then they needed to do of his justifying himself in his transgressions and taking part with Satan against his own soul he crieth Guilty Guilty when such Bills of indictment are read against him but every word in them is a deep wound to him the wolf in the brest and worms in the belly do not cause half that pain which his wickedness doth by gnawing in his conscience Tell him of the Gospel how infinitely merciful God is and how inconceivably meritorious Christ is and how freely the glad tidings of the Gospel are offered to all O this toucheth him to the quick the sword of the Gospel cuts him more to the heart then the sword of the Law O saith he This this is my death were it not for this I should have some hopes of life but alas I have abused mercy which is the only friend I have left I have despised Christ and neglected the great salvation which was tendred to me in the Gospel Vile creature that I am Mercy Love and Grace came many a time woing me how did Jesus Christ himself with pardon and life come beseeching me begging of me to open my heart and let him in and yet cursed wretch that I was I denied him when the world could lie warm in my bosom all night and sin get a good room in my soul yet my Saviour must stand without and not be thought worthy to be let in I have most unworthily spurned against his bowels of compassion scorned his sweetest and most affectionate perswasions most desperately refused the only means of my recovery and therefore I what shall I do whether shall I go If one man sin against another the judge shall judge him 1 Sam. 2.25 but if a man sin against the Lord who shall entreat for him If I had sinned only against my Creator my Redeemer might have satisfied for me but I wretched I have sinned against my Redeemer and therefore who shall intreat for me O the frights and fears the horrors and terrors which this poor creature suffereth under the sight and sence of his sins and guilt but the fore-thoughts of an everlasting miscarriage in the other world sinks him quite down that he is able to hold up no longer Thus the Spirit first plougheth up the fallow-ground of the heart before he casteth into it the seed of grace he first captivates the sinner and brings him into a spiritual dungeon under chains of guilt and horror that the very irons enter into his soul before he proclaimeth liberty to the captive Isa 61.1 2. and the opening of the prison to them that are bound Some indeed are brought lower then others with legal terror but surely not a few have sailed to Heaven by the very gates of Hell God is resolved that men shall feel sin either here or hereafter Thirdly The Spirit convinceth him of the impotency and weakness of all the things in the world to help him that in the whole garden of Nature there is never an herb which can make a salve to heal his wounded conscience Now the sinner is scorched with the heat of Gods wrath he is like a man in a burning feaver full of pain and he tumbleth and tosseth from one side of the bed to the other trying and hoping for ease he goeth to this carnal comfort or that humane help to have his pain abated and his sores cured but none of them will do as fast as he claps on those carnal plaisters the Spirit causeth his conscience to rub them off It may be first the man useth forreign drugs he being troubled in conscience goeth with Cain to the building of Cities to earthly imployments that the noise of the hammers might drown the voice of conscience that his minde and body being occupied about other things conscience might have no time nor leasure to proceed in preaching its cutting Lectures or else like Saul he runneth to his musick to carnal contentments to merry meetings jovial companions his preferment or pleasures in the world or some carnal diversion if it be possible to turn the water of his thoughts into another channel and so to keep that mill from going which makes such a clacking dreadful noise in his ears and threatneth to grind him to powder Thus sinfully foolish is man as soon as ever a fire is kindled in his soul which would aspire to heaven he runneth with his buckets to earthly springs and fetcheth water thence to quench it the throws of the new birth do no sooner come upon him but he like some simple women takes cooling things which cause his labour to go back again But the Holy Ghost for I am now speaking of one in whom the Spirit goeth through with the work makes all these things empty to him the vertue of those poor cordials is soon spent and now the man is as sick as before Conscience for all these interruptions still followeth him with its Hue and Cry by a warrant from Heaven for the breach of Gods Statutes that the sinner can house nowhere in any of these worldly comforts but conscience is at his heels raising the Town upon him and giveth him no rest the man finds this physick but like hot water to one in a cold fit of an ague which warms a little at present but makes his hot fit the more violent When the sinner findes that his exotical drugs will not cure him he will try in the next place Kitchin physick he will be his own both Doctor and Apothecary he hopeth that his praying and grieving and trouble of minde and resolution to be better will satisfie Gods justice and pacifie his own conscience and heal it throughly O how the man endeavors to lick himself whole man is a proud creature unwilling to beg or borrow of his neighbors very solicitous rather to make a poor shift with what he hath of his own The Mariners will row hard in a storm to get to shore by their own power before they will awake Jesus with Save us Master or we perish But the Spirit convinceth him of the insufficiency of all his prayers and tears and duties to appease God or satisfie his Law the Spirit sheweth him the narrowness and shortness of all his rags how they cannot possibly cover his nakedness conscience telleth him that by his very duties he is so far from paying his old score that he runneth further in debt Alas saith Conscience thy very duties may damn thee He who is of purer eyes then to behold iniquity seeth a thousand holes in thy best coat the holy God seeth sins enough in them to send thee into Hell for them Canst thou poor begger with thy counterfeit farthings think to pay an infinite sum Can thy poor finite performances satisfie infinite Justice for the violation of his righteous precepts And for thy resolutions of better obedience canst thou think that future obedience can satisfie for former disobedience No though thou couldst offer thousands of rams and ten
I mean improve opportunities for the good of thine outward estate when the heavens offer thee their help then thou wilt cut thy corn or hay and make it and carry it in For thy soul sake do not neglect the Spirit when he offereth thee his help for a spiritual harvest when the Holy Ghost moveth like the Angel upon the waters then at that nick of time if thou steppest down art pliable to its motions thou mayst be healed The Spirit of God is a tender thing saith one grieve it once and you may drive it away for ever Grieve not the Spirit Ephes 4.30 much less quench it least of all resist it Masters of a calling will not be check'd 1 Thes 5.19 Acts 7.51 The Client by losing a term hath lost his Suit Saul by losing his opportunity lost a Kingdom 1 Sam. 10.9 13. Reader the way to lose the Kingdom of Heaven is to neglect and slight the motions of the Spirit the onely opportunity for thy Salvation For thine help herein I shall direct thee how to demean thy self towards the Spirit when he maketh his addresses unto thy soul for thy regeneration and quickening in which I shall take thee as indeed thou art in thine unregenerate estate for a patient dangerously sick yea unto death eternal though thou thinkest thy self whole and the Spirit of God as he is for a skilful able and compassionate Physitian First I supose that this tender Physitian beholding thee very sick notwithstanding thy conceit that thou art well enough and daily increasing thy distemper doth come to thee and acquaint thee that thou art a diseased person and that unless thou forbearest such and such sins such and such things which feed thy disease thou wilt make thy condition which is already dangerous to be desperate and incurable I mean the Holy Ghost enlighteneth thy mind to lee and convinceth thy conscience of thy sins and misery that whereas before thou thoughtst that thou wast rich and increased with goods and hadst need of nothing yet now thou seest that thou art wretched Rev. 3 1â— and miserable and poor and blind and naked and that such and such courses which thou takest will unavoidably tend to thy ruine Possibly thou art one accustomed to wicked company to the Ale-house to deal unrighteously in thy particular calling to lay aside praying hearing reading and the like duties now the Spirit of God in thy conscience moveth thee to lay down these ungodly customs which thou hast taken up and to take up these duties and performances which thou hast laid down and convinceth thee by the word that this is the will of God O now Friend look to thy self that thou dost not sin against this light nor play by that candle which the Spirit of God sets up for thee to work by If thou hadst a guest of any quality in thine house and shouldst burn things of an ill savour in his chamber which thou knewest he hated or shouldst fill the room wherein he lodgeth with filth and uncleanness wouldst thou not provoke him to speed away in a distast and to resolve against ever coming at thine house again I must tell thee that shouldst thou go on in the commission of those iniquities and neglect of those duties which the Spirit convinceth thee of it would be far more distastful to the Spirit of God then all the forementioned uncivil usage could be to an Emperour The Holy Ghost is compared to fire Act. 2. as the word quenching implyeth Now how is fire quenched and put out both by throwing water on it and by taking away the wood from it Shouldst thou notwithstanding its checks and convictions continue in any way of open wickedness thou throwest water upon it and shouldst thou omit those holy duties thou withdrawest fuel from it and therefore be confident the fire will be quencht and go out By sinning against these convictions and light thou art a profest defier and darer of him and maist confidently expect that he should give thee up to judiciary inward darkness which is but the forerunner of utter darkness Rom. 1.20 21 22. Jam. 3. ult Pro. 5.11 12 13. John 9.41 If thou improvest that little stock of help which the Holy Ghost affordeth thee well thou may hope that thy master will trust thee with more every act of obedience fitteth for greater obedience but if thou squanderest that away prodigally by sinning against it thou mayst look for no more Dear friend be tender of the first motions of the Spirit thou sittest cold and frozen in thy natural estate now as ever thou wouldst have a good fire to melt thee kindly to thaw thee throughly to warm thy heart eternally make much of those sparks As thou desirest a spiritual flame which may ascend to heaven take heed lest by presumptuous sins thou blowest out those sparks As the best way to quench the fiery darts of the Devil that evil spirit is to reject them to disobey them in the first motions when the Devil first kindleth them then throw water on them then detest them and that fire of Hell will be quencht So the readiest way to quench the fiery darts of the good spirit is to slight the first motions of it if thou strive against these first motions of him he may never strive with thee more Gen 6.3 It may be thou art a drunken wretch an unclean person a scoffer at godliness a swearer a lyar a cheater by false weights or measures or the like and the Spirit of God whispereth thee in the eare Man dost thou know what thou dost thou art in a lost estate in a damnable condition Turn at my reproof saith God and I will pour my Spirit upon thee Pro. 1.23 Forbear such sins and I will assist thee for the recovery of thy soul O now look to thy self venture by no means upon the forbidden fruit I have read of one that being troubled with sore eyes asked a Physitians advice The Physitian told him that if he did not forbear his drunken intemperate courses he would lose his sight Vale lumen amiâ—um He makes no more of it but presently crieth out Farwell sweet sight farwell sweet sight He was resolved to lose his sight rather then leave his sin Thou art diseased the tender Physitian cometh to thee without sending for and giveth thee his blessed counsel without asking and t is this that thou must forbear thy lewd sinful ways or else thou wilt lose thy soul thy Saviour thy God thine happiness for ever Now wilt thou by continuing in such courses and rejecting his first counsel say Farewel pretious soul Farwel dearest Saviour Farwel blessed God Farwel glorious Angels Farwel perfect Spirits Farwel fulness of joy Rivers of pleasures Farwel to you all I and farwel for ever Take heed what thou dost with these first motions of the Spirit lest he take of thee his last leave and bid thee farwel for ever When a noble person should come to
the soul that this New creature is conceived and brought forth godliness is not natural but adventitious to man not by propagation but by donation Man cannot generate himself naturally much less regenerate himself spiritually they which are born of the flesh contribute nothing to their own beings neither do they which are born of the Spirit bring any thing to their new beings unless it be a passive receptiveness as they are reasonable creatures Some read the Text and not unfitly for the original will fully bear it Except a man be born 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from above or from heaven and therefore in the fifth verse of this third Chapter of John Christ telleth us Except a man be born of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God and in Tit. 3.5 it is called a renewing of the holy Ghost so 1 Joh. 12.13 Jer. 31.18 19.2 Cor. 3.5 1 Pet 1.1 2 3. Ephes 2.10 1 Pet. 2.9 10. This work is somtimes called a transplanting out of the natural wilde olive-tree and ingraffing it contrary to nature into a true good Olive-tree Rom. 11.24 out of the first into the second Adam now the Cions cannot transplant or ingraff it self It is termed a new creation 2 Cor. 5.17 To create or bring something out of nothing is beyond the power of the strongest creature it is above the strength of all men and Angels to create the least pile of grass God challengeth this as his prerogative royal Isa 40 26. As the old heaven and earth were the work of his hands Gen. 1.1 so are the new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness Isa 65.17 Austin said truly To convert the little world Man is more then to create the great world It is further stiled a Resurrection from the dead Ephes 5.14 and 2.5 It is a great work to recover a dying body a far greater to restore one that is dead to life but the greatest of all to enliven a dead soul in the former there is no opposition in this there is much In spight of man and devils to pull down the ugly rotten frame of sin and set up the lovely lasting Fabrick of sanctity requireth no less strength then Omnipotency The Almighty God putteth forth the exceeding greatness of his power in forming the New creature Ephes 1.19 20. nay the same power which he did in raising up Iesus Christ from the dead who had beside the watch of Romans and the malice of hell such an heavy weight as the sins of the world to keep him down Repentance and Faith are the two chief ingredients in this rare composition and neither of them are such drugs as grow in Natures Garden no they are fetched from far It is God that giveth to the Gentiles repentance unto life Acts 11.18 2 Tim 2.25 The stones will as soon weep as mans heart of stone unless he that smote the rock force water out of it by turning it into a heart of flesh for Faith also it is the gift of God Ephes 2.8 Phil. 1.29 None come to the Son but such as are drawn by the Father Joh. 6.44 He alone that caused iron to swim 2 King 6.6 can keep the humbled sinner that is pressed down with the burden of innumerable iniquities from sinking in the gulf of desperation To part a man from his dearest carnal self and to make him diligently seek the destruction of what before he sought the preservation to make him cut off his right hand and pluck out his right eye hate father mother wife childe name house land u◠do all he had done go backward every step he had gone see things with a new light understand things with another heart and in the whole course of his life to swim against the stream and tide of nature and winds of example to bring a soul to this I say which is all done and much more in conversion requireth the infinite God's operation Flesh and blood can neither reveal these things to a man nor work these things in a man but the Father which is in heaven The Minister like the Prophets servant Instrumentum non movet nisi moveatur may lay his staff on the dead childe but he cannot raise it to life till the Master cometh Paul may plant and Apollo water but God only can give the increase Cor. 3.6 Without him we can do nothing John 15.3 We may preach out our hearts unless God affords his help our people will never be holy As Protogenes when he saw a picture in a shop curiously drawn cryed out None but Apelles could do this So when thou seest the beautiful image of the blessed God lively portrayed on the soul thou mayst say This is the finger of God None but a God could do this Secondly I say Whereby God out of his meer good pleasure here is the impulsive or moving cause of Regeneration Of his own will begat he us again by the word of truth Jam. 1.18 Gods good will is the highest moving cause of this gracious work 't was not any fore-sight of Faith or good works not any thing without him that turned the scale of his thoughts for thy purity and peace but only his own good pleasure and pity Ezek. 36.21 22. therefore he is said to give a new heart verse 26 27. because he bestoweth it freely not for mans merit but from his own mercy The gift of grace is meerly of grace For we our selves saith the Apostle were sometimes disobedient foolish serving divers lusts and pleasures But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy Ghost Titus 3.3 4 5. so Ephes 2.1 to 6. verse If you would know the grand reason why some are taken by the net of the Word let down in the sea of the world when others are left why some like wax are melted before this fire of Scripture when others like clay are hardned why some have the light side of this glorious pillar towards them when others have the dark side of it why the same path of the red sea is salvation to some when it is destruction to others why the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to babes when they are hid from the wise and prudent I must give you the same reason which Christ himself doth Even so Father because it seemeth good in thy sight Matth. 11.27 his will and mercy are the cause of all our felicity Rom 9.18 1 Pet 1.3 Deut 7.7 8. Grace chuseth thee Rom 11.5 There is a remnant according to the election of Grace so Ephes 1.5 Grace calleth 2 Tim 1.9 Who hath called us according to his purpose and grace which was given us in Christ before the world began so Gal 1.15 Grace distinguisheth and differenceth thee from others By the grace of God I am what I am 1
precious then the rattles and trifles of time and all by reason of the new sight bestowed on him Satan truly carrieth men hoodwinkt to hell as Higlers carry their fowls in Dorsers to the City where they are killed that they cannot see one foot of the way neither know they whether they are going but God doth not carry men blindfold to bliss but as in the old so in the new creation he beginneth with light The Undestanding in Regeneration is illuminated to see two things especially Sin to be the greatest evil and God in Christ to be the greatest good and I verily beleive the mistake of the man before about these two things were a principal cause of the many miscarriages in his heart and life Before he looked on sin through the Devils spectacles and beheld that strumpet drest in her gaudy attire of pleasure and profit whereby she was to him as the forbidden fruit to Eve pleasant to the eyes But now he beholdeth sin through the glass of the Law in its opposition to the blessed God and his own happiness stript naked of all those counterfeit and borrowed ornaments and it is the evil of evils sinful sin indeed He judgeth it worse then diseases or disgraces then losses or crosses yea then Serpents or Devils Rom 7.13 Heb 1.25 Dan. 3.17 and 6.10 Formerly he â—aw no such hurt in sin that Professors were so shie of it and Preachers so hot against it that the Son of God must die and the greatest part of the world be damned for it but now he hath other thoughts of it for he seeth its contrariety to the Lord and his precepts and subscribeth unfeignedly to the righteousness of the Law Before he saw little desireableness in the infinitely amiable God He saw no form nor comeliness in him that when he beheld him he should desire him Isa 53. He wondered what made others so much in love with him his voyce was to a Christian What is thy Beloved more then another Beloved that thou dost thus follow hard after him forsake all for him dedicate thy self wholly to him that thou prayest so fervently hearest so diligently servest him so chearfully art so careful to please him so fearful of offending him he judged him happier that had plenty of the creature then him that had God in Christ for his portion but now his mind is enlightned â—o know the only true God and Iesus Christ whom he hath sent John 17.3 He seeth such beauty in his being such equity in his laws such infinite excellency in the Divine nature such unspeakable felicity in the fruition of his favour through Jesus Christ that he esteemeth his very life yea all that he is worth for this and the other world as Iacobs in Benjamin to be bound up in the love and life of God Psal 73.25 and 63.3 Secondly The Conscience is also renewed to this Faculty the Spirit makes its address in the next place the Conscience of the man naturally was so hard and obdurate that as ice through the extremity and continuance of a great frost you might have driveâ—â—carts heavy laden over it and it would not break though mountains of lusts more heavy then lead lay upon him he complained not Ier. 8.6 But now his Conscience is as the water which hath such a tender film of ice upon it that yeildeth at the least touch a small stroak of sin maketh an impression upon it before it was seared with a red hot iron 1 Tim. 4.2 and past feeling Ephes 4 17 18 19. as that member which the Chyrurgeon intendeth to cut off is so mortified by means applied to it for that end that it feeleth not the Saw or Instrument which parts it from the body so the conscience was by custom in sin so cauterised that it felt not the sword of the Spirit neither Ministry nor Misery nor Miracle nor Mercy could prevail with it but now it becomes tender and flexible a little prick with a pin is painful to it as the eye it is offended with the smallest dust 2 Chron. 22.19 it is void of offence towards God and man Acts 24.16 Before it like Micaiah to Ahab never spake good to the man but frighted him with fears and terrified him with the pre-apprehensions of his eternal torments it followed him to bed and board and dog'd him day and night like a Sergeant to arrest him at the suit of the most High for the vaste debts which he owed to the Divine Majesty The man and his conscience were like fire and water they never met if the hands of conscience were not tied down by force but they fought Like some contentious couple they were always scolding one with another and striving for the mastery The endeavor of conscience was as the Angel to Balaam to stand in the sinners way with a drawn sword and stop him in his cursed course the care of the sinner was to serve conscience as Herod did the Baptist even to cut off its head for having a tongue in it so bold as to check him for his crimes Heb. 2.15 Rom. 2.15 Heb. 9.14 But now conscience being sprinkled with the blood of Jesus is purged from dead works and so being purified is pacified The creditor now is satisfied by the payment which the surety hath made and thereby the debtor is discharged Conscience now waits on the Christian not as a Sergeant to molest him but as a Servant to assist him to its utmost power The Convert and his conscience are now like two in consort that keep tune and time together or as some loving Husbands and Wives who strive most which shall please the other best Conscience strives to please the Christian by asking the Law at Godâ—s lips and making Scripture its Counsellor the Christian strives to please his conscience by yielding hearty subjection to its holy counsels Heb. 9.14 1 Tim 1.5 Rom 5.1 The renewed conscience giveth the new creature more solid comfort in one duty then the natural man though he equal Methuselah's age hath all his days Phil. 4.4 Thirdly The Will is also renewed the Will before was carnal crooked stubborn rebellious against God and his will the works of the Devil he will do Joh. 8.44 And as for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord we will not do it Jer. 44.16 It is resolved for evil and against good Ephes 2.3 John 5.40 This is Satans Fort-Royal wherein he continually secures himself in the unregenerate when he is in a skirmish beaken out of the out-works by some sudden conviction and in this as Samsons in his hair his whole strength lieth Take away Will and you take away Hell But this faculty is now made pliable and flexible to the Divine Majesty It is made so spiritual regular and consonant to the will of God that the Convert may safely if humbly say with Luther Lord let my will be done because it is thy will God and the godly man do
profession the lie The Pope professeth himself the servant of servants and yet even then exalteth himself above all that is called God 2 Thess 2.4 And he that professeth himself so humble as to do service to the meanest Christian is yet so proud as to take merit from Christ himself Every one that 's cloathed in black is not a Scholar nor every one that wears a sword a Soldier neither is every Professor a true and upright believer Pharnaces sent a crown to Cesar when at the same time he rebelled against him but Cesar sent back the crown with this message Let him return to his obedience first and then I will accept the Crown Thus God will not be graced with our crowns of profession unless that be crowned with a gracious conversation He is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that in the heart whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. Thirdly Spiritual Priviledges are no sure sign that thine eternal estate is safe we read of them that were Israelites to whom pertained the adoption the glory the covenants the giving of the Law and the service of God and the Promises whose were the Fathers of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came who is over all God blessed for ever Rom. 9.4 5. and yet many of them perished notwithstanding all these great Priviledges Paul had glorious priviledges when he was a graceless person Phil. 3.5 6. Thou mayst enjoy Sermons Sacraments Sabbaths seasons of grace the society of Saints and yet miss at last of salvation All that are in a family are not children though they possibly feed at the same table and lodge in the same chamber All that enjoy Church-ministry are not Church-members Doeg may set his foot within the house of God as far as David Iudas may partake of the same privileges with the Apostles and yet be a devil the outward Court was larger thent he inner and so Gods visible Church takes more in then his invisible Tares may be in the same field with wheat enjoying the same benefit of the Sun rain and earth and yet are tares still The Jews boasted much that they were Abrahams children Matth 3. and yet Truth it self tells them that they were of their father the devil Joh. 8.44 Circumcision is nothing nor uncircumcision but a new creature Gal 6.15 Where the new creation is wanting spiritual priviledges are but as seals to a blank and signifie little Regeneration is the figure which if missing they as cyphers stand for nothing The voyce of many among us now is like to the voyce of the Jews heretofore 1 Sam. 4.3 in time of their distress Bring us the Ark say they that that may save us when alas they were destroyed by the Philistines for all their Ark So thou Reader when conscience frighteth thee or death comes nigh thee probably speakest in thy heart come bring me the Ark that that may save me bring me the Sacrament that shall save me thou runnest to thy Baptism to thy Sabbath to priviledges and thence concludest that thou canst not be condemned when alas thou mayst go to hell fire for all thy Font water and to eternal torments though thou hast often been at the Lords Table Matth. 7.22 Baptismal water is not ever the laver of regeneration many sit at the Lords Table which do not taste of his Supper All in the Church may hear the word of Christ but few hear Christ in his word It is ordinary to enjoy the Sabbath of the Lord but not so to enjoy the Lord of Sabbaths Outward priviledges are of great value in themselves but like a jewel which some speak of they lose their vertue if put into a dead mans mouth they are of no efficacy or benefit to thy soul whilst thou continuest dead in trespasses and sin Unregenerate Israel was to God as Ethiopia Amos 9.7 for all their priviledges Gentiles regenerated are called Jews Gal. 6.16 and Jews unregenerated are called Gentiles Amorites Hittites Sodomites Ezek. 16.3 Hos 12.7 Isa 1.10 Spiritual priviledges always commend God to us but not us to God Their abuse will be a dreadful encrease of thy damnation but their bare use will be a pittiful plea for salvation How many live all their days under the means of Grace that never get one dram of grace in the use of the means Corazin Bethsada and Capernaum who had the priviledge to hear Christ's oracles and to see his miracles were sad seals to these truths Matth. 11. for they were lighted to the chambers of utter darkness with the torches of Ordinances Rest not in this Reader for thou mayst be lifted up to heaven in the enjoyment of Priviledges and cast down to hell for mis-improvement of them Thou mayst like the Decii leap into the gaping gulf at noon day or like the Egyptians follow the pillar of fire into the deep and perish nay which is saddest of all as a ship which is sinking the more it is laden though it be with silver and gold the deeper it sinketh so the higher thy priviledges if thou perishest the deeper thy perdition Thou mayst flye like Joab to the Altar of priviledges but if thou art unregenerate he that is greater then Solomon will pluck thee thence or slay thee there The unsuitableness of thy life to the discoveries of his love doth but tell him to his face that thou art not careful to answer him in his matters that thou wilt not serve his Son nor worship the Mediator whom he hath set up and hereby thou dost but notwithstanding thy preferment provoke him the more and cause him as Nebuchadnezzar the oven to heat hell seven times hotter Thy priviledges like oyl and pitch will make that fire to scald and scorch the more terribly Weeds in the garden are sooner pluckt up then weeds in the high-way No trees are more surely for the fire then those which are planted in Gods own vineyard and bear not fruit Fourthly Great Gifts and Parts will not speak thy right to glory Edifying Gifts and sanctifying Grace do abundantly differ Thou mayst have a clear head and yet an unclean heart We read of them that were famous for gifts and parts and infamous for prophaness who might preach profitably and yet were workers of iniquity who had the gift of casting out devils and for all that were cast to devils Matth. 7.22 23. Ministers may like Noah's Carpenters build an Ark to save others and be drowned be damned themselves They may carry a lanthorn which may enlighten others while they go in the dark themselves Thou mayst as a land-mark direct others in the right way and never set a foot thy self in it How holily did Balaam prophesie and yet how hellishly did he practise surely like a burning-glass he hath fired many others by his heavenly language yet he himself never fired Many have
works of nature a tree which hath been many years growing may be cut down in an hour but in works of sin it s otherwise mans weakness can easily build them up but Gods power can onely throw them down Pompey when the Romans said That if Caesar came to Rome they saw not how they could resist his power told them That if he did but stamp with his foot on any ground in Italy he would bring men enough both footmen and horsemen to do it but when Caesar was coming with his Army Phaonius bid Pompey stamp with his feet and fetch the Souldiers which he had promised but all was in vain Pompey found it more difficult then he thought for Caesar made him first flee and then in a fight totally routed him The devil perswades men that they may defer their regeneration till their dissolution and then 't will be an easie matter to foil their spiritual foes but alas they finde it not so easie to mortifie earthly members and destroy the body of death when their souls adversaries with united strength encounter them fiercely and conquer them eternally Further all thy earthly comforts whether friends relations name estate limbs life must be laid at the feet of Christ hated for his sake and parted with at his call and command and that for the hope of such things as thou never sawest nor art ever like to see while thou livest Is not this Reader an hard chapter to forgo an estate in hand for something onely in hope to throw away present possessions and follow Christ thou knowest not whither to receive an inheritance thou knowest not when And as thy sins and thy soul must be parted asunder so thy Saviour and thy soul must be joyned together faith must follow repentance thy own righteousness must be esteemed as dross and dung the weight of thy soul and burthen of thy sins must be laid on the naked cross of Jesus Christ Now for thee who art by nature so extreamly in love with thy self to loath thy self and for thee notwithstanding thy discouragements from the number and nature of thy sins the threatnings and curses of the Law the wrath and righteousness of God to cling about and hang upon the Lord Jesus and resolve though he kill thee yet thou wilt trust in him surely this is not easie the work of God in infusing justifying faith is as great as in faith miraculous This is the work of God saith Christ that ye believe in the name of him whom he hath sent John 6.29 The work of God not onely in regard of its excellency because no work in man is more pleasing to God then believing on his Son but also in regard of its difficulty because none but a God can enable a man to believe the bird can as soon fly in the egg as thy soul mount up by faith towards heaven till the Almighty God assist thee Further all the commands of God must be heartily embraced some whereof are as contrary to flesh and blood as fire to water Self which is thy great idol must be denied the world with all its pomp and pride in comparison of Christ refused principalities and powers rencountred and foiled thine enemies loved and if killed it must be with kindness godliness owned though much disgraced by others truth followed close though it threaten to dash out thy teeth with its heels a buffeted Christ with his naked Cross preferred before weighty Crowns things which reason cannot comprehend believed and which none ever obtained labored for Friend are these easie things what thinkest thou add to all this the consideration not onely of thy weakness and inability to do these things but also thy wickedness and contrariety to them thou art not onely deprived of good but all over depraved with evil The imaginations and thoughts of thy heart are evil onely evil and that continually Gen. 6.5 Thou dost resolvedly and obstinately refuse good and choose evil Eccles 8.11 Jer. 44.16 The hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil Eccles 8.11 observe how full that text is man is resolved to have his minion his lust though he have wrath and death and hell into the bargain as the mother of Nero being told that her son would be her death if ever he were Emperor answered Let him kill me so he may reign so they say Let sin reign though it kill us though it damn us The heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil If thou wert onely empty of God and grace the work were more easie but thou art an enemy to grace and godliness thy carnal minde which is Lady Reason her self thy highest natural excellency is not an enemy for such an one may be reconciled but in the abstract emnity against God Thou hatest God Rom. 1.30 His people 1 John 3.12 His precepts Prov. 1.25 29. His Son John 15.25 and all for his sake thou fightest against him daily sinnest in defiance of him continually entailest thy quarrel upon thy posterity carriest it with thee into the other world if thou diest unregenerate and there art throwing thine invenom'd darts of blasphemy and spitting thy poison against the Most High to eternity Now be thy own judge is it easie to cure that Patient who thus desperately hates both Physician and Physick John 3.5 Water indeed saith one may somwhat easily be dammed up but no art nor labour can make it run back in its own channel It was by a miracle that the river of Jordan was driven back and it is no less then a miracle that the tide of sin which ran so strong should be turned that the sinner who before was sailing towards Hell and wanted neither winde nor tide to carry him forward should now alter his course and tack about for Heaven This is hard it is not more strange to see the earth flye upward and fire move downward then to see a sinner walk contrary to his nature in the wayes of grace and holiness Now Reader is not that man worse then mad that either delayeth or dallieth about his conversion upon supposition that he can do it easily enough hereafter when all this which I have written must be wrought in regeneration and when he is not onely empty of an enemy to but even emnity against it all Though the work of conversion and therefore the way to salvation be thus difficult to all yet to some 't is more difficult then to others In respect of God indeed quoad Deum one is as easily converted as another for infinite power and mercy know no difference but quoad nos in respect of us it is more hard to bring some towards holiness and heaven then others where the matter is most rugged and untoward it s harder to bring it to a good and comely form Some pieces of timber are more knotty then others and therefore not so easily squared and fitted for the spiritual Temple and heavenly Jerusalem as
separated for the service of the Lord they are born of the Spirit brought up in the Spirit and they walk after the Spirit The tast therefore which I now set thee is to try whether thou are one of these whether thou art born again without which thou canst not see the Kingdom of God Now though the commandment of God be argument and reason enough to a Christian why he should examine himself whether he be in the faith or no 2 Cor. 135. for a true subject dares not deny any coyn which hath the image and stamp of his Sovereign upon it yet I shall give thee two or three thoughts to stir thee up to the tryal of thy self First Consider that thy All hangs on this hinge of regeneration All that thou art worth for thine unchangeable estate in the other world dependeth on this This is the foundation of that hope that building which reacheth to heaven now t is dangerous to err in fundamentals the stability of the building depends on the strength of the foundation For a man to go out of his way at the first setting out is saddest of all Regeneration is the beginning of Christianity in thee nay thy interest in all the unsearchable riches in Christ standeth on this if regenerated then thy sins are pardoned thy person accepted God is thy Father Jesus Christ thy Husband and Saviour the Spirit thy Comforter the Promises are thy portion Heaven thy home but if thou art not adorned with the pious fruits of Christs Spirit thou art not interested in the precious fruits of his merits therefore make sure here God will deal with thee to eternity according to thy having or wanting this Now doth it not concern thee to beware of cozening thy self here when a mistake in this will make thee miserable for ever if ever any tresses had need be strong then surely they which draw such a weight as thine endless welfare Where men intend to dwell long thy build strong Soldiers use tents which have no foundation because they intend but a short stay in them thou lookest for a City which hath a foundation Friend hath thy expectation of it any foundation wouldst thou build sleightly for a dwelling of eternity Zeuxes being asked why he was so exact in painting answered Because he painted for eternity Lines which concern eternity had need be exactly drawn and deeds and marks and all things indeed which concern eternity had need to be exquisitely done If a Merchant venture all his estate in one vessel and where there is much hazard in the voyage how full of fear and care will he be lest the ship should miscarry himself and his family be ruined many a sad thought will he have in the day as sowr sawce to his food and possibly many an aking heart in the night to keep him waking He is even like to be beside himself so much is he perplexed and ask him the reason he will tell you I think I have cause All that I am worth is ventured in that bottom should it be lost and perish we are all lost my wife self and children must all perish Thus the man lives in little ease both day and night till at last he considereth with himself of what concernment the safety of that vessel is to him he resolveth and accordingly goeth to the Ensurers Office and ensureth his whole estate and then he is satisfied those fears which like weights hung on the clock of his heart and would not suffer it to rest are now taken off and he eats his bread with chearfulness and drinks his wine with a merry heart he can in all conditions be contented because his All is ensured Thus Reader Regeneration is the vessell in which all that thou art worth not for this present perishing but for the other everlasting world is ventured if that be sound thine endless welfare is safe if that be feigned and lame thou art lost for ever How caust thou take any comfort in the abundance of fading creatures whilst thy All thine Eternity is in danger O go to the Ensuring Office bring thy riches thy silver to the ballance of the Sanctuary and thereby try whether it hath its full weight Man what sayst thou to this reason for self examination is it not of unspeakable weight and I shall shew thee that t is of unquestionable truth Doth not the living God tell thee that except thou art born again thou shall not see his Kingdom Doth he not say expresly that without are dogs Rev. 22.15 The fathers house is onely for children Dogs must be without doors Pharaohs court admitted of vermine but I can assure that Gods will not Into it can in no wise enter any thing that is defiled or unclean Rev. 21. ult Impure persons can never get into the most holy place Heaven must be in thee before thou canst be in heaven It was a good inscription which a bad man wrot on the door of his house Per me nihil intret mali Let no evil passe through me whereupon said Diogenes Quomodo ingredietur dominus How then shall the Master get into his own house That inscription without question agreeth with the celestiall habitation There is nothing there but what is holy The Creatour is essentially infinitely and eternally holy the father is holy John 17.11 the holy child Jesus Acts 14.27 the holy Ghost Acts 21.11 the creatures there are holy the holy angels Mark 8.38 the saints or holy men and women Heb. 12.23 The work and eternall imployment there is holyness the servants wait on their Master without sinning as well as without ceasing the song there is Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty Rev. 4.8 canst thou therefore think without holiness to get thither Secondly Consider that God will try thee He knoweth now what thou art whether dross or gold and he will shortly bring thee to the fire and make thee known both to thy self and others Though the waters of thy corruptions may run for a time under ground and be hidden from the eyes of men yet they will at length appear Thou art at present all Chrystal to God he needeth not as Momus would have a window into thy breast for he seeth thee throughly he seeth thy inwards more perfectly then thou and others can see thy outward parts The fining pot is for silver the furnance for gold but the Lord tryeth the heart Prov. 17.3 He hath a thread which leadeth him unerringly through the labyrinth of thy heart He needeth no serious inquisition about thee for he knoweth thee by immediate intuition He walks through the road of thy heart every hour therefore it concerneth thee not to balke it He will try thee probably in life but certainly at death and judgment and shouldest not thou then try thy self God may trie thee in life by prosperity he may give thee strong meat and thereby examine thy stomach whether it be good or bad he may let the world flow in upon thee
their right to glory and salvation 2 Cor. 5.1 We know that when the houses of our earthly tabernacles shall be dissolved we shall enjoy a building of God an house not made with hands but eternall in the heavens So 2 Tim. 4.7 8. Job 19.25 2 Tim. 1.12 And all this assurance of adoption justification perseverance in grace fruition of glory which Saints have doth proceed from their assurance of their regeneration 1 John 3.14 We know that we are passed from death to life because we love the brethren Regeneration or holiness is the first fruits which do ensure the harvest and the earnest which doth confirme the bargain and ensure the full sum Now Reader having given thee some motives to quicken thee to try thy soul I shall lay down the markes and bring thee to the test And they shall be taken from the nature and effects of regeneration First examine thine heart by the nature of this true holiness Now there are two things in the nature of this new creature In every birth there is Generatio unius corruptio alterius saith the Philosopher something generated and something destroyed so in this new birth there is the production of grace and the destruction of vice the life of righteousness and the death of sin the setting up of the Arke and the throwing down of Dagon The sinfullness of our souls by our first births consisteth in their aversion from God and good and in their conversion to the evil one and evil in having the image of Satan imprinted on them and the image of God blotted out of them The sanctity of our souls by their second births consisteth in their conversion to God and their aversion from sin in having the image of the Devil razed out of them and the image of the Saviour stamped on them As we have born the image of the earthly so we must bear the image of the heavenly And these two parts of the good part are like two Buckets in a Well as the one namely the interest of God cometh up the other namely the interest of sin and Satan goeth down the higher the Sun getteth the more still it scattereth the darkness First there is in this new nature a dying to sin The Apostle calleth it a putting off the old man Eph. 4.22 and a dying to sin Rom. 6.11 Conversion like the ship-mans fatal star is never seen but before the wrack and death of sin The spring of grace is a living fountain and cleanseth it self of mire and dirt Grace like Christ increaseth and sin like the Baptist decreaseth The expression of the holy Ghost about this is worthy our serious consideration Rom. 6.6 Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin for he that is dead is freed from sin Lo here sin is served by Christ the same sauce which it formerly served Christ Sin crucified him when he came in the likeness of sinful flesh and he slayeth it when he cometh into the soul by his Spirit but in the words of the Apostle observe Sins appellation and its execution For its appellation it is called first the Old man partly because it is derived and propagated from Adam the eldest of men partly in comparison of renovation and renewing the whole man It is called secondly the body of sin partly because mans corrupt nature like a body or stock brancheth forth into divers actual sins as members Col. 3.5 Gal. 5.19 partly because of the strength of it as also because men are as much naturally in love with their sins as with themselves But take notice of the execution of this old man of this body of sin in the regenerate The old man is crucified Sin like an old man in them which are new made doth decay and decline every day it is every hour growing weaker and weaker and nearer to its grave and utter abolition Regeneration giveth sin its deaths wound though as those that are crucified it dyeth lingringly yet it dieth certainly Sin like a man in a consumption in a converted person is always wasting and dying till at last it 's quite dead One that is mortally wounded sprawleth and moveth for a time but afterwards giveth up the Ghost so sin while Saints live though it be mortally wounded doth rage and stir but it abateth in strength and dyeth with them St. De civit dei l. 8. c. 6. Augustine relateth of the Serpent that when she groweth old she draweth herself through a narrow hole and by this means stripping off her old skin she reneweth her age Ambulare in peccatis est sic versari in pec catis ut iâ— vocaâ—ione sua ordina ria Daveâ— in Col. 3. Truly thus the Christian is made new by putting off the old coat of the old man The Scripture speaketh expresly He that is born of God sinneth not 1 Joh. 3.9 that is constantly sin is not his design or imployment and chearfully sin is not his delight or element for sin is against his new nature now a man can do nothing against his nature cordially or constantly Sin may rebel within him but it cannot reign over him he looks on sin as his greatest enemy and therefore 't is impossible that he should converse with it in a way of amity Nay as fire and water heat and cold never meet but they fight so this new life is in continual war with every lust the new creature is like unto God Of purer eyes then to behold iniquity Hab. 1.13 the evil of sin cannot ordinarily get a good look from him he cannot meet this ugly guest in any corner of his house but his heart riseth against him he considereth what a Lord sin displeaseth what a Law sin transgresseth what a beautiful image sin defaceth what a glorious name fin dishonoreth what a lovely loving Savior sin buffetted shamefully and tortured cruelly what a precious soul and peerless salvation sin was like to have lost him eternally And Oh 't is a killing look which this soul giveth his dearest lust Ah thinks he that ever my nature should hatch and harbour such hideous monsters that ever my heart should be a polluted bed to breed and bring forth such a poisonous brood 'T was my iniquity that bid defiance to the highest Majesty 't was my corruption which scourged the back wounded the head nailed the feet and hands yea pierced the very heart of Jesus Christ my wickedness was the weight which caused his bloody sweat my lust was the murderer which put to death that Lord of life 't was my covetousness which betrayed him my cowardliness which condemned him and my cruelty which executed him and shal I be a friend to that Traytor which was such a foe to my Redeemer Well whatever it cost me through the strength of Christ I le have justice upon these murderers through the help of heaven these brats of hell shall have their
brains dasht out his great care is every day to conquer his corruptions The body of sin and death to which he is tied is as noisom to his soul as a dead body to his senses Lust is as burthensom to him as a withered arm which hangs on a man like a lump of lead Never did prisoner more ardently desire to be rid of his fetters then this Saint to be freed from subjection to his sins The distressed Jews did not groan so much under their Egyptian slavery as this true Israelite for spiritual liberty O wretched man that I am saith he who shall deliver me from this body of sin and death Rom. 7.29 His great end and endeavor in every providence and every Ordinance is not the repression but the ruine of this evil of sin If the Sun of mercy shine warm upon him he makes use of it to put out the kitchin fire of wickedness When God folaceth his spirit with extraordinary kindness the sacrifice of thanksgiving that he offereth up is the beast of some sin which he layeth on the Altar and poureth forth its blood before the Lord When the storm of affliction ariseth he enquireth for the Jonah which raised the tempest and endeavoureth that he may be cast over-board and drowned And as he makes use of divine Providences so likewise of divine Ordinances for the weakening his corruptions In prayer like the sick childe he pointeth at the place of his pain he indicteth accuseth and condemneth sin and intreateth that it may be executed his prayers and tears are his daily weapons wherewith he fighteth against his most inward and secret wickedness When he perceiveth lust like Adonijah usurping the throne of his heart he goeth in to God as Bathsheba to David sighing and saying Did not my Lord promise his servant that the true Solomon should reign in my soul that Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace should sway the scepter in my spirit And now behold his foes which thou hast sworn to make his footstool have trayterously aspired to the Crown and forcibly made me subject to their commands As Esther he is very desirous of these Hamans destruction and watcheth continually for a fit opportunity to present his Petition to the King of Kings for that end and when in any duty he seeth the God of glory to hold out the golden Scepter of mercy towards him O then he beggeth for justice If I have found favour in thy sight O King and if it please the King let the life of my soul be given me at my Petition and the death of my sins at my request Did thy dear Son die for sin and shall thy poor servant live in sin shall not these thine enemies which would not have thee to reign over me be slain before thy face Order my steps by thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me Psal 119.133 Thus by prayer as by one main piece of his spiritual armour he becomes prevalent The Romans overcame their enemies sitting that is the Senate by their prudent counsels but the Christian kneeling by his holy valour he wrestleth with God and through the power of Christ gets the victory 2 Cor. 12.6 And because the devil of some lusts will not be cast out without fasting and prayer therefore he joyneth fasting to supplication and trieth to starve his corruptions Before-hand he fitteth himself for that day of purging out his ill humors by the preparatory potion of meditation The consideration of his sins how bloody and hainous in their nature how crying and crimson in their circumstances makes his physick work the better He thinketh before The day of mourning for offending my father is coming and then I will slay my brother Jacob my dearest and nearest sin This man bringeth under his natural body which he may lawfully cherish that he may abate the strength of the body of death as men sometimes in a feaver open a vain and let out their blood though it be not bad that they may weaken their enemy In reading and hearing the Law of God he setteth his lusts naked before that sword of the Spirit that they may be hewn by the Prophets and slain by the words of Gods mouth He desires that it may pierce deep to the dividing of soul and spirit of the joynts and marrow and to the discovering of the thoughts and intents of his heart His voice to the Minister is like the Prophets to his neighbour Smite me I pray thee and likes him best that in smiting wounds his sin most he approves of that Chirurgion that searcheth his wounds throughly though he put him to pain he rejoyceth that the Preacher revealeth to him his errors that he may follow them with Hue and cry till they are taken and punished and so Gods pursuit of him may be prevented If the Minister give him a bitter pill of reproof he doth not like a queasie stomach favour his malady and loath his medicine but takes it down willingly knowing that though such things be not toothsom yet they are wholesom and that they must be bitter things that breaks the bag of worms in his stomach sweet things will nourish and cherish them He is glad that the word is fire that thereby his dross may be consumed that it is water because his heart thereby may be washed and purified He hideth the word in his heart that he may not sin against God Psal 119.11 He goeth to the Lords Supper that the blood of his sins may be shed by the blood of the Saviour The Cross of Christ is the souls armour and sins terror there is life in it for the death of sin Pliny saith that the fasting spittle of a man will kill Serpents Sure I am the blood of Christ applied by faith will mortifie sin and therefore the Saint frequenteth the Sacrament He goeth to it as Naaman to Jordan to be cured of his spiritual leprosie when he approacheth the table of the Lord and seeth in the bread broken and the wine poured out by faith Jesus Christ crucified before his eyes O how his heart burneth within him in hatred and indignation against his sins and in desires after and delight in his Redeemer He beholdeth there the knives of his pride unbelief hypocrisie malice and the like all redded in the blood of the Mediator and now his eyes sparkle with fire and fury and his soul swelleth with wrath and revenge against them were but his hand answerable to his heart I mean his power to his will he would put sin to as much pain make it suffer as much shame cause it to undergo as cursed a death as ever Jesus Christ did Now this frame of spirit exceedingly pleasing to the King of Saints he bespeaks the soul at the Sacrament as Herod did the damsel Ask of me what thou wilt and I will give it thee to the half nay to the whole of my Kingdom The soul having before consulted with his regenerate part for this
was a pious plot laid before onely put off till a convenient day asketh the head of some lust in a charger the King sendeth presently commandeth execution to be done accordingly The new creature doth now with a joyful heart look up to Heaven and saith Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who hath this day avenged me of mine enemy would to God that all the enemies of my Lord the King and all that rise up within me against thy Laws were as that one Lust He also withdraweth those things which have fed his spiritual diseases he takes away the fuel that he may put out the fire he hates the very cup out of which he formerly drank his loathsom physick he cuts off those pipes which have supplied his Adversaries he avoideth the occasions of evil he knoweth that his corrupt heart is gunpowder and therefore wheresoever he goeth he is fearful of the least spark He hateth the garment spotted with the flesh Jude 19. He endeavoreth that his raiment may not onely be preserved from burning but as the three childrens from sienging He is a true Dove that doth not only flye from the Hawk from sin but will not so much as smell of a feather which falleth from the Hawke he abstaineth from appearances of evil he dares not come near the brow of the hill so far is he from falling to the bottom Thus the sanctified man useth all means for the murdering of his sins Now Reader consider how is it with thee hast thou applied these several particulars to thy self What sayst thou Is it thy endeavor by every providence and thy end in every ordinance to mortifiethy corruptions to bring those Traytors to execution Is it thy design to cover sin or to kill sin do'st thou pray against sin as Austin confest he did before his conversion as one afraid that God should hear thee and grant the request not of thy heart but of thy lips or is the death of thy sins the very desire of thy soul an unconverted man may put up many prayers but no desires against sin An unregenerate person fighteth against sin Livy as the Athenians against Philip of Macedon with words rather then with swords Or as some that openly prosecute the Law against a Malefactor and yet favor him underhand so this man makes a shew of pursuing sin unto the death accusing arraigning it witnessing against it in prayer and desiring judgement but inwardly he so minceth the matter taketh off the edge of the evidence against it as one resolved that it shall live His expressions cry out of sin as the Jews of Christ Away with it away with it 't is not worthy to live Let it be crucified but his affections call with much more ardency as Pilate Why should it die what evil hath it done we finde no fault in it or at lest as Austins heart Not yet Lord not yet A little longer he would willingly laze upon the bed of lust A little more slumber a little more steep saith this spiritual sluggard Truly all this shew of warring against sin is but false fire which you know can do no execution Fencers at a prize sometimes ply one another so home and strike so hard that they seem to be in earnest when they are all the while but in jest their intentions are to please the people and thereby to advance their profit by getting a little money but not at all to wound one another at lest not dangerously a slight wound possibly may happen Thus unsanctified men combat with sin they seem by their praying reading hearing to aim at its death to be in earnest when indeed their intentions are to carry on their own interest and their resolutions that however they may raze sin slightly for their own ends not to wound it deeply Friend I know not but God knoweth whether it be thus with thee or no Dost thou by civility by the performance of duties by attendance on ordinances tell the world that thou wouldst crucifie thy corruptions when such a thing is not in thy retired thoughts as Caligula with banners displayed battel ranged trumpets sounding set his souldiers to gather cockles Or doest thou enter the list against thy lust as David against Goliah reckoning to kill or be killed resolving through the help of heaven the ruine of the uncircumcised Philistine Is the fight between thy judgment thy wil between thine inlightned conscience and thy affections or btween the spirit and flesth the law in thy mind and the law in thy members the regenerate and the unregenerate part Dost thou hate and fight against sin as sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Rhet. and so against every sin for all true hatred is against the whole kind Dost thou loath it as much when it riseth in thy heart as when it rageth in thy life in thy dearest friends as in thy bitterest enemies It was said of Anthony that he hated a Tyrant not tyranny dost thou abhor the disease or the patient canst thou say as David I hate every false way Psal 119.104 Universality in this is a sure sign of sincerity Herod spits out some sins when he rolls others as sweet morsels in his mouth An hypocrite ever leaves the Devil some nest-egg to sit upon though he take many away Some men will not buy some commodities because they cannot have them at their own price but they lay out the same money on others so hypocrites forbear some sins yea are displeased at them because they cannot have them without disgrace or diseases or some other disadvantage but they lay out the same love upon other sins which will suit better with their designs Some affirm what the Sea loseth in one place it gaineth in another so what ground the corruption of the unconverted loseth on way it gaineth another There is in him some one lust especially which is his favorite some King-sin like Agag which must be spared when others are destroyed In this the Lord be merciful to thy servant saith Naomi But now the regenerate laboreth to cleanse himself from all pollutions both of flesh spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 Grace is like Caesar who would admit of no superior nay like oyl t will allow of no mixture Sin may be in the Saint as rawness and illness in water but the fire of Grace worketh it out by degrees sending it forth in the scum The least drop of water is contrary to and opposed by fire as well as the full vessel so the least sin is contraty to and opposed by Grace is well as the greatest The shepherds dog forceth the whole flock to flie but hath a special eye to one sheep to which he is directed by the staff or a stone from the shepherd Or as the hounds saith a Divine drive the whole herd of Deer before them yet have a special eye to one Deer which is singled out by the dart of the Huntsman that however others may scape yet that shall
him he esteemeth the word of Gods mouth more then his appointed food Job 23.12 Mark not then varieties or superfluous fare but then daily necessary food the former might be spared but this for the preservation of life is necessarily required but Gods word was before this Spiritual dainties are most delightful to them that have special grace And truly 't is no wonder that the childe doth so exceedingly long for and love that which is as it were his father I will never forget thy precepts for by them thou hast quickened me Psal 119.93 Some men say they shall never forget such a friend the longest day that they have to live What 's the reason they will tell us they were nigh death either by fire or water or some disease and under God such men saved their lives so saith David I le never forget Gods Law the longest day I shall live why what 's the matter Alas I was nigh death next door to eternal damnation there was but a thin paper-wall of life between me and everlasting wo and under God the Word helped me it saved my soul I will never forget thy precepts for with them thou hast quickened me If Alexander could say That he was more bound to his Tutor Aristotle then to his Father Philip because he had only his being from the latter when he had his well-being from the former and therefore he prized him so much How much therefore doth the true Christian value that word which is instrumental to his being in Christ here and his everlasting wel-being with Christ hereafter So for prayer the regenerate person cannot live without it and fellowship with God in it He is like a full vessel his heart filled with complaints against sin with longings after Christ and his likeness if you will not give it vent 't will burst Prayer is his breathing Godward without breathing the body could not live it would be inflamed and burnt up with the heat of its own entrails no more could the soul unless the Saint should breath often towards heaven crying Abba Father Spiritual breath was the first sign of Pauls spiritual birth Behold he prayeth Act. 9.11 So I might speak of other Ordinances of God for there is a constant trade driven between the Convert and heaven which is carried on by several commodities and if this commerce were broken off he could not subsist He findeth the means of grace as needful to keep grace and soul together as meat to keep life and soul together his heart though fired with this spiritual life is like green wood which will burn no longer then it s blown with the bellows of Ordinances Reader How dost thou find thine appetite unto the bread and water of life dost thou hunger after the Word Prayer Sacraments Commonion of Saints and the Lords day canst thou feed on them with delight dost thou rise from Table with an appetite longing to sit down again Canst thou lay as the Psalmist I watch and am as the Sparrow upon the house top Psal 102.7 Observe the Sparrow upon the top of an house looketh on this side and that side of the house it looketh this way and that way and round about if he can spy any corn and food and when it can see any it flieth to that place and pecks it up so dost thou watch for and resort to the Ordinances of God which are the food of thy soul what sayst thou It may be thou art for high language oratorical expressions such Sermons only are pleasing to thee the dish must be set out with many flowers on which thou lookest more then at the meat Believe it as there is no greater sign of a foul stomack then to loath solid meat and to pick sallats or feed on ashes so there is hardlier a greater sign of an unsanctified heart then to loath the solid food of the word and to pick the flowers of mans wisdom in a Sermon or to feed on the world Or possibly thou art one of the new-fangled opinionists of our unhappy times that are above Ordinances I must tell thee That to live above Ordinances is to live below a Saint He that doth not reckon the means of Grace his greatest priviledge on this side the place of Glory may well question whether ever he enjoyed God in them methinks the begger should know that door again at which he had a large alms a full bait James 1.18 19. 1 Pet. 2.2 3 4. A childe indeed may forbear his meat either in a fit of sullenness or under some disease but if he be a childe his dogged fit will be over he will get the mastery of his distemper and fall to his food again Secondly The new-born creature groweth in Grace the picture of a childe groweth not but a living childe doth After generation followeth augmentation the same word which breeds the new man feeds him and enables him to grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 As the same blood of which the babe is bred in the womb strikes up into the mothers breasts and by a further concoction becometh milk and so nourisheth it The good seed of the word falling into the foil of an honest heart makes it abundant in the work of the Lord Common Grace sometimes like Joshua's Sun standeth still but usually like the dial of Ahaz it goeth ten degrees backward when special grace like the morning light shineth brighter and brighter to perfect day Prov. 4.18 First the blade next the ear then the full corn first they who are begotten of God become little children next young men then old men and fathers 1 Joh. 2.1 12 13 14. The unfound Christian is like the Manna for the Israelites daily use which did corrupt and putrifie or like a pond of water which quickly drieth up when true Christianity as the Manna in the Ark doth keep sweet and as the waters of the Sanctuary is up first to the ankles then to the knees then to the loyns and at last became a River so deep that none could pass over it Ezek. 47.3 4 5. If Grace be true there is a natural tendency in it to growth as there is in seed cast into the earth There is vertually in a little plant the bigness and height of a great tree towards which it is putting forth it self with more and more strength every day So there is in that seed of Grace planted in the soul at conversion vertually that perfection of grace which Christ hath appointed that man unto towards which its putting it self forth every day He that hath clean hands groweth stronger and stronger Job 17.9 They go from strength to strength till they appear before God in Sion Psal 84. This River of living waters runneth along notwithstanding many turnings and windings till it empty it self into the Ocean and grace commence glory The grain of mustard-seed groweth into a tree and the smoaking flax is blown into a flame The least spark of true holiness cannot be put out
by all the blasts of men and devils but will like the coal-fire wax the hotter for the waters of opposition and never leave aspiring till it be joyned and become a pure and perfect flame He was never good man that mends not Hal medit and vows p. 7. medit 44. saith that holy Bishop for if he were good he must needs desire to be better Grace is so sweet that whoever tastes of it must needs long after more and if he desire it he will endeavour it and if he do but endeavour God will crown with success Gods family admitteth of no dwarfs which are unthriving and stand at a stay but men of measures Whatever become of my body or my estate I will ever labour to finde somewhat added to the stature of my soul The children of God are therfore compared to trees which are thriving and profitable as to the fruitful vine the fat olive the seasonable sapling planted by the Rivers of waters for he abideth in Christ and whosoever abideth in him bringeth forth fruit John 15.4 The branch which seemeth to belong to the vine by hanging on it yet is dead will wither and perish but that which is alive in the vine will partake of its sap and thereby thrive and flourish Indeed all Christs Scholars are not of the same form All gracious men are not of the same growth as in the natural body some parts have more beauty and strength then others so in the mystical body of Christ one member may be more eminent in spiritual strength then another God doth not give Grace as he did Manna by the homer one star differeth from another in glory but though all the children of God are not of the same strength and stature yet they are all thriving children and as some write of the Crocodile they grow while thy live As all pieces of land are not alike fruitful some bring forth thirty some sixty some an hundred fold but all the good grounds are fruitful and return the seed with advantage every one bringeth forth some fruit It is confest also that a true Christian doth not grow at all times alike A violent winde may force those waves for some time backward whose natural motion is forward Natures retraction of it self from a visible fear upon a sensible danger may make the pulse of a Christian that beats truly and strongly in the main point the state of the soul to intermit and faulter at such a time Peter was far from thriving when he denied his Master first with bare words and then with curses and oathes And so was David from growing when he first commits adultery in person and afterwards murder by a proxie But mark as children under a fit of sickness grow not at present but after their recovery shoot up the more for it and as trees stand at a stay in winter but in spring shoot forth to purpose so the childe of God though he may have his declensions yet afterwards he recovers himself and his distemper being removed he falls to his food and gets strength apace nay the greater his fall was the greater his rise the lower the ebb and decrease the higher the tide and increase as we see in Peter who though he denied Christ out of cowardize Euseb came afterwards to own him with courage and that to the loss not onely of his liberty but his very life And David who could once imbrue his hands in another mans blood would not afterwards drink of that water the fetching of which had but endangered blood Reader How doest thou find thine heart to thrive in holiness doest thou like a dead stake in an hedge grow but it is every day more rotten or doest thou like a living tree grow bigger and better extending in the branches and increasing in fruit from the sap which thou derivest from Christ thy root Art thou like those Seducers which Paul speaks of that grow worse and worse like a carkass more unsavory every hour then other or dost thou like the moon alwayes increase in the light of purity till thou come to the Full of Glory Art thou ever pressing forward towards the price of the high calling of God in Christ Or doest thou slide backward with a perpetual backsliding Art thou one of them that boast they are still the same as loose as deboist as ever no changling unless it be from one lewd company or loose course to another like the Camelion thou canst turn into any colour but white into any thing but what thou shouldst be truly thou art far from the Kingdom of Heaven Friend Let conscience speak Was the time with thee when thou couldst not suffer half a day to pass without duties nor a duty without communion with God in it thou didst constantly either meet God or miss God in an ordinance thou couldst not hear an oath but thou wast sensible of Gods dishonor nor speak an idle word but thou wast fearful of divine displeasure God and thy soul like two intimate friends did walk together And is it now otherwise canst thou neglect prayer and the word and never be troubled at their want or if thou minde any performance art thou indifferent whether or no God affords his presence Canst thou hear others lash out with their lips and give thy self liberty for vain and frothy language yet none of these things move thee O Friend consider whence thou art faln and repent and do thy first works for surely 't is sad to see the dayes grow shorter and shorter to see a body wasting away every day more and more of a consumption And how sad is it to see a soul declining in regard of spiritual strength If thou fall forward thou mayst help thy self but if thou fall backward as old Eli did thou mayst undo thy self thy fall may prove thy downfall Remember that a vessel of true gold will wear brighter and brighter to the last when a cup which is onely gilt will grow paler and paler till all the gilt be of Take heed thou be not like an apple fair in the outside and rotten at coar for then thou wilt corrupt farther and farther till thy outside be like thine inside and God discover thee to be unsound all over Thirdly the new-born creature endeavoreth to make others gracious All living creatures have a tendency and inclination to beget others and propagate their own kinde Adam when polluted begets a son after his image truly so doth the Christian in his desires and endeavours as soon as he is purified No sanctified soul did never make a Monopoly of his Saviour like the wall he receiveth warmth from the Sun of Righteousness and reflecteth it on them that are near him An Hypocrite who hath no true grace himself careth not how little others have He is like a dead coal whatever be nigh him is never warmed or quickned by him but the sincere soul wisheth that all were altogether as he is and as a live coal
the difference between party and party next they hear the evidence and proofs on both sides After that they are shut up together and have neither fire nor candle nor bread nor drink allowed them till they are agreed on their verdict which when they have done they bring it into the Court and there 't is entred and recorded Go thou and do likewise when thou art got into thy chamber first make thine heart to engage and promise before the Judge of the whole earth that it will through the strength of Christ be true and faithful in determining this weighty controversie between God and thy soul Whether the land of promise belong to thee or not next let conscience be called which is as ten thousand witnesses and speak what it knoweth of thy right and title to that estate according to the known Laws of the Lord and if thou lovest the life of thy soul do not wink upon that witness or fee him underhand to make him to mince the matter and be partial in his testimony Foolish pity here is soul-damning cruelty but tell him he is upon his oath and in the presence of the infinite God and charge him to speak the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth O do but give conscience leave to be faithful at this time and t will be thy friend to eternity When the evidence is thus examined let nothing hinder a verdict call upon thy heart again and again whether it be resolved for thee or against thee till this be done give thy self no rest if one day will not serve take two never give over till it come to an issue one way or other Of what infinite concernment is this to thee when all that thou art worth for the other world dependeth on it When thou art agreed of a verdict let it be entred and ingrossed in the Court of Conscience namely that such a day thy title to the inheritance of the Saints in light was tried before the Judge of quick and dead and upon a full hearing of evidence on both sides such or such a verdict was brought in If thy heart find for thee how may this fill thee with joy that thy name is written in the book of life it may keep thee steddy in the greatest storm that thou art an undoubted heir to the eternal weight of glory When the waters of affliction overtake thee and the Devil throws his stones into them to trouble them and make them muddy that thou mayst doubt and distrust thine eternal felicity how quickly may the remembrance of such a verdict upon full evidence settle them again and how clearly mayst thousee thy sincerity like a true diamond sparkling gloriously at the bottom of those waters thou mightest gather Once in Christ and ever in Christ and I was once in him therefore I can never be out of him O Friend thy priviledges are high and unspeakable and therefore thy practices should be holy and answerable But I cannot stay to speak farther to thee here my work groweth in my hands already much beyond my thoughts yet I shall speak to thy dignity and happiness in the second subject of consideration under the first Use of Exhortation and to thy duty and holiness in the second Use of Exhortation if the book swell not too big But Reader if thine heart find against thee that thou art not born again what canst thou say for thy self why sentence of eternal death should not be awarded and executed upon thee according to Law yea according to the Gospel Hast thou read the reasons of the Doctrine and the first use of Information and dost thou not see the absolute indisponsable necessity of Regeneration in all that would be saved Hath not the God of truth as it were confirmed it with an oath Verily verily I say unto thee that except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God Canst thou think to make the author of this Text a liar by getting to heaven in an unregenerate condition Dost thou believe that the thoughts of his heart stand for ever and the counsels of his majesty be established to all generations Suppose thou shouldst dye this day Alas how many diseases attend thee the feet of those that carried others to their long homes are ready to carry thee also Good Lord what will become of thee for ever ever ever Art thou able to dwell in everlasting burnings canst thou endure unquenchable flames For the sake of thy precious soul hasten out of this Sodom this natural estate which will undoubtedly be punished with fire and brimstone For thine help herein I have written the next Vse which I earnestly beseech thee as thou wouldest leave this world with comfort and look into the other world with courage that thou give it the reading thou knowest not what an hour may bring forth and the Lord give it his blessing THirdly This doctrine may be useful by way of exhortation and that to two sorts of persons 1. To the unregenerate If without regeneration men and women can never obtain salvation then it exhorteth thee Reader if in a state of nature to minde and labor for this second birth as ever thou wouldst escape the second death Dost thou not perceive by the word the living God That except thou art converted thou canst in no wise enter into the Kingdom of God! Matth. 18.3 Alas what then is like to be thy case shouldst thou die in this condition Assure thy self that all thy Friends and Lands honors and pleasures yea all the help which this whole world can afford thee cannot keep thee one quarter of an hour out of Hell This Law this standing Law of Heaven That except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God is like the Law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be altered By their Law That which was written in the Kings Name and sealed with the Kings seal might no man reverse Esth 8.8 Friend is not this written not onely in the name but with the very hand of the King of Kings I say unto thee and sealed with his own seal Verily verily and doest thou think poor worm to reverse it to turn the truth of the Eternal God into a lie I tell thee and I would speak it with reverence to the highest Majesty that God himself cannot do it 'T is his perfection that it is impossible for him to lye Tit. 1.2 His hand cannot but make good what his mouth hath spoken His will and word have joyned regegeration and salvation together and his faithfulness and truth will not suffer them to be parted asunder Therefore think of it timely and turn to God truly otherwise there is a necessity of thy perishing everlastingly Thou doest not know as strong and lusty as thou art how soon death may come behinde thee and throw thee and O 't will be thine eternal overthrow though as on Sodom thy morning be Sunshiny yet thou canst not tell
thy folly in making and continuing a League with them to thine extream and unconceiveable disadvantage I shall endeavour to set before thee though briefly the far greater felicity which thou shouldst obtain in the other World As whilst thou continuest in this world thou shouldst be a blessed soul so when thou enterest into the other world thou shouldst be a glorious Saint And this Reader is the best wine which Christ keeps for his Ghests till the last though how good it is none can tell but they that have tasted it Truly what Nazianzen said of Basil I may say of this glorious Saint There wants nothing but his own tongue to commend him The Subject is large and weighty and sure I am that it would require the words not onely of a Saint but an Angel to do it according to its worth I shall onely give thee a say briefly of that which glorified Saints enjoy fully First thou shouldst know what perfection of holiness is if thou wert but new born this one thought would fill thy soul with marrow and fatness and cause thy mouth to praise God with joyfull lips One dram of holiness infinitely surpasseth in the esteem of a Saint all the Kingdoms and Empires of this world how much then is perfect holiness worth In heaven thou shouldst have it There thou shouldst be before the throne without fault and serve him day and night in his temple Rev. 14.5 What price doth a Saint set upon and what pains doth he take for a little holiness If thou wouldst know why he hideth the word in his heart t is that he might not sin against God the purging out of sinful humours is the end for which he takes that phisick Why he readeth and heareth so diligently t is that he might be sanctified through Gods truth cleansing is the reason why he useth that water Why he prayeth so frequently and so fervently t is that he might have a clean heart created and a right spirit renewed within him Grace is the chief alms for which he knocks and begs so hard at the beautifull gate of Gods Temple why he goeth to the sacrament t is that he might grow in sanctity he goeth to the death of his Saviour for the death of his sins and his great design in that spiritual feast is so to feed that he might get some more spiritual strength Nay how contented can he be under very sad crosses if they may but make him more like to Christ he can patiently bear the pain of lancing and cutting so it may but let out corruption He can take bitter pills for the removing of inward diseases and the furthering of his souls health and more willingly spend all be hath for the cure of his issue of sin then ever the widow did for the cure of her issue of blood Now Reader thou shouldst have the vessel of thy soul filled with this water of life One drop of which is so precious as thou hast heard to the regenerate Thou shouldst have a perfection of degrees as well as of parts and enjoy so much of these true riches that thou shouldst not desire one grain more Thou shouldst be a book wherein the image of God should be written in a fair large print and there should be no errata's in thee Sin now is like the Ivy in the wall cut it never so much yet it will sprout out again but as grace mortifieth it here glory shall nullify it in heaven Wert thou in Christ t would be no small comfort to think the time is comming when thou shalt never offend God more never deal unkindly with Christ more Thou shouldst by blessed experience know the truth of those Scriptures Whosoever is born of God sinneth not for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God 1 John 3.9 Christ loved his Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word That he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish Ephes 5.25 26 27. The body of death should die with the death of thy body Thou shouldst not be taken away in thy sins but from thy sins It would be impossible for thee to sin there because of thine happy sight of God there Sin is an aversion from God and conversion to the creature Now thou shouldst enjoy such soul ravishing sweetness in the blessed God and that so fully that thou couldst not leave so excellent a good for any creature thy graces here in their minority and nonage would be then in their maturity If that holiness which is but in part on earth would be so beautiful in thine eyes that it would ravish thine heart more then all the glory of this lower world what would perfect holiness in heaven be If the picture or image of God be so comely in its rough draught here below Ah how lovely a peice will it be in all its perfections when Gods Novissima manus his last hand shall come upon it above 1 John 3.2 Secondly thou shouldst know what compleat happiness is Thine holiness and happiness like twins would grow up and come to their full age together thy perfect purity there would cause perfect peace Thy day of light and gladness in heaven could never be overcast with the smallest cloud because sins that are the vapours out of which they breed could not ascend so high Thy freedom from evil would be full thy fruition of good would be full and therefore thy felicity must needs be full Thy body there would be free from the diseases and deformity to which it is liable and with which it is affected here The errors of the first would be corrected in its second edition A body of vileness shall be a body of glory All those miseries which fright and molest thee now would then forsake thee No evil durst arrest thee when thou shalt walk in the presence of Sions King In this thou shouldst be like irrational creatures that thy misery should end with thy life And in this resemble the blessed Angels that thou shouldst alwayes behold the face of thy father In his presence is fulness of joy When the Sun beholdeth the Moon with his full aspect then the Moon is at the Full. In heaven the Sun of righteousness would ever look on thee with his favourable face in so full a degree that thou shouldst be at the Full of thy light and happiness God is an universal good the soul of man hath a kind of an infinite appetite It desireth this pleasure and that treasure and when it hath them it is like a dropsicall body as thirsty as ever for those creatures having but a particular limited goodness can never satisfy but God will supply all the souls wants because he is infinite and universal good and answereth all things Thou shouldst ever be at the
thousands of rivers of oil nay though the first-born of thy body all these could no be a propitiation for one of the least sins of thy soul no no the redemption of a soul is more precious for all these it must cease for ever Thus God ferrits the sinner out of all his Borows and causeth the poor Prodigal while he is wandring from his Father to finde a famine in all the creatures As a General that besiegeth a City doth not onely play in upon it with his Cannons and Granadoes but also secure the several passages stop all provision that no relief can come to it then they will yeild upon his terms So when the Spirit besiegeth the soul it often plyeth it hard with the batteries of the Law and alwayes stoppeth relief from coming in either from the world or a mans own righteousness and then and not till then will the creature yeild upon the terms of the Gospel Fourthly The Spirit convinceth him of the willingness sutableness and al-sufficiency of Jesus Christ to help and heal him The sinner now in his burning fit is very thirsty like Hagar he sits weeping for his bottels are empty and his creature comforts are found by experience to be broken cisterns which can hold no water he knoweth not what to do how can I see the death of my soul thinks he When the sinner is brought to this strait the spirit of God openeth his eyes to see a well of salvation even Jesus who delivereth from the wrath to come The spirit discovereth to the sinner that though his wound be dangerous because the God whom he hath provoked is resolved either to have his law satisfied or his eternal wrath endured yet that it is not desperate for there is Balm in Gilead and a Physitian in Israel that can heal his soul It convinceth him that Christ is a sutable help bread to the hungry water to the thirsty rest to the weary and heavy-laden that he hath a precious salve made of his own blood which is a proper and pecular remedy for his sores It convinceth him that Christ is an alsufficient help that he can supply all the souls wants be they never so many and bear all the souls iniquities be they never so weighty that he is able to save to the uttermost those that come unto God by him Heb. 7.25 It presenteth to the soul his fitness and fulness in regard of his natures and offices and the impossibility of his being unfaithful to this great work of saving poor sinners for which he came into the world It sheweth the sinner the infiniteness of Christs merits and his omnipotency to help because he is God the examples of other wounded diseased persons who surrendred themselves to the care of this Physitian and were cured He shall convince the world of righteousness because I go to the father and ye see me no more John 16.9 10. That is the world shall be convinced that there is righteousness enough in me to satisfy both the law and law-giver in that I shall appeare in my fathers presence and that with acceptance he would not send an Angel as his officer to roll away the stone and release the surety out of prison the grave and bring him before the Judge with so much credit and countenance if the law were not satisfied and the debt fully discharged Heaven could never have held me ye would have seen me upon earth again if I had not done that work perfectly which the Father gave me to do He shall convince the world of righteousness because I go to the father It convinceth him that Jesus Christ is exceeding willing to save poor sinners that he is joyful that any will accept him for their Saviour that he came from heaven to earth was born meanly lived miserably and died shamefully meerly upon this errand that he might seek and save them that are lost that he inviteth him to come to him and promiseth that he shall be welcom that he calleth them that go from him but casteth away none that come to him Thus when the prodigal is in a far country and cannot fill his belly so much as with husks that he is ready to perish for hunger he is shewd and convinced that there is bread enough in his Fathers house When the sinner is like the Israelite in the wilderness beholding the curse of the law like the Egyptian behind him and pursuing him hard the red sea of divine wrath before him into which he is hastening his crimson and bloody sins like mountains on each side of him incompassing him round that he knoweth not what to do then the spirit biddeth him look up to Jesus and he shall see the salvation of God The third step which the spirit takes is anhelation to cause the soul of the convinced sinner to breath and pant after Jesus Christ breath is the first effect of life Conviction hath emptied his stomach of creature confidence and self righteousness made him poor in spirit and O how hungry he is after the righteousness of Jesus Christ the bread which came down from heaven As the thirsty ground cleaves and opens for drops as the heart panteth after the water brooks so panteth his soul after Jesus Christ God blessed for ever thinks he O when shall I come and appear before him His voice is like Rachel Give me children or I die Give me the holy child Jesus or I die or like Abraham Lord what wilt thou give me if I go childless Ioh. 12.21 O what wilt thou give me if I go Christiess or like the Jews to Philip Sir we would fain see Jesus Mat. 28.5 If the Angel should meet him he might bespeake the soul as he did the woman I know what thou seekest thou seekest Jesus which was crucified O the ardent desires the vehement longings the unutterable groans which this poor creature hath after his Saviour as David he cryeth out Who will give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem Where is that blessed guide that can leade me and help me to drink of the water of life Methinks I see how Jesus Christ presents himself to the eye of the dejected souls understanding in all his glory and gallantry in his sutableness unto the sinners indigencies and sufficiency for all his necessities with the freeness of his mercy the fullness of his merits and the sweetness of his love how he appeares before the soul with all his retinue and train of graces comforts his blood his spirit the favour of God freedom from sin wrath hell on the one hand of him there stand his gracious promises of pardon peace adoption sanctification heart-chearing love and everlasting life On the other hand of him there stands his precious precepts of self denyal crucifying the flesh walking after the Spirit despising the sensual pleasures honours and profits of this world and delighting in God walking with him having the conversation in heaven and rejoycing