not come but he delayeth his coming Matth. 24 48 49. this was the cause of his ungodliness But what saith Christ The Master of that Servant shal come in an hour when he looketh not for him these supposed delays on Gods part breed delays and neglects on our part Matth. 25.5 while the Bride-groom slept the good slept as wel as the bad it is a consideration for Saints as well as for sinners to quicken up their spirits and to stir them up to a serious minding of God The Apostle layeth down a very good preservative against this James 5.9 Grudge not one against another brethren behold the judge standeth before the door at the door of your houses at your Shop doors at every Tavern door and Ale-house as thou passest in at thy Chamber door at the door of every day and night and providence and he is ready to come and call thee to account without any warning Not some Officers or Fore-runners but he himself is comming without notice 2 Pet. 3.11 12. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godlinesse looking for and hastning unto the comming of the day of God the setting this day near us is a quickning consideration to rouse up the Saints Seventhly Consider the patience and forbearance of the Lord and if thou dost rightly weigh them they will be sufficient Motives to this great work of the fear of the Lord. The wise man doth conclude it as an evidence of a wicked heart to take advantage to himself from the forbearance of the Lord Eccles 8.11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore the hearts of the Sons of men is fully set in them to evil and the Apostle argueth it at least an argument of an ignorant if not a stubborn spirit Rom. 2.4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering not knowing the goodnesse of God leadeth thee to repentance He draws out this Dilemma with which he galls every one that refuseth to return under mercy and patience either thou despisest the goodnesse thou hast a God-despising heart where ever thou art or at last if we put a fairer gloss on it and the best which it will bear thou hast an ignorant heart which doth not understand the natural tendency of every dispensation of God and especially this under which thou art this of patience and forbearance Here is a consideration which reaches every soule this day before me And therefore lay it home you are all under the patience of God at least now If this consideration do not quicken up to duty pray read impartially the frames of your spirits in those words last read unto you And to help this Consideration forward pray think in your selves what a base unworthy thing it is to make the great Jehovah to wait upon such a vile wretch as thou art that he must follow thee at thy heels like a Drudge while thou followest thy pleasures and walkest in waies which he abominates Christ used it as a mighty Argument to the Spouse that he had waited upon her all night Cant. 5.2 My undefiled for my head is filled with dew and my locks with the drops of the night It was too long for him to wait a night but how many nights and dayes hath the Lord waited on some of you How hast thou suffered him to follow thee from Alehouse to Ale-house and from Tavern to Tavern and there he hath checkt thee and from thence to thy Bed and from thence to the Tavern again and from thence into thy Imployment and from thence to the Ordinance and hath there convicted thee and yet thou thinkest it nothing to make the Lord wait as a Drudge at thy heels to this very day is not this very unworthy dealing with the great God Nay consider what will be the end of all this this patience and forbearance of God will cost thee deer which thou dost abuse it will be said when God upon account wil charge thee with so many dayes Attandance so long I waited upon thee in Providences and so long in ordinances and you made a Drudge of me made me to follow you from one Alehouse to another and from one Tavern to another and here I checkt you and in your Chamber and upon your sick-beds but all this attendance was slighted How wilt thou come off Dost thou think not to account for this wil it not be a heavy account when all the patience and forbearance of God will come in against thee then you shall understand that saying common amongst us but little considered and less applyed Laesa patientia in furorem vertitur Eightly consider Although patient yet he is just and although he seem slow yet he is sure and without peradvanture he will call thee to an account one day for all thy wayes and works whether good or evil The necessity and use of such a consideration as this we finde 2 Corin. 5.10.11 For me must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we perswade men He propounds this as an engaging Motive to the Saints to seek for and to keep a clear sight of their interest in God or to such a walking before him as may be acceptable to him through Christ And in the second place he lays it down as a pressing consideration to those who are acquainted with the Lord and with his dispensations to mind other men with these things and to use all means by perswasive ways to draw them out of the snares of the Divel and from this argument he presseth to a speedy repentance Acts 17.30 31. And the times of this ignorance God winked at but now commandeth all men every where to repent Vers 31. Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the World in righteousnesse by that man whom he hath ordained I wish that this consideration might come as near to you as it did to Felix Acts 24 25. And as he reasoned of Righteousnesse Temperance and Judgement to come Felix trembled only thus that it may have better successe that it may not be so soon shaken off from you as from him I am sure it is such a consideration that if it were wel and seriously weighed it would be a great help to ballance thy spirit when most vain This we may see by the use that the wise man makes of it Eccles 11.9 Rejoice O young man in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee in the daies of thy youth and walk in the waies of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee to judgement He propounds it to him that was resolved to have no other Counsellours but his own
but would not much of the vanity of our spirits and the formality of our hearts be beaten down if we could but set the glory of the Lord this day before us if we did consider with whom we have to do in Worship would it not advise us to seriousness in our addresses to him surely it would be a curbe and check to the vanity of mens spirits which doth now wonderfully encrease through the neglect of a due and serious remembring of the Lord. Secondly It would much help forward the fear of the Lord by humbling and abasing of us before him Humiliation is the very ground work of holiness here and as this work thrives in the Soul so doth the work of Sanctification prosper in and upon us therefore whatsoever doth conduce to the perfecting or advancing the work of humiliation in the Soul must needs help forward the true fear of the Lord and the work of Sanctification but there is nothing that doth more naturally humble the Soul then a true sight of God This we may see Isa 6.5 Then said I Woe is me because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts And in Job 42.5 6. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth thee wherefore I abhor my self in dust and ashes We see how one glance of God did work upon them how much more would a continual frame of beholding God in his glory and as he hath been presented bring creatures down to lie in the dust O therefore if you would have much of the power of Sanctification study the Soul humbling and abasing Truths and Attributes of God it is a seasonable advice to our times Thirdly it crucifieth the World and keeps that alwaies under a cloud before us and how necessary this is to the furthering of the fear of the Lord let those speak who have much to do in the world and any thing to do with their own hearts they shal find that the faster the world dies to them the more they shall live to God The soul never thrives better in Spiritual things then when the world and the glory of it is vailed to it for then the affections have liberty to Spiritual things and the World hath lesse influence upon them now this serious consideration of God helps on these two waies 1 By drawing our hearts to look through the Creature unto God Or 2 By directing us to look down from God upon the Creature If we take it the first way then it crucifieth the World by leading the Soul through the visible to the invisible glory of God Rom. 1 20. For the invisible things of him from the Creation of the World are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal Power and Godhead it suffers not the Soul to stick and loyter in the surface of any created glory but it strives to comprehend him who fils this and that Creature with his glory The Soul useth the Creature as a man useth a pair of Spectacles to look through them and he is not busie eying them though he looks steadily upon them but he is taken up in eying the letters and words and things which he discerns through them this is the true use of the Creature to look through it and not to be bounded and terminated in it and the Soul that sets the Lord much before him learns thus to pass through every thing unto the Lord who is the center of his thoughts and by doing so the affections are fixed with the glory of God and it takes little notice of the Creature which it passes by having a more excellent object in his eye If we consider it in the second way propounded then it crucifieth the world thus it looks down from the Lord to the Creature and so it beholds it at a disadvantage and this view of the Creature either lessens it or darkens it as we see if a man behold any thing from the top of some high Tower it seems very smal to him what it doth to him that stands level with it so it is with men that converse with God and walk with God they behold the Creature afar off and much beneath them and they seem not so bigg to them as they do to those who stand upon the earth for by this means the Creature is darkned as we find by example That if a man looks steadily on the Sun he shal find a mist upon every thing that he beholds immediatly after so let a Soul that hath been contemplating and considering the goodness and glory of God take a view presently of the Creature and how cloudy and misty wil it appear Fourthly It stirs up choise breathings and longings after God and the enjoyment of him the Soul by lying on God in Christ begins to see him as the only desirable one the choise good the suitable and the satisfying good and from hence proceeds choise breathings after him see one of these Psalm 27.4 One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple Here was one that was enamoured after God and his wayes he had seen so much of the beauty and excellency of God that he was wonderfully taken with it and would wish to spend all his days in the beholding of it this frame we finde the Disciples in when they had but a glance of the glory of Christ Matthew 17.4 Master it is good for us to be here and these experiences beget choise breathings David would spend al his time not only in beholding but enquiring also beauty discovered begets breathings suitable to discoveries The more God is seen the more desired he did not dream of a contemplative life as some doe wherein we should be onely busied in beholding and be freed from enquiring he desired no such perfection We do not finde so many choyce breathings of any of the Saints recorded as of David and indeed there is enough spoken of him to testifie him to be a man of the choycest affections and one reason of this was as I shall afterward shew you from hence he was a constant eyer of God he was still in his thoughts from hence did so many sweet breathings flow see a few of them Psal 42.1 2. As the Hart panteth after the water-brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God my soul thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before God! There is panting and thirsting after God yet hee goes higher in his affections Psalm 84.2 he longeth yea even fainteth and yet he exceeds Psalm 119.20 My soul breaketh for the longings that it hath unto thy Judgements What manner of breathings were these after the Lord and after his ways
broad He speaks out eminently his experience in this thing that hee had seen an end of the perfection of every way but of this A man may finde something sweet in creatures but he shal quickly come to the end of it only in the ways of God he finds a large field there is room enough for his soul he may travel all his daies in them and never find an end of their perfection here He was like the Lâ—viathan taking his pastime in the mighty waters the man that sets his hearton any thing beneath Christ shall find his bed too short to stretch himself upon he crowdeth his soul into a narrow room and place where he cannot be at rest but the soul that is busied about the Lord in meditating upon him has a large place to walk in there is no end of his glory nor of the sweetness of his ways We may say of them truly as the wise man saith in another case The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear with hearing They were not onely Davids work but his recreation Psalm 119.111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage they are the rejoycing of my heart And this exceeding sweetness which he found in the thoughts of God did multiply his thoughts Psalm 139.17 How precious are thy thoughts O God! and the soul multiplies the thoughts according to what they yeeld of delight unto it as the Bee often fals on that flower which yeelds the most honey Eighthly Consider how thou hast carryed the world in thine eye constantly for many dayes and moneths and years without intermission thou didst never walk up and down but thou didst carry thy worldly thoughts with thee either thoughts of profit or pleasure or preferment thou hast carried them to thy bed and brought them from thence again they have companied thee sleeping as well as waking thou hast had no leasure for God nor for a serious thought of thy soule no not so much as under an Ordinance how many vain base thoughts hast thou brought to the hearing of the Word and to other duties there has been no time nor place wherein thou hast been free from carnal thoughts Oh now study to keep thy heart thy thoughts as close to God as thou didst then to the world carry as much of God now with thee into the world as thou didst then bring with thee of the world into the things of God it is but reason that thou shouldest follow God with the same affections desires that thou didst then follow thy pleasures and profits with what face can we profess that we love God and that our thoughts are upon him when he is lower in our thoughts or less in them then other things either are or have been See the Apostles Argument Rom. 6 19. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh for as you have yeelded your members servants unto uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity even so now yeeld your members servants to righteousness unto holiness May I not use the same is it not a reasonable thing and plain to the judgement of man that you should honor God as much in your thoughts as ever you dishonored him and give up them to him as you did formerly give them up to sin and vanity now remember what the frame of thy spirit was when thou wert vain thy thoughts constantly so there was not room for one serious thought of God when thou wert carnal and worldly and set upon thy pleasures thy thoughts were all that way and alwaies such O now think it not enough to begin to be serious but be as serious for God as ever thou wert for the world and sin Make it thy business and thy design now labour to keep thy thoughts as busie about the Lord as ever thou didst about any thing in the world remember the Lord expects a proportionable acting that we act for him at the rate that we did against him Ninthly Thou wilt never repent of living near the Lord when thou comest to dye the time which thou hast spent this way in eâ—ing thâ— Lord and thy fore-thoughts which thou hast had of Eternity wil never trouble thee in that hour where thou wilt mourn onely for those hours which thou hast spent without God in the world when other men shall tremble at the thoughts of death and of eternity and at the remembrance of God whom they have not known nor considered nor yet cared to know then thou shalt rejoice in him whom thou hast known and loved and hopest to see with whom thy thoughts have been long before when death shall come to surprize others it shall deliver thee and when God shal come as a stranger and an enemy to them he shal be as a long-experienced friend to thy soul then thou shalt reap the benefit of thy retirements which men called melancholly thoughts and he whose thoughts were not as thine wil wish his end might be as thine When Oecolampadius lay on his death-bed asking a friend that came to visit him what news he brought and he told him none well saith he then I le tell you news When all were in expectation what it should be or how he that had been confined to his chamber could tell them news Brevi ero apud Christum Dominum saies he I shall shortly be with Christ this was good news to that good man whose heart had been for him whilest living and now rejoiced that he should be more with him dying And indeed the consideration of this did so much affect him he turned all discourse into this when they asked whether the light did not offend him because of his weakness he lâ—id his hand on his breast and said Abunde lucis est here is much light It is remarkable that of Paul 2 Tim. 4.6 7. For I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith what comfort he takes in considering how he had spent his time for God and how much that consideration did facilitate his assurance and he adds this as a fruit of wel-doing to love the appearance of Christ But for a wicked man who hath lived all his time ignorantly or idly or prophanely either doing his own things or other or evil things and not regarding the things of the Lord will he rejoyce at the appearance of Jesus there wil be a horrible crying when Christ comes at midnight and finds them secure and employed in the works of the night in surfeiting or in drunkenness It will be with such as it was with Pope Adrian who cryed out O my soul whither art thou going thou art going where thou shalt never be jovial nor merry more O my soul whither art thou going Men do generally shake off these thoughts but when they come to dye they are easily confuted they live now as if there were none
the day not to exclude other times and seasons but especially do it then when the work of the day is done then call thy heart to account as Masters use to do their Servants when the work is over and this time is the most fit and seasonable time for this duty because in the evening time thou maist finde that which in the morning thou couldest not foresee the morning is for the engaging and preparing but the evening for examining the heart for those holes at which thy heart escapes from thee in the day thou couldst not discern but in the evening by perusing thy heart thou mayest easily discover A man goes about his house and views it in all parts but cannot tell where the Theif should break in or go out and is very secure thinks himself strong but when the house is broken open and his goods taken away he traces the Thief by his foot and he finds which way hee is escaped and he labours to fortifie that place which he did not suspect before so perhaps it may be with some of us we take a view of our Souls in the morning and wee think all is well we go forth in the strength of resolution to keep close with God but the house is broken open and the heart is gone by some back door which we neither did nor could fore-see The way to finde out this escape is to view the house after it is broken open and by this means thou maist finde that it is easier to finde a gap then to fore-see it and when thou hast found it get it shut by this means thou maist in time finde out every door and hole at which thy wandring heart goes out from God in the day Fifthly Take heed of walking contrary to thy own light for the sinning against that will bring forth cursed effects which do directly destroy this frame of spirit which I am pressing to The first is this It blindes the Soul and by this means in time it will be so that thou wilt want an eye to watch thy wandring Soul and when thou hast put out thine own eyes thou art like to be a sad Watchman If we consult with that of the Apostle Rom 1.22 because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God neither were thankfull but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkned we shall find that there is no speedier way to lose our light then to sin against it the very Heathens sinned away that light they had and if thou sinnest against more light thou maist lose more a sinal injury done to the eye makes a man see the worse for a time at least if it do not endanger the losing it walking contrary to thy light in smal things may dis-enable thee to see great things for a time labour so to walk as fearing to sin away that light in which thou desirest to behold God and thine own soul Secondly walking contrary to light although in smal things doth estrange the heart from God every sin seeks a shelter but especially sin against light loves not to behold the light we do not love to look much on them whom we cannot behold without a blush Guilt newly contracted and fresh in our eyes doth estrange the soul from God the creature is unwilling to behold him as we see in Adam he hid himself especially if it arises from sin against light no sin doth so much separate from God as this the sense of the sin of our nature or the perswasion that we have committed sins of ignorance are not such interrupters of communion with God as the sin against light for although they do humble us before God yet they do not stir up such a fear and shame in us as this does which obstructs our addresses to God and the reason is plain for when a man hath done an injury to his neighbour ignorantly he can easily go and excuse it but when he hath no excuse to carry with him he is then hardly perswaded to draw near I appeal to experiences of Saints concerning this Truth whether it be not a hard thing to look upon God when guilt sticks fresh on the soul I am sure David found it thus Ps 40.12 Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up Sixthly Remember that in the midst of all thy designs and endeavours in this thing that thou live not upon them but upon Christ neglect no duty which may facilitate this great duty but remember to beleeve as if thou didst use no means Live upon the strengthening promise for it is the work of Christ to bring over the heart first to God and it is his work to keep it close with God This is the great Gospel-promise and we are to wait for the fulfilling of it in the use of means Jer. 31.33 After those days saith the Lord I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people And Jer. 32.40 God hath promised to heal the back-slidings of the soul after promises and endeavors and engagements and back-sliding thoughts and revolts of the heâ—rt thou canst not keep up with God see what God saith Jer. 3.22 Return to me ye back sliding children and I will heal your back-slidings And in Hos 14.4 I will heal your back-slidings I will love you freely See what precious promises are these for souls to take hold of We find how difficult it is to keep close to God lay these to heart take these promises and melt them into petitions who knows but that the Lord may do great things for thee if thou wilt wait for him in the promise when he puts out his greatstrength and communicates a kind of omnipotency to poor souls what is there too hard for him who knows how to use a promise as a promise I hint this Because I find many souls to abuse the promises of God strangely and therefore reap but little comfort from them they take the promises and turn them into tryals and onely examine themselves by them and neglect the very end of the promise As for example they take a promise and say God has promised such and such things in Christ to his people as to put his Law in their hearts and to keep them from departing from him and to heal their back-slidings but I fear it is not so with me I do not find these things in my heart therefore I can take no comfort in the promise This is a wronging of the Promise as much as if thou shouldest say I wil believe God when I see his word fulfilled and not before The Promise was given thee to comfort thee and to support thee when nothing else could when the Sun is clouded and thou seest the want of these things which the promise holds forth then thou art to beleeve and rely on the promise this is to use it as a
for there is nothing left for the Word to take hold of Therefore Christ intimates the same thing in that Matth. 6.23 If the light in thee be darkness how great is that darkness It is the more dangerous because it is in the place and stead of light it is that which thou followest and is to guide thee therefore says Christ in Luke 11.35 Take heed that the light in thee be not darkness That man is sad who wants light but he is worse who follows a false light He that is ignorant of God and his ways and was never inlightned is miserable but more miserable is he who hath been inlightned and hath now forsaken the light of the Lord to follow the delusions of Satan and corrupt principles instead of light it is a manifest sign that Satan hath the leading of this man to perdition Thus I have shewn you the sad evidences of approaching night remember I do not speak positively and absolutely of these things I do not say when I see men fall thus and thus that their day is past but these are sad symptoms that it is even at an end When the Physitian sees the symptoms of death in the Patient he looks on him as a dead man according to the course of nature but yet hath some hopes while there is life that he may recover although he sees no reason for it from the Patient He hath perhaps seen some recovered in an unusual way and when they have been past hopes So it may be in this case although men have these spots and tokens upon them yet we dare not be positive God does go sometimes in unusual ways and beyond the common experiences of his people but we have little reason to expect such things in his dispensations God may let men go so far and fal so fouly that al his people may bestartled at it and conclude him a vessel of wrath and yet when such a soul is gone to the very borders of hell and there is nothing expected but his dropping in then may the Lord say return Christ may come at the very Midnight and it may be the darkest time of all before the breaking of the day But this is not Gods usual way so that we cannot say to this man or to that Thy day is over yet we may have such grounds and footings for our fears of some men as may seldom deceive us I cannot say that the day of Grace is past to any one of you in particular yet I am confident it is past to many here and I doubt my fears concerning some opposing hardened sinners and some Apostate professors wil appear at last to have too much footing I could wish that the day of Grace were like to be as long to you as you think it to be but I am sure out of what hath been spoken from scripture it is plain That it is a hidden uncertain and oftentimes a short day and therefore what I say to one I say to all Harden not your hearts while it is called to day and more esp cially you who by all signs and tokens seems to be near unto darkness But some poor souls may say upon the hearing of these things I fear my day is past I have had Convictions under the Word and I have made strong resolutions but I have not answered them I fear I have lost my day when I lost these Ans Art thou convinced of thy lost estate now and of thy need of Christ Are former convictions revived do they come to thy remembrance afresh and do they make fresh and ful impressions upon thy heart so that thou doest now walk under the weight and burden of sin O if God does open conscience afresh and set it a bleeding under Old and new Convictions it is a sign he hath not shut up the day it is a sign he hath not drawn away the Spirit from the Word but he hath set an edge upon it and it is like a two-edged sword it cuts on every side it enters deeper into the soul than ever it did this is a great argument that the day is not over when there is more light put into the Word for thy soul then formerly Again it is a sign that he hath not done with thee because he puts in more light and tendernesse into thy Conscience if he had wholly lest thee he would have lest the Word and Conscience and have struck the one dumb and the other blind or deaf and have put thee in a condition past feeling yet let me tell thee that notwithstanding these stirrings of Conscience thou maiest perish for these are not things to be rested upon God follows many men with convictions whom he never converts There must be more than thy Convictions to shew for Heaven for these are poor things alone and do speak thus much which is to my purpose that thou hast now an opportunity in thy hand and there is hope concerning thee because God is yet treating with thy Soul about the great affairs of Salvation 2 Art thou convinced of the evil of not listning to former Convictions Doest thou see and art sensible how great an evil it is to lose them Doest thou see into what danger thou didst run thy soul by slighting the first offers which the Lord made thee and how miserable thou hadst been if he had taken the advantage against thee to have gone away and to have returned no more with convictions of thy lost miserable estate thou mightest have been now in Hell And whereas thou art now awakened by the word thou mightst not have been awakened until thou hadst awaked there Art thou sensible of these things and art thou now able to justifie the Lord if he had denied thee the least beam of light for thy Soul here and canst thou now bless the Lord for affording thee a fresh sight and sense of thy condition this is a sign thy day is not over for such kind of workings as these are found in the hearts of the people of the Lord when they have their Consciences opened afresh after such slumbers wherein they had lost the sight and sense of their own conditions ordinarily such Souls smart for the neglect of former convictions and are humbled for not following them And they are lain down before God in acknowledging his mercy in not taking advantage against them for those things and they are much in blessing him for comming near them again in his Word although it be not in a way of comfort they bless him for convincing and awakening light canst thou do thus then thy day is not yet past 3 Does thy former loss of convictions make thee more willing now to come in to Christ and to close fully with him in al things and to labour after a serious redeeming of the time to better advantage does former carelesness lay engagements upon thy heart to future watchfulness do you say as the Apostle does 1 Pet. 4.3 The time past
more fear he hath Spiritual mercies for your souls Psal 130.4 There is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared It is impossible that the true fear of the Lord should bee planted and advanced in the heart without this consideration this mercy is pardoning mercy it is Soul mercy other considerations with this are usefull to ballance the Spirit but this is principally attractive this is the very door of the fear of the Lord where this is shut there is no way unto repentance Jerem. 2.25 But thou saidest there is no hope for I have loved strangers and after them I will go And Chap. 18.12 And they said there is no hope but wee will walke after our own devices and wee will every one do the imagination of his evil heart If God had no mercy for men it would be vain to perswade them to fear if men had not some kind of hope they would be hellishly wicked And that I might yet advance this Motive in your Souls take these particulars 1. He is willing to be reconciled to thee although he can destroy thee 2 Cor. 5.20 Now then we are Embassadours for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christ that you be reconciled to God he hath ways enough to make thee stoop without wooing of thee and can dash thee in pieces when he pleaseth yet he beseecheth thee he intreats thee though hee hath no need of thee but thou hast need of him what need hath God of thee more then of the Heathens or Indians or Turks who know him not he could as easily have invited them as thee at this day he invites thee though thou art as the damned thy nature is as corrupt as theirs and thy sins as great as others before they were cast in there Rom. 3.22 23. There is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God O what impression should these have upon thy soul if thou wouldest give them their full allowance upon thy soul in meditation 2. He moves them to fear him by his mercies he might require it by his power without mercy hee might have called for as much duty and have given no encouragement at all unto it but beloved what heart-ensnaring language doth he speak 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 upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon The Lord might have chosen another manner of Stile then this 3 He offers thee better termes then thou art like to meet withall else-where the world cannot bid so faire nor perform so faithfully as he doth See that Promise which the Lord makes to the returning sinner Isa 55.1 2 Ho every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without price vers 2. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which satisfieth not Hearken diligently unto me and eat yee that which is good and let your soul delight in fatnesse c. Search and finde where the Devil the World and Sin promiseth and when and to whom he gives such a thing as is held out attainable in following God 4 If thou hast tasted of mercy thou canst not but acknowledg that it is an engaging thing Tit. 2.11.12 For the grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all men teaching us that denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world 5. If thou pretendest to Saintship and are not drawn by mercy surely thou hast a frame of spirit much different from the Saints of old for the love of God constrained them 1 Cor. 5.4 they had beseeching spirits which were very much affected with such arguments as I shewed you Rom. 12.1 6. If these are not perswasive motives how then art thou under that promise Hos 3.5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their King and shall feare the Lord and his goodnesse in the latter dayes 7. Is it not reason that thou shouldest do Gods work when he hath provided one to do thine he hath sent a Christ unto thee who offers himself to be thy life and thy strength and he tells thee That he hath left Heaven for a time that he might come down and make such an offer of himself to sinners and wilt thou not leave a little of the world to offer up thy self to him Shall the kind proffers of Christ in the Gospel meet with no returns Canst thou do lesse then offer up all that thou hast or art as a reasonable sacrifice to him who so freely offers thee himself in his Son to be thy righteousnesse wisdom sanctification and redemption In a word to be all and in all to thy soul Canst thou deny him thy time who offers thee Eternity Is thy present time and condition and ability too good to give out to him who offers thee more in Christ then thy present condition is able to bear more then can enter into thine heart to conceive Reserve nothing from him of thy little who gives thee with a reserve for this reason because thy present condition is not capable of all he intends thee Sixthly Consider how quick the Lord is with some men to cut them off without giving them many warnings or suffering them to grow up to such a measure of sin as he does others as he did Nadab and Abihu And that Gods coming to Judgement will appear quick when ever it comes 1. Though thou mayest have a smooth time in sin yet when that time of pleasure in sin is past it will seem very short Ask the old man and he wil tel that his Youth was quickly gone and Age came suddenly upon him Is not the life past like a tale that is told If God should suffer thee to live a full age and then cut thee off in thy sin wouldest not thou seem to go down quickly into hell 2. If you compare the time past with Eternity God is not slack concerning his comming saith the Apostle you will finde him quick enough when he comes Art thou come say the spirits to torment us before the time as some say before the end of the World and I exclude not that but how did the Divel know the end was not yet But it intimates that although the Divel had so many thousand years to tempt yet he thought it too soon to be troubled 3 He may be quick in that he wil be unwelcome and unwelcom guests when ever they come wil come too soon 4 When he cometh latest he will come before thou lookest for him he will come unawares and so wil be quick with thy soul notwithstanding all this patience the evil servant said not I have no Master nor that his Master wil
thou think that when thou hast served them night and day with the heat and fervency of all thy affections that he will be put off with a cold sleepy drousie profession Will he not say See such a man pretends to Religion to act for me did he act so heavily and drousily for sin doth he act so for himself in things of self-concernment Away with such pretenders saith the Lord that will not act for me at the same rate that they have acted for the world and for themselves and their own lusts 13. Consider what an honour it is to be employed for God to be called the servant oâ— the most High David envied the very Sparrow that built about the Altar when he was shut out and wilt thou shut out thy self when God cals thee to such honorable employment Psalm 84. the people of God who have known how to value their relations to God have valued the very worst things of Christ and the least imployment for him above the best things in the world as in Moses Heb. 11.24 25 26. Moses refused to be called the Son of Pharaoh's daughter chusing rather to suffer with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season vers 26. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures in Egypt And in David Psalm 84.10 For a day in thy Courts is better than a thousand I had rather be a Door-keeper in the house of my God then to dwell in the tents of Wickednesse Art thou seeking and thirsting after honour and honourable imployments behold here it is to remember thy Creator to be busied about him and for him thou art never like to get so much honour and repute at the last by serving sin and Lust as thou maist get in serving the Lord Rom. 6.21 What fruit had you in those things whereof ye are now ashamed for the end thereof is death You have the two Genuine and Natural fruits of sin Shame and Death and to this we may oppose that of the Wise man Prov. 3.16 Length of dayes is in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honour Prov. 4.8 Exalt her and she shall promote thee shee shall bring thee to honour when thou doest embrace her 14. Consider his great bounty to his Servants You shall alway hear them that are sincere with him speak well of him yea very largely of his freenesse and fulnesse to their Souls I might compasse you with a cloud of Witnesses if I should call in all the Saints in the Old and New Testament to speak out their experience which they would willingly do to commend their Lord and Master to the world but I shall onely call in two or three to speak for all the rest Gen. 32.10 saith Jacob I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy Servant for with my staffe I passed over this Jordan and now I am become two bands He found when he had cast up his accompts he was paid with an over-plus it would be too long a story to hear David tell how good he had found God you have him largely speaking of the bounty and goodness of God to his Soul Psal 34. upon which he spends the whole Psalm yet while he was speaking he feared that men would hardly judge aright of this by hearing they would apprehend more by tasting he calls therefore upon men vers 8. O taste and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him God is better known by experience then by notion he would perswade them not to content themselves with hear-sayes that God was good but desires them to make triall of him and of his wayes certainly David knew the force of this Argument to draw Souls to be more and more in love with God Ps 66.16 Come and I will declare what God hath done for my soule hearing how liberall and free the Lord is to others encourageth us to expect great things from him also specially if we finde him generally so free We know a Servant is very ambitious to serve a free Master and if he be generally free to all his Servants it encourageth him to expect something in his service if he hears every Servant in the Family to commend him and cry up his bounty Thus it is with God all that are his Servants in deed speak very freely of him David gives a notable hint of this In his Temple doth every one speak of his glory he layeth this down I suppose as an argument to presse to this duty he had used many others from the Works of God he draws one from the practice of his Saints because they do speak well of him and tell large experimentall stories of his glory 15. Consider his faithfulness in his Promises he is yea and Amen with Souls he is at a word what he promiseth he gives and much more then what we can expect David useth this as an argument because there is no unfaithfulness in him there was never any Soul that ventured on any promise of his that ever found him worse then his word nay when he promised and that very largely too and by them hath heightened the desires and expectations of his people he hath reserved to himself a liberty of coming in beyond their expectations 1 Cor. 2.9 Eye hath not seen ear hath not heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them which love him If these considerations were faithfully laid together and seriously weighed and applyed to our spirits would they not perswade us to draw that conclusion which we finde upon the same account Jer. 10.7 Who would not fear thee O King of Nations and if we do not learn the skil of setting the Lord in such considerations as these before us we shal never excel in his fear The second Head follows How this considering and setting God before us doth make way for and advance the fear of God in our hearts I shal explain this in the ensuing particulars First it serves to ballance and six the vain light and frothy unconstant spirit of man it helps much to the putting his heart into a serious frame by setting the glory of the great Omniscient and Omni-present God before him men will be more circumspect in their behaviours when they conceive themselves to be in the presence of some great one the want of this makes men vain and vile in the World Psal 73.11 12. And they say how doth God know and is there knowledge in the most high Behold these are the ungodly who prosper in the world they increase in riches doth God know say they we are not under the eye of the Lord and therefore we need not trouble our thoughts about him and what follows these are the ungodly ungodliness in practice must needs follow those that have cast the thoughts of God farre from them
all these did flow from an experimental taste of God and the excellency of his ways and when the Soul hath found out the sweetness of the presence of God and his ways it wil no longer be contented with broken cisterns which wil hold no water it wil not live upon that which is not bread and which satisfieth not but it flies to God and Christ and nothing else wil satisfie the soul Isaiah 55.1 2. It says to it self as the Lord saith Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which satisfieth not Hearken diligently unto me and eat ye that which is good and let your soul delight it self in fatness there is bread and water and marrow and fatness I will up says the Soul to my Fathers house there is bread enough and to spare Oh if we did but eye the Lord more we should be more acquainted with those choise breathings of the Saints Fifthly It begets an assimilating love the discoveries of God made out and fastned upon the Soul in a constant and serious frame of eying God do wonderfully move the Soul to love raise very strong affections and these do strongly carry the soul after likeness and conformity to the good which we see and know of God the Soul would fain be like him and doth by degrees grow into the Image and likenesse of that beauty and glory which it beholdeth in the Lord. 2 Cor. 3.18 But we all with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from glory to glory Souls that are much conversant with God in Christ and are much in admiring and beholding God in him do grow much although perhaps insensible to themselves into the Image of Jesus Christ Sixthly It makes Souls active and fruitful good thoughts make way for good desires and they for good actions how much of time and of the man do vain and unprofitable thoughts take up and what is the fruit of them Psal 10.4 6 7. The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God God is not in all his thoughts he hath said in his heart I shall not be moved for I shall never be in adversity Vers 7. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud and in his tongue is mischief and vanity Vain thoughts make way for wicked designes and practises shut him first out of thy thoughts and next deny him in thy works so on the other hand the eying of God feeds and furnisheth the soul with sweet Meditations of him and the fruit of such meditations in a fruitful conversation Psal 1.2 3. His delight is in the law of the Lord and in his Law doth he meditate day and night And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season and his leaf also shall not wither He joyneth these two together as Jacobs Ewes did conceive by eying the Poplars so doth the soul by eying God Seventhly It brings in a sweet experimental knowledge of God which is as fatness unto the soul Now nothing doth so glew the soul to God and his ways as this tast and rellish which the soul gets of them and the sweetness is gotten very much in meditation Psalm 104.34 My meditation of them shall be sweet When he had spent the whole Psalm in beholding the ways and works of God he draweth this conclusion My meditation of him shall be sweet He would not lay aside the thoughts of God when he had ceased speaking he would then to another duty which should yeeld him no smal comfort and what sweetness this was he doth excellently express elsewhere Psalm 63.5 6. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips Vers 6. When I remember thee on my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches And in the connexion of the fifteenth and sixteenth verses of the one hundred and nineteenth Psal you shall find delight as a fruit of meditation on the things of God I will meditate on thy precepts and have respect to thy ways Vers 16. I will delight my self in thy statutes and will not forget thy word The heart that sticks close with God and carries him much in his eye and thoughts is never weary of beholding of him all other Objects do breed a loathing and weariness in the soul but it is not so here the longer a soul converses with God the more delight it hath in him enjoyment breeds hungrings and those being always satisfying but not satisfied breeds an inconceivable delight in the soul Que. 3. How shall I do to keep the Lord in mine eye continually Ans I shall lay down some quickening considerations which wil both engage us and assist us in this duty and then give some practical directions to further it First Consider that God hath an eye continually upon thee and this will help thee always to eye him we know that if we are in any company and observe amongst all the persons one who does particularly observe us we are engaged much in our eyes to that party we shal hardly forbear eying such a one as we observe to eye us thus it would be with us if we did but consider that the Lords eye runs too and fro and observes exactly all our ways it would help us much to seriousness as being in his presence I shall propound a few Scriptures to shew you what use they make of this consideration for I am confident that there is very little use made of it on all hands what manner of men should we be if we did but walk up and down as a people who are always under his eye we should be more mindful of him if we thought he did more mind us David makes the same use of this consideration which I bring it for Psalm thirty four and the fifteenth The eys of the Lord are upon the righteous he brings this unto the young-man to presse him unâ—o the fear of the Lord Vers 11. Come yee children hearken unto me I will teach you the fear of the Lord. He lays down the duty in general and branches it into two particulars and presses all with this The eys of the Lord c. There it is principally used to the Saints and we find this very place quoted by the Apostle 1 Peter 3.12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers And the wise man makes it an universal argument to all sorts but especially to the young man Prov. 5.20 21. And why wilt thou my son be ravished with a strange Woman and imbrace the bosome of a stranger For the waies of man are before the eyes of the Lord and hee pondereth all his goings Nay presses from hence not only circumspection in our actions but in our words too to watch the tongue to weigh every
to out-live them but their wives and children as if there were no God nor no soul to survive their very lives speak the very language of the great Turk when he was dying and his Doctors told him he must prepare to go to another world Is there another world when I am dead he thought all had died with him language fit for those filthy Dreamers of our days those superannuated hypocrites who have worn out all their profession of Religion who say men dye as Cats and Dogs and therefore they live like Beasts But as an Antidote against the evil of their ways carry this along with thee Labour to do those things now which thou wouldst wish thou hadst done when thou comest to dye and leave those things undone which thou supposest will not yeeld comfort in that hour Having laid these things down as considerations to quicken to the duty I shall give some practical directions to guide you in it and to further Souls who would willingly have their hearts set in such a constant frame for God First Direction Have an eye upon thine own heart and that will constantly administer occasions to thee of looking after God thy wants or enjoyments temptations or deliverances hopes or fears will advise thee to draw nigh to him not considering the present frames tempers of our hearts makes them so little God-ward if we were acquainted with our selves we should be lessestrangers to him That man is happy who carries so much an eye over himself as to know in what frame of spirit he is That man shall never defer his going to God for want of an errant for his own self observation will furnish him for matter of duty either for meditation or action and the variety of change with which his heart is clothed wil checker his whole life with prayer and praise God is not like to be far from that mans eye and heart who is not farre from himself who is conversant at home If you will be found in a good and constant frame for God labour to know thy present frame whatever it be the knowing of the frame of thine own spirit doth much conduce to the bettering of it But if thou lookest not after thine own heart but lettest it run at random thou art not like to find it much with God a heart not watcht is lost Secondly When thou hast gotten acquaintance with thy heart and findest it wandring from God labour to ingage it as much as thou canst to this duty lay the weight of the duty before thee with the excellency necessity and benefit of it with the danger of neglect and see what thou canst bring thy heart unto and try whether this wil not engage it to be more with God We have a notable passage for our direction in this case Jer. 30.21 He shall approach for who is he that engages his heart for God God promises to blesse the desires and endeavours of such as take some pains with their hearts in this thing I see saith the Lord such an one what pains such a poor creature takes to draw his heart to me and how he tuggs and labours at it Well saith the Lord does he so and cannot he for all this bring his heart to it Doth he complaine of the difficulty of the duty I will cause him to draw near Jor I have seen how he hath laboured to engage his heart David hath an expression very full to shew how much he had to do with his heart to draw it to God or keep it close with God I have forced my self to keep thy statutes The word that is here translated to engage it signifies to engage by covenanting or to become a Surety for any one so it is used Gen. 44.32 Thy servant became Surety for the Lad so that he intimates that often covenanting with our hearts and often covenanting for them with God is a means to keep them intent upon him and though when we have done all we are too weak to deal with our hearts yet God takes notice of those who deal most with their hearts and blesses it unto the design which they drive which is to draw near unto him Thirdly Observe those clouds which do most of all take God from thy eyes and watch against them and where thou meetest with that which hath once proved a snare to thy Soule and a vail betwixt God and thee walk with a holy fear and wait for a double portion of Grace at such a time What is it that doth lead thy spirit Is it thy employment thy recreation thy passion thy cares of this world thy carnall relations or companions it is something thou meetest withal often or is it something thou dost but seldome meet if it be a constant snare then thou hast need to be alwayes watchfull because of that if it be such a one as seldome molests thee be sure thou be very careful and consider how much grace thou hast need of to wade through that which hath once spoyled thee A man that is robbed by the way side will still remember the place where he lost his Purse and will be sure to look well about him when he passes that way again and go provided to defend himself if we did but weigh every condition and what temptations are in it or may be in it and then consider what grace is needfull to bear up a Soul in the same it would wonderfully help our spirits to a senious watchfulnesse and constancy I am now to go forth in my employment and I find my spirit is ready to be too eager and intent upon the things of this present world that I can hardly keep God in my eye how great care should I have now of my heart it is almost every day lost in that Wildernesse in which I am now travelling I am now to go to my meat yet I finde that in eating and drinking it is hard to set God before me how shal I do for proportionable grace for this So I am going into such company where I have lost my heart and the remembrance of the Lord oh now for suitable grace to this condition Thus if we would weigh the inconveniences of every condition and watch against them for hereafter it would wonderfully help us against a drowsie dead frame of heart Fourthly Call thy heart often to account where it hath been how little with God and why so and by this means thou shalt find out every back-door that thy heart hath to steal out at from God in a day David propounds this amongst his directions to further and to engage men in the fear of the Lord Psalm 4.4 Commune with thine own heart in thy bed do it on the bed then thou mayest be still and quiet thou canst not plead an excuse from distractions then thou mayest argue it out and have leasure enough to do it this employment nor that will not call thee off Do it on the Bed in the end of
promise If thou dost this thou shalt find them mighty through Christ and him near at hand to help thee in all thy streights And be sure remember this that the use of the promise must not take thee off from other means prescribed neither must other means take thee off from the promise but in the use of all means herein lies the great strength in the strengthening promise Seventhly Labour for an experimental taste and knowledg of God in Christ this wil be the sweetest and surest means to keep the soul intent upon God Where your treasure is saith Christ there your hearts will be now no soul can make God and Christ his treasure but the experimental soul he that hath not tasted how good the Lord is cannot set his heart upon him so as to make him his portion and inheritance But the soul who hath had a taste from God and seen what engagements are from thence to keep close to God Phil. 3.7 to 14. Paul quickly cast away all when he had tasted of Christ but what things were gain to me those I accounted loss for Christ his senses were spiritualized and he does not content himself with a taste but he would comprehend but I follow after that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus he endeavours to that So reaching forth to these things which are before vers 13. and he presses to the mark vers 14. All these shew how an experimental rellish of the goodness of God doth engage the heart to him David hints thus much that there was nothing more conducible to the fear of the Lord then this taste of him Ps 34.8 9. O taste and see that the Lord is good blessed be the man that trusteth in him O fear the Lord ye his Saints for there is no want to them that fear him He cals upon to taste and try how good God is and then to fear him Plainly implying that if he could perswade men to make trial of God and his ways he should engage some of them to fear him from the experience of the sweetnesse of them and the Apostle makes use of this as an argument to press after growth in grace 1 Pet. 2.2 3. As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby if ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious Intimating that it could not be but they who had any experience of the grace of God and of his goodness in Christ must needs be hungring and thirsting after more communion with God if you would therefore keep up your hearts close to God seek for a taste look out for experimental knowledge it is this that wil endear God to your souls If we did labour to set up more precious and high esteem and honorable thoughts of God in our hearts we should endeavour to break through every condition to him What is it that draws the carnal heart after the world but a kinde of sweetness which his earthly distemperate pallate tastes in it What is it that made Israel long so much to go back again into Egypt was it not the garlick and the flesh-pots and because they had tasted of these and seen the Land and the fruitfulness of it they were going into a Land of which they had heard but had not seen therefore they often wished themselves back again and therefore the Lord commanded Moses to send out some to search the Land that they might bring of the fruit of it Numb 13.21 And they brought a cluster of Grapes of the choicest to commend the Land Thus it is with us whilst we make a profession without experience it is no wonder that our hearts keep not close to God we pretend to follow God whom wee know not but the world we know that is always with us we have experience of the sweetness of it and what it yeelds therefore we cleave more to that then to the Lord until he sends us a cluster of the first ripe grapes some first fruits of the Kingdom of Heaven If we have not a little of Heaven in our way to Heaven we shall never seek it with intention of spirit Eighthly Labour for a clear sight of interest Pulchrum meum Beauty and propriety do very much ingage the heart things that are beautifull are very much attractive but if we have an interest in them they seem the more beautiful 'T is a great help to consider of the excellency and goodness of God and of his wayes above and beyond the World and the pleasures of it but when we can consider God in relation to our selves then he is much more comely and glorious when we can say not only God is good but My God is good Propriety does wonderfully knit and glue the heart we see to its object in all things and so it will in spiritual things an interest in Christ revealed and cleared to the Soul doth marvellously engage it to him and quickens it in its acting heaven-ward see for this Colossians 3.1 2 3 4. If ye be then risen with Christ seeke those things that are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God set your affections on things above not on things of the earth for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God when Christ who is our life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in glory The Apostle argues strongly with them unto a Spiritual life and constant frame of breathing after Christ and Spiritual things from their interest in Jesus Christ which was very clear and without scruple to many of their souls and we have the same improvement made of this which the Apostle exhorts to here Phil. 3.20 Our conversation is in heaven from whence we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ An interest in Christ draws the Soul much towards Heaven to be constantly looking for it and into it and this causes the Soul to bend unto it That Soul cannot be long a stranger to Heaven who knows a Saviour there O labour therefore to keep your interest clear and plain if you would keep your hearts constantly active and yearning towards Heaven Ninthly Follow thy Prayers and consider what becomes of them if thou dost so they will carry thee much to God consider in the day what thou diddest pray for in the morning and in the night what thou didst aske in the evening and live as one that waiteth for returns this will be an excellent means to keep thy heart busie with the Lord either in a waiting believing frame for something thou hast sought of God and is not yet given in or els in a thankful frame for some answer of prayer As you are before prayer to sum up your wants so after the duty consider of your Petitions and What you have sought of God for the day and wait for sutable returnes Hast thou prayed for a holy humble heart for an active frame of spirit for strength
casting these under foot when they are to be enjoyed will they not say Surely there is much sweetness in the ways of God that this man denies himself in all these things to follow them If ever thou wouldest honour the ways of God and set them up high in the hearts of men and be eminent in this act of self-denial lose not thy youthful days but begin to follow the Lord Jesus whilst the world and the pleasure of it are following thee so shalt thou be a true Disciple of the Lord Jesus Fourthly The work is great which thou art called to and therefore fittest for thy youth we know that we use to single out the morning for the choicest employment which requires greatness of strength and parts and truly the work of the Lord is in this sense a morning work for it will call for the vigor and strength of thy affections Strive to enter in at the strait gate Luk. 13.24 Philip. 3.14 I press toward the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Men do wonderfully mistake the ways of the Lord when they think that the sleeping doating age is good enough for him truly this is according to those conceits and fancies which they have of the worship of God and their thoughts are so low because they are so much strangers to it but if such souls were set truly about the work they would find it so much above the strength they have when strongest that they would easily be convinced of the vanity of making delays and putting it off til a time when they must expect less Oh what folly is there in mens hearts and how little reason wil those delayers have to stand by them at the last day when they delay the workbecause it seems hard and difficult and yet they put it off to a time wherein it must needs be much harder then now it is Friends take heed of this folly it is too common amongst us It is against reason and against our practice in all other things and if the devil had not a great power over men this deceit of the heart would be discerned we see men will not do so in other things they will study the season proper to every work but this of their souls the Husbandman will not put off his Summer work till Winter nor his Winter work til Summer he wil chuse to do the work that is most painfull and laborious before the heat of the day if a man walk by the Sea wal find a smal breach that is made in upon the Land he will not passe it by and say let it alone until the next week or year for says he it will grow much bigger by that time he will not make delays when he is sure that delays will make more work let us but study the seasons for our souls as they do let us do every thing to the best advantage the work is great begin when thou wilt but the longer it be before thou begin it the more difficult thou wilt finde it and the lesse strength thou wilt have to go through with it therefore begin in thy youth Fifthly It is a long work and therefore calls for the morning of thy Age he that would run this race should set out early We know if a man have a long Journey to go or a Race to run upon some forfeiture he will covet for as much of the day as it is possible for him to enjoy he will set out very early by the first appearance of day if we did but know what it is to be a Christian we should not think our day too long to spare any of it from our work especially of our choycest hours Three things makes this work long 1 Want of knowledge we have many things to seek after 2 Want of experience in those things which we have in notion 3 Much imployment First in regard of knowledge we should begin betimes how many things are we ignorant of the Gospel is ful of Mysteries the Worship of God is a Mystery and we know but in part when we know most and yet may always know more then we do If we consider our Naturall estate we are ignorant of every truth of God as it is in Jesus we know nothing aright 1 Cor 2.14 The naturall man cannot perceive the things of God therefore seeing there is no true knowledge of God and of Spiritual things till we set our faces and hearts Heaven-wards we had need begin betimes If we look to our after-knowledge which is a fruit of conversion it is so weak and imperfect and there is so much ignorance in so many of the things of God that then we should say O that we had begun sooner with God! then might we have been teachers of others whereas now we have need to be taught the very principles of Christ if we begin at the first hour of the day yet we shall find the work so long in this regard that when the night comes we shall acknowledge that the day hath not been large enough or we have not been active enough to be acquainted with every Mystery of the Lord and we must leave some things to learn when we come to Heaven Secondly In respect of Experience how many things are there which we get in notion which we are content withal and seek not for the experience of it this requires much time to seek after the experience and power and conformity to those truths of which we are convicted in our judgements thou maist learn many things in a Notional way in a short time but experience of all these things is not so soon obtained The Physitian reads many things and they seem rational to him but this seems not enough to him until he gets some experience of these things til he hath made trial of them it wil require much time for thee to put every truth so to the touchstone as to be able to speak to it from thine own experimental Knowledg and this will advise thee to begin betimes with the Lord. Thirdly In regard of imployment O when thou comest into Christ thou wilt find abundance of work to do too much for the little time that is allotted thee if thou lookest upon those without to labour to bring them in to Christ thy bowels wil sound toward them and thou wil say in thy heart O that I had come in sooner that I might have pittied those poor souls sooner in regard of those who are within there are some weak and they call for thee When thou art converted then strengthen thy brethren some are doubting and call for thee to comfort them some are fallen and cal for thee to restore them yea the strong as well as the weak have need of thee O there is work enough for thee to do amongst the Saints if there were none in the world if thou hadst Methusalem's Age to spend And seeing Jesus Christ hath so much
weeps then for whom he weeps it was for Jerusalem who had slighted and forsaken her own mercies out-lived the day of her Peace and was now under a double sentence of Death viz Spirituall and Temporall and although Jerusalem rejoyced in her prosperity yet he that saw what was written over her head drops these few words interrupted and broken through abundance of tears to shew that the ruine and miserie of Her and of poor sinners goes near his heart Many things have been proposed and handled from these words which I shall not now touch I purpose to mention now no more of that which hath been spoken from them then will serve as an Appendix to the fore-going Discourse I shal draw up all that I intend in these three Propositions 1 That the Lord does afford men under the Gospel day or time to make and secure their peace with him 2 That this is very uncertain as to us and unknown but it often determines and ends whilst the meanes of Grace do continue amongst us 3 When this day is past and over peace and the things of peace are hid from the soul These three Propositions are built upon these three things which lye clear in the text 1. Israel had a day 2. This day was now past and gone yet the means continued the Gospel was not yet carried away 3. Notwithstanding they had the meanes yet peace was hid from their eyes For the First of these I shall prove First that God does give men a day wherein they have more advantage then at other times to secure their everlasting peace and interests Secondly I shall come to enquire wherein this day does consist That men have a particular day is easie to discern from hence that the Lord is so oft urging sinners in Scripture not to let slip the golden time wch he cals the acceptable day or day of Salvation see what use the Apostle makes of this Heb. 3.7 13 15. Does not the Author speak there as if Salvation did depend upon the improvement of a day Does he not strongly intimate unto them that there was no way to prevent their future ruine but to be careful of their present day And the Holy Ghost declares the same truth to the same intent by the Prophet Isai 55.6 Seek the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near That exhortation is prest by these two motives First That although the Lord was now to be found yet there might be a time when he would not be found Secondly That he might be farther off from them then now he was they would find him at another time as it were out of hearing See what use the Saints have made and what notice they have taken of this Psalm 69.13 My prayer saies David is to thee in an acceptable time He that was resolved to take all advantages in his addresse to God knew wel enough that this nick of time was none of the least God loves those who take the first opportunity whether it be the morning of the day as Psalm 63.1 or the morning of life which is youth Eccles 12.1 or the morning of the means who imbrace the first tenders of Christ which are made unto them as those who were called at the first hour Further see what notice the Lord takes of this when he answers Christ in this manner Isai 49.8 In an acceptable time have I heard thee in a day of salvation have I helped thee As if he should have said Thou speedest wel because thou comest in a good hour in the season of Grace when I was in the vein to shew mercy God hath his day of salvation and his time of hearing and if you wil have it you must come in the nick of time You know Petitioners must wait their opportunities they must come in seasonable hours or else they are lke to miscarry This may in general serve to prove that there is such a priviledged day I shal now open the particulars of it I shal shew you many helps and advantages that many men now have who shal perish and many have had who are now in Hell First They have the Gospel preacht amongst them which is the word of Reconciliation 2 Corinth 5.20 Jesus Christ who is the Mediator betwixt God and Man is declared and the way to Life and Salvation by him is preached plainly that there is no other name given under Heaven c. Acts 4.12 It is and hath been often told them that if they wil believe they shal receive remission of sins Act. 10.43 but if not they shall dye in their sins John 3.18 Secondly As Christ is and hath been preacht amongst such persons so he is and hath been preacht without any difference or respect of persons there is no difference put betwixt noble and ignoble rich and poor strong and weak wise and foolish yea no difference betwixt sinners as to the degrees of sin great or smal from the least to the chiefest of sinners The Gospel hath been or is offered so to men that nothing can exclude them from the benefit of it unlesse they exclude themselves by rejecting of it And that I may make this plain consider 1 They have the same conditions laid down which others have and had who are now in Heaven God did not prescribe harder termes to the one then to the other Believe and repent were the termes which one refused and the other embraced Secondly They have the same promises to encourage them which drew them to Christ who are now in his bosome I do not say that they took the same encouragement from such promises how many souls hath that promise drawn to Christ John â— 37 He that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out and is not this promise in thy book also How many souls have ventured upon Christ from the support which they had by that word Isai 42 3. He shall not break the bruised reede nor quench the smoaking flax And is not this a word for thee if thou hadst any will at all to come to Christ How many hath that word drawn to Christ which we find Isai 55.1 2. yea such as could apprehend no good at all in themselves who upon this word have gone without money in their hand as boldly as if they had not gone to begg but to buy And have not all these things been spread before many who are now in hel to perswade them to look toward Christ It must needs be said that the reason why such came not to Christ was not because they had no encouragement but because they had no mind to come Thirdly They have or had the same ground to believe that those had who believed to the saving of their souls they had the truth and faithfulness of God which is the ground and reason of every ones believing The faith of the Gospel is not a believing that God hath particularly elected thee to eternal life or that Christ
much liberty in preaching the Gospel and can give as much encouragement to sinners as if we did preach universal Redemption for then men could have no surer footing for faith then the word and promise of God who cannot lie and this word they have now He that beleeveth shall be saved Secondly Who can say that Christ died not for him in particular thou hast no Negative But the Lord hath left thee a foundation for hope yea and for strong Confidence if thou doest not turn thy back upon Christ That he died for sinners is clear that thou art one is as plain and if thou approvest of the terms of the Gospel if thou desirest to partake of the benefit of his death upon the terms of Beleeving and Repenting thou maist undoubtedly have it If thou wilt come God keeps open house and thou maiest assure thy selfe of thy welcom So that as to thy encouragement to come in to Christ it matters not whether he died for many or for all or whether for thee in particular or not for without all dispute He came that all they that Beleeve might be saved And they who say that Christ died for all acknowledge that his death saves none but upon these terms If thou hast a will to Beleeve and Repent thy encouragement is as good as any can be given thee But if thou hast no will to these things it is no matter whether he dyed for thee or not for thou shalt be damned without all Controversie He that believeth not shall be damned so say we and so say they who believe that Christ dyed for thee in particular Secondly But does not this which hath been said suppose that man hath a free wil and power to believe and repent and convert himself Because you say he may be saved if he wil come up to the terms proposed Answ No. This Doctrine which hath been delivered hath no such foundation But I shal lay down as safely and as cautiously yet as plainly as I can what we are to conceive of the abilities and wil of man in this point First It supposeth that men who perish do not do what they can they do not exercise and improve that power which they have I suppose the difference betwixt Natural and spiritual abilities is discovered in the Parable of the Talents He that had the single Talent hid it when they who had double Talents improved them Mat. 25.20 24. Although we may by following Scripture expressions safely say that the Natural mans Abilities fall short in spiritual performances yet we cannot say He hath no power at all in these things He may do more good then he does and he may do that which he doth better although he can do nothing well It is very hard to say how farre he can goe although we can shew how far he cannot go The abilities of nature must be left like a Terra incognita which hath not bin travailed over Because never any natural man did go so far as he was able to go for God Secondly It supposes that no man did ever perish who did his utmost to lay hold upon salvation by Jesus Christ He who hath given such encouragement as to say that he would not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax wil not refuse any who have laboured with all their might and strength to come to God by him He that says he will in no wise cast out them that come doubtless will not cast off those who take such paines to come He that hath said to sinners James 4.5 Draw neere to me and I wil draw neer to you wil also make it good and meet those more then half way as he did the prodigall Sonne who desire to return to him We have a notable scripture for this Jer. 30.21 He shall approach unto me for who is this that engageth his heart to approach unto me As if the Lord had said Do you not see how such a one tuggs and labours with his heart to draw it God-ward and yet complains that when he had done what he can all wil not do his heart is ful of backsliding I wil not suffer such a poor soul to stand off I will cause him to approach God hath made an absolute promise to those who labour for Heaven and take paines as it were for life Hosea 6.3 Then shal ye know if ye follow on to know the Lord c. And the Lord says elsewhere Then shal ye find me if you seek me with all your hearts Object But you wil say is it not said Luke 13.24 Many shall seek to enter and shal not be able Answ It is said many shal seeke not strive i. e. they would enter if it could be with ease The soldier who dare not or wil not venture his life in a storme would seek for a way to enter without labour or hazard Secondly Many may strive as wel as seek but not to the uttermost and they have no reason to charge God with the loss of their souls when they have not put out their abilities to the utmost Thirdly Many strive much but not in Gods way as the Scribes and Pharises did and as the Papists and many Legal persons do who do not strive in Christ and for Christ But there was never any that did his utmost for life in the Gospel way that did miss of it The Lord did never give any poor soul occasion to say Lord thou hast propounded such a way for poor sinners to come to life and salvation and thou hast commanded us thus to seek it and behold I would but thou wouldest not I have done my utmost on my part but thou hast failed on thy part Thirdly It supposes that no man did perish for want of power which had a wil to Believe and repent When ever the wil of a poor Creature did come over to God there did alwayes come with it a sufficiency of grace to lead him through all the works of grace Although there were not abilities suitable to the wil yet they were some way suited to the work of Conversion Not that I do think with some That the wil of man moves first in the improvement of his abilities and that the Lord then steps in with more grace strength as a Reward of this But I believe that God does by his special grace move the will and sets that with what he hath given already to work and where he doth by his free grace excite what he hath already given he doth assist that with more God is first in the work of Conversion and his grace moves the will Psa 110.3 In the day of thy power thy people shall be willing And when God doth begin in the wil to move that toward Christ he wil not suffer the work to fail for want of power to carry it on God never starves his own work Phil. 2.13 He worketh in you to will and to do There is a necessary Connexion betwixt
Evil he cals the Lusts of men the VVils of the flesh and of the minde Eph. 2.2 intimating that such abominations as they have lived in had their rise principally from the corruption of the Wil which did lead to such things Hence I suppose it is that evil things are called our own things and the ways of sin our own wayes Acts 14.16 He suffered all Nations to walk in their own wayes i. e. in wayes of sin and vanity Hence also the Lusts and loose practices of the Gentiles are called the Will of the Gentiles 1 Pet. 4.3 To shew that their very hearts and affections were in such ways and works and that what they did was not so much from any thing without as from the strong and steady bent of their own Wils Nay the Apostle to shew more fully the corruption of the Wil makes but one wil betwixt carnal men and the devil Ephes 2. Compare the second verse with the third He sayes in one they walked according to the course or inclination of the World and in the other he says they walked according to the Prince of the powers of the Ayre They fulfilled the Wil of the devil and their own at once And indeed Natural men do incline to evil as he does only their wils are changeable and may bow towards God but his is unchangably fixed on evil so that by this it appears the natural man hath no such freedom or liberty of Will as as was mentioned God hath left it free but his own corruption hath not left it indifferent to good or evil but strongly inclines it to the latter And if the natural man stood in such an indifferency to good or evil it is very strange that the Holy Ghost should speak so of the whole lump of Mankinde Rom. 3.10 11 12. There is none that seeketh after God there is none that doth Good no not one It is strange that none should choose the right way if they stood all indifferent Thirdly We see the renewed man stands not in such an indifferency For grace which does not destroy the liberty of the wil inclines it to Good We find that the wil renewed is the very seat of Grace and holiness Rom. 7.18 To will is present And the same Apostle says With my mind I serve the Law of God Surely by his minde he properly means his will that was strongly moved towards God and he could see grace there although he could see it no where else ver 18. In my body dwells no good thing Saints see grace in their wils which doth support them against the corruption which they see in every part beside And by the Rule of Contraries if grace be most in the Regenerate Wil Corruption is most in the Unregenerate Will but this the Natural man wil not take notice of so that its manifest that although Man in Innocency in his fallen and in his renewed state had liberty in their Wils yet none of them had that liberty which consisted in an indifferency to good or evil First For Adam in innocency had liberty to chuse good or evil but he was disposed and inclined to good Eccles 7.29 God made man upright Secondly Man fallen chuses evil rather then good Gen. 6.5 The thoughts of his heart are evil only evil and that continually Thirdly Man in his renewed state although he hath a corrupt part in him yet he is more inclinable to good then evil His Wil is principally for God So that these things considered we may Conclude that a Mans Cannot is from his Corruption And if Paul complained of a Cannot Rom. 7.18 when yet his Will was not indifferent but manifestly inclining to good surely we do Nature and the Natural man no wrong to say of him that he cannot because of his Corruption which does strongly dispose his Wil to evil It is strange that Saints complain of a Cannot who have grace in their Wills and yet many will not allow such a Cannot in the Natural man who hath nothing but Corruption in his Wil. Having now shewn you these things there lies another scruple to be answered which is this Does God go so far as hath been hinted to make a day of Grace for them that perish and have they all outward helps in common with them who are saved and have they so many inward helps as have been mentioned Qu. Wherein does the work of God upon his Elect differ from his workings upon these whilst their day continues Ans The difference lies principally in this That al the movings and workings of God upon wicked men are not upon their Wils to bring them over to himself but they are upon their understandings their Consciences and somtimes upon some of their affections But the principal work of God upon his Elect is upon their Wils they come over first and fastest unto God The Lord goes thus far with those whom he converts not Wâ—l says he I wil prove you by illumination I wil shew you many of the truths of the Gospel and you shal see what belongs to your peace so farre that thy judgement shal be for Heaven Nay I wil shake conscience also and that shal rise against thee by way of conviction thou shalt see the danger of thy estate in this condition and I wil break in upon thy affections thou shalt find not onely fears of hel and wrath to sollicite thy return but also some joyes in complying with my word and wayes But as for thy will I wil leave that to its freedome let it choose what pleaseth it best now let it take life or death they are both before it And now if the wil were indifferent when Judgement and conscience and some of its affections are for Believing and Repenting it would surely strike in and all these would engage and bring it over to Christ But notwithstanding all this the Wil fals back and chooseth vanity and sin which pleases it best because of the corruption which is in it So that whiles corruption remains in the Wil it spues out this knowledg and these convictions and runs on to folly which it hath chosen Rom. 1.28 They did not like to retaine the knowledge of God in their hearts Whatever comes in to check the soul in the way of sin is an unwelcome guest so long as the will remains corrupted and tainted and the wil casteth but the light of the understanding and the convictions of conscience as the marriners do pump out the water which breaks in upon them Balaam had a clear knowledg of the happiness of the Saints but his Wil was for Covetousness Felix had a clear conviction of judgement to come but his wil was for his corruption and therefore he resolves to stop the mouth of Conscience by sending Paul away The wil deals with the light of truth as the sore eye deals with the sunne shuts the window to keep it out because it offends John 3.17 Men love darknesse rather then light
God who made thee willing in the day of his power Who hath made thee to differ Is it not the Lord oh take heed of diminishing the grace of God When thou deniest the distinguishing acts of it you do eclipse the Glory of it So much as you take from the Corruption of the Wil so much you take from the eminency of grace Let those who pretend to Regeneration bless the Lord not as having received grace in Common with others but as having received grace in special above others Even as they did Rev. 5.9 They bless the Lord for redeeming them out of the tongues and out of the Nations c. That God vouchsafed more to them then to those amongst whom they lived Oh you may say It was mercy that God offerd us Heaven upon any terms and if he had gone no further it had been enough to convince us that he was gracious Oh but he hath given us what he never gave them viz. hearts to believe and close with his gracious tenders or else we had withstood them also He gave them the Law but he put it in our hearts all our desires after grace are from his superabounding grace and what we are more then others that we are from what God did vouchsafe unto us more then unto them It is not from the improvement of the same Talents and means which he had with others nor from a Compliance with that general Gospel grace which was given to them and us But it was from additional mercy this was distinguishing mercy 'T is by this grace that we are what we are So we can say as the Apostle Gal. 4.9 Although we know God yet it is more proper to say we are known of God Therefore let him have the honour of his own work upon your hearts in converting and turning them to himself let the work be acknowledged his from the beginning to the end of it look on him as the author and finisher of your faith If God hath moved thy heart towards himself and hath met thy endeavours with successe and thou art able in thy experience to say it is good to draw nigh to God take heed of setting up an high opinion of thine own free Will as if that had moved God rather then God had moved it as if what thou hast were rather the recompence of improved Abilities then the fruits of Gods distinguishing Grace If ever you would honour free grace keep up in thy heart a deep sense of its distinguishing acts Vse 6. If it be thus Then above all things look to your Wills and try them whether they be set for heaven and holiness or not And in pursuing this minde these three things First Get a thorow sense of the Corruption of thy Will naturally and of its indisposition to Good For want of the knowledge of the malignity of the will causes deepe security amongst many they think their hearts are as good as any when indeed the reason why they account them good is because they did never yet study the evil of them and many poore souls goe blinded to Hell with the Good opinion of their own Wills Secondly Goe to the Lord and intreat him to take the worke into his hand if the business of thy Salvation be left upon the motion of thy Will thou are lost Tell him that thou hast found which way the Wil of man does naturally bend and if he should leave thy Will to it selfe thou art likely to make the same choyce that others have done who have been so left Tell him thou hast so much Experience of the Corruption of thy Will that thou darest not trust it nor venture thy Eternal interest upon it And whereas others dispute to get the work into their hands do thou pray as hard to get it into the hands of God Thirdly Above all things beg a Will of him Pray earnestly that he would not only put forth his power in Illumination and bare Convictions but that he would reveale this power in bringing over thy Will to himselfe Plead out this above all that he would Convert thee that thou mayst be Converted that he would Incline thy Will unto his Testimonies and that he would draw thee that thou mayst run after him And tell him often that thou standed in need of nothing more then a Will for him and if this be not given in thou art lost Follow the Lord with continuall complaints against the Corruption of thy Will and never leave him till he set up his Image in that till he hath bowed that to his Commands and when thou canst say his Will is thine and thy Will is his then thou art a happy Man or Woman Application of the second Doctrine This day is not measured by the length of our lives but the meanes outward or inward Learne hence that there is more hopes of a people although ignorant and prophane to whom the Gospel is coming then of those who are more knowing from whom the Gospel is departing Gods withdrawing of publick meanes helps of this nature speake his displeasure against a people eminently and tel us plainly that there is but little hopes of such When the Gospel is coming into a dark ignorant prophane place and declares that God hath a people there the day is dawning to them But when it is going away from a people It either argues that God hath no people there or none more to gather or that his work is almost done It argues that the Gospel hath been abused or slighted and that the day of grace is drawing apeace to an end to such a people Secondly it in forms us that they who live unprofitably under meanes are in a farre worse condition then those who live without meanes There was more hopes of the Fâ—gtree although it were unfruitfull before it was drest then there was afterwards Before it was dressed the keeper of the Vineyard was in hope that if it were digged it would bear fruit but when the means was used and no good comes of it it leaves him hopelesse Thus when we see men wicked and prophane who live without the Gospel we say oh if God would vouchsafe these poor souls the Gospel there were hopes of them But we know not what to say nor how to hope comfortably concerning those who continue the same persons they were notwithstanding the Gospel which is vouchsafed them There is more hopes of a drunkard and swearer in the dark Corners where they have not the light of the Gospel then there is of such who continue in these things in the very light of the Gospel For there is hope of the drunkard and swearer who hath lived in darkness that his day is not yet begun and that God may give a day yet But we fear that many of you who continue drunkards and swearers c. have past your day that is worn out and yet your souls are not healed Thirdly See here a sad mistake under which many
poor souls do lie Some there are upon whose hearts the word of God hath made some impressions and they have been under some Convictions of Conscience and they have had some trouble for sin and some fears about their Eternal state But these convictions are now abated and their trouble for sin grows lesse and lesse and they come into a calm they know not how and they blesse themselves in this as if things were much better then they were But alas they see not that this is the closing up their day or of their eyes they are now quiet indeed and can sin with lesse trouble then formerly the Word comes not near them and Conscience holds her peace but this is a miserable sign of a declining soul look to it you who measure the goodnesse of your condition by the quietness and calmness of it not by your experience of the soundness of it Consider that all things were in peace and quiet whilst the strong man kept the house and that strong man is the Divel when Christ came and knock'd at the door of thy Conscience it made some disturbance and the Divel began to bustle and make a noise but so soon as Christ withdraws he lies down in his place again seeing all things safe as you know if you come to a house in the night and knock at the doors the Doggs wil bark but when the noise is over and they perceive you are gone they wil lie down in their kennels again so is it in this case when Christ comes neer unto thee and knocks by convictions and thou art awakened and seemest to offer at the ways of Christ and makest a shew of reformation then he roars upon thee and troubles thee but if he see that thou art willing to lie stil and Christ withdraw then Satan wil be quiet also and so thy convictions cease consider you that bless your selves in the cessation of convictions and checks of conscience that the night is the stillest and most silent time but it is the darkest So may this time of quiet be the night of thy soul when the former time of thy conviction was thy day And dost thou rejoyce that thy day is gone and that night is come upon thee oh if thou didst but know what thou hast lost in loosing a faithful convincing conscience thou wouldest rather sit down and mourn over thy loss then rejoice in thy peace sin prevails over thee and thou art quiet the word smites and thou feelest it not duties are neglected and thou art not troubled oh is this a peace to bless thy self in art thou joyful because quiet surely thou hast little cause But you wil say Is it not our duty to rejoice in the peace of conscience and do not the people of God do so Answ It is one thing to have peace of conscience and another thing to have quiet of conscience An enemy comes and appears before a city and gives it an alarum and perhaps he withdraws without storming of it Upon the withdrawing of the enemy there is quiet they are freed from the fears of a present storm but there is no peace concluded betwixt them and the enemy perhaps is but withdrawn to thy losse If they had come to a treaty and Articles of agreement had been drawn up and the enemy had departed upon these then they might have rejoyced in their peace but a wise man wil not say such an enemy is at peace with us onely they are quiet for the time but there is no cause to be secure concerning such a one so long as an enemy perhaps he is but stepped back to take a better advantage as we find he did with Christ he left tempting of him that he might tempt him the more dangeroussy Oh therefore enquire whether your quiet calm estate arise from the slumbring conscience or from the treaty with it and agreement Has it been harkened to and answered and pacified An enemy may sleep sometimes in his Tent and he makes no noise not because he is reconciled but because he is asleep yet a sleeping enemy is an enemy and thou mayst know it when he awakes that it had been better that he had been kept waking if thy quiet be from the sleepiness of thy conscience not from the satisfaction of it thou shalt find it had been better it had never slumbered that it wil awake like a Gyant and set upon thee with so much the more fierceness It is one thing to have troubles of conscience removed by satisfying the conscience and another thing to have them removed by searing the Conscience A man is in a Lethargie and he lies stil and feels no paine he complains not but his friends stand weeping about him because they know not whether he wil awake again or not but they weep not over one that is in a sleep because they know that rest is sweet but the other dangerous and often deadly Thus the case is with thee Thou art now quiet and Conscience smites thee not thou complainest not oh but thy godly friends and relations mourn over thee they stand by thee as a dying man Oh says one I had hopes of my Husband or my Wife or my child or my friend he or she was under some Convictions for sin and it seemed to me his eyes began to open and he strugled for life I saw an outward change for a time and I hoped it would be a real effectual work but oh my hopes are almost dead I see that conscience begins to be quiet and he begins to be careless and see how he is by little and little sliding back into his former wayes oh I am afraid he wil fal into a spirit of slumber and go to hel in it I had abundantly more hopes of his condition when he had lesse But these very souls which mourn over thee rejoyce to see another soul quiet they are glad to hear of the comforts with which God hath comforted some poor doubting souls because they see that such souls came by their peace in another way Their peace is like natural sleep to the body it refreshes their souls and they are the stronger and the more lively for God but thine is a disease and spends and weakens it God hath given them peace by sprinkling their consciences with the blood of Christ But thy peace is from the hardness and insensibleness of it thou art almost past feeling Secondly It is one thing to measure our condition by our peace and another thing to measure it by the soundness of this peace A carnal and wicked man measures his condition by the presence or absence of peace and trouble If his conscience be troubled and there be any impressions made for sin he judges that condition sad and he labours all wayes possible to take off such trouble As Felix as soon as ever the word made him tremble he sends away Paul that he might be quiet Because he does not see the good which
did Come another time But it is a question whether God will waite upon thee any more or not perhaps he 'le give a Commission to his Messengers to speake no more he will send them to another people Or if it doe come againe it may never come with that heat and light that it comes now to thee the Word which iâ— nâ—w a spirited Worâ— may be a dead coâ—d Word ever after to thee Felix put off the Word when it came in some power He might have heard many Sermons before he met with such another Oh let not the probability of enjoying the meanes make thee secure under it Thou sayest pehapes if thou wert likely to have no more of it thou wouldest then listen to the present word and the Convictions of it Oh but what if thou wert sure yet to enjoy the Word art thou sure to finde it a Convincing Word thou mayest have it then but if God hath withdrawne the inlightning convincing power from it what difference will there be betwixt thee and him that hath no word oh how little is this considered and minded by the greatest part of man they hear as if they were sure to heare againe and as if there were no danger of being lost under the Word they say they have the meanes and there is no such hast if we here it not to day we may hear it to morrow we shall have the same Word then which we have now and it wil be well if we listen to it then But though you should have the same Word and the same persons which speake the Word to you then yet you may finde it as another thing to you then the Word may be now a Convincing Word there may be some spirit and power in it now and then it may be otherwise to thee God may have withdrawne all convincing quickning comforting power from it and then it will seeme to thee that it is not the same Word that it was thou mayst hear the same things which stirre thee now and not be moved at al and then if God be withdrawne from his Ordinances it is all one as if he had taken them away too Oh take this into your Consideration you who doe enjoy a constant Ministry and have the Word constantly preacht to you listen to it as if it were departing from you for though the Word it self continue yet if the Spirit depart from it thy soul is undone If you had but a little time to live or but a little time to hear the word thou wouldest be perswaded to look after it But oh these may be true one or both but suppose neither be true that thy life be not short nor the meanes short yet let me tell thee the time in which God will strive with thy soul may be short yea very short There is a prefixed time set for thee to come in to Christ which if thou passest over if thou diddest live to Methuselabs age and haddest the choicest means under Heaven yet thou shouldest not be converted If thou haddest an assurance that any time in thy life would serve the turn yet thou hast no reason to delay for thy life is very uncertain and short for this great work But the means is more uncertain thou art not sure that the Gospel shal always sound in thine â—ars Oh but Gods striving with thy heart is most uncertain for who knows how soon he wil give over to struggle with thee Thy life is a very inconsiderable thing because of the shortness of it it is but a moment in comparison of eternity Oh but the day of grace is a short thing in comparison of thy life Take heed of carelesness as if thou didst know that thy day of grace would bold to the last day of thy life We never read that conversion and death met together in one day save to one man which was the Thief on the Crosse it was to one to prevent despair in them whose eyes are then opened and it was but to one that none might presume upon such a time before it come If such a day and it hath such an end and it leave men under such an irrecoverable condition then take hold of the present time while it is called to day Because thou art sure onely of the present there is a night coming when no man can work not onely a night of death but a night of spiritual slumber wherein thou shalt walk up and down with eyes blinded understanding darkened affections alienated from God Conscience seared with a black mark of ruine and perdition upon thy soul when thou shalt not onely be without sence but past sence past seeing and past feeling and past hopes when thou shalt think that thou seest and yet seest not and think that thou perceivest and yet shalt be blinde as the Mole having no true understanding of God nor of thy own condition before him Oh when this night comes upon thee woe unto thee thy work must needs lye behind for ever If you could but foresee such a thing as this is and did believe indeed that it would come upon thee wouldest thou not lay aside all delaies and bethink thy self of improving this inch of time which thou hast for Eternitie I beseech you all therefore in the Lord be perswaded to consider of this thing it is a great thing that I am treating about lay it to your hearts and lay about you as those who have but a little time to mind a great business Think of these things First Some think themselves too great to think on such things they have great cares and many incumbrances Secondly Many think they are not great enough when they are risen to such a height in honour or estate then they wil mind it and some too young another time wil serve All these put it off to another time A death-bed there they appoint Conscience to meet them and debate the business Two great general Deceits run thorow mens hearts First They pretend that they wil comply with the Gospel Few will say in plaine termes We wil not have Christ reign over us or We wil never hear any more of this matter but they wil appoint another time as they judge most convenient not considering that the time they dreame of may not come at all or if it does it may be no time for this the time for this work may be past Secondly They act for the world as if their being rich great did depend upon a day but as if the business of their souls had no dependance on the advantage of time but the Scripture speaks otherwise it has set thee a day for thy soul which if thou neglect thou shalt lose but for the world that may be had in the last place Matthew 6. First seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof Great men mind this you have but a day you may neglect the time and God wil be as strict with you as others in
this and you have many hindrances and lesse helps then others Therefore not many rich c. Secondly To poor you have a day too although not to be rich and honourable yet to be happy if you neglect it not It is a word of exhortation to you al to old ones you have spent a great deal of time and what provision have you made for Eternitie If your day be not over yet you cannot expect that yours will last long you cannot expect to enjoy many daies in the flesh and if this be a truth which you have heard from the Word you are in a great deal of danger and it is high time for you to awake 2 It speaks also to you that are Young ones and bless your selves in the prime of your daies beginning of your strength it speaks to you in that of the Wise-man Ec. 12 1. Remember now thy Creator Do not say In my old Age no but do it in thy Youth nor yet I wil do it in my Youth but not yet but set about it now I say to thee as Christ did to Judas What thou doest do it quickly Do not say Thy Years are but few yet and thy daies are but begun for ought thou knowest the day of Grace may be almost done although the daies of thy life are but begun this Gospel-day is nearer to an end then thou art aware of thou hast no assurance of life but much lesse assurance of this if You didst believe this how would it rouse up your spirits and provoke you to take heed of every opportunity for your souls 5. If it be so then take heed of slighting convictions and the struglings of conscience for these are the critical times of your lives then you are near to making or marring now is the time or never And although thou art called to be serious t all times yet more especially now thy eternal happinesse lies at the stake and when God begins to struggle with thee it will be seen in a short time whether thou wilt be eternally happy or miserable This part of thy life is like to those Critical days which Physitians observe when either the Disease abates and breaks or kills So now either thou wilt grow better or worse after this either the day will break and darknesse will fly away and scatter or else the night will begirt thee and thy darkness will be much blacker then it was Have a care therefore all you who come to the Ordinance and finde any stirrings upon your Consciences lest you neglect this time First Because now God is near unto you I may draw an exhortation out of the Apostles words Acts 17.27 Now feel after God if happily you may finde him for he is not farre from you he is now with you and in you by his enlightning and convincing power now is the time if ever for such a word to take place as we have Isa 55.6 Seek him whiles he may bee found If ever God were neare you in a way of mercy it is now he is not only near you by his Gospel but in it he comes in it and with it he sends the spirit with the Word if thou doest flight these motions thou mayest never find him so near thee if he once go out of his Word and leave thee without a convincing light and power he then will go further and further from you and then wee may say Woe to you when God is departed from you Hos 9.12 This is one of the first steps of Gods forsaking Souls when he forsakes the Word under which they sit and it is in order to that dreadfull sentence Matth. 25.41 Depart from me ye cursed c. O therefore as you would not hear that dreadfull Sentence then fear it now lose God now and thou art like to lose him for ever But if thou wouldest keep him now and possesse him then so keep and cherish his Convictions take heed of slighting these for it is a slighting of God and if thou slight him while he is near thee thou wilt drive him further off quickly Be more careful now then ever because the day spends apace it hastens away more then ever you know when the sun comes at the highest he declines apace when the days are at their length they do shorten quickly when it is noon the sun hastens to his bed This time of Gods stirring with thee by Conviction is as thy Noon-day if thou slight that thy day will decline apace it will not be long ere it be night therefore while it is not only day but noon-day work for there is but a little time betwixt Noon and Night Nay let me tell thee thy day of Grace is not like the Natural day or year You know that the sun is as long descending as ascending and therefore the after-noon is as long as the fore-noon But it will not be so with thee thou mayest have a long morning and a short noon and a speedy night It may be long ere God does begin to strive with thee he may let thee live twenty thirty or forty years before he comes thus near thee all this while is but as thy fore-noon and then he may come near thy Conscience This is the noon of thy day and here he may continue strugling with thee for a year a month a week a day nay perhaps but one hour as with Felix with whom God strugled but one hour in one Sermon and if thou wilt not now hear the night shall gather upon thee and thou shall be shut up under darkness God wil resolve to struggle but a little while and he will not be so long in departing as he was in coming but if noon be past night comes suddenly he may be long a coming but quickly gone from thee 3 Be more careful now because God proportions the length of our day to the clearnesse of the means which thou enjoyest and to the strength of thy Convictions If God give men lettle means then he allows them the more time if he gives them more means he gives them the lesse time for this great work I do believe that under the Law when things were dark and in former days when the Gospel was but little preacht to what now it is God did give men a longer and larger space for Repentance then he does now Matth. 3.10 he waited longer upon sinners then now he does or will And as he proportions to the means so to our Convictions If he do strive much with a Soul and cause Convictions to fal thick and strong upon it it is an Argument that he intends to contend but a little while with that soul if he slight them He will speedly convert that Soul or harden it As we see in Felix God did strive but a little while but it was in a notable way he made him tremble but we do not find that he did strive any more after that fit was over We see something of this in
Nature those places and people who lye directly under the sun and have most of the heat and fervour of it have not so long daies in summer as they who live more remote from in as we in England have longer daies at Midsummer then they that live under the Line and they in Scotland have longer then we So it is like to be with thee if thy means be choice and thy convictions strong thy nay is like to be shorter have a care therefore that thou dost not slight the one or the other 4 Be careful now because thou dost not know whether ever God wil strive any more with thee if now thou slightest these these may conclude thy day and seal up thy condition thou hast no sooner an intimation by these that thy day is begun but thou hast a hint that it may be ending The same word which begins to open thine eyes tels thee that it is not long ere they may be shut again God stands at thy heart and knocks he promises thee That if thou wilt open he wil come in but he does not promise thee to continue knocking if thou wilt open saies he I wil come in if thou wilt not open I wil be gone I wil leave thee Say not to the Word Come again for perhaps it wil never come so again God wil not have thee deal so with thy neighbour Prov. 3.28 and dost thou think he wil be dealt so withal Is it not a great Mercy that he wil come once to thee Is it not a base and unworthy thing for thee to think that the great God of Heaven and Earth should waith upon such a vile wretcht as thou art Nay is it not just that the Lord should resolve to offer thee life no more and that be should disdainto follow thee any longer who hast refused him once and again therefore be careful because convictions slighted provoke the Lord to withdraw them and once withdrawn it is a question whether ever they wil come again 5 Be careful now because if this day be lost all is lost it is such a loss as include in it all other losses it is the losse of God of happiness and comfort of thy Soul of eternal life of that salvation which thou hast perhaps hoped for It is a loss not to be supplied because when this is past comes a night and in it no man can work or walk This night is a very black night indeed there is no light in it at all God made a lesser light to rule the night as wel as a greater to rule the day he did not leave the night wholly destitute so that although the night be not a time to travel in yet if a man be cast behind in his journey he may find his way by the light of the moon or stars these do borrow a light of the sun and they do help in his absence and give notice that he is not wholly gone But this night hath no light to rule it darkness blackness of darkness rules in it There is no working in this night because no light the word which is left behind gives no light to the foul when God hath withdrawn he carries away all light with him all true saving light so that a man shal never see any thing aright He leaves no light in providences in Ordinances in afflictions they do not all of them bring a man to see God or his own condition aright But all these things do become to the Soul as those false fires in the night which do lead men out of their way The word does but harden the heard and blinde the eyes and mislead men and fil them with false presumptuous hopes which when they awake wil deceive them O now if there be a day and after this day a night and this night may come so suddenly thou dost not know how soon and this night have no provision for it how great folly and indiscretion is it for to spend the light of this precious day and to neglect those stirrings of God upon thy conscience by which thou art â—olicited to return to him Now and Ever Now or never 6. If so then if it be time for some I am sure it is high time for others if it were time for them to awake because salvation was coming nearer to them then I am sure it is time for them to awake from whom salvation is departing Rom. 13.11 There is no dallying with light when it comes because it is uncertain how long it wil continue but there is much lesse reason to dally with that which is certainly going There are some that are but in the morning of this day others are in the noon of it others again in the wane of it Now if he that hath but seen the morning of it may soon be benighted and he that hath the light of the noon may soon be overshaddowed with darkness and no man hath reason to bee secure because of his day how much lesse shalt thou because in all probability thou art near to night O therefore you who have spent much of your time and have lived long under the means and yet you are either without any Convictions or have almost lost those which you have had if there be any spark of light or affection found stirring in you blow it up resolve now to improve that little time that is left you may possibly do more by that inch which is left then by all that thou hast enjoyed already a little time spent for God and for the interest of thy soul may be of more advantage to thee then the many Months and Years which have been layed out for the profits honours or pleasures of the World and that I may quicken you to this Consider that as every one hath an uncertain time to look after this great work and it is very uncertain how long or short the day of Grace wil be so there are many of you who certainly have but a short time by al signs and tokens you are upon the very borders of darkness and death You have the Symptoms of a people who are even come to the last hour of the day if your day be not quite done it is almost and although we cannot expresly say of particular persons that your day is over neither would I preach it if I could yet we may and shew you in what danger you are that we may warn you I shal lay down some things which do speak a people neer to the night I beseeeh you go along with me and make application to your own hearts and see whether these things do concern you or not and how far Signs that the day is near done First When persons remain ignorant under the means a long time and having great means for Conviction yet slight all this was Israels case Numb 14.11 God calls this a provocation when they had enjoyed so many testimonies of the power and of the truth of God
and yet they would not listen to him they would not be obedient the means of Conviction had been so plain and clear that God could not bear their unbeleef any longer he threatens therefore to disinherit them O hath not this been your case Have you not enjoied the Word in that plainness that you might easily have bin convinc'd long since of your Pride covetousness Uncleanness Drunkness Sabbath-breaking nay thou mightest have seen thy unbelief and the irregeneracy of thy heart thou hast had things so planly brought home to thee that if thou wouldest have used thy Reason and have suffered conscience to speak thou hadst been convinced of thy lost condition long ago and yet thou goest on in those things which the Word condemns and tels thee That thy ways are not the ways of Gods people yet thou goest on carelesly and securely and cryest peace peace this is a provocation Thou hast been plainly shewn what Formality is and what Unbelief is and what are the signs of a Regenerate unregenerate condition that if thou wouldest but make application to thy self bring the Word thy condition together thou couldest not but see that thy condition is dangerous yet thou wil not be convinced thou wilt not examine and try thy heart and come to a result concerning thy Soul strong security after much plainness in Preaching and clearness in the meanes of Conviction speaks a people near to hardening and that their day is almost at an end 2 When men have clear Convictions of the Truth and of their condition and of their duty and yet hold the truth in unrighteonsness Rom. 1.18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as forcibly hold the Truth and inslave it wil not suffer it go its own way the Truth bids them do one thing and they would do another they have will of Conscience that would go for God that would be for Prayer and for reading the Word and for hearing but there is the wil of their affections and that is for the world and for the Ale house or for this pleasure or for that lust so that these men draw their consciences after them as you lead a Dogg in a slip he must go your way by force They have gotten so much of the knowledg of the truth to convince them that it is their duty to pray in the Family and in the Closet and conscience minds them of this and sollicites them to go this way and to begin the day thus but the affections they go after their covetousness the thoughts of his Calling comes in some design for profit cals him off and he goes away and slights conscience or the thought of his pleasure comes to him and he must attend that so that he imprisons the truth under unrighteousness and although conscience goes grudgingly up and down and grumbles at him while he is in the Alehouse or in his calling in his pleasures or elsewhere and tels him that he should have been doing something else that while yet it is all one he keeps it under like a slave and drags it after him while he satisfies his Lust Such as these are mentioned in two Scriptures the first is he that keeps it in a Negative unrighteousness or an unrighteousness of omission Luke 12.47 who dos not follow the truth in those things which are clearly revealed to him it is said that he shall be beaten with many stripes The second is he who holds truth in a positive unrighteousness or an unrighteousness of Commission who does not only refuse to follow the light and truth into those duties which it would lead him unto but runs against the clear light and truth into the contrary practises which the light and truth do abhor These are spoken of Rom. 1.32 Such men carry a conviction of the justice of that sentence which God wil pass upon those who walk in such wayes and yet they both do them and delight in them and if you observe how these men came to the height of wickedness it was first of all by not walking with after their light that they came so boldly at last against it vers 21. Thus you see that this contradicting and forcing the light and truth received into the understanding borders on this night for you see it is presently added after he had given an instance of such as did thus hold the truth in unrighteousness that they became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened vers 21. God punishes this perversness of the wil with blindness of mind and it is fit that he who would not use no eye should have never an eye O now bring this home to your own souls Be there not many of you who walk in the Omission of known duties such things as you cannot but be acquainted withal How many prayerless Families be there here and yet the master of the Family knows it is his duty topray with and for his Family and to instruct and command them concerning the fear of the Lord How many prayerless souls be here that seldom or never seek the Lord in private O if I should run thorow particular known duties how many should we find guilty and if Conscience would stand it would say This is a known duty and yet I live in a constant or general neglect of it I le name but one and it is a great and plain one 2 Cor. 13.5 Prove your selves whether ye be in the faith or not It is a word spoken to such as had been owned for Saints there were many strong probabilities that they were such yet these are advised to make diligent search into their hearts and to bring themselves to the touchstone But do you do so How many be there here that never spent a serious hour in all their lives in debating this question whether Christ be in them or not they think it is enough to believe that God is merciful and that they are Christions and it is a shorter way to believe then to prove it It is every man and womans duty solemnly to search the scripture and to search their hearts and bring these two together and then come to a serious resolution Is Christ in me or not of a truth But are there not many here that are so far from searching the scripture in order to this work that they wil not make use of those things which do immediately concern their condition when they are brought to their hands out of the word how long would it be ere such souls would search the scriptures themselves to find out the state of their souls who wil not make use of them when so plainly proposed take heed of holding the truth thus in unrighteousness in neglecting those duties which lie so plain in the woâ—d 2 Bring the second also home and take heed of swearing drunkenness lying cheating add defrauding of pride uncleannesse Sabbath-breaking scoffing these things cannot but be with some conviction and although thou sayest God hath
mercy for these yet God saies he hath wrath and his wrath is revealed from Heaven against all such who hold the knowledg and truth which thou hast of thy duty under such unrighteousnesse 3 When men have had strong convictions of sin and these have made some Reformation in their lives and conversations and have given great hope of their conversion and afterwards they have fallen to grosse pollutions again 2 Pet. 2.20 the case is stated there very clear First there were persons who had been gross sinners they had walked in the pollutions of the world suppose those of drunkennesse and uncleannesse but these had gotten so much of the knowledg of Christ that they had escaped these pollutions they fled from them as it were But these intangled again not with other sins of another nature as the people of God may be and are who are troubled with secret inward corruptions such as the world takes no notice of and as they were never sensible of before as Spiritual pride in duties vain thoughts c. they are not intangled with these but with the same sins which they had escaped And that is not all for a child of God may be intangled in the same sins again that is for one act of sin or the like as David and Peter were But he says they are overcome Satan prevails so far over them that he carries them back to their former accustomed drunkenness and swearing uncleanness and the like If once it be thus with them there is little hopes of them you may judge what the latter end of them wil be it is worse than the former Those men are so visibly and suddenly changed by the strength of bare convictions and have not grace in the heart as wel as knowledge are in a miserable condition because they seldom hold it out long and when they do fal back it is a thousand to one but they fal foulely and when souls fal thus into their old sins which they had escaped it is a thousand to one but they are held under them and grow worse and worse to the end We have a notable passage Matthew 12.45 They enter in and dwel there they take up their rest there The uncleane Spirit went up and down seeking rest and could not find it But now he enters and hath what he was seeking for as intimating in that he pitches here to take up his abode Relapses in the distempers of the body are more dangerous then the first violence of the disease and so are such relapses dangerous to the soul for if thou art a relapsed drunkard Swearer Sabbath-breaker c. thou art in no more danger then those who have alwaies been such and there is more hopes of recovering one who never had any conviction nor pretended to any reformation then of such who have by the light and knowledge of Christ escaped these and are now returned again to their vomit and wallowing in the mire 4 When men after a high profession of Religion and of giving up themselves to Christ fal back to worldly interests and mind and care for that with neglect of the waies and people of God whom they have closed withal before Every one who hath made a profession of Religion and deserts it dos not fal into open prophanenesse and loosnesse it is possible they may retain so much of the light of Nature and the word as may restrain them from grosse evils and yet they may lose all the heat and warmth which seemed to be in their affections to the things of God so that although they wil not follow God and his people yet they wil not tread in the footsteps of the prophane but they strike in with the civiler part of men who do not openly oppose the ways of God although neglect them and they are for the world and their care is how to be great and rich Religion must lie by to attend upon this they are not such who bring forth no fruit but they bring forth nothing to perfection Luke 8.14 They pray sometimes and hear but the cares and love of the world wil not let them do any thing wel and perfectly it eats up the heart of every duty and in the end choaks their profession As we see it is with the Corn it grows up with the thorns next the thorns overgrow that and lastly the thorns destroy it So is it with such mens profession First it grows up with the World and the love and cares of it he prayes and he hears and he does many things which he did not do before but all this does not crucifie him to the world he loves that as formerly and his heart goes out strongly after it yet his convictions being fresh and strong his profession holds with the world Afterwards as his convictions begin to grow weaker and fainter the World prevails and he is less and less in the duties of Gods worship and he begins to plead excuse for his remisness and slightness in the service of God he cannot spare so much time for prayer and hearing from his Calling his imployments are many and therefore that cannot be expected from him which is from others Now the world hath gotten above his profession and in a little time it choaks it it dies away and comes to nothing Thus it was with Judas he had a covetous heart all the while he followed Christ but at last it got ground of him and he was bought out of all for thirty pieces of silver and thus Demas forsook the service of the Lord in the Gospel when he met with an opportunity of imbracing the present word 2 Tim. 4.10 How many be there in these days which have lost and given up all their profession of Christ this way and have turned back only to mind the things of this present life But such souls who fal off with Judas and Daemas to the World seldom return to Christ the day of grace seems near at an end to such as these Take heed that there be not found among you such as these are who after the pretended giving up your selves to the Lord do fal back to mind earthly things Ph. 3.19 It is a sad sign that God intends to give such their portion in this life 5 When men have sinned away their Convictions and conscience grows quiet this must needs be a symptom of a declining day because the more stupid and grosse conscience grows the nearer men come to hardness of heart and this is called in the Scripture a reprobate mind Rom. 1.28 it is the very mark and brand of a Reprobate of one who is set apart for ruine There is a light in the heart of every natural man which doth direct and counsel him until such time as it be extinguished but if it be not followed it wil go out by degrees Rom. 1.21 But to this light the Lord gives in the light of the Word and some help of the Spirit and if God do in
may suffice to have been careless and negligent of my own soul and disobedient to the Gospel and to the checks of Conscience as for that which remains it is little enough for the great work of serving the Lord and making my Calling and Election sure Now enquire Do thy present convictions work thus do they put thee upon more close and constant pursuance of God upon endeavouring to walk close with him and to redeem time for him this carries yet more light of evidence with it that thy day is not over 4 Dost thou find a difference betwixt these convictions and those which thou hadst formerly That there is more of the stirring of the wil and affections in these than were in them There is a great difference betwixt the stirring of the conscience and the stirring of the Wil Conscience may be awakened and that may move a man strongly after reformation and the wil and affections may move him after his lusts all the while and where conscience is awakened and the Wil not changed there the Devil may steal these troubles away upon false grounds he hath many waies to quiet such mens consciences but if the Wil be moved truly toward God there is no way to quiet that but by the enjoiment of its end which is the enjoyment of God Therefore the main thing by which we should judge of the work and so of the day of Grace is this by labouring to enform our selves aright what difference there is betwixt these and former convictions and whether these be better than they or no which did die away and whether there be more of the wil and affections in these than in those we formerly had for every work is so much the better as it hath more of Wil in it which is indeed the seat of Grace Q. How shall I know whether my stirrings are of my Conscience or my Will A. I might give you many things but I touch it now but occasionallie therefore I shal confine my self to these three short directions Observe thy 1 Troubles 2 Dâ—sires 3 Endeavours First observe thy Troubles whether they be most for the sense of sin or the apprehensions of wrath if conscience be only awakened that eyes only the wrath to come and thinks of nothing else but of escaping and it takes not sin into consideration but as it is forced by the necessary connexion betwixt that and judgement but if the wil and affections be wrought over in this trouble then the greatest trouble is because of the evil of sin as it dishonours God and as it hinders the Soul from communion with God and the soul is troubled at the presence of that and studies how it may be rid of that Sin is a heavy burthen to a sanctified wil but wrath is the only burden to an intangled but not renewed conscience 2 Observe thy Desires What do they run out most after Christ or Comfort Peace or Purity if the trouble be onely a forced trouble from conscience then the Soul dos ordinarily look no farther then the present trouble and how to be rid of that it is peace that conscience looks after but if the Wil be moved that must have something else besides Peace it is not a calm wilserve the turn it must have Christ and communion with him or nothing wil satisfie 3 Look to thy endeavours when are they strongest and most vigorous and drawn out most after heaven and heavenly things in thy troubles or in thy calms I have observed some that when they have been under trouble and terrours of Conscience they would then be very stirring and seem to take much pain for Heaven but when Conscience is a little quieted they lay aside their Religion and there is no more noise of it this is a sign that their stirrings were barely from Conscience But other Souls whose wils were wrought upon as wel as their Consciences have been more active and stirring in the ways of God as they have gotten more peace and assurance of Gods love and there is a clear reason for such different effects from their quiet because quiet and peace was the thing which the inflamed Conscience sought for but the sanctified will and affections sought for another thing and although a little Peace may satisfie Conscience and take off the edge of it this will set an edge upon the affections that which calms Conscience quickens the sanctified Wil for every relish that it hath of grace or peace makes it seek for more Try your selves by these things and if you find that your Convictions are accompanied with the stirrings of the wil and affections be of good hope for thy day of grace is not over if thou hast a will for God if he strive and you grow more tender and sensible fear not to follow thy convictions and to lay hold of the Promises which suit with thy condition Let former convictions neglected humble thee but let them not discourage thee But withal take this word of advice and so I shal conclude 1 Take heed of thy Heart lest it deceive thee thou hast had such stirrings which did look like a work of grace before but they have died away be jealous of these lest they should do so also Thou knowest how subject the heart is to grow cold and to shift and put off Convictions and when it is under them how seemingly willing it is to convert and return to God how ready to make promises and vows to God and how ready to forsake all these again it hath cheated thee once already therefore watch it as a deceitful thing the way not to be deceived is to expect it or at least fear it 2 Resolve to take the more pains because thou hast lost so many precious opportunities knowing that if thou art not nearer to happiness and eternal life then other men thou art farther off and thou hadst need labour to redeem what thou hast lost 3 Beleeve not Satan who says thy day is over for he knows it not and he is a Lyar from the beginning There is abundantly more hope of thee who liest under such fears than there is of one who lies and lives in sin and says his day is not yet past Satan ordinarily tels men that the day is past when it does begin to shine upon them and he tels them who are in darkness and in the night that it is day and it is time enough for them 4 Prize thy Convictions highly and look upon it as a great Mercy that God wil at last look upon thee a poor sinner an old sinner an old slighter of convictions an old back-slider O what a mercy is it to thee that that dreadful passage is not made good upon thy soul Prov. 14.14 The back slider in heart shall be filled with his own wayes God might have said to thee when thou didst cast off Convictions at first and when thou didst back-slide from the reformation which thou didst begin Be filled with back-slidings thou shalt have thy belly ful of them thou shalt never have any more help to return O what a mercy is it that after all this he should begin to recover thee and set thee a fresh about the work of returning to Christ 5 Be much in blessing God for what he hath done that he hath vouchsafed again to visit thy Soul from on high and to stir up thee again when perhaps many that are in Hell were in thy case formerly God hath taken advantage against them for slighting the Word and Conscience and he might have done so with thee if he would have dealt exactly with thee Who is it that maketh thee to differ Is it not the Lord To him therefore be given all honour and glory and praise FINIS Reader these Books are in the Press ANthologia Biblica or a Methodical distribution of divine Scriptures under several heads which will serve for a common place Book a Concordance and a Commentary together with a Praxis discovering the manifold uses and advantages thereof in Fol. By that Reverend Divine Mr. John Clark of Fiskerton neer Lincoln A learned Comment on the Epistles of St. Paul by David Dixon translated into English by William Retchford Minister of St. Albans Englands Advancement a very useful peece of rare secrets in Physick and Chyrurgery by Tho. Collings Practitioner in Physick FINIS
or your estate or your precious time May we not say to all these as the Apostle said Rom. 8.12 We are not debtors to the flesh nor to the world nor sin we owe them nothing no but we are debtors to God we owe him our time and strength and parts and estates and lives and whatsoever we have or are for of him and from him are all things to him therefore be glory Not to fear love and serve God is to blot out the notion of a Creatour out of our hearts and to forget we are creatures Secondly Consider him in his Power This is frequently in Scripture made an argument to fear the Lord if we look to his power over the creatures so David often Psalm 86.8 9 10 11. Among the gods there is none like to thee O God neither are there any works like unto thy works vers 9. All Nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee O Lord and shall glorifie thy name vers 10. For thou art great and dost wondrous things thou art God alone We see David makes choise of God to fear and serve him because of his greatness in the works of his hands he concludeth That surely God was able to do great things for him also Secondly if we consider his great power especially over us Christ makes use of this Matthew 10.28 Feare not them which are able to kill the body but are not able to kil the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell Doth the world call for thy service or doth this or that great mans lust call for it If thou dost refuse them can they revenge thy neglect of them at that rate which the Lord can Can they deal with their despisers as the Lord doth with his Psal 5.17 The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the Nations that forget God Or can they reward their servants as God doth his Have they the Keys of the grave and Heaven and Hell at their girdles Have they a power suitable unto his Thirdly Consider how infinitely the Lord is above all thy services not taking this into consideration breeds so many put offs men think any thing good enough for God the very dreggs of their time and strength the weak and the lame wil serve him and a little of that too but didst thou consider the vast disproportion that is betwixt God and thee thou wouldest not think all thy time too much nor the choicest of it too good for him who is infinitely above all that thou canst offer up unto him Psalm 16.2 My goodness extendeth not to thee whatever thou givest him thou canst not inrich him thou canst not adde unto him nay when thou hast given him all thou hast given him nothing worthy of him thou hast very little reason to boast but rather to wonder that the Lord will give thee leave such a poor wretch to take his Name into thy mouth If this consideration were kept in all duties and addresses unto God it would make us more frequent in duties and more serious it would check those vain thoughts of men who think the last hour soon enough and the shortest hour long enough and the slightest service good enough for the great and infinite God who shall one day despise their image Psal 73.20 As dream when one awaketh so O Lord whâ—â— thou awakest thou shalt despise their Image Fourthly Consider how the Lord stands upon points of Honour his Name is very precious and he wil exalt it either in your souls or upon them although you may think it a slight thing and what injury or wrong is it to him if I go on a little longer and enjoy this lust or that the Lord hath made such proffers to thy foul in Christ that the world cannot parallel and he stands upon point of Honour in this case Most he wait and be put off and every base Lust and every lying vanity entertained and his Service laid aside May not I say as Isaiah to Ahaz Isa 7.13 Is it a small thing to weary men but you must weary my God also A man will not indure this that has any spirit of a man in him that has respect to Honour he will not put it up to be laid aside and so his inferiors accepted upon unworthy terms when he is put off who offered terms more honourable and advantagious the Lord calls this a double evil Jer. 2.11 12 13. Hath a Nation changed their gods which yet are no gods but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit Be astonished O ye heavens at this and be horribly affraid be ye very desolate saith the Lord ver 13. For my people have committed two evils they have forsaken me the Fountain of living waters and hewed them out Cisterns broken Cisterns that will hold no water It was one evil and very dishonourable to God that his people did forsake him it was a blemish which the Heathen did not cast upon their gods but it was a double dishonour to God that they went off upon bad and base terms Remember all you that are invited daily to come to Christ and yet come not notwithstanding those glorious proffers which he makes to souls and you that pretend to come but come not in good earnest your hearts are going another way O see that you go off upon good terms God wil one day make you know to what losse you go off when you leave him and how much he takes notice of the dishonour you cast upon him by going off to things so infinitely beneath him Fifthly Consider the Mercy of God in Christ this is the great Argument to draw the Soul unto God these are the cords of a man the winning argument to prevail with an ingenuous spirit I am sure they are strong arguments to Saints if not to men Paul knew the weight and strength of this kinde of arguing when he ventered so much duty upon it as the giving up all to Christ Rom. 12.4 I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living Sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service Now that I might help this consideration to its full weight and value I shall divide it into two parts 1 Consider External and Temporal Mercies these are Motives What is there that thou dost enjoy but it is Mercy to thee and the least of all these hath a voice if thou couldest understand it and it importunes thee to look up to him from whence is every good gift Acts 14.17 Neverthelesse hee left not himself without witnesse in that hee did good and gave us rain from Heaven and fruitfull seasons filling our hearts with food and gladnesse They bear witnesse that God is merciful although I do not think with some that they bear witnesse of Christ and of special pardoning mercy by him 2. Consider God hath more mercy that he might have