Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A87547
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A contrite and humble heart with motives & considerations to prepare it.
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Jenks, Sylvester, 1656?-1714.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing J629B; ESTC R43660
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93,546
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415
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yet walk slowly in the way to Heaven This happens now then 't is true but such Examples are as rare as they are great They are effects of more than ordinary Grace which God grants only when and where he pleases S. Peter never would have wept so bitterly if Jesus had not mercifully turn'd lookt upon him Luk. 22.61.62 Lazarus had never risen from the grave if Jesus had not come himself call'd him forth with a loud voice Jo. 11.43 The Prodigall had never come back to his Father if he had not first come to himself Luke 15.17 Alas poor Wretch he follow'd Swine before if he might have fill'd his belly with their husks v. 16. he would have been contented See the blindness of a Sinner But as soon as ever he came to himself v. 17. his eyes were open the opening of his eyes was that which brought him to himself He Saw the great Enormity of his offences I have sinn'd says he v. 18. I have sinn'd against Heaven before my Father's face v. 19. I am not worthy to be call'd his Son The Idea of his Sins was now so terrible made so deep impression in him that it humbled him not only in his Judgment but his Heart It humbled him so much that he not only thought himself unworthy but desir'd to be receiv'd accordingly beg'd his Father not to entertain him as a Son but as one of his hired servants v. 19. When once the Grace of God enlightens us by a miracle of Mercy breaks through the impenetrable Darkness which our Passions cloud our Reason with this Light discovers clearly to us the Enormity of Sin as this Light encreases we discover dayly more more This Light is followd with a Sacred Heat that softens the obdurate coldness of our Temper by which means the terrible Idea of our Guilt makes every day a deeper more sensible Impression in our Hearts And This is the Second Reason why the Greatest Saints are the most humble because the greater Saints they are the more They see the great Enormity of Sin the more They feel the Terrour of their Guilt the more They doubt of their obtaining Pardon the more They fear and tremble all their life I. The Enormity of Sin THe humble Penitent whose words I lately cited thus describes his coming to himself Entretien 7. Whilst I pursued says he the wandring Errours of my Heart I drunk iniquity like water not only that Job 15.16 but was so hardned so blind that whatsoêre I read or heard of Sin made no impression insteed of working my Conversion only serv'd to render me more Guilty more inexcusable At length the happy Time arriv'd 2. Cor. 1.3 in which it pleas'd the Father of all Mercies the God of all our Comfort to bestow a favourable look upon me and the first Glance presently disperst the Darkness of my Soul The very Dawning of that Light discover'd to me the Infernall Monster in whose company I had so long liv'd unconcern'd I saw and was immediately seizd with so prodigious Fear and Trembling at the Sight that I am confident as long as I have breath to live I never shall recover it S. Ifidore of Damiette describes this Monster in surprising terms Ibid. Some think says he that the Devil was the Father of Sin others on the contrary maintain that Sin was the Father of the Devil Be it how you please says he I leave you to imagine either what a Father it must be of such a Son or what a Son we may expect of such a Father This I must confess is Black enough But all it's Blackness only serves to leave us in the Dark We are not yet one jot the nigher Knowing what Sin is And all that we can gather from it is that we are never like to have it painted to the Life unless an Angel undertake to draw it the Devil sitt for the Picture The Philosopher was in the right of it when being askt the question what God is he took a Day then two then three after all ingenuously confess'd the more he thought of it the more he found himself unable to express it If a man should ask me the like question what a Sinner is I should not be asham'd to own I am not able to describe the one no more than he was to express the other If God be the Supreme Souvereign Good if with Him all things else are good if nothing else be good without Him We may in proportion say the same of Sin T is the Supreme Souvereign Evill All things else are evill with it Nothing else is so to us without it If it be true that All good comes from God as from the First Univerfall Cause of All The same is true of Sin which is the First Universall Root of all our Evills God made Heaven Sin made Hell He made the Earth Sin made it miserable He created Angells in his Paradise above Sin threw them down He created Man Woman in our Paradise below Sin immediately cast them out Consider all the Torments of the Damn'd the cruell Pains of those Eternall Flames the never-ceasing Anguishes of their despairing Rage c. All This More than All that you are able to conceive is only Part of the Effects of Sin T was Sin prepar'd All this More than this for Them Us. If what you only know by Faith make no impression if you are more sensible of what we suffer here than what they suffer there Consider the Revolt of all the Elements against us Fire which once was only made to serve us now becomes the fatall instrument our angry God makes use of to destroy punish us the very Air we breath infect's us with Diseases the Earth we walk on trembles opens buries us alive All This had never been if Man had never Sinn'd Consider all the Miseries which Famine Plague War involve us in the Poverty of half the World with all the Hunger Thirst Cold Sickness Despair which Follow it And after all the Civil War of Passion against Reason which if well examin'd will be found the Greatest most Painfull of our Miseries from whence proceed our Ignorance Malice and from thence all Immoralities Corruptions Scandals which we meet with in the World All This had never been if Man had never Sinn'd Consider all the sad Disasters You or Yours have mett with all the Losses you have sufferd in your Family Estate or Friends all the Crosses you have born with so much Pain Whatever you have undergone you never had been subject to your Heart had never ak't if Man had never Sinn'd Accursed Sin the only first Beginning first Cause of all our Mischiefs both in this World the next My God! 1. Jo. 3.2 if once we Saw Thee as Thou
stand before the Son of Man Alas Our dear Redeemer takes no pleasure in Condemning us No Man says S. Austin who designs to strike us bids us have a Care Our Saviour often warns us often calls upon us often bids us Have a care S. Paul exhorts us in his Name Rom. 13.11 T is Now the Hour for us to Rise from sleep T is now the Hour to go with tears of true Repentance to the Throne of Grace that then we may appear with Confidence Joy before the great Tribunal his Justice T is now the Hour to hearken to Him Math. 11.28 Come to me All you that labour that then we may be sure to hear him call us to Him Come ye Blessed Math. 25.34 Come reap the Fruit of all your labours Come Take possession of those Everlasting Joys which were prepar'd for you from the Foundation of the VVorld Amen MOTIVES OF HOPE SECT I. How unreasonable a thing it is for any Sinner to Despair THe greatest Mistery of Christian Morality consists in the equall ballancing of Hope Fear betwixt God's Mercy his Justice that we may neither be secure in Sin because he is so Mercifull nor yet despond because he is so Just Presumption Despair are the two Rocks 'twixt which all Christians ought to steer an even course so avoid the One as not to dash upon the Other T is perhaps the greatest Secret of the Divel's Art He first inclines us to Presume And we no sooner see the danger of it but he tempts us to Despair Thus he commences Thus he finishes his work I must confess The greatest part of Mankind being so insensible so stupid so immerst in wordly cares pleasures is enough to justifie the pious zeal of those who frequently proclaim the menaces of an offended Majesty with the formidable noise of Hell Damnation everlasting Torments labour to awake rouse them from the Lethargy of sin But when they are awake looking round about them take a prospect of their miserable State when every horrid Crime appears in its own dreadfull shape when Multitudes of past offenses croud into their minds and overwhelm their heavy thoughts with a despairing expectation of no lesse than everlasting Misery Alas poor Souls it is not now a seasonable time to magnifie the motives of their Fear If ever Comfort Encouragement were necessary to allay the pains anguishes of a despairing Soul Now is the time What shall we say Tell them they need not fear Oh no The malice of their grievous sins is infinite The danger of their lamentable State is greater than they can imagine Let but their Hope be equall to their Fear they cannot fear too much How then shall we encourage their expiring Hope I 'l tell you how If God were only Just were not also Powerfull and Mercifull a Sinner then might lawfully despair But when God's Power and Mercy both concurr to comfort the desponding Heart of an afflicted Penitent What can he wish for more There are but two conditions requisite to qualify the Person upon whose assistance we depend that we may safely hope with a loving confidence assure ourselves of his Protection The first is that he can relieve us if he will the second that he will relieve us if we please VVill without Power signifies but little Power without Will signifies much less But when they both meet in the person of a Friend to whom we always have a free access who certainly can help us if he will no less certainly will help us if we please Then let our present misery be never so great let the approaching danger of our future ruine every day seem greater we may with trembling hearts expect the helping Hand which can and will deliver us but all our Fear can never exclude our Hope it cannot rob us of that comfort satisfaction joy which so much Confidence insuch a Friend inspires If when a Sinner strugles with his Chains endeavours to break loose and more he strugles more he finds himself engag'd which the All-seeing Wisdom frequently permitts to humble a proud Soul If then these two great Truths were settled in his Mind to wit that God can free him if He will that He will not fail to free him if he please O! with what pleasure would he relish the assurance of this loving Confidence with how much transport of a joyfull mind would he recite those words of S. Paul 1. Tim. 1.12 I know in whom I have beleev'd I know in whom I put my trust I know am persuaded He is able to deliver me I am assur'd He is not only Powerfull but Mercifull and therefore I am certain He both can and will assist me SECT II. That God can help us if he will DIvinity and boundless Power are so much the same that no man can deny the one own the other There is no Truth so evident in which the World so universally agrees as God's Omnipotence Every body knows that Nothing is impossible to God T is one of the first Truths which a Philosopher demonstrates or a Christian beleeves Almighty is his Name the Name we know him by the Name He answers to when ever we call upon Him What need I then discourse upon a Truth which every body knows The reason is Because although we know it well enough We very seldom hardly ever think of it We all know Nothing is impossible to God and that the lamentable State of a poor Sinner cannot be so desperate but that He can retrieve him And yet how little do we think of this when we are tempted to despair Do we not then behave our selves as if we doubted of it I am afraid that at the best we pray like him of whom S. Mark makes mention Lord Ch. 9. v. 22. If Thou CANST do any thing have compassion on us help us I fear we often are incredulous and have just reason to repeat with tears his humble prayer Lord I beleeve v. 23. help Thou my unbelief If David that great Saint according to God's heart 1. Sam 13.14 who looking back to take a view of all his past iniquities saw at a distance only some few Sins which he had long since washt away with penitentiall tears if He could scarce support the terrour of that melancholy prospect Ps 38. v. 3.4.6.10 as he says himself all day long went mourning for his Sins if his heart panted his strength fail'd him if had no rest because he was over head in his iniquities which like a heavy burden were too heavy for him If He I say were thus perplext with Fear almost ready to Despair of his Salvation Have not I Just cause to apprehend much more the Danger of such Doubts in greater Sinners who are almost surfeited with Sin before they seriously begin to look behind them compute the terrible arrears of all