A WORD to SINNERS And a WORD to SAINTS The Former tending to the awakening the Consciences of secure Sinners unto a lively sense and apprehension of the dreadfull condition they are in so long as they live in their Natural and Unregenerate Estate The Latter tending to the directing and perswading of the Godly and Regenerate unto several singular Duties As also a Word to Housholders stirring them up to the good old way of serving God in and with their Families from Ioshuah's resolution Josh. 24.15 As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Set forth especially for the Use and Benefit of the Inhabitants of St. Sepulchres Parish London By Tho. Gouge Late Pastor thereof LONDON Printed for George Sawbridge living on Clerkenwell-Green 1668. To my dearly beloved Friends the Inhabitants of St. Sepulchres Parish London Beloved Friends TO further the salvation of mens souls as it is a most excellent work so it ought to be the study and endeavour both of every Christian in his place and calling and especially of the Ministers of the Gospel whose office and function calls upon them more importunately to labour therein Now since Regeneration is absolutely necessary to Salvation and that there can be no entrance into the new Ierusalem without a new birth I have according to that ability which the Lord hath given me set forth in this small Treatise the nature and necessity of Regeneration together with the Means on your part to be performed for the better attaining thereunto Most of these truths have been Preached in your hearing and now they are presented to your sight that thereby you may be put in remembrance of them and more thorowly affected with them Though I cease to be your Minister yet I shall not cease to do what in me lyeth to further your eternal happiness It was my hearty desire of your everlasting welfare that first put me upon Preaching on this Subject and the like desire hath ingaged me to present the same to your view Herein have I set before you Heaven and Hell Happiness and Misery Oh that you would be so wise as to choose Heaven rather than Hell Happiness rather than Misery That I should adventure these Notes into the World is not out of any conceit that there is any thing extraordinary in them being Conscious to my self of much Weakness but meerly out of that strong affection I bear to your souls welfare For my hearts desire for you is that you may be saved And will the Lord but bless this small Treatise to the Regeneration or Edification of any of your Souls I have the end of all my pains and cost Avoiding all affectation of Words I have used plainness of speech it being alwayes my chief design in the whole course of my Ministry to affect the Hearts and Consciences of my Hearers rather than to tickle their Ears and please their Phansie That I may not detain you longer I shall close this Epistle with three requests unto you 1. That you kindly accept of this small Book which treats on a subject so necessary to your everlasting happiness 2. That you would be pleased as to peruse it your selves so to take some time to read it to your Families If you cannot find leisure on the week dayes than to read some part thereof on each Lords day till you have read it through 3. That you would not lock it up in your closets but suffer it to lye in your houses where your Children and Servants may peruse it as they find opportunity Who knoweth how successfull and fruitful this plain Treatise may prove if the Lord shall be pleased to accompany it with his blessing That the Lord therefore would so bless these my poor and weak endeavours that such as are yet in their natural state may be converted that Converts may be improved and built up in that grace wherein they stand is the unfeigned desire and hearty Prayer of Your Servant in the Work of the Gospel who hath been and still is desirous of your Spiritual welfare Tho. Gouge THE CONTENTS THE Exposition of the first verse Page 1. The Observation thence raised The greatest of sinners are oftentimes received to mercy 3. The Exposition of the second verse 4. The Observation thence raised True faith may be exceeding weak ibid. The Exposition of the third verse wherein Christ declareth to Nicodemus the Necessity of Regeneration 7. The Observations thence raised 1. Christ is ready to entertain those that in truth and uprightness seek unto him though their weakness and infirmities be many 8. 2. Regeneration is necessary to Salvation 15. For the Explication of which point is shewed 1. The Nature of Regeneration what it is 16. 2. The Parts of Regeneration 19. 1. Mortification ib. 2. Vivification 20. 3. The causes which concurr to the work of Regeneration which are four 21. 1. The Efficient 2. The Material 3. The Formal 4. The Final 22. The Reasons proving Regeneration necessary to Salvation 23. Vse of Exhortation 1. To the Vnregenerate 2. To the Regenerate 28. 1. To the Vnregenerate that they earnestly desire and industriously labour after a saving change in the use of all means God hath sanctified thereunto ib. Quickning Motives thereunto drawn 1. From the Excellency of Regeneration 29. 2. From the Vtility of Regeneration 30. 3. From the Necessity of Regeneration 31. The Means to be performed for the better attaining thereunto brought to two heads 1. The Embracing some truths 2. The Practising some duties The Truths to be Embraced are these 1. That every man in his state of unregeneracy is in a miserable estate and dreadfull condition 33. 2. That there is hope of mercy for the greatest sinners ib. The miseries of the Unregenerate in this life 34. 1. They are Servants to their Lusts. ib. 2. They are slaves to the Devil 35. 3. They are under the curse of God which continually hangeth over their heads 36. 4. They are under the guilt of all their sins 37. 5. They are lyable to all sorts of Iudgements viz. Temporal Spiritual and Eternal 38. The miserable condition of the Vnregenerate at their deaths in several particulars 39. The dreadful estate of the Vnregenerate after their deaths in several particulars 47. Of the particular Iudgement that immediately followeth after death 48. Of the General Iudgement at the end of the World 49. The Person who shall be the Iudge 51. The Manner of Christs coming to Iudgement which will be As in great Glory and Majesty 53. So in great terrour to the wicked and impenitent 54. The Order of Christs proceeding in Iudgement 56. The dolefull condition of the Vngenerate after the Day of Iudgement which in general is most cursed 72. That Cursed estate is manifest 1. By privation of all felicity ib. 2. By subjection to all misery 73. Which misery is set out I. By sundry resemblances as 1. Darkness yea outer Darkness 76. 2. Torment which is the extremity of pain 77. 3. Fire
and manifesting his greatest power in their greatest impotency Yea though sometimes he seems to leave them in their distress yet he giveth such sufficient strength as they are thereby enabled to bear it and well to pass it through This is evident by the Apostles holy triumph in this case We are perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not destroyed The ground hereof is the assistance which God affordeth us and the strength which he communicateth to us IX All things shall work together for the good of the Regenerate And God will do them good by all in the latter end He will turn their losses into gain their crosses into comforts their sorrows into joy their cursing into blessings Those afflictive providences which seem to be most prejudicial unto them will in the issue prove most beneficial As we see in Ioseph The evil which his brethren intended against him turned to his good Their selling him as a slave to the Ishmaelites proved the means of his advancement How did Maâ—asses imprisonment work for his good For the text saith When he was in affliction he besought the Lord and humbled himself greatly and the Lord was entreated of him To know that nothing shall hurt a child of God is ground of exceeding great comfort and consolation But to be assured that all things even all cross-providences shall work together for his good is enough to fill the heart with joy Oh then how great is the happiness of every Regenerate person who may be assured that whatsoever befalleth him shall be for his good and doth work together for the best Certainly he may truly say Soul take thy spiritual ease for here is much spiritual good treasured up for thee X. A blessed death For so saith the Spirit Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord that is in the faith of Christ. Who are blessed both because then they rest from their labours from all their toyl and pains from all their griefs and sorrows As also because their works do follow them through free-grace in glorious rewards The souls of the Regenerate so soon as they are by death separated from the body go immediately into Heaven as is clear from that speech of our Saviour to the converted thief on the Cross This day thou shalt be with me in Paradice which place the Apostle expoundeth to be the third Heaven The word in the Original translated this day implyes that immediately after the breathing of his soul out of his body his soul should go to Heaven And thus it is with all the Regenerate unto whom death is like the red-Sea to the Israelites even a passage and thorow-fair into the Heavenly Canaan XI An happy Resurrection For at the sound of the last Trumpet all the Regenerate shall arise out of their graves like so many Iosephs out of Prison Whatsoever imperfections were before in their bodies as blindness lameness crookedness shall then be done away Though the body was sowen in corruption yet it shall be raised in incorruption not to be subject to any manner of aches pains diseases or imperfections Though it were sowen in weakness it shall be raised in power And though it was sowen in dishonour it shall be raised in glory Here it is many times deformed but then all deformities and defects shall be removed and the body made more glorious through the admirable beauty thereof Certainly if the Beauty of all the Men and Women in the World were concentred in one it would be far short of the Beauty of the Saints in Heaven whose bodies shall shine more gloriously than the Sun in the Firmament XII The last and highest priviledge of the Regenerate is That they shall have an Heavenly inheritance Fathers on earth use to provide inheritances for their Children And the Apostâ—e Peter Blesseth God who hath begotten us to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven The Regenerate in this life possâ—ss Heaven in Christ but hereafter they shall enjoy it in their own persons When they come to enjoy this heavenly inheritance they shall not only be freed from all evils both bodily and spiritual but likewise replenished with all good Their minds shall be inlightned their wills reformed their memories made blessed treasures their consciences purged their hearts purified their affections rectified their bodies glorified and all these perfectly There shall be a blessed communion of all the Saints together who shall enjoy the society of Angels and fellowship with Christ himself whose surpassing excellency they shall cleerly behold and partake of that glory wherewith he is arrayed What tongue can express what heart can conceive the excellency thereof If Peter Iames and Iohn seeing but some small glimpse of Christs glory and Majesty in his transfiguration were so ravished therewith that setting aside all worldly desires they wished only the continuance thereof Then how shall the Saints in Heaven be ravished with joy and comfort when they shall continually behold their Saviour Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of his Father like a triumphant Conquerour having subdued his and his Churches enemies Thus have I shewed you some of the glorious priviledges of the Regenerate Oh happy day may that Man or Woman say as long as they live when God by his Spirit Regenerated them and made them new creatures Many keep their birth day as a day of rejoycing and feasting But they who know the day of their new-birth may well make that a day of rejoycing while they live in regard of the many glorious priviledges whereof they are thereby partakers CHAP. XVIII An Exhortation to bless God for the work of Regeneration And to walk worthy thereof II. A Second branch of the Use of Exhortation unto the Regenerate is To be thankfull unto God for this great mercy Admire the grace of God and bless his name for ever Art thou made alive Is the life of God begotten in thee And hast thou evidence of it O bless God whilest thou hast any being Let thine heart and mouth and life be filled with his Praises Take up the Psalmists words Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits Wilt thou be thankfull unto God for thy natural birth And wilt not thou be thankfull to him for thy spiritual birth wilt thou bless him for that he hath made thee a reasonable creature And wilt thou not bless him for making thee a new-creature wilt thou bless him that thou art not a Toad And wilt thou not bless him that thou art not a Devil Is not Regeneration of all mercies the most necessary And wilt not thou be thankfull for that which is the one thing necessary If the Children of Israel praised God for their deliverance from the Aegyptian bondage how much more cause hast thou
in any condition till you be renewed and sanctified by the spirit of God Aâ—as how many be there in the World who though in their natural and carnal estate yet live as securely and merrily as if their condition were as safe and good as the best Ask them one by one Whether the work of Regeneration be wrought in their souls and some will answer they hope it is others that they never doubted it though none of them know what Regeneration is nor ever minded any such thing And yet these men have not only read but do likewise believe the words of our Saviour who hath told them that except they be born again they cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Ah sinner I beseech thee for the sake of thy precious and immortal soul to stir up in thy self an hearty desire and sincere endeavour after this blessed work As it is the one thing necessary to salvation so let it be the main thing of thy desire and endeavour There is nothing deserves precedency in thy thoughts aims and labours before this David resolved not to give sleep to his eyes nor slumber to his eye-lids till be found out an habitation for the Lord. The habitation which pleaseth God most is thine heart but it must be a renewed heart Oh how darest thou sleep a night in that house where God doth not dwell and he dwells not in thee unless thou beest Regenerated by his holy Spirit In the fear of God therefore see thou give no rest to thy soul no ease to thy mind till thou find a blessed change wrought in thee till thou findest thou art brought out of the state of nature into the state of grace Neither sit down satisfied in the enjoyment of any worldly comfort without the enjoyment of this mercy And indeed how canst thou live merrily or sleep quietly so long as thou livest in thine unregenerate estate in which if thou shouldest die thou wouldest perish for ever even to all Eternity Especially considering the uncertainty of thy life whether thou shalt live a day or an hour longer For the more profitable handling this Use I shall 1. Give you some Motives to quicken up your desires and endeavours after the work of Regeneration 2. Shew you the Means to be performed for the better artaining thereunto The Motives may be drawn to these three heads 1. The Excellency 2. The Utility 3. The Necessity of Regeneration I. For the first the Excellency thereof will appear from these four particulars 1. Regeneration doth enoble a man raise him up towards his Original perfection Man was made the noblest of all creatures in this visible World in the image and likeness of God Sin defaced the Image of God and stamped the Image of the Devil upon him A sinner is a man degenerated into a beast Man being in honour abideth not but is like the beasts that perish He lives like a beast and dies like a beast not knowing whither he goeth Every man is brutish in his knowledge He hath a brutish heart lives a brutish life By grace man comes to himself is raised up from a beast to a man again renewed after the Image of God The spirit of glory and of God shines forth in him There 's more of the glory of God seen in a Saint than in all the works of God under the Sun nay than in the glorious Sun in the Heavens The Sun Moon and Stars fall short of the glory of the new-creature 2. The Excellency of Regeneration appears in that it makes a man a true Christian. A man is not really a Christian because he hath been Baptized beareth the name and frequenteth the ordinances of Christ but because he is Regenerated by the Spirit of Christ and thereby translated out of a state of sin and death into a state of life and peace For as under the law he was not a Iew who was one outwardly being circumcised in the flesh But he was a Iew who was one inwardly being circumcised in his heart and spirit as the Apostle expresseth In like manner he is no true Christian who is only outwardly Baptized but he who is inwardly Baptized by the Spirit and whose heart is changed and renewed 3. The Excellency of this new birth appears in this that it is the beginning of eternal life and happiness even of the same life which we shall live hereafter in Heaven with the Saints and glorious Angels to all Eternity Grace here is not only an evidence of glory hereafter but it is the beginning of that glory which hereafter we shall more fully enjoy in Heaven Grace and glory differ only in degree for grace is glory begun here and glory is grace consummated and perfected hereafter Now considering that this is such an excellent state how doth it concern you as earnestly to desire so industriously to endeavour after it in the use of all means God hath sanctified II. Another Motive may be taken from the Utility of Regeneration If it be demanded What is the profit thereof we may answer 〈◊〉 the Apostle did of Circumcision Much every way For this is that Godliness which is profitable unto all things having promises of the life that now is and of that which is to come that is it hath Heaven and Earth entailed on it and therefore must needs be profitable The Regenerate therefore are called heirs of the Promises Such only have the true riches being rich in faith as the Apostle Iames calleth them As Laodicea was poor though abounding in outward fulness So these are truly rich though destitute of many outward things having an interest in God who is the fountain of all blessings How should the consideration hereof stir you up as earnestly to thirst so sincerely to endeavour after this blessed state III. Another Motive may be taken from the necessity of Regeneration It is absolutely necessary to Salvation It had been better for thee never to have been born than not to be born again It is as necessary as Heaven and happiness For saith our Saviour himself Except a man be born again he cannot see much less enter into the Kingdom of Heaven So that there is no hope of the Salvation of any unregenerate man or woman but if they live and die in that estate their portion will be death and damnation with the Devils and damned to all Eternity And in regard of the uncertainty of their lives they are not sure to be out of Hell one day longer Ah sinner What dost thou mean then to continue in thy carnal and unregenerate estate As sure as the word of God is true if thou dye therein thou art shut out of all hope of mercy for ever and shalt pass into easeless and endless misery In the fear of God therefore when thou risest up in the Morning consider with thy self that thou art uncertain of being out of Hell till the Evening And when thou lyest down consider
Christ as the Word Prayer and Sacraments which whilest thou enjoyedst thou hadst hope But death puts an end to these and thy hopes must give up their Ghost Now Christ calls upon thee Sabbath after Sabbath by his Ministers and Ambassadours woing and beseeching thee to abandon thy lusts to cast away thy sins and to cast thy self into his arms to accept of the reconciliation purchased by his blood But ere long thou shalt hear no more of these things not a Sabbath more not a Sermon more not a promise not one word more of grace of mercy of hope for ever When thou wouldst give if thou hadst them ten thousand Worlds for one moment of that mercifull time of grace which thou hast so long abused for a drop of that precious blood which thou hast so long trampled under thy feet yea for one Sabbath more to have Christ once more tendred to thee in the Ministry of the Gospel but alas it will not be granted Ah sinner Then wilt thou cry out of thy sins and cry for mercy mercy mercy Lord to a dying soul that am just sinking perishing under the load of mine iniquities Then wilt thou begin to wish when it is too late that thou hadst spent thy precious time to better purpose that thou hadst minded more the things of Eternity that thou hadst closed with the tenders and offers of Jesus Christ and that thou hadst better improved the means and opportunities of grace which thou didst once enjoy Thou wilt then say Oh if the Lord would be pleased to add a few years more to my life How would I contemn the World and the vanities thereof How exactly would I order my conversation How carefull would I be of duty how watchfull against sin How would I bestir my self to work out mine own salvation But ah sinner the time of thy departure is at hand and there is no hope of a reprieve for one day longer and therefore all these good wishes and purposes come too late There are two things especially which will aggravate a sinners misery at his death 1. To think what possibility of making his peace with God he hath had all his life time to remember how often he hath been invited to accept of Jesus Christ and yet would not 2. To think that now there is no hope of mercy having by his sins shut Heaven-gate and hardened Gods heart against him Ah sinner then wilt thou in the bitterness of thy soul cry out and say The God of mercy hath utterly forsaken me and the Devil who knows no mercy waites for to take me Ah! then which way soever thou lookest thou wilt find nothing but matter of bitter weeping and lamentation If thou look backward what canst thou behold but all the filthy and abominable lusts of thy youth unrepented of yea multitudes of horrid sins which thou hast committed in the whole course of thy life for which thou never hast been humbled nor shed one penitential tear the guilt of the least of them is enough to sink thee body and soul into everlasting burnings If thou look forward what canst thou behold but sudden destruction ready to seize upon thee Yea Gods strict Tribunal before which thou art just making thy appearance there immediately to be sentenced to endless torments and miseries of the other world the sting and terrours of which thou shalt never be able either to avoid or abide If thou look within thee what canst thou behold but thy conscience polluted and defiled yea accusing and condemning thee If without thee what canst thou behold but the wicked World which thou hast too much loved and thy relations which stand weeping about thee a company of miserable comforters that cannot delay the separating stroak of death one day or hour neither can they afford thee the least dram of true comfort If thou look downward what canst thou behold but hell deserved with her mouth open ready to swallow thee up quick and the Devils ready to receive thy soul and carry it to that dungeon of darkness If upward what canst thou behold but a provoked enraged God whom because thou refusedst to hear in the day of his merciful visitation he will now laugh at thy calamity and mock when thy fear cometh upon thee as himself threatneth Prov. 1.24 26. and in verse 28. saith the Lord Then shalt thou call upon me but I will not answer thou shalt seek me but thou shalt not find me for that thou hatedst knowledge and didst not choose the fear of the Lord. And verse 30. Thou wouldst none of my counsell but despisedst all my reproofs Therâ—fore shalt thou eat the fruit of thine own way and be filled with thine own desires that is the wickedness which thou hast sown shalt thou reap with all fullness Thus thou wilt look every where for help yet findest thy self every way helpless and hopeless Haply thou wilt then look unto Jesus Christ in hope that he will appear for thee and his blood make thy Attonement But sinner know that though his blood be a fountain opened to all poor penitent believers to wash away the filthy spots and stains of their sins Yet to thee who hast all thy life long suffered Christ to stand knocking at the door of thine heart by the Ministery of his Word by the motions of his Spirit and by the checks of thine own conscience and wouldst not open unto him to thee his blood will be then a fountain sealed so that thou shalt not partake of the least benefit thereof because in thy life time thou hast so often slighted it yea and crucified him afresh by thy bloody sins Ah sinner sinner whither wilt thou flee for comfort in the midst of thy distress It will then be too late to cry out Oh that the time I have spent in Taverns and Ale-houses in sports and pastimes in carnal pleasures and sensual delights I had spent in Prayer and fasting in humbling and repenting It will then be too late to cry with Balaam Oh that I might dye the death of the righteous when thou hast neglected to live the life of the righteous For look as the life is so commonly is the death and as death leaves a man so the last judgement shall find him And now sinner thy last sand being run out thy day past and the Devills long looked for day being come who waits for thy soul so soon as it goeth out of thy body Oh what a direfull screech will thy soul give when it passeth out of thy body into the Devils clutches to be carryed by him into the bottomless burning lake Oh how should the consideration of these unspeakable miseries which are the portion of natural and unregenerate men at their deaths startle and waken all such worldlings and sensualists who so they may encrease their wealth and satiate themselves with worldly pleasures and delights take no thought now nor make any provision against this dreadfull day of reckoning I mean the
day of their deaths Surely did they know and feelingly apprehend or would they be brought to believe what horrour and astonishment what terrour and anguish is like then to seize upon them they would count it the greatest point of wisdom in the World speedily to labour for an interest in Jesus Christ who alone can free them as from the sting of death so from these horrours and astonishments which accompany the same and would now ply all the blessed means of salvation as reading hearing praying fasting and the like which are now their burden and bondage yea the matter of their mocks and scorns would then be their daily delight and exercise CHAP. IX Sheweth the miserable and dreadfull condition of the Vnregenerate after their deaths IF this were the conclusion of Unregenerate men that death did put an end to all their miseries happy were it for many But this is their grief and sorrow their woe and misery that all this is the beginning of their sorrows that after all this there is a reckoning to be made for what is past For as it is appointed to men once to dye so after this cometh the judgement Where by the Iudgement that immediately followeth after death the Apostle meaneth the particular judgement which is at the end of each mans life as is evident by this phrase after this which intendeth the time of a mans death For as there is a general judgement at the end of the world So there is a particular judgement that passeth upon each man at the end of this life Ah sinner so soon as thy breath departeth out of thy body it fareth with thy soul as with that man of whom the Prophet Amos speaketh who did flee from a Lion and a Bear met him In like manner thy soul is no sooner escaped out of a miserable World but in a moment it is plunged into another and greater misery Herein lyeth a main difference between the Children of God and the wicked The course which God taketh with his Children is this When the soul is set at liberty from the prison of the body it is instantly conveighed by the Angels into Abraham bosome as is expresly noted of Lazarus And being cloathed with the long white robe of Christs Righteousness is joyned to the spirits of just men made perfect But with the souls of wicked and impenitent sinners it is far otherwise for so soon as they depart out of their bodies they are seized upon by wicked Angels and presently brought before Gods Tribunal-seat where receiving their doom they are instantly sent down into the Kingdom of darkness and bottome of the burning lake there to be reserved in everlasting chains unto the judgement of the great day For the better awakening the Consciences of wicked and impenitent sinners I shall briefly shew you the manner and degrees of this particular judgement 1. As the Iaylor at the Assizes brings forth the Prisoner out of Prison and sets him before the Judge So Sinner the Devil as thy Iaylor brings forth thy soul out of the Prison of thy body and sets it before the glorious presence of God the sight of whom will strike thee with such hellish horrour and astonishment that thou wouldst be glad to have the greatest rock to fall on thee and mightiest mountain to cover thee and there to lye hid everlastingly from the face of him that sitteth on the Throne 2. As when the Prisoner is come before the face of the judge then his accusers bring in their evidence So sinner thou art no sooner set before the face of the Almighty Judge but thy Conscience joyning with the Devil brings in evidence against thee And then all thy filthy thoughts and impure imaginations all thy lyes and oaths with all thy rotten communications and all the secret impurities and villanies of thy whole life will be set before thee and charged upon thy soul. And how dismally will all thy mirth and thy pleasures the houses that thou hast built the lands thou hast purchased the money thou hast hoarded up by iniquity how dreadfully will these look on thee in that day Now thou boastest thy self in thy wealth and blessest thy self in thy pleasures and sportest thy self in thy sins but in what a grim countenance will all these appear when they meet thee before the throne of God Ah sinner What wilt thou then do whither wilt thou fly from the revenging hand of God what mountain canst thou get by entreaty to fall upon thee Truly in this case one would not have thine heart in his breast one hour for all the riches honours and pleasures of the World 3. Then will the Lord hereupon proceed to the sentence of condemnation though haply not vocally yet effectually upon thy soul and say Depart thou cursed into everlasting fire there to be reserved to the Iudgement of the great day Ah sinner what horrour and astonishment will overwhelm thy soul upon that dreadful sentence 4. As the Judge having pronounced the sentence of death delivers up the Prisoners to the Jaylors So then shall God deliver up thy Soul into the hands of the Devils who being thy Jaylours must keep thee to the great day of account Whereupon they will instantly hurry thee into that horrible dungeon and fiery lake where is nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth Where thou shalt have no other comforter but the cursed Devils who will be continually insulting over thee with hellish spite for slighting and rejecting the offers and tenders of Jesus Christ for neglecting so great Salvation all thy life long and losing Heaven for thy base lusts II. Besides this particular judgement on the souls of the unregenerate at their deaths there will be a general judgement on their souls and bodies re-united at the great and last day For the fuller clearing and opening of this great and fundamental principle of Religion I will shew you 1. That there will be a day of Iudgement 2. The Person who shall be the Iudge 3. The manner of Christs coming to Iudgement 4. The order of Christs proceeding in Iudgement I. For the first that there will be a day of Iudgement is clear from that of the Author to the Hebrews Chap. 6.2 where he reckoneth it amongst the fundamental principles of Religion And Act. 17.31 The Apostle Paul speaking of God saith He hath appointed a day in which he will Iudge the World in righteousness Yea in 2 Cor. 5.10 he puts a MUST upon it We must saith he all appear before the judgement-seat of Christ which implyeth the necessity thereof And truly there is a necessity of a general Iudgement as for the declaration of the equity of Gods particular Iudgement on each man at his death in which respect it is called the day of the revelation of the Righteous Iudgement of God So for a clear manifestation of the justice of God Though God be most just in all his wayes yet
of the Lord. Oh therefore let us here often keep a day of judgement in our own souls and consciences by a serious examining of our selves concerning our sins and judging and condemning our selves for the same and then let us in all humility prostrate our selves at the Throne of grace pleading the mercy of God and merits of Christ for the pardon and forgiveness of them all giving no rest to our souls till we have some comfortable evidence and assurance thereof which will cause us to lift up our heads with joy at the great day of account VI. After conviction and manifestation of all their sinfull actions follows the sentence of condemnation and what it is our Saviour himself hath shewed Matth 25.41 Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels O dreadful sentence every word whereof carryeth much terrour in it and breatheth nothing but woe and misery yea fire and brimstone So terrible is this sentence that the first hearing thereof will make all ears to glow and tingle Depart from me that is from Iesus Christ the fountain of bliss and happiness This the wicked make light of at present for taking more delight in their sinful lusts and pleasures than in Christs presence they are willing to depart from him Whereas in truth it is a most grievous misery for as the Psalmist speaketh in his presence there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore So to be cast out of his presence is to be cast away from the fountain of all joy and pleasure yea from glory and Salvation for if from Christ then from all that is his even his glory and salvation Ah sinner What a terrour what a torment will this be unto thee at that great day This will be a great part of thy torment that thou shalt be excluded and that from Christ and his glory when others shall be admitted as our Saviour speaketh There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and you your selves thrust out Oh the fears and distractions the horrour and confusion the tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth the wringing of hands and dashing of knees that these words will produce Depart from me Oh that sinners would lay this to heart You that now bid God depart from you you will have none of his knowledge none of his commands God will requite you in your own kind he will then command you to depart from him Ye cursed To depart from Christ were hell enough but thou must also go with a curse even a curse that comprehends all woes and miseries under it This curse will be a thousand times more grievous than the cursed and bitter water was to the defiled woman which caused her belly to swell her thigh to rot and made her accursed among her people For upon the pronouncing of this curse not only the belly and thigh but likewise head and heart yea body and soul of the wicked shall be filled with rottenness and bitterness and become accursed before God men and Angels Now thou cursest every one that stands in the way of thy lusts and that crosseth thee in thy designs But at the great and last day all the curses of Heaven and Hell shall meet in thee so that thou shalt be cursed with a witness And truly to be under Gods curse is the quintessence of misery Into everlasting fire What! into fire and into everlasting fire Ah wretches cursed indeed For as the Prophet Isaiah speaketh who can dwell with devouring fire who can dwell with everlasting burnings which shall not be quenched night nor day but fed continually with Rivers of brimstone and kept still in flame and fierceness by the unquencheable wrath of the just God to all Eternity The torment of the wicked in hell will be as without any intermission so without any end After they have there been tormented hundreds thousands millions of dayes years and ages their torments will be as far from ending as if they were then beginning And is not this misery enough to lye in fire in everlasting burnings this is even beyond the expression of men or Angels If a man knew he must lye in a flaming fire but one day or hour Oh what fear and horror would possess his soul But what is a day or an hour or an age to eternity Oh then what stupidity and senselesness hath possessed the hearts of sinful men who by all this are not frighted from their sins The fear of Nebuchadnezzar's fiery Furnace made men do any thing to avoid it And shall not the fear of everlasting fire in hell make men do any thing to escape it this methinks should awaken them and cause them not only to humble themselves for their sins and to beg the pardon of them but also to cast away their transgressions to strive against them watch against them pray against them begging power and strength from Christ to keep down the power of their lusts that hurry them on in their sinfull wayes It is one of the wonders of the world how men who do believe the word of Christ to be true that the wicked shall go into everlasting fire can wittingly and wilfully adventure upon sinfull wayes the end whereof they know will be so dreadful and astonishing Prepared for the Devil and his Angels That is you shall not only be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone but you shall there dwell with those hellish Fiends the Devil and his Angels who are the best company you are like to have Sad company for distressed souls and yet in that dismal dungeon you shall have no better company or comforters who will be continually insulting over you with hellish exprobrations for neglecting so great salvation offered unto you time after time and being so foolish as to loose the joys and pleasures of Heaven which last to all Eternity for the enjoyment of some base lust which lasted but for a season It was a dreadful punishment which was executed upon Nebuchadnezzar when he was cast out of the society of men and turned a grasing with the beasts of the field But what was that in comparison of this to be cast out of the presence of Christ and society of Saints and to have only the company of the Devils and damned in hell We read in the Gospel of a Woman who came unto Christ and said unto him Have mercy on me O Lord for my daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil Now if it were such a grievous misery to be vexed with one Devil what is it to be vexed and tormented with all the Legions of Devils in Hell Oh what terrour and trembling what horrour and amazement will seize on their souls that have received this dreadful sentence When King Belshazzar saw his sentence written upon the wall though he could not read it it is said
lay out the strength of our bodies in the Service of God Then may we have occasion to bless God and say Lord thou mightest have left me to have spent my strength in sin in the gratifying my carnal lusts but blessed be thy name who hast made me willing to spend and be spent in the service of my God III. Labour to keep close to God in holy duties It were well if in the performance of holy duties we did keep close to the duties themselves few go so far But it must be our care not only to keep close to the duties but likewise to keep close to God in the duties We must labour not only to mind what we are about but likewise have an eye upon God and to hold communion with him therein In the use of every ordinance let our main desire care and endeavour be to find God therein and not to rest satisfied without meeting him and conversing with him Let us never go from God without God Never go from the ordinance of God without some special communion with God therein without finding our hearts raised and affected in the duty and revived and refreshed in his presence IV. In regard of our great inability and insufficiency for the performance of any spiritual duty after a right manner In the first place let us beg of God that by his Spirit he would enable us thereunto For it is the Spirit of God only that can help our infirmities he can soften our hard hearts quicken our dead hearts enlarge our straightned hearts c. And in praying for the assistance of the Spirit let us plead the promise of God saying Lord thou hast promised in thy Word that thy Spirit shall help the infirmities of thy Servants Oh make good that promise unto me let me feel and find the sweet breathings and actings the lively quicknings and enlargements of thy Spirit upon my heart carrying me forth with much life and vigour in the duty I am now going about This pleading the promise of God puts a strong ingagement upon him to perform what he hath said CHAP. XXI Of walking Circumspectly and Exactly IV. ANother singular duty incumbent upon the Regenerate is To walk circumspectly and exactly according to that of the Apostle See that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise The word in the Original translated circumspectly cometh of two words which signifie to go to the extremity of a thing We must be willing to go to the utmost of every command The same word is used by the Evangelist St. Matthew when Herod charged the Wise men to search most diligently and narrowly to make a close and a thorow search for the young Child Jesus So that by this Phrase is intended great accurateness and exactness in our Christian conversation which the Spirit of God accounteth the greatest point of wisdom as appeareth from the following words not as fools but as wise men It is no part of folly but a great point of wisdom to be circumspect in the whole course of our lives I know the men of the World count preciseness of life the greatest folly that may be and therefore often call those precise fools who endeavour to live soberly righteously and Godly in this present World But at last it will appear the greatest point of Wisdom For the better clearing and pressing this duty I shall shew you wherein this exact walking doth consist 1. In walking by rule As the Carpenter when he would do his work exactly doth all by rule So must the Christian that would walk accurately he must walk by the Word of God which is the only adequate rule of holiness He must eat and drink and buy and sell and work and rest and all by this rule Therefore saith the Apostle As many as walk by this rule peace be on them and on the Israel of God Let our walking be never so specious and glorious yet if it be not strait and according to the rule of Scripture as it will afford no true solid comfort at the last so neither will it find acceptance with God For as nothing is a sin how great a shew of evil soever it beareth but that which swerveth from the direction of Gods Word So nothing is a good work how great a shew of goodness soever it beareth but only that which is according to the direction of his Word Therefore Moses giveth this in express charge to the Israelites Ye shall observe to do as the Lord your God hath commanded you ye shall not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left 2. Our exact walking consisteth in having respect to the inward and spiritual part of the Law as well as to the outward and external In every command of God there is both an outward and external part and also an inward and spiritual part The former I may call the letter of the Law the latter the Spirit of the Law This our Saviour excellently clears in his Sermon on the Mount where reciting the sixth Commandment he saith Thou shalt do no Murther there is the letter of the Law And then adds by way of Explanation But I say unto you whosoever is angry with his Brother without a cause shall be in danger of Iudgement there is the Spirit of the Law So afterwards reciting the seventh commandment saith Thou shalt not commit Adultery there is the letter of the Law And then adds But I say unto you that whosoever looks on a Woman to Lust after her hath committed Adultery with her already in his heart There is the Spirit of the Law or the Spiritual part thereof The most diligent observation of the letter or external part of the Law without a care of the inward and spiritual part is as a body without a soul a dead thing which is no way acceptable unto the living God Hence our Saviour spent so many words to convince the Pharisees who were many of them punctual in their outward observations that they were yet horrible Hypocrites violating that Law in their hearts which they so boasted of and pleaded for with their mouths being Murtherers in heart Adulterers in heart though they committed no such wickedness in the outward man And hereby is the hypocrisie of many professors of Christianity discovered who reach no farther than the outside of Religion whose Godliness is nothing but carnal service and bodily exercise Whereas the Law is spiritual as the Apostle speaketh reaching to the very inwards of the Soul And saith our Saviour God is a Spirit and will be worshipped inwardly with the spirit as well as outwardly with the body Whosoever therefore walks exactly contents not himself with the externals of Christianity but labours to bring up his heart to the inwards thereof striving to suppress evil thoughts to mortifie unclean lusts and all inordinate affections to abhor and watch against secret impurities as well as open impieties This is to walk exactly and
for the spiritual and eternal good of our poor souls Help us to keep alwayes upon our hearts a deep sense as of the certainty of our death so of the uncertainty of the time thereof that we may live as those who believe we must shortly dye Lord take us into thy keeping and protection this night Grant we may lodge in the arms of Jesus that we may rest in his bosome Give unto us such sweet and comfortable rest and sleep that our bodies may be refreshed and we the better enabled to serve thee the next day in our several places and callings In mercy remember thine all the World over And in special we pray thee for this sinfull Land and Nation Pardon our sins be reconciled to us in Jesus Christ. Let thy Gospel have a free passage therein Pour the choicest of thy blessings upon the head of our King that he may be a blessing unto us Bless all our Magistrates with the Ministers of thy Word and Sacraments Pâ—tty the afflicted members of Jesus Christ. Bless all Christian Families this in particular giving unto every member thereof all needfull saving sanctifying graces And now accept our Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving which we offer unto thee for thy manifold favours and mercies conferred on our souls and bodies especially and above all for that great gift of thine the Lord Jesus Christ and for all those great things he hath done and suffered for our redemption We bless thy name as for the enjoyment of the Gospel so for any spiritual good we have received thereby that any of us have fiducially and cordially closed with the tenders and offers of Jesus Christ. We bless thy name that thou hast withheld us from the company and wayes of those who live without God in the World giving themselves up to work all wickedness with greediness and hast set our hearts to seek the Lord and wait for thy Salvation For every other good thing whether temporal or spiritual concerning this life or a better blessed and praised be thy great and glorious name And now O Lord we beseech thee in mercy to overlook all the weaknesses and infirmities which have accompanied this holy duty Sprinkle both our Persons and our Services with the blood of that immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus To whom with thee O Father and the holy Spirit be rendred as is most due all honour and praise and glory both now and for evermore Amen A Prayer for a single Person O Eternal and ever-living Lord God the fountain of all blessing the Father of Mercy and God of all Consolation I thy poor creature altogether unworthy to appear in thy sight to present my Prayer and supplication unto thee do yet in the name and mediation of thy beloved Son Jesus Christ prostrate my self at the footstool of thy grace looking for acceptance and assistance in and through him For his sake look graciously upon me pardon my sins which are many and hainous Lord I cannot but acknowledge that besides the guilt of Adam's sin there is in me a fountain of corruption which I brought with me into the World from whence hath plentifully flowed many poisonous streams of actual transgressions and that in evil thoughts evil words and evil actions which I have committed through the whole course of my life from my tender infancy to this present time I have been alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in me I have walked after the course of this World fulfilling the desires of my flesh and of my mind minding earthly things I have broken thy Law neglected thy Gospel refused the offers of Christ and am in great doubt that to this day there hath been no good work wrought upon me but that I continue in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity Lord I cannot but acknowledge I have shamefully abused the ricâ—es of thy goodness forbearance and long-suffering which should have led me to repentance as also thy Fatherly corrections and chastiâ—ements laid upon me in love and for my good oh how little have I been bettered thereby How do I spend my time and strength for the getting of earthly riches and satisfying my self with sensual pleasures and in the mean time am careless of my precious and immortal soul Lord I have often for my profit and pleasure sake omitted and put off the holy exercises of Religion which ought to have been performed by me and have been exceeding dead and dull lifeless and heartless in performing those good duties I have taken in hand I have been unfruitfull under a plentiful dispensation of the means of grace unthankfull under those favours and mercies thou hast conferred on me unfaithfull to those manifold vows and promises I have made unto thee my God Truth Lord my sins are many and hainous but this is my comfort that Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners and why not me why not me I acknowledge my self to be a great sinner but yet again thy Word testifieth That Jesus Christ came to save the chief of sinners Therefore will I not despair of mercy but am resolved to cast my self and the burden of my sins into the arms and upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ. Be pleased to accept of what Christ hath done and suffered for me and to accept of me in him Turn me O Lord unto thee and through him let me be reconciled unto thee Slay the enmity and subdue the rebellion of mine heart against thee Wash my polluted soul with his most precious blood cloath my nakedness with the long white robe of his righteousness fill my emptiness out of that fulness which is in Jesus Christ. Enrich my soul with all needfull saving sanctifying graces Let the faith of Gods Elect let the love and fear of thy name be shed abroad in my heart Oh that every grace may more and more flourish in me and my lusts more and more wither and decay in me Let my covetousness dye let my pride and envy and passion and sensuality dye let the whole body of death be destroyed that I may no longer serve sin Oh give me grace in this my day to know the things that belong to my peace to make a right use of this time of my visitation As Christ is now frequently tendred in the Ministry of the Gospel as a Saviour to poor sinners So Lord give me grace fiducially to close with the offers and tenders of him that Christ may be mine and I his And as thou hast been pleased to afford unto me the means of grace so I pray thee help me to carry my self in some measure suitable and answerable thereunto that I may not be a shame but rather a credit to Religion and my profession thereof To this end teach me to deny all ungodliness and Worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present World Blessed Lord seeing without thy blessing it will be in vain to put forth my own
ever did or will do in his humane nature He will therefore in doing it be arâ—â—yed with as much glory and Majesty as his humane nature is capable of and therefore the Apostle calls it the glorious appearing Q. If you ask wherein the glory of Christ shall appear A. His face shall shine as the Sun Bright clouds as a Canopy shall be over him A loud sound of a Trumpet shall be heard before him He shall sit on a glorious Throne He shall be attended with all the glorious Angels who are ready to do him service in this judgement These are present as so many Sheriffs and other officers attending on the Judge of that great assize If it be so terrible to guilty prisoners to behold an earthly judge in his scarlet Robes attended upon with the Iustices and Sheriff and other Officers Oh how fearful and terrible will the sight of this Judge be manifesting himself from Heaven with such a mighty host and glorious array of Angels certainly no tongue can express no heart can conceive that terrour of soul and horrour of conscience that fear and amazement which will seize upon thee when thou shalt see Christ in his glory sitting upon his Throne 2. As Christ will come in great glory so in great terrour For he shall come in flaming fire Yea the terrour of Christs coming to Judgement is noted in this that thereupon the very Sea shall quake and tremble and in its kind cry out and roar making a most dolefull and dreadful noyse Oh what shall become of the roaring Boys of the earth when all their rude roarings and rufflings and rantings on their Ale-bench shall be drowned and swallowed up of this terrible roaring of the Seas oh then what shall become of swearers drunkards whore-masters and such like in that dreadfull day Surely they will seek to creep into an auger-hole to hide their heads and will cry out in the bitterness of their souls Woe and alas that ever we were born surely it had been better for us if our Mothers wombs had been our graves and that we had never seen the Sun When Foelix heard Paul preach of this Iudgement-day and the terribleness thereof the text noteth that he trembled And sinner dost not thou tremble who goest on impenitently in thy wicked and ungodly courses in thy lying swearing drinking whoring Sabbath-breaking and other like abominations Ah sinner either thou knowest not or thinkest not as thou shouldst of this dreadfull and terrible day And therefore it is that thou goest on in the career of thy lusts giving thy self up to the gratifying thy sinfull affections and satisfying thine own hearts desire Oh that thou wouldst seriously weigh that advice of the Wise man Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thine heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the waies of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes As if he had said Ah young man do what thou pleasest take thy fill of pleasure satisfie thy Lusâ—s deny not thy self any thing that heart can wish which expressions are to be taken as spoken ironically by way of derision as appeareth by the following words But know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement as if he had said Though thou put from thee the thought of death and of judgement yet assure thy self that for thy mispent youth and for all thy sinfull lusts dye thou must thou knowest not how soon and after death thou shalt be brought before Gods Tribunal there to receive the just reward of all thy sins A serious consideration whereof would be an excellent means to abate the heat of lust and cause the hearts of young men to tremble at the thought of that great and terrible day when Christ shall come to judgement in glory and great Majesty with his mighty Angels in flaming fire CHAP. X. Sheweth the order of Christs proceeding in Iudgement IV. FOr the order of Christs proceeding in Iudgement at the last day I. There will be a Citation of all both dead and living men with the Devils to come to Judgement We must all appear saith the Apostle All without exception of any must make their appearance high and low rich and poor King and beggar male and female Oh what a great day will that be when the whole world shall be cited and summoned to appear together at once Q. If you ask how they shall be summoned A. By a shout from Heaven and the sound of a Trumpet which shall alarm this sleeping earth and at which Hell shall shake all graves shall open and yield up their prisoners which they have fast kept in the chains of death from all ages since the beginning of the World Yea the Sea shall give up her dead which are in it A dreadfull summons it will be unto all the wicked and ungodly whom this sudden noise will no less astonish than confound We read that when the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai for the delivery of the Law with the sound of a Trumpet the people of Israel quaked and trembled Oh then how will the wicked and ungodly quake and tremble when the Lord Christ shall descend from Heaven with the sound of a Trumpet to punish the transgressours of that Law II. Upon this Citation and summons there will be a resurrection from the dead and such a change of the living as if they had been a long time dead and were raised to life again And as the graves shall then give up their dead bodies so hell shall give up her living souls which shall enter into their old Carcases to receive a greater condemnation Oh what woful salutations will there be between that body and soul which living together in the height of iniquity must now be reunited to suffer the fulness of their misery III. After the resurrection follows a Collection and gathering together of all men and Devils in the World but with this difference The Elect being gathered together by Angels shall with great joy be caught up into the air to meet the Lord. But the reprobate together with the Devils and his Angels shall with extream horrour and confusion be drawn and dragg'd into his presence Ah sinner What terrour and amazement will then seize upon thee when like a malefactor thou art brought against thy will before the Judgement-seat of Christ IV. After this follows a separation of the good from the bad of the elect from the reprobate For Christ at the first appearing of all before his JudgementSâ—at to testifie his gracious favour and good respect to believers separates them from others and sets them on his right hand as a flock of sheep whom he intends to take for his own And then will he set the wicked and unbelievers on his left hand to testifie as his rejecting them so his purpose to pass a terrible doom upon them as himself expresseth Mat. 25.32
day do most perfectly Some have found by woful experience what an intollerable burden one sin is to the conscience when the Lord hath been pleased to set it home When Iudas had betrayed his Master and his conscience began to accuse him for the same it was such an intollerable burden to him that he was not able to stand under it but went and hanged himself Now if one sin proves so intollerable who then can stand under the weight of the many millions of sins which he hath committed in the whole course of his life especially when God shall set them all home together upon his conscience Ah sinner If the reading one leaf of this book was so dreadful to Iudas how dreadfull and terrible will it be to thee when thou shalt read not only one leaf but the whole book from the beginning to the end and therein see the millions of sins committed by thee whereof as thy whole life so thy whole book will be filled within and without and interlined with lamentation mourning and woe Ah in what a woful case will thy heart then be what horrour and astonishment will then possess thy soul when all thy lies and oaths all thy raylings and rotten speeches all thy filthy and unclean thoughts thy mispent time in Taverns and Ale-houses thy worldliness and covetousness the vanities and rebellions of thy whole life shall be brought to thy remembrance and at once charged upon thy graceless soul. 2. At the day of Iudgement there will be a discovery of thy sins to all the World For as the Apostle speaketh Hidden things shall on that day be brought to light They shall not only be called to remembrance by the sinner himself but likewise exposed to the view and censure of others There is no sin so secretly and closely committed but then shall be discovered to the view of all There is scarce a wicked man in the World though never so formal but he hath at some time or other committed some such sin in secret which he would not have others to know for all the World But know for certain that at the day of judgement all the World shall hear thereof For then all thy secret sins and close villanies shall be discovered and layd open before Angels Men and Devils thy secret Whoredomes and close Adulteries thy Pilfrings and stealings thy false Weights and Measures thy Hypocrisies and Dissemblings shall be discovered to the view of all and that to thine eternal shame and confusion And therefore the day of Judgement is called the day of revelation when many Murthers Thefts Adulteries and other abominations which come not to light here shall at that day be made known and discovered to the view of all The Husband shall then behold the Whoredomes of his Wife and the Wife the Adulteries of her Husband the Master the Pilferings of his Servant and the Servant the deceitfulness of his Master Yea then not only thy words and actions but also thy secret thoughts and imaginations how vain and wanton how filthy and abominable soever they have been shall appear to the view of all Never therefore adventure upon the committing of any sin in hope of secrecy because thou seemest safe from the eyes of men For suppose thy sin lyeth undiscovered unto the last and great day yet then shall it out with a witness and be made manifest to the view of all Q. If any shall ask how their sins shall be discovered to all the World at the last and great day A. 1. By their own confessions and complaints extorted from them by the power of God For then will they cry out in the bitterness of their souls with these or such like expressions Woe and alas that ever I slighted the manifold gracious invitations of Iesus Christ and preferred my base lusts and corruptions before him that I have opened the door of my heart to every sinful temptation but never would open it to let in Iesus Christ that I so often rejected the motions of Gods spirit stirring me up to turn from my sins unto God and hearkened more unto the solicitations of the Devil than to the motions of Gods spirit that I neglected the many opportunities and means of grace afforded unto me and trifled away my pretious time in vanity and pleasure yea sin and wickedness spending that time in the Ale-house and in following my sinful lusts and pleasures wherein I should have been praying in my closet or attending upon the Ministry of the Word or reading the Scriptures with other good books that I should preferâ— my Wordly business before the service of God that the World should have more of my heart and time than my maker and Redeemer 2. By the cryes and complaints of those whom they have wronged and oppressed Then Abels blood will cry out afresh against Cain and the hungry bellies of the poor will cry out against those hard-hearted rich worldlings who would not afford them the least comfort or relief And starved souls will then cry out against their ignorant scandalous Ministers for not giving them the bread of life The Wives and the Children of Gamesters Drunkards and Whore-masters being impoverished by their sins will then cry out against them for spending their small means in the satisfying their sinfull lusts The poor Tenants will then cry out against their covetous unmerciful Land-lords for raising and racking their rents to such an height as they could not earn their bread by all their care and labour 3. By the testimony of Gods spirit who will then come in as a witness against thee saying at such a time I shewed thee the evil of thy sins and how sad the issue of them would be and thereupon perswaded thee to turn from thy sins unto God but thou wouldst not at such a time I shewed thee thy misery without Christ and thy need of him how thou wouldst be undone for ever without an interest in Christ and how willing Christ was to receive the worst of sinners unto mercy upon their coming in to him but thou hearknedst to the Devil more than to me to his suggestions rather than to my motions 4. By the testimony of the Devil who is now a tempter but will then be an accuser whose chief design in tempting us to sin is that he may have wherewithall to accuse us in that great day that so he might drive us into the same condemnation with himself Thus you see there are several wayes of discovering the sins of the wicked and ungodly at the day of judgement even to the view of all Now I know no better way to prevent the discovery of your sins at that great day than here in this time and day of grace to call your selves to an account to search and examine your own hearts and lives and thâ—n to judge and condemn your selves for your manifold sins and transgressions for as the Apostle speaketh If we judge our selves we shall not be condemned
creatures shall run hither and thither and not get a drop of Water to cool their scorched tongues Ah sinner sinner how canst thou but quake and tremble at the thought of this fire at which the very Devils do quake and tremble Suppose thou wert condemned to be cast as many of the Martyrs were into a boyling Caldron or flaming fire oh how dreadful and terrible would the apprehension thereof be unto thee and how wouldst thou cry and roar through the extremity of the torment But alas what is a boyling Caldron to that boyling Sea of fire and brimstone And what is a flaming fire of Wood and Coal here to the fire of hell kept in highest flame by the breath of Gods wrath Surely this as far surpasseth that in heat as our Chimney fire doth exceed the fire painted on the Wall This me-thinks should sowre the pleasure of all thy sinful lusts and provoke thee forthwith to set upon that stricter course of life that more serious circumspect conscientious walking whereby thou maist escape these heavy things Ah sinner look about thee while it is called to day run over to Christ lay hold on his righteousness stoop to his Scepter beg of God that whatsoever he deny thee he would not deny his Son to thee by whom alone thou canst be freed from this tormenting fire Otherwise woe and alas that ever thou wert born But oh how wonderfully prodigal are we generally of our souls when that for the vile things here below we are so ready to prostitute them to the lust of Satan and to expose them to the torments of hell-fire Whereas alas What is it to gain the World and to lose our Souls What to spend our dayes in mirth and jollity and in a moment to be cast into hell It is easie for a secure unbelieving soul to read and hear of this fire But woe and ten thousand woes to all such who shall feel and endure and prove by their experience how hot it is 4. Another resemblance whereby the misery of the damned is set forth is a Worm Their Worm shall not dye neither shall their fire be quenched Which very words Christ applyeth to the damned in hell Mark 9.44 46 48. This metaphor of the Worm setteth out the sting of conscience and anguish of soul and sheweth that hell pains go through a man without and within In the forementioned place there be two especial things in the torments of hell which are thrice repeated together namely the Worm and the fire the Worm that dyeth not and the fire that is not quenched And it is observable that in all the three verses the Worm is set in the first place as it were to teach us that the principal torment in hell is the Worm rather than the fire And what is the Worm but the sting or the torment of an evil conscience which shall lye eternally gnawing and griping the hearts of the damned in hell As of the putrefaction of the body there breedeth a worm which eates and consumes the body so from the corruption of the soul tainted with sin there ariseth the Worm of Conscience which gnaweth and vexeth the soul with continual anguish Men talk much of hell-fire and it were well they would talk more of it But yet there is another torment that would be thought on too and that is this Worm of an evil conscience which whilest the fire burneth this will bite and sting the soul with torment intolerable This Worm of Conscience consisteth especially in two things 1. In bringing to remembrance thy former sinfull lusts and pleasures of which nothing remaineth but thy present shame and pain Then shall thy conscience gnaw thee by bringing to thy remembrance thy former oaths and cursings thy mispent time thy cozenings and defraudings yea all thy secret impurities as well as thine open iniquities as also thy sinful omissions of good duties how seldom thou prayedst with thy family or in thy closet how little care thou hadst of thy precious soul slighting the opportunities and means of grace Ah sinner the remembrance of these things will exceedingly pierce thy soul and afflict thine heart with bitter grief and sorrow Soul how camest thou in hither ah this was mine own doing t' was my negligence and carelesness and wilfulness and wickedness A little care a little wisdom a little labour and pains might have prevented all this If I would have hearkened to God hearkened to conscience in time none of all this misery had ever come upon me Oh wretch that I was oh foolish sottish wilful wretch how have I undone my self what ever I now feel and roar under I have none to blame but my self t' was mine own doing that I am fallen headlong into this place of torment 2. In despairing of freedom and deliverance from thy present misery This is one special thing which will very much add to thy present torment that thy condition though most sad and dreadfull yet is hopeless Didst thou conceive any hope of deliverance after thousands and millions of years hell would not be hell unto thee But this is that which will lye like a mountain of lead upon thee that there is no hope of deliverance In the consideration whereof consisteth the gnawings of the Worm of Conscience These are the resemblances whereby the misery of the damned is set forth IV. The misery of the damned is further fet forth in Scripture by the place where they abide which is â—ell For that is the most usual word attributed to the place of the damned In the old Testament that word which properly signifieth the grave is oft translated hell and by way of resemblance Tophet is taken for hell because in the place called Tophet great fires were made wherein they Sacrificed their Children In the New Testament there are two words ordinarily used to express hell One implyeth a place of darkness The other translated from the name of the place where the forementioned Tophet was called Gehinnom the valley of Hinnom whence hell is called Gehenna The place of the damned is also called a bottomless pitt by reason of the unsearchable depth of it and a lake These and other like names of terrour are attributed to the place where the damned are tormented but where that place is in Scripture is not expresly revealed and therefore cannot be defined only we may know that it is out of Heaven even below it It is the most fearful place that ever was or can be and it is a great point of wisdom in this World so to carry our selves as we may never come by our experience to prove where and what it is V. The misery of the damned is likewise set forth in Scripture by the perpetuity and eternity of their torment Their Worm dyeth not and their fire is not quenched but continueth to burn without end And therefore is called unquenchable fire and everlasting fire As the Salamander is said to live
Lord turn me Lord sanctifie me Lord help me that I come not into this place of torment But when will the folly of fools depart from them Oh the stupendious brutishness of this mad and sensual World though they know these things and have been forewarned of them yet they have not the heart to fly from the wrath to come Thus much for the clearing and setting forth of the first truth to be embraced towards the working of regeneration in mens souls namely That every man in his state of unregeneracy is in a miserable and dreadful condition Wherein I have the longer insisted that thereby I might startle and awaken unregenerate men out of their carnal security unto a lively sense and apprehension of the dreadful danger they are in so long as they live and lye in their unregenerate estate and so countermine the great design of the Devil against their souls which is to keep them blindfold and ignorant of their wretched miserable state by perswading them that their condition is as good and safe as the best For certainly were they but sensible of their present condition how they were lost and undone for ever if they should dye in their natural and unregenerate estate the Devil with all his skill and cuning would be hard put to it to perswade them to live another day therein left they should suddenly be snatcht away to hell would they then turn such a deaf ear to the Voice of the Gospel would they then make such excuses and make such delayes when Christ calls them to repentance I cannot be at the pains I cannot bear the labour and the sorrow of a penitent life I cannot part with mine ease my pleasures my friends and companions at least not yet awhile Oh the sense of an hell would silence all such excuses and shake off all such delayes To day to day O my soul hearken to thy Lord left it be too late by to morrow Now stand sinner stand and pause awhile on what hath been hitherto spoken Look back and consider Is this thy state Is this thy portion which hath hitherto been described Art thou a sinner a willfull and impenitent sinner and doth not all this belong to thee search the Scriptures believe the Scriptures and then say if this be not the place of them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of Christ. But what saift thou is it good for thee to be here Is this a state to acquiesce in to be at ease and secure to be so merry and jolly in Is this the state thou art so loth to be delivered from Dost thou hang over the burning furnace by the small thread of thy life which as soon as it is snapt off thou tumblest headlong into this bottomless gulf and dost thou scoff and scorn at the poor Ministers and Ambassadours of Christ that come to thee only to snatch thy soul out of this amazing danger But hearken sinner wilt thou escape wilt thou the redeemed wilt thou be delivered from all this would he be a messenger of good tydings wouldst thou bid him welcome that should bring thee news of redemption from all this why is there any hope of that hope of deliverance hope of salvation what for such a sinner what from so great destruction what is there any hope for such a great sinner such an hardened sinner such an old sinner that hath even one foot already in hell why wilt thou hearken consider consider what shall further be spoken and thou shalt see that there is yet hope for thee even for thee concerning this thing As great as thy sins are as great as thy danger is if thou wilt yet hearken there is hope that thou maist be saved CHAP. XII Sheweth that there is hope of Mercy for the worst of Sinners II. ANother truth to be embraced in order to thy Regeneration is this That there is hope of mercy for the greatest sinners Though the condition of men in their state of unregeneracy be very deplorable yet it is not desperate there is hope of mercy for the worst of them which will appear from a due consideration 1. Of Gods powers and willingness to save the worst of sinners 2. Of the all-sufficiency of Christs Sacrifice 3. Of Christs readiness to embrace all poor sinners who will but come unto him and receive him upon the terms of the Gospel I. For the Power of God to save the worst of sinners it doth appear 1. From the infiniteness of his mercy which is compared to the depth of the Sea Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depth of the Sea saith the Prophet Micah The Sea is of such a vast capacity that it can swallow up the highest mountain as well as cover the lowest mole-hill In like manner the mercy of God is of such a boundless extent that it can pardon the greatest and grossest sins as well as the least In which respect he is said to be plenteous in mercy and rich in mercy admire it we may but no man is able to express how great the mercy of the Lord is being as himself infinite without any limits or bounds Ah sinner far be it from thee either to straighten the mercy of God or so to aggravate thy sins as to conclude that thy sins are greater than can be forgiven do not so aggravate thy mighty sins as thereby to derogate from infinite mercy Is not the mercy of God infinite Is it not the mercy of a God thy greatest sins are but finite as being the sins of a creature but his mercy is infinite being the mercy of a God As there is no proportion between that which is finite and that which is infinite So neither is there any proportion between the greatest of thy sins and the mercy of God 2. The power of God to save the worst of sinners appeareth from the unlimited extent of his promises What ever God promiseth sure he hath power to perform Now the promises of God exclude no sinner nor any sin except the sin against the Holy Ghost nor any time of coming unto him for in all these respects are the promises of God wondrous large and of great extent 1. They exclude no sinner For they run for the most part in the generality promising mercy and forgiveness to all who turn unto him in truth and sincerity as Isa. 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy on him and to our God and he will abundatly pardon Here the Prophet speaks to the wicked and unrighteous indefinitely even to all and every one of them and assures them that upon their repentance they shall be received to mercy 2. They exclude no sins no not scarlet and crimson sins as Isa. 1.18 Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool that is
Gods justice for thy sins for otherwise when either thy conscience or the Devil begin to aggravate thy sins and to set before thee the number and the hainousness of them thou wilt be at a loss and even ready to sit down in despair whereas if thou didst cleerly apprehend what a full satisfaction the death of Christ was to Gods justice for all thy sins thou wouldst not fear what either thy conscience or the Devil could object against thee In Rom. 8.33 We read how the Apostle from the consideration of Christs all-sufficient Sacrifice and full satisfaction to Gods justice by his death did triumph over sin and Satan For having treated thereof in the former part of the Chapter In the latter part thereof ver 33 34. he speaks as one ravished with abundance of comfort yea challengeth the Devil and all the World to object what they could against the pardon of his sins Who saith he shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect It is God that justifieth Who is he that condemneth it is Christ that dyed As if he had said let Conscience and carnal Reason let Law and Sin let Hell and Devil object what they can let them object the number and hainousness of my sins what is that seeing Christ hath dyed even Christ the Son of God hath offered up his own life as an all-sufficient Sacrifice and thereby abundantly satisfied Gods justice for my sins Beloved the case between God and us and our Saviour Jesus Christ is not much unlike the case of a Creditor a Debtor and a Surety Though the debtor be altogether unable to satisfie his debt or to contribute any thing thereunto yet if his surety have fully discharged the debt and cancelled the bond the debtor is safe enough from imprisonment or danger of arrest In lâ—ke manner though we were much indebted unto God and were no way able to make the least satisfaction for our sins yet seeing our surety Jesus Christ hath taken upon him the debt of our sins and fully satisfied Gods justice for the same by offering up his own life as an all-sufficient Sacrifice upon the Cross we shall not need to fear the accusations of Conscience or of carnal reason or of all the Devils in Hell if we do apply the merits of Christs death unto our own souls comfort IV. That there is hope of mercy for the worst of sinners appeareth from Christs Willingness to receive and embrace all poor sinners who will but come unto him and receive him upon the terms of the Gospel 1. Christs Willingness appeareth from his frequent personal invitations of all sorts of sinners even the worst to come unto him for life and salvation as Matth. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest In which we find no exception either of persons or sins but whosoever thou art rich or poor male or female how many and hainous soever thy sins are if thou art but sensible of them thou art invited to go unto Jesus Christ and to cast thy self and the burden of thy sins upon him And Rev. 22.17 Let him that is a thirst come And whoever will let him take the Water of life freely That is in whomsoever there is but an earnest will and longing desire to partake of Christ and of the benefits of his death and passion they are invited to come unto him Now these gracious invitations of Jesus Christ unto poor thirsty sinners to come unto him that their souls might live must needs argue his incomparable willingness to have them saved 2. Christ knowing our backwardness to come unto him to the forementioned invitations adds his awakening excitation or proclamation crying out Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the Waters c. And because many poor souls are apt to say Alas there is nothing in me to commend me unto Christ I have no goodness no righteousness of mine own therefore Christ adds He that hath no money that is he who hath no goodness no righteousness of his own which is there meant by money let him come And indeed they are the fittest to go unto Jesus Christ for it is the empty soul that is most capable of Christ the soul emptied of all self-righteousness and self-goodness Whereas that soul which with the Church of Laodicea is rich and full with a conceit of its own righteousness hath no room for Christ. 3. Christs Willingness appeareth by the many sweet and gracious promises which he hath made in his Word unto all those who by faith come unto him As that known promise Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest that is I will ease you and refresh you I will comfort you with the assurance of the pardon of your sins I will give you peace of Conscience here and eternal peace and rest with me for ever in my Kingdom And questionless one special reason why many find so little peace and comfort in their souls is because they go not unto Jesus Christ they cast not themselves and the burden of their sins upon him who is the fountain of peace and comfort and from whom alone it is to be had And Mark 16.15 16. saith our Saviour He that believeth shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned that is He who goeth out of himself unto Christ for life shall be saved from the wrath of God from the curse of the Law from the guilt and power of sin yea from eternal death and condemnation and shall inherit eternal life and salvation But he that believeth not shall be damned that is He who refuseth to go unto Jesus Christ preferring his lusts and corruptions before him shall be cast into that burning lake where is nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth Oh how earnestly doth Christ press sinners to come unto him that they might have life promising Heaven and salvation upon their coming and threatning hell and damnation upon their refusing And what more prevailing argument could he use to perswade sinners to come unto him Which must needs evidence his exceeding great willingness to embrace them with the arms of his mercy upon their coming 4. Christs Willingness appeareth from his eâ—d of coming into the World which was to save poor lâ—st sinners He left his Crown and Throne his Royal Court and glorious Robes and cloathed himself with the rags of our humanity for no other end but to seek and to save that which was lost as the Apostle expresseth This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the World to save sinners So that the Salvation of poor lost sinners was his great design in coming into the World He came from Heaven to Earth for this very end that he might send us from Earth to Heaven The Son of God became the Son of man that we the sons of men might become
the Sons of God Certainly that Christ should come out of Heaven to keep us out of hell that he should uncrown himself to Crown us must needs argue a wonderful willingness in him to have poor sinners saved 5. Christs Willingness appeareth by his rejecting of none who sincerely go unto him though never so weak and worthless in themselves Never did any sinner go to him but he accepted of him as himself expresseth All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that â—ometh unto me I will in no wise cast out but receive him to mercy Hath Christ promised this and will he not be as good as his Word Did he ever break his word with any poor soul though never so unworthy Did he ever cast away any who came unto him And is he not the same yesterday to day and for ever Go sinner fear not go upon the credit of this word which he hath spoken I will in no wise cast them out Though the Devil say go not though thy misgiving heart say go not he will not regard thee he will never look on such a vile wretch he will cast thee out yet since he hath said He will not go and thou shalt find mercy Thus have I by several demonstrations proved as God the Fathers willingness to save the worst of sinners So Christs readiness to embrace all poor sinners who will but come unto him for life and salvation Wherein I have the longer insisted because I know no better argument to prevail with sinners to turn from their sins unto God by true and unfeigned repentance and to close with Jesus Christ by a true and lively faith than a serious consideration as of Gods readiness to save the worst of sinners upon their turning unto him so of Christs Willingness to embrace all poor sinners who will come unto him and receive him as their Lord and Saviour I have read a story of a Gentle-woman who was condemned to dye for killing her own child whereupon divers Ministers came to visit her and perceiving her little affected with her sin and sad condition they laboured to set before her the hainousness of her sin and the dreadfulness of her condition without hearty and deep repentance All which little moved her seeming rather the more hardened in her sin But at last another Reverend Divine hearing of her obdurate hardness notwithstanding all that was said unto her went and preached to her the abundant riches of Gods mercy in Christ how ready he was to embrace with the arms of his free-grace every penitent sinner and how willing Christ was to receive all poor sinners who would go unto him and cast themselves into his arms how many and hainous soever their sins were and thereupon told her there was hope of mercy for her if she were heartily sorry for her sins and would adventure her soul upon Christ notwithstanding the greatness and hainousness of her sin What! mercy for me said she that is impossible c. Whereupon the Minister proceeded further to set forth the freeness of Gods grace and riches of his mercy to all penitent and believing sinners declaring unto her how God delighted in mercy and that where sin had abounded there his grace and mercy would much more abound or to that purpose And thereupon she presently fell a weeping wringing her hands and cryiâ—g for mercy and dyed very comfortably as it is related having had the mercy of God abundantly revealed to her before her death And truly sinner as it was my design so my hearts desire in sâ—tting forth Gods willingness to save the very worst of sinners upon their repentance and Christs readiness to embrace them with the arms of his mercy that it might have the same effect in thee as it had in the forementioned Gentle-woman And oh that the consideration thereof would melt thine heart into tears of unfeigned sorrow for thy sins past and stir thee up to turn from them unto God by hearty repentance and to close with Jesus Christ upon the terms of the Gospel Oh that I could prevail with thee as to give a bill of divorce to thy lusts and corruptions so to give up thy self unto Christ and to adventure thy soul upon him resting upon his perfect righteousness and all-sufficient Sacrifice for the pardon of thy sins here and for eternal life and salvation hereafter If Christ be so willing to receive thee why shouldst not thou be willing to go unto him and that with confidence of acceptance Salvation is this day offered unto thee the golden Scepter is held out unto thee Oh stretch forth the hand of faith to lay hold and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ so shalt thou be happy to all Eternity For whosoever believeth in Iesus Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life Thus much of the truths to be embraced in order to your Regeneration CHAP. XIV Sheweth the Duties to be Practised in order to your Regeneration HAving shewed you the truths to be embraced in order to your Regeneration I come now to the Duties on your part to be practised and performed I. From the consideration of the dreadfulness of thy condition so long as thou continuest in thine unregenerate estate and of the hope thou hast of a blessed change stir up in thy self an earnest longing restless desire after the new birth that thou maist in truth say O that I were Regenerate and born anew Oh that the Image of the Devil might be razed out and the Image of God imprinted in me O that a blessed change were wrought in my soul a change from nature to grace from darkness to light from the Kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Oh that I might become a new creature renewed throughout in all the faculties of my soul and all the parts of my body As Rachel cryed Give me Children or else I dye So do thou cry out and say Give me this new birth let me be born again by the spirit or else I shall dye not only the first but likewise the second death and be undone for ever And know for thy comfort if thou canst find any such longing desire in thy soul thou art not far from this new birth from the work of Regeneration in thy soul. For this longing desire after this new birth will put thee upon the use of all ordinances and means God hath sanctified for the attaining thereof II. Labour to get thine heart deeply and throughly affected with a sense of thy miserable condition by nature It is not sufficient to know thy condition to be sad and deplorable so long as thou continuest in thine unregenerate estate but thy care and endeavour must be to get thine heart throughly affected therewith If you look into the Scriptures you shall find this qualification required in the persons whom Christ came to save and whom he invites to come unto him Our blessed Saviour speaking to Zacheus saith The Son
Thy Furnace hath not yet been hot enough if thy sin be not too hot for thee Resolve for Christ resolve against the Devil and all his works And that thy resolution may hold observe these following directions 1. Be sure thou do not ground thy resolutions upon any confidence in thine own strength but in the strength of Iesus Christ without whose assistance thou canst do nothing as our Saviour himself expresseth Iob. 15.1 But through Christ strengthening thee thou wilt be enabled to do any thing As David therefore when he was to encounter with Goliah went not out in his own name but in the name and strength of the Lord of Hosts So must thou resolve to fight against thy lusts and corruptions not in thine own name or strength but in the name and strength of Jesus Christ. Otherwise thy lusts may reply to thee as the Devil did to the Sons of Sheva Iesus I know and Paul I know but who are ye And know that the more sensible thou art of thine own weakness and insufficiency the more ready Christ is to help thee and the more strength shalt thou receive from Christ. Which the Apostle Paul found true in his own experience for saith he when I am weak then am I strong that is when I am weak and insufficient in my self in mine own apprehension then do I most of all feel a gracious supply from Christ. 2. Back thy resolutions with Prayer As thou dost resolve in the grace and strength of God to abandon thy lusts to forsake thy former wicked and ungodly course of life so be earnest with God in prayer for power and strength against the power and strength of sin For as it is Gods power by which alone thou canst keep down the power of thy lusts so prayer is the means sanctified for the obtaining thereof Oh therefore pray and pray earnestly yea add fasting to thy prayers For old sins to which thou hast been long accustomed are like those Devils which possessed the man from his youth which could not be cast out without fasting and prayer 3. Second thy Prayers with thy diligence and faithful endeavours striving against thy lusts and corruptions though never so sweet and dear unto thee For these are vain and insignificant resolutions which promise great matters but do nothing Whereas true resolutions are active and stirring putting men upon the work Hast thou resolved through the grace of God to abandon thy lusts up then and be doing set on it presently without any farther delay For shouldst thou consecrate the prime and strength of thy dayes to the service of Satan and gratifying thine own carnal lusts and reserve thy decayed strength and decrepit old age the dregs of thy dayes for God and his service Canst thou think God will accept thereof Surely no. For mark what the Prophet Malachy speaketh Cursed be the deceiver which hath in his floâ—k a male and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing What then can they expect who dedicate the prime and strength of their dayes to sin and reserve only the lees their old age full of sores and corruptions unto God 4. Frequently call to mind the resolutions thou hast made of a speedy and through reformateon which will be an especial means to keep them fresh in memory and a fresh remembrance of them will stir thee up to a conscionable performance of them 5. Often renew thy resolutions It is not sufficient frequently to review thy resolutions but thou must likewise frequently renew them For a resolution renewed is as new made and thereby becometh fresh and vigorous And truly there is great power in a resolution when it is fresh upon the heart new cords are strong V. Having resolved to give a bill of divorce to thy sinful lusts and pleasures make choice of Christ for thy Lord and Husband as well as for thy Priest and Saviour Take him as the Bride doth her Bridegroom for better for worse for richer and poorer with his cross as well as with his Crown resign and give up thy self unto Christ to be ruled and governed ordered and disposed in all things by him and resolve as to cast thy self at the feet of Christ in subjection to him so to cast thy self into the arms of Christ and upon his shoulders for Salvation from him adventure thy soul upon him rest upon his perfect righteousness and all-sufficient Sacrifice for the pardon of thy sins here and for eternal life and Salvation hereafter Let the consideration of those many melting invitations of Jesus Christ unto poor sinners to come unto him stir thee up to go unto him to cast thy self into the merciful and meritorious arms and embracements of thy Crucified Saviour to throw thy self upon his grace and mercy As God hath laid thy help upon him so do thou lay thy hope upon him both for the pardon of thy sins past and for power against sin for the time to come for grace here and glory hereafter saying If I perish I will perish in the arms of Iesus Christ. And if thou canst bring up thine heart to this then is the match made between Christ and thy soul so that thou maist with confidence say Christ is mine and I am his And oh what a joyful day will this be unto thee In this consisteth thy new birth and work of Regeneration whereby thou art become a new creature This day is salvation come into thy heart All other things are but preparatives unto this Oh therefore let me prevail with thee above all things to make this choice of Christ for thy Lord and Saviour to resign up thy self unto him and his Laws as well as to expect salvation from him For no man can take Jesus Christ savingly who takes him not wholly as his Lord and husband to serve and obey him as well as his Priest and Saviour to free him from the guilt and punishment of all his sinsâ— He is the author of eternal Salvation only to those who obey him Many I know are willing to accept of Christ upon their own terms Some are willing to accept of Christ provided that together with him they may enjoy their sinfull lusts and pleasures Others are willing to accept of him provided that together with him they may enjoy their worldly riches and treasures But he who will take Christ savingly must take him upon his own terms He will be all to thee or nothing he will rule thee or else he will not ransome thee Away then with thy sins be divorced from thine old Husband let sin no longer rule in thee if thou wilt be marryed to the Lord and have any part in his righteousness Ah sinner whosoever thou art how many soever thy sins are this day in the name of the great God I do tender Jesus Christ unto thee And as thou tendrest the life and happiness of thine own soul refuse him not but stir up thy self to accept of him both his person
and in all his offices Say the Lord Jesus Christ shall be my Prophet I will in all things labour to be taught and instructed by him And he shall be my King I will give him the Supremacy I will resign up my self wholly to his Dominion in all things to be ordered and governed by him And he shall be my Priest he shall answer to God and make an atonement for me I will rest upon his perfect righteousness and all-sufficient Sacrifice offered upon the Cross for life and salvation Though thou hast hitherto been a great sinner yet if now thou wilt abandon thy sins and thus embrace Jesus Christ thou shalt have him given to thee and all thy sins freely forgiven thee Oh why wilt thou neglect so great salvation Oh do not deferr the doing it one day longer But to day even now that Christ is freely offered unto thee resolve to receive him And be not discouraged out of fear that because thou hast so long refused to choose and embrace Jesus Christ therefore now the time is past But know that so long as the Lord continueth calling and inviting thee by his Word and Spirit so long the day of grace lasteth The golden Scepter is this day held forth unto thee Christ and Salvation are now offered unto thee O therefore embrace him by faith which if thou refusest to do know assuredly that everlasting fire prepared for the Devils will be thy portion to all Eternity For as our Saviour speaketh This is the condemnation even the soarest and surest condemnation that light is come into the World that Jesus Chrst and salvation by him is offered in the Gospel and yet men love darkness more than light preferring their deeds of darkness their sinful sensual wayes before the Lord of life who is the light of the World Oh that any should be so foolish and unwise as to choose darkness rather than light and death rather than life CHAP. XV. Other Means on our part to be performed for attaining of Regeneration VI WIth patience wait upon Christ in the use of his Ordinances especially the Word and Prayer 1. Frequent the Ministry of the Word where the Spirit of God useth to breath The Spirit is the principal worker of this great work as our Saviour expresseth And the Ministry of the Word is the ordinary Means and instrument which the spirit of God useth for the effecting hereof The Spirit of God breaths not in an Ale-house or in a Tavern or Play-house but in the Ministry of the Word Whereupon the Apostle Paul calls it the Word of life by which our souls are quickned And the Apostle Peter the seed of Regeneration by which we are new born Being born again saith he not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God this seed being sown in the heart doth by little and little grow up to a new creature In this respect the Preachers of the Gospel are called spiritual Fathers because by their Ministry they beget men unto God as Paul told the Corinthians that he had begotten them through the Gospel So that it is clear that the Ministery of the Word is the ordinary means whereby the Holy Ghost doth usually work in us that great work of Regeneration But we must take heed that we do not attribute our new birth unto the Word Preached as having in its own nature any inherent power to give life and grace but as it is the Word of God and his holy ordinance which he hath instituted and sanctified for working grace in us Attend therefore unto the Ministry of the Word as the Ordinance of God unto which his blessing is promised use it in obedience to his command in hope of his blessing and with desire to profit thereby And for thine encouragement know that as dead a soul as thine hath been quickned by the spirit of God as it hath been attending upon the Ministry of the Word as hard an heart as thine hath been softned as prophane an heart hath been sanctified as carnal and corrupt an heart hath been changed and renewed And who knoweth but while thou art attending upon God in his way his spirit may breath upon thee and so quicken thy dead heart mollifie thine hard heart sanctifie thy prophane heart yea renew and change thy totally corrupted and carnal heart wherein consisteth the work of Regeneration This I press upon all knowing that a carnal unregenerate man may give outward attendance unto the Ministry of the Word Though thou art spiritually dead yet hast thou feet to carry thee to the house of God and ears to hear the outward Ministry of the Word and understanding to know in great measure what is said Thou maist come to the Pool and lye by it though thou canst not put thy self in And truly it is good lying in the way where Christ useth to come Oh therefore frequent the Ministry of the Word where the Spirit of Christ useth to move yea and to breath a spirit of life into dead souls Take all occasions of hearing the Word both in season and out of season Let nothing but necessity keep thee at home for thou knowest not what Sermon may be most sutable to thy condition And when thou hearest attend to it as to a message sent from God concerning thine everlasting salvation And be often calling it to remembrance whereby it will take the deeper impression upon thine heart And though for the present thou find not that benefit thou expectest yet wait still upon the Ordinance The lame man who lay long at the Pool of Bethesda at last was cured 2. Be much in reading the Word of God and such practical books as may help thee in understanding and applying it This must not thrust out Preaching yet is it an excellent means of grace in its own time and place as very many have found by their own experience For as the Psalmist speaketh The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. So that the word read is sometimes the power of God to Regeneration and Salvation as well as the Word Preached As the Eâ—nuch was a reading a portion of Scripture in his Chariot the Spirit of God commanded Philip to go near unto him to teach him the meaning thereof and to instruct him in the knowledge of Jesus Christ whereupon he believed and was baptized And Luther confesseth of himself that he was changed and renewed upon reading the Scriptures and therefore professed he would not part with one leaf of the Bible for all the World For in the Scriptures there is a clear revelation of the way and means of Salvation by Jesus Christ therein is contained the Covenant of grace and the Laws of Heaven according to which we must square all our actions Oh sinner as thou desirest to partake of the new birth and to be made partaker of the grace of God be careful and conscionable in reading the Scriptures Spend not that time
in reading of play-books and unprofitable pamphlets which thou mightest spend in reading the Word which is able to make thee wise unto Salvation to this end carry it about thee as Alexander did Homers Iliads for his fellow and companion in the Wars Oh that every one of us were ambitious of that commendation which Eusebius gives of St. Origen That he could repeat all the Scriptures at his fingers ends 3. Pray unto God for the change of thine heart beg of him that he would be pleased by his spirit to regenerate thee to plant his image in thy soul that thou maist become a new-creature What the Apostle Iames saith of wisdom is true of all grace If any one lack it let him ask it of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him Oh therefore beseech him to open thine eyes and shew thee how sad and deplorable thy condition is so long as thou continuest in the state of unregeneracy that thou maist be truly sensible thereof that he would shew thee the excellency and necessity of a new birth that thine heart may be raised up in some earnest longing desires after the same that he would vouchsafe unto thee his Holy Spirit which may quicken thy dead soul and renew it after the Image of God in righteousness and true holiness And in thy prayers plead the promise of God to give his Spirit to those who ask him That thy Prayers for a new birth may the better speed 1. Be earnest therein Pray withall thine heart and with all thy might with the highest intention of affection If thou wouldst be a prevailing Israel thou must be a wrastling Iacob wrastle with God in prayer for it is the fervent prayer only that is effectual 2. Be unâ—â—ssant in thy Prayers as one that will take no nay nor give over till thou find the work wrought in thy soul. Be as importunate with God as the Widdow was with the unjust judge For God loveth importunity If the unjust Judge was overcome with importunity how much rather will the righteous God who is compassionately affected towards those who seek unto him Resolve with Iacob I will not let thee go except thou bless me Lord help me Lord break me humble me change and turn me I cannot turn my self Ministers cannot Ordinances cannot afflictions cannot turn me If thou wilt thou canst turn thou me and I shall be turned draw thou me and I will run after thee O suffer thy self this once to be overcome by a poor Worm I cannot be denyed I dye I am undone if thou deny me I cannot be denyed I will not be denyed I will not let thee go untill thou bless me Lord hear Lord turn me Obj. But some are apt to object and say how can I pray without the Spirit A. Put thy self upon the duty of prayer and who knoweth but thou maist soon feel and find the assistance of Gods spirit in the performance though thou findest it not in the entrance of the duty Go therefore unto God in prayer spread before him thy wretched miserable state and condition plead thy miserable necessity the dreadfulness of thy present state how much better it had been that thou hadst never been born than not to be born again And then waiting for the assistance of the Spirit be earnest and importunate with God that he would not let thee live a day longer in thine Unregenerate state least death should find thee therein and then thou perish everlastingly Obj. Some I know do question whether carnal and unregenerate men may be put upon that duty of prayer because the Scripture saith that the Sacrifice of the wicked is abomiâ—ation to the Lord and that God heareth not sinners A. 1. The Scriptures give us warrant to press carnal and unregenerate men upon the duty of Prayer For at the time when Peter told Simon Magus that he was in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iâ—iquity then he pressed him to pray unto God saying Repent of thy wickedâ—ess and pray unto God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee 2. We do not exhort men to pray and still hold themselves resolved to continue in their wicked and ungodly courses such prayer indeed would be an abomination but to resolve upon turning and so to go unto the Lord for his grace to assist and accept them And therefore saith Peter to Simon Magus Repent of this thy wickedness and so pray for pardon 3. The young Ravens cry for want of food and God is said to hear them Why may he not then hear the cryes and Prayers of carnal and unregenerate men especially when they pray unto him for changed and renewed hearts which prayers cannot but be agreeable to the will of God How graciously did God reward that petition of Solomon when he asked not for riches or long life but for a wise and understanding heart So may God say unto them because ye have not asked temporal blessings as health wealth or the like but a renewed heart a new birth be it according to your desires your natural carnal heart shall be changed and renewed And to thine own Prayers call in the help of other mens prayers beg of them that in their Prayers they would be mindfull of thee and of thy condition that they would be earnest with God on thy behalf that he would make thee a new creature by endowing thee with true saving sanctifying graces Thus Simon Magus begged the Prayers of the Apostles apprehending their prayers to be more prevalent than his own For it is possible that God may hear the Prayers of Iob for his friends when he will not hear them for themselves And the Iaylors Conversion is set down as the Consequent of the Apostles Prayers Not only their deliverance out of his prison but his deliverance out of the Devils prison is set down as a fruit of their prayers To thine own prayers therefore call in the help of other mens Prayers VII When either in hearing reading praying or at any other time thou feelest any motions of Gods spirit in thy soul and conscience make much of them surrender up thy self thereunto presently turn those motions into resolutions and those resolutions into endeavours Let not the motions of Gods Spirit be nipped in the bud but nourish and cherish them that they may bring forth good fruit Ah sinner as thou tendrest the good and happiness of thy precious and immortal soul slight not the motions of Gods Spirit in thee but labour to improve them to the ends for which they are sent Are they motions tending to the working in thee a loathing and abhorring of thy former sinful lusts second those motions with strong resolutions to leave and forsake them for the time to come at least so to strive against them as they may not rule and raign in thee as formerly they have done Are they motions tending to the
revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evill against you falsely for my sake rejoyce and be exceeding glad 2. Gods Children in and under great afflictions do oft-times feel and find the greatest joy and comfort As their sufferiâ—gs abound so their consolation aboundeth in and through Christ. When doth a Christian stand in more need of the comforts of God and when doth he enjoy more of them then when outward comforts do most fail him When David was sorely distressed being plundred of his goods and robbed of his Wives and Children he encouraged himself in the Lord his God and received much comfort from him Obj. 2. How can the state of the regenerate be joyful when as the grace of God teacheth and requireth them to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and toâ— live as godly and righteously so soberly in this present World A. 1. True it is the Regenerate ought not to live according to the course of the World satisfying their own carnal lusts and pleasures but according to the strict rule of Gods Word 2. But yet this strict walking is no hinderance to true joy but rather a furtherer thereof which made the Prophet David to say Great peace have they who love thy Law that is they shall enjoy much peace of Conscience and quietness of mind It is said of the primitive Saints that they walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the holy Ghost because they walked in the fear of the Lord therefore they found the joy and comfort of the Holy Ghost And indeed the strictest walking hath procured the sweâ—test joy and the loosest walking the greatest sorrow Ask the people of God whether any of them have ever found more soul-reâ—oyciâ—g than when they have walked most closely and exactly with God Nay I dare appeal to thine own Conscience whether it be not more comfortable to serve God than the Devil to please God than to gratifie thy sinfull lusts and affections Dost thou make nothing of the joy of a good Conscience and the sweetness of uprightness and integrity Obj. 3. Doth not daily experience tell us that many Godly Christians notwithstanding their close walking with God live very uncomfortably their spirits are heavy and sad and they are oftner in tears and groans than others A. 1. It may be their sadness is not a real but a seeming sadness they only seem to be sad unto wicked and prophane men As sorrowfull yet alwayes rejoycing Where the Apostle bringeth in the sorrow of the Godly with a quasi as it were sorrowful not that it is sorrow indeed But when he speaks of their joy there 's no quasi but true joy which is grounded upon so sure foundations viz. the free grace of God and the merits of Christ apprehended by a true and lively faith that it continueth for ever and never utterly vanisheth away When the Countenance of a Christian seemeth sad there is many times much peace and joy in his heart and therefore his joy is called hidden Manna as being inward and secret to which worldly men are meer strangers 2. Though their sadness be real yet is not their godliness the cause thereof no more than the Sun can be the cause of darkness But the grounds and causes of a Christians sadness are these 1. Haply he hath lately fallen into some great and heinous sin and if so no marvel if he walk sadly and uncomfortably till he hath got some comfortable evidence of the pardon and forgiveness thereof For guilt makes a man a terrour to himself What made David walk so heavily yea roar out for grief but the guilt of his Adultery and Murther What made Peter go out and weep so bitterly but the guilt of his cowardize in denying his Lord and Master 2. Haply he hath some deep apprehension of the corruption of his own heart which he oft-times findeth working and stirring in him This made Paul to smite himself upon his breast and cry out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of sin and corruption Thou thinkest much to see a godly man walk sadly and uncomfortably Whereas if thine eyes were but opened to see the vileness and wretchedness that is in thine own heart thou wouldst presently sink down in dismal sorrow and desperation 3. He may yet be in the travel of his new birth or but newly delivered so that he is hardly freed from the spirit of bondage And therefore no marvel that he still walks with a sorrowful heart But this sorrow will soon end in full joy For Christ the Sun of Righteousness is rising upon his soul with healing in his Wings who will dry up his tears and fill his heart with joy 4. Or if he be a through Convert yet he may be under some soar temptation from the Devil whose main design is to keep men in slavery and bondage to himself but if he fail therein then his next design is to weaken their comforts And therefore so far as God will give him leave he will be sure to set upon them with his fiercest temptations and to cast into their minds many Atheistical and Blasphemous thoughts the venom of which is ready to drink up their spirits and it is no marvel if they walk uncomfortably at such times for joy and rejoycing attends not the combate but the conquest Think not the worse of the wayes of God for that the Devil is so much against them and straws them with such thornes 5. It may be he is of a melancholy constitution and then it cannot be expected he should walk joyfully For joy hath no greater enemy than melancholy And know that though the disposition of the soul is changed by the new birth yet not the constitution of the body 6. It may be God hath hid his face and favour from him withdrawn himself in respect of the manifestation of his love to his soul so that he doth not enjoy that comfort which he was wont to have in God and if so no marvel if he walk heavily and uncomfortably For what Christian can rejoice when God deprives him of all sense and feeling of his loving favour and shuts up those sweet streams of refreshment which were wont to flow into his soul Surely the chief work of a Christian in such a case is heartily to bewail his present sad condition and to be earnest with God in prayer that he would lift up the light of his countenance and shine in comfortably upon his soul that the bones which he hath broken may rejoice Now for any to argue because some godly men have ofttimes occasion of sorrow and mourning therefore the lives of all the godly are full of sorrow and sadness is a very absurd and false kind of reasoning and yet this is the reasoning of many carnal men and women in the World Whereas we may more rationally argue the lives of all carnal and
prophane men to be uncomfortable because all the causes of uncomfortableness are found on them as guilt of sin death in sin enmity against God alienation from Christ and therefore lyableness to all judgements and plagues here and to eternal death and condemnation hereafter Surely if carnal men understood themselves throughly they would find all both within and without them like Ezekiels roul nothing but lamentation mourning and woe CHAP. XVII The second branch of the Vse of Exhortation unto the Regenerate HAving done with the first branch of the Use of Exhortation unto the Unregenerate Come we now unto the second which concerneth the Regenerate and consisteth of divers heads 1. Admire and adore Gods special mercy and goodness in thy Regeneration Let thine heart be ravished with the consideration of his love to thee in Christ Jesus the bottom whereof cannot be fathomed by any Angel in Heaven And therefore well maist thou cry out Oh the heighth and the depth the length and the breadth of the love of God unto thy soul If David upon the consideration of the goodness of God to man in his Creation cryed out so affectionately Lord what is man that thou art mindfull of him and the son of man that thou visitest him Surely upon the consideration of Gods mercy unto thy soul in this work of new Creation hast not thou cause to say the like Lord what is man that thou art mindfull of him and the son of man that thou visitest him Lord what am I among the Sons of men that thou shouldest have respect to me That the Lord should pluck thee as a brand out of the fire that he should take thee into his special grace and favour when he left many millions of Men and Women to perish in their sins that he should make thee an heir of Heaven when he left so many to be fire-brands of hell that thy nature should be renewed and sanctified when others are left in their filth and pollution hast not thou unspeakable cause to sit down and admire the freeness of Gods grace and riches of his mercy towards thee Surely nothing but free Grace hath put this honour upon thee and put such a difference between thee and others For what did God see more in thee than in others to move him to set his special love on thee Oh cast thine eyes round about thee look upon thy neighbours who live under the same Ministery partake of the same Ordinances as thou dost and yet never felt the power and sweetness of them in their souls Let the abominable wickedness which thou daily seest in others fill thee with wonder at the loving kindness of the Lord to thee That the dew of his free Grace should fall upon thy soul when the hearts of so many about thee should be dry not having one drop of that dew upon them is not this a mercy to be admired Oh consider it and adore it and say Lord how is it that thou shouldst bestow thy grace on me and deny it to so many who in many respects are better than I That thy heart may be the more raised up in admiration of the mercy and goodness of God unto thee herein take notice of the manifold priviledges which do follow and accompany such as are Regenerated 1. The love and favour of God wherewith they are embraced Love is weighty and falleth downward from Father to Child Yea love in God is as a Fountain and spring-head and the channel or pipe in and through which it runneth is Christ now that spring continually floweth forth through that pipe to every Regenerate person Observe the love of earthly Parents to their Children how great how constant it is withall consider how far God exceeds them in his love even as far as he doth in greatness which is infinitely So as every Regenerate person may with assurance rest on the love of God his Father which cannot be but most sweet to the soul and exceeding comfortable For in Gods fatherly favour consisteth our happiness II. Union with Christ. For Christ is the head and by Regeneration we are his members The Apostle writing to the Corinthians who were born again by the Spirit saith Now are ye the body of Christ and members in particular meaning of the mystical body of Christ. This Union of the Regenerate with Christ is one of the great mysteries of our Christian faith and it is a Mysterie of an unspeakable comfort and consolation For by vertue of our Union with Christ God is our Father Christ is our Brother and our Husband and Head Heaven is our inheritance Angels are our attendants and guardians who are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of Salvation These Angels are those Horses and Chariots of fire which were round about Elisha and which are also round about every member of Christ in all their dangers though they see them not If the eyes of the Regenerate were but opened to see their glorious attendants how would their hearts be comforted and cheered in all their distresses III. Adoption Such as are Regenerated are thereby the adopted Sons of God Whereas by natural propagation they were the children of wrath by this Regeneration they are the Children of grace being translated out of the Family of Satan into Gods own Family and in and through Christ they are made the adopted Sons of God Oh that the Lord would open our eyes to see this priviledge Behold saith St. Iohn what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed on us that we should be called the Sons of God The Apostle not being able to express the greatness of Gods love to us therein he breaks forth into an admiration thereof And truly well might he say Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us For here is not only love but love to admiration that we vile wretched sinfull creatures who were dead in sins and trespasses enemies to God by wicked works yea and children of wrath as well as others that we should be thus advanced in and by Christ as to be accounted not only servants which is much nor only friends which is more but also Sons and consequently heirs and co-heirs with Christ which is most of all IV. Christian freedom As it is the great unhappiness of the unregenerate that they are in a state of vasalage so it is the great happiness of the regenerate that they are in a state of freedom being freed 1. From Satan Though not from the assaults and temptations of Satan yet from the power of Satan For our Saviour Christ by his death hath destroyed him that had the power of death that is the Devil He hath now broken the Serpents head so that though he may hiss against us yet he cannot sting us though he may assault us yet he cannot overcome us and though he goeth about like a roaring Lion sâ—â—king whom he may devour yet Christ hath him in a
saw him to be amongst them that murthered him that went deeper to his heart than the swords of all his enemies did or could In like manner the sins of Gods Children are greater in his sight and do more grieve him than the sins of other men II. Consider thine high and holy calling Thou art called out of darkness into light out of the Kingdom of Satan into the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Shall there be no difference betwixt the Children of the Kingdom and the Children of the wicked one betwixt Gods servants and the Devils slaves Art thou one of the called of God oh how doth it concern thee to follow the counsel of the Apostle to the Ephesians namely to walk worthy of the Vocation wherewith thou art called that is suitable to the dignity and purity of it 1. Thy calling is an high calling And therefore as men called to high places carry themselves answerably thereunto In like manner thou being called to be a Christian it is thy duty that thou maist not disgrace thy holy profession and that worthy name by which thou art called to carry thy self becomingly and suitably to it by hating every sin labouring daily in the mortifying every lust and corruption keeping thy self unspotted of the World 2. Thy calling is an holy calling the end thereof is holiness For God hath not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness Now an holy calling ought to be accompanied with an holy life and conversation Being called from darkness to light from sinfulness to holiness from the flesh to the Spirit from Satan to God is it not most meet thou shouldst cast off the unfruitfull works of darkness and walk as a Child of light That thou shouldst no more give thy members as Servants unto sin but as Servants unto righteousness That thou shouldst no more fulfill the Lusts of the flesh but walk in the Spirit after the motions thereof This is to walk worthy of the vocation whereunto thou art called III. Consider the many great and singular priviledges God hath vouchsafed unto you Being raised above the condition of other men it beseemeth not you to act as the men of the World but to live above their rate to be more Holy and Heavenly in your conversation more zealous for God more fervent in the performance of holy and religious duties The Lord expects greater matters and other manner of Service from you than from other men for he hath done more for you and bestowed more on you than upon all the World besides When you call to mind your priviledges reason thus with your selves Hath God made us partakers of such and such special mercies and singular priviledges Oh then what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and Godliness How ought we to walk worthy such singular priviledges by singularity of actions doing some singular things for God who hath dealt so singularly well for us As God hath abounded to us in his choicest mercies so he expects we should be abundant in singular duties CHAP. XIX Sheweth the singular good things which the Regenerate ought to do aboue others I. TO make Conscience of their precious time and to improve it to the best advantage Carnal men make little or no conscience of spending their time to any good advantage Oh the many golden hours and dayes and weeks and years that thousands of them spend who yet cannot give the least account wherein they have done any thing which tends to the glory of God the good of others or the farthering their own Salvation Their minds are so much set upon their carnal lusts and pleasures that their chief care is not so much how to improve their time as how they may pass it away in mirth and jollity That which when it is once gone all the World will not buy it back what a cheap thing is it accounted But oh how doth it concern such whom God hath called to prize the time which he is pleased to afford unto them and to be carefull in improving the same to some good advantage yea to gather up the fragments of time every inch of it that nothing may be lost We cannot well spare one spare hour O make the best of thy day To this end 1. Consider that thine everlasting state depends upon thy well or ill spending of thy time Many make light of their time and thereupon play and sport it away Yet there is no moment which thou dost mispend but for ought thou knowest it may be the very time upon which thine eternal state doth depend Oh what a madness must it needs be for an hour or dayes pleasure to hazard the loss of everlasting happiness and to incurr the danger of eternal misery And yet how few think of the passing away their time or that any great matter depends thereupon 2. Consider the preciousness of time which is of more worth than all the riches and treasures in the World for they cannot purchase one minute of time Should the Lord be pleased to vouchsafe unto a damned soul in hell but one weeks time to live again upon the earth for tryal how he would improve the same to his souls advantage Oh how highly would he prize it how carefully would he improve every moment thereof how serious would he be in every holy duty and in all the concernments of his soul how conscionable in spending of the Sabbath how watchfull would he be on that day over his thoughts words and actions Should he hear Christ tendred in the Ministry of the Gospel as a Saviour to poor sinners oh how readily would he close with the offer of Jesus Christ how heartily would he embrace him Should he be tempted by some carnal friends to spend one day with them in mirth and jollity how would he answer them Alas the time on which my everlasting condition doth depend is very short and must it not be egregious folly in me to trifle away part thereof Shall I implunge my soul into eternal flames for a little pleasure and short delight Oh God forbid And hereby may you see how precious time is Surely little reason have any to be so sparing of their wealth and so prodigal of their time when as all the wealth in the World as before is said cannot purchase one hours time 3. Consider how much precious time you have already lost how many hours and dayes and weeks and years you have trifled away in vanity and pleasure yea in sin and wickedness Though in likelihood the greatest part of your time is past and gone yet it is to be feared that little of your work is done Is it not meet then now to begin to make Conscience of your precious time and to improve it better The time which you have already lost can never be recalled O let no more of it run out in vain Oh think it too much that you have spent so much of it already to so little
or such evil purpose And now at length resolve to be thrifty to be more watchfull over your selves and more provident for hereafter You have but a little time to live yet much may be done in that little Throw not away that inch which remains after the many years that are gone and can no more be recalled 4. Consider the shortness of thy life it is but a moment to eternity And is it not pitty to lose any thing of that which is precious and short 5. Consider as the shortness So the uncertainty of thy life You know what was said to him who promised life to himself for many years Thou fool this night thy soul shall be taken from thee And it may be thou maist this next night receive the like doom And if thy time be ended and thy work to be begun oh how sad is thy case like to be 6. Consider as the shortness and uncertainty of thy time So the greatness of the work to be performed therein thy Lusts must be mortified thy graces strengthned thine evidences for Heaven cleared up c. Here is a great deal of work to be done in a little time Doth it not then concern thee speedily to bestir thy self and not to lose a minute 7. Consider the present time is only thine to improve Behold now is the accepted time now is the day of Salvation Oh then why wilt thou trifle away the time which is properly thine and promise to thy self great things in a time which is none of thine For even the next hour yea the next minute thou maist be cut off by the stroak of death and then all opportunities of doing and receiving good are taken away II. Another singular thing which the Regenerate ought to do above others is To embrace every opportunity of doing and receiving good By doing good I mean not only beneficence to the poor but also a conscionable performance of all Christian duties whether they concern the glory of God the edification of our brethren or the Salvation of our own souls Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do do it with thy might saith the Wise man that is whatsoever opportunity of doing good is afforded unto thee do it vigorously and speedily not deferring it till it be too late Mark his reason in the next words For there is no work in the grave whither thou art going As if he had said In this life thou hast many opportunities of doing good but in the grave thou shalt have neither power nor opportunities When thy night cometh there is an end of working therefore while it is day and while thou hast an opportunity up and be doing Doth the Lord afford unto thee any opportunity either of laying up for thine own soul or of laying out for the good of thy brothers soul be carefull to embrace the same yea and to improve it to the best advantage Having a price put into thy hands oh let it not carelesly slip away left thou full dearly repent thereof saying Oh what an opportunity have I lost of benefiting both my self and others how might I have furthered both mine own and others Salvation by building up one another in the most holy faith But fool that I was I have carelesly neglected these precious opportunities which will never never be regained Oh how will the thought thereof one day or other gall thy Conscience That thou maist be the more stirred up to embrace and improve every oportunity God by his providence affordeth unto thee 1. Consider how worldly men hugg their opportunities for the World and wilt not thou embrace thy opportunities for Heaven The tradesman neglects not his opportunity of buying and selling but carefully attends the same The Merchant will not lose his Exchange-time nor the Marriner his Wind and Tyde The Lawyer will not lose his Terms Nor the Husband-man his Seed-time or Harvest If thou lose thy Seed-time of grace thou thereby losest the Harvest of glory 2. Consider how few thy remaining opportunities may be For ought thou knowest the time is near at hand when thy praying opportunities and hearing opportunities and receiving opportunities and relieving opportunities with the like will be past and gone How then doth it concern thee to improve them whilest thou hast them and to use thy present as if it were the last season and opportunity would be afforded unto thee If thou art in the company of a godly experienced Christian thou hast then an opportunity of gaining much spiritual good and advantage to thine own soul as by observing his graces so by propounding thy doubts and scruples unto him Oh let not such an opportunity pass away without some spiritual improvement If thou art called to visit a dying friend or neighbour oh what an opportunity hast thou put into thy hand to do his soul good by advising him to think of death and to prepare for it to make his peace with God to cast himself and the burthen of his sins upon Christ to build the hope of his salvation only upon that rock the Lord Jesus Christ. If in walking abroad or travelling on the road thou fall into company what good maist thou do by some savoury and spiritual discourse of God or of mans miserable condition by nature or of the state of redemption by Jesus Christ or the like oh how much might thy care this way abound to thy account Remember the words of the Apostle Exhort one another daily while it is called to day If the Lord hath given thee a Family and furnished thee with abilities for their instruction and edification let not the souls that are with thee be lost through thy neglect Thou hast daily opportunities to be sowing thy seed in their souls which may spring up to their eternal life And for thy neighbours that live about thee let them find thee a good neighbour to them and that they will best do if thou endeavour to help them to be good Christians CHAP. XX. Of performing good duties after a right manner III. ANother singular duty incumbent upon the Regenerate is To be carefull of the manner of performing good duties Not only to be conscionable in the use of Ordinances but likewise to work up their hearts to a conscionableness in the manner of doing them 1. For therein especially is our respect to God manifested As for the duties themselves many respects may induce us to the outward performance of them as obedience to authority desire of a good name hope of meriting thereby or the like But it is respect to God who searcheth the heart that moveth men to do the good duties they take in hand after a right manner so as they may be pleasing and acceptable unto him 2. The most holy duties we take in hand are clean perverted and depraved through our failing in the manner of performing them Yea holy duties are thereby turned into sin as the Prophet Isay implyeth He that killeth an Ox for Sacrifice is as if
faithfull is he that promiseth We read how under the Law God commanded by Moses concerning him that voweth or promiseth any thing to the Lord that he shall not break his word but shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth And shall the Lord say and not do it Shall he promise and not perform it Surely it is as possible for him not to be as not to keep his word and not to perform what he hath promised Indeed the Lord many times maketh his Children wait long for the accomplishment of his promises Yet he never faileth to be as good as his Word Which duly considered cannot but strengthen our faith in the firm expectation of all good things promised and enable us quietly and contentedly to rest and repose our selves in God for the accomplishment of what he hath promised and not to doubt thereof though he seem long to deferr the performance of them 3. His infinite Wisdom whereby he dispenseth the good things contained in his promises in their fitest time and season whenas they shall make most for his own glory and his Childrens good Farr be it therefore from us to prescribe unto God the time and season for the performance of his promises But let us rather resolve with patience to wait his appointed time and season who is infinite in Wisdom and so knoweth what is best and convenient for us even better than we our selves Thus did the Church Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God untill he have mercy upon us Therefore as the Lord speaketh by the Prophet Isay He that believeth shall not make haste because he is assured by faith that though he have not the thing he desireth at his own time yet he shall have it in that time which God in his Wisdom knoweth to be best for him whenas it shall make most for his good II. Consider the good success believers have found upon their living by faith how things have fallen out according to their hope and expectation It is recorded of Abraham that he lived by faith in Gods promise to him of a Son being fully perswaded that what he had promised he was able to perform And God accordingly did perform the same unto him Look into the Histories of the Kings of Iudah and Israel and you shall find that according to their trust in God and faith in his promises was their success and deliverance Our Fathers trusted in thee they trusted and thou didst deliver them they trusted in thee and were not confounded And saith David of himself The Lord is my strength and my Shield my heart trusted in him and I was helped What an encouragement must this needs be unto us to trust in God and live by faith in his promises Seeing he never failed such Faith in the promises being like the bow of Ionathan and Sword of Saul which never returned empty but allwayes finds what it seeks and enjoyes what it desires III. Take notice of the particular fruits of living by faith recorded in Scripture some whereof are these 1. Protection from things hurtfull Though Daniel was cast into a Den of Lyons yet it is said that no manner of hurt was found in him And this reason is rendred thereof Because he believed in Gods Word by faith relying on his power whom he knew was able to deliver him 2. Provision of needfull good things Therefore the Apostle exhorteth to trust in the living God and that on this ground he giveth us richly all things to enjoy namely all such things as he in his Wisdom seeth to be needfull for us And to set out Gods bounty in providing for such as live by faith in his promises the Wise man faith He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat that is he shall not only have such a competency as is absolutely necessary to preserve life or to keep body and soul together but also such plenty and abundance as will make him fat and well-liking 3. Comfort in every condition is another fruit of living by faith in Gods promises The promises of God in his Word are the Christians Cordials to cheer up his fainting spirits when he is ready to sink They are his aqua-vitae to revive him when he is ready to swound They are breasts of consolation full of sweet nourishment for the faint and weak They are Sacred and sure Anchors in the tempestuous seasons of trouble and affliction to stay and six believers amidst all tossings whatsoever They are roses that blow in the Winter which with their fragrancy revive drooping and dejected souls in the sad Winter of their desertion when the verdure of all other comforts wither and drop like leaves that are bitten with the frost This David found in his own experience for faith he thy promises are my comfort in my affliction for thy Word hath quickned me Whereas the best of the Worlds comforts are only applicable to some particular condition the comforts of the promises are universal such as agree with every estate and suit every malady and therefore apt to relieve the soul of a believer in every condition though never so sad and disconsolate So that the Christian who lives by faith in Gods promises many times walks more cheerfully under sore fiery troubles than others in the Sun-shine of Worldly prosperity The three Children walked to and fro with more joy in the fiery Furnace than Nebuchadaezzar in his stately Pallace 4. Contentment in our present state and condition is another Fruit of living by faith A Believer is like a dye that hath four squares throw it which way you will it falls upon a bottome Let God cast a Believer into what condition he pleaseth he still falleth upon his bottom of contentment he will be contented with his present state believing it to be ordered by God as in Wisdom so in much mercy and goodness unto him CHAP. XXIV Of Heavenly-mindedness ANother singular duty incumbent upon the Regenerate is to be spiritually minded by a frequent contemplation of spiritual and Heavenly things It is not some few slitting transient thoughts on God or Heaven wherein this duty consists but thoughts resting and fixing on some spiritual subject The truth is the thoughts of all men fly up and down like birds in the aire or chaff in the wind and some of these may light sometimes on God or Heaven but they are soon off and fixed on some worldly matter or some impertinencies or other and therefore cannot denominate a man to be spiritually-minded which is another manner of business than many are aware of It 's a thinking with thought upon thought a reiteration and multiplication of the thoughts of the mind upon God and the things of God and this in order to the affecting the heart deeply with them It is not sufficient to think and think oft of the love and goodness of God but we must labour to get our hearts inflamed
with a love unto him again It is not sufficient to think and think often of sin and the misery it hath implunged as in but we must so think thereof as to work our hearts to an hatred of sin and a fear of that wrath of God it hath exposed us and made us lyable to and to a looking after Jesus Christ who alone can free us from the guilt of our sins and from the punishment due unto us for the same This is a work of so great concernment and advantage as none can truly apprehend but such as have made tryal therein David who was a man full of Holy and Heavenly affections was full of Heavenly meditation And from the experience of that abundant sweetness and comfort he found therein doth often in his book of Psalms commend it unto others and pronounceth that man blessed who meditates in the Law of God day and night Let thy soul full often soar aloft upon the wings of divine contemplation Let not any solitary season pass away without some spiritual meditation and conference with thy God Either take a sorrowfull survey of thy manifold sins which may draw from thee as hearty grief for the same so hearty ejaculations for the pardon and forgiveness of them Or take a view of Gods blessings and favours towards thee and let this inlarge and raise up thine heart in praises and thanksgivings unto him Or bath thy self in an admiring commemoration of the meritorious blood of the immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus which was abundantly shed for the washing of thy body and soul from the filthy spots and stains of sin Seriously think what he hath done and suffered for thee how he hath fullfilled the Law and undergone the punishment due to thy sins and now in Heaven maketh intercession for thee by presenting himself an allsufficient Sacrifice unto his Father for thy sins Oh think with thy self what thou must have suffered for thy sins if he had not suffered for them What thou hadst been if he had not redeemed thee even a bondslave of Satan and fire-brand of hell Especially let thy soul full often meditate on the glorious things which the Lord hath reserved in Heaven for such as here do sincerely serve him and obey the Gospel of Iesus Christ. Oh think with thy self what a blessed thing it will be to live in the vision and fruition of God himself in whose presence there is fullness of joy and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore As also what an happiness it will be to behold the glorious body of Iesus Christ shining there with such incomprehensible beauty as shall infinitely delight the eyes of the beholders and that to all Eternity without satiety for the longer the Saints behold Christ the more they will be ravished with joy and delight Ponder likewise as on the excellent qualities wherewith thy soul and body shall be adorned in Heaven so on the excellency of that place which is set forth in Scripture by Pearls and precious stones And the more to set off this glory and blessedness oft consider with thy self the deplorable state of the damned in hell who feel nothing for the present but wrath and vengeance and can expect nothing for the future but the fuller Vials of Gods indignation to be powred on them to all Eternity Such considerations as these will serve as notable helps to draw and keep thine heart Heaven-ward and to turn all the streams of thy desires and longings towards the God of glory But oh how many Christians are there who having an hope towards God and some confidence of their interest in things above do notwithstanding converse but very little with them Their thoughts are seldome on Heaven or Heavenly things that notwithstanding all their confidence they may well question whether their treasure be there Consider Reader As before the Lord whether this be not thine own case Thou canst not be ignorant that an heart estranged from Heaven hath little evidence that he hath any part or place therein And wilt thou yet perswade thy self that God is thine when thou carest no more for him Dost thou highly prize an Heavenly mind and account them the best and the happiest Christians that are much in Heaven and yet is it not grievous to thee to find that thou didst never in all thy life it may be or but very seldome fix thy thoughts thereon for a quarter of an hour together but hast many and many a time suffered the Devil to run away with thy thoughts and to detain them on this dunghill below Certainly it were better the Devil had power to run away with thine estate than with thy thoughts and to order their motions at his pleasure Oh the multitude of Worldly and covetous thoughts of wanton and unclean thoughts of proud and ambitious thoughts of wicked and prophane thoughts yea of blaspheamous and atheistical thoughts that lodge in the hearts of most of us and there Revel it day and night Oh the speculative filthiness and contemplative uncleanness that not only harbours but likewise find hearty wellcome and entertainment there Surely friend thou hadst best look to thy self and get thy heart cleared of these evill guests thy vile and vain thoughts drive away these birds of prey and then the thoughts of God will be more familiar and precious to thee That thou maist get up to this Heavenly-mindedness take these directions 1. Humble thy self unfeignedly for thy great strangeness to God and Heaven that thou hast so rarely set thine heart on things above And for the time to come let it be thy special care and endeavour to habituate thy self to Spiritual and Heavenly Meditations frequently to steep thy soul in Heavens delights 2. When thou findest thy mind and thoughts to be ridden by the Devil and carryed away from God lift up thine heart by earnest and fervent prayer unto him who is the Father of Spirits and hath power over Devils and begg of him that as by his permission he hath suffered the unclean Spirit to enter into thee so he would command him speedily to depart from thee that thy mind might be free for its proper work For he only can cast down imaginations and every thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 3. Work thy heart to a perfect detestation of all vain and wicked thoughts that thou maist be able to say with David I hate vain thoughts This will highten thy resolutions to a greater watchfulness against them for the time to come and to use thine utmost endeavour to drive them away so that though they may arise in thine heart yet they may not lodge there And know this for thy comfort that those vain and wicked thoughts which thou dost from thine heart hate and detest shall not be laid to thy charge at the great day of account 4. Above all things keep a watch over
thine heart according to that counsel of the Wise man Keep thine heart with all diligence As if he had said Above all keeping keep thine heart which is like a City lyable every moment both to outward assaults and inward commotions Not only Satan thine arch-enemy is ever watchfull for an opportunity to cast thereinto his fiery darts and sensual objects but there are also many rebellious stirrings within which spring from the fountain of original corruption over which thou must especially watch and dismiss them with loathing and detestation If vain and wanton thoughts be not stâ—fled in the conception what monstrous wickedness may they not bring forth How great a fire may these little sparks kindle 5. 〈◊〉 thy heart and affections more and more from worldly cares and pleasures which clog the soul that it cannot mount aloft As a Bird whose wings are Limed is not able to take her flight on high So the man whose heart is intangled with the cares of this life and the pleasures of sin will not be able to get above ground the wings of holy meditation will not raise it on high Yea such a carnal and earthly mind is altogether unfit for Heavenly meditation and very backward and unwilling to it What better reason can be given why many think so little of God his Word and Works or of any good thing but because their hearts are so full of the World and their affections set so much upon the same where their treasure is there will their hearts also be 6. Be often lifting up thine heart to Heaven in some spiritual ejaculations especially in the morning Such as find themselves subject to wind in their stomachs through emptiness use before they go forth to take a mornings draught And as great need is there for such as are subject to vain wanton worldly thoughts every morning to prepossess their hearts with the thoughts of God of his glorious Majesty his omnipresence and omniscience his purity justice and the like And not only mornings but throughout the day when ever thou findest vain or wicked thoughts to arise at any time within thee meet them presently with a Prayer lift up thine heart in some short ejaculatory request unto God for power and strength to keep down and suppress the same 7. Labour to spiritualize every outward occurrence by raising Heavenly meditations from the same There is not any creature thou beholdest or any thing that befalls thee but thou maist make some spiritual use and improvement thereof As the Bee sucks honey out of every flower so maist thou extract spiritual and holy thoughts from every thing thou seest and beholdest yea from all occurrences and emergencies which will be a special means to prevent the Devil and Lust and to keep out those vanities and wickednesses which otherwise would fill thine head and heart withall 8. Labour to get thine heart furnished with the knowledge of God and his word which will take up thine heart with better things and leave no room for these unclean birds As the emptiness of the stomach maketh it subject to windiness so it is the emptiness of our hearts that makes them so full of vain foolish thoughts A good man saith our Saviour out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things A good man having his heart furnished with a treasure of many precious truths bringeth forth good thoughts as well as good things When thou art walking or riding alone call to mind some spiritual subject or favoury truth whereon to meditate bring forth out of thy treasury and let thine heart be continually working upon those good things thou hast there laid up 9. So often as thou goest unto God in Prayer let one petition be for mortifying grace to conquer those sinfull Lusts and vile affections which are apt to steam up into thine head with answerable thoughts and that he would make thee more heavenly minded by working in thine heart better affections Nothing but the power of God can cure us of the vanity of our thoughts and make them such as may be acceptable unto him In regard that the best of Gods people do find a great backwardness and untowardness in themselves to the performance of this Heavenly duty I shall give you some Motives thereunto which if seriously weighed may through Gods blessing prove effectual to perswade you to be more spiritually minded I. May be taken from the possibility of the work Indeed the work is somewhat difficult yet is it possible it 's that you have power to do Though you have not that command of your affections you cannot love what you will or hate what you will or grieve when you will yet can you not think of what you will And by how much more able you are to it by so much the greater your sin is if you neglect it II. Consider the necessity of this duty The mind of man being active if it be not exercised on spiritual and holy things it will be on things earthly and carnal The truth is whosoever doth not accustome himself to fix his thoughts on God or his Word or some spiritual subject will be sure to find them taken up with things of less concernment yea of dangerous and sad consequence from which they will reap nothing but corruption and defilement By how much our minds stray from God and pitch upon other things the more will they grow into the form of the Devil They are gone far from me and have walked after vanity and are become vain III. Consider the manifold benefits which usually follow thereupon 1. God will be sure to mind them who mind him Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought on his name Not a thought of God but it is registred in his book of remembrance The more we look up unto God the more he will look down upon us for our good When thoughts of God are stirring in us God himself is not far off he will come and enter Oh how happy are those souls in whom God comes and takes up his habitation 2. A clearer apprehension of divine truths Though we hear often and read much yet if we digest not those truths we meet with by meditation we shall still continue in the dark Our knowledge at the best will be but weak and inefficacious Whereas by a frequent thinking of those truths which we hear or read we shall have a clearer apprehension of them and they will be concocted into better nourishment 3. An Heavenly conversation The mind being the fountain of actions such as the mind is such is the life and conversation If the mind be holy and Heavenly such will the life be But if the mind be carnal and unclean the conversation will be thereafter Wouldst thou have an Heavenly conversation then must thou be Heavenly minded Thoughts are the seed and
coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves thorow with many sorrows As God hath in his Word denounced severe threatnings against many sins so a serious consideration of them will be a special means to mortifie the same and keep them at least from raigning in us 4. Call to mind the fearfull judgements God hath executed upon sinners as the drowning of the old World the raining fire and brimstone from Heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah the rejection of the Iews the destruction of those famous Churches of the Corinthians Galathians Ephesians with divers others Consider likewise the remarkable judgements of God executed upon notorious sinners in thine own dayes for their swearing sabbath-breaking whoring drinking and the like which through Gods blessing may prove a special Means to keep down all sinfull lusts and inordinate affections that they break not forth into outward gross acts 5. Consider the deceitfull nature of sin which allureth thee with shews of pleasure profit credit ease and the like but in the end it bites like a Serpent and stingeth like an Adder and then thou wilt perceive how thou art beguiled and deceived Horrour of Conscience and hellish torment is all it will pay thee instead of the pleasure it promiseth thee loss instead of profit even the loss of Heaven and happiness shame and disgrace instead of credit anguish instead of ease tribulation and anguish shall be upon every soul of man that doth evil Iacob complained of Labans deceit about his wages and what wilt thou think of thy wages when the pay-day comes The wages of sin is death wilt thou not then say the Serpent hath beguiled me this sin hath deceived me Be not such a fool as to take the word of a known deceiver away with it crucifie it for it intends thee mischief Be undeceived betimes how dreadfull will it be if nothing but fire and â—â—â—mstone will bring thee to thy wits If thou wilt noâ— see the treachery of sin till it be too late to escape it 6. When thou feelest corruption working and stirring in thee entising thee to sin seriously consider the manifold sufferings and bitter death of our blessed Saviour Iesus Christ on the Cross whereof our sins were the cause These were they that lay heavy upon his soul and made him exceeding sorrowfull even unto death These were the thorns which pricked his Temples the whips which scourged his innocent body and the nails which fastned his hands and feet to the Cross. And can we love our sins which kil'd our Saviour we complain of Iudas and of the Iews for Crucifying him and seem to hate them upon that account But behold the Iudas in thy heart and in thy life thy sins these are the betrayers and murderers Oh never leave looking up to a Crucified Christ till thou feel and find both arguments enough to engage thy heart against them and vertue flow from him to the Crucifying of them To this end reason thus with thy self Hath Christ paid for my Redemption his most precious Blood and shall I sell my soul to sin again for this fleshly pleasure or base profit what is this but to Crucifie the Lord of life afresh For know assuredly so many sins as thou committest wittingly and with delight so many thorns dost thou again fasten upon his head so many nailes dost thou drive into his hands and feet so many spears dost thou thrust into his heart Certainly a serious consideration of these things cannot but be a special means to set thee heartily upon this work of Mortification 7. Consider how frail and mortal thou art subject to death every moment and woe be unto thee if thou dye before thy sins be slain How darest thou adventure upon thy Lusts and the pleasures of sin when as thou maist suddenly be taken out of the Land of the living and cast into hell while thou art acting thy wickedness Even then when thou art blessing thy self in thy pleasures or the gains of unrigâ—â—eousness thou maist hear that voice Thou fool 〈◊〉 night thy soul shall be taken from thee Didst thou but seriously consider as the cerrainty of thy death so the uncertainty of the time thereof thou wouldst not but be afraid of sinning once more lest God should strike thee dead in the very act and thou have no time left for repentance Oh pray with the Psalmist that God would teach thee to number thy dayes and this will make thee apply thine heart unto Wisdom 8. Consider that sin will be thy destruction and nothing besides it can harm thee It is not in the power of all the men and Devils in the World to destroy the soul of any man Temptations can do nothing but by the advantage of corruption 't is that wounds mortally our immortal spirit and brings it into that cursed state where though it never dyeth yet is it alwayes dying though never quite dead yet ever in the pangs of death Oh what prodigious cruelty must it then needs be for such things of nought to betray thy precious soul to an eternal loss when if thou wouldst be perswaded to secure this enemy Sin thou mightest live and be blessed in spite of men and Devils And wilt thou yet be in league with it wilt thou let it live Shall not thy soul be avenged of such an enemy as this Arise arise set upon thy sins upon them all let not thy soul spare any one of them give no quarter to them let not any iniquity lodge in peace with thee one night more lest thou be a dead man before the morning Thus have I commended to thee several considerations to restrain thee from sin which by the help of God may serve to imbitter the sweetest bait that draws thee to it and to cool the heat of the most furious inticements When therefore thou feelest corruption working and stirring in thee call to mind the forementioned considerations fix thy thoughts on them let them not go off untill they begin to have a powerfull influence upon thy soul. II. Another means on our part to be performed for the mortifying our sinfull Lusts is carefully to eschew all occasions of sin and temptations thereunto He who will dally with occasions of sin is in danger of falling He who will venture upon temptations unto wickedness is not far from commission of it Observe therefore what occasions and opportunities what means and company have at any time given advantage to thy Lust to exert and put forth it self and flie from them as from Hell This is a point of true spiritual wisdom to see sin afar off in the occasions of it and by eschewing the one to prevent the other III. Observe the first working of corruption in thine heart and carefully suppress the same not suffering it to get the least ground Do not say thus far it shall go and no farther Give sin an inch and it will soon take an ell as the proverb is Lustfull thoughts have
without a gracious answer and then see if this be not his answer Son be of good comfort thy sins are forgiven be thou cleansed of all thy corruptions thy faith hath made thee whole Having shewed the Means whereby the work of Mortification may be effected I come now to shew the Manner how it ought to be performed 1. Our Mortification must be speedy Begin to day let the ax be presently laid to the root of these trees and whenever you feel the Devil at work blowing up the Coals of Lust be instantly in arms give not time to sin to get head upon thee resist it in its first motions and risings Delayes herein are very dangerous That Lust which at first may easily be overcome afterwards will hardly be kept under Why should we not be as wife for our souls as we are for our bodies who having fire cast into his bosome or house will not presently cast it out and quench it Woe to those fools who let alone these hellish fires and trifle so long till it hath gotten the mastery You whose Lusts are through your own neglects gotten up into a flame fear leâ—t it be too late to quench them fear lest these fires having been neglected so long should now burn to the bottom of Hell Vain wicked wanton thoughts are evil seeds sown in our hearts by our adversary the Devil which if they be let alone will insensibly grow up first into a blade then to an eare and so bring forth a dismal harvest of wickedness and wrath And therefore our wisest course must needs be so soon as they are sown speedily to weed and pull them up by the roots To which agreeth that of an ancient We must not suffer those fleshly vices to grow and increase but rather destroy them in their first beginnings 2. Our Mortification must be willing and voluntary not forced and constrained The Marriner in a storm casteth away his goods because he dares keep them no longer yet still his heart goeth after them And this is all the mortification of the most they will cast off their transgressions because they dare do no other Then only are we sincere in this work when our hearts are the first in all that opposition we make against our sins when we pray against them heartily when we watch and wrestle and strive and resist them with all our hearts when our very souls long to see the blood of our Lusts and if it were possible we might with safety yet our hatred against them would not suffer them to live They are like to do something to purpose against sin whose hearts do give the first charge upon them 3. Our Mortification must be universal extending it self to all our sinfull Lusts with a sincere purpose not to bear with our selves in any known sin For most certain it is that true mortification and an advised remaining in the practice of any known sin cannot possibly stand together Therefore the Prophet David to testifie the truth of his Mortification saith I have refrained my feet not from one or two but from every evil way he did not willingly bear with himself in the practice of any one sin well knowing every sin to be a transgression of the Law These two words Sin and transgressioâ— are convertible Whosoever committeth sin saith the beloved Disciple Iohn transgresseth the Law for sin is the transgression of the Law yea every sin and so makes us lyable to the wrath of God to all judgements and plagues here and to eternal damnation hereafter God will not spare that soul that will have any one of his sins spared to him He that would have one sin spared would have another and another if it served his turn He that would not have all of Christ would in truth have none of him And he that would not be rid of all sin has no sincere mind to be rid of any Christ will have all or nothing every duty must be done or as good you did none â—very sin must be left or as good you kept them all Canst thou let all sin go but this one even this must go too or thy life must go for it O friend set thy self against every sin great and small open and secret carnal and spiritual Set thy self against them heartily be willing to prosper and overcome and set upon them speedily let no iniquity live a day longer nor sleep a night more in quiet with thee only remembring to go forth against them in the strength of the Lord and then we shall quickly find thee to be one of Christs mortified ones who as thou art dead with Christ shalt certainly live with Christ and raign with Christ to all Eternity FINIS Josh. 24.15 As for Me and my House we will serve the Lord. CHAP. I. The Parts of the Text and Observation thence arising THe summ of these words is The good mans godly râ—solution to serve the Lord with his houshold In which we may observe these particulars 1. The person resolving viz Ioshua he it is who makes this resolution 2. The order of his resolution first himself will serve the Lord and then his house 3. The extent of his resolution viz. his whole house as for me and my house 4. The matter resolved on and this is to serve God Each of these might afford unto us a distinct point of Doctrine But I shall wave them all and insist upon one which as it comprehendeth the main scope of the words so it best suiteth with the scope of my intention in this discourse which is to press all Parents Masters and Governours of Families to a constant and conscionable performance of holy and religious duties in and with their Families The point of Doctrine is this Observ. It is a duty incumbent upon Parents and Masters of Families to be carefull that not only themselves but also all under their charge even their whole houshold do faithfully serve the Lord. It is not sufficient for Governours of Families to be good Christians themselves but they ought to be Christian Governours Not enough to be themselves Religious but they must train up all under their charge in the knowledge and practice of Religion And the truth is good Christians they cannot be who are not Christian Governours He hath little Religion himself that doth not faithfully endeavour to propagate it in his Family Thus Ioshua as a Master of a Family undertaketh not only for himself but also for his whole houshold that he with them and they with him should serve the Lord. Yea and in all ages such as have been most eminent in grace have been most exact in their Family-duties instance Abraham the Father of the faâ—thfull of whom God himself giveth thiâ— testimony I know Abraham that he will command his Children and his houshold after him that they shall keep the way of the Lord c. And Iacob his Grand-child walking in the steps of his Father Abraham was
7.22 He delighteth in the Law of God after the inward man Q. What other Grace doth the Gospel require besides faith A. Repentance Mat. 3 2. and 4.17 Q What is Repentance A. Repentance is such a change of the heart as causeth a new Life Repentance chiefly consisteth in the change of the mind and heart of a man As for the new life it is an effect and evidence of the new heart A new heart causeth a new life The outward change and renovation of a mans life is necessary For Repentance must be in the whole man and this latter giveth evidence to the truth of the former And where the former is there the latter will also be where there is a renewed heart there will be a reformed life For the soul hath an absolute command over the body and the body is wholy governed by the soul. Q Whence ariseth Repentance A. 1. From a sight and sense of sin with sorrow for it 2. From a faith of the pardon of sin I. By sight of sin is meant both a general and also a paricular knowledge of sin First A general knowledge of the nature of it what it is and of the loathsome properties of it how ugly and odious it maketh us in the pure eyes of God and of the fearful effects of it which are all miseries in this life a cursed death and eternal damnation Secondly A particular knowledge of our own sins Not only of those sins which are common to the nature of all men as Original corruption proneness to evil dulness to good c. But also of such particular Lusts as we feel warring in our members and such actual sins as we have committed in our lives As he that said I was a blaspheamer and a persecutor and an oppressor 1 Tim. 1.13 By sense of sin is meant a spiritual feeling of the wofull plight and condition wherein we lye by reason of sin When inwardly in our souls and consciences we are touched and wounded for our sins II. Faith concerning the pardon of sin is that which most kindly and effectually bringeth a man to Repentance The forementioned sight and sense of sin and sorrow for sin are excellent means to work in a man an hatred of sin and to make him wish he had never committed it yea and to make him think of turning from sin But faith in the pardon of sin whereby the soul is perswaded that all sins past shall be fully forgiven to him that repenteth and turneth from sin is a strong Motive to draw him from his former wicked courses And the Repentance that is by faith in Gods mercy wrought is most kindly wrought For faith as it apprehends pardon of sin most freely through Gods mercy in Christ Jesus so it works repentance by way of gratitude because it is pleasing and acceptable to God to turn from sin and because the good God is displeased and dishonoured by committing sin and continuing therein Q What are the outward Means appointed by God for the working and strengthning of faith repentance and other graces in us A. The Ordinances of God especially the Word Sacraments and Prayer The Ministry of the Word is the most necessary both for the working and encreasing faith and other graces That which the Apostle saith of faith That it cometh by hearing may bâ— applyed to all other graces They come by hearing the Word Preached And to shew that by it grace also is nourished The Apostle Peter exhorteth To desire the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 How doth it then concern us as to give diligent heed to the Ministry of the Word So to mix faith with our hearing as by giving credence to what is delivered out of the Word of God so by applying to our selves those truths which the Word revealeth Q. What is a Sacrament A. An holy Ordinance instituted by Christ wherein by outward signs inward grace is signified and sealed So that there are three things necessary to the making up of a Sacrament 1. An outward sign 2. An inward or spiritual grace 3. Christs Instituiton Q. How many Sacraments are there A. Two only Baptism and the Lords Supper As the Jews of old had two ordinary Sacraments which were circumcision and the Passeover So Christians now have two such as answer to them Baptism to Circumcision Col. 3.11 12. The Lords Supper to the Passeover Luk. 22.15 c. Q. What is Baptism A. A Sacrament wherein by the washing with water in the name of the Faâ—her the Son and the Holy Ghost our Regâ—neration is signified and sealed In that Baptism is a Sacrament of our Regeneration it sheweth 1. That by nature we are born in a cursed condition who have therefore need to be new-born assoon as we are born Regeneration is so absolutely necessary to our Salvation as without it we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Iob. 3.3 2. That Baptism is a means of our Regeneration Gods Spirit in and by that Ordinance worketh this great work In which respect we are said to be born of water and of the Spirit Joh. 3.5 yet is not every one that is baptized really and inwardly regenerated It is not the bare washing with water but the working of the Spirit thereby by which we are Regenerated And the Spirit is a free agent and worketh when and upon whom it listeth Ioh. 3.8 Q. What is the outward sign in Baptism A. Water Act. 8.36 There is nothing so fit to set out our cleansing from sin as Water whereby that which is filthy is clean Q What is the inward thing signified by Water in Baptism A. The Blood of Christ. In relation hereunto Christ is said to have washed us from our sins in his blood Rev. 1.5 As Water hath a cleansing vertue so also hath Christs blood The blood of Iesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin 1 Joh. 1.7 Q. What is the Lords Supper A. A Sacrament of our spiritual nourishment wherein by receiving Bread and Wine according to Christs institution our communion with Christ is reprâ—sented and sealed The Lords Supper is addâ—d to Baptism as a needfull means to maintain that life of God which is begotten in us Q. What are the outward signs in the Lords Supper A. Bread and Wine Mat. 26.26 Q. What doth the Sacramental bread set out A. The body of Christ. This is evident by Christs own words who holding bread in his hands saith of it This is my body Matth. 26.26 that is by way of representation as if he had said This bread representeth my body Q. What doth Sacramental Wine set out A. The blood of Christ. This is evident by the words of institution where Christ holding the Cup that had the Wine in it and speaking of the Wine therein he saith This is my blood Mat. 26.27 Q What is signified by the Ministers breaking the bread A. That Christ was broken with torments for our sins The Apostle in 1 Cor. 11.24 Thus
bringeth in Christ himself applying that rite This is my body which is broken for you Q. What is signified by powring out the Wine A. The shedding of Christs blood Or his suffering unto death and powring forth his soul an offering for sin Q. What is signified by the Ministers giving Bread and Wine to the Communicants A. Gods giving and offering his Son to them In the Sacrament God doth offer and tender Christ to every Communicant yea he doth as it were put him into our hands with his own hands Q. What is meant by those words of the Minister Take Eat Drink A. Gods will for our applying Christ to our selves He doth not only in a dumb shew make offer of Christ but by his Minister speaks unto us and saith I will and require you to take my Son to apply him to your selves that so you may live by him What can we more expect on Gods part to move us to receive his Son Q. What doth the peoples taking the Bread and Wine set out A. Their receiving Christs body and blood That is a spiritual receiving of Christ made man and made a Sacrifice to themselves and that by faith For faith is that instrument whereby we receive Christ and all his benefits as they are offered to us in the Gospel and sealed unto us in the Sacrament Faith is to the soul as the hand is to the body That which is offered to a man for his good the hand receives to be his own Thus God offering his Son unto us faith first perswades the heart of Gods good will to man and of his true intent to bestow Christ upon him and thereupon applyes and takes Christ to himself as his own By faith the things signified are as truly received for the nourishment of the soul as the signs are received fâ—r the nourishment of the body Faith is not only our hand to take hold of Christ but our mouth to take him in to take him down into our hearts whereby he becomes our nourishmâ—nt and strengâ—h Q. What is the duty of every Communicant before he goeth to the Lâ—rds Table A. Examinâ—tion 1 Cor. 11.28 Let a man examine himself aâ—d so let him eat of that bread and driâ—k of that Câ—p. Concerning this see my Directions for the worthy receiving the Lords Supper Chap. 24. Q. What is Prayâ—r A. Prayer is an offering up our dâ—sires to God in the name of Christ for such good things as he hath promâ—sâ—d to give and we stand in need to receive Prayer stands not in the bare use of a form of good words but is the pouring fâ—rth the soul and the desireâ— thereof after God and the good things he hath to bestow Isa. 26.9 In the name of Christ. God heareth not sinners that is coming in their own name But sayes Christ himself Joh. 15 16. Whatsoever ye shall aâ—k the Father in my name he will give it you For such things as he hath promised to give and we stand in need to receive Our prayers must be according to Gods Will. And this is according to the will of God that we ask what he hath promised and what he knows we have need of And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us 1 Joh. 5.14 The Parts of Prayer are 1. Confession or the acknowledgement of our sins and transgressions 2. Petition or the asking or craving from the hands of God such things as we want 3. Thanksgiving or the praising of God for the mercies we have received Q What shall be the state of men after death A. I. In general 1. The bodies of all men shall be raised out of their graves and shall live again 1 Cor. 15. 2. All men shall be brought to Judgement 2 Cor. 5.10 II. In particular 1. Belâ—â—vers shall go into everlasting life 2. Uâ—believers and ungodly into everlasting fire Mat. 25.34 41. FINIS â— Sam. 2.30 Mat. 6.1 Joh. 7.48 1 Tim. 1.16 (a) Mat. 6.30 Mat. 8.26 Mat. 14.31 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (b) Mark 9.24 Heb. 12 2◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Qui multis praefectus est aut multos doctrinâ dignitate antecelliâ— Joh. 1.18 Col. 2.3 Mat. 15.28 Isa. 42.3 Luk. 19.10 Isa. 49.15 Psal. 103.13 Mat. 11 28. Mat. 1.21 Rom. 6.14 Mark 9.23 Mark 16.16 Maâ— 9.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 5.37 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secundum qualitates â—oâ— secundum ipsam vel ani-nae vel corporis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here signifieth as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 6.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Regeneratio Secundum carnem Joh. 3.6 Rom. 7.21 22 23. Habitat sed non regnat manet sed non dominatur dejectum sed non ejectum tamen c. Benard in Serm. 10. on Psa. 90. Rom. 6.12 2 Cor. 8.12 Eph. 4.22 Rom. 6.6 Col. 3 5. Inductio unious formae est destructio alterius Eph. 2.5 Rom. 6.4 1 Pet. 1.3 Jam. 1.18 1 Pet. 1.3 Joh. 3.4 Tit. 3.5 Jam. 1.18 1 Pet. 1.23 Eph. 1.13 Rom. 1.16 1 Cor. 4.15 Philemon verse 10. Eph. 4.24 Eph. 2.10 Joh. 3.3 Psal. 103.11 2 Thes. 2.13 1 Thes. 4.3 Mat. 24.35 Eph. 4.24 Job 14.4 Joh. 3.6 Rev. 21.27 Rev. 22. Hab. 1.13 Psal. 5.4 2 Cor. 6.14 Heb. 12.14 Psal. 50.5 Psal. 89.7 Joh. 3.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal. 132.4 Psal. 49.12 Jer. 10.14 In illis tantum sunt opera Dei in hac est imago Dâ—i Aug. Rom. 2.28 29. 1 Tim. 4.8 Heb. 6.17 Jam. 2.5 Prov. 27.1 Heb. 3.15 Heb. 11.26 Rom. 6.23 Rom. 6.16 1 Joh. 3.8 Prov. 10.7 Prov. 3.33 Zech. 5.4 Psal. 32.1 Isa. 57.20 1 Tim. 6.7 Job 1.21 Heb. 9.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Amos 5.19 Luk. 16.22 Rev. 6.11 Heb. 12.23 Rev. 6.16 Rom. 2.5 Psa. 145.17 Luk. 16.19 20 21. Rom. 2.6 In die judicii cum justi introducentur in regnum Dei injusti autem abjicientur for as Aug. in Psal. 72. * Zeph. 1.15 Rom. 8.1 Act. 17.30 31. Rev. 6.16 Mat. 24.30 Mat. 16.27 Tit. 2. â—13 Mat. 17.2 Mat. 24.30 Mat. 24.31 Mat. 25.31 2 Thes. 1.7 Act. 24.25 Eccl. 11.9 2 Cor. 5.10 Rev. 20.13 Exod. 19.16 Mat. 24.31 Rev. 6.15 16. Jer. 8.6 Rom. 2.15 1 Cor. 4.5 Rom. 2.5 1 Cor. 11.31 Psal. 16.11 Luk. 13.28 Numb 5.18 27. Isa. 33.14 Dan. 4.33 Mat. 18.22 Dan. 5.6 Mat. 5.46 Prov. 1.24 c. Mat. 25.41 Psal. 16.11 Gen. 5.24 Mat. 8.12 Eccl. 11.7 Rev. 19 20. Rev. 20.10 Isa. 30.33 Mat. 13.42 2 Thes. 1.8 Jer. 33.14 Dan. 7.10 Isa. 66.24 Mark 9.44 46 48. Isa. 30.33 2 King 23.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non videns Neh. 11.30 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 5.29 30. Rev. 9.11 Rev. 20.10 Mark 9.44 Mark 3.12 Mat. 18.8 Mich. 7.19 Psal. 86.5 Eph. 2.4 2 Chron. 33.3 c. 1 Tim. 1. 13 c. (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Thes. 1.11 (b) Exod.
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone to all eternity Oh me-thinks the name of eternal judgement should if not fright him out of his wits yet awaken eyely unregenerate man out of his security and stir him up without further delay to abandon his wicked and ungodly course of life and to set upon the practice of all holy and religious duties and to labour therein to get the work of Regeneration wrought in his heart that he may become a new creature It may be thou hast a plentiful portion of this Worlds goods enjoying what thine heart can wish or desire But oh what will it profit thee to live plentifully and prosperously here and to be eternally miserable hereafter Thy former happiness will serve only to make thee more sensible of future miseries And therefore when thou art tempted to any unlawfull pleasure or profit reason thus with thy self Shall I for a short momentary pleasure that will soon have an end run the hazard of an eternal judgement that will never have an end shall I for a little profit here loose my soul to all Eternity What greater folly yea what greater madness can be imagined Thus much of the miseries of the Unregenerate in this life Come we now to shew their miseries at death CHAP. VIII Sheweth the miserable and dreadfull condition of the Vnregenerate at their death IF the life of an unregenerate man be so miserable as hath been shewed How dolefull think you will be his death surely his misery then will be much increased As will appear from the consideration of these particulars I. When death shall appear unto thee and tell thee it hath a message from the Lord who hath sent an habeas corpus for thy body Then comes in Conscience if a little awakened with her books of accounts her black and bitter roul and shews thee thy old reckonings and arrears setting before thee the follies of thy youth the sins of thy riper years and the iniquities of thy whole life Ah sinners thou who goest on impenitently in thy wicked and ungodly course of life consider with what a ghastly countenance thou wilt look upon that black and hellish Catalogue of all thy sins thy lyes and oaths thy railing and rotten speeches thy scoffings at Gods people thy goods ill gotten thy time ill spent thy profanation of Sabbaths thy speculative wantonness yea thy many actual filthinesses and uncleannesses thy pride worldliness and covetousness thy sensual revellings and jovial meetings Ah sinner sinner what horrour will then possess thy soul no heart of man can conceive nor tongue of men and angells can express Indeed many there are who upon their death-beds have little right or sense of their sins neither do they think of judgement or eternity but drop into hell before they consider any thing But yet upon the approach of death commonly there is some terrour and trembling upon the consciences of carnal men and if ever any sin did formerly sting it will then especially Oh methinks a serious apprehension and sensible fore-thought of these things even at hand for ought any man knows should make the hardest heart to tremble and melt into tears of unfained sorrow II. The Devil will not be then wanting to aggravate thy sins and to set before thee the curses and the judgements due unto thee for the same thereby to drive thee to despair For when death layeth siege to the body then doth he most violently assault the soul. And the shorter he perceiveth his time to be the more eagerly doth he bestir himself And when through pain of body and perplexity of mind thou art least able to make resistance then will he most fiercely assault thee Whereas formerly his great design was to â—ull thee fast asleep in a presumptuous security by perswading thee that thy state and condition was as good as the best and thy salvation sure enough at thy death if he be not then also pursuing the same design if he can no longer hold thee under thy sleep it will be his great work to perswade thee that thy sins are greater than can be forgiven that there is no place for thee in Heaven and that it is impossible thou shouldst be saved He that hath made the way to Heaven so broad and the entrance so easie all thy life long will at thy death do his utmost to shut the door against thee III. Death puts an end to all thy Worldly comforts and contentmâ—nts which must all die with thee as to thy use and comfort It salutes thee with this sad word Thou hast received thy good things Now an end of thy Heaven and joy Particularly 1. Then thou must part with all thy carnal pleasures and delights which thou hast loved so dearly Yea then thou wilt find little comfort remaining of all thy former pleasures wherein thou tookest so much content and delight and for the enjoyment whereof thou dispensedst not only with the duties of thy calling but likewise with the duties of piety Yea it will be a very hell unto thee upon earth to consider what eternal torments thou art like to endure for those poor and perishing pleasures which thou enjoyedst here for a season Are these the things for which I dye Are these the price of my soul of my blood of my peace Ah sinner the remembrance of thy past pleasures will then possess thee with a double passion First with grief because thou art parting with them And then with dâ—tâ—station because they have brought upon thee such bitter sorrows and torments in hell with the Devils and damned to all eternity O the tayle of these Locusts whose fair faces have heretofore bewitched thee O the sting the sting that they carry in their tayles which is now all that remains to thee 2. Thou must part with thy nearest and dearest relations as thy dear Wife or dear Husband with thy beloved Children Death will separate thee from them all Ah sinners sad will it be to part with these here to live for ever with the Devils and damned in hell And how will it torment thee when you must part to remember to how little good purpose you lived together 3. Thou must part with thy wealth and riches carrying nothing away with thee of all thy enjoyments We brought nothing into the World and it is certain we can carry nothing out as the Apostle speaketh But as we came naked into the World so we shall go naked out of the World And therefore when rich men dye they are said to leave a good estate behind them And indeed they may well be said to leave it because they cannot carry it away with them Ah sinner I know it will be a death to thee to part with thy wealth which was thy life but to consider how thou hast damned thy soul for the getting thereof this will be an hell to thee 4. Thou must part with all the means and opportunities of grace Now thou enjoyest the ordinances of