enjoyed can procure or minister one jote of ease to a Soule afflicted in this kinde and thus trembling under the terrours of God In such an Agony and extremity haddest thou the utmost aide and an universall attendance from Angels and men couldest thou reach the top of the most aspiring humane ambition after the excellency and variety of all worldly felicities were thy possessions as large as East and West were thy meate continually Manna from Heaven every day like the day of Christs resurrection Were thy apparell as costly and orient as Aarons Ephod nay thy Body cloth'd with the beauty of the Sunne and crownde with Starres yet for all this and a thousand more thy heart within Thee would bee as cold as a stone and tremble infinitely above the heart of a woman entring into travell of Her first Childe For alas who can stand before the mighty Lord God Who dare pleade with Him when Hee is angry What spirit of man hath might to wrastle with His Maker Who is able to make an agreement with the Hells of Conscience or to put to silence the voyce of desperation Oh! in this conflict alone and wofull wound of conscience no Electuary of Pearle or pretious Baulme no Bezoars stone or Vnicornes horne Paracelsian quintessence or Potable Gold No new devise of the Knights of the Rosie-Crosse nor the most exquisite extraction which Alchymy or Art it selfe can create is able any whit or at all to revive ease or asswage It is onely the hand of the holy Ghost by the blood of that blessed Lambe Iesus Christ the holy and the righteous which can binde up such a bruise Vses 1. Counsell to the unconverted That they would take the stings out of their sinnes and prevent the desperatenesse and incurablenesse of this horrible wound by an humble sincere universall turning unto the Lord while it is called To Day For assuredly in the meane time all the sinnes they have heretofore committed in thought word or deede at any time in any place with any company or to which they have bin any wayes accessary are already upon record before the pure Eye of that high and everlasting Iudge written exactly by the hand of divine Iustice in the Book of their consciences with a pen of iron with the claw of an Adamant with the point of a Diamond or if you can name any thing which makes a stronger deeper and more lasting impression there they lye like so many Lions asleepe and Giants refreshing with wine gathering much desperate poyson and sâ—inging points that whensoever hereafter they shall bee effectually and finally awaked by Gods angry hand they may torment most ragingly and teare their wofull Soules in pieces everlastingly when there is none to helpe Now wee may see and observe many times one little sin at least in the worlds account and conceite of carnall men to plunge a guilty conscience into the depth of extremest horrour and a very Hell upon Earth As I have heard of and knowne in many One for a sudden unadvised imprecation against Her owne Soule in case She did so or so Another for a thought conceived of God unworthy so great a Majesty Another for covetously keeping a thing found and not restoring it or not inquiring after the Owner Another for an adulterous project without any actuall pollution Another by concurring with a company of scoffing Ishmaels onely once and ere Hee was aware by lifting up the hands and casting up the eyes in scorne of Gods people c. Yet afterwards they sadly revising these miscarriages in cold blood some of them some five or sixe yeeres after God beeing then pleased to represent them with terrour and their native stings were cast into that affliction of conscience and confusion of spirit that their very bones were broken their faces fill'd with ghastlinesse and feare their bodies possessed with strange tremblings and languishing distempers their very vitall moysture turned into the drought of Summer In which dreadfull perplexity they were in great danger of destroying themselves and of being swallowed up of despaire If the guilty sense then of one Sin when God sets it on and sayes unto it Torment drawes so many fiery points of stinging Scorpions after it charges upon the excellency of the understanding with such hideous darkenesse rents the heart in pieces with such desperate rage grindes into powder the arme and sinewes of all earthly succour melts like Dew before the Sunne all those delights and pleasures which the whole world offers or affords to comfort in such a Case In a word makes a man so extreamely miserable That Hee would make Himselfe away wishes with unspeakeable griefe that Hee had never been that Hee might returne into the abhorred state of annihilation that Hee were any other Creature that Hee might lye hid world without End under some everlasting Rocke from the face of God Nay that Hee were rather in Hell then in His present horrour I say it being thus what unquenchable wrath what streames of brimstone what restlesse anguish what gnashing of teeth what knawing of conscience what despairefull roarings what horrible torments what fiery Hells feeding upon His Soule and flesh for ever may every impenitent wretch expect when the whole blacke and bloudy Catalogue of all His sinnes shall bee marshold and mustered up together at once against Him every one beeing keened with as much torturing fury as the infinite anger of Almighty God can put into it after that Hee hath accursedly with much incorrigible stubbornnesse out-stood the day of His gracious visitation under this glorious Sun-shine of the Gospell wherein Hee either hath or if Hee had been as provident for His immortall Soule as carking for His rotten Carkasse might have enioyed very powerfull meanes all His life long And yet all the while neglected so great salvation forsooke his owne mercy and so iudged Himselfe unworthy of everlasting life If a lighter Sinne many times lite so heavy when the Conscience is illightened How will thy poore Soule tremble under the terrible and untolerable weight of all thy sinnes together When all thy lyes all thy oathes all thy rotten speeches and railings All thy bedlam passions and filthy thoughts All thy Good-fellow-meetings Ale-house-hauntings and scoffings of Gods people All the wrongs thou hast done all the goods thou hast got ill all the time thou hast mispent Thy prophanation of every Sabbath thy killing of Christ at every Sacrament thy Non-proficiency at every Sermon Thy ignorance thy unbeliefe thy worldlinesse thy covetousnesse thy pride thy malice thy lust thy luke-warmenesse impatiency discontentment vaine-glory Selfe-love The innumerable swarmes of vaine idle wandring and wicked imaginations In a word all the pollutions distempers and estrangednesse from God in thine heart all the villanies vanities and rebellions of thy whole life I say when all these shall bee charged upon thy gracelesse Soule by the implacable indignation of that highest Majesty whose mercy Ministry and long suffering thou
If any man thirst Let Him come unto mee and drinke And these are thine owne words Those who hunger and thirst after righteousnesse shall be filled I challenge thee Lord in this my extremest thirst after thine owne blessed Selfe and spirituall life in Thee by that Word and by that Promise which thou hast made that thou performe and make it good unto mee that lies groveling in the dust and trembling at thy feet Oh! Open now that promised Well of life For I must drinke or els I die Heare then and in a word is thy comfort In these hungrings and thirstings of the soule there is as it were the spawne of Faith semen fidei there is aliquid fidei in them as excellent Divines both for learning and holinesse doe affirme Howsoever or in what phrase soever it bee exprest sure I am such desires so qualified as before shall bee fulfilled satisfied accomplished possessed of the Well of life and that is abundant to put the thirsting Partie into a comfortable and saving-state as I said at first The words of Scripture are punctuall and down-right for this which I say Blessed are they which doe hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall bee filled Mat. 5.6 If any man thirst let him come unto mee and drinke Ioh. 7.37 The Lord heareth the desire of the humble Psal. 10.17 Hee will fullfill the desire of them that feare Him Psal. 145.19 The Lord filleth the hungry with good things Luk. 1.53 Let Him that is athirst come And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely Rev. 22.17 Hâ— every One that thirsteth come yee to the waters c. Isa. 55.1 I will poure water upon him that is thirsty flouds upon the dry ground Cap. 44.3 These longings and desires this hunger and thirst before a sensible apprehension and enjoyment of Christ arise from a sense of the necessity and want of His blessed Person and pretious bloodshed which the afflicted Soule now prizeth before tenne thousand Worlds and for whose sake is most willing to sell all and to abandon wholly the Devils service for ever Those after a full entrance into the holy Path and joyfull grasping of the Lord Iesus in the armes of our Faith arise partly from the former taste of unutterable sweetnesse we found in Him partly from the want of a more full and further fruition of Him especially when He is departed in respect of present feeling as in times of desertion extraordinary temptation c. In the Passage that is past I understand the former in those that follow the latter 2. Secondly Concerning desertions I intend a larger and more particular discourse and therefore I passe by them here 3. Thirdly Wee may have recourse for comfort to this pretious Point in some speciall temptations of doubtfullnesse and feare about our spirituall state When spirituall life is runne as it were into the roote in some particulars and actuall abilities to exercise some graces and discharge some duties are returned to nothing for the present but groanes desires and longings to doe as God would have us For instance Thou art much afflicted because thou feeles the spirit of prayer not to stirre and worke in Thee with that life and vigour as it was woont but beginnes to langvish in the inward man for lacke of that vitall heate and feeling in the mutuall entercourse and commerce betweene God and thine owne Soule which heretofore hath many times warmed thine heart with many sweet refreshings springing from a comfortable correspondence between thy holy eiaculations and his heavenly inspirations betweene thine humble complaints at the Throne of Grace and his gracious answers Nay it may bee thou throwes downe thy selfe before His Seate of mercy in much bitternesse of spirit and for the time can say little or nothing the present dullnesse and indisposition of thine heart stopping all passage to thy woonted prayers and damming up as it were the ordinary course of thy most blessed heart-ravishing conference with thy God in secret But tell mee true poore Soule Tho at such a time and in such an uncomfortable Damqe and spiritual deadnesse thou feeles not thine heart enabled and enlarged for the present to poure out it selfe with accustomed fervency and freedome yet doth not that heart of thine with an unutterable thirst and desire long to offer up unto his Throne of Grace thy suites and Sacrifices of prayers and praises with that heartinesse and feeling with al those broken and bleeding affections which a grieved sense of sinne that hangs so fast on and an holy greedinesse after pardon grace and nearer communion with his heavenly Highnesse are wonâ— to beget in truly-humbled Soules If so Assure thy selâ—â— this very desire is a prayer of extraordinary strength dearenesse and acceptation with thy God I say with that thy mercifull Lord God who is as farre more compassionately and lovingly affected to his Childe then the kindest Father to his dearliest beloved Sonne as the infinite love of a tender-hearted God doth surpasse the faint affection of a fraile and mortall man Suppose thy dearest Childe were in great extremity and should at last grow so low and weake that it were not able to speake but onely groane and sigh and cast it's eye upon Thee as One from whom alone it look't for helpe Would not thine heart melt over thy Child a great deale more in that misery then ever before when it was able to expresse it's minde I am sure it would It is just so in the present Point For like as a Father pittieth his children so the Lord pittieth them that feare Him Nay and much more if wee consider the muchnesse and quantity For looke how farre God is higher then man in Majesty and greatnesse which is with an infinite distance and disproportion so farre doth Hee passe him in tender-heartednesse and mercy See Isa. 55.8.9 Thou mayst sometimes upon the awakening illumination and search of thy conscience after some drouzy repose and deeper sleep upon the bed of security some fouler ensâ—arement and longer abode in some knowne scandaloâ—s sinne after the Canker of earthly cares and teeth of worldly-mindednesse have ere thou bee well-aware with an insensible pleasing consumption eaten too farre into the heart of thy Zeale and other graces In the apprehension of some present terrour arising from a more serious and sensible survay of the now abhorred villanies and abominations of thine unregenerate time or from the grieved remembrance of thy falls and failings of thy sins and unservice-ablenes since thy conversion which I am perswaded trouble the Christian most and goe nearest to his heart c. I say in such Cases as these Thou maist feele such a fearefulnesse and faintnesse to have surprised the hand of thy Faith that it cannot so presently and easily recover it 's former hold nor claspe about the glorious justice and meritorious blood of Christ with that fastnesse and firmenesse of assent with that comfort and
now written oh that they were printed in a Booke That they were graven with an iron pen and leade in the rocke for ever For I know that my Redeemer liveth c. There were two cutting and cruell circumstances largely insinuated Cap. 29. and 30. which did keenely sharpen the edge and mightily aggravate the weight of Iobs miseries The one was this He had bin happy Now as that mans happines is holden the greatest who hath bin in miserable condition for He tasteth the double sweete of remembring his forpassed misery and enioying his present felicity So on the contrary It is the greatest misery they say to haue bin happy The other was that which most nettles a generous nature He being a Man of so great honour and worth whose rare and incomparable wisedome even the Princes and Nobles adored as it were with a secret and silent admiration as appeares Cap. 29.9.10 was now contemned of the most contemptible The children of fooles and the children of base men that were viler then the earth make him their song and their By-word cap. 30.8.9 For when true noblenes and worth is downe and any one of the Lords Champions dejected it is ordinary with all those dunghill dispositions to whom His sincerity was an Eie-sore His power and authority a restraint to their lewdnesse the glory of His vertues fewell to their envy to run as a Raven to the fallen Sheepe to picke out His eyes I meane which yet â—asts of a truly cowardly and mercilesse constitution to wound his very wounds and to vexe his vexations This was Iobs case But what now ministers comfort to Iobs heart against these corrosiues Euen consciousnesse of His graces and integrities treasur'd up and exercisde in the dayes of His peace He reckens up fourteene of them Chap. 31. From consideration hereof Hee gathers towards the end this triumphant resolution against the â—orest of His sufferings I would even crowne mine head with the bitterest Invective of my greatest adversary whence it is cleare that the two potent pillars of Iobsâ—â—rong â—â—rong and strange patience which all generations will admire to the worlds end were a sound faith and the sanctified fruits thereof prepared and practised in the time of his prosperity 3. Thirdly by fore-provision of Gods favour grace good conscience and such spirituall store wee shall be able worthily to grace and honour our profession truly to enoble and winne a great deale of glory and reputation to the state of Christianity when the ambitious Rufflers and boisterous Nimrods of the world shall see and observe that there is a gratious invisible vigour and strength of Heaven which mightily supports the heart of the true Christian in those times of confusion â—eare when theirs shall be like the heart of a woman in her pangs fall asunder in their breasts even like drops of water That He is as bold as a Lyon and unmooveable like Mount Zion in the Day of distresse and visitations of God when they shall tremble at the shaking of a leafe call upon the Mountaines to cover them That He shall be able then to say with David Psal. 46.1.2 The Lord is my refuge and my strength c. Therefore will I not feare thâ— the earth be remooved and tho the mountaines be carried into the middest of the Sea But they shall cry out of the bitternes of their spirits with the hypocrites Isai. 33.14 Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire Who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting burnings God is much honoured and His truth glorified when it appeares in the face of men that a poore neglected Christian or in the worlds language a precise foole is able by the power of grace and influence of his favour to affront and out-face all the frownings and malignant aspects of the proud Giants of the world And he is the Lords noblest Champion and a Professour of the truest and heavenliest dye that holds out in the wetting and shrinkes not in the Day of adversitie Chrysostome speakes to the people of Antioch like himselfe a Man of an invincible spirit against the tyrannies of his times In this saith He should a gracious differ from a gracelesse man that hee should beare his crosses couragiously and as it were with the wings of Faith outsoare the height of all humane miseries He should be like a Rocke being incorporated into Iesus Christ inexpugnable and unshaken with the most furious incursions of the waves and stormes of worldly troubles pressures and persecutions And blessed bee God that even here upon earth in this vale of teares there is such a visible and vast difference betwixt a wicked and godly man The one is like the raging Sea that cannot rest the other stands fast like a Rocke which shall never bee remooved An unregenerate heart is ever restlesse commonly in these three regards at the least First by reason of an endlesse and unsatisfiable appetite after pleasures riches honours revenge or what other Darling delight it hath singled out and made speciall choice of to follow and feede upon with greatest contentment and sensuall sweetnesse God hath iustly put that property or rather poison into all earthly things doted upon and desired immoderately that they shall plague the heart which so pursues them by filling it still with a furious and fresh supply of more greedinesse iealousies and many miserable discontentments so that they become unto it as drinke unto a man in a Dropsie or burning Fever serve onely to inflame it with new heate and fiery additions of insatiable thirst and iâ—ordinate longings Secondly because of the many secret grumblings and stinging reclamations of a gauled conscience against its present guilty courses and forbidden pleasures Thirdly in respect of a continuall ebullition as it were of confused and contrary lusts out of the empoysoned Fountaine of originall corruption which fill it with many damnable distractions and tumultuations of Hell But now if besides this inward boyling it bee also tossed with outward troubles what a miserable Creature is a carnall Man Euen as the Sea if besides its internall agitations by the restlesse motions of estuation descention revolution and reflection it be also outwardly turmoyl'd with stormes and tempestuous winds How ragefull roaing wil it be But the other is like a strong unmoveable mountaine that stands impregnable against the rage of winde and weather And all the cruell incursions and ungodly oppositions made against it either by men or Divels are but like so many proud and swelling waves which dash themselves against a mighty Rocke The more boysterously they beate against it the more are they broken and turned into a vaine foame and froath Come what come will His heart is still in His breast and His resolution as high as Heaven Pestilent then is that Principle of Machiavel a Fellow not to bee named but by way of detestation and savours rankely of cursed Atheisme Whereby He teaches in sense and summe
in that sweetest well-spring of life and immortality then enjoy the riches pleasures and glory of the whole World everlastingly For a bitter-sweet taste of which for an ynch of time Hee villanously trampleth under-foote as it were that blessed blood by wilfully cleaving to His owne wayes and furious following the swinge of His owne sensuall heart even against the check and contradiction of His grumbling conscience 3. Of the most blissefull presence freedome and communication of the Holy Ghost and all those divine illuminations spirituall feastings sudden and secret glimpses and glances of heavenly light sweeter then sweetnesse it selfe wherewith that good Spirit is woont to visit and refresh the humbled hearts of holy men 4. Of the fatherly providence and protection of the blessed Trinity the glorious guard of Angels the comfortable communion with the people of God and all the happy consequents of safety deliverance and delight that floweth thence 5. Of the unknowne pleasures of an appeased conscience a Iewell of dearest price to which all humane glory is but dust in the balance Not the most exquisite extraction of all manner of Musicke Sets or Consorts vocall or Instrumentall can possibly conveigh so delicious a touch and taste to the outward eare of a Man as the sound and sense of a Certificate brought from the Throne of mercy by the blessed Spirit seal'd with Christs blood to the eare of the Soule even amidst the most desperate confusions in the evill Day when Comfort will bee worth a World and a good Conscience ten thousand earthly Crownes 6. Of all true contentment in this life of all Christian right and religious interest to any of the Creatures For never was any sound ioy or sanctified enjoyment of any thing in the world found in that Mans heart which gives allowance to any lust or lyes delightfully in any sinne 7. Of an immortall Crowne the un-speakeable ioyes of Heaven that immeasurable and endlesse comfort which there shall be fully and for ever enioyed with all the children of God Patriarkes Prophets Apostles Martyrs Christian friends yea with the Lord Himselfe and all His Angels with Christ our Saviour that Lambe slaine for us the Prince of glory the glory of Heaven and Earth the brightnesse of the everlasting Light c. In a word of all those inexplicable nay unconceiveable excellencies pleasures perfections felicities sweetnesses beauties glories eternities above 2. It doth every houre expose Him to all those evils which a Man destitute of grace divine may commit and unprotected from above endure It brings all plagues 1. Internall Blindnesse of minde Hardnesse of heart deadnesse of affection searednesse of conscience a reprobate sense strong delusions the spirit of slumber slavery to lust estrangednesse from God bondage under the Divell desperate thoughts horrour of heart confusion of spirit c. And spirituall mischiefes in this kind moe and more dreadfull then either Tongue can tell or heart can thinke Least of which is farre worse then all the plagues of Egypt 2. Externall See Deut. 28.15 c. 3. Eternall See my Sermon of the foure last things 3. By it 's pestilent damning Property and poyson it turnes Heaven into Hell Angels into Divels Life into death Light into darknesse sight into blindnesse Faith into distrust hope into despaire Loue into hate humility into pride mercy into cruelty security into feare liberty into bondage health into sicknesse plenty into scarcenesse a Garden of Eden into a desolate Wildernesse a fruitfull Land into barrennesse Peace into war quietnesse into contention Obedience into rebellion Order into confusion vertues into vices blessings into curses c. In a word all kind of temporall and eternall felicities and blisse into all kinds of miseries and woe 7. What heart except it bee all Adamant and turn'd into a Rocke of flint but possessing it selfe with feeling thoughts and a sensible apprehension of the incomprehensible greatnesse excellency and dreadfulnesse of the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth would not tremble and bee strangely confounded to transgresse and breake any one branch of His blessed Lawes especially purposely and with pleasure or to sinne against Him willingly but in the least ungodly thought For alas Who art thou that liftest up thy proud heart or whettest thy prophane tongue or bendest thy rebellious course against such a Majesty Thou art the vilest wretch that ever God made next unto the Divell and His damned Angels A base and an unworthy Worme of the Earth not worthy to licke the dust that lyeth under His feete A most weake and fraile creature Earth ashes or any thing that is naught the dreame of a shadow the very Picture of change worse then vanity lesse then nothing Who when thy breath is gone which may fall out many times in a moment thou turnest into dust nay rottennesse and filth much more loathsome then the Dung of the Earth and all thy thoughts perish But now on the other side if thou cast thine eyes seriously and with intention upon that thrice glorious and highest Majesty the eyes of whose glory thou so provokest with thy filth and folly thou mayest most justly upon the commission of every sinne cry out with the Prophet O Heavens bee astonished at this bee afraid and utterly confounded Nay thou mightest marvaile and it is Gods unspeakeable mercy that the whole frame of Heauen and Earth is not for one sinne fearefully finally dissolued and brought to nought For He against whom thou sinnest inhabiteth eternity and unapprochable light The Heauen is His Throne and the earth his footstoole Hee is the euerlasting God mighty and terrible the Creatour of the ends of the earth â—c The infinite splendour of his glory and maiesty so dazles the eyes of the most glorious Seraphims that they are glad to adore Him with couered faces The Diuell and all the damned spirits those stubborne Feinds tremble at the terrour of His countenance All the Nations before Him are but as the drop of a bucket but as the small dust of the balance nay they are nothing to Him saith the Prophet yea lesse then nothing Hee fitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grashoppers The Iudges and Princes when Hee blowes upon them are but as stubble before the Whirle-winde And Hee taketh vp the Iles as a very litle thing At His rebuke the Pillars of Heauen doe shake the Earth trembleth and the foundations of the hills are mooued His presence melts the mountaines His voice teares the Rocks in pieces The blast of the breath of His nostrils discouers the chanells of waters and foundations of the world when Hee is angry His Arrowes drinke bloud His sword deuoures flesh and the fire of his wrath burnes unto the lowest Hell The Heauen is but His span The Sea His handfull The wings of the wind His walke His garments are light His Pauilion darknes His way in the whirlewind and in the storme and
there must bee a third thing To take them to our selves to beleeve they are ours and there needes a worke of the Spirit for this For tho the promises bee never so cleare yet having nothing but the promises you shall never bee able to apply them to your selves But when the holy Ghost shall say Christ is thine All these things belong to Thee and God is thy Father when that shall witnesse to our spirit by a worke of His owne Then shall wee beleeve c This is the order observed in our iustification 1. First There is a sight of our misery to which wee are brought by the Law 2. Secondly There is by the Gospell an holding forth of Christ as our redemption from sin and death 3. Thirdly there is a working of Faith in the heart to rest on Christ as the ransome from sinne and death Now when a man is come hither Hee is truly and really iust Wee teach that in trve conversion a man must bee wounded in his conscience by the sense of his sinnes His contrition must bee compungent and vehement bruising breaking renting the heart and feeling shee throwes as a woman labouring of Childe before the new-Creature bee brought forth or Christ truly formed in Him It is not done without bitternesse of the Soule without care indignation revenge 2. Cor. 7.11 But as some Infants are borne with lesse paine to the mother and some with more so may the new-man be regenerated in some with more in some with lesse anxiety of travell But surely grace is not infused into the heart of any sinner except there bee at least so great affliction of Spirit for sinne foregoing that He cannot but â—eele it c. This bruising is required before conversion 1. That so the Spirit may make way for it selfe into the heart by levelling all proud high thoughts c 2. To make vs set an high price upon Christs death This is the cause of relapses and Apostasies because men never smarted for sin at the first They were not long enough under the lash of the Law Hence this inferiour worke of the Spirit in bringing downe high thoughts is necessary before conversion By this time it doth most clearly and plentifully appeare what a foule and fearefull fault it is for men either in the managing of their Publike ministery or more private Passages of conference visitations of the sicke consultations about a good estate to Godward and other occasions of like nature to apply Iesus Christ and the promises to promise life and safety in the evill Day to Soules as yet not soundly illightned and afflicted with sight of sinne and sense of Gods wrath to consciences never truly wounded and awaked I insisted the longer upon this Point because I know it full well to bee a most universall and prevailing Policy of the Devill whereby hee keepes many thousands in His cursed slavery and from salvation To confirme as many Pastours as Hee can possibly willing enough to drive their Flocks before them to damnation in an ignorant or affected Preiudice and forbearance of that saving method of bringing Soules out of Hell mentioned before and made good with much variety of evidence And to nourish also in the hearts of naturall men a strong and sturdy disconceite opposition raging against downe-right dealing and those men of God able as they say but falsely and furiously against their owne Soules by their terrible teaching to drive their hearers to distraction Selfe-destruction or despaire who take the only right course to convert them and to bring them to Iesus Christ as Hee Himselfe invites them to wit labouring and heauy laden with their sinnes Matth. 11.28 Dawbers then who serue Satans craft in this kinde and all those who dispence their ministery without all spirituall discretion and good conscience of whom there are too many as great strangers to the right way of working grace in others as to the worke of grace in themselves I say they are a generation of dangerous men Old excellent as they say in an accursed Art of conducting poore blinded Soules merrily towards everlasting miserie and setting them downe in the very midst of Hell before they bee sensible of any danger or discovery of their damnable state Great men they are with the men of this world with al those wise fooles and sensuall great ones who are not willing to bee tormented before their time or rather who desire impossibly to live the life of pleasures in the meane time and yet at last to die the death of the righteous They have still ready at hand hand over head mercy and pardon Heaven and salvation for all commers and all they come neere without so much as a desire to put any difference or divide the pretious from the vile Which is a prodigâ—â—usly-arrogant folly pernicious in the highest degree both to their own soules and those they delude Heâ—â—e 〈◊〉 they are branded in the Booke of God calling them 〈◊〉 Sâ—wers under mens elboes Ezek. 1â— 1â— That 〈◊〉 laid soft and lockt fast in the Cradle of security thâ—â— may sinke suddenly into the Pit of destruction before they be aware Criers of peace peace when no peace is towards Ier. 6.14 but horrible stirs tumbling of garments in bloud burning and devouring of fire A â—â—n-pleasers â—alat 1.10 who chuse rather to tickle the itching eares of their carnall hearers with some fâ—othy Frier-like conceits out of Dung-hill 〈◊〉 And so smooth Great Ones in their humours by their cowardly flatteries especially if they any waies depend upon them for countenance rising and preferment rather then conscionably to discharge that trust 〈◊〉 upon them by their great Lord and Master in Heaven upon answerablenes for the bloud of those Soules which shal perish by their temporizing silence and flattering vnfaithfulnesse Healers of the hurt of their Hearers with 〈◊〉 words Ier. 6.14 while their Soules are 〈◊〉 by the wounds of sinne unto eternall death Preachers of smooth things Isa. 30.10 which kinde of Men the greatest part and all worldlings wonderfully affect and applaud tho to their owne everlasting vndoing They swell under such Teachers with a Pharisaicall conceite that they are as safe for salvation as the precisest of them all but alas their hope is but like a hollow wall which beeing put to any stresse when the tempest of Gods searching wrath begins to shake it in the time of a finall triall of it's truth and soundnesse it shatters into pieces and comes to naught Heare the Prophet Now go write it before them in a table and note it in a booke that it may bee for the time to come for ever and ever That this is a rebellious people lying children children that wil not heare the Law of the Lord which say to the Seers see not and to the Prophets prophesie not unto us right things speake unto us smooth things prophesie deceits Get you out of the way turne aside out
many respects 1. In respect of Gods word and messages first not dividing it and dispensing them aright Secondly Dishonouring the Majesty and weakening the power of them many times with the vnprofitable mixture of humane allegations ostentations of wit fine frier-like conceits digged with much adoe out of Popish postills c. Even as wee may see at haruest time a land of good corne quite choaked up with red blew and yellow flowers As King Iames doth excellently allude in the forecited place Thirdly Fearefull prophaning them by mis-application against Gods will Making the heart of the righteous Sad whom God would not have made Sad and strengthening the hands of the wicked that hee should not returne from his wicked way by promising him life Fourthly Villanous perverting and abusing them to their owne advantage applause rising revenge and such other private ends 2. In respect of the flattering and unfaithfull Ministers themselves First Extreme vilenesse Isa. 9.15 Secondly Guiltinesse of spirituall bloudshed Ezech. 3.18 Thirdly Liablenesse to the fierce wrath of God in the Day of visitation Ier. 14.15 1. King 22.25 3. In respect of their hearers who delight in their lies in their smooth and silken sermons Suddaine horrible and unavoidable confusion Isa. 30.13.14 4. Burning both together in hell for euer without timely and true repentance banning there each other continually and crying with mutuall hideous yellings O thou bloody Butcher of our Soules hadst thou bin faithfull in thy Ministery wee had escaped these eternall flames O miserable man that I am Woe is mee that ever I was Minister for now besides the horrour due unto the guiltinesse of mine owne damned Soule I have drawen vpon mee by my unfaithfull dealing the cry of the bloud of all those soules who have perished under my Ministery to the everlasting enraging of my already intollerable torment Give mee leave to conclude this point with that patheticall and zealous passage of reuerend and learned Greenham against negligent pastors amongst whom I may justly ranke and reckon also all Dawbers for as well never a whit as never the better Men-pleasers For selfe preachers are for the most part seldom-preachers Heare His words Were there any love of God from their hearts in those who in stead of feeding to salvation starve many thousands to Destruction I dare Say and say it boldly that for all the promotions under Heaven they would not offer that iniury to one Soule that now they offer to many hundred Soules But Lord how doe they thinke to give up their reckoning to thee who in most strict account will take the answere of every Soule committed unto them one by one Or with what eares doe they often heare that vehemâ—nt speech of our Saviour Christ Feede Feede Feede with what eyes doe they so often readâ— that piercing speech of the Apostle Feede the slocke committed unto you But if none of these will move them then the Lord open their eyes to heare the grievous groanes of many Soules lying under the griefly altars of destruction and complaining against them O Lord the revenger of blood behold these men whom thou hast set over us to give us the bread of life but they have not given it us Our tongues and the tongues of our children have stucke to the roofe of our mouths for calling and crying and they would not take pitty on vs Wee have given them the tenths which thou appointedst us but they have not given us thy truth which thou hast commanded them Reward them O Lord as they have rewarded us Let the bread betweene their teeth turne to rottennesse in their bowells Let them be clothed with shame and confusion of face as with a garment Let their wealth as the Dung from the earth bee swept away by their executours And upon their gold silver which they have falsely treasured up let continually bee written the price of blood the price of blood For it is the value of our blood O Lord. If thou didst heare the blood of Abel being but one man forget not the blood of many when thou goest into judgement I now returne to rectify and tender a remedy against the first aberration Which I told you was this When mercy Christ the promises salvation heaven all are applied hand overhead and falsely appropriated to vnhumbled sinners whose Soules were never rightly illightened with sight of sinne and waight of Gods wrath nor afflicted to any purpose with any legall wound or hearty compunction by the Spirit of bondage In whose hearts sense of their spirituall misery and want hath not yet raised a restlesse and kindly thirst after Iesus Christ In this case mine advise is that all those who deale with others about their Spirituall states and undertake to direct in that high and waighty affaire of mens Salvation either publikly or privatly in their ministry visitations of the sicke or otherwise that they would follow that course of which I largely discoursed a little before taken by God himselfe his Prophets his Sonne the Apostles and all those men of God in all ages who have set themselves with Sincerity faithfulnesse and all good Conscience to seeke Gods glory in the salvation of mens Soules to discharge aright their dreadfull charge and to keepe themselues pure from the blood of all men To wit That they labour might and maine in the first Place by the knowledge power and application of the Law to illighten convince and terrify those that they have to doe with concerning conversion with a sensible particular apprehension and acknowledgement of their wretchednesse and miserable estate by reason of their sinfulnesse and cursednesse To breake their hearts bruise their Spirits humble their Soules wound and awake their Consciences c. To bring them by all meanes to that Legall astonishment trouble of minde and melting temper which the Ministry of Iohn Baptist Paul and Peter wrought upon the Hearts of their hearers Luk. 3.10.12.14 Act. 16.30 And 2.37 That they may come crying feelingly and from the heart to those Men of God who happily fastened those keene arrows of compunction and remorse in the sides of their Consciences and say Men and Brethren what shall wee do Sirs what must wee doe to bee saved c. As if they should have said Alas wee see now wee have bin in Hell all this while and if wee had gone on a litle longer wee had most certainely lien for ever in the fiery Lake The Devill and our owne lusts were carrying us hood-winkt and headlong towards endlesse perdition Who would have thought wee had bin such abominable beasts and abhorred Creatures as your Ministry hath made us and in so forlorne wofull estate Now you blessed Men of God helpe us out of this gulfe of spirituall confusion or wee are lost everlastingly By your discovery of our present sinfull and cursed estate wee â—eele our hearts torne in pieces with extreme and restles
life no acquaintance at all with the waies of God but continue cursedly carelesse what becomes of the Gospell or Gods children so that they may rise grow rich and sleepe in a whole skinne 8. By this time now is he become the drunkards song table-talke to those that sit in the gate Musicke to great men at their feasts a By-word to the children of fooles and the children of villaines men viler then the earth whose fathers hee would have disdained to have set with the doggs of his flocke And what then Even thus they dealt with David Iob Ieremie Nay they told the Sonne of God himselfe in whom the Godhead dwelt bodily that he was a Samaritane and had a Devill What man of braine then that gives his name to Christ and lookes to bee saved will looke for exemption Especially sith all the contumelies and contemptes all those nick-names of Puritan Precisian Hypocrite Humorist Factionist c. with which lewd tongues are woont to load the Saints of God are so many honourable badges of their worthy deportment in the holy path and resolute standing on the Lords side Some noble Romans having done some singular service to the state and after troubled and handled violently in some privat Cases were woont to bare their bodies and to shew in open court the scars and impressions of those woundes which they had received in their Countries cause as characters of speciall honour and strongest motives to commiseration So many lying imputations unworthy usages and persecutions in any kinde for profession of godlinesse which the faithfull Christian shall bring to the Iudgement seate of Christ so many glorious and roiall representations of excellency of spirit and height of courage in Christian causes shall they bee accounted in the sight and censure of almighty God and the blessed Angels and make him more amiable and admirable in the face of heaven and earth Thus much of the Theorie as it were I come now to the Practicke part To a particular application of some speciall soveraigne Antidotes to the most grievous ordinary maladies incident to the soules of the Saints But first give mee leave to premise some generall well-heads out of which do spring abundance of comfort and overflowing rivers of refreshing for all intents and effects in point of temptation and trouble of minde 1. And first take a fruitfull cluster and heavenly heape of them together those twelve heads of extraordinary immeasurable comfortable matter for spirituall medicines which I have heretofore erected as so many invincible bulwarkes against all assaults of despaire oppositions of Satan exceptions of distrust 1. The infinitenesse of Gods mercy sweetely intimated Isa. 55.6.7.8 The mercy of God is like himselfe infinite All our sinnes are finite both in number and nature Now betweene finite and infinite there is no proportion and so no possibility of resistance And therefore bee thy sinnes never so notorious and numberlesse yet in a truly broken heart thirsting for and throwing it selfe upon Christ unfainedly resolving upon new-obedience and his glorious service for the time to come can no more withstand or stand before Gods mercies then a little sparke the boundlesse and mighty Ocean throwne into the midst of it nay infinitely lesse If all the sinnes that all the Sonnes and daughters of Adam have committed since the Creation to this time were all upon one soule yet so affected as I have sayd and put into such a new penitent gracious temper it should be most certainly upon good ground and everlastingly safe I speake not thus to make any secure for any one sinne pleasing and raigning will ruine a soule for ever But to assure of mercy enough how great or many so ever the sinnes haue been if the heart bee now truly humbled for them all and wholly turned heaven-ward 2. The unvaluablenesse of Christs meritorious blood Which is call'd the blood of God and therefore of inestimable price Vnderstand mee aright It was the blood of God not of the God-head but of him who was both God and man For the man-hood of Christ was received into the union of the second person And so it may bee called the blood of God for so speakes S. Paul Act. 20.28 God purchased his Church with his owne blood that is Christ God incarnate Our Devines expresse it thus It was the Sonne of God and Lord of life that died for us upon the Crosse but it was the nature of man not of God wherein he died and it was the nature of God and infinite excellency of the same whence the price valew and worth of his passion grew This blessed blood then is of infinite efficacie and therefore if thou be now turning to the Lord assure thy selfe whatsoever thy sinnes have beene they have not out-gone the price that hath been payd for them This blood upon repentance did take off the transcendent scarlet guilt from the soules even of those that shed it Act. 2. c. 3. The riches of the Word in affording precedents of the Saints and of the Sonne of God himselfe who have surpassed thee and that perhaps very farre in any kinde of miserie thou canst name Thou art perhaps consulting with the Prodigall to come-in but there comes terribly into thy minde the extraordinary hainousnesse of thy former sinnes and that hinders Cast thine eie then upon Manasses a man of prodigious impiety and matchlesse villany Hee shed innocent blood very much till hee had filled Ierusalem from one end to another Hee did that which was evill in the sight of the Lord like unto the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel Hee caused his children to passe through the firâ—â— in the valley of the sonne of Hinnom also Hee observed times and used inchantments and used witch-craft and dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizzards Hee wrought much evill in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger c. And yet this great sinner humbling himselfe greatly before the God of his Fathers was received to mercy Suppose which yet were a horrible thing that after conversion by extraordinary violence of temptation strong in-snarement of some sudden sensuall offer and opportunity treacherous insinuation of thy owne false heart and furious re-assault of thy former bosome-sin Thou shouldest be overtaken grossely with some grievous sin and scandalous fal and then upon illumination remorse and meditation of returne reason thus within thy selfe Alas what shall I doe now I have undone all I have wofully againe defiled my soule so fairely washed in my Saviours blood with that dis-avowed sinne of my unregenerate time I have shamed my profession disgraced religion for ever I have broke my vowes lost my peace and my woonted blessed communion with my God c. And therefore what hope can I have of any acceptation againe at the Throne of grace I say in this case to keepe thee
gracious acceptation and intertainement at his Throne of Grace That it is naturall also to his Name To forgive iniquity transgression and sinne That is sinnes of all sorts kindes and degrees whatsoever There is none so hatefull and hainous whether naturall corruption or ordinary outward transgression or highest presumption but upon repentance God is most able ready and willing to remit it 7. God the Fathers compassionate pangs of infinite affection and forwardnesse to entertaine into his armes of mercy all true Penitents As I live sayth the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turne from his way and live turne yee turne yee from your evill wayes for why will yee die O house of Israell Ezech. 33.11 Woe unto thee O Ierusalem wilt thou not bee made cleane When shall it once be Ier. 13.27 They say if a man put away his wife and shee goe from him and become another mans shall hee returne to her againe Shall not that Land be greatly polluted But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers yet returne againe to mee sayth the Lord Ier. 3.1 Oh that my people had hearkned unto mee and Israel had walked in my waies I would soone have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him but their time should have endured for ever Hee should have fed them also with the finest of the wheate and with honey out of the rocke should I have satisfyed thee Psal. 81. O that thou hadst hearkned to my commandements then had thy peace been as a River and thy righteousnesse as the waves of the Sea Thy seed also had been as the sand and the off-spring of thy howells like the gravell thereof his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before mee Isa. 48.18 8. His mercifull almightinesse in putting life and lightsomnesse into the most dead and darkest heart Seeke him saith the Prophet that maketh the seven Starres and Orion and turneth the shâ—dow of death into the morning Amos 5.8 Suppose thou sâ—ttest thy selfe to seeke Gods face and favour and art presently set upon with this temptation But alas My soule is so blacke with sinne and darke with sorrow that it is to no purpose for mee to proceed c. But now in this case consider who Hee is that thou seekest it is He that made of nothing those beautifull shining glorious constellations Orion and the Pleiades and nothing in the world is darker then nothing Hee is Hee that turneth the darkest midnight into the brightest morning c. 9. Christs sweetest dearest most melting invitations of all truly troubled soules for sinne unto the Well of life and their owne everlasting wellfare Come unto mee all yee that labour and are heavie laden and I will give you rest Mat. 11.28 O Ierusalem Ierusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee How often would I have gathered thy children together even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her wings c. Mat. 23.37 And when hee was come neare hee beheld the City and wept over it saying Oh if thou hadst knowne even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace Luke 19.41.42 In the last day the great Day of the Feast Iesus stood and cried saying If any man thirst let him come to mee and drinke 10. Precedents in Gods Booke of many hainous and horrible sinners received to mercy upon their humiliation As Eve Magdalen Paul Zacheus Sodomits 1. Cor. 6.9.11 Crucifiers of Christ. Acts. 2. 11. Experience perhaps of the Comforter converted from a more wicked and desperate course then the Patient himselfe And it doth not a little refresh the heart of him who grievosly wounded in conscience and thereupon sending for a skillfull and faithfull Messenger of God and when he hath opened his Case fully unto him to heare him say when he hath sayd all My Case was farre worse then yours every way Nay but besides those notorious sins I have named unto you I have defiled my selfe with many secret execrable lusts Be it so saith the spirituall Physition yet in the daies of my vanity I have been guilty of moe and more hainous crimes then any you have yet spoken of Yea but even now when I have most need of should most prize reverence and lay hold upon Gods blessed Word Son and Promises I am pestilently pestered with many abhorred villanous and prodigious injections about them Not a man alive replies the Man of God hath had his head troubled with more hideous thoughts of such hellish nature then I c. 12. That pretious Parable Luk. 15. wherein all those loving passages of the Father unto his prodigall Son to wit His beholding him when hee was yet a great way off his compassion running towards him falling upon his necke kissing him putting on him the best Robe and the Ring killing the fatted Calfe c. doe shadow that immeasurable incomprehensible love of God the Father to every one that is willing to come out of the Divels cursed service into the good way But come as farre short of expressing it to the life as the infinite greatnesse of Almighty God surpasseth the finite frailty of a weake man and worme of the earth 2. In a second place Let us take a view of some of those most delicious and sweetest streames of dearest comfort which spring abundantly out of that fruitfull Fountaine of compassion and love Psal. 103.13 Like as a Father pittieth his Children so the Lord pittieth them that feare him See also Deutâ—r 8.5 Malac. 3.17 Hence may wee draw refreshing enough to our thirstie soules in many passages of heavy thoughts and grievous complaints about our spirituall state 1. In the distempers and damps of prayer thus Suppose the dearest Sonne of the loving'st Father to lie grievously sicke and out of the extremity of angvish to cry out and complaine unto him that hee is so full of paine in every part that hee knowes not which way to turne himselfe or what to doe and thereupon intreats him of all loves to touch him tenderly to lay him softly to mollifie all hee may his painefull misery and give him ease How ready thinke you would such a father bee with all tendernesse and care to put to his helping hand in such a ruefull case But yet if hee should grow sicker and weaker so that hee could not speake at all but onely looke his Father in the face with watery eies and moane himselfe unto him with sighes and groanes and other dumbe expressions of his increased paine and desire to speake Would not this yet strike deeper into the Fathers tender heart pierce and melt it with more feeling pangs of compassion and make his bowells yerne within him with an addition of extraordinary dearenesse and care to doe him good Even just so will thy heavenly Father bee
Abraham as you know Gen. 22. did not indeede when it came to the Point sacrifice his Son An Angell from Heaven stayed his hand Onely Hee had a will purpose and resolution if the Lord would so have it even to shed the blood of his onely Childe Now this desire to please God was graciously accepted at his hands as tho the thing had been done and thereupon crowned with as many blessings as there are starres in Heaven and sands upon the Sea-shore By my selfe have I sworne saith the Lord because Thou hast done this thing and hast not spared thine onely Sonne and yet Hee spilt not a drop of his blood save onely in purpose and preparednesse to doe Gods will Therefore will I surely blesse thee and greatly multiply thy seede as the starres of the Heaven and as the sand which is upon the Sea-shore vers 16.17 Rich men Marke 12. cast into the Treasury large Doles and royall offerings no doubt For it is there said Many that were rich cast in much vers 41. And yet the poore Widowes two mites receiving worth and waight from her holy and hearty affection in Christs esteeme did out-valew and over-weigh them all Verely saith Christ I say unto you that this poore widow hath cast more in then all they which have cast into the Treasury Reasons 1. One argument may bee taken from the blessed noblenesse of Gods nature and the incomparable sweetnesse of his divine disposition Which by infinite distance without all degree of comparison and measure of proportion doth surpasse and transcend the ingenuousnesse of the noblest spirit upon earth Now men of ingenuous breeding and generous dispositions are wont to receive sweetest contentment and rest best satisfied in prevailing over and winning the hearts good wills and affections of those who attend or depend upon them Outward performances gratifications and visible effects are often beyond our strength and meanes many times mingled and quite mard with Hypocrisies disguisements famed accommodations and flatteries with selfe-advantages by-respects and private ends But inward reverence and love kind and affectionate stirrings of the heart are ever and alone in our power and ever by an uncontrole-able freedome exempted from enforcement dissembling and formality No marvaile then tho the most royall and Heroicall spirits prize most and bee best pleased with possession of Mens hearts and beeing assured of them can more easily pardon the want of those outward Acts of sufficiency and service most minded by basest men which they see to be above the reach of their ability and power Now if it be so that even ingenuous and noble natures accept with speciall respect and esteeme the affectionatenesse and hearty well-willing of their followers and Favourits tho thâ—y want dexterity and meanes to expresse iâ— actually in visible effects and executions answerable to their affection How much more are spirituall longings holy affections thirsty desires graciously accepted of that God in respect of whose compassions the bowels of the most mercifull man upon earth are cruelty In respect of whose immeasurably amiable melting sweetest disposition the ingenuousnesse of the noblest spirit is doggednesse and disdaine Especially sith Mens good Turnes and Offices of love turne many times to our good and benefit to our advancement profit preferment But our well-doing extendeth not unto God That infinite essentiall glory with which the highest Lord alone to bee blessed adored and honoured by all for ever was is and shall bee everlastingly crowned can neither bee empaired by the most desperate rebellions or enlarged by the most glorious good deeds Can a man saith Eliphaz to Iob bee profitable unto God As Hee that is wise may bee profitable unto himselfe Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous Or is it gaine to Him that thou makest thy waies perfit And Cap. 35.6 7 8. If thou sinnest what doest thou against Him Or if thy transgressions bee multiplyed what doest thou unto Him If thou bee righteous what givest thou to Him Or what receiveth he of thine hand Thy wickednesse may hurt a man as thou art and thy righâ—eousnesse may profit the Sonne of Man Were all the wicked men upon earth turned into humane beasts desperate Belials nay incarnate Divels and the whole world full of those out-ragious Giants of Babell and those also of the oâ—â— World And all with combined force and fury should bend and band themselves against Heaven yet they could not hurt God The Lord is King be the people never so impatient Hee sitteth between the Cherubins be the earth never so unquiet Or Were all the Sonnes of men Abrahams or Angels and as many in number as the Starres in Heaven and as shining both with inward graces and outward good deeds as they are in visible glory yet could they make no addition unto that incomprehensible Majesty above They could not conferre so much as one drop to that boundlesse and bottomlesse Sea of goodnesse or the least glimpse unto that Almighty Sunne of glory All nations before Him are as nothing and they are counted to Him lesse then nothing and vanity Our sinnes hurt Him not Our holinesse helpes Him not It is onely for our good that God would have us good No good no gaine accrewes unto Him by our goodnesse For what good can come by our imperfect goodnesse to that which is already infinitely good What glory can bee added by our dimnesse to Him which is already incomprehensibly glorious Every infinite Thing is naturally and necessarily uncapable of addition Possibility of which suppos'd implies contradiction and destroyes the nature of Infinity If it bee so then that good turnes doe good unto Men and yet out of their ingenuousnesse they most esteeme good wills true heartednesse kind affections And can well find in their hearts to passe-by failings where there is heart and good will as they say To pardon easily want of exactnesse in performance where there are unfained purposes How much more will our gracious God who gaines nothing by all the good workes in the world out of the depth of His dearest compassions kindly interpret and accept in good part the holy longings and hungry desires of a panting and bleeding Soule How dearely will Hee love the love of a true-hearted Nathanael How willingly will Hee take the will for the deede the groanings of the Heart before the greatest Sacrifice But lest you mistake take notice here of a two-fold Glory 1. Essentiall infinite everlasting It is impossible that this should either receive disparagement and diminution or addition and encreasement by any created power And this I meant in the precedent Passage 2. The other I may call Accidentall finite temporary This ebbs or slowes shines or is over-shadowed as Goodnesse or Gracelesnesse prevailes in the world As the kingdom of Christ or powers of darknes get the upper hand amonst the Sonnes of Men. In this regard indeede Rebellious wretches dishonour God upon Earth I confesse And Godly men
deale and converse with for recovery and cure This secret and saving influence I speake of might bee evidently discerned in Master Peacocke even at the worst Some reverend Ministers standing by his bed of sorrow asked him if they should pray for him Marke well his answer Take not the Name of God in vaine said hee by praying for a Reprobate Which words well weighed seeme to imply and represent clearely to a spirituall discerning judgement some good measure even of the highest degree of divine love preferring the glory of God before the wellfare of his owne soule rather willing to have the meanes of his salvation neglected then the Lord dishonoured One asking another time whether hee loved such an One meaning a godly man Yes saith hee Why For his goodnesse Another comming to him upon the Lords day willed him to put his hand to a note of certaine debts This is not a day for that said hee And at the same time hee would hardly suffer any to stay with him from the Sermon Beeing told of suffering plaisters out of Gods Word to rest upon his wounded soule Hee brake out thus Oh! if I had Oh! if it would please God I had rather then any thing in this or other three thousand Worlds By these we may see and other passages to the same purpose that our blessed God had a secret working and saving influence upon his soule even in the depth and hideous darkenesse of his most grievous desertion Here is love first unto God in a high degree secondly deare affection unto his Children and that for his Image shining in them thirdly love unto his Sabbaths and salvation of others fourthly vehement desires after grace and Gods favour All which were undeniable demonstrations of an undamned state to every understanding eye Nay unquestionable arguments of spirituall life and designation to eternall blisse Whereupon my resolution was then and protestation upon good ground That if all the powerfull eloquence which rested with in the reverent bosome of mine owne deare Mother the famous Vniversity of Oxford managed by the Sâ—raphicall tongue of the highest and most glorious Angell in heaven had been industriously set on worke for that purpose except I had heard my blessed Redeemer say I will rend a member from my Body and throw it away The holy Spirit say I will pull my seale from that Soule which I have savingly sanctifyed my gracious and mercifull Father say I wil this once faile forsake One of mine I could never have been possibly perswaded that that soule of his so richly laden with heavenly treasure and gifts of God never to be repented of so syncerely exercised in the waies of God and opposition to the corruption of the times c. should possibly perish 2. Secondly suppose thou shouldest walke in darkenesse and have no light in the sense of the Prophet for the residue and remainder of thy few and evill dayes in this vale of teares nay and dye so before comfort comes yet be not discomforted For fearing God and being upright-hearted thy Soule shall most certainely bee preserved in spirituall and eternall safety by staying upon thy God tho thou bee without any sense of joy and peace in believing This life tho never so long is but a moment to the life to come But the kindnesse is everlasting with which hee will have mercy on thee Thy sufferings are but short whatsoever they bee But thou hast eternity of joyes in the World above purchased and prepared for thee by the hearts-blood of that blessed Saviour of thine upon whom thy soule relies It is the Divels policy say Divines to procure for his slaves all the favours honours and advancements all the prosperities and pleasures hee can possibly lest if hee should not follow and fullfill their humours this way they might thinke upon seeking after and serving a new Master Noâ— caring to vexe or molest them in this World because hee knowes full well hee shall have time enough hereafter to torment them in Hell And wilt not thou contrarily be content if God so please to passe thorow this vale of teares even with Hemans horrour Psal. 88.15 Sith Heaven is so neare at hand and thou hast a little before thee an everlasting time to row in the bottomlesse and boundlesse Ocean of all glory and blisse in an endlesse variety of new and fresh delights infinitely excellent and sweet aboue the largest created conceite 6. Let us suppose a Christian in these three states And it is no uncouth thing to those who obserue or feele Gods secret and unsearchable dealings with his Children 1. First in a faire and comfortable calme and Sun-shine after the tempestuous troubles and travaile in the pangs of the New-birth when the light of Gods countenance the first refreshing warmth of his sanctifying Spirit the fresh sweetnesse and vitall stirrings of grace the ravishing consciousnesse of his happy conversion doe fill his soule as with marrow and fatnesse and feede it with a kindly and more lively disposition to all good and godly dueties 2. Secondly in a spirituall Desertion when the sense of Gods favour love and woonted presence the comfortable vse and exercise of the Ordinances graces and spirituall affaires langvish and leave him for a time 3. Thirdly In the state of recovery and restitution from such a fearefull Dampe and deprivation of divine comfort unto former ioyfull feelings and re-enjoyment of his Beloved so that his revived soule may sweetly sing My Beloved is mine and I am his Now I doubt not But that the middle of these three estates being accompanied with hearty griefe and groanes for Christs absence restlesse pantings and longings after a new resurrection as it were of the sensible and fruitfull operations of grace renewed desires and endeavours for regainement of accustomed surer hold by the hand of Faith patient and praierfull waiting for the returne of Gods pleased face c. is as pleasing and deare if not more to our mercifull Father as either of the other two Doe you not thinke that the Fathers of our flesh are as lovingly affected and meltingly mooved to heare the obedient Child sigh and sob cry out and complaine because they looke not kindly upon him but for triall of his affection have hid for a time the much desired beames of their fatherly favour under some affected angry frownes as when things are carried more currently and comfortably betwixt them without any great distast and discontentment or occasion to discover the mutuall impatiency of their loves one unto another And shall not the Father of our Spirits who loves us with the same love with which he loves the Lord Iesus himselfe surpasse as farre in affectionate compassion towards us in the like Case as an Almighty God doth a mortall Man He cannot chuse because the word is already gone out of his mouth Like as a Father pittieth his Childe so the Lord pittieth them that feare him Psa. 103.13 I am
their beauty and magnitude which in their continuall and contrary motions are neither repugnant intermixt or confounded By these potent effects wee approach to the knowledge of the Omnipotent cause and by these motions their Almighty mover Whensoever therefore that most implacable and everlasting enemy to Gods glory and the good of his Children shal go about to pervert and crosse by his blasphemous injections these sober and sacred conceptions of the thrice glorious ever-blessed Deity planted in thy minde by his owne Word and this visible World bid him by the example of thy Lord and Master avoide and avant trample upon his hellish spite appeale unto Gods righteous Throne with protestation of thine innocency damning them unto the Pit of Hell in thy Iudgement and hating them not without horrour from the very heart-roote and so truly resisting them crying mightily unto God for pardon wherein soever thou shalt faile about them and for power against them and then possesse thy humble soule in patience and peace 8. Being humbled by them making an holy use of them perusing and applying the considerations and counsels in hand for comfort in them and conquest over them doe not by any meanes continue to afflict and torture thy spirit about them Let them now passe away and bee packing abandon them with an holy detestation contempt and slighting without any such dismayednesse and terrour as most unworthy of any longer taking to heart or notice of much lesse of that carking and trouble as to terrifie in-dispose dis-able thee for a chearefull discharge of either of thy Callings particular or generall Divines hold even godly sorrow unseasonable when it unfitteth the body or minde to good duties or to a good and chearefull manner of doing them how much more would they not have these hellish distractions and intrusions to dishearten thee in this kinde But least of all of that pestilent prevailing as to fill thine heart with extraordinary astonishment horrour and doubting whether such monstrous injections bee incident to sanctified soules a saving state and habitation of the holy-Ghost and so to put thee into a habit of heavy walking and secret sadnesse by reason of continuall questioning the soundnesse of thy conversion the constancy of Gods love unto thee former assurance of an immortall Crowne and whether it bee possible that Iesus Christ should dwell in a soule hanted with such horrible thoughts Procurement of which miseries molestations is the Adversaries only aime For so immesurably malicious is He that if he cannot plunge thee into the pit of hell and everlasting flames in the World to come yet will be labour might and maine to keep thee upon the Rack and in as much terrour as hee can possibly all thy life long in this vale of teares Suffer then this advise to sinke seriously into thy heart Being illightned rightly informed and directed about them let them no longer astonish thy spirit detaine thee in horrour hurt thy heart or hinder thee in any duty to God or man or in an humble comfortable and confident walking with thy God as thou art woont or of thy former sweet communion with Iesus Christ. And the rather because First It is the Tempters earnest end only out of pure spite to put this imposture and unnecessary vexing perplexities upon thee Secondly The more thou art troubled with them and takes them to heart for that is it hee would have the more violently and villanously will he presse them upon thee and terrifie Thirdly They are not thine but his fearefull sinnes Hee alone must answer for them at that great and last Day and thou goe free It is his malicious madnesse of such a prodigious nature and notoriousnesse as is beyond conceit and above all admiration onely fit for a Divell That Hee may trouble thee temporally Hee mightily aggravates his owne eternall torment In a second place let mee tender unto thee an Antidote which hath been found soveraigne and succesfull this way The summe of it is this Let the tempted Christian labour to worke and extract by the blessings of God some spirituall good out of the horrible hell of these most hatefull abominable blasphemous suggestions And if Satan once see that thou sâ—cks honey out of his poyson comfort out of his cruelty medicine out of his malice hee will have no heart or hope to goe on no courage or contentment to continue the temptation Take it in the sense if not in the same wordes without any variation or enlargement as it was applied and prosper'd Spitefull and malicious Fiend cursed enemie to heaven and earth by the mercies of God hough thy purpose be most pestilent yet thou shalt not hurt or have any advantage against mee hereby Thy base and dunghill injections tending to the dishonour of my God and my Christ c. shall make mee 1. More hate thine infinitely hatefull and revengefull malice against that thrice-glorious and ever-blessed Majesty above 2. With more feeling and dearenesse to adore and love the glory and sweetnesse of my God and my Redeemer For the more excessive and endlesse I feele thy spite against Him the more I know is his incomprehensible excellency and worth 3. To pray oftner and more fervently that my God would rebuke thee and cast this extreme malice of thine as dung upon thine owne face 4. To bee still more humbled under the hand of my mighty Lord because I cannot bee more humbled and with more resolution and abhorrence abominate and abandon such prodigiously-senselesse and hellish blasphemies of His for I am sure they are none of mine into the bottomlesse bottome of that darkest Dungeon In the blackest horrour whereof they were most maliciously and monstrously hatched 5. To take up a strong argument and answer against an other of thy cursed injections tending to Atheisme and the not Being of those endlesse joies above Because I most plainely and palpably feele thee an invisible spirit casting into my imagination such horrid absurd and ridiculously impious thoughts which cannot possibly spring ordinarily or naturally from any power or possibilitie of mine own soule I know thereby and assure my self that there is also an infinite most wise and glorious Spirit which created both me and thee And will in due time chaine Thee up for ever in the Pit of Hell and bring mee at length by the blessed merit of his only dearest Sonnes bloodshed into the bosome of his owne glory and everlasting blisse 6. To confirme mine owne heart with stronger assurance which is no meane benefit that I undoubtedly belong unto God and am in a gracious state For thou well knowest and so doth mine owne Soule that thou never troubledst me to any purpose with these ougly blasphemous thoughts while I yet lay starke dead in sinnes and trespasses and drown'd full deepe in vanity and lust in carnall loosenesse and sensuall courses Then thou being the strong Man possessedst mee wholly and all was quiet because all was
vidisti morbum insanabilem non unius non duorum non decem sed mille Quidergo dicit posthaec Lavamini mundi estote Num peccatum putas habet Ipse Deus dicit non audiam vos dicit Lavamini Quorum vtrumque utilitèr ingeritur id ut terream hoc ut alliciam sed cos non audis spem poenitentiae non habent Quòd si non habent poenitentiae spem quomodò dicit Lavamini c. Chrysost. tom 5. de Poenitentiâ Homil 3. g Besides many other large Commentaries and Expositions Downam and Whately are excellent for a more punctuall cleare and compendious Opening of the Law and ranking in order and distinct representing of the severall sinnes against it Make use of the twenty considerations before pag. 63. c. and of the three wayes of examining the Conscience in my Treatise of the Lords Supper to helpe to make a Man Miserable and vile in His owne eyes sensible of His sinfull and cursed state that thereupon He may be stirred to goe out of Himselfe and make towards Christ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Colos 1.13 h The wisedome of the blessed Spirit Himselfe teacheth us to make use of Gods mercies to preach mercy for this purpose See Isai. 55.7.8.9 â—oel 2.13 Rebels will farre more willingly come in upon Proâ—lamation promising mercy and assuring them of pardon if they will humble themselves and returne to obedience If there bee no hope of being received to grace there will bee no desire to returne into the state of grace â—a est conscientia peccati irae Dei adversus peccatum ut nisi allecti suavi aliquo misericordiae deâ—â—n Christo sensa nunquam velimus credere in cum aut ad cum consugere Rollâ—c in Iohan cap. 5. vers 20 pag. 270. * 1. Kings 20.31 i Verba quae diâ—i scripta sunt divinis authoritatibus continentur quia misericors miserator dominus longanimis multùm misericors verax multùm delectat omnes peccatores amatores hujus saeculi quia misericors miserator Dominus quia longanimus multùm misericors Sed siamas tam multa mitia time ibi ultimum quod ait Verax Si enim nihil â—liud diceret nisi misericors miserator Dominus longanimis multum misericors quasi jam converteres te ad securitatem impunitatem ad licentiam peccatorum saceres quod vâ—lles utereris saeoâ—lo vel quantum tibi peâ—â—itâ—tcretur vel quantum tibi libido jussisset Et si quis te beâ—è monendo objurgaret â—â—â—ue terreret ut cohiberes te ab immoderato luxâ— cuâ—do post concupiscentias tuas deserendo deum tuum inter medias voces objurgantis obsisteres impudenti quidem fronte veluti auditâ divinâ authoritate legeres de libro dominico Quid me terres de Deo nostro Ille misericors est miserator multùm misericors Ne talia homines dicerent unum verbum addidit in fine quod ait Verax Et excussit â—etitiam malè praesumentium induxit timorem â—â—olentium August Tom. 9. pag. 1148. k Qui malè agere non â—essant in vanum misericordiam Dei expectant quam recte expectarent si à malo recederent Bern. De modo benè vivendi Serm. 2. Col. 1241. l Vt ex Dei parte datur universalis remissio peccatorum sic debet etiam in nobis esse universalis detestatio peccatorum atque illud proculdubio verissimum est in omni homine verè reconciliato semper repeâ—iriodium omnium suorum peccatorum propositum etiam studium deinceps abstinendi ab omnibus nam qui remissionem omnium accepit infusionem graciae simul accepit qua illum armâ—t munit contra omnia Frustra igitur blanditur sibi de peccatis remissis qui amorem peccati cujuscunque propositum in eodem permanendi quasi in sinu cordis saâ—sâ—vet Davenant expos epist. ad Coloss. in cap. 2. vers 13. pag. 271. Fides bona Conscientia non conveniunt nec in eodem corde morantur cum proposito peccandi displicendi Deo Ibid. pag. 67. Omnis qui natus est ex Deo peccatum non â—acit Notanda vis verborum non inquit peccatum â—acit quòd patitur potiùs quám facit qui natus est ex Deo non potest peccare perseverando scilicet in peccato Bern. de Nat. Dig. Aâ—oris divini cap 6. Whosoever lives in any One knowne sinne let Him know to His face Hee Hath no true Faith Rogers in his Doctrine of Faith pag. 377. m Remissio peccatorum universalis tollit reatum universorum peccatorum nostrorum Infusio etiam gratiae huic conjuncta tollit Dominium universorum Davenant loco suprà citato Peccatum in hác vitâ quantum ad sanctos attinet regnum perdit in aliâ perit Hîc regnum perdit quandò post concupiscentias nostras non imus Ibi autem perit quando dicetur ubi tua O mors victoria August de verbis Apost Serm. 6. Aliud est non peccare aliud non habere peccatum Nam in quo peccatum non regnat non peccat id est qui non obedit desiderijs August in expos epist. ad Galatas cap. 5. n Iust as in the Prophets time This is a rebellious people lying Children Children that will not Heare the Law of the Lord which say to the Seers See not and to the Prophets Prophecy not unto us right things speake unto us smooth things c. Isa. 30.9.10 o A Deo ahaliena 〈…〉 Basil. Ascet cap. 2. Omnia 〈…〉 quâ—e in poteâ—tite 〈◊〉 obtinere Bernard Multi hominum Gehenuam taâ—tâ—msâ—â—◠〈◊〉 ego autem illias gloriae amiâ—io â—em Gâ—hennil 〈◊〉 amarioremesse dico Intolerabilis 〈◊〉 illa pâ—â—na tamen licet quis innumeras poâ—at Gâ—oemias tale nil dicet quale illi faliâ— excidere gloriâ— Ã Christa odio haberi Audire Nesii◠〈◊〉 Chrysost. ad Popul Antiochenum Hom. 47. Intolerabilis quidem res est etiam Gehennâ—â— quis nesciat supplicium illud herribale Tamen si mille aliquis ponat Gehennas nihil tale dicturtis est quale est à beat aeillius gloriae honore repelli exosumque esse Christo audire ab iâ— Non Novi Vos Idem in Matth. Hom. 24. * Mark 16.15 Matth. 11.28 Ioh. 7.37 Rev. 22.17 p It was the Sonne of God and Lord of life that dyed for us upon the Crosse but it was the nature of Man not of God wherein Hee died and it was the nature of God and infinite excellency of the same whence the price value and worth of His Passion grew Field Of the Church Lib. 5. cap. 16. Docet sanguinem Christi propter Hyposlaticam utriusque naturae in uno Chrislo conjunctionem â—acoque propter communicationem idiomatum veâ—e dici posse non solum sangutacia silij hominis sed etiam sanguinem filij Dei atque adeò sanguinem ipsius Det.