wise for the world after they have beene made new But lastly is it now from a slavish feare of hell which workes this alteration Nothing lesse they abhorre to live like slaves in Bridewell to do all for feare of the whip Fourthly From Gods Register or notary which is in every man I meane the Conscience of man which telleth them there is a GOD and although they silence it sometimes yet in thunder-time or great plague as Pharaoh or at the day of Death then they are neere Gods Tribunall when they acknowledge him clearely The fearefull terrors of Conscience prove this which like a Bayliffe arrests men for their debts Ergo there is some Creditor to set it on sometimes like a hangman it torments men ergo there is some strange Iudge that gave it that command whence arise these dreadfull terrors in men of themselves No surely all desire to be in peace and so to live and sleepe in a whole skin Comes it froÌ„ Melancholy no for melancholy comes on by degrees these terrors of conscience surprise the soule sodainely at a sermon sodainely after the commission of some secret foule sinne Againe Melancholy sadnesse may be cured by Physicke but many Physitians have given such men over to other Physitians Melancholy sadnesse may bee borne but a wounded Spirit who can beare Thus you see that there is a God But who ever saw God that every one is bold to affirme that there is a God Indeed his face never was seene by mortall man but his back-parts have beene seene are seene and may bee seene by all the world as hath beene proved Objection All things are brought to passe by second causes Answ. 1. What though Is there no Master in the House because the servants doe all the worke This great God maintaines state by doing all by the Creatures subjection yet sometimes we may cry out in beholding some speciall peeces of his administration here is the finger of God 2. What though there be such confusion in the world as that shillings stand for pence and counters stand for pounds the best men are bought and sould at a low rate and worst men prized and preferred yet if wee had eyes to see and conceive wee should see an harmony in this discord of things God is now like a wise Carpenâ—er but hewing out his worke There is a lumber and confusion seemingly among us let us stay till the day of judgement and then wee shall see infinite wisedome in sitting all this for his owne glory and for the good of his people Object But if there be a God why heares hee not his peoples prayers why doth hee forget them when they have most need of him I answer Noah's Dove returnes not presently with an olive-branch of peace in his mouth Prayers sometime that speed well returne not presently for want of company enough to fetch away that abundance of mercy which God hath to give The Lord ever gives them their asking in mony or mony-worth in the same thing or a better The Lord ever gives his importunate beggers their desires either in pence by little and little or by pounds long he is many times before hee gives but payeth them well for their waiting This is a use of reprooâ—e to all Atheists either in opinion or practice First In opinion such as either conclude or suspect there is no God Oh blasphemous thought Are there any such men men nay beasts nay Devils nay worse than Devils for they beleeve and tremble Yet the foole hath said in his heart there is no God Psal. 18. 1. Men that have little heads little knowledge without hearts as scholars sometimes of weak brains seeing how things come by second causes though they might beleeve their bookes yet cannot raise their dull thoughts to the beholding of a first cause Great Politicians are like children alwayes standing on their heads and shaking their heeles against Heaven these thinke Religion to bee but a peece of policie to keepe people in awe prophane persons desiring to goe on in sinne without any rubb or checke for sinne blow out all the light of nature wishing there were no God to punish and are willing to suspect that which is not Those also that have sinned secretly though not openly against nature or the light of Conscience GOD smites men for incest sodomy selfe-pollution with dismall blindnesse Those also that are notorious worldlings that looke no higher than their barnes no further than their shops the world is a pearle in their eyes they cannot see a God Lastly I suspect those men that never found out this thiefe this sinne that was bred and born with them nor saw it in their owne hearts but there it lies still in some darke corner of their soules to cut their throates these kind of men sometimes suspect there is no God O this is a grievous sinne for if no God no heaven no hell no martyrs no prophets no Scriptures Christ was then an horrible lyer and an Impostor Other sinnes wrong and grieve God and wound him but this sinne stabs the very heart of God it strikes at the life and is as much as lies in sinfull man the death of God for it saith there is no God Secondly This reproveth Atheists in practice which say there is a God and question it not but in works they deny him Hee that pluckes the King from his throne is as vile as hee that saith he is no King These men are almost as bad as Atheists in opinion And of such dust-heapes we may finde in every Corner that in their practice deny God men that set up other gods in Gods roome their wealth their honour their pleasure their merits their backs and bellies to be their gods men that make bold to do that against this true God which Idolaters dare not doe against their Idoll Gods and that is continually to wrong thisâ—God Men that speake not for all they want by prayer nor returne all backe againe to God by praise A second use is for exhortation O labour to see and behold this God Is there a God and wilt thou not give him a good looke Oh passe by all the Rivers till thou come to the spring head wade through all creatures untill thou art drowned plunged and swallowed up with God When thou seest the Heavens say where is that great Builder that made this when thou hearest of mutations of Kingdomes say where is the Lord of Hosts the great Captaine of these armies when thou tastest sweetnes in the Creature or in Gods ordinances say where is sweetnesse it selfe beauty it selfe where is the Sea of these drops the Sun of these beames Oh that men saw this God its heaven to behold him thou art then in a corner of hell that canst not dost not see him and yet what is lesse knowne than God Methinks when men heare there is a God about them they should lye groveling in the dust because of
hell fire Oh Lord that 's a torment I cannot beare but if it must be so Lord let me come out againe quickly No depart thou cursed into everlasting fire Oh Lord if this be thy pleasure that here I must abide let mee have good company with me No Depart thou cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devill and his Angels This shall be thy sentence The hearing of which may make the rocks to rent so that goe on in thy sinne and prosper despise and scoffe at Gods Ministers and prosper abhorre the power and practise of Religion as a too precise course and prosper yet known there will a day come when thou shalt meet with a dreadfull Iudge a dolefull sentence Now is thy day of sinning but God will have shortly his day of condemning When the Iudgement day is done then the fearefull wrath of God shall be poured out and piled upon their bodies and soules and the breath of the Lord like a streame of brimstone shall kindle it and here thou shalt lye burning and none shall ever quench it This is the execution of a sinner after judgement Revel 21. 8. Now this wrath of God consists in these things 1. Thy soule shall be banished from the face and blessed sweet presence of God and Christ and thou shalt never see the face of God more It is said Acts 20. that they wept sore because they should see Pauls face no more Oh thou shalt never see the face of God Christ Saints and Angels more O heavie doome to famish and pine away for ever without one bit of bread to comfort thee one smile of God to refresh thee Men that have their sores running upon them must be shut up from the presence of men sound and whole Oh thy sinnes like plague-sores runne on thee therefore thou must be shut out like a dogge from the presence of God and all his people 2. Thes. 1. 9. 2. God shall set himselfe like a consuming infinite fire against thee and tread thee under his feet who hast by sinne trod him and his glory under foot all thy life A man may devise exquisite torments for another and great power may make a little sticke to lay on heavie strokes but great power stirred up to strike from great fury and wrath makes the stroke deadly I tell thee all the wisedome of God shall then be set against thee to devise torments for thee Mich. 1. 3. there was never such wrath felt or conceived as the Lord hath devised against thee that livest and dyest in thy naturall estate Hence it is called wrath to come 1 Thes. 1. ult The torment which wisedome shall devise the almighty power of God shall inflict upon thee so as there was never such power seene in making the world as in holding a poore creature under the wrath that holds up the soule in being with one hand and beats it with the other ever burning like fire against a creature and yet that creature never burnt up Rom. 9. 22. Thinke not this cruelty it 's justice what cares God for a vile wretch whom nothing can make good while it lives If wee have been long in hewing a block and we can make no meet vessell of it put it to no good use for our selves wee cast it into the fire God heweth thee by Sermons sicknesse losses and crosses sudden death mercies and miseries yet nothing makes thee better what should God doe with thee but cast thee hence Oh consider of this wrath before you feele it I had rather have all the world burning about mine eares than to have one blasting frowne from the blessed face of an infinite and dreadfull God Thou canst not indure the torment of a little kitchin fire on the tip of thy finger not one halfe houre together how wilt thou beare the fury of this infinite endlesse consuming fire in body and soule throughout all eternity 3. The never-dying worme of a guilty conscience shall torment thee as if thou hadst swallowed downe a living poysonfull snake which shall lie gnawing and biting thine heart for sin past day night And this worm shall tormēt by shewing the cause of thy misery that is that thou didst never care for him that should have saved thee By shewing thee also thy sins against the Law by shewing thee thy sloth whereby thy happinesse is lost Then shall thy conscience gnaw to thinke so many nights I went to bed without prayer and so many dayes and houres I spent in feasting and foolish sporting Oh if I had spent halfe that time now mis-spent in praying in mourning in meditation yonder in heaven had I beene By shewing thee also the means that thou once hadst to avoid this misery such a Minister I heard once that told me of my particular sinnes as if he had been told of me such a friend perswaded me once to turne over a new leafe I remember so many knocks God gave at this iron heart of mine so many mercies the Lord sent but oh no meanes could prevaile with me Lastly by shewing thee how easily thou mightest have avoided all these miseries Oh once I was almost perswaded to be a Christian but I suffered my heart to grow dead fell to loose company and so lost all The Lord Iesus came unto my doore and knocked and if I had done that for Christ which I did for the Devill many a time to open at his knocks I had beene saved A thousand such bites will this worme give at thine heart which shall make thee cry out O time time O sermons sermons O my hopes and my helpes are now lost that once I had to save my lost soule 4. Thou shalt take up thy lodging for ever with Devills and they shall be thy companions Him thou hast served here with him must thou dwell there It scares men out of their wits almost to see the Devill as they think when they be alone but what horrour shall fill thy soule when thou shalt be banished from Angels societie and come into the fellowship of Devills for ever 5. Thou shalt be filled with finall despaire If a man be grievously sicke it comforts him to thinke it will not last long But if the Physitian tell him he must live all his life time in this extremitie he thinkes the poorest begger in a better estate than himselfe Oh to thinke when thou hast been millions of yeares in thy sorrowes then thou art no neerer thy end of bearing thy misery then at the first comming in Oh I might once have had mercy and Christ but no hope now ever to have one glimpse of his face or one good looke from him any more 6. Thou shalt vomit out blaspemous oathes curses in the face of God the father for ever curse God that never elected thee and curse the Lord Iesus that never shed one drop of blood to redeeme thee and curse God the holy Ghost that passed by thee and never called thee
Rev. 10. 9. And here thou shalt lie and weepe and gnash thy teeth in spight against God and thy selfe and roare and stamp and grow madde that there thou must lie under the curse of God for ever Thus I say thou shalt lie blaspheming with Gods wrath like a pile of fire on thy soule burning and flouds nay seas nay more seas of teares for thou shalt for ever lie weeping shall never quench it And here which way so ever thou lookest thou shalt see matter of everlasting griefe Look up to heaven there thou shalt see oh that God is for ever gone Looke about thee thou shalt see Devills quaking cursing God and thousands nay millions of sinfull damned creatures crying and roaring out with dolefull shrikings Oh the day that ever I was borne Looke within thee there is a guilty conscience gnawing Looke to time past oh those golden dayes of grace and sweet seasons of mercy are quite lost and gone Looke to time to come there thou shalt behold evills troupes and swarmes of sorrowes and woes and raging waves and billowes of wrath comming roaring upon thee Looke to time present O not one houre or moment of ease or refreshing but all curses meet together and seeding upon one poore lost immortall soule that never can be recovered againe No God no Christ no Spirit to comfort thee no Minister to preach unto thee no friend to wipe away thy continuall teares no Sunne to shine upon thee not a bit of bread not one drop of water to coole thy tongue This is the misery of every naturall man Now doe not thou shift it from thy selfe and say God is mercifull True But it is to very few as shall be proved T is a thousand to one if ever thou bee one of that small number whom God hath picked out to escape this wrath to come If thou doe not get the Lord Jesus to beare this wrath farewell God Christ and Gods mercy for ever And I am sure that it 's no common evill which God gives to every wicked man if Christ had shed seas of bloud set thine heart at rest there is not one drop of it for thee untill thou comest to see and feele and groane under this miserable estate I tell thee Christ is so farre from saving thee that he is thine enemy If Christ were here and should say here is my bloud for thee if thou wilt but lye downe and mourne under the burden of thy misery and yet for all his speeches thy dry eyes weepe not thy stout heart yeelds not thy hard heart mournes not as to say oh I am a sinfull lost condemned cursed dead creature what shall I doe dost not thinke but he would turne away his face from thee and say oh thou stony hard-hearted creature wouldst thou have mee save thee from thy misery and yet thou wilt not groane sigh and mourne for deliverance to me out of thy misery if thou likest thine estate so well and prizest me so little perish in thy misery for ever Oh labour to be humbled day and night under this thy woefull estate Thou art guilty of Adams grievous sin will this breake thine heart No Thou art dead in sinne and top-full of all sinne will this breake thine heart No Whatsoever thou dost hast done shalt doe remaining in this estate is sinne will this breake thine heart No. God is thine enemy and thou hast lost him will this breake thine heart No. Thou art condemned to die eternally Sathan is thy Iaylor thou art bound hand and foote in the bolts of thy sinnes and cast into utter darknesse and ready every moment to drop into hell will this breake thine heart No. Thou must dye and after that appeare before the Lord to judgement and then beare Gods everlasting insupportable wrath which rents the rocks and burnes downe to the bottome of hell will this breake thine hard heart man No. Then fare well Christ for ever never look to see a Christ untill thou dost come to feele thy misery out of Christ. Labour therefore for this and the Lord will reveale the brazen Serpent when thou art in thine owne sense and feeling stung to death with thy fiery Serpents So I come to open the Fourth Principall point vâ—z CHAP. IIII. THat the Lord Jesus Christ is the onely means of Redemption and deliverance out of this estate Eph. 1. 7. In whom wee have redemption through his bloud which plainly demonstrates that Iesus Christ is the onely means of mans Redemption and deliverance out of his bondage and miserable estate And this is the Doctrine I shall now insist upon When the Israelites were in bondage and misery he sends Moses to deliver them When they were in Babylon he stirreth up Cyrus to open the prison-gates to them But when man is in misery he sends the Lord Jesus God and man to redeeme him Act. 4. 12. Quest. How doth Christ redeeme men out of this misery Answ. By paying a price for them 1. Cor. 6. ult Gods mercy will be manifested in saving some and his justice must be satisfied by having satisfaction or price made and paid for mans sinne Hence Christ saâ—â—sfieth Gods Justice First by standing in the roome of all them whom mercy decreeth to save A Surety standeth in the roome of a debter Heb. 7. 22. As the first Adam stood in the roome of all mankinde fallen So Christ standeth in the roome of all men rising or to be restored againe Secondly by taking from them in whose roome he stood the eternall guilt of all their sinnes and by assuming the guilt of all those sinnes unto himselfe 2 Cor. 5. 22. Hence Luther said Christ was the greatest sinner by imputation Thirdly by bearing the curse and wrath of God kindled against sinne God is so holy that when he seeth sin sticking onely by imputation to his owne Sonne he will not spare him but his wrath and curse must he beare Gal. 3. 13. Christ drinks up the cup of all the Elect at one draught which they should have beene sipping and drinking and swilling and tormented with millions of yeares Fourthly by bringing into the presence of God perfect righteousnesse Rom. 5. 11. for this also Gods Justice required perfection conformity to the Law as well as perfect satisfaction suffering for the wrong offered to the Law-giver Justice thus requiring these foure things Christ satisfies Justice by performing them and so payes the price II. Christ is a Redeemer by strong hand The first Redemption by price is finished in Christs person at his resurrection the second is begun by the Spirit in mans vocation and ended at the day of Judgement as money is first paid for a Captive in Turkey and then because he cannot come to his owne Prince himselfe he is fetcht away by strong hand Here is incouragement to the vilest sinner and comfort to the selfe-succourlesse and lost sinner who have spent all their money their time and endeavours