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A30270
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A call to sinners such as are under sentence of death and such as are under any prospect of it from the long-suffering and gracious, but most righteous God / by His servant, Daniel Burgess.
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Burgess, Daniel, 1645-1713.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing B5695; ESTC R23828
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12,715
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if thou canst is it any thing but Compulsion by fear of being damn'd without them that causeth thy choice Sinner I would have thee know 'T is from Christ working in thee by his Spirit that thou turnest from sin so as thou dost That thy Will to sin is dead even so much as a Tree in Winter That thou chusest Christ and his spirit tho' but for their Benefits and but on Compulsion Without divine Drawing thou hadst never come so far it self But wo be to thee that ever thou wast born if thou art not drawn and dost not come farther If thou dost not come into real and gracious Marriage-union unto the Lord Jesus Christ O go Labour Pray and Wait to be enabled to say the four particulars that follow as ever thou wouldst get able to say I am passed from death to Life P. 1. I now see the Necessity of Vnion to Christ and unto God by Christ God and Man were at first United closely tho' not inseparably Sin undid us by Disuniting us By destroying the Relation and Kin we had unto God and of Children making us Aliens and Strangers Religion is nothing at all less than Re-Union unto God. A return unto our first Kin and Relation unto Him. Such Kin as that of Father and Child such Relation as that of Friend and Friend Now hereunto no return can be made but by Union first made unto Jesus Christ Joh. 1.12 Such an Union to him as that which is betwixt Husband and Wife betwixt Head and Members bewixt Root and Branches betwixt Foundation and Stones built on it These similitudes the Holy Scripture useth and he that takes them for insignificant cyphers blasphemeth P. 2. I now see the Nature of this so necessary Vnion unto Jesus Christ 'T is the foresaid Relation and Kin by mutual Consent and Covenant made By threefold Consent God is willing that his Son Christ as Mediator should become so nearly related unto us Christ's will is always one and the same with his Fathers and He is declared most willing We sinful Fugitives and Aliens are never willing till infinite Grace by almighty Power makes us willing Nor ever are we took into the Relation we speak of till we are made so And are brought to an hearty Consent unto the Marriage-Covenant Which consent is indeed saving Faith. Consenting thereunto is believing and believing on is marrying unto Christ Jesus as appears Joh. 1.12 c. And this great work being done we are instantly a-Kin unto our blessed Lord. Related as near as a Wife is unto an Husband I and Related unto God as a Wife is unto her Husband's Father Christ MEDIATOR is our Husband and God is Our Father by the Law of grace My Father and your Father saith that gracious Husband Joh. 20.17 P. 3. I now see what that Covenant of Grace is whereto our consent given doth make the foresaid Vnion It consists I see in Promises and Demands Promises of good things unto us and Demands of duty from us The Promised Mercies I comprise in four 1. GRACE Both Grace Justifying and Absolving from the guilt of sin and Grace Sanctifying or Abolishing by degrees the Power of sin Heb. 8.10 12. 2. BREAD I mean all the necessary good things of this Life Enough of them to bear our charges to Heaven 1 Tim. 4.8 3. GLORY That is both Excellency and Eternity of all desirable good in the next World. 2 Tim. 4.8 1 Pet. 1.4 4. CHILDREN'S BLESSING An entail of good things for our sakes tho' not our merits upon our Children Rom. 11.28 Exod. 20.6 Acts 2.39 The Duty demanded is also considerable in four particulars 1 REPENTANCE An Heart-renting for sin and from it A First one necessary unto our acceptation into a Justifyed state an After-one continued necessary unto our sense of Justification and unto our daily Pardons Act. 2.38 Luk. 13.3 2 FAITH Assent unto the Gospel Revelations Consent unto the Precepts Reliance upon the promises Act. 16.31 Mar. 16.16 3. NEW OBEDIENCE Conformity of the whole man unto the whole Rule of the Gospel in Natural Civil and Religious actions 2 Thes 1.8 1 Pet. 4.17 4 PERSEVERANCE Or strict and precise adherence unto that conformity in all times places companies and conditions unto Lifes end Rev. 2.10 Our Holy Baptism and the Lord's supper do both Encourage our belief of God's fulfilling the promises of this Covenant and Engage us on our parts to fulfil the Demands of it in the strength of Christ And they would of all Ordinances be the most helpful if the Nature Ends and Vses of them were duly Taught by Ministers and Learn'd by People P. 4. I now feel my hearts free and full consent to this said Covenant of grace Unto the Acceptation of it's promised Benefits for my only Portion and Enjoyment and unto the Acceptation of its demanded Duties for my only Business and Employment in this world Blessed be free grace I do accept both And my Soul that was so far from God is made nigh The Objections of my mind and oppositions of my will are routed Grace in Christ has conquer'd my Enmity against God as Holy and my fear of Him as my Enemy His offered Son I have Accepted his Person with his Benefits I have taken Him for my Husband Teacher Saviour Ruler As the only Mediator to Reconcile God unto me and to Communicate grace to me from God. Now is Father Son and Spirit my enjoyed Portion and my served Lord again I have entred into an Oath and a Curse and bound my self at my everlasting peril Him only to serve Him only to enjoy With engaged heart with opened mouth with a fix'd hand and seal I have obliged my self to have no other God but Him no Mediator but his Son no Ruler but his Spirit no Rule but his Word The Word of his ever Blessed Covenant well ordered in all things and sure which is all my salvation and all my desire Oh Reader I have heard of a sinner who twice heard a Voice from Heaven as he thought it saying Make haste make haste and yet he a prodigious Adder died a Sinner Be it far from thee to be so obstinate Wilt thou tell me Obj. 1. That I mistake thee and that thou art no such great Sinner though it be thy lot to have been drawn away by ill Company and to have miscarryed of late Answ Alas alas if so blind and senseless what hope of thee However the Lord who is only able shall be intreated to make thee Understand 1. Every sinner is a great one for no sin is small the least of sins against God deserves Death eternal 2. By Nature thou art a Child of Wrath and Enemy of God. 3. All thy Life of Vnregeneracy has been very sinful a dead and damning Life 4. Thou art an English despiser of Christ and that is the worst sort in the World For according to the degrees of spiritual Light such are the degrees of obstinate Rebellion against it Obj.
it made And know thou tho' all we can say of Hell is but a flea-bite in comparison of what thou wilt feel it to be if thou come therein yet for all that There 's more Joy in Heaven than Torment in Hell. Go thou then and do all that is enjoyned for Conviction for Compunction for Vnion unto Jesus Christ and to God by Him. Pray and beg Prayers Hear and Read Directions and follow them Lose no time not a moment Convinced sufficiently thou art not till thou art able sincerely to say these twelve particulars P. 1. There is a Law and Covenant of perfect Obedience which I was under ever since I was a Child of Adam As soon as I was a Man I was bound personally perfectly and perpetually to Obey and Love the Father Son and Spirit I and as soon as my Soul and Body came together I was a Man in the Language of the Scripture P. 2. That Law of Perfect Obedience that Covenant of works is broke by my first Parent and that Breach is imputed unto me and the cursed Quality of it is inherent in me even from the womb It has also bin breaking continually by my vile Person in all my Thoughts Words and Deeds throughout all my days P. 3. For that double Breach I am under God's wrath the Laws Curse liable to all miseries to Death to Hell. I am bound over as the Devils to the Judgment of the great day And as with them so with me God is angry all the day long P. 4. Yet can I not in the least find fault with the Law or blame the Lord and Law-giver Tho' I am undone he has done me no wrong He doth but right and natural necessary right for naturally he hateth Sin as I hate Hell. Nay and the equity and the honour of his Government require that such Sinners as I am receive such sentence as I am under P. 5. My offended God is also my absolute Soveraign and not at all a Debtor unto me that I can commence no action against him nor charge him with any Injustice if he let me perish under his damnatory sentence and deny me Salvation P. 6. No nor can I excuse my self from being my own self-destroyer by laying the blame of my sin upon any Creature They but Tempt they Force not All my formerly used shifts Cavils and Contradictions I have done with for very shame My Mouth is stopped and I am Dumb before God. P. 7. Yet I hear and I believe a doctrine of Grace and Salvation even for such sinners as I am A Salvation purposed by God. A Salvation purchased by Jesus Christ A salvation attested and publish'd by the Holy Ghost A salvation for sinners of all ranks and degrees A salvation through a New Covenant and New Birth P. 8. This Salvation I perceive God never meant nor made any man's but in the way of Repentance Faith New obedience The way of Children's salvation is extraordinary I speak of grown Persons P. 9. My self I find utterly unable to Repent to Believe and to obey the Gospel I to will or desire aright any good Tho I must perish if I do not Yet without the Holy Spirit of Liberty Life and Power put into me I cannot Repent Believe and Obey P. 10. God who was not at first bound to Create me is now as little bound to New-Create me by putting his Holy Spirit into me and by working in me the Habits of Repentance Faith and Obedience and by Exciting the same habits unto Act and Exercise If he doth freely New-Create me he is Gracious if not he is Righteous P. 11. Nevertheless God in the Gospel Licenseth yea Invites and Commands in general all sinners to Repent Believe and Obey i. e. to use all the means of these by God appointed and of which we are capacitated And I conclude it my duty and interest to use the said means P. 12. Lastly I take for granted that 't is my Duty and interest to wait unto my very last gasp what the Lord will say unto me and do with me And this will I do if God enable Stop Sinner stop here and over again with these twelve Particulars very seriously And now let me tell thee vain is thy Conviction of all without that Compunction or being prick'd through the Heart which we place in three things Fear Grief Separation from Sin Go labour therefore to get able to say as follows P. 1. I fear the Spiritual and Eternal Judgments of God that heretofore I fear'd but little if at all Hitherto I fear'd but only Poverty Reproach Sickness c. now I fear a dark Mind an hard Heart and a Wrath to come P. 2. I grieve for all I have been and done against God and Christ and the Holy Spirit I grieve more for this than I do for ought beside more than ought beside is worthy to be grieved for P. 3. I separate and turn me from every sin to the best of my Skill and Power Tho I cannot say all Sin in my will is dead I dare say all my Will to sin is dead I and of all the good gifts of God I should now chuse his CHRIST and his H. SPIRIT This indeed is somewhat sinner Yet is one thing and the greatest lacking For ought that yet appears 't is lacking Dost thou turn from every sin to the best of thy skill and power Thou doest well to do thy all tho' it be next to nothing that as yet thou canst do Is all thy will to sin dead This is a good hearing tho' it be to be feared 't is a very improper death that it hath died Trees are said to be dead when Life is gone out of the root of them and they are said to be dead when Winter-weather hath but driven their life unto their root And hath hindred nothing but their Growing and Fruit-bearing nor them neither but until the Spring-season Now is thy will to sin any otherwise dead than the Trees in thy Garden be dead in Winter Or is this Death thinkest thou a true or a sufficient Thou now chusest of all God's gifts both CHRIST and his H. SPIRIT Welcome news this is But all is not Gold that glisters and it should be enquired whether it be a good choice thou makest of these so good gifts A choice of meer Compulsion thou dost not thy self believe a good one Such a choice rebelliously-disposed subjects may make of a King whom they loath and wish under ground such a choice ill Women may make of men for their Husbands while they hate their tempers and their Persons A choice of inward free Disposition is the only one that truly praiseth an Object chosen and that can commend the soul that makes the choice Speak man of which sort is thy choice What is thy considerate Judgment and thy Free Disposition how standest thou affected toward these divine Persons and their holy Nature Their saving Benefits I question not thy desire of And say