because thy God is departed from thee a deep sense of thy sins afflicts thee thou seest the wrath of God hovering over thee and God hides his face from thee thou art afraid thou dost not belong to him thou seest not thy former tokens nor feel'st those Gracious influences which formerly water'd and enriched all thy faculties but hast thou such low conceits of the everlasting kindness of thy God O my Soul why shouldst thou believe he hath forsaken thee when he doth give thee daily testimonies of his Love what greater assurance canst thou have of Gods love to thee and of Christs kind thoughts towards thee than thy weariness of sin Hast not thou heard thy Saviour call Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy loaden and I will give ye rest Art not thou weary of iniquity hadst not thou rather be rid of that burthen than keep
Hosts my Soul longeth yea even fainteth for the Courts of the Lord my Heart and my Flesh cryeth out for the living God when shall I come to appear before thee when shall I shake off this clogg of the flesh and praise thee day and night in thy Temple when shall I be freed from this Earth and Dross and do thy Will O my God without Lett or Interruption O my Soul dost thou believe such a Heaven where no good shall be absent and canst thou be hunting after the husks and empty shells of sensual pleasure how little do the Inhabitants of that New Jerusalem mind the pomp and grandeur of this world they have nobler objects to mind and more delightful employments to take up their minds and thoughts didst thou live more in this Heaven O my Soul how wouldst thou look down upon this Earth as an inconsiderable trifle how little wouldst thou regard what man can do unto thee how contentedly mightst thou part with all that the world counts dear and precious for Christ his sake as knowing that there is laid up for thee the Crown of Righteousness which the Righteous Judge will give to thee one day and not only to thee but to all those that love his appearance Look upon the Primitive Martyrs O my Soul they broyled in Flames but loo'kd upon that Heaven and smiled St. Stephen hath a thousand Stones flying about his Ears but looks upon that Heaven and the Glory of God appears upon his face Abraham sojourns in the Land of Promise as in a strange Countrey dwelling in Tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob but looks for a City which hath foundation and goes on triumphing Moses suffers affiiction with the people of God but hath respect unto the recompence of reward and esteems the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the Treasures of Egypt The Apostles are scourged and beaten for the testimony of Jesus but look upon this Heaven and depart from the Council rejoycing because they were counted worthy to suffer for the Name of the Lord Jesus St. Paul five times of the Jews receives forty stripes save one thrice is he beaten with rods once he is stoned thrice he suffers shipwrack a night and a day he is in the deep in journeyings often in cold and nakedness but what ails the Man he sings his heart dances for joy under all these troubles O my Soul he saw he saw that his light affliction which was but for a moment would work for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory O my God give me but my portion in this Heaven and I desire no more Come what will come Sword Fire Imprisonment Hunger Thirst Nakedness Disgrace Reproach Perils by Sea and Perils by Land Enemies Devils Friends Poverty Sickness Exile c. Here is a Jewel will counterballance all O give me but a room in that great House made without hands Eternal in the Heavens and then cut burn torture and afflict let storms and tempests come I 'll fight against them with my Title to that Inheritance which fades not away this shall quench all the fiery Darts of the Devil this shall bear up my Head above water this shall hush all my discontented thoughts this shall be my refuge in a storm my hiding place in flames my portion in poverty my pillow in great anguish my liberty in prison my cordial in temptations my Elixir in a swound my prop when I stumble my Laurel when it thunders my Rock in persecution my Safeguard in destruction my Light in the midst of darkness my Goshen in this Egypt my Ship under the fiercest Billows my Shield when I am assaulted my Helmet when I am in danger my encouragement when I do resist my Crown when I conquer my Manna in the Wilderness my Food in the Desart my Rose to smell to in a Dungeon my Guide in my journey my Pole-Star in my voyage my Staff in my Pilgrimage my Song in my misery my All when Death and Hell conspire unto my ruine VI. It makes a man prudent and discreet in secular affairs and businesses Consideration as it is a very great improvement of Mans Reason so it cannot but be very useful to him in governing his secular affairs with discretion Consideration makes a man master of his Reason and that man must needs act more wisely that hath his reason at command than he that makes it a slave to every flattering passion and since it is confessed that the fear of God hath that influence upon all humane affairs that it disposes a man to a wise and prudential management of them Consideration must of necessity be of the same Virtue and Efficacy for this fear of God is the immediate product of Consideration I deny not but men wise in Spiritual are not always so in Temporal concerns for either their scrupulous Consciences or fear of having their hearts carried out too much after the world or their giving themselves wholly to Heavenly employments may make them careless and unmindful of things belonging to this world but still in its nature and tendency this circumspection in things which concern a Christians Soul is able to shed wisdom and discretion into his carriage and behaviour to things which appertain to this present life hence from a man who seriously considers he hath a Soul to be saved you may expect great order in his Family a prudent foresight of dangers and a moderate care to shun them great temper in discourse and exact justice in his dealings and rendring to all their Dues Tribute to whom Tribute is due Custom to whom Custom Fear to whom Fear Honor to whom Honor as the Apostle's phrase is Rom. 13. 7. In all probability it was the attentive consideration of his Spiritual concerns that made David both valiant and prudent in matters as he is call'd 1 Sam. 16. 18. and to what can we ascribe Joseph's and Daniel's discreet Government of themselves and their secular affairs but to that Piety and Goodness which by long and serious consideration they had setled in their Breasts When 〈◊〉 mans wayes please the Lord he makes even his very enemies to be at peace with him i. e. He doth not only by an extraordinary providence turn their hearts towards him but infuses wisdom and discretion into his Soul so to behave himself towards his enemies that they cannot but bury their hatred and return to their former friendship and civility Prov. 16. 7. He that considers his ways with reference to his Eternal state and condition his ways cannot but please the Lord and such wisdom if he stand not in his own light will surely fall to his share and hereof we need no other proof but common experience The man who truly minds his everlasting interest and so considers the account he must give to God when this life is ended as to provide for that great and dreadful Audit thinks himself obliged to use what cautiousness he can that he may not wrong
his God his Soul and his Neighbor and this cautiousness cannot but make him prudent in his Secular Vocation hence such a man hath commonly his Wife Children and Servants in better order than other men and mingles that sweetness and kindness with his gravity or severity that they may have encouragement to love him and dread offending a far greater Master in Heaven there is not that discontent that emulation that ill language that backbiting that luxury that extravagance that tumult in such a mans Family as is to be observed in Houses where little of God and Eternity is regarded Such a person spends in his house no more but what is decent and convenient and so provides for those of his own Houshold as not to forget doing good to the Levite and to the Widow and to the Fatherless his Speech is commonly with Grace seasoned with Salt full of meekness and gravity and therefore less offensive and he takes heed that it may not be laid to his charge that he hath bestow'd more to feed his pride and luxury than Christs distressed members and in publick affairs or places of great Trust such a man as minds first Heaven and then Earth usually discovers far greater wisdom in management of State affairs than those who first mind Earth and Heaven when they have nothing else to do for his Principles lead him so to carry himself to man as not to affront his God and to advise his King to nothing but what is truly great and glorious and beneficial for the Realm he governs and as a Prince may confide in such a person more than in a sensual Man so he hath reason to believe that all things will prosper better in his hand than in the others because he first seeks the Honour of God and then the happiness of his King and the Honour of that Nation he is a member of which is a thing so pleasing to God that there is nothing more frequent with him than to bless such honest endeavours and to crown them with success and prosperity And certainly he that can consider how to keep himself from the everlasting evil may with greater ease prevent temporal mischief and danger which depend upon the imprudence of his actions he that can row against the Stream may with greater facility row with it he that can chearfully goe up the Hill will find no great difficulty in going down he that can do that which his Nature hath more than ordinary aversion from may more easily doe that which his nature hath a strong byass and inclination to and he whose mind will serve him to turn away the ever-burning wrath of Almighty God cannot want judgement and prudence to prevent the wrath and anger of those men he converses withal and he that can by serious consideration make sure of a Seat in Heaven cannot want power to consider how to manage the Estate God hath given him in this world to Gods Glory and his neighbors good and though men that are very considerate in their Soul concerns doe not always use that prudence we have mention'd in the concerns of this present world yet it is sufficient that if they will make use of that light and those arguments which their reason thus improved by consideration doth furnish them withal they may most certainly arrive to this wisdom and discretion in secular concerns and businesses which we have been speaking of Indeed it 's very rational that he that exercises his reason much and examines the nature ends causes circumstances and consequences of things as he must do that seriously considers the things that belong unto his everlasting peace should arrive to more than ordinary wisdom in other things and that he that 's prudent in the greater should be able to proceed prudentially in lesser matters that he who is faithful in much should be faithful in a little also and that he who is just in the true Riches should be very just in the Mammon of unrighteousness too as we read Luk. 16. 10 11. CHAP. VII A pathetical Exhortation to men who are yet strangers to a serious religious life to consider their ways wilfulness of their neglect how dangerous it is How inexcusable they are how inhumane to God and their own Souls How reasonable God's requests are and how justly God may turn that power of consideration he hath given them into blindness and hardness of heart since they make so ill a use of it c. ANd now Reader whoever thou art that doest yet wallow or allow thy self in any known sin and art not sincerely resolved to close with the terms of Christs Eternal Gospel let me adjure thee by the mercies of God not to reject or superciliously to despise what here we have propos'd As thou art a man and owest civility to all creatures that have the signature of man upon them be but so kind and civil to this Discourse as to allow it some serious thoughts Either thou hast a rational Soul or thou hast not if thou hast let me entreat thee by the Bowels of Jesus to consider whether this present world be all the Sphere that God intended it should move in If it be not and if how to secure the happiness of the world to come be the chief thing this thy Soul is designed for why wilt thou frustrate God in his expectation why wilt thou goe contrary to all creatures and not prosecute the end for which thy Soul was made and shed into thy Body That there is such a thing as a life to come and an Eternity of joy and torment the one promised to a strict and Heavenly conversation the other threaten'd to a loose and careless or sensual life cannot be call'd into question by him that shall impartially reflect upon the premisses it 's certain the things which concern that other life are not discover'd by our sences and therefore thou canst not hope to be affected with them that way It 's thy reason only that can and must apprehend that future state and so apprehend it as to work upon thy affections But which way is it possible thy reason should so apprehend it as to fright thee from thy evil courses except it be improv'd by consideration Sinner I do here in the presence of God conjure thee by all that 's Good and Holy by the interest and welfare of thine own Soul by all the Laws of self-interest by the Revelations of the Son of God by all that God ever did for Mankind by that love which transcends the understandings of Men and Angels by the groans of those miserable Souls which are now in Hell by all the joys of Paradice by the testimony of thine own conscience by all the motions of God's Spirit in thy Heart by all the mercies thou dost receive from Heaven by that allegiance thou owest to God by that Faithfulness thou owest to thine own Soul I do most seriously conjure thee to tell me whether thou art not able to
consider the evil of thy courses the beauty of Gods ways and the sad consequences of sensuality thou deniest thy own Being deniest Gods Favour to thy Soul deniest the Glory of thy Creation deniest the most visible and the most apparent thing in the world if thou deniest thy ability in this point and if thou art able to consider so much what injustice can it be in God to demand an account of this consideration wherein doth he do thee an injury if he doth ask what thou hast done with this power wert thou in Gods stead wouldst not thou require the same account of thy servant on whom thou hadst bestow'd such a Talent if thou art able and wilt not take thy faithfulness into serious consideration can there be any thing more just in the world than thy damnation how easy were it for thee to lay home the danger thou art in and seeing it is so easy how just is it with God to let thee perish in that danger thou art resolv'd in despight of all Gods endeavours to the contrary to fall and sink into O Christian how dreadful will it be for thee when Christ shall depart from thee with this doleful exclamation How often would I have gathered thee as a Hen doth gather her Chickens under her wings and thou wouldst not wouldst not This is it that makes thy everlasting torments just O Sinner that God should invite thee to Heaven and thou put him off with this answer I will not that God should carress thee to become his Darling and thou voluntarily and freely list thy self in the Catalogue of the Devils favourites and votaries that God should leave no means untried to melt thy stuborn heart and thou desperately fight against his Heaven and when he would thrust thee into it violently to break loose from him and lay force upon damnation How inexcusable will this make thee What Man what Angel can or dares plead for thee after such horrid wilfulness by it thou shutst up all mens compassion against thee were thy error an infirmity or had invincible ignorance caused thy folly some or other possibly might be moved to speak in favour of thy concerns but that thou knowing the will of God and having power to think what the end of thy courses will be and power to avoid the danger and power to pray for help a gracious God to encourage thee a glorious reward to entice thee Eternity to fright thee the everlasting gulph to startle thee shouldst in despight of all these motives wilfully and maliciously shun thine own cure this is a malady which no creature can justly shed a Tear or frame an apology for Be astonish'd O ye Heavens and tremble O thou Earth ye Angels that rejoyce at a sinners conversion here on Earth O all ye that pass by behold and see whether there be a sorrow as such a sinners sorrow is We have read of men that have eaten their enemies of Monsters that have devour'd their own Children but here is one devours himself inhumane to a prodigy one that contrives how to shut himself out of Heaven plots how to undermine his everlasting Salvation and studies how to sink into the dungeon of desperation Sirs what is it that we are exhorting you unto is it to dig down Mountains is it to exhaust the Sea is it to pull down the Sun from his Orb is it to reverse the course of Nature is it to work miracles is it to unhinge the Earth or to stop the flux and reflux of the Ocean one would think by the earnestness and vehemency of expressions we are forced to use that it must be something beyond the power of man but no all that we keep this stir for is only that you would consent to be happy contrive how to inherit an incorruptible Crown and think seriously how to escape your own torment and needs there any intreaty for this one would think you should run to us break down the doors of our Habitations pull us out of our studies interrupt us though we were never so busy and importune us as that Widdow did the Judge and follow us day and night to be satisfied the thing is of that importance And O did you but believe an Eternity you would do so Believe why what should hinder you from believing it what arguments can you desire that you have not can there be any thing surer than the word of God can there be a greater witness than the Son of God God cannot deceive you he cannot impose upon you he cannot delude you dare to believe him though you have not look'd into Hell yet certainly there 's one though you have not seen the joys above yet such joys there are and to consider to study to ponder how to arrive to them is the great thing we press upon you as being sensible of your danger sensible that death will arrest you before you are aware of it sensible that many thousands are for ever miserable for neglecting such exhortations O Sirs we do not envy your worldly happiness we dare assure you that it is not any grugde we have against your prosperity that makes us put you in mind of these unwelcome Lessons we have a God calling upon us to stop you in your earnestness for the world woe to us if we give you no warning woe to you if you take no warning If making provision for the Flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof would make you happy if rioting and drunkenness chambering and wantonness and rouling in all the pleasures that your flesh does promise and your fancy pay could contribute any thing to your felicity if solacing your selves in the wanton streams of sensual delights would lead you into Paradise we promise you we would not molest or disturb you in your ways nay if you had not Souls to be saved did your Spirits dye with your Bodies we would not stint you in your jollities But oh can we read how the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men and see you fall a prey to that indignation Can we read how tribulation and anguish shall certainly fall upon every Soul that doth evil and not speak to you to prevent it Can we read how the Lord Jesus will e'r long come from Heaven in flames of Fire to take vengeance of those who have continued to disobey his Gospel and to punish them with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his power and not call to you Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand Can we read how the unprofitable Servant that made no use of his Talent but buried it under ground and would not watch or make himself ready to meet his Master shall be thrown into outward darkness where there is howling and gnashing of Teeth and not beg of you to trim your Lamps and arise from the dead that Christ may give you Light Can we remember how many
thou shalt have it a Crown and it shall be thrown into thy bosom a Kingdom and it shall be thine ask all the Treasures of Glory and they shall not be denied thee from this time forward thy name shall be inrolled among the Favourites of Heaven and in thy Soul as in Jacob's Ladder the Angels shall be continually ascending and descending and thy Head like Gideon's Fleece shall be water'd with the dew of Heaven while the unbelieving World shall be dry and all this shall be thine if my Love my Mercy my Kindness can prevail with thee and engage thee to think seriously what thou must do to please God and to be happy for ever O sinner had those who now lye sweltring under the burning wrath of Almighty God such an offer as this how would they leap and triumph and agree to so reasonable a condition and thank God upon their bended knees day and night and praise him without intermission that he will vouchsafe to receive them on no harder terms than these O sinner is thy heart of stone that it doth not dissolve at this Gracious Message Can the Rock hold out against these bowels of compassion poor stubborn wretch were not thy Heart all steel were not thy Conscience seared how couldst thou forbear being prick'd at the heart hadst thou but the least spark of good nature left in thee what might not these Golden Chains these Silken strings these Cords of Love doe with thy immortal Soul The only reasons that the Servants of Benhadad had to humble themselves to the King of Israel was this We have heard that the Kings of Israel are merciful Kings Sinner hast not thou both heard and seen and seest it to this day that the true King of Israel is a merciful King and will not this prevail with thee to throw thy self down at his feet and kiss his Scepter and consider thy imprudence in deviating so long from the end of thy Creation and Redemption and make thee contented to part with all the strong holds of iniquity within thee and with all imaginations that exalt themselves against the obedience of Christ Jesus O doe not tell me that thou wilt most certainly bethink thy self sometime hereafter when sickness and approaching death shall take thee off from thy worldly businesses Vain foolish man How dost thou know thou shalt live till tomorrow for What is thy life even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away How many thousands are cut off as they are going up the hill in the noon of their days before half their race be run and what Patent hast thou from Heaven that it shall not be thus with thee God laughs at that repentance which men begin when they can keep sin and the world no longer he sees it is forc'd and squeez'd and weak and feeble and will God accept of thy Devotion when thou hast exhausted the cream and marrow of thy Bones in the Devils service How sinner consider thy ways upon thy death-bed Mad man dost thou know what Consideration means the Soul must be in its full strength that considers the sinfulness and sad consequences of her life Doest not thou see how in sickness the Soul sympathizes with the Body how the Mind languishes with the Flesh how weak how feeble the thoughts are upon a Death-bed how the mind is employed with thinking of the pain and anguish and uneasiness of the Body how Mens weakness scarce gives them leave to repeat the Lords Prayer intire without interruption how setling their Estates and disposing of their worldly affairs and sorrow and vexation that they have not managed their secular concerns with greater prudence takes up their cogitations and how transitory and superficial mens thoughts of sin and of another world are except they have gotten a habit of Heavenly-mindedness by a long and constant practice of Holiness in the time of their health and liberty before And doth Salvation deserve no more but a few slight and skin deep reflexions when thou liest a dying Canst thou have such low thoughts of everlasting Glory as to let Consideration of it come behind all the satisfactions of thy flesh Canst thou entertain such pittiful sneaking conceits concerning that mighty Heaven God out of his singular and unparallell'd mercy hath condescended to promise to his Saints as to delay thy contemplations and thy taking a view of it till thy Heart-strings break and thy throat begins to rattle and the House is falling Goe ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Alas when men are a dying the time of working is past that 's the night wherein no man can work that 's the time indeed to reap comfort of our former conscientious practises but not the time to work out our Salvation in that 's the time of rejoycing because our redemption draws nigh not the time of setting out from the Gates of Hell that 's the time to finish our course with joy not the time to begin a Holy life Alas the strength and vigor which must be used in a Heavenly conversation is then gone and men are just upon the point of reckoning with God their accounts must then be ready not to make up so that if thou art not ready now to take thy Spiritual concerns into serious consideration thy heart will be hardened every day more and more and the longer thou livest the less mind thou wilt have to set about it and if thou dost not think it worth thy trouble to spare now and then an hour from thy worldly businesses to mind this one thing necessary thou doest as good as tell God that thou wilt have none of his Heaven and judgest thy self unworthy of Eternal life O Sinner the present time is the day of Salvation this is the acceptable time now strike and thy sins will fall now strive and the Crown will be thine now fall to work and promise thy self Eternal Rest thou canst call no time thine own but the present time that 's only in thine hands make use of that and save thy self from this untoward Generation Extricate thy self from the delusions of the flesh take courage and be gone stay not in Sodom now accept of Mercy now lay up thy Treasure and secure thy right to the Tree of Life now remember thy Creator and God will remember thee when he makes up his Jewels and spare thee as a man would spare his own Son that serves him Hear then this Men Fathers and Brethren the God of your Fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob hath sent us to you to tell you that his Supper is ready and the doors are open and the Guests are come and yet there is room and that you may fill the room which is left is the message we come to acquaint you withal from him who delights not in the death of a sinner but would have him turn and live Hear this ye
Great ones ye Nobles ye Mighty Men and consider your ways Consider whether that voluptuous life you lead is like that life which that Saviour in whom you pretend to believe doth prescribe in his Gospel Consider whether you are not obliged to practice all those Vertues and Duties that the meaner sort perform and whether in framing to your selves a new way to Heaven a way different from what the word of God doth represent you are like to be happy in those Castles of Air you build and like to arrive to that Glory which you wish for and hope to be receiv'd into Consider what your pride and sensuality will at last conclude in and whether you will dare to brave it at the great Tribunal as now you doe on Earth where you have no body to controul you Ye that are Magistrates whom providence hath placed over others to execute justice and to shew a good example Consider your ways Consider how heavy your connivance at the most notorious sins Sins that offer to pluck even God out of his Throne will lye upon your Consciences one day Consider what hurt you do how many Souls you ruine by your debauch'd and luxurious lives Consider whether you can satisfy God as easily as you can do Man and whether that injustice that oppression that covetousness that lewdness you make nothing of now are not sins weighty enough to bear you down into the Burning Lake Ye Learned Men whether Ministers or others who see and know more than the Vulgar do Consider your ways Consider whether that great Knowledge you have will not procure ye double stripes if you improve it not into a higher degree of seriousness than common people use Consider what a ridiculous thing you make Religion if being perswaded and convinced of the rationality of it you doe not express the power of it in your conversations Consider whether building Heaven with your voices and Hell with your behaviour and deportment will not bring down upon you the severest Plagues that are written in the Book of God! Ye that are hearers of the Word and frequent the Temple of the Lord to be taught his Statutes and his Ordinances Consider your ways Consider whether so many entreatings warnings reproofs and admonitions in season and out of season which you take no notice of will not be brought in one day as evidences to justify your everlasting condemnation Consider how God is like to resent your barrenness and unfruitfulness under the richest means of Grace under the droppings of his fatness Consider how justly God may punish your not digesting and applying his Commands and Precepts to your selves with hardness and blindness of heart and whether this judgement be not more frequent than the world is aware of and whether you do not participate of that judgement Hear this all ye that carry rational Angelical Souls in your Breasts Consider your ways Consider what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and loose his own Soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul Sirs you stand upon the brink of a bottomless pit who but a man whose brains are crack'd would not look about himself the least push or thrust sends you thither who would not take some pains to get into a Harbor the Ship is ready to be cast away the Masts are split it 's leaking on every side who would not lay hold of a Plank to save himself from drowning If you know not what to do with that power of Consideration God hath given you marvel not if God takes it away and since you will not bethink your selves how to be freed from sin and misery protests in his anger that you shall not be able to make use of that power any more in order to obtain Eternal life since you will not take up that sword of the Spirit to cut the cords of Sin and Disobedience no wonder if God blunts and dulls the edge of it that it shall be of no use to you when you would employ it O Christians there is no jesting with a merciful God where the greatest mercy is scorn'd and rejected what can ye expect but the severest judgements Be wise therefore before the black Decree be irreversibly Signed and Sealed against you you 'll bless the hour and the day which bears the Date of your entire and sincere agreement to Gods Will in this particular and when you shall find by blessed experience that this serious consideration of your ways is the Gate to Paradise you 'll admire the Bounty Wisdom and Goodness of God that moved your hearts to embrace the motion and you will not be able to forbear breaking out into singing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb Blessing Honour and Glory be unto him that sits upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever CHAP. VIII Of Retirement and Prayer the two great helps to consideration Retirement proved to be necessary to make Consideration of our Spiritual State more quick and lively Prayer calls in the assistance of Gods Spirit and renders the work effectual A Form of Prayer to be used upon this occasion I Will charitably suppose that the preceding exhortation may have made some impression upon my Reader and made him in some measure willing to think more of his Soul and of the danger it is in and of his Eternal State than formerly he used to do and therefore to shew him how this consideration must be managed that it may in truth conquer and subdue his inordinate affections and make them subject to the best of Masters I shall lay down some necessary helps to Consideration and these are to mention no more Retirement and Prayer I. Retirement Though I readily grant and do commend it too that Men as they are walking with others or travelling or going abroad about their necessary occasions or standing in their Shops or other rooms where company goes in and out may think that the course they have taken hitherto is not safe and therefore it 's high time to change and alter it yet seeing those thoughts are too much diverted by sensual objects and apt to goe no farther than the mind or understanding and reach no deeper than speculation it must necessarily follow that Retirement is requisite to make it reach the affections and to spread it as far as the Life and Conversation By Retirement I do not mean absconding or hiding ones self in a corner in the Countrey or in a Wilderness but retiring in our own Houses Let the place we live in be never so populous to be sure we have Chambers to be private in and as the rich may make their best room a Desart for this work so the poorest may convert any corner in their Houses into a place for this Exercise it s not the neatness of a Closet that cleanses the Soul from filthiness nor the curiosity and convenience of a Withdrawing room that fits the heart for him that
the same manner all other exceptions nay be answer'd and the sinner finding that the reasons he formerly thought invincible are so easily dash'd and blown away is most likely to hearken to the far stronger arguments of God and his own Conscience the rather because he retired on purpose to have a clearer sight of his ways than before he had and since God doth vouchsafe him so distinct a prospect of his Folly and preposterous Love he justly thinks that not to yield to God's reasonings is to mock him and savours of such ingratitude as admits of no excuse Indeed without retirement our Thoughts and Considerations flow at large like Water in the Sea and we can make no great observations concerning them but in retirement they are much like Water in a Weather-Glass and by them we may guess what temper our souls are in whether hot or cold more exactly than men do at the warmth or coldness of the weather by the rising and falling of the liquor in those Glasses In such retirements a Holy awe and reverence seizes on the Soul and when I see men can retire to drink to play to sleep and to debauch themselves I see no reason but they may I am sure they have greater reason to do it retire to consider the good and welfare of their immortal Souls I have already proved that Consideration must be frequent and consequently this retirement must be so too not that a man must never reflect on his actions or mind whether they be good or bad but when he retires No Consideration is either occasional or a solemn and set Duty either a habitual guide or an extraordinary remembrancer the former as it is universally useful and a great means to prevent sin in a true Believer to check him when he would commit it to engage him to repentance when he is fallen to direct him what he must do and to encourage him to those Duties which are proclaim'd in his Ears as necessary to Salvation so it is a necessary companion where ever we are or what ever we are doing and these occasional Considerations need no retirement but then where the stream of man's life must be turn'd or the actions of the day reviewed how far they have been agreeable to the will of God how far they have been contrary to it or where a strict mortification of sin must be used or where a long neglected duty must be made a familiar guest in thy Soul in a word where the work to be done is of some more than ordinary difficulty there those occasional reflections will not serve turn but more solemn considerations must be called in and these solemn considerations are properly the things which require retirement and as its fit they should be used once a day at least so he doth truly mind the interest of his Soul that some time every day retires and considers how he hath behaved himself that day towards God and Man whether his heart hath not been too much carried out after the comforts of this world what incroachment they have made upon his love to God and how they will fill the garden of his Soul with weeds if he do not stop their progress betimes and root them up what company he hath been in that day what he hath done in his Closet what his thoughts words desires actions affections have been that day whether he hath not been more concern'd for the trash and perishable riches of this life than the Glory of God and the Salvation of his Soul and how necessary it is for him having had a fall that day to be more careful and cautious and circumspect the next This Consideration is the pulse of the Soul which while it is beating it 's a great sign that there is life in the Soul and a good argument that God will increase and enlarge that life And as edification and progress in goodness ought to be the real design of retiring from the World so it doth necessarily import that men ought to chuse the liveliest hours or the hours when their Spirits are most active and freest from drowziness for so great a work When men are drowzy and sleepy Considerations may often come in but they are so weak and faint that they leave the Soul as cold as they found it and put it into the circumstances of that man in the Gospel who took Men for walking Trees saw something but knew not what to make of it or what name to give it While I am discoursing thus methinks I see the sensual Reader smile retirement thinks he this were to make my self a prisoner in the soft times of Peace and to deprive my self of that freedom which God and Nature have given me This were to goe into a Monastery and submit to the se verities of a Convent this at the best can only befit a Priest but can be no qualification of a Gentleman indeed if Gentlemen had no Heaven to gain no Hell to avoid if God had made them Beasts as too many doe make themselves we should not be displeased at this rambling talk but it 's an old trick where men have an aversion from a Duty to represent it in a dismal dress and to take off the burthen from their own Shoulders and to bind it upon others If they could satisfy God with these shufflings as easily as they doe their own Consciences they were safe but that the great day must decide and when the Archangel shall sound his Trumpet to gather the dead from all parts of the world and God who prescribed to all Men but one way to happiness shall make a strict examination how every one hath observed the Rules and Statutes of that way it will appear that this retirememt in order to a serious pondering of our actions was a duty incumbent on some people else besides Ministers He that retires upon this account doth indeed imprison himself but it is that he may attain to true and perfect liberty triumph over the slavery of sin lead his corruption captive and free himself from the dreggs and dross which corrupted Nature hath brought upon him Little doth the sensual man think what felicity he robs himself of by scorning this retirement Here Heaven would look more beautiful to him than in a croud here he might in a manner with St. Stephen see the Heavens open and his Saviour standing at the right hand of God here he might truly enjoy himself and look with pity on those men who like Spirits which are sometimes seen in Mines with great labour doe nothing at all to any purpose and when they have tired and wearied themselves in the world like Flies burn themselves in that candle about which they have been hovering Come sinner prepare thy Pencil mingle the richest Colours thou canst get Draw thy sinful careless life give it a beautiful Virgins face Draw all the charms that thy fancy can find out here Draw the Adoration the world pays unto her there
and send his Spirit so to move upon her affections so to actuate her endeavours so to encourage her with promises that it may not lye in the power of the Devil nor in the power of her Lusts to gain-say or contradict or dash the resolutions she hath taken where the Soul doth with strong desires pour out these her requests before God the good Father opens the Gates of Heaven le ts in the Messenger makes him welcome smiles upon him and sends him back laden with Mercy and puts words into his mouth and bids him tell the Soul boldly from that God who heareth Prayer I have heard thee in an acceptable time in the day of Salvation have I succour'd thee I 'll pour out my Spirit upon thee I will open a river in high places and fountains in the midst of valleys I will make thy wilderness a pool of water and thy dry land springs of water I will plant in the wilderness the Cedar and the Myrtle and the Oil-tree I will set in the Desart that thou mayst see and know and consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath done this and the Holy one of Israel hath created it 2 Cor. 6.2 Es. 41.18 19 20. Up then Christian who art resolved not to let the concerns of thy Soul lye at six and sevens who art afraid to hazard Eternity with the careless besotted world like another Lazarus beg Alms of the King of Heaven Cry aloud and spare not shew him thy wounds thy ulcers thy poverty thy want thy necessity let a greater fervency attend thy Prayer for Spiritual blessings than others use in begging for Temporal Mercies Prayer is the way to be enrich'd with all the Treasures of Heaven seek Gods assistance with tears in thine eyes remember thy Soul is infinitely more precious than thy Body and if a Beggar in the street is so earnest with those that pass by to give him something for the relief of his corporal wants oughtst not thou to be all fire to procure those blessings which will enrich thy Soul for ever Josephs Brethren were pinch'd with Famine because they knew not that their Brother reign'd in Aegypt why shouldst thou starve Christian when thy elder Brother reigns in Heaven who knows what thou wantest and is a faithful High Priest and is touch'd with the feeling of thy infirmities and was in all points tempted even as thou art Come boldly to the throne of Grace that thou mayst obtain mercy and find help in the time of need If God hath done good to others for his servants sake who have pleased him what will not God do for thee for his Sons sake in whom alone he is well pleased if God doth so highly esteem the Piety of Men that he professes for my servant Jacob's sake for my servant David's sake I will be kind to such a one will he derogate dost thou think from the merits and love of his own Son will he harden his heart or stop his ears or turn away his eyes when thou callest upon him for Christs sake to send down upon thee the day-spring from on high Christ is the very object of Gods delight nothing is sweet nothing is pleasing to him but through and in Christ what ever is amiable and acceptable in us it is for Christ his sake that God doth think it so Without light all colours are invisible there is no beauty in them the light shining upon them makes them look lovely and amiable without Christ nothing would appear pure or lovely or great or delightful He that looks on a green Glass fancies all things he looks upon to be green God looking upon our Holy endeavours in Christ Jesus they all appear to him lovely and good because all that Christ did was good and infinitely pleasing to him The world had perish'd ten thousand times if God had not look'd upon it through his Son and so supported it he that looks through a Glass upon a stinking carcass afar off doth not smell the ill scent of it so God through Christ looks upon our imperfections and he smells not the ill savour of our performances Take courage then and lay hold on the horns of this Altar and if thou knowest not what to say when thou hast taken a serious view of thy ways make use of this or some other Form Oh thou who art the Father of the Spirits of all flesh the Father of lights with whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning here lies a poor miserable sinful wretch before thee not worthy to lift up his eyes and hands to Heaven I know not where to look for shame and confusion of face so long have I gone astray from thee so often have I provoked thee so often have I slighted thee so often have I turned thy grace into wantonness so long have I hunted after broken Cisterns which can hold no water forsaking the Fountain of living water that thou mayst justly absent thy self from me for ever so disingenuously have I dealt with thee so often have I endeavoured to blind thy all-seeing Eye and to cheat my self that thou mightst justly cause me to fall a prey to Satan look stern upon me and charge me never any more to see thy face O wretched creature that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Oh my Lord how often hast thou darted Rays of Light into my Soul and the impure fire of my Lusts hath prevailed against them how often hast thou suggested to my Soul the danger it hath been in and yet I have not trembled how often hast thou stung my heart prick'd it and goaded it into serious reflexions and how soon hath this vain world taken me off again and dull'd and dash'd those considerations how often hast thou sent sparks of Grace into my Soul while I have done what I could to smother that Holy fire how justly mightst thou say My Spirit shall no longer strive with thee O my God there is no plague no punishment that 's threatned in thy Law but I have deserved it I only stand amazed at thy patience that I have escaped so long without being consumed and ruined Wilt thou receive such a Prodigal into thy favour wilt thou be reconcil'd to so great a rebel wilt thou pass by unkindesses of so deep a Dye are the gates of Mercy open yet for so vile a wretch Doe not I come too late O my Lord to the throne of Grace will God be yet intreated for such a poor forlorn creature Is there yet compassion left for such a poor sinner O my God I question not thy Power but thy Will to pity such a Traitor as I have been I know thy Mercy is infinite it would be a disparagement to thy Glory and Perfection to deny the exceeding riches of thy Grace thou couldst not be God if my sins exceeded thy power to forgive but when I reflect on thy threatenings how justly thou denouncest wrath
and indignation against all those that obstinately prefer their foolish desires before all the Dictates and Oracles of thy Holy Spirit O have not I reason to fear that thou wilt say of me Cut down this barren Tree why doth it cumber the ground and yet how free how full are thy promises to the truly penitent how full of Sweetness and Love are all thy Gracious Engagements to those that will have no more to doe with Idols that will cleave to thee alone that will renounce themselves and follow thee O my Lord these thy promises are my refuge were it not for these desperation would be my portion I doe in some measure see my folly I see what a gracious tender patient long suffering God I have offended I see how my Soul hath leaned on broken reeds what a sandy foundation I have trusted to how the world hath beguiled me how I have shunn'd thy company been glad when God hath been farthest from my thoughts rejoyced when I have been least of all reflecting on thy goodness I have nothing to plead for my self I have no apology to make the greatest charity cannot excuse my misdemeanors I have had light and darkened it convictions and smother'd them knowledge and abused it reason and perverted it heard thy word and scorn'd it enjoy'd the means of Grace and continu'd blind and hard under them Thy Mercy is my Sanctuary I am weary of my burthen I loath my transgressions I am willing to be rid of them I desire to abhor them but though I am thus willing my flesh is weak my understanding dark my will dull my affections to goodness faint my resolutions in constant Come O my Lord come down into my Soul come quickly O thou great preserver of Men teach me to answer all the reasons of Flesh and Bloud against a serious conversion arm me with arguments to beat down my carnal interest furnish me with motives to a truly Heavenly life motives which may break through all the devils suggestions motives which may invalidate and weaken the prophane motions of my Lusts. Come down thou Sun of Righteousness thou mighty Star of Jacob dispel the Clouds and Mists which are upon my Reason cleer the eyes of my understanding and enable me to see the arts of Sin the wiles of the Devil the snares of the World the stratagems of the Flesh and all the mischief that 's plotted against my Soul by my Spiritual enemies Convince me throughly that to follow thee is my greatest interest that to resist these enemies is my greatest safety that to watch against their charms is my greatest felicity O let me apprehend sin as it is the greatest evil let it appear very terrible to my mind represent unto me Heaven and thy Love and all that thou hast done for me in such lively colours that neither death nor life neither good report nor evil report may separate me from thy love O let thy kindness and the benefits of thy Sons death and passion and resurrection appear to me in such characters that I may long to be fill'd with all the fulness of God Thy Spirit is perfect Light and there is no darkness with him O let that glorious Light dissipate that gloominess those foggs that confusedness that is in my intellectual part make me conceive clearly and distinctly what I must do to inherit Eternal life and how I must carry myself to God and Man Give me such a sight of thy Glory as may lift me up above the world and engage me to have my Conversation in Heaven Bow my Will to conform entirely to thy Will I would not be mine so much as thine Come Lord and take the government of my Soul into thy hand I have too long suffer'd my self to be guided by merciless Tyrants art thou not my Master my Prince my Father thou hast the greatest right to rule me Incline my Will unto thy Testimonies and not to Covetousness when my Will would wander from thy Precepts cross it and put a stop to it that it may not goe beyond the limits of thy Law O heal my affections they hanker too much after this Earth O make them in love with Heaven chide them for deserting their highest and their chiefest good let my hatred pitch upon no other object but sin let my Love be carried out after nothing so much as thee and if I love any thing besides let me love it only for thy sake let my hopes be fixed upon immortality engrosse thou my desires let me fear none but thee let my chief delight be in thy ways and ordinances strengthen my resolutions O deliver me from that fickleness I have so long been guilty of make my purposes firm let them be as the Mountains of God which can never be moved let nothing be able to weaken my good intentions give me courage to fight the good fight O Lord in thy strength I 'll resist by thy Power I will conquer my heart hath lock'd the out O knock again and if it will not yield break open the door and let all my corruptions vanish at thy Presence O Lord I beg no Riches no Honours no Preferments if I have but Food and Raiment I will learn therewith to be contented it s thy Grace I want establish me with thy free Spirit give me spiritual Wisdom even that wisdom which makes me wise unto Salvation thou art nigh unto them that call upon thee yea unto all such as call upon thee faithfully O cast me not away from thy Presence I am thine O save me order my steps according to thy word when I read it let me read it with that attention as to observe and take notice of what thou dost command when I hear it let me hear it as if it were the last time that ever I should hear it let thy Oracles make deeper impressions on me than ever dash all those evasions and excuses I used to alleage when I have had no mind to obey thee let the good motions of thy Spirit prevail O that there should be such difficulty in conquering a poor sinner O that God should be forced to carress me to my happiness O that Heaven should attract me no more O that God should need to send out messengers to entreat me to come to the Supper of the Lamb Lord take away this dulness make me mount up with wings as Eagles Let me not be able to goe out of thy Presence till I have fully and unfeignedly resolved to give my self up to thy service O Jesu the light of the world who enlightenst every man that comes into the world where thou dwellest there Mercy dwells O dwell in my Soul and Mercy and Truth will kiss each other there teach me to hate my self not only for the hurt I have done to my self but for the injuries and indignities I have offer'd thee I was a horrid monster thou by thy death madest me a pleasing spectacle in the sight of Heaven I lay