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A38163 Great salvation by Jesus Christ tenderd to the greatest of sinners and in particular to such as have been refusers of it, if God shall now at last make them willing to receive it / by Richard Eedes ... Eedes, Richard, d. 1686. 1659 (1659) Wing E243; ESTC R17583 114,819 292

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the ancient Aegyptians that in their great feasts they caused a Deaths head to be carryed about the Table to put them in mind of their mortality a frolick that the Epicures and Belly-gods of our times that sit-down to eat and drink and rise up to play are not acquainted with it s reported of one of the Fathers and I think it is Hierome That he seemed alwaies to hear that saying sounding in his ear Surgite mortui venite ad judicium arise you dead and come to judgement The meditations of death and judgement are excellent corosives to eat out the heart of sin and no less Soveraign preservatives to keep us upright If we adde two more unto them which this Scripture prompts us to take in it will be more than a double fence it wil be a double bar to keep out sin and a double cord to draw to God and duty The second that my Text adds are Hell and Heaven Salvation and Damnation and these four put together are quatuor novissima the four last things and will furnish us with excellent matter for profitable meditation Some advise to meditate of Death some to think of Judgement some advise that we should remember Hell others that above all we should not forget Heaven but if they are of such force single to kill sin and quicken grace to help the Spirit and mortifie the flesh vis unita fortior when they joyn forces they will do their work more effectually I shall therefore lay and leave them before you as the fittest subjects of daily serious Meditation 1. Death shal be the first in order because it is first in time the great Statute of the Churches Magna Charta the Scriptures is recorded thus Heb. 9.27 It is appointed unto all men once to dye The Scriptures tell us examples tell us all former generations tell us experience tells us our own infirmities tell us that there is not that man living that shall not see death O what should dying men have to do with sin surely not to hugg it in their bosomes and lodge it next their hearts and let it reign in their mortal bodies and serve it in the lusts of it but to kill and crucifie and mortifie it to kill it before they dye to kill it which otherwise will kill them sin is the sting of death and it makes death to be the King of fears to a man in his sins O death how bitter is thy remembrance to such a one We dare not dye in our sins Balaam that lived the life of the wicked did choose to dye the death of the righteous sin unrepented of is the worst pillow that a mans head can lye upon on a dying bed and sinners if they can by the help of a seared or flattering conscience make a shift to dye quietly that no bonds appear in their death no desperate horrour open them an entrance into Hell yet the wicked shall not be able to stand in the Judgement nor the sinners in the congregation of the righteous they may elude humane justice or out-face and out-brave it in mens courts greatness may carry them off with power or poverty with pitty but righteous judgement shall be there dispensed by the searcher of hearts to high and low according to their works And this is certain that no unclean thing can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven ther 's no Purgatory to scour such as dye polluted but as death leaves them so shall Judgement find them Ther 's no knowledge nor wisdom nor invention in the grave saith Solomon O that they were wise to consider this that they would remember their latter end saith Moses on the behalf of Israel noting what David saith the onely way to apply a mans heart to wisdom is to pray to God to teach him to number his daies Psal 90.12 And in another place the Prophet notes that Jerusalems filthiness was in her skirts because she remembred not her latter end Lament 1.9 The onely way to have all in a readiness at death to have calling and election made sure and to have nothing to do but to dye when death comes is to write it in our memories and to be often drawing it out by meditation and conference some will wear a ring with a deaths-head upon their fingers some will keep a dead mans scull in t●eir studyes or closets some will have death pictured on their walls or windows some will have their Coffins in their chambers some will write Memento mori upon their books as their Motto remember death all to help our dulness and slowness of heart in believing that our end is near and our dissolution at hand but those that have gotten it deeply rooted in their hearts and are carefull to keep the memory of death alive and quick in their meditations are the onely champions that are like to give death a valiant encounter and to come off with victory and triumph Oh death where is thy sting Oh grave where is thy victory These are likelyest to give Paul's farewell to the world I have fought I have finished I have kept c. henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of righteousness 2 Tim. 4.7 8. and Rom. 8.38 I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor any other creature shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus The frequent Meditation of death is an excellent means to make us dye daily 2. Judgement is the second because it is deaths second after death cometh the judgement and it is sure that we must all come to judgement as that we must once dye We must all appear before the judgement Seat of Christ to receive according to things done in the flesh whether they be good or evil The word of God is abundant in setting this before us with all appurtenances that do accommodate it as 1. The Judge and his throne and attendants and his work 2 Thes 1.7 8. The Judge the the Lord Jesus 2. His throne Heaven shall be revealed from heaven 3. His attendants with his mighty Angels 4. His work of justice to render vengeance in flaming fire to them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and his gracious work to be made glorious in them that believe 2. The books by which we must b● judged of Scripture and Conscience Revel 20.12 And I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened i. e. of Scripture and Conscience and another book was opened i. e. the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works 3. The causes that must be heard and tryed good and bad just and unjust Ecles 12.14 God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or evil 4. The whole process and final sentence Gods dealing with the good and evil to convict the one of sin unto Damnation
speechless they will not have one word to say for themselves why the sentence of damnation should not take hold upon them who have been such willfull refusers of that great Salvation that was offered to them upon such easy tearmes O worke out your Salvation while it is called to day the night is approaching in which none can worke Whatsoever is commanded you do it with your might for there is no knowledge nor wisedome nor invention in the grave whither you are going Perhaps your paines that you must take for it must be great and your sufferings that you must pass through may be great to but remember that it hath been declared and proved to be great Salvation which is to be your recompence and such as will more than recompence you for all that you can do or suffer for it As to the recompence of our doing the Apostle speakes modestly in speaking but negatively 1 Cor. 15. ult Be ye allwayes abundant in the worke of the Lord knowing that your labour shall not be in vaine in the Lord But when he speakes of the recompence of our sufferings a double superlative is little enough 2. Cor. 4.17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worketh for us a farr more exceeding and eternall weight of glory observe but the elegancy of the Apostles Antithesis in speaking diminutively of the sufferings and loftily of the glory which he opposes to them The one he calls 1. Afflictions 2. Light afflictions 3. Light affictions for a moment The other he calls 1. Glory 2. A weight of glory 3. A weight of glory for aeternity Compare 1. Glory with afflictions 2. A weight of glory with light afflictions 3. A weight of glory for aeternity with light afflictions for a moment The one will be ponderous beyond our imagination the other will seem lighter then vanity it selfe well might the Apostle say count that the afflictions of this present world are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us Rom. 8.18 Upon which an expositor of note excellently enlarges and saith non sunt condigni labores nec condignae passiones ad peccatumpraeteritum quod remittitur ad praesentis vitae gratiam quae immittitur ad futurae vitae gloriam quae promittitur All that we can do or suffer is nothing compared to the sin past which is remitted to the present grace which is bestowed nor to the future glory which is promised This was a meane thing that the Author of this Epistle amied at to incourage the Hebrews to suffer the spoiling of their goods joyfully and to take in good part all that might befall them and not to be offended at the Cross because this great Salvation would make them not only savers but imcomparable gainers I shall shut up this point with the same consideration O let us worke and watch and strive and walke circumspecctly let us pray and pray and give all dilligence and offer violence and be abundant in doing and suffering for let us assure our selves whatever men think of this Salvation now in that great day when the Lord Christ shall be made terrible to the refusers of it and glorious in them that beleive the most unbeleiving will be more than throughly convinc'd that the Salvation offered in the Gospel is GREAT SALVATION THE SECOND DOCTRINE Setting light by this great Salvation is great Sin THough we shall easily confesse all sins to be great yea the least to be objectively infinite because committed against an infinite God as we see David swallowed up of this deep Psal 51.4 against Thee Thee have I sinned c. And we shall as easily confesse that no sins are venial in the sense of Rome the Apostle Paul having declared that the wages of all sin is death Rom. 6.23 yet we cannot with the stoicks think all sins to be equal but more or less sinfull as they are circumstantiated that very expression of the sinfulness of sin had otherwise been a paradox which we find used in Scripture and in many of the writings of the learned and orthodox both modern and ancient and the Prophet had been guilty of an impropriety of speech in mentioning scarlet and crimson sins if some had not been of a deeper guilt than others and their sinfulness like those colours dyed in grain Now that this sin of gospel-refusing or setting light by this great Salvation is a sin with an high hand and a hard heart and a sin of that aggravated nature as to be out of measure sinfull is the point that is first to be illustrated and then to be proved by evidence and strength of reasons First for illustration thus The Scripture thunders out a most dreadfull curse against such as do the work of the Lord negligently Jer. 48.10 if the negligent hearers and doers do lie open to the curse of God what will become of those that are so grossly negligent that they neglect both the theory and practick the knowing and doing part and all that care so little for the gospel that they desire not to be acquainted with it that do as it were say to the Lord depart from us we care not to know thy waies nor to walk in thy paths The forementioned Scripture levels that curse against such as are negligent in the execution of Gods destroying work as the words immediately following do manifest Cursed is he that doth the work of the Lord negligently or deceitfully and cursed is he that keepeth back his sword from blood when God shall say to his sword go through a Land destroy all and save none and his executioners must close with it under pain of the Lords curse and fiercest indignation What shall become of such as will not close with his saving work when he shall say to his word go thorough a Land and open blind eyes and deaf ears and dead hearts that men may see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and be healed and when such as should proclaim these glad tidings shall be dumb and not declare it the hearers shall be deaf will not entertain it there must be blind leading the blind till all fall into the pit and the forna● must be heat seven times hotter for the refusers of the Gospel than for the transgressors of the Law the fire of gods jealousie burning hottest about the Sanctuary and that judgement being most merciless which beginneth at the house of God read that confluence of threatnings Deut. 29.20 where God threatneth that all the curses that are written in his book shall fall upon such as bless themselves in a cursed estate and adde to that Deut. 28.61 where God threatens all the curses that are not written to the children of disobedience and yet that flaming place being a Gospel-threatning 2. Thes 1.7 8 9. is hotter and heavier than all The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven in
may yet be had be not accessory to your own everlasting undoing do not tire a long suffering God out of patience and provoke him that sweares he takes no delight in the death of a sinner to sweare in his wrath that you shall never enter into his rest Do not make him your judge who is willing to be your advocate nor turne the Lamb of God into a Lion Rampant O grieve not the Spirit which would be your comforter and remember who said when he was waiting upon a rebellious people My spirit shall not alway strive with flesh O send not back Christs Embassadours to their master to tell him with teares that you will not believe their report and put them not upon that diabolicall imployment to be your accusers to God and swift witnesses against you at the barr of Christ make not the word to be the savour of death which was ordained to be the savour of life to the heires of Salvation Let not the Sermons that you have heard and the bookes that you have or might have read and this that you are now reading rise up in judgement against you what should I say more the Lord knows how willing I am to say all that I can possibly invent that may win upon you and all that he shall put into my mouth if he will open your eares and hearts to counsel who opens and none can shutt this may be enough to prevaile with you that hath been allready spoken but if he will shutt or will not open though I could speak with the tongues of men and Angells I should be but as a Sounding brass or a tinkling Cymball O consider this and the Lord give you understanding in all things 2 Let such consider lastly that there is mercy enough revealed in the Gospel even to pardon all such Gospel-refusing as it not finall The Gospel excludes but one sin from pardon and that is because such a sinner cannot be renewed by repentance If the sinner against the holy Ghost could be penitent the sin against the holy Ghost might be pardoned for it is not therefore impardonable because its greater than the mercy of the Father or merit of the Son but because the sinner hath done despight to the holy Ghost and rendred himselfe incapable of the help of the spirit of grace I have allready taught you that Gospel mercy is a present and precious remedy against Law-transgressions but this is a step farther to consider that it s also a soveraigne remedy against Gospel-refusing which is not finall and they may be Gospel-receivers who have been of long season Gospel refusers The bloud of Christ was so savingly soveraigne that it healed those that wounded him and gave life to some of those murderers that put him to death as is evident from that plain Scripture Acts. 2.36 37 38. Peter told them God had made that Jesus whom they crucified both Lord and Christ There we see they were such as had a hand in crucifying Christ The next verse shews that they were penitent and pricked at the heart for that sin and begging directions of the Apostles what they might do to be saved they were directed to repent and incouraged with the hopes of the promise and v. 41. They gladly received the word and there were added to the Church three thousand Soules who continued stedfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breathing of bread and prayer And as the merit of Christ extended to his very persecutors so the mercy of the Gospel extends to the refusers of the Gospel That Son that said he would not go into the vinyeard and went was better accepted with the Father than he that said I go Sr. and went not So those that have long stood at a distance from God upon their unfained repentance will be better accepted than such as are forward in profession and shew but have nothing of the power and beauty and reality of Godliness and Christianity in them O what greater incouragement can Rebells have to lay down armes and submitt to mercy than a probability nay a conditionall certainty of their Princes pardon We have heard that the Kings of Israel are mercifull said the servants of Benhadad and therefore got ropes about their necks in token of submission and humbled themselves and found mercy according to their expectation you have heard againe and againe that the God of Israel the King of Kings is mercifull but how mercifull none can tell you he is able to do more exceeding abundantly than we are able to ask or think let us lie in the dust and shame our selves before him and turne from our evill wayes and turne unto the Lord and as sure as he is a God of truth we shall find him to be a God of mercy but if notwithstanding all these allurements we shall persist in our sin of setting light by the Gospel our blood will be upon our own heads and we shall be left to perish without remedy I shall shut up all with that obtestation of the Apostle to the Romans Chap. 12.1 2. Which is my intreaty to you I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your selves a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service c. THE THIRD DOCTRINE The neglect of Great Salvation brings Great Damnation DAmnation is so dreadfull a doome that the very report of it is like a thunderclap to cause a heart-quake in the hearers and speakers of it If Ministers must preach upon paine of Damnation and people must hear and attend upon pain of Damnation the believing entertainment of this truth one would think should be powerfull to work miracles even to make the dumbe to speake and the deafe to hear it s better to hear the roring of the Lion than to come into his paw and its better to hear of the dreadfullness of Damnation than to come under the sentence It s joyous to hear of Heaven but it s the fullress of joy to be invited to it wath a come ye bl●ssed children of my Father receive the Kingar●● prepared for you So its dreadfull to hear of Hell but it s the most terrible of terribles to be sentenred to it with go yee cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Divel and his Angels You have heard of the amiableness of Salvation to invite you hearken unto the dreadfullness of Damnation to affright you that either you may be drawn or driven to mind the things that belong unto your peace the rule that we proposed was ingentia beneficia ingentia flagitia great mercies abused do aggravate sin and make it sinfull with a witness And now the remainder of it is ingentia flagitia ingentia supplicia those haynous sinns do pull down punishnent with a vengance that sin with a hard heart doth call and cry for judgement with a high hand Now though this be not expressed totidem verbis in express words in the Text
will let fly against the oversights of such overseers O you caterers for the Devil your houses should have been nurseries for the Church and they have been sties and kennels to breed up hel-hounds in you should have brought up your children in the fear and nurture and admonition of the Lord and done your indevour to make your servants Gods servants you should have read the word of God to them and talked of it with them at your down-lying and uprising you should have sought God early and late with them and for them and according to the Commandment should have preserved the Sabbath in your Families as well as observed it in your selves But there was nothing but Prayerlesness all the week and profaneness all the Sabbath when you hired us you gave us your carelesness for our earnest and now have brought upon your selves and us Damnation for our wages The neglected wife will say to the neglecting husband as Zipora once to Moses Thou hast been a bloody husband to me and the graceless child to the graceless father thou hast been a bloody Butcher to me and the unprofitable servant to the ungodly Master thou hast been a cruel Master to me God will say to careless Brethren The voice of your Brothers blood cries for vengeance and those that live here as neighbours and friends in their dull carnal way of neighbour-hood friendship will cry sin and shame upon one another as the greatest foes and most cruel enemies O the heart-burnings that hell-fire shall kindle the everlasting grudges that shall find Fomentations there 's the malice that burns and boyls in that fiery lake in the breasts of the damned 'T was not for nothing that Dives desired his brethren should be kept out of that place of torment one reason amongst the rest may be conceived to be this that their sins being augmented by his and they hardned in them by his society and example his torments at their coming to hell should receive an augmentation 2. As there is no joy in hell there is Greif with a witness yea with a thousand thousand witnesses Men count it their Solomon upon earth to have fellow-sufferers but this will be no palliation to the pangs of hell but augmentations rather especially by the sins of others which have been made ours by accessoriness Here they would not greive with godly sorrow but there they shall greive though with sorrow as far from godly sorrow as the heaven is from hell How many with worldly sorrow have grieved themselves to death taking up Rachells Lamentation perhaps for children or some other relation in the flesh mourning refusing to be comforted But this hellish sorrow doth far exceed it every pang of it is a heart-breaking sorrow we usually say were it not for hope the heart would break and all the mourning in hell is mourning without hope Ezekiel makes mention of a book written within and without with Lamentations and mournings and We and the Damned have no other book to read in If they look to their book without the book of Scriptures by that they stand condemned and according to that sentence is past upon them If they look to the book of conscience the book within that contains nothing but matter of mourning and everlasting Lamentation nothing but what will cause Weeping and howling and gnashing of teeth 3. As there is no hope in hell so there is fear horour in such superabundant measure that like a thousand Milstones or Mountains of lead they would sink the Soul to the bottom of that Sea of wrath were it not bottomless They shall be raging mad with fear and desperate horrour at the fearful sights that their eyes shall see and the fearful things that their ears shall hear They had no fear of God before their eyes while they lived in the flesh they could fear the face and frowns of man who was but Dust and Ashes but the dreadful everliving God that ought to be feared he was not feared we could never bring them to the beginning of wisdom the fear of the Lord with all that we could say or do though we have studyed to speak words that might cut like swords and have preacht them Sermons as keen as Razors Though we have improved all our wit and skill in handling that Sacrificing knife that pierces to the dividing asunder of the Soul and Spirit and Joynts and Marrow though we have in our severe denunciations of certain judgements spoken thunder claps and fire-brands and thrown he●l fire amongst them in many and many a Sermon yet they were so cross-grain'd and knotty that they were fearless in the midst of real fears though they could fear where no fear was but now the case is altered before they would not fear alwaies to purchase blessedness Pro. 28.14 and now they shall fear alwaies with Gods curse to boot now they shall fear vvith a vengeance and God shall set a marke upon them even Cain's marke a perpetual quaking not a horn in 's forehead as the Master of Fancy the Jewish Rabbies have some of them thought but a hornet in his conscience The curse that God threatned to the Rebellious children of disobedience Deut. 28.65 shal be inflicted upon them God shall give them a trembling heart They vvould not sanctifie the Lord in their hearts nor make him their fear and dread vvhen he vvould have undertaken to be for a Sanctuary against all other fear Isay 8.13 14. and therefore novv a confluence of all other fears shall flovv in upon them like the billovvs of the raging Sea which cannot rest one in the neck of another Here the very name of the Devil is like a Bug-bear to children if they have but thoughts of seeing him in their solitary vvalks especially vvhen they are in the dark they are ready to creep into corners to hide themselves If they do but dream of him how do their thoughts trouble them till they awake and if they see him indeed though he do not appear in the most formidable shape they are ready to fall dead or mad Oh what will they do when they shall be cast into the same prison with all the Devils in hell and they must continue shut up with them for ever What fear and trembling shall then come upon them what Tribulation and anguish shall fill their Souls to the very brim What horrour and desperation shall over-whelm the damned when the King of fears the death natural hath delivered them up unto the Second death when fear anguish is still coming upon them and they shall never know when Wrath is come upon them to the uttermost it shall all be so to the uttermost and all without end despairing Cain's Language differs now in the several readings one runs thus My punishment is greater than I can bear Gen. 4.13 the other thus Mine iniquity is greater than that it can be forgiven then both these shall be true of all the damned their Sins are