indeed their case be very miserable as they stand at defiance with heaven yet I will not seal them up to condemnation nor give them all for lost let me yet set the Gospel before their eyes If yet you can beleeve you shall be saved If yet you return Though your sins be as crimson they shall be made as white as snow though they be as scarlet they shall be as wooll there is efficacy enough in the blood of Christ to wash you from all your filthiness add not then impenitency and unbelief to the rest of your abominations take heed of that soul-damning sin look upon the blood of Christ as that Fountain that stands open for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in for sin and for uncleaness remember that Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance O this is a true saying and worthy of all acceptation saith Paul that Christ came into the world to save sinners whereof I am chief Thou that hast sinned against free Grace against the tenders of Love and Mercy against the very bowels of Christ yea against the blood of the Covenant know that thou hast cause to bless God that yet thou art not in Hell that yet thou art not quite without hope its possible yet for the breath of Life to be breathed into thy soul thy salvation is yet attainable if God do but yet inspire his Grace and Power into thy soul to make use of present means and opportunities of mercy O remember that God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself yea the world indefinitely why maist not thou that hast been a formal professor all thy dayes that hast been an opposer of the power of godliness have a part in that great mercy of reconciliation God he intreats thee to be reconciled 2 Cor. 5.20 hear what Paul saith We are Embassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead that you would be reconciled to God for he hath made him to be sin for us which knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him In which places of Scripture you may take notice that there is nothing required on thy part but to be willing to receive a pardon and to be reconciled to God yea and God himself will work both the will and the deed tell me thou desperate sinner wilt thou be saved or no art thou willing to be made partaker of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ art thou willing to be transplanted out of the wilderness of the world into the Eden of God art thou willing to be snatcht from a Dunghill unto a Paradise to be cured of a loathsome Leprosie and to enjoy perfection of health and beauty what sinner so impudent what sinner so vile as to deny a consent and willingness to this yet to lay open a little further the rich Treasury of the Mercies of God unto any such obdurate soul that will harden his heart and refuse to be willing to receive pardon let him know that Christ will save him whether he will or no if he belong to the election of Grace God will will not lose any of his Elect ones nor suffer any to pluck them from him long may Satan bear rule and sway in the soul of a chosen Vessel of God from all eternity and such a one may seem in the eyes of the Saints to be a reprobate and lost creature to be a vessel of wrath destined for destruction yet may God at length come with the tender whisperings and breathings of his Spirit which breatheth and bloweth when and where it listeth upon such a miserable soul and calm the storms thereof and poure in fresh oyl into its wounds and put in marrow strength and vigor into its dry bones and say to such a soul Come out of thy bloud and live for he hath given a greater price for the redemption of his people then heaven or earth then Angels or men for he hath given his own blood for his Church Acts 20.28 and for his Elect and why maist not thou then be one of them for as great sinners as ever thou wert have been saved Where sin abounds there Grace aboundeth much more yet sin not that Grace may abound take heed of that there 's an absit a God forbid put to that But now though a man hath sinned with never so high an hand and never so high a nature against God the commission of the sin against the holy Ghost excepted yet for such a man to receive pardon of his sin and to be made holy through the righteousness of Christ this shews an abundance of Grace and infinite Mercy yea it makes for the greater exaltation of the glory and riches of free Grace to pardon the greatest sinners it sets forth more the glory of Gods rich Grace to pardon a Mary Magdalen to be reconciled to a persecuting Saul to free a Thief from the guilt of his misled life and carry him immediatly from a Cross the deserved end of his wretched life unto an everlasting crown to snatch him from the power of sin and bring him unto the freedom and fellowship of Saints to receive him into his own bosome whom the world loathed and spued out O the heighth and depth of the Love of God in Christ There is more advancement of the Glory of God in this then in the saving of an Abraham an Isaac or a Jacob who were never guilty of such sins as they were It s a greater honor for a Prince to pardon one that hath been a Traytor against his Crown Dignity and Life then to pardon one for stealing a trifle or for picking a pocket and so more honor redounds unto the Lord in his being reconciled to an old sinner to one that hath stood out against him all his dayes who hath been a Traytor against God and Christ the Gospel and the Saints then in his pardoning one that hath onely sinned against him of infirmity now there cannot be a worse Traytor against God then that man that hath onely a form of godliness and opposeth the power thereof yet let not this man nor any other in the like condition cast away the strong Anchor of Hope so long as he breathes on this side Hell for there is salvation purchased for such as well as for lesser sinners if they will but lay hold of the proffers of Mercy in the Gospel let them look upon Christ as a full Object of salvation for the greatest sinners and is not this incouragement enough for the vilest sinners to come in to God and to Christ nay especially when Christ will do all their works in them and for them and reacheth forth such strong and free invitations as so many cables for the supportation of any sinking soul when he calls in general unto every one that thirsteth Isai 55.1 To come and buy Wine and Milk without money and without price Come unto
world to die for you yea and to rise again that you should not perish and Christ he came freely out of the bosom of his Father that he might manifest his love unto you in laying down his pretious life and shedding his pretious blood for your sakes then the Spirit of God is sent unto you that he might lead you into all truth and give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in Christ Act. 16.18 O therefore poor creatures know that you have nothing but what you have received of his fulness have ye received and grace for grace O then see that your glory and happiness lies not in doing but in receiving in the Law men did bear their own charges as we may say but now in the Gospel Christ bears the Saints charges to Heaven at his own proper cost our condition of our selves is worse then the meanest beggars condition in the world for he can put forth his hand to receive an almes but when God offers a man grace let him offer it never so freely never so long if he give him not withall a power and an hand to receive it he will go without it for ever and this hand that God doth extend and give out unto the soul to receive and take hold of his gracious offers is lively faith whereby Christ the promises and the Gospel are made over and enjoyed by that soul so empty in himself is man that he is not able to think a good thought or to speak a good word muchless to perform any good action O then what cause hath poor man to admire free grace and to look into and consider his one nothingness and to make his addresses unto the fulness and all sufficiency that is Christ Jesus then should a man behold Christ in the riches of his grace love bounty and tender mercy then would the soul be ravished with the glory of his presence and be taken with that sweetness which is so incomparably excellent and delightful there may he lye down and consolate his soul on a bed of Roses and refresh his fainting spirit with spices and rich perfumes O then by one glimpse of Christs glory would a soul be made to see it self as it is in it self altogether ugly defiled and loathsome then shall it see it self in its blood and foul deformity to the loathing of its spirit even as a man that comes into a dark room with a candle in his hand sees things amiss and out of order which were not discovered when they lay in the dark so is it with the soul when Christ shines into it then onely are the thick mists of darkness dispelled and the noysome corners of the soul purified and made clean he is the bright morning Star he is the Sun of righteousness he is given for a light to the Gentiles that though they were in the very shadow of death yet when he came among them they presently saw a great light wheresoever Christ comes he brings a light with him yea glory wisdom and all excellencies attend him for it s he that is made to his Saints Wisdom 1 Cor. 1.30 righteousness sanctification and redemption he that is the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God Rev. 22.2 whose very leaves are for the healing of the Nations and therefore it s our duties to apply our selves onely to Christ resting on him and not on any created power or excellency whatsoever for man the chief of all the creation of God Angels excepted in his most setled estate is altogether vanity give him all the advantages you can as he is man truly he is miserable to purpose and therefore its cleer that there is nothing in man nor any other creature under heaven that can help man to the least dram of the power of godliness Rom. 6.23 its true That the wages of sin that is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Fifthly This may inform us that mens Ignorance of the power and excellency of godliness is the very reason why it s so ill relished and slighted amongst men and why it is looked upon with such an evil aspect and held in so small an esteem in the world did but men know the worth of it then the professors and practisers of it would be more accounted of had the woman of Samaria known who it was that asked her water she would never have made a denyall or had she but known Christ the gift of God John 4.9 10. she would have asked of him and he could have given to her water of life every creature is for its element stones cannot have their habitation in the aire no more then Stars dwel upon the earth fishes cannot live in flames nor moles in clouds it s beyond the sphere of the men of this world to be conversant in the affairs of the world to come they can look no further then after the things of this world their knowledgment is bounded here they are aliens and strangers to any thing beyond their own center they are of the earth and so earthly-minded their knowledge study and endeavors tend earthward ther 's their complacency and delight the natural man discerneth not the things that are of the spirit of God and what is the reason its because they are spiritually discerned his light his knowledg his discerning is all carnal tell him of the workings of the Spirit of God of conversion from an estate of nature to an estate of grace of meeting with God in a duty of having communion with Christ of the Saints union with him their head of resting on God where reason and means faile c. these are strange things to him they are meer riddles to him but now speak to a Merchant or Shop-keeper of buying selling or trading either here or beyond the Seas or to a country Farmer of Corn Cattle Plowing Sowing or any thing in matter of Husbandry herein now they are expert here they know what you mean now you deal with them in their own element herein they are onely wise cunning and skilful Merchants masters of their science none shall over-reach them they will not oversee or let slip the advancement of a bargain for want of experience here and onely here they are their own crafts-masters so that the truth is these men come into this world and so go out they make not their returns to Heaven so good and beneficial as their returns from Sea to Land indeed the whole scope and tendency of their life is circumscribed within the earth and the confines thereof they never knew of any other end for which they came into the world nor never will look after or expect any further knowledg or Interest but in and unto this present being and so remain securely wise untill they drop into hell and see their own misery and their neglect and want of true knowledg O that men would fear
of Godliness as fire is the cause of heat and yet as the cause is such is the effect for powerful causes make powerful effects that 's an undeniable truth in Philosophy and that 's the very reason why godliness is so powerful in the souls of men Now wouldst thou know the working of Grace or of the Graces of the Spirit of God in the soul First then I will set down some of these fundamental Graces which cause godliness and secondly how they are wrought in and upon the spirits of men First then Take these four Graces Faith Repentance Self-denial and Love not that I intend to speak of the Doctrine of Faith or the rest of the graces here mentioned but onely to speak a word or two to each and so proceed To shew how they are wrought and their footsteps in the souls of Believers And first to begin with Faith not to trouble you with that which is Historical Temporary or Legal but to speak of that True Evangelical Saving and Justifying Faith Faith then is a certain grace wrought in the soul by the Spirit of God Fides est actus intellectus and by the Word preached and its an act of the Understanding also now I put the Word and the Spirit together as they ordinarily are appointed to work together to make a man a Believer for I dare boldly say that the Word of it self never yet to this day wrought faith in any man without the Spirit of God working with it but I am confident that the Spirit may and doth where the Word preached is not to be had work this faith in the souls of the Elect 1 Cor. 3.6 Paul may plant Apollo may water but it is God that giveth the increase a man may live all dayes of his life under a powerful Ministry and stand by Christ and hear the joyful sound of the Gospel and yet never the neerer they shall count it but as thunder as those did in John 12.29 Joh. 12.29 unless the Spirit of God boreth the ears and sanctifieth their hearts to understand and believe the things of God and though Faith be the gift of God yet as God puts forth an hand in giving of Faith so he gives a hand to his Elect to receive Faith otherwise they could never have it thus God illuminates the Understanding whereby it comes to know that there is such a thing as Christ is Christ the object of Faith and then he convinceth the Judgment that this Christ is very excellent and that of necessity he must be had or else the soul is undone then comes the Will saying If Christ be so good and that of necessity I must have him O then I will receive him thus at length is faith begotten in the soul yet we must take heed of attributing any thing to man in this for all this is Gods own work and none of mans Now the other three graces may be stiled Faiths subsequents or concomitants Faiths companions or the fruits of Faith yet I shall speak a word to each of them and first to Repentance I say of the working of this grace in the souls of Gods Elect as I have said of Faith and in this work of Repentance we must note these four steps or degrees True Repentance There is a sight of the nature of sin A convinced judgment of the guilt of sin There is a cordial and hearty sorrow for sin There is a dislike of or an abhorring and forsaking of sin For the first of these namely The sight of sin in its own nature and proper colours now sins vail begins to be pluckt off before sin was pleasurable and delightful now it is odious and loathsom now the soul discovers sin to be a Scorpion a Serpent whose sting would have caused eternal death that which seemed to be the pleasantest and delightfullest companion is now the ugliest basest and contemptiblest thing that ever the soul beheld since it had a being that which formerly was embraced and hugged as a Dalilah is now thrown out of the windows as a Jezabel Gods enemie now the soul looks on sin as Gods greatest enemy yea as that whereby the soul hath cast dirt in the very face of God and hath grieved and done despight unto his holy Spirit and crucified the Lord of life and glory Again The souls greatest enemie the soul looks upon it as its own greatest enemy it did unparadise it it hath ever since blindfolded it and fettered it up amongst a legion of devils and hath made a separation between God and it it hath made it at emnity with God and hath brought it into a state of condemnation and was able to sink it into the very bottom of hell The soul is convinced of the guilt of sin and that by the same it s bound over to the Judgment Seat of Christ Rom. 3.19 there to answer the breach of all the Laws of God James 2.10 Moral and Evangelical yea and that this guilt lies so heavy on the soul that its able to press it down into destruction 2 Thess 1.8 and to banish it from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power for ever sin now is become a burden to purpose yea such a burden as David complaineth of in Psalm 38 4. Psal 38.4 saith he there Mine iniquities are gone over my head as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me that which once was so light that the soul could not feel it O now it is so heavy that its like to break the very heart of it now conscience is wakened and sin stands as a brasen wall in its order before the soul I will set his sin in order before him Psal 50.21 there is a Scripture to that purpose in the Psalmist There is a cordial and hearty sorrow for sin O saith the soul that I that such a wretch as I should sin against so great so good and so gratious a God now the soul begins to be cautious of sinning now its ready to say with Joseph Gen. 39.9 How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God Now the soul is sensible of its indignity to God now it can grieve and rent its very heart for its unkinde dealing with God who hath dealt so kindely with it and by this means the soul is brought into contrition and godly sorrow never to be repented of Upon this the soul is brought into a dislike of sin yea to an abhorring hating and detesting of sin yea it hates the very thoughts of it not onely in others but much more in it self it s now more ugly then a Toade more bitter then Gall and Wormwood now the soul knows the fruits of sin how it leads unto destruction now it can say of it as Salomon said of the Harlot Pro 5.4 5. Her end is bitter as Wormwood sharp as a two edged sword her feet go down to death and