Thus the Carnal Mind is apt with some colour to traduce the Righteousness of God's Government But it will be clearly vindicated by considering 1. The Law supposes Man in a state of integrity furnish'd with sufficient Power to comply with every Precept though free to fall from his Duty and Happiness To command absolute Impossibilities is tyrannical and utterly inconsistent with the Nature of the Blessed God 2. The first Man wilfully transgress'd the Law and lost his Holiness And Nature being poison'd in the Fountain is corrupt in all the descendants from him Mankind was justly degraded in rebellious Adam and is destitute of spiritual Strength to perform all that the Law requires 3. This disability is vicious and culpable and can be no pretence against the Rights of the Law-giver A natural disability from the want of requisite Faculties is a just excuse 'T is no Fault that a Man cannot stop the Sun as Joshua did nor calm a Tempest as our Saviour did by his Word But the disability that arises from a depraved disposition renders a Person more guilty And this is the present Case The Will of Man is disobedient and perverse and as soon as it can exercise Election chooses Evil and by custom in Sin becomes more hardened and obstinate And from hence the Prophet charges the contumacious Jews Behold their Ear is uncircumcised and they cannot hearken Were they uncapable of hearing the Divine Commands No but the Word of the Lord was to them a Reproach they had no delight in it And our Saviour upbraids the Pharisees How can ye believe which receive Honour one of another and seek not the Honour that comes from God only They were in high reputation for their Holiness which made it impossible for them in an humble penitent manner to submit to our Saviour In short the primary end of the Law was the Happiness of Man in the performance of his Duty and his first Sin and consequent Impotence to fulfil it was by his own fault As the Obliquity of a Line cannot be ascrib'd to the strait Rule but to the Error of the Hand that draws it And from hence 't is clear that if God should with a terrible exactness require of Men unsinning Obedience upon the pain of Damnation he could not be tax'd with Unrighteousness 2. But God has been pleased to mitigate and allay the Severity of the Law by the Gospel so that although the least breach of it makes a Person an Offender and obnoxious to Judgment yet the Law of Faith propounds such merciful Conditions to the Guilty that upon the performance of them they may plead their Pardon seal'd with the Blood of their Redeemer and shall be saved and crown'd in the Day of Judgment We are commanded so to speak and do as they that shall be judged by the Law of Liberty Thus the Gospel is stiled in that it frees the Conscience though not from the Obedience yet from the Terrors and Condemnation of the Law for there was not the least signification of Mercy by it But in the Gospel the Grace of God most illustriously appears 1. In that when our Innocence was lost there may be a renovation of the Sinner by Repentance to which the plenary Pardon of Sin is assured Wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your Doings from before mine Eyes Cease to do evil and learn to do well saith the Lord and though your Sins be as Scarlet they shall be white as Snow though they be red like Crimson they shall be white like Wooll God will not pardon those who forgive and flatter themselves in their Sins but those who confess and forsake them shall find Mercy 2. Sincerity of Obedience is accepted where Perfection is wanting When a Person with consent of Heart and serious Endeavours strives to obey the holy Will of God without the exception of any known Duty or the indulgence of any Sin God will spare him as a Father spares his Son that serves him 'T is not so much the Matter as the Allowance that makes Sin deadly Where there is guile in the Heart it will be severely imputed 'T is not according to some particular Acts of Sin but the Tenor of the Life that the state of Men will be decided 3. Unfeigned Faith in the Lord Jesus that is such a belief of the Truth and Goodness of his Promises as induces us to receive him as our Prince and Saviour as purifies the Conscience the Heart and Life will free us from Hell and entitle us to Heaven according to the Covenant of Grace In short the final Resolution of a Man's Trial and Case will be this either he has performed the gracious Conditions of the Gospel and he shall be saved or rejected them and he shall be damned If it be objected that the Terms of Evangelical Justification though in themselves comparatively easy yet are of impossible performance to Men in their natural sinful State The Answer is clear 1. That although the natural Man be dead in Sin without spiritual strength to resolve and perform his Duty and holy heat of desires to it and nothing is alive in him but his corrupt Passions that are like Worms generated in a Carcass yet by the Grace that is offered in the Gospel he may be enabled to perform the Conditions of it for in this the Gospel excels the Law the Law discovers Sin but affords no degrees of supernatural Power to subdue it and directs to no Means for the expiation of its Guilt As the Fire in the Bush discovered the Thorns without consuming them But the sanctifying Spirit the true Spring of Life and Power is the concomitant of the Gospel as St. Peter declares With the preaching of the Gospel the Holy Ghost was sent down from Heaven And the Spirit by illuminating preventing and exciting-Grace assists Men to repent and believe and is promised in rich and liberal Supplies to all that humbly and ardently pray for it This our Saviour assures to us by a most tender and endearing Comparison If ye that are evil know how to give good things to your Children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask it 2. From hence it follows that 't is from the perverseness of the Will and the love of Sin that Men do not obey the Gospel For the Holy Spirit never withdraws his gracious assistance till resisted grieved and quenched by them It will be no excuse that Divine Grace is not conferr'd in the same eminent degree upon some as upon others that are converted for the Impenitent shall not be condemned for want of that singular powerful Grace that was the Priviledg of the Elect but for receiving in vain that measure of common Grace that they had If he that received one Talent had faithfully improved it he had been rewarded with more but upon the slothful and ingrateful neglect of his Duty he was
that buy as though they possessed not and they that use the World as not abusing it for the fashion of the World passeth away To a wise and pondering Observer what comparison is there between Shadows and Dreams and substantial everlasting Blessedness If Men had the same opinion of this World whilst they live as they will have when they are to die they would not inordinately seek it They who have magnified temporal Honours and Riches and lived in Pleasures without Remorse yet in their dying Hours when Men speak with most Feeling and least Affectation how have they vilified those empty Appearances of Happiness with what moving Expressions declared the Vanity and Brevity of worldly things As when the Israelites were to go through the River Jordan that opened it self to make a free and dry Passage for them the lower part of its Waters ran into the Dead Sea and utterly fail'd but the Waters that came from above rose up and appear'd like a Mountain Thus when Men come to the universal Passage from this to the next Life inferiour things absolutely fail and are lost in the dead Sea but the things above that are eternal then appear in their true Greatness exceeding all humane Comprehension from hence is the change of Mind and Language concerning the one and other 5. Solemn affectionate and frequent Converse with God in religious Duties will render Death not fearful to us The whole Life of a Christian as such is a continual Communion with the Father and with Jesus Christ. For he performs all good Works by Divine Grace communicated from above and refers all to the Divine Honour As in a pair of Compasses one Foot is fix'd in the Center while the other moves in the Circumference so the Heart of a Christian is in Heaven his aims are for God whilst he is active here in the World His Natural and Civil Actions are heightened to a supernatural End And thus his Conversation is in Heaven But this was spoken of before and that which is now specified is the more immediate Service of God in Holy Meditation Prayer and the Ordinances of the Gospel which is the noblest part of the spiritual Life Our blessed Saviour who was a Comprehensor upon Earth always saw the Face of God and invariably sought his Glory in all things yet had his special times of Prayer and Heavenly Communion with God and the most glorious Testimonies of his Favour in those times Our Communion with God here is as true as in Heaven but the Influence and Fruition is different according to our Capacity When the Soul feels the vigorous Exercise of the Thoughts and Affections upon God and the raised Operations of Grace in Holy Duties 't is as certain a Sign of God's Favour and Acceptance as when Fire descended from Heaven to consume the Sacrifice And often our affectionate Duties are rewarded with sensible Consolations and holy Souls are dismiss'd from the Throne of Grace as they shall be received at the Throne of Glory with the reviving Testimonies of God's Approbation Now the Assurance of God's Love conquers the Fear of Death This Communion must be frequent As Love and Respects between Friends are maintained by constant Visits and Letters and mutual Confidence arises from Acquaintance so by the interchange of holy Duties and divine Favours we preserve a lively Sense of God's Love and an humble Familiarity with his Majesty that his Presence is not a Terror to us A Christian that walks with God here when he leaves the World to use the Words of a dying Saint changes his Room but not his Company God was always with him on Earth and he shall be ever with God in Heaven But cold and seldom Converse begets Strangeness and that makes us shy of God When religious Duties are performed as a complemental Visit without zealous Affections or used only in times of Affliction and Exigency as Cordial Waters in swooning Fits the Divine Presence is uncomfortable to us They who prefer carnal Sweets before Acquaintance with God cannot with Peace and Joy think of appearing before him O how unwelcome is Death to such for then the Spirit returns to God that gave it 6. Let us strengthen our Belief of the blessed State after Death Divine Truths lose their Influence and Efficacy when they are not stedfastly believed Faith is the substance of things not seen and the Evidence or Conviction of things hoped for The Spirit confirms our Faith not by a pure Physical Act but by convincing Reasons of the Truth of the Gospel The Life of Christ so glorious in Holiness his Doctrine so becoming the Wisdom and other excellent Attributes of the Deity his Miracles so great numerous open and beneficial not meerly to surprize the Spectators with Astonishment but to touch their Hearts his Death foretold by the Prophets and exactly agreeing in all the Circumstances of the Predictions his Resurrection the most noble Operation of the Divine Power are the strongest Proofs that what he has reveal'd as the Counsel of God for our Redemption and the Preparations of Glory for the Saints in Heaven are divine Truths And the Efficacy of the Spirit of Christ in sanctifying his Disciples in all Ages is a continual and as satisfying an Argument that the Gospel is derived from God the Fountain of Truth as extraordinary Miracles For Holiness is as inseparable a property of the Divine Nature as Omnipotence and the Sanctification of the Soul as divine an Effect as the Resurrection of the Body Now in the Gospel God enters into Covenant with obedient Believers to be their God a Title and Relation that supposing them the most happy here all the Enjoyments of this World cannot fulfil This Covenant is not dissolv'd by Death for he uses this Stile after the Death of his faithful Servants and from hence it follows they are Partakers of his Glory and Joys in the next Life For the Honour of his Veracity is most dear to him The Psalmist declares that he has magnified his Word above all his Name No Perfections of his Nature are more sacred and inviolable than his Truth The Foundations of Nature shall be overturn'd and the most solid parts of the Creation destroyed but his Promises shall be compleatly accomplish'd We are assured by his infallible Authority that there remains a Rest for the People of God And he that receives this Testimony sets to his Seal that God is true honours the Truth of God's Word and binds himself more firmly to his Service and is encouraged to leave this sensible World for that which is infinitely better Our Confidence and Patience in well-doing and in suffering the utmost Evil to Nature is from the pregnant Apprehensions of the Reality of eternal things We know saith the Apostle if our earthly Tabernacle be dissolved we have a Building not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens This fortified him against the Terrors of Death When Stephen saw the Heavens open
Promise of God to all penitent Believers in the Kingdom of Heaven and excludes all impenitent Infidels Divine Justice will illustriously appear then in distinguishing Believers from Unbelievers by their Works the proper Fruits either of Faith or Infidelity All the thick Clouds of Disgraces Calumnies Persecutions that often oppress the most sincere Christians here shall not then darken their Holiness and all the specious appearances of Piety which the most artificial Hypocrites make use of to deceive others shall not conceal their Wickedness And accordingly the one shall be absolved and glorified the others condemned and punish'd for ever In short without violation of his own righteous establishment in the Gospel God cannot receive the unholy into his Glory 3. Besides the Legal Bar that excludes unsanctified Persons from the beatifick vision of God there is a moral incapacity Suppose that Justice should allow Omnipotence to translate such a Sinner to Heaven would the Place make him happy Can two incongruous Natures delight in one another The happiness of Sense is by an impression of Pleasure from a suitable Object The happiness of intellectual Beings arises from an entire conformity of dispositions So that unless God recede from his Holiness which is absolutely impossible or Man be purified and changed into his likeness there can be no sweet Communion between them Our Saviour assigns this Reason of the necessity of Regeneration in order to our admission into Heaven That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit According to the quality of the Principle such is what proceeds from it The Flesh is a corrupt Principle and accordingly the Natural Man is wholly carnal in his propensions operations and end The Disease is turn'd into his Constitution He is dead to the Spiritual Life to the actions and enjoyments that are proper to it Nay there is in him a surviving Principle of Enmity to that Life not only a mortal coldness to God but a stiff aversation from him a perpetual resistance and impatience of the Divine Presence that would disturb his voluptuous enjoyments The Exercises of Heaven would be as the Torments of Hell to him while in the midst of those pure Joys his inward inclinations vehemently run into the lowest Lees of Sensuality And therefore till this Contrariety so deep and predominant in an unholy Person be removed 't is utterly impossible he should enjoy God with satisfaction As it was necessary that God should become like Man on Earth to purchase that Felicity for him so Man must be like God in Heaven before he can possess it Holiness alone prepares Men for Celestial Happiness that is against the corruption and above the perfection of meer Nature I shall now proceed to consider more particularly what is requisite in order to our obtaining of Heaven 1. Faith in the Redeemer is absolutely required of all that will partake of the Salvation purchased by him God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have Eternal Life This is the Spirit and Substance of the Gospel therefore I will briefly unfold it The Son of God having assumed the human Nature and performed what was necessary for the expiation of Sin the Father was so pleased with his Obedience that from his lowest State he rais'd him to Divine Glory and gave him supream Authority and all-sufficient Power to communicate that Glory to others Thus our Saviour declares Thou hast given him i. e. the Son power over all Flesh that he should give Eternal Life to as many as thou hast given him And he exhorts the People Labour for that Meat that endures unto Eternal Life which the Son of Man shall give unto you for him hath God the Father sealed Now this glorious Life is not given to all but only to those who are united to him As Adam the principle of the carnal corrupt Nature derives Guilt and Death to all his Progeny so Jesus Christ who is opposed to him the Head and Prince of the renewed State communicates Life and Glory to his People The Apostle expresses it As in Adam all dye his natural Descendants are involv'd in his Condemnation even so in Christ shall all be made alive that is all that are spiritually united to him shall partake of his glorious Resurrection And St. John tells us He that hath the Son hath Life and he that hath not the Son hath not Life The having the Son upon which our right to Eternal Life depends is believing in him Faith has a principal Efficiency in receiving Christ therefore 't is exprest by that Act But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God and consequently Heirs of Glory so as many as believed on his Name And Christ is said to dwell in our Hearts by Faith This is not a meer assent to the Doctrines of the Gospel concerning the Dignity of his Person that he is in so high and glorious a Relation of being the Eternal Son of God and the infinite value of his Merits whereby he is able to save all that come unto God by him and his merciful compassionate Nature to embrace returning Sinners and the excellency of the benefits purchased by him but such a Belief as sways the Will and Affections to receive him upon God's terms for our Salvation Faith is seated in the whole Soul in the Mind and Heart and accepts of Christ intirely as Prophet Priest and King The parts of the Mediator's Office are inseparably connected and all the Effects of them are communicated to the same Persons Jesus Christ is made of God to Believers Wisdom to cure their Ignorance and Folly Righteousness to abolish their Guilt Sanctification to renew their Natures and Redemption to free them at last from the Grave and bring them to Glory From hence 't is clear that the Faith which is justifying and saving includes in its Nature as dependance and trust in Christ as a powerful and merciful Mediator that is able and willing to reconcile us to God and make us for ever happy in his Favour so a sincere resolution of Obedience and Subjection to all his holy Commands even to the plucking out of the right Eye and the cutting off the right hand the parting with the most pleasing or profitable Sins For the Promises of God that are the Rule of Faith make an offer of Christ upon these Conditions to us Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of Sins And only the Justified shall be glorified Those therefore who desire a partial interest in him as a Saviour out of absolute necessity to escape Hell and will not out of Love submit to him as their Prince have not that Faith that is unfeigned and gives a title to Eternal
they are ever totally deserted by the Holy Spirit and left under the reigning Power of Sin The Threatnings are intended to awaken their Care and are Preservatives of them from Ruin and have a singular Influence on their Perseverance A vigilant and cautious Fear establishes the certainty of their Hope Indeed from the Reliques of weakness and corruption in the Saints they sometimes actually fall into presumptuous Sins and by rebellious relapses wound Conscience and let out much of the vital Spirits their Graces and Comforts But though the divine Nature in them is miserably wasted by such Sins yet 't is not abolish'd As after the Creation of Light there was never pure and total Darkness in the World Grace does not consist in a Point but is capable of Degrees The new Creature may decline in Beauty and Strength yet Life remain Between a lively and a dead Faith there may be a fainting Faith as in St. Peter for certainly our Saviour was heard in his Prayer for him that his Faith should not fail in his dreadful Temptation The Saints do not by a particular fall extinguish the first living Principles of Obedience Faith and Love nor change their last end by an entire turning from God to the World In short a single act of Wickedness does not reduce them into a state of Unregeneracy for 't is not the matter of the Sin singly considered but the disposition of the Sinner that denominates him If Grace in the Saints should utterly perish as some boldly assert their recovery would be impossible For the Apostle tells us that if those who were enlightned and had tasted of the Heavenly Gift that had been under some common Workings and lower Operations of the Spirit if such fall away universally and live in a course of Sin opposite to their former illuminations and resolutions it is impossible to renew them by Repentance how much more then if those who were truly sanctified by the holy Spirit should intirely lose all those gracious habits planted in them in their Regeneration But David though guilty of Adultery and Murder Sins of so foul a Nature as would dishonour Paganism it self and made the Enemies of God to blaspheme was restored by Repentance The Gospel propounds a remedy not only for Sins committed before Conversion but after it If any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous God does not revoke the Adoption nor reverse the Justification of a Believer but upon scandalous disorders the effects of Justification are suspended with respect to the new contracted guilt till there be sincere and actual Repentance He is not disinherited but his right to the Kingdom of Heaven is eclipsed as to the comfortable sense of it nay suspended till by renovation he is qualified and made fit for the enjoyment of that pure Inheritance For those Sins which are a just cause of excommunicating an Offender from the Church on Earth would exclude him from the Kingdom of Heaven without Repentance Our Saviour tells us what is bound on Earth is ratified in Heaven And the Apostle expresly declares of those kinds of Sin for which Professors must be removed from the Communion of Saints here that they are an exclusive bar from the Kingdom of Heaven But I have written to you not to keep Company if any that is called a Brother be a Fornicator or Covetous or an Idolater or a Railer or a Drunkard or an Extortioner with such a one no not to eat And know ye not that the Vnrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God If one that is truly a Child of God fall into any of these Sins till by an extraordinary Repentance he is prepared for Pardon he cannot obtain it nor have a comfortable hope of entring into Heaven For only those who are justified are glorified Indeed it is not imaginable where the Seed of God remains the vital Principle of Grace as it does in all that are born of God but that notorious Sins that cannot be concealed from the view of Conscience will cause stings and sorrows proportionable to their malignity and consequently a hatred and forsaking of them Now Perseverance principally respects the End of our Course There may be Interruptions in the way for a time but if with renewed Zeal and Diligence we prosecute our blessed End we shall not fall short of it Secondly I come now to consider the second thing propounded The Reason why Perseverance is requisite in all that will obtain Eternal Life and 't is this That their Sincerity may be discovered by constancy in Obedience under all Trials Blessed is the Man that endures Temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him The Law required unsinning Obedience as the Condition of Life the Gospel accepts of Sincerity but if that be wanting there is no Promise that gives right to the Reward Now Sincerity implies such an entire Love of God as makes a Person submit to all Duties commanded in his Law and all Trials appointed by his Providence A high Example we have of this in Abraham when he was commanded to offer up his only Son Isaac and by his own Hands for a Burnt-Offering This was to kill a double Sacrifice at one Blow for the Life of Abraham was bound up in Isaac he lived in him more dearly than in himself all his Joy all his Posterity by Sarah had died in Isaac What resentments what resistance of Nature did he suffer yet presently he address'd himself to perform his Duty Whoever saw a more glorious Victory over all the tender and powerful Passions of humane Nature O unexampled Obedience being an Original without any Precedent to imitate and without a Copy to succeed it After this clear infallible Testimony of his Sincerity the Angel declar'd from Heaven Now I know that thou fearest God seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son thine only Son from me And 't is said concerning the followers of the Lamb that they loved not their Lives unto the Death The Love of Christ that animated them in all their Sufferings was sweeter than Life and stronger than Death Indeed there was a wonderful difference in the behaviour of the Martyrs under Sufferings but in all the same Persevering Grace was evident though working variously Some in the most beautiful Flower of their Age encounter'd Fire and Sword Tormentors and Torments with that sensible Joy with those Songs of Praise to Christ as if they saw the Heavens open with St. Stephen and their Saviour ready to receive and crown them But many others as Chrysostom testifies went to the Tribunals to the Theatres to Death with many appearances of Fear Upon hearing the wild Beasts roar they were struck with horror at the sight of
the Executioners and the Instruments of Torment they were pale and trembling The Flesh seem'd to cry out O let this Cup pass from me yet weak and faint it followed the Spirit that corrected the natural desire with not my Will but thine be done As the Moon in Eclipse though obscure yet goes on in a regular course as when 't is full of Light by the reflection of the Sun So those desolate Martyrs though as it were forsaken and deprived of the bright Beams of Comfort yet persever'd in their Profession of the Truth When one Word to renounce Christianity would have saved them no Torments could force it from them but they patiently endured all Now in these the Combat of Nature was visible and the admirable Power of Grace They first overcame their own Fears the reluctancy of the carnal part their Affection to whatever is desirable in the World which is the noblest Victory and then the Cruelty of their Persecutors In them was verified the Testimony of the Spirit Here is the patience of the Saints Here are they that keep the Command of God and the Faith of Jesus But how many appear faithful while their Faith is not to be shewed by difficult Works and proved by Sufferings The Seed that fell on the stony Ground sprang up as hopeful as the Seed in the good Ground at first but when Tribulation came it wither'd away wanting the Root of Sincerity And that which was sown among Thorns was choak'd by the Cares and Pleasures of the World Some Lust in the Heart interweaves with the Affections and causes Apostacy How many from glorious Beginnings have made a lamentable End not only Mercenaries in Religion whose Zeal is a foreign Complexion not springing from an inward Principle of Life and Health relinquish even the profession of Godliness when their Gain ceases but some who have thought themselves sincere yet in times of danger their Resolutions like the morning Dew have suddenly vanish'd As the foolish Builder that computed not the Charges of his designed Work began to raise a magnificent Structure but unable to finish it laid the Foundation in his own Shame They repented their Choice of Heaven when they saw what it must cost them and would save the World with the loss of their Souls Others that began in the Spirit and with raised Affections set out in the ways of Godliness yet by the allurements of sensual Lusts and Temptations and therefore with greater Guilt leave their first Love and end in the Flesh. They fall from high Professions but received by soft Pleasures feel not the Fall These were never sincere and never had a Right to Heaven They took up sudden Resolutions not grounded in serious and deep Thoughts and for a Flash were hot and active but with great levity return to their former Lusts. The Apostle tells us of such it had been better for them they had not known the Way of Righteousness than to turn back and voluntarily to forsake it 'T is observed that boiling Water taken off from the Fire congeals more strongly than that which was never heated because the subtile Parts being evaporated by the Fire the more terrestrial Parts remaining are more capable of Cold. So those who have felt the Power of the Word in their Affections and afterwards lose that holy heat become more harden'd in their Sins God justly withdraws his Grace and the evil Spirit that was expell'd for a time returns with seven worse and aggravates his Tyranny To conclude Since the certainty of Salvation is conditional if we persevere in a holy State let us beware of a corrupt Confidence and a vicious Dejection of Spirit the trusting in our selves or distrusting God To prevent the trusting in our selves consider 1. The most excellent Creatures are by the instability of Nature liable to defection subject to a corruptive change Of this the fallen Angels are a dreadful Example who of their own motion untempted sinned in Heaven 2. The Danger is greater of falling away when they are urged and solicited by a violent or grateful Temptation Thus our first Parents fell and lost more Grace in an Hour than can be recovered by their Posterity in all Ages to the end of the World 3. When there is supervenient Corruption in the Creature that inclines them with earnest propensity to forbidden Things and takes Flame from every Spark the Danger is extream Like a besieged City that is in great hazard of taking by Assaults from without and Conspiracies from within Let us therefore be very watchful over our Hearts and Senses and keep as much as is possible at a safe distance from Temptations And be very diligent in the use of all holy Means to confirm and fortify our Resolutions for Heaven God promised to Hezekiah 15 Years but not to preserve his Life by Miracle he was obliged to repair the wastings of Nature by daily Food and to abstain from what was noxious and destructive to his Body The Apostle excites Christians to work out their own Salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that works in them to will and to do of his good Pleasure Let him that stands take heed lest he fall None are a more easy Conquest to the Tempter than those who presume upon their own Strength We should be always jealous of our selves from the sad Examples of Apostacy in every Age. St. Ambrose testifies from his own knowledg that many after the couragious enduring of cruel Torments for Religion the tearing open their Sides that their Bowels appeared and the burning of some parts of their Bodies yet when led forth to finish the Victory of Faith to be a triumphant Spectacle to Angels and Men when the blessed Rewarder was ready to put the Martyrs Crown on their Heads at the sight of their mourning Wives and Children in the way were overcome by Pity the weakest Affection and fail'd in the last act of Christian Fortitude We must pray to be strengthned with all Might according to his glorious Power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness For some may vigorously resist one sort of Temptation and render themselves to others And if finally vanquish'd by one of those Enemies we lose our Victory and Crown And as Presumption betrays the Soul into the Devil's Snares so a vicious dejection of Spirit from a distrust of Relief from God in our Difficulties and his assistance with our unfeigned endeavours for Salvation is very pernicious For this damps Industry and causes either a total neglect or uncomfortable use of Means for that End Many Christians considering their Graces are weak their Nature fickle and apt to revolt are ready as David said One day I shall perish by the Hand of Saul to conclude sadly of the Issue of their Condition To encourage such let them consider that Perseverance is not only a Condition but a Privilege of the Covenant of Grace For that assures us of supply of spiritual Strength to the
Trumpet of the Arch-Angel were sounding and the noise of the dissolving World were universally heard Infidelity deads the Impression and suppresses the reigning Power of Eternal Things in our Hearts In short Men are heavenly or earthly in their Choice and Conversation as they are directed by the sincere Light of Faith or misled by the false Beams of Sense Secondly The second Thing requisite in order to a wise Choice is Consideration For as by Faith the Vertue of the Reward is diffused through all the Faculties and the Powers of the World to come are felt in the Soul so by consideration Faith is exercised and becomes effectual This unites and reinforces the Beams of Eternal Truth and inflames the Affections As the Psalmist expresses himself My Heart was hot within me while I was musing the Fire burned Heaven is a Felicity so glorious and attractive that if duly considered no Man can possibly refuse it and Hell is a Misery so extream and fearful that if seriously laid to Heart none can possibly chuse it The last End is to be conceived under the Notion of an infinite Good without the least mixture of Evil to which the humane Will swayed by the invincible Impression of Nature has a tendency The Liberty of Indifference is with respect to some particular good Things which may be variously represented so as to cause Inclination or Aversion Those Men who believe Eternal Life is the Reward of Holiness yet with a careless Inadvertency pass over their Duty and that Eternal Death is the Wages of Sin yet securely continue in it is more wonderful than to see Martyrs sing in the Flames and the great Cause of it is the neglect of Consideration This is assigned to be the Cause of that unnatural and astonishing Rebellion of Israel against God their Father and Sovereign Hear O Heavens and give Ear O Earth for the Lord hath spoken I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me The Ox knows his Owner and the Ass his Master's Crib but Israel doth not know my People doth not consider This Duty as it is of admirable Advantage so 't is universally necessary for all are equally concern'd and it is within the Power of all to perform Though Men cannot convert themselves yet they may consider what is preparatory to Conversion For the Will may turn the Thoughts of the Mind to any sort of Objects I will briefly shew the Nature of this Duty and how to manage it for spiritual Profit and those Objects from whence our Thoughts derive vigour for the swaying of the Will and the Conduct of the Life 1. The Nature of Consideration is discovered by its End which is this That the Mind being satisfied in the just Reasons upon which the Choice of Heaven is to be made the Will and Affections may be engaged in an earnest joyful and constant pursuit of it And in this respect it differs from simple Knowledg and naked Speculation that informs the Mind without Influence and Efficacy upon the Heart Like a Garland of Flowers that adorns the Head without any benefit and refreshing to him that wears it And practical Meditation differs from the study of Divine Things in order to the instructing of others That is like a Merchant's buying of Wine for Sale this like providing it for our own use 2. That the Consideration of Eternal Things may be effectual it must be 1. Serious and deliberate For the Affair is great in reality above all possible Conception or Comparison All other things how considerable soever in themselves yet respectively and in parallel with this are of no account Our Saviour told Martha One thing is necessary Mary hath chosen the better part that shall not be taken from her What Instance can be of equal moment with that of entertaining the Son of God Yet a serious attention to the Words of Eternal Life dropping from his Lips was more necessary than making provision for him The greatest and most weighty Affairs in the World are but a vain Employment but Irregularity and Impertinence in compare with Eternal Salvation And the greatest solemnity of Thoughts is requisite to undeceive the Mind and ingage the Will for Heaven 'T is very observable that Errors in Judgment and Choice spring from the same Causes the not sincere and due weighing of Things In the decisions of Questions Truth is discovered by comparing with an equal staid Attention the Reasons of the one and the other part But when some vicious Affection contradicts the Truth it fills the Mind with Prejudices that it cannot impartially search into Things and is deceived with specious Fallacies with the Image of Truth For according to the present application of the Mind 't is determined and Passion strongly applies it to consider that which is for the Carnal Interest and consequently Inclination not Reason is the Principle of the Perswasion And this is more evident in Mens foolish Choice As the Eye cannot see but what is visible nor the Understanding conceive what is not Intelligible the Will cannot love and chuse what is not amiable at least in shew If the Devil did appear without a Disguise he would have no Power to perswade but in all his Temptations there is the mixture of a Lie to make it pleasant He presents a false Perspective to make what is but superficial appear solid and substantial And the carnal Heart turns the Thoughts to what is grateful without seriously considering what is infinitely better and accordingly chuses by the Eye of Sense the happiness of this World Therefore till Eternal Things are open'd in the view of Conscience and the Mind calmly considers by the Light of Faith their Reality and Greatness no right valuation nor wise choice can be made Besides the most clear and rational enforcements by the actings of the Thoughts are necessary to make a strong impression on the Affections and rescue them from the captivity of the Flesh. In other things as soon as the Mind is inlightned the Will resolves and the inferior Faculties obey but such is the resistance of the carnal Heart that altho 't is evident from infallible Principles there is an everlasting Glory infinitely to be preferr'd above the little appearances of Beauty and Pleasure here yet the most piercing Reasons enter heavily without earnest inculcation Slight or sudden Thoughts may produce vanishing Affections of complacence or distaste and fickle Resolutions that like sick Feathers drop away and leave the Soul naked to the next Temptation but solemn and fixed Thoughts are powerful on the Heart in making a thorow and lasting Change When the Clouds dissolve in a gentle Shower the Earth drinks in all and is made Fruitful but a few sprinkling Drops or a short storm of Rain that wets only the Surface without sinking to the Root is little beneficial In short there may be some excitations to Good and retractions from Evil some imperfect faint essays towards Heaven from an impulse