way for the Womans company the act of Adultry and bloody Murder Take heed therefore Brethren lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of Sin. Heb. 3. 12 13. And remember that he that will rend the block puts the thin end of the wedge first thereto and so by driving does his work 5. Take heed of Evil Examples among the Godly learn of no man to do that which the word of God forbids Sometimes Satan makes use of a good mans bad ways to spoile and harden the heart of them that come after Peter's false doing had like to have spoiled Barnabas yea and several others more Wherefore take heed of men of good mens ways and measure both theirs and thine own by no other rule but the holy Word of God. Gal. 2. 11 12 13. 6. Take heed of Unbelief or Atheistical thoughts make no question of the truth and reality of Heavenly things For know Unbelief is the worst of Evils nor can the heart be Tender that nourisheth or gives place unto it Take heed therefore least there be in any of you an evil heart of Unbelief in departing from the Living God Heb. 3. 12. These Cautions are necessary to be observed with all diligence of all them that would when their Heart is made Tender keep it so And now to come to the Directions 1. Labour after a deep knowledge of God to keep it warm upon thy heart Knowledge of his Presence that is every where Do not I fill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord Jer. 23. 24. 2. Knowledge of his piercing Eye That it runneth too and srow thorough the Earth beholding in every place the Evil and the Good. That his Eyes behold and his Eye lids try the Children of Men. Prov. 15. 3. 3. The knowledge of his Power that he is able to turn and dissolve Heaven and Earth into dust and ashes and that they are in his hand but as a Scrole or Vesture Heb. 1 11 12. 4 The knowledge of his Justice that the rebukes of it are as devouring Fire Heb. 12 29. 5. The knowledge of his Faithfulness in fulfilling Promises to them to whom they are made and of his threatnings on the Impenitent Mat. 5. 18. Chap. 24. 35. Mark 13. 31. Secondly Labour to get and keep a deep sence of Sin in its Evil Nature and in its Soul-destroying Effects upon thy heart be perswaded that it is the only Enemy of God and that none hate or are hated of God but through that 1. Remember it turned Angels into Devils thrust them down from Heaven to Hell. 2. That it is the chain in which they are held and bound over to Judgment 2 Pet. 2 4. Jud. 6. 3. That 't was for that that Adam was turned out of Paradice That for which the Old World was Drowned That for which Sodom and Gomorrah was burned with Fire from Heaven And that which cost Christ his Blood to Redeem thee from the curse it has brought upon thee And that if any thing will keep thee out of Heaven for Ever and Ever 4. Consider the pains of Hell Christ makes use of that as an argument to keep the heart tender yea to that end repeats and repeats and repeats both the Nature and durableness of the burning Flame thereof and of the gnawing of the never-dying-worm that dwells there Mar. 9. 43 44 45 46 47 48. Thirdly Consider of Death both as to the certainty of thy dying and uncertainty of the time when We must dye we must needs dye our days are determined the number of our months are with God tho not with us nor can we pass them would we had we them give a thousand worlds to do it 2 Sam. 14. 14. Job 7. 1. Chap. 1â— 1 2 3 4 5. Consider thou must dye but once I mean but once as to this world for if thou when thou goest hence do'st not dye well thou canst not come back again and dye better ' I is appointed unto all men once to dye and after this the Judgment Heb. 9. 27. Fourthly Consider also of the certainty and terribleness of the day of Judgment when Christ shall sit upon his Great White Throne when the dead shall by the sound of the Trump of God be raised up when the Elements with Heaven and Earth shall be on a burning Flame when Christ shall separate men one from another as a Shepherd divideth his Sheep from the Goats when the the Books shall be opened the Witness produced and every man be Judged according to his works when Heaven Gate shall stand open to them that shall be Saved and the Jaws of Hell stand gaping for them that shall be Damned Acts 7 30 31. Chap. 10. 42. Matt. 25. 30 31. Revel 2. 11. 1 Cor. 15. 51 52. Revel 20. 12. 2 Pet. 3. 7 10 12. Mat. 25. 32. Rom. 2. 15 16. Revel 22. 12. Matt. 25. 34 41. Revel 20. 15. Fifthly Consider Christ Jesus did use no means to harden his heart against doing and suffering those sorrows which were necessary for the Redemption of thy Soul No though he could have hardened his heart against thee in the way of Justice and Righteousness because thou hadst Sinned against him he rather awakened himself and put on all Pity Bowels and Compassion yea Tender Mercies and did it In his Love and in his Pity he saved us His Tender Mercies from on high hath visited us He loved us and gave himself for us Learn then of Christ to be Tender of thy self and to endeavour to keep thy Heart Tender to Godward and to the Salvation of thy Soul. But to draw to a Conclusion The USE LEt us now then make some use of this Doctrine As First From the truth of the matter namely That the man who is truly come to God has had his Heart Broken his Heart Broken in order to his coming to him and this shews us what to judge of the league that is between Sin and the Soul to wit that it is so firm so strong so inviolable as that nothing can break disannul or make it void unless the heart be broken for it 'T was so with David yea his new league with it could not be broken until his heart was Broken. 'T is amazing to Consider what hold Sin has on some mens Souls Spirits Will and Affections 'T is to them better then Heaven better then God then the Soul ay then Salvation as is evident because tho all these are offered them upon this condition if they will but leave their Sins yet they will choose rather to abide in them to stand and fall by them How sayst thou Sinner Is not this a Truth How many times hast thou had Heaven and Salvation offer'd to thee freely wouldst thou but break thy league with this great enemy of God Of God do I say If thou wouldst but break this league with this great Enemy of thy Soul but couldest never yet be brought unto it No neither by Threatning nor by Promise couldst thou
to 2 Sam. 7. 18. But we must still know that this broken tender Heart is not a Plant that grows in our own Soil but is the peculiar gift of God himself He that made the Heart must break the heart We may be under heart-breaking Providences and yet the heart remain altogether unbroken as it was with Pharach whose heart though it was under the Hammers of ten terrible Judgments immediately succeeding one another yet continued hardened against God. The Heart of Man is harder than Hardness it self till God softneth and breaks it Men move not they relent not let God thunder never so terribly let God in the greatest earnest cast abroad his Firebrands Arrows and Death in the most dreadful representations of Wrath and Judgment yet still man trembles not nor is any more astonished than if in all this God were but in jest till he comes and falls to work vvith him and forces him to cry out What have I done What shall I do Therefore let us have recourse to him vvho as he gives the new heart so also therevvith the broken heart And let mens hearts be never so hard if God comes once to deal effectually vvith them they shall become mollified and tender as it vvas vvith those hardned Jews vvho by vvicked and cruel hands murdered the Lord of Life though they stouted it out a great vvhile yet hovv suddenly vvhen God brought them under the Hammer of his Word and Spirit in Peter's powerful Ministry vvere they broken and being pricked in their hearts cryed out Men and Brethren what shall we do Acts 2. 37. And the like instance vve have in the Jailor vvho vvas a most barbarous hard hearted vvretch yet vvhen God came to deal vvith him he Was soon tamed and his heart became exceeding soft and tender Act. 16. 29 30. Men may speak long enough and the heart not at all be moved but The voice of the Lord is powerful the voice of the Lord is full of Majesty and breaketh the Rocks and Cedars He turns the Rock into a standing Water the Flint into a Fountain of Waters And this is a Glorious work indeed that Hearts of Stone should be disolved and melted into waters of Godly Sorrow working Repentance not to be Repented of 2 Cor. 7. 10. When God speaks Effectually the stoutest Heart must melt and yield Wait upon God then for the Softning thy Heart and avoid whatsoever may be a means of Hardening it as the Apostle cautions the Hebrews Take heed least ye be Hardened through the deceitfulness of Sin. Heb. 3. 1â— Sin is Deceitful and will Harden all those that indulge it the more Tender any man is to his Lust the more will he be Hardened by it There is a native Hardness in every mans Heart and though it may be softned by Gospel means yet if those means be afterwards neglected the Heart will fall to its Native Hardness again as it is with the Wax and the Clay Therefore how much doth it behoove us to keep close to God in the use of all Gospel means whereby our Hearts being once softened may be alwayes kept so Which is best done by Repeating the use of those means which were at first blessed for the Softning of them The following Treatise may be of great use to the People of God through his Blessing accompanying it to keep their hearts Tender and Broken when so many after their hardness and impenitent heart are treasuring up Wrath against the day of Wrath. Rom. 2. 5. O let none who peruse this Book herd with that generation of Hardened Ones but be a companion of all those that mourn in Zion and whose hearts are Broken for their own the Churches and the Nations Provocations who indeed are the only likely ones that will stand in the gap to divert Judgments When Shishack King of Egypt with a great Host came up against Judah and having taken their Frontier fenced Cities they sat down before Jerusalem which put them all under a great Consternation but the King and Princes upon this humble themselves the Lord sends a Gracious Message to them by Shemajah the Prophet the import whereof was That because they humbled themselves the Lord would not destroy them nor pour out his Wrath upon them by the hand of Shishak 2 Chr. 12. 5 6 7. The greater the Party is of Mourning Christians the more hope we have that the Storm impending may be blown over and the Blessings enjoyed may yet be continued As long as there is a Sighing Party we may hope to be yet Preserved at least such will have the Mark set upon them selves which shall distinguish them from those whom the Slaughtermen shall receive Commission to destroy Ezek. 9. 4. But I shall not further enlarge the Porch as designing to make way for the Readers Entrance into the House where I doubt not but he will be pleased with the Furniture and Provision he finds in it And I shall only further assure him that this whole Book was not only prepared for but also put unto the Press by the Author himself whom the Lord was pleased to Remove to the great Loss and unexpressible Grief of many precious Souls before the sheets could be all wrought off And now as I hinted in the beginning that what was Transcribed out of the Author's heart into the Book may be Transcribed out of the Book into the hearts of all who shall Peruse it is the Desire and Prayer of Sept. 21. 1699. A Lover and Honourer of all Saints as such George Cokayn THE Acceptable Sacrifice OR THE EXCELLENCY OF A BROKEN HEART Psal. 51. 17. â—he Sacrifices of God are a Broken Spirit A Broken and a Contrite Heart O God thou wilt not despise THis Psalm is David's Penitential Psalm It may be be fitly so called because it is a Psalm â—y which is manifest the Unâ—eigned Sorrow which he had for his horrible Sin in 〈◊〉 of Bethsheba and slaying Uriah her Husband A Relation at large of which you have in the 11th and 12th of the Second of Samuel Many workings of Heart as this Psalm sheweth this poor man had so soon as Conviction did fall upon his Spirit one while he cries for Mercy then he confesses his heinous Offences then he bewails the depravity of his Nature sometimes he cries out to be Washed and Sanctified and then again he is affraid that God will cast him away from his Presence and take his Holy Spirit utterly from him And thus he goes on till he comes to the Text and there he stayeth his mind finding in himself that Heart and Spirit which God did not dislike The Sacrifices of God says he are a broken Spirit as if he should say I thank God I have that A Broken and a Contrite Heart saith he O God thou wilt not despise as if he should say I thank God I have that The Words consist of Two Parts 1. An Assertion 2. A Demonstration of that Assertion The Assertion is this The
ever yet be brought unto it 'T is said of Ahab He sold himself to work wickedness And in another place Yea for your Iniquities have ye sold your selves 1 King 21. 25. Isa. 50. 1. But what is this Iniquity Why a thing of nought nay worse then nought a thousand times but because nought is as we say nought therefore it goes under that term where God saith again to the People Ye have sold your selves for nought Isa. 52. 3. But I say What an amazing thing is this That a Rational Creature should make no better a Bargain That one that is so wise in all terene things should be such afool in the thing that is most weighty And yet such a fool he is and he tells every one that goes by the way that he is such an one because he will not break his league with Sin until his heart is broken for it Men love Darkness rather then Light Ay they make it manifest they love it since so great a profer will not prevail with them to leave it Secondly Is this a truth That the man that truly comes to God in order thereto has had his Heart broken Then this shews us a reason why some mens hearts are Broken even a reason why God breaks some mens hearts for Sin namely because he would not have them dye in it but rather come to God that they might be Saved Behold therefore in this how God resolved as to the saving of some mens Souls He will have them he will save them he will break their Hearts but he will Save them He will kill them that they may Live He will wound them that he may heal them And it seems by our discourse that now there is no way left but this fair means as we say will not do good words a Glorious Gospel Entreatings Bseeching with Blood and Tears will not do Men are resolved to put God to the utmost of it if he will have them he must fetch them follow them catch them Lame them yea break their Bones or else he shall not save them Some men think an invitation an outward call a rational discourse will do but they are much deceived There must a Power an exceeding great and mighty Power attend the Word or it worketh not effectually to the Salvation of the Soul. I know these things are enough to leave men without excuse but yet they are not enough to bring men home to God. Sin has hold of them they have sold themselves to it the Power of the Devil has hold of of them they are his Captives at his will yea and more then all this their will is one with Sin and with the Devil to be held Captive thereby And if God gives not Contrition Repentance or a Broken Heart for Sin there will not be no not so much as a mind in man to forsake this so horrible a Confederacy and Plot against his Soul. 2 Tim. 2. 24 25. Hence men are said to be drawn from these breasts that come or that are brought to him Isa. 26 9. Joh. 6. 44. Wherefore John might well say Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us Here is Cost bestowed Paines bestowed Labour bestowed Repentance bestowed yea and an Heart made sore wounded broken and fill'd with pain and sorrow in order to the Salvation of the Soul. Thirdly This then may teach us what estemation to set upon a Broken Heart A Broken Heart is such as God esteems yea as God counts better then all external Service A Broken Heart is that which is in order to Salvation in order to thy coming to Christ for Life The World know not what to make of it not what to say to one that has a Broken Heart and therefore do despise it and count that man that carries it in his bosom a moping fool a miserable wretch an undone Soul. But a Broken and a Contrite Spirit O God thou wilt not despise A Broken Heart takes thine Eye thy Heart thou choosest it for thy Companion yea hast given thy Son a charge to look well to such a man and hast promised him thy Salvation as has afore been proved Sinner Hast thou obtained a broken Heart has God bestowed a Contrite Spirit upon thee He has given thee what himself is pleased with He has given thee a Cabinet to hold his Grace in He has given thee an heart that can heartily desire his Salvation an heart after his own Heart that is such as suits his minde True it is Painful now Sorrowful now Penitent now grieved now now 't is Broken now it Bleeds now now it Sobs now it Sighs now it mourns and cryeth unto God. Well very well All this is because he has a mind to make thee laugh he has made thee Sorry on Earth that thou mightest Rejoyce in Heaven Blessed are ye that Mourn for ye shall be Comforted Blessed are ye that Weep now for ye shall Laugh Mat. 5. 4. Luke 6 21. But Soul be sure thou hast this Broken Heart all Hearts are not Broken Hearts nor is every heart that seems to have a wound an Heart that 's truly Broken A man may be cut to yet not into the Heart a man may have another yet not a broken Heart Acts 7. 54. 1 Sam. 10 9. We know there 's a difference betwixt a wound in the Flesh and a wound in the Spirit yea a mans Sin may be wounded and yet his Heart not Broken so was Pharoahs so was Sauls so was Ahabs but they had none of them the mercy of a Broken Heart Therefore I say Take heed every scratch with a Pin every prick with a Thorn nay every blow that God giveth with his Word upon the heart of Sinners doth not therefore break them God gave Ahab such a blow that he made him stoop fast humble himself gird himself with and lay in Sackcloth which was a great matter for a King and go softly and yet he never had a Broken Heart 1 King 21. 27 29. What shall I say Pharoah and Saul Confessed their Sin Judas Repented himself of his doings Esau sought the Blessing and that carefully with Tears yet none of these had an Heart rightly Broken or a Spirit truly Contrite Pharoah Saul and Judas were Pharoah Saul and Judas still Esau was Esau still there was no gracious change no thorough turn to God no unfeigned parting with their Sins no hearty flight for Refuge to lay hold on the hope of Glory tho they indeed had thus been touched Exod. 10. 16. 1 Sam. 26. 21. Mat. 27. 3. Heb. 12. 14 15 16 17. The consideration of these things call a loud to us to take heed that we take not that for a Broken and a Contrite Spirit that will not go for one at the day of Death and Judgment Wherefore seeking Soul let me advise thee that thou mayst not be decieved as to this thing of so great weight 1. To go back towards the beginning of this book and compare thy self