of God only but thou shalt see God within thee and feel his Power throughly working thee to the same Mind Will and Desire with himself That thou shalt see God hereafter and be like him and reflecting upon thy self shalt see that thou art like him and be pleased and satisfied joyful and delighted in thy Similitude and Resemblance of him This Meditation will move thee to labour to be fit for the perfect Vision and Fruition of God in the future State of heavenly Glory To remember to turn away thy Eyes from beholding Vanity as thou lookest to behold the Divine Glory To make it thy Business * Heb. 12.14 to follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord enjoy the glorious Sight and behold the blessed Face of God To labour to see God here that thou maiest be the fitter to see him hereafter To see him in his Works to search after behold and admire that infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness which are visible and legible in his wonderful Works of Creation and Providence But more especially to study to see and know God as he has reveal'd himself in his Word to see his Holiness in his Precepts his Justice in his Threatnings his Grace and Goodness in his Promises Once more To see and converse with God in his Ordinances to see him as he presents himself to thy view and exhibits himself to be seen in the Sanctuary to enjoy Communion and Fellowship with him in the publick solemn Ordinances of Prayer hearing receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper And to be alwaies purging thy Sight clearing thy Eyes and cleansing thy Soul endeavouring to become * Mat. 5.8 [e] Purity speaks two Things 1. Freedom from mixture with any Thing that is more vile so Metal is pure that is not embas'd with a worse Metal and Wine is pure that is not mixt with Water 2. Purity speaks cleerness and transparency So Spring-waters Fountains Diamonds are pure So Purity of Heart consists 1. in Abstraction and Septration from every Thing base and filthy and in gathering up the Soul into Communion with that which is pure and 2. in that Glory Lustre and Beauty which arises from such Purity pure in Heart not desiled by looking after fleshly or worldly Lusts nor polluted with other foul Mixtures to be free from Hypocrisy and Vncleanness from Filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit in this Sense to be pure in Heart that thou maiest see God have a spiritual Sight and inward Sense and [f] See Dr. Jackson 3. V. book 11. c. 21. Tast a savory assectionate Knowledg of him and be capable and receptive of Impressions from him as the crystal Spring easily admits the Sun-beams and imbibes its Raies and the clean Glass plainly receives the Species and Images of any Bodies To get a cleansed purified Soul that thou maiest be able to see and enjoy God here and so be fit for the Beatifical Vision hereafter To behold in the * 〈…〉 3.18 Glass of the Gospel the Glory of the Lord and to be changed into the same Image here as thou hopest hereafter to see God so as to be †Ps 17.15 satisfied with his Likeness 2. Think how happy thou shalt hereafter be in Heaven by beholding the glorified humane Nature of Christ That when he shall appear thou ‖ 1 Joh. 3 2. shalt see him as he is see the Person of Christ as he is in Opposition to what he was while he was here on Earth in the Form of a Servant That if thou beest a Servant of the Lamb thou shalt see his (*) Rev. 22.3 4. Face in the New Jerusalem That thou shalt be (†) Joh. 17.24 with him where he is and shalt immediatly behold his Glory which his Father hath given him Sit down and consider when thou shalt arrive at the Court of Heaven how transcendent and ravishing and pleasingly amazing the heavenly Glory of Christ will be to thee That if the (‖) 1 Kings 10 8. Queen of Sheba pronounced Solomon's Servants happy because they stood continually before him and heard his Wisdom and beheld but a temporal fading and earthly Glory how unspeakable then thy Happiness will be constantly to behold the Presence and heavenly Mediatorial Glory of Jesus Christ That if here it be so sweet and pleasant a Thing [*] Eccl. 11.7 for the Eyes to behold the Sun how pleasant and delightful then it will be to view and behold the Sun of Righteousness to look upon the glorified humane Nature of Christ which will appear more beautiful and shine more bright than the Sun in the Firmament If it were so refreshing and joyful a Sight to the Faithful in those Daies to see and enjoy Christ though in his State of Humiliation If the * Mat. 2.1 Wise Men came from far to see Christ though lying in a Manger And †Luke 19.4 Zaccheus climbed up into a Tree to see him in the Daies of his Flesh And one of the [g] Romam in flove Paulum in ore Christum in corpore three Things which St. Austin wish'd he might have seen was Christ in the Flesh Think how Christ in his Glory and Advancement will be a more taking satisfying Object than in his Humility and Debasement How strangely it will affect and delight thee to see him so highly exalted and vastly enrich'd who humbled and emptied himself for thy sake and became very mean and poor that thou through his Poverty mightst be made rich To see that Body that here was laid in a Manger nail'd to a Cross and buried in a Sepulchre now made a most glorious Body and one of the rarest Sights and greatest Wonders in Heaven To see Christ in Glory and Christ in Glory thine thy glorified Head and Lord and the Exemplary Cause of thy Glorification To see him ‖ Job 19.27 for thy self as ‖ Job 19.27 Job speaks for thy own unspeakable Good and Comfort To see him and be enamour'd of him and be like unto him to converse and enjoy Communion with him and to rejoice in and with him To behold his Glory and not only curiously to gaze upon him but to be glorified with him in some proportion and according to thy capacity to be made Partaker of the same Glory and to be admitted (*) Rev. 3.21 to sit with him in his Throne Think what a sablime and notable part of thy Happiness this will be in Heaven If having * 1 Pet. 1.8 not seen Christ thou lovest him and believing in him rejoycest with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory O then consider how thou shalt love and rejoyce in him when thou shalt actually see him and immediatly enjoy him in the heavenly Kingdom This Meditation will prevail with thee to labour to become meet and fit for the happy Sight and felicitating Enjoyment of the glorified humane Nature of Christ 'T will make thee study to attain to real Holiness of Heart
unlawful Deeds He vexed himself was active in it Saint Peter expresses more in this than in the former Verse as Calvin observes to wit that Lot did [n] Nempe quòd voluntarios cruciatus justus Lot subierit Calv. in loc voluntarily and willingly afflict himself He did it freely he was not forc'd to it He vexed himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 'T is [o] Est Metaphera à toâ—mentis ducta Gethar in loc a Metaphor drawn from Torments says Gerhard [p] 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Rich Man being in Torments Luke 10.23 The same Word is used to set out Hell-Torments This good Man continually tortured and tormented himself He lived a grievous painful Life labouring no less than if he had laien upon the Rack It was a kind of Hell upon earth to him to see and hear such Things among them They gave him Ground and Cause enough of Trouble and Grief by their Impieties and Impurities and his righteous Soul could not but work upon that Matter and vex and afflict himself therewith The gross Wickedness of ungodly Men is contrary to the gracious Temper and new Nature of a good Man and therefore he is no more able to bear it than the Stomach can bear that which it nauseates As a musical Ear will be offended with any harsh Sound So Sin grates upon a godly Man and is a Discord to him At his new Birth there was implanted in his Nature a true Zeal to the Cause and Interest of Righteousness and Goodness in the World an inward Sense of its Beauty Excellency and Usefulness in the World and a clear Conviction and strong Apprehension of the Vanity Unprofitableness and Mischievousness of Sin in the World The righteous Man has a real Dislike of a mighty Prejudice and inward Antipathy against Sin as Sin He hates Sin and loves Holiness heartily wherever he sinds it and really wishes that there were no such Evil as Sin in the World He is of another Spirit than wicked Men are of a better Constitution of a purer and more refined Temper His new Nature and Disposition is directly contrary to that which is evil and therefore whenever he sees it wherever he meets with it it is a Vexation and Torment to him So holy David seriously laid to heart the Sins of others was deeply affected with them and heavily afflicted for them * Psal 119.53 Horrour hath taken hold upon me because of the Wicked that forsake thy Law ‖ Verse 136 139. Rivers of Waters run down mine Eyes because they keep not thy Law †Verse 158. My Zeal hath consumed me not because I have Enemies and these Enemies despise me but because mine Enemies have forgotten thy Words I beheld the Transgressors and was grieved because they kept not thy Word (*) Psal 69.9 The Zeal of thine House hath eaten me up and the Reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me When he was in Trouble he testifies his Sorrow for the Reproaches that fell upon God as if he himself had been reproached And the Prophet Jeremy could say (†) Jer. 13.17 My Soul shall weep in secret Places for your Pride And the Saints in Jerusalem are described to be (‖) Ezek. 9.4 Men that sigh and that cry for all the Abominations that be done in the midst thereof And you know St. Paul is very famous for this Affection In the case of the incestuous Person he wrote unto the Corinthians [*] 2 Cor. 2.4 with many Tears out of much Affliction and Anguish of Heart I fear lest when I come again saies he my God will humble me among you and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already and have not repented of the Vncleanness and Fornication and Lasciviousness which they have committed [†] 2 Cor. 12.21 * Phil. 3.18 Many walk saies he of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the Enemies of the Cross of Christ. 1. O that it might be thus with every one of us Let a Time of others Sin be the Time of our Sorrow Let it greatly trouble us to see our good God wronged our heavenly Father abused and his holy just and good Law broken and violated To see the Gospel dishonoured and Religion discredited To see Satan pleased and honoured and his Kingdom strengthned and advanced by the Wickedness of the Wicked To see the precious Souls of Sinners hazarded and endangered by their own wilful Sin and Wickedness To observe rarional Creatures living like mere brute Beasts Baptized Christians acting like very Devils incarnate To find Men rebelling against Light resisting a Reproof loath to be reclaimed hardned in their Sin and hating to be reformed To see so many Fools and Mad-men besotted and bewitch'd cruel to their own Souls and Enemies to their own Peace refusing all Helps of Health and Cure contemning the Means of their Recovery fond of a Disease in love with Slavery devoted to their Enemy courting their own Misery and Calamity chusing Death rather than Life eternal Life walking apace in the broad Way that leadeth to Destruction running on in the Way to Hell the Way that goeth down to the Chambers of Death To behold so many stabbing themselves to the very Heart greedily swallowing their own Poison running into Pest-houses and infected Places drowning themselves in Destruction and Perdition and casting themselves into intolerable eternal unquenchable Flames 2. And let us moreover mourn to see so much Hurt and Misohief done in the World by others open Sin and Wickedness To see Sin become so fashionable and creditable To behold so many corrupted and infected hardned and confirmed in Sin and Wickedness by the ill Examples of loose Livers and vicious debauched Persons To discern the heinous provoking Sins of notoriously wicked Persons hastening and pulling down Judgment after Judgment upon the Land of our Nativity and the Places of our abode To see Sin spread this spiritual Plague encrease and a Cloud of divine Wrath and Judgment gathering and growing thick and black and hanging over our Heads ready to drop and shower down upon us Let us be so publick spirited as to be troubled exceedingly troubled that so much Mischief publick Mischief should be done by others Sins That so many should be drawn into Sin or brought under Suffering by the common and open Wickedness of the Wicked 3. Farther yet Let it be a Thing very grievous to us to meet with a Sort of Men who instead of perplexing and tormenting themselves with the Sins of others do please and delight recreate and refresh themselves with the Sins of others Do tempt and entice them into Sin and hearten and harden them in their Sin Who are so far from troubling themselves at others Sins that they * Rom. 1.32 do the same and have pleasure in them that do them Who make themselves merry with those Sins which make the Land mourn That will laugh at Lewdness
and make a mock at Sin and hear the Relation of another's Wickedness with an inward Tickling and secret Delight As if the Reproach and Dishonour of God were a very good jest and the eternal Damnation of immortal Souls were a Thing fit to make sport with 4. Once more Let it make our very Hearts ake to take notice-of some who instead of vexing themselves with the unlawful ungodly Deeds of the Wicked do daily vex and afflict themselves with the lawful and godly Deeds of the Righteous Who miserably trouble and torment themselves with the Goodness and Holiness and not with the Vileness and Wickedness of others Who storm at others Strictness and fret and fume at others Forwardness in the Way of Holiness and are mad at heart that any that live among them refuse to run with them into all Excess of Riot To whom the very Presence and Company of a good Man is oftentimes as offensive and troublesome as would be the visible Appearance of the Devil among them Who heartily vex to hear at any Time any serious savoury good Discourse from them and are tormented before their Time by the gracious Lives and good Conversations of serious conscientious Christians 5. And after all Let it be no small trouble and grief to us to find so few troubling themselves with such Matters as these That Men too generally should only regard themselves and mind their own Bags and Backs and Bellies and Bodies and feel nothing but that which touches their outward Estates and nearly concerns their worldly Interests but wholly neglect and disregard the Cause and Interest of God and Goodness in the World That so many so patiently can see and hear and bear any open and common Wickedness and if they can be respected themselves matter it not much tho' God be dishonoured So they themselves be pleased care little or nothing though God be displeased and if they themselves can but get gain let God and Religion lose what they will for them That Men should count it a piece of over-much Righteousness to take any notice of others Faults and think it enough to cry God mercy for their own Sins without afflicting and tormenting themselves with the Sins of others That Magistrates should be so little sensible of daily Affronts done to God That Ministers should see their Flocks running on to Destruction and have no more Bowels of Compassion That Masters of Families should not at all lay to heart their Servants Offences and frequent Trespasses against their heavenly Lord and Master That Parents Hearts should even ake again if any little Hurt or Illness come to their Children's Bodies and their Bowels never yearn at all though mischief and Misery through Sin and Iniquity fall upon their Souls to all Eternity That Men should kindly do their Neighbours any friendly Offices in Civil Matters relieve them if in Want visit them if they be sick pull out their Ox or Ass if fallen into the Ditch and if their House be on Fire presently run and help to quench it and yet-never be affected with the sad and lamentable shiritual Estate of their Neighbours That Men should see and suffer those about them to make Shipwrack of a good Conscience to lose their Peace lose Heaven lose their God lose their Souls to be just falling into Hell-fire to grow violently sick of the Plague of the Heart to die in their Sins before their Eyes and perish in their Iniquities before their Faces without fetching one Sigh or dropping one Tear for them or speaking one Word to them or lending a seasonable Hand to help them How ought they to be ashamed that can be passionatly affected in other Matters and yet have no Passion no Trouble no Tears for the common and dangerous Sins of the Times and Places in which they live and to which they belong Let us be affected with their Want of Affection upon so great and urgent an Occasion Are the Daies evil in respect of evil Men and their evil Manners let us be troubled at the Evil of them That 's the first 2. Are the Daies thus evil Let us then see that we be not made worse by them Let 's * Eph. 51.11 have no Fellowship with the unfruitful Works of darkness as the Apostle adviseth †Philip. 2 15. Let 's be blanieless and hurmless the Sons of God without Rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse Nation as the same Apostle exhorteth Where you see the Apostle argues from the ill Quality and bad Condition of those among whom they conversed for as [p] Erant enim eo tempore mores Judaeorum Gentium non conversarum ad Christum corruptissimi Grotius in loc Grotius observes the Lives and Manners both of the Jews and unconverted Gentiles were at that Time exceeding corrupt And here the Argument holds these two Waies 1. It concern'd the Philippians to be sincere and upright [q] Quod agerent inter maloi qui pro animi sui pravitate etiam bene facta criminarentur Estius in loc because they lived with such wicked Persons who were ready to slander that which was good and therefore would be sure to aggravate that which was bad So Estius And this same Duty greatly concerns our selves this Day for the same reason 2. It behoves us to be careful of our Conversation in the midst of a wicked and adulterous a crooked and perverse Generation [r] Vt nihil ab illis malitioe pravit at is nobis affricars sinamus Zanchius in loc that we our selves be not corrupted and depraved with the evil Manners of those among whom we live So Zanchy upon the Place Let 's be careful to avoid all Occasions of Sin and to resist all Temptations to tlie Sins which reign and abound in the Times and Places wherein we live Though we dwell among the Wicked let 's not communicate in their Sin nor give any countenance to their Wickedness But beg and use God's Grace and Help implore and employ the divine Strength for the overcoming and conquering the Temptations both of Men and Devils And heartily bless God that we are not left and forsaken of God and given up to the reigning Sins and Vices of the Times Let 's not be conformed to this World to the evil Customs and vicious Manners that generally prevail and take place in it nor follow a multitude to do evil If never so many should stab themselves at their very Hearts or drown themselves in the Thames or sore their Houses with their own Hands to consume and destroy themselves would this induce any wise Man to do the like Why then should any offer to * 1 Tim. 6.9 drown themselves in destruction and perdition to throw themselves into Hell-fire and to cast away their Souls for ever because many others do so When Vice grows into Fashion Singularity is a Vertue When Sanctity is counted Singularity happy is he that goeth in a Manner alone and walks
a kind and merciful Providence has restored them all that look'd so lively and lovely has quite vanish'd and come to nothing these fairly promising hopeful Penitents have afterward fallen to their old Biass prov'd as vile and vicious as bad and worse than ever they were before And it may be thou thy self hast been in the like case and done as much heretofore as now and hast reason to remember thy false deceitful treacherous dealing with God in former Instances on the like Occasions how many of thy own Purposes and Promises have fail'd and been quite lost and hast cause enough to suspect and question the Truth and Goodness of all the present fairest shews and goodliest Appearances of thy Repentance And here this great Difficulty will at last unavoidably lie before thee whether thou dost not seek return and enquire after God only because he now begins to * Ps 78.34 slay thee in good earnest Here will be the doubt and dispute How thou wilt be able to determine that the Confession of thy Sins and Condemnation of thy self thy Resolutions and Promises of better Obedience in case of longer Life are not all the meer effect of slavish Fear and only the product of trouble of Mind and terrour of Conscience rather than the genuin proper issue of a vehement hatred of Sin for the Turpitude and Unreasonableness of it of a strong Affection to God and his Laws and a hearty Love to Holiness when thou hast no time to make sufficient Proof and due Trial of the Truth and Sincerity of thy Faith and Repentance And what comfortable joyful security canst thou have that God will certainly and infallibly save thee by an act of extraordinary Grace and Favour in the want of the Actions of a vertuous and holy Life which he requires in the Gospel as ordinarily necessary to Salvation It is here but a may be a peradventure †Mat. 20.15 It is lawful indeed for God to do what he will with his own but the possibility of an extraordinary Grace is not likely then to bring thee that clear and full Light of sweet Peace and solid spiritual Comfort which an early diligent Improvement of the Grace of God ordinarily vouch-safed in the course of thy Life and time of thy Health and Strength would in all probability have produced If therefore thou wouldst wisely provide for thy Peace take no encouragement to delay the Redemption of thy Time from the Instance and Example of the Thief upon the Cross who was sincerely converted to Christ and fully ascertain'd of Salvation by the infallible Oracle of the Mouth of his Saviour in the very close of his Life the final and ultimate Hour before his Departure Obj. But some or other may be ready and apt to say Alas I have deferr'd so long already that though I entertain some serious Thoughts of redeeming the Time and use my honest Endeavours yet I fear do what I can it is now too late for me to obtain Eternal Salvation Answ I answer Hast thou made very long Delaies spent and wasted a very considerable part of thy Life the most of thy precious Time in the Service of Sin and Satan Why truly thou hast reason to be so much the more humbled the more sorry for it the more ashamed of it the more penitent at present and the more obedient for the future great cause to purpose and intend to give unto God the whole remainder of thy Time And though thou hast but a small Time but a few Years more to live here in this World yet let this be the Frame and Temper the setled Disposition and invincible Resolution of thy Soul that if God should prolong thy Life beyond thy expectation that if thou hadst never so much Time to spend upon this Earth thou wouldst by the help of God compose and set thy self to the study of knowing and an endeavour of doing the Divine Will to a Renunciation of thy past Life and Actions and a Conformation of thy Affections and Manners to the Rule and Prescript of the Gospel of Christ that thou wouldst employ thy whole Time expend and lay out all thy Strength in the Service and to the Glory of God only And here consider for thy Comfort that there are to be found several sorts and degrees of late Penitents and there is so much the more Hope for thee that thou art not of the lowest rank and form of all Indeed if thou wert a death-bed Penitent though I will not say thy case would be absolutely hopeless utterly helpless and altogether desperate yet because it is so seldom and rare a thing that so late Repentance proves sound and serious thy Condition would be exceeding [l] Poenitentia quae ab infirmo petitur insirma est Paenitentia quae à moriente tantùm petitur timeo ne ipsa moriatur Aug. de Temp. serm 57. dubious and very dangerous and thy spiritual Comfort extreamly uncertain if not ordinarily impossible and supposing thou wert to begin thy Repentance upon a Death-bed I should .... 2 occurences found not much wonder if thou shouldst almost begin thy Hell there But as [m] Vis te de dubio liberare vis quod incertum est evadere age poenitentiam dum sanus et Si enim agis viram poenitentiam dum sanus es invenerit te novissimus dies fecurus es Ergo curre ut reconcilieris si sic agis securus es Quare securus es quia egisti poenitentiam eo tempore quo peccare potuisti Si antem vis agere poenitentiam ipsam tune quando peccare non potes peccati te dimiserunt non tu illa Aug. Tom. 10. de verè poenitentibus Hom. 41 ex 50. Amb. exhortat ad Poenitentiam St. Austin discourses wisely and judiciously if now thou for sakest thy Sins and turnest to God while thou dost enjoy some measure of Health and Strength and chusest to serve God when yet thou couldst serve Sin and Satan if thou couldst here is some room and place for strong Comfort such as may quiet the troubled Mind and satisfy the afflicted Conscience of a Sinner Though thou beast but a late Penitent yet if thou couldst be an older Sinner and wilt not if thou art willing to break off from Sin when thou hast yet some Time to sin and Strength to sin and Occasions of Sin offer'd thee and Temptations to Sin lying before thee and pressing upon thee When thou art invited and it may be provoked to it and thy Faculties are not yet so weaken'd and disabled but that thou mightest several waies with Pleasure sin if thou wouldst if now thou refusest and wilt not it is a sign thy Repentance though late Repentance yet is true Repentance for all that Thou who couldst go over thy old Sins again if thou dost heartily cast them off when thou couldst commit them afresh If thou deliberately leavest thy Sins before thy Sins leave thee If thou