343. at the beginning of l. 26. add the Figure 2 But the chief faults are in the paging viz. After p. 224. instead of 225. is 257. and after p. 320. is p. 305. and after p. 320 again is 337. But in the Book it self there is not any thing out of its proper place but all comes in in its order the only error herein being in the Figures of the Pages Godly Fear OR The Nature and Necessity of Fear and its Usefulness c. PROV 28.14 Happy is the Man that feareth alway YOU will not expect that I spend time in enquiring after the connection of these words with the foregoing or the following parts of this Chapter if you consider the Book in which they are found The Book of Proverbs wherein many precious Truths are laid and pack'd together but not connected together this Book being rather a Golden Mine than a Golden Chain The words of the Text are an entire Proposition which may be logically resolved into 1. A Subject the Man that feareth together with the Circumstances of time alway 2. An Attribute or something affirmed concerning this Man happy he is an happy Man For the opening of these words briefly Happy or blessed or as it is in the Original O the blessedness O how blessed he is a very happy Man the Man that feareth that is say some The Man that feareth all the evil that is before him the misery that is before him the danger that he is in Say others The Man that feareth God according as it 's express'd Prov. 23.17 that is in the fear of God all the day long Others that walks cautelously and warily Qui prospicit ne quid temerè aggrediatur nec absque debitâ deliberatione consilio sollicitè cavens ne quid boni omittat nec in malum ruat He that walks with Counsel and Care that he neglects not his Duty nor fall into danger Put all these Interpretations into one and you have the full sense of the words He that walking under an awe and reverence of God and a sense of the danger he is in wisely and warily orders his steps that he be not surprized by Sin or by Wrath. Alway The Caldee renders it Omnia that feareth all things that feareth himself his Eyes his Ears his Tongue his Table his Estate his Business his Company his Friends and his Enemies that is as far forth as they may be Inlets or Instruments or Temptations to Sin and so may expose him to danger But the word is alway that feareth at all times that is never secure The Doctrine that I shall hence insist upon is this Doct. A Life of Holy Fear is a Blessed Life In the opening hereof I shall more particularly enquire 1. What that Fear is to which Blessedness is pronounced 2. What that Blessedness is which is pronounced to this Fear In the handling whereof I shall together give in the proof of the Doctrine 1. What that Fear is to which Blessedness is pronounced There is a Fear that is our weakness As 1. the Fear of the faint-hearted a natural pusillanimity or cowardize there are such weak Spirits in whom every little danger or but the shadow of a danger shakes their Hearts and puts them into anxieties and disquiets In what perpetual bondage do some timerous Spirits live how restless are their hearts like the troubled Sea that cannot be at rest every little gust raises a storm In what a daily and hourly succession of vexing disquiets do they live 2. The Fear of the Scrupulous about some supposed moral Evils which concern their practice who through weakness of Understanding or the abounding of Melancholy do often fancy that to be Sin which is no Sin and thereby fright themselves off from the use of their Liberty and sometimes from their very Duty Every Morsel that they eat every Garment that they wear they are afraid lest it be too much or too good or too fine c. and thereby scruple themselves out of their convenient Food and all comely Apparel Some poor Melancholick Christians dare not pray for fear of taking the Name of God in vain dare not come to the Table of the Lord at all for fear of coming unworthily In this Fear there is a mixture of Good and Evil there 's something Good an aversion from Sin and tenderness of running into it and there 's something evil a sinful mistake counting that evil which is not evil as we may not call Evil Good so neither may we call Good Evil this weakness as it is evil so it is mischievous too it leads us into Sin we may sometimes sin for fear of Sin and it brings us into Bondage we may say concerning this fear of Sin as the Apostle doth concerning the fear of Death Heb. 2.15 There are some who through fear of Sin are all their life time subject to Bondage Of the two it 's much a less evil than the other extream better a scrupulous Conscience than a dissolute Conscience better strain at a Gnat than swallow a Camel there 's less danger in being frighted at a Bug-bear than not afraid of a Bear whatever there be in Nicety it 's a vertue in comparison of Licentiousness yet this Fear this groundless mistaken Fear is an evil and to be suppressed There is a Fear which is Mens great wickedness a Fear of Religion and Righteousness a Fear of the Labours and Severities of Religion and of those Sufferings it may expose them to Sometimes Men Fear the Yoke of Christ they dare not be his Disciples his Yoke they doubt will be too heavy for their Necks To be tied up so short from every Sin from all their Carnal Liberties and Pleasures to be held so close to painful Duty and to such constant Duty the foresight of it scares them back from Christ they dare not be his Disciples I would be a Christian but I am afraid how I shall ever be able to bear his Yoke But mostly they Fear the Cross of Christ they have heard what Christ expects Matth. 16.24 If any will come after me let him take up his Cross and they see that it so falls out that no sooner is the Yoke taken upon the Neck but the Cross is presently laid on upon the Back He that will be a sincere Christian must be a suffering Christian All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer Persecution 2 Tim. 3.12 Must they so Then serve Christ who dare for me They dare not be Followers of the Lamb for fear of being a prey to the Wolves There is a Fear which is Mens Punishment the Fear of the Guilty a guilty Heart is a terror to it self a Magor-missabib Fear round about and makes almost every thing else a terror to it Prov. 28.1 The wicked flee when no Man pursues his guilt still dogs him at the heels the terrors of the Lord fall on him and horror and astonishment take hold of him All these Fears are
overcome Flee all sin but especially your beloved and accustomed sins remember what I have said of these already Be not the men you have been us'd to be do not the evils you have lov'd to do I do not yet mean that you should only change your sins forbear covetousness and turn prodigals give off your drudgery for this world and give your selves to idleness forbear prophaneness and turn hypocrites but put away all iniquity especially your accustomed and beloved sins Friends whenever you see your old sins that have gotten your hearts coming upon you and assaulting you as suppose pride suppose covetousness or sinful anger or the like which you have been us'd to be overcome by whenever you find your selves tempted to any of these again let your hearts startle at it Here comes my deadly enemy I know you of old what a snare you have been to me what a meer slave you have made of me I remember how it hath been with me all the time that I have been governed by this covetousness led by these companions commanded by these passions or this fleshly appetite these are they that kept me back from Christ that thrust out every good thought quench'd every good motion resisted every good word that was spoken to me When the Word of God the Ministers of Christ and mine own Conscience call'd upon me Go foolish Soul joyn thy self to Christ make thy peace with God accept of Grace submit to Mercy turn at his reproofs such was their power over me and I was so bewitched to them that I could not bring mine heart to hearken to the Lord. And are you come to me again tempting me and enticeing me again after you what shall I be a Drunkard again an Earth-worm an Epicure and flesh-pleaser again Away away I have done with all iniquity but especially I must have an eye to you I dare not touch with you for my life and therefore come my soul put on thine armour stand upon thy guard and resist them And in special call up fear to thine help and set that for thy Sentinel against them Fear will quickly espy and will give the alarm to the Soul Rise Sampson the Philistines are upon thee Rise Soul the Devil is at thy back sin lyes at the door Fear will espy and will not slight the danger we are in The flesh counts sin a friend that comes to do it a kindness or if it be apprehended as an enemy that 's like to do the Soul a mischief presumption will tell you the mischief may not be great if it make a breach upon thy peace 't is but repenting afterwards and that will make it up whatever wound it makes upon thy heart it may soon be healed the best that is may be drawn aside and yet do well enough Or if Conscience say it is not to be made light of it is a dangerous and deadly enemy yet security will tell you the enemy is yet afar off take thine ease and trouble not thy self before the time When the tempter is come 't will be time enough to look about thee But now fear will hold sin in constant suspition and it will ever suspect the worst look to thy self he is at hand that betrayes thee sin lyes at the door watching for entrance and if it get in once God knows what mischief it may do thee e're ever thou get clear of it Whatever mischief sin hath done to any person in the world thy fear will suspect it may do as bad by thee How many Souls has this pride made to fall into the condemnation of the Devil How many Souls hath this covetousness drown'd in perdition and destruction How many Souls has this evil company led down into the deep What did Nebuchadnezzar's pride do by him why it drove him from men amongst the beasts of the field How did lust and luxurie serve the prodigal It fetch'd him out from his fathers house and left him at the Pigs trough Whether did the rich man's gluttony carry him from the pleasures of his Table to the torments of Hell What kindness did Gehazi's bribes do for him they smote him a leper What advantage did Achan's Gold Judas his Silver Ananias his lye bring to them was not death all their wages yea it will put it to be consider'd what sin hath done not only to particular persons but to Kingdoms and Nations to Countreys and Cities what brought it on the whole world A flood of waters to destroy them What on Sodom It burnt it to ashes What on Shiloh Destruction and Devastation Look to thy self Soul this same enemy that hath made such woful work every where in the world this very enemy stands watching at thy door every little sin that comes thou knowest not who or what may be at its heels Dost thou not see Sword and Famine and Pestilence following after it behold the Devil leading on the Van and Death and Hell bringing up the Rear O what easie admission and entertainment notwithstanding all this mischief sin hath done do fearless Souls ordinarily give unto it It 's suffered to come upon them as it will to lodge with them and dwell with them and walk with them It meets them at every turn at their Tables their Beds in their Shops in their Fields and yet it is with them as if there were no enemy near If your houses were haunted with the Devil you would flee out of them if you saw Death in every cup of excess if you saw a toad in every gluttonous dish would you not be startled at it if you saw Robbers and Murtherers at your heels would you not run for it How is it that you are not running for your lives Fear and you will run How is it that you are no more carefully enquiring which way may I take to escape there 's such a sin or such a sin that is upon me every day how may I get rid of it Fear and that will both put you upon asking and help you to find out your way to escape But oh how is it that there should be yet any pleading for or excusing sin in the world such fools there are every where found who are only afraid of their friends who are watching and fighting against their Remedy who fall foul with a friendly admonisher with a faithfull reprover so far from taking heed of sin that they can hardly take it well to be bid to take heed of it Let any one come and say to them Friend dost thou well to be angry dost thou well to be idle and vain to be thus heady and wilfull in thy way And it may be instead of an I thank you for your friendly warning this shall be all What 's that to you look to your self and meddle not with me Shame upon this folly and madness Fear Sin as you ought and you will never fly in the face of a faithfull reprover To conclude this direction if you wil but hearken to
mens misery and it may be said with respect to these Happy is the Man that never feareth But what is the Blessed Fear or what is there in it In short it is this It is such on aversation of the Heart from all manner of future Evils whether of Sin or of Misery which we apprehend our selves in danger of as puts the Soul upon making the best Provision it can for its security against them The Matter or Object of this Fear is Sin together with all the Fruits of it The Form or proper Nature of it is an aversion or starting back or shrinking in from it The Effect of it is to put the Soul to its shifts for its own security against it There are implyed or included in it these following Particulars 1. There is Vnderstanding in it Psal 111.10 The fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom a good Vnderstanding have they that do it They are wise and understanding Men that Fear As we Love not so neither do we Fear but whom or what we have some apprehension of our Affections follow our Apprehensions as our Love we cannot love but what we apprehend to be good so our Fear we cannot fear but what we apprehend to be evil Our mistakes are the ground of the inordinate workings of our Affections when we apprehend that to be good which is not good we love what we should not love when we apprehend that to be evil which is not evil we fear what we should not fear when we apprehend that to be good which is evil we love what we should fear and when we apprehend that to be evil which is good we fear what we should love The reason of our sinful Fear is our Ignorance Ignorance both causes us to fear when we should not and leaves us without fear of what we should fear 1. Ignorance is the reason why we fear what we should not How is it that there is so much Fear of Men in the World Why it is because we understand them not what a vain thing what a weak thing they are how short their power is and how little 't is that Man can do Did we know more how great the Power of God is how terrible the Wrath of God is sure there would be more fear of God in the World And did we know how little there is in the Power of Man and in the Wrath of Man we should ease our selves of much of that Carnal Fear which now torments our Spirits Isa 2.22 Cease ye from Man whose Breath is in his Nostrils for wherein is he to be accounted of Cease ye from Man as from trusting in him so from fearing him for wherein is he to be accounted of How little is it that he can do for or against you There 's little help in him and there 's little hurt that he can do Men pretend to be great and make great boasts of their Power So did Pilate to Christ John 19.10 Knowest thou not that I have power to Crucifie thee and I have power to Release thee What art thou so sullen and so stubborn that thou wilt not speak to me Consider Man the Power of Liberty and Bonds the Power of Life and Death are in my hands Dost thou not know me Yes I know thee well enough sayes Christ Thou hast no Power but what is given thee and therefore limited thee from Above It 's for those that know thee not to fear thee I know thee well enough 2. Mens Ignorance is the reason why they fear not what they should fear Why is it that the ungodly fear not S n O it 's because they know it not Psal 14.4 Have the workers of Iniquity no knowledg Sure enough they have none for they eat up my People as they eat Bread such Morsels would scald their Mouths they would not dare to be such Persecutors and Destroyers of the People of God they would be afraid to touch them if they did but know what they did How bold are Sinners upon Sin How venturously do they run on They Lie they Swear they commit Adultery they Covet they Defraud they Oppress they Persecute But how is it that they are not afraid to do thus O! they know not what they do They are the Men of Understanding that Fear to transgress Christians those whose Minds are enlightned dare not do as others do they see what Sin is they see it to be an unclean thing odious and abominable in the sight of God they see it to be a dangerous and deadly thing They know God and thereby understand Sin which is contrary to him They know the kindness of God and the terrors of the Lord and see that Sin is an unworthiness and abusing of kindness and disobliging of goodness that makes a forfeit of the Divine Love and exposes to his Wrath and Indignation They know the worth of a Soul they have learn'd from their Lord Matth. 16.26 that the whole World is not a price for it neither sufficient to be its Ransom nor to recompence its loss They live in the Invisible World and have taken a view both of that life which is the reward of the Righteous and of that Death which is the recompence of the Sinners They see that Sin is the loss and the death of the Soul the only poison that can kill that immortal part by this alone Immortality is swallowed up of Death They understand that sin as it is the Worm that gnaweth at the root of all their hopes for hereafter so it is the Wormwood which imbitters all their Comforts here this is the Rust that cats out all their Treasures the Moth that frets out all their Garments the Stain that marrs all their Beauty In fine this is it that hath fill'd the World with vanity and vexation of Spirit and Hell with torment And hence it is that they fear it and fly from it Dost thou not fear Sin Sure thou dost not know it O what a light thing doth the World make of it to sin against God! how open do our hearts lie to it how easily doth it beset us we are surpriz'd by it every day and hour Sin lies at the door lies in wait for us in our Fields in our Houses at our Tables in our Closets and how often doth it take us and carry us away for Captives and still we make nothing of it neither feeling the mischief it has done us nor fearing those ruines which it is further bringing upon us We can talk of the evil of Sin of the folly of it of the filthiness of it but we cannot tremble at it sure we do not know it whatever we talk The World would be all up in Arms against this Enemy or else betake themselves to their heels running away from it were it throughly understood 2. There is Faith in this Fear It is but little that we can see of the evil of Sin our understandings at the best have much dimness upon them the
weakness of our sight is helped out by Faith Faith helps us to see with God's Eyes it looks on all things as God looks on them The Lord hath told us what he sees in Sin what a Snare it is what a Serpent it is what a Plague it is and what a Womb it is big with all manner of Miseries and Mischiefs which it's bringing forth upon us God's Mouth is Eyes to Faith by Faith we understand that it is even as it hath been told us of the Lord. Faith helps us to a present view of Sin and to a foresight of all that is behind of all those Floods that this Serpent is casting out of his Mouth to devour the Soul that Woe and that Wrath it's bringing upon Sinners both here and hereafter Future Evils that depend not necessarily on certain Causes are no otherwise clearly to be discerned but by the Eye of Faith And from this Faith this Fear arises as the Apostle 2 Cor. 4.13 We have believed and therefore have we spoken so may it also be said We have believed and therefore fear Heb. 11.7 By Faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet was moved with Fear Sinner art thou yet secure is the Evil of Sin yet unseen by thee and thereupon is it but a light thing to thee Canst thou make a mock of Sin Canst thou make a sport of Sin canst thou take thy rest in Sin and make a Tush at that Wrath that Sin is bringing upon thee Believe God What is it that the Lord hath spoken of it God sayes It is an evil and bitter thing Jer. 2.19 A Root bearing Gall and Wormwood Deut. 29.18 Like that Star which fell from Heaven Rev. 8.11 whose Name was Wormwood and which turned the Waters into Wormwood of which Men died because they were so bitter God says It is an heavy thing which hath brought the whole Creation into Bondage under which it groaneth and travelleth in pain Rom. 8.22 God sayes The Soul that sinneth shall die Ezek. 18.20 Though the Devil sayes He shall not die though Mens hearts say It is a matter of nothing and because it is a common thing count it but a very small thing and can flout at others Fears Yet God sayes They are Fools that make a mock of Sin Prov. 14 19. And God sayes thus not only concerning some particular Sins the most notorious and those of the deepest die Murthers Adulteries Blasphemies the World will say the same of these He that doth such things is worthy of death But God speaks it of Sin in Specie the whole kind of it little or great the least sinful words even vain words the least sinful thoughts yea even of Sin in semine the inward brood and spawn of Sin that lies in the heart the evil dispositions and inclinations of the Soul which have not broken forth into Act the word is general Rom. 6.23 The wages of Sin is Death Believe God believe and tremble 3. There is Love in it This Fear hath love lying in the bottom of it from whence it arises both the love of God and goodness and that natural and innocent self-love which God hath planted in us and it is not our Sin but our Duty to maintain There is a Fear concerning which the Apostle saith 1 John 4.18 Perfect Love casteth out Fear but of this it may be said sincere Love worketh Fear Fear is Love's Servant whose Office it is to preserve what and whom we love from being offended hurt or lost He that loves will fear to lose or grieve what and whom he loves Dost thou love God thou wilt fear how thou displease or offend God Dost thou love thy Soul thou wilt fear to lose it As in good things temporal Dost thou love thy Friend thou wilt fear to disoblige him Dost thou love thine Estate or thy Name or thy Health thou wilt fear what-ever may prejudice thee in them So in good things Spiritual our Love will set our Fear to be a guard about them It cannot be but where there 's Love and an hazard of losing what we love there will be Fear Sinners are without Fear about the Matters of God and of their Souls Tell them of losing God they fear it not Why so Why if they do they love not God so well but they can spare him well enough Tell them of the danger of displeasing and offending God It moves them not they bear him no such good will as to fear to grieve him An upright and honest Heart and a good Conscience they have no such regard to it as thence to be withdrawn from any course that may hinder or deprive them of it 'T is to little purpose to reason thus with them Take heed of Sin 't will rob thee of thy God 't will defile thy Conscience 't will disgrace thy Profession 't will break thy Peace This hath little weight with them nor ever will till they have more love for Spiritual Things 'T will hardly move them to tell them your Souls will be lost farewel to all your hopes of everlasting Life if you take not heed of Sin they love their Lusts better than their Souls They love this World they love their Money and their Ease and their Carnal Liberty and hereby it appears they do they are afraid of whatever may prejudice them in these things In times of Persecution for Righteousness-sake they Fear Religion as the Devil they Fear Holiness more than Hell they dare not be Godly for fear their Righteousness should be their ruine Our Love sets all our Affections on work What we love if it be absent we desire it if it be possible to be had we hope for it if we have it we joy if we lose it we grieve if we be in danger of losing it we Fear Friend Thou sayest thou lovest God thy Soul a good Conscience what and in such daily danger of losing all and yet art not afraid Thou sayest thou lovest not the World thou hast an Estate in the World and art eagerly hunting after more and wilt make any shift thou canst to secure and increase it but yet thou hopest thou dost not set thy heart upon it But why then art thou so often in Fears Thou art afraid of Christ afraid of Conscience thou dar'st not be an open Disciple a bold Professor because thou knowest not what it may cost thee and dost thou yet say thou lovest not the World Thy fear Man of what thou thinkest will prejudice thy worldly Interest this Fear is a sign thou lovest The Saints Fear Sin yea and all temptations to it Why so O 't is because they love their God and their Souls 4. There is in it an aversation from evil both from Sin and all the Fruits of Sin The three former Particulars are the causes of this Fear but this is in the Nature of it The Understanding discovers sin 1. To be an Evil a corruptive Evil that will defile and pollute
the Soul a destructive Evil that will undoe and destroy it 2. To be an evil hardly to be escaped It sees the Soul to be in danger of it every day and every hour Evil as Evil is not the Object of Fear but Evil that we are in danger of Evil as Evil is the Object of Hatred not so of Fear there 's no Fear of Sin in Heaven because there 's no danger of it To hear of the Plague or Sword or Famine or Earthquakes or Fire in the Indies or any other remote parts of the World this doth not move Fear it 's far enough off us we are in no danger of it But when the Plague is in the Town when the next House is on Fire then we are startled 3. To be an Evil not to be endured an intolerable Evil Hereupon the Heart shrinks back from it and is in pain till it can be secured against it 5. There is foresight in it Fear is of future Evil apprehended to be coming on Prov. 22.3 A prudent Man foreseeth the Evil. This prudent Man is the very same with this fearing Man as appears by the next words and hideth himself 't is Fear that makes Men hide A bold Sinner is blind and cannot see afar off 2 Pet. 1.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pur-blind that can see things very near but through the weakness of his Eyes cannot see at a distance he is but short-sighted Sinners are Men for the present and they look not to what comes after But sayes the Apostle 2 Cor. 4.18 We look on the things that are not seen as on the Good things so on the Evil not seen He that Fears God sees what 's out of sight to the blear-ey'd World He sees Evils in the beginning of them he sees Midnight in the Evening he sees the Winter in the Autumn He sees Evils in the causes of them he sees the Storms in the Cloud the Birth in the Conception James 1.15 Lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth Sin and Sin when it is finished bringeth forth Death What is there in a Thought What is there in a Lust or an evil Motion Who would fright himself with Fancies saith the Pur-blind World I but what will this Thought or this Lust bring forth Who knows saith the Fearing Soul what a numerous Brood may spring forth out of this pregnant Womb Lust when it hath conceived brings forth Sin any Sin the worst that can be imagined multitudes of Sins all manner of Iniquities Lust will bring forth Sin and what will Sin bring forth Why Sin when it is finished bringeth forth Death A prudent Man foreseeth all this sees Sin 's last in its first its Fruits in its Root he sees the product and issues of things that do appear the burning down of the House in the first Spark that kindles in the Thatch in the entrance of the Thief in at the Door he sees all the rifling and bloodshed that afterwards follows Sinner how is it that thou art so secure Friend what seest thou Some it may be will answer as the Prophet's Servant when he first went up to Carmel 1 Kin. 18.43 I see nothing Others will answer as he did at his last going up I see a Cloud but it 's but a little one no bigger than a Man's hand But the Prophet saw a great Rain in that little Cloud Sinner thou that yet seest nothing nothing to trouble thee nothing to make thee afraid look again and again even unto seven times Dost thou yet see a Cloud rising do not say it is a little one take heed if thy foresight do not thy sense will quickly tell thee what a Storm there is in it Christian how is it that thou art so secure where be thine eyes art thou blind also Dost thou not see the Spark in the Thatch Dost thou not see the Thief at the Door Hast thou a Treasure within hast thou a God a Conscience a Soul hast thou Grace hast thou Peace hast thou Hope And dost thou not see the Thief breaking in and the Fire breaking out that Lust that is in thine Heart and the Temptations that are at the Door ready to steal away or burn up every good thing thou hast How is it that there is no Cry heard within thee Fire Fire Thieves Thieves Look to thy self save thy self O my Soul from the mischiefs and miseries that are coming upon thee We may give a Judgment of what Sin is bringing forth by observing what it hath brought forth Fear will conclude that what hath been may be It 's like to be my case which hath been the case of others What hath Sin done upon the World How hath it filled them with all Vnrighteousness Fornication Covetousness Wickedness Maliciousness Envy Murder Debate Deceit Malignity c. Rom. 1.29 What Fools and Bruits and Stocks hath it made them fit for nothing but to be Fuel for the Eternal Fire And what hath it done even upon Christians or the Professors of Christianity How low hath it held many of them so low that they can hardly tell whether they are alive or dead and those that have seem'd to be gotten up a little higher how often hath it pull'd them down again even to Death's Door Some Professors it hath slain out-right The Christianity they seem'd to have is dead and buried O Friends when you see what Sin and the Temptations thereof have done to others is it not to be feared what it may do to you May I not say to you as Peter did to Saphira if you look not the more carefully to it Acts 5.19 The Feet of those that have buried thy Husband are at the Door to carry thee out The same Sins the same Temptations that have slain your Friends and buried them behold their feet are at the Door waiting for your Souls also Open your eyes a little and look who there are round about you Behold the Pleasures of Sin waiting for you behold the Gains of Unrighteousness waiting behold your Carnal Friends and Sinful Companions behold the Persecutions and Scoffs and Scorns the Bonds and Imprisonments that are waiting at the Door and what wait they for but to carry out your Souls also dead to those that you have seen slain before you Hast thou seen what hath become of others and dost not therein foresee what may become of thee and canst thou yet be secure Christians you are Men of like Passions and subject to the same Temptations with other Men there 's the same Pride the same Lust after the World the same love of Carnal Pleasures the same fears of Fleshly Sufferings rooted in your Natures And do you not feel these Evil Roots sometimes budding these Fires kindling And have you not often suffered loss by them Yet you hope you have a little Faith some Love to Christ some Hope towards God some Conscience of Sin some Affection for Things Above let Lust alone a-while venture on upon Temptations a-while and O what leanness of
in Christ am I in Covenant have I broken my Covenant with Death and disannulled my Agreement with Hell Am I no longer in League with my Sins and this evil World have I broken with them all and am I gotten within the Bond of the Covenant of God If I think I have yet am I not mistaken Many Souls have been mistaken have thought themselves within who have yet dyed without and am not I mistaken also Is the thing sure Is Christ mine indeed How is it that there is no more asking the way to the City of Refuge How may I get into Christ Or how may I know whether I be in Christ or not O how is it that we do not awaken our slumbring Spirits and call upon our careless Hearts Come on O my lingring Soul make haste get thee up to the Rock to Sanctuary to Sanctuary Awake thou Sleeper carest thou not that thou perish Come my Soul enter thou into thy Chamber hide thy self till the Indignation be over-past How is it that there is no more such care taken Are we so solicitous as we should be about this matter How is it with you Friends Are you busie in considering and fore-casting and enquiring how you may escape What is it that your fear of a Deluge hath put you upon to provide your selves against it Is there any more circumspection and heedfulness in your goings any more tenderness of Sin Are you throwing off those weights that will sink you with the multitude Are you busie in breaking down your Sins and building up your selves in hope of the Salvation of God Behold how generally our other Matters do still take up our Time and Thoughts we are building of Houses and planting of Vineyards and Buying and Selling and Marrying and giving in Marriage seldom giving our selves leave to think of a Flood that 's coming to take us all away O fear and let your fear set you on work to save your selves from Misery and Ruine The foolish World laugh at this Fear What jealous-headed melancholick Souls are these What Dreams and Fancies do they fright themselves withal And so did the old World doubtless laugh at Noah to see him such a Fanatick to amuse himself and others with such a strange conceit of a Flood and to go build an Ark to save himself from that Dream of a Deluge What laughing and mocking think you was there then amongst them to hear this Preacher of Righteousness to Preach and prepare for such a strange incredible thing Such mockings are there of the Men of this World at the fears and preparations of the Saints against the Judgments of God I but when the Ark was finished and Noah and his Family gotten in and the Flood came in earnest when they saw the Rain pouring down the Waters swelling the Seas roaring and tumbling in in whole Mountains of Waters upon them where was the laugh of the World then What a cry was their laugh then turned to Let Sinners laugh at last when they shall see all these things come upon them when the overflowing Scourge cometh and they shall then see the derided Saints gotten into the Ark and themselves left out to perish in the Waters Well by this time you may see what this Fear is or who is this Man that feareth The Man of Understanding that so knows God his Goodness and Severity that so knows Sin its Malignity and the Misery that it exposes to that so believes God that hath such a love for God and his own Soul and such an aversation from Sin that so foresees the danger he is in of running into Sin and falling into Misery that he wisely and warily looks to himself keeps himself from Iniquity and hides himself from those Mischiefs and Miseries which the rest of the World foolishly venture upon and are destroyed by in the end This is the Man that feareth this is the happy Man 2. What is that blessedness that is pronounced to him that feareth Happy is the Man that feareth To Happiness two things are required 1. Sufficiency 2. Security 1. Sufficiency He that is in want is in misery what-ever he hath how greatly soever he abounds yet if he hath not all that he needs yea all that he desires In the fulness of his Sufficiency he is in straits The pain of what he desires and hath not imbitters the pleasures of what he hath No Sufficiency no Satisfaction short of Satisfaction so far short of Happiness He must have all things that would find rest in any thing He that possesses what-ever he can desire that 's an happy Man only to this must be added 2. Security What we have to day may be lost to morrow He that hath most and holds it by such an uncertain Tenure is so far from finding rest in what he hath that he may be in greater perplexity than he that hath nothing Therefore can there be no happiness in any thing under the Sun for besides the insufficiency of these worldly things the whole Earth is too little to fill the Soul all this great World is not enough to fill the little World Man but besides this were they sufficient what security can be had for the continuance of them to us They are all but casualties they come and go they have all their Wings and who knows how soon they may take their flight At the best The things that are seen are but Temporal 2 Cor. 4.18 There must be permanence durableness in the matter of our Happiness The durable Riches the enduring Substance an Inheritance that fadeth not away and there must be security against their being lost or taken away Now this is the happiness of him that feareth he hath sufficient and what he hath is in safety 1. He hath a sufficiency This Fear as appears from what hath been spoken is a Religious Fear the Fear of God is sometimes taken for all Religion here only for one particular Branch of it yet such as argues the Truth of Religion and intitles the Soul to the whole income and revenue of Religion He that knows believes and loves God and therefore fears and flies from Sin and Wrath is certainly a Godly Man and shall have his Inheritance with the Just The first Sermon that ever we read that Christ Preached begins with an enumeration of the Beatitudes of this very Man He shall inherit the Earth he shall be comforted he shall be filled he shall obtain Mercy he shall see God his is the Kingdom of Heaven All these Graces that are there mentioned Poverty of Spirit Purity in Heart hunger after Righteousness Meekness c. are the particular Qualifications of this very Man And we may write down after that Copy Blessed is the Man that feareth for his is the Kingdom of God Blessed is the Man that feareth for he shall be comforted he shall obtain Mercy he shall see God This is the Man who shall inherit all things Rev. 21.7 and shall want nothing Psal
the Apostle advises concerning the word of Exhortation Heb. 13.22 Suffer the Word of Exhortation will be much more needed here suffer the Word of Conviction It is a Word that will not be suffered by them that need it most The proud and stubborn heart either rises and swells and flings it back in the Preacher's Face or at least it builds a Fort against it sometimes a Fort of Unbelief I cannot believe my case is so bad and sometimes a Fort of Faith such a Faith as 't is I believe in Christ and therefore as wicked as I am through him I hope to be saved Friends give the Word a free passage let it have entrance into your Hearts and how hot work soever it makes there let it abide till it hath finished its Work Give it time hold upon thine Heart the sense of the misery and danger the Word hath brought thee to till the end be obtained The sharpest Plaister will not raise a Blister as soon as it 's clap'd on it must have time to work and though it smart it must be kept on till the work be done Some Foolish Patients if it put them to pain will tear it off and throw it away Sinner hath the Word smitten thee and cut thee to the heart hath it made thee raw and clap'd on a Plaister of Fire the sense of Wrath and Judgment Hath it made thee who once wert a strong confident and wouldst not suspect but thou wert in a safe and happy state hath it made thee now to feel the Wrath of God abiding upon thee Dost thou feel thy Peace broken thy Hopes and thy Carnal Confidence broken down Make them sure never let them be built again beware how thou ever recover to thy old Presumption again but hold that Fear upon thy heart till there be a. new and a sure Foundation laid upon which thou mayest be built up in hope of Eternal Life Some foolish Sinners when God hath discovered their unsoundness and afrighted them with those dreadful Consequents that they see running in upon them like a Flood their desires and endeavours are after present ease and quiet if they can make a shift to be at rest and at ease for the present however it may be with them here-after that 's all they look after they are more for hiding themselves from their Fears than from their Danger and glad they would be if they could but get them back into their former state wherein they felt no trouble nor fear'd any evil Some smitten Sinners that are pursu'd by the Terrors of the Lord will often do as the stricken Deer that 's hunted by the Dogs he 'l thrust himself if it be possible among the Herd that there the Dogs may lose him When the Word hath terrified a Sinner and Conscience dogs him at the heels so that he can be no-where at rest away he will into the Herd amongst his Companions with whom he was used to be merry in hope to forget his trouble his Carnal Friends will advise him and he 's ready enough to take their advice to try what he can do to drink away sorrow and laugh away all his trouble and this it may be may yeeld him a present relief yea and reduce him to a more secure and sensless state than ever before wherein he may abide and never know fear or trouble more till he be brought to the King of Terrors and all the evils he formerly feared be come upon him to the uttermost and he can no longer escape Beware of this folly Sinner Hath God convinced thee of thy Sin and thy Danger and pierced thy very Entrals with a sense of that Wrath that hangs over thy head Do not seek ease in any other way but by the removal of the cause of thy Fears Be not such a Child as to think of hiding thy self from danger by shutting thine eyes from seeing it 'T is a poor Cure of a Disease thy being laid to sleep that thou mayest feel no pain Beware of running into the Herd again for ease When God hath smitten thee wilt thou to the Devil for a Cure Keep thy Sore open and do not skin it over whilst the Core still remains within Sinner thou wert once far from fear or trouble thou couldst once follow the World and follow thy Sins and live in a constant neglect of God and thy Soul and nothing of all this troubled thee Is this the state thou wouldst return to Is it not safer to be a wounded than a secure Sinner an awakned than a sleeping Sinner Chuse rather to live in God's Fire than the Devils Mud in God's Purgatory than in the Devil's Paradise Wilt thou rather die of thy Lethargy than endure those cuttings and scarifyings which might save thy Life If thou art for ease whether it be to Life or Death or if thou wouldst purchase thy Peace on such terms as thine everlasting Ruine then return to thy secure Presumptuous State Objection But I have confidence in God and yet I hope I am not Presumptuous I have good grounds for my Confidence I have been convinced of my Sin I have believed in Christ and have joy and peace in believing and by the Grace of God do now go on my way rejoycing in hope of everlasting Salvation Answer 1. But hast thou examined the grounds of thy Confidence whether they be sound or not Hast thou put thy Faith to the Tryal whether it be indeed the Faith of God's Elect What enquiry hast thou made into that change that is made upon thee Thou mayest examine and yet be unsound Examination is a means to discover sincerity but no mark to prove it But dost thou not examine and yet conclude thy self sound Darest thou trust thine heart without trying it What is Presumption if this be not to conclude thy self to be what thou never provedst whether thou art or not though self-examination be no mark of sincerity yet non-examination is a shrewd sign of Hypocrisie 2. Dost thou never suspect thy self to be unsound Does thine Heart never shake Art thou not sometimes afraid lest thy Confidence should deceive thee lest all thy Hopes and thy Joys should prove a Delusion Thy very being without Fear is ground enough to make thee afraid When we observe how far many have gone in the Profession of Religion to how high Attainments they have arrived what a face of Holiness hath appeared in their Lives and how great Peace and what raptures of Joy they have had in their Hearts and yet at last by their total Apostacy from Christ they have proved that they were all this while under a Delusion when we consider such sad Instances whereof we have seen so many what does this speak unto us but in the words of the Apostle Be not high-minded but fear Dost thou not yet Fear Sure I am afraid of thee I will not say how it may be with here and there one of the most grown and experienced Christians those of
the Heavenliness of Mind are all but a varnish The Leprosie that hath fretted and eaten into the Wall will break out through the Plaister wherewith it 's whited over It 's possible it 's true that others may be deceived in them also these Pictures may be so drawn to the Life that every one may take them to be living Souls and yet while they have a Name that they live they may be dead Rev. 3.1 Grace is Truth a real thing not a shadow or paint This Truth is in the inward parts originally Thou lovest Truth in the inward parts Psal 51.6 thou lovest Truth not Shadows or Images but Realities thou lovest Truth in the inward parts inside Truth a true Heart a pure Conscience he is a Christian which is one inwardly Rom 2.29 Grace is Life the Life of God 't is called Ephes 4.18 It is a Vital Power that forms the Heart into the Image of God that spirits and acts the whole Man and that exerts and produces those Vital Operations which are according to God and resists and works out that corruption which is contrary to God Grace is a Law a Law in the Heart Jer. 31.33 that commands and governs both it and the Life contradicts and overcomes that evil Law the Law of Sin that wars in the Members Grace is the fixing of the Heart upon God the returning and coming back of the Soul from that vanity after which it had lusted and gone awhoring and the pitching of it upon him as the Center of all its Hopes Aims Desires and Motions It comes down from Above even from the Father of Lights and it fetches up the heart to him Grace is the healing of Nature our participation of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1.4 a Principle of Holiness in the Heart which is the health of the Soul and whereby it purgeth it self of all that corruption wherewith it was leavened and infected and is reduced to that better Temperament from which by Sin it fell Grace is the establishment of the Heart in Good Heb. 13.9 the firmness of the Soul it s being wrought to a good consistency it does not leave the Soul hovering and wavering and hanging betwixt Good and Evil but unalterably though not perfectly settles it upon Holiness and Righteousness Though there be degrees in firmness some weaker Christians are but unstable Souls in comparison of those that are more deeply rooted and more strongly fixed upon God and Godliness yet the very weakest of real Christians are so unalterably fixed upon God and his holy Wayes that nothing in the World can so far change their Minds as wholly to bring them back but the main bent of their Hearts and Course is still for Holiness and Righteousness Now are there none among the Professors of Religion that know all this and much more yea and feel something within which they judg to be the Babe springing in the Womb the Life of God begotten in them the New Creature brought to the Birth and brought forth in whom all this is but a false Conception and proves an Abortion at last Brethren since there may be such mistakes either the taking that for Faith or Grace which is not so or the taking your selves to have it within you when it is not there many have been thus mistaken damnably mistaken have gone down to the Chambers of Death full of the hopes of Eternal Life since it may be thus beware that none of you be thus mistaken Beware of taking that for the Faith which will save your Souls which doth not save you from your Sins Beware of venturing your Lives upon the strongest perswasion that Christ is your Life especially while you find that Sin is not dead Beware of trusting to an out-side Christianity that dwells in the Head or upon the Tongue whilst the Flesh and the World still have the possession of the Heart Beware of trusting to that Godliness which hath somewhat touched and affected the Heart but is but slight and shallow and is not gotten deep into the Soul Beware of trusting to that for Godliness that is but a weak and feeble thing that hath no life nor power in it but is a dead thing that doth not put forth it self in Vital Operations that is over-top'd and held captive by the Law of your Members that is made use of to comfort you but is not suffered to govern you but is kept as an underling and made to stand aside and give place to the Pleasures and Inclinations of your Flesh that is laid up to help you in your need and till then laid by that it hinder you not in your Carnal Interests or Designs Take heed of counting that your Grace which leaves you under the power of your old depraved Natures Is not thy natural pride and haughtiness subdued Dost thou continue froward envious of a fleshly and earthly heart as thou wast used to be doth the old Stream run still or if it be at times bayed up doth it ordinarily break down the Bay and run its wonted course Fear that Grace that is thus overpowred by Nature Trust not to that for Grace which is a wavering in and out thing that hath no consistency in it but leaves thee a ductile sequacious Soul carried about hither and thither with every Wind and apt to be variously snap'd according to the several temptations or circumstances thou art in Some Mens Godliness keeps pace with the Times is upon the Wing or hangs the Wing according to the encouragement or discountenance of the dayes they live in If Religion hath gotten the Wind on its side then they go on prosperously and hang forth all their Sails and will as soon strike Sail when the Wind is contrary Some are Holy only in Affliction when they are low and in trouble when they are sick and in pain and like to die then O what complaining of Sin what pretendings to Repentance what breathings after Grace then Reading and Praying and Meditations and Discourses about the other World come in request but when they prosper again and are in health all their Religion is laid by and forgotten Others are Godly only when they are pleased and all goes smoothly on with them Every little gust of Affliction blows all their Grace off its legs Some Mens Religion is much according to what their Company is Who more zealous and savoury and lively when they fall in amongst the Zealous and yet at other times as flat and as carnal and as vain as others scarce a Thought or a Word of any thing that good is when it will disgust the Company If this be all the Religion thou hast take heed of venturing thy Soul upon it or of growing confident that this is Grace or Godliness And that which is Grace indeed that Truth in the Inward Parts that Life of God that new Law in the Heart that fixedness upon God that health and that firmness of the Soul in Good Beware you count not your selves to
but this and I will be thine but if this may not be away he goes sorry he must die but yet chusing Death rather than the loss of that Idol his great Estate Now Friends Is not such a Sin to be feared that will find such an easie entrance that has the command of all by which your Souls and Consciences all your Parts and Powers all your Time and Estates and Wayes are governed and disposed that must do what it will without check or controul that you can so hardly get rid of and will so greatly hazard your foregoing for ever your part in Christ if any thing in the World be like to keep you off or draw you back from him this is it that will do it your Beloved Sin Is not such a Sin to be feared Well by what hath been said you may find it out and know which it is or it may be there may be more than one of them some Sinners serve many Masters and know not which is the chief Fear all your Sins and do what you can to find out the Master-Sin and take heed of it where-ever you meet it Never count thy self in the least safety whilst that Lust is alive reward it as it would serve thee Put thy finger upon the right Head and then say Thou must die Jonathan thou must die O my Sin or my Soul must die by thine hand But of this more hereafter 2. Fear your Jezebels or your painted Sins An Enemy in a disguise is the more to be feared as his advantage against us is the greater The Devil is a Painter that can limn some of the foulest Vices into the form of Vertues As he can put an ugly vizor upon goodness and with this foolish World make Light pass for Darkness Holiness for Hypocrisie Tenderness for Troublesomness Zeal for Pride and Fury so can he paint Sin into the form of Godliness Covetousness must go for Frugality Profuseness for Liberality Sinful Complyance for Civility Sinful Connivence for Modesty Lukewarmness for Moderation Cowardice and Faint-heartedness for Prudence and Discretion Hast thou never a painted Jezabel with thee No Lust nor Vice which thou allowest thy self in thinking there 's no harm in it Fear this Harlot that looks more modestly than her that hath her whorish Heart on her Forehead Who is on the Lord's side who Throw her down Hast thou any thing within thee that is for Christ indeed Let it down with this Jezebel Pull off the Harlots Vail and cast her out Come in yea rather Get thee out thou Wife of Jeroboam why feignest thou thy self to be another Is this thy Frugality or Providence to hoord up and hold back what the Lord calls for from thee Is this thy good Husbandry Too good an Husband to be Merciful too good an Husband to be a good Christian Get thee out thou Wife of Jeroboam get thee out Covetousness why feignest thou thy self to be another Is this thy liberality to spend thine Estate upon Harlots or thy loose and vain Companions Must thy luxury and thy riot eat up all thou hast Is this thy casting thy Bread upon the Waters to throw it down those filthy Kennels Get thee out Prodigal why feignest thou thy self to be another Is this thy civility to have fellowship with the unfruitful Works of Darkness to hold friendship and intimacy with the lewd ones of the Earth to have a kiss for the precious and the vile Get thee out Ambo-dexter why feignest thou thy self to be another Art thou remiss and indifferent in the Matters of God Art thou cowardly and faint-hearted where his honour is concerned and is this thy Moderation or thy Prudence Get thee out Laodicean why feignest thou thy self to be another Friend pull off the Mask from the Face and see what 's under Thou knowest not what mischief thou mayest suffer where thou suspected no harm Fear a pretended Friend more than an open Enemy 3. Fear your Isaacs any beloved or over loved Creature Fear not only the sins of thy love but the Sons of thy love the latter will be temptations to the former thou mayest receive hurt from that which hath no hurt in it an Innocent Child may be an Idol and so may thine Husband or thy Wife or any Friend thou hast Wherefore honourest thou thy Sons above me 1 Sam. 2.29 Fear lest thy love to thy Friend make an abatement upon thy love to thy God thy love to thy Children should cause thee to abuse thy God and them by the neglect of that dury of Reproof and Correction thou owest them take heed that thy tendernes to them make thee not cruel to them and thy self By nursing their untowardness thou nourishest those Thorns that will pierce through thine own Soul Take heed thou have never an Isaac in all the World not one Child not one Relation concerning which if God should say to thee as to Abraham Gen. 22. Offer up this Isaac whom thou lovest or if Christ require of thee as he doth of all his Disciples Forsake Father or Mother forsake Husband or VVife forsake Son or Daughter take heed lest thine Heart should answer No I will not offer them up no I cannot forsake them VVhat thou canst not part with may be the parting of God and thy Soul And as any Beloved Friend so any other Creature or Affair that thine Heart is set upon may be a snare to thee Fear that House that thou lovest thy pleasant Habitation Fear thy Money and thy Fields and thy Flocks thy Meat and thy Drink that thou lovest those Businesses and honest Employments thou takest most pleasure in Thy good things may become thine evil things thy Table may become thy Snare thy savoury Meat may become thy Poison and that which is given thee for thy good may be an occasion of falling Thy Money may be thy Poverty and thine honest Labours when thine Heart is too much in them may be more mischievous than Idleness How many foolish Souls are there whom their Love hath held Prisoners to this Earth and Exiles from Heaven to whom their good things have done more mischief than things apparently unlawful could ever do them How is it Christian that thy Soul is so seldom Above O thy delights are below VVhence is it that thou hast suffered so great loss in the matters of thy Soul That whatsoever thou dost in the Matters of Religion prospers no more that so small increases and so many decayes are to be found upon thee Thou hast not been among the Drunkards nor hast been partaker with the Adulterers thou hast not been walking in the Counsel of the Ungodly nor standing in the way of Sinners nor sitting in the Seat of the Scornful thou hast been no Lyar or Scoffer or Oppressor these things thy Soul abhors O but thou hast been an Idolater thine Heart hath found thee out some Idol in the Earth some Friend or some Farm or some honest Business or some innocent Pleasure as
the Lord that thou hast a standing infallible and uninterrupted evidence of thy Sincerity and an undoubted Security for thy perseverance to the end Is there not room for such a question What if I should fall short Art thou gotten beyond all possibility of miscarrying for ever Friends know that a possibility of falling into the Wrath to come were that Wrath throughly understood would work more fear than a certain expectation of all the Torments and Miseries of this Life O Fear Hast thou Faith Believe and Fear Hast thou Hope Hope and Fear Hast thou Joy Rejoyce with trembling Rejoyce in hope of the Glory of God and tremble and fear his Wrath and Vengeance There will be this double use and advantage besides others of this fear of the Curse 1. 'T will quicken our necessary fear of Sin 2. 'T will quench our sinful fear of the Cross 1. This fear of the Curse will quicken our necessary fear of Sin Yea and of all the temptations to it Sin is the sting of Death and this Death is the sting of Sin How bitter would Sin taste how gastly would it look were this Gall that lies in its Belly this sting it carries in its Tail discovered and heeded Thou wouldst quickly be filled with thine own wayes didst thou but see what stands at their further end That Bed of Scorpions whither Sin is dragging thee would make every Sin as a Snake or Adder And of all Sins 't would strike the Heart with the greatest fear of its beloved Sins These are they especially under which Hell lies in ambush for us these are Hell's strongest Ropes by which it pulls in Souls Hath any Sin cast a Cord of Love about thee That 's it that 's like to be the Rope to draw thee to the Slaughter Thou canst get loose from many Sins at pleasure but take heed that foolish Heart of thine will die for it s Beloved If thou ask What wouldst thou have O my my beloved Sin What comest thou to me so often for Why takest thou up thy dwelling so near mine Heart It will answer O 't is to please thee that I am so often with thee I know thou lovest me I am the delight of thine Heart and the pleasure of thine Eyes thou canst not be content without me I am that Ease or that Wealth or that Credit that thou lovest Is there not a league betwixt me and thee Am not I the nearest Friend thou hast Thy Health and thy Welfare and thy Soul are not so dear as I am to thee thou lovest me and therefore 't is I come that thou mayest have what thou lovest But what hast thou now to say to it No no Traitor 't is my Life thou seekest 't is my Soul thou comest to steal away and devour O I dread thy fawning Face thy smiles are Darts in mine Heart I tremble at thy wooings and embraces Get thee gone Harlot thy kindnesses are deadly kindnesses What means that Dagger in thine Hand whilst thou thus kissest me with the kisses of thy Mouth 'T is my Death thou art designing I must die if I will any longer love thee and what Death must I die Is it a short and easie Death that thou art betraying me to No no 't is a bitter Death and 't is a lingring Death an eternal Death that thou art preparing for me This Heart hath been under-ground in the dark Cavern of Pitch and Brimstone I have been in the Deep and viewed those Chambers of Death where thou lodgest thy Lovers I have sent down my Spies my thoughts have been below in the Belly of Hell I have beheld how they lie in that Pit roaring and yelling and blaspheming raving mad with the anguish of their burning Souls I have seen the very Smoke and Fire that devours them the burning Teeth of that everlasting Worm that gnaws their Hearts and the fury and rage of that Serpent that deceived them in O my Soul quakes my Bones tremble terror and astonishment have taken hold of me at the Description my thoughts have brought me up of that place of torment And thou O my beloved Sin even thou art it that art most like to carry me down and bury me there If I die that Death 't will be by thy hand if I run my self into that Fire 't will be for thy sake Away from me thou proud Heart get thee gone Covetousness or Sensuality or Slothfulness or whatever the Name of my Beloved be I dare not have any more to do with thee I fear thee more than ever I loved thee I fear where thou mayest lay me before tomorrow if I should suffer thee to lodg but one night more with me Such dread of thy beloved Sin would a fear of the Curse work in thee Friends consider Are there yet any Sins that have such power over your Hearts are your Spirits so chained by them that you cannot get loose O look to those Chains of Fire into which by this Chain of Love your Sins are dragging you Are you afraid of the Curse of God Are you afraid to burn Are you afraid to be rack'd and torn and gnawn and groun'd under the Milstones of eternal Vengeance then be afraid of Sin Let Hell be your Fear and Sin will be your Fear let Sin be your Fear and it will be no longer your Love If you will not fear this Fear if you will laugh at Hell you will sport at Sin If you fear not to be Cursed you will less fear to be Wicked if you fear not Hell you will hardly fear to be Devils on Earth O Sinners steep all your pleasant Morsels in that Vinegar and Gall spice all your stollen Waters with that Pitch and Brimstone strow all your pleasant wayes with those Serpents and Adders which will bite and sting your Souls for ever Mingle all your Carnal Delights with some such deep thoughts of what they are betraying you to and then go on after them without fear if you can And as this fear of Wrath will work a fear of Sin so will it also work the same fear of temptations to Sin Sin and Temptation lead the same way though Temptation be one remove farther back Temptation leads to Sin and Sin to Death He that fears the Fowler will fear the snare of the Fowler he that fears the Hunter will fear his Dogs and his Toyls Get a fear of the Land of Darkness and you will fear to be Companions of such as are travelling thitherward fear the Plague and thou wilt be no company for them whose dwelling is in the Pesthouse Afraid of Hell and yet never well but when thou art amongst those Decoys that are enticing thee thither What are the Allurements of Sinners to the Ear of him that hath Death and Wrath in his Eye Let them entice thee Come Let 's be merry let 's to the Alehouse or the Tavern or to a Play Let 's feed to the full let 's cloth our selves with the best let
it God's Ill Will against Sinners God's Blessing is his Good Will and his Ill Will this is his Curse Joseph's Blessing The good Will of him that dwelt in the Bush Deut. 33.16 is the Portion of all the Saints and in God's good Will is every good Thing the precious Things of the Earth and the fulness thereof yea and the precious Things of the Heaven also Psal 30.5 In his favour is Life And in God's Ill Will is every evil Thing thou needest no more to make thee perfectly miserable than this that the Almighty bears thee ill Will. 'T is an Affliction to be under the ill Will of Men for a Child to have the ill Will of his Father for a Wife to have the ill Will of her Husband for a Man to have the ill Will of his Neighbours for a Subject to be under the ill Will of his Prince But what-ever there be in this God's good Will will make amends for all though all the Family where thou livest yea though all the Countrey bear thee ill Will if God bear thee good Will thou art a blessed Man If thou hast the good Will of all the World and only God bears thee ill Will thou art cursed with a Curse This Curse of God is 1. Revealed in his Word 2. Executed in part in this World 3. Pronounced in the last Judgment 4. Executed in full in the World to come 1. The Curse of God is revealed in the Word of God Rom. 1.18 The Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men. It is revealed from Heaven that is by the Law of God The Law of God binds Sinners under the Curse of God and declares to them what this Curse of God is 2. The Curse of God is in part executed in this World The Curse followed Sin close at the heels and is executed on Sinners here 1. In temporal Plagues There is a Curse upon the Creatures which were made for their use Gen. 3.17 Cursed is the ground for thy sake The whole Earth with all things therein hath something of the Curse cleaving to it whereupon though it still be useful yet there is something in it that is noxious to Man Vpon their labours which often become fruitless and ordinarily irksome and tiresome In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat thy bread Gen. 3.19 Vpon their Estates sometimes blasting and devouring them entring into their Houses and eating out the Timber thereof and the Stones thereof or else turning them into temptations and snares Vpon their Bodies Sin wounds and bruises in Sickness and Death 2. In Spiritual Evils inflicted upon the Souls of Sinners The Curse of God not only falls upon their outward Man but enters into their very Hearts upon which the Lord most signally executes this Curse by leaving Sinners and giving them up to blindness of Mind to a reprobate Mind Rom. 1.28 to hardness of Heart Isa 6.9 to the power of their Lusts Psal 81.12 whereby they are filled with all unrighteousness and reserved as in Chains under darkness to the Judgment of the great Day Sinner thy blindness thine hardness thy walking after thy Lusts in the Counsels of thy wicked Heart this is the Curse of God upon thee thy Sins are thy Curse And that Impenitence and that reprobate Mind which God gives some Sinners up unto is their sealing under the Curse God sometimes curses Sinners in this Life as Christ cursed the fruitless Fig-tree Mat. 21.19 Never Fruit grow on thee for ever Be thou never good for any thing never good Thought never good Motion come into thee never a drop of Dew or Rain fall upon thee never a Bud or Blossom spring up in thee nothing prosper in thee but be thou barren for ever of every good thing let that Soul wither and perish and die for ever This Curse is the most dreadful of all Curses above-ground and the very next to Hell 3. The Curse is pronounced in the last Judgment in that terrible Sentence Matth. 25.41 Depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Now that if it be possible Sinners may be awakened out of sleep and be wrought to this Fear I shall a little open the Mouth of the Pit by opening this fearful Sentence Depart from me Depart whither why whithersoever it is 't is sad enough that 't is depart from me from Christ Christ is the Life it can be no less than Death to depart from Life Ye Cursed You that are bound under the Curse you that have been filling your selves with Curses clothing your selves with Curses treasuring up Curses to your selves all your time against this day Get you gone with your Curses upon you your Sins be upon you your Guilt be upon you your Blood be upon your own Heads for ever Ye are cursed with a Curse bear ye that burthen for ever and ever Into everlasting Fire And now you see whither 't is they are to depart I told you but now that 't is Misery enough that they must depart from Christ and from the presence of the Lord. If Sinners were to be sentenced down to this Earth again sent back to their Fields and Vineyards to their Ale-houses and Whore-houses to the best of their dirty pleasures here below yet this that they are sent into banishment from the Presence and Paradise of God when God shall so far open their Eyes as to let them see what they have lost this would be an unspeakable torment to them But this is not their place when they are taken hence they shall return hither no more they must bid an eternal farewel to all their carnal and bruitish ease and pleasures their Houses and their pleasant Places shall know them no more for ever God will not leave them so much as the least of the left-hand Blessings not a drop of Water to cool their Tongues 'T is into the Fire they must go The pain of Fire is the most tormenting of all the pains we know and therefore made use of to shadow out those inexpressible intolerable pains to which the ungodly shall be sentenced in that day Everlasting Fire What not yet at the bottom No this Gulf hath no bottom they shall be ever knowing and yet never know the worst of their Case what-ever they feel the worst is still behind because Eternity is still behind they shall never have ease nor rest again but shall be tormented night and day for ever and ever Prepared for the Devil and his Angels These are their Companions in their Tribulation Must we into the Fire But may we not have good Company in the Fire God may be in the Fire with me So he was in the case of the three Confessors and then the fire could not burn No t is the Devil that will be with you in the fire to torment and to be tormented with you for ever What is it to dwell in an Earthly House that 's
Mercy think how you can possibly escape the Wrath of the lamb Trust not to the secresie of dens to the mercy of mountains to the might of rocks these will all be as deaf to your cry as you are to the cry of the Lord. Now you have a rock before you which will then be a rerefuge put you into the clefts of this rock and the indignation shall pass over you stay out at your utmost peril Wretched souls how is it that t is so hard to perswade you in to Christ How is it that the clifts of this rock have so long opened to you yea that the rock hath followed you and cryed after you put in hither and you shall be safe and yet so few have been perswaded in Lord how few how many still stand without and it may be are mocking at the fears of them that are gotten in Sinner how canst thou think without a trembling heart of being found out of Christ in that great day of his wrath O fear fear and beware fear and hide hide thy self in Christ and then thy great fear will be over There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Rom. 8.1 But how may we hide our selves in Christ I answer 1. Cry unto him to take you in 2. Consent to him while he offers to take you in 1. Cry unto him to take you in to sprinkle you with his bloud which alone will save you from his wrath say but with a better heart and in a better sence than they did in the words of those Jews Math. 27.25 His blood be upon us and our children There 's a double sence in which these words may be spoken 1. The guilt of his blood be upon us 2. The attonement of his blood be upon us T was in the first sence that those wicked Jews imprecated his blood be upon us let the guilt of his blood be upon us let our own souls answer for the fact of putting him to death Beware sinners that that precious blood be not thus found upon you Impenitent sinners the guilt of Christs blood is upon them they are his betrayers and murtherers and by their impenitence in sin they allow the deeds of those wicked ones that crucifyed him What 's said of Apostates Heb. 6.6 is chargable upon all impenitent sinners They crucifie the Son of God afresh for 1. It was sin that did crucifie Christ both as the meritorious cause and as the instrumental cause t was the sin of the Jews that set them on work 2. There is such malignity in sin that if it were able would fetch Christ out of heaven again and put him to death again 3 Impenitent sinners stand with this weapon in their hand to do their worst towards the repeating this wicked fact 4. There is in the crucifying of Christ a putting him to death and a putting him to shame the former they would do and the latter they do once and once again What a shame was it that his crucifiers cast upon him in crying out not this man but Barrabbas Impenitent sinners do the like in turning from Christ to thy sin thou also sayest not Jesus but Barrabbas these murtherers for me not Christ but my lusts and wickedness and though there be not such a word in thy mouth yet this is the cry of thy fact the guilt of his blood be upon me Sinners your going on in your sins is a kind of doing that wicked act of crucifying Christ once and once again Every oath that you swear every lye that you tell every scoffe that you cast out against Christ and his ways is your crucifying him afresh This is the voice of your sins crucifie him crucifie him on with his mocking robes and crown again spit at him and buffet him again scourge him again up with him to the crosse and nail him and pierce him again Every sinner is bringing in more thornes and more nailes and more vinegar and gall and more spears to thrust him thorough Here take my thornes saith one take my nailes saith another take my spunge and my spear saith another and strike to the heart And the cry of this your fact is the guilt of his blood be upon us Tremble O impenitents did you ever think that there there had been so much in your impenitence as this But 2. There is the Attonement of Christs blood and in this sence t is I exhort you to cry his blood by upon me let that blood of sprinkling which speaks better things than the blood of Abel as it is peace and a propitiation for sinners so let it be upon me Beg of Christ to take you in and make you partakers of the merit of his blood of the vertue of his blood whereby your iniquities may be pardoned and purged away that when they are sought for they may not be found Go sinner go unto Jesus lift up thine eyes lift up thy voice stand crying at his door Lord open to me Lord take me in among thy pardoned ones let the blood of the lamb be sprinkled upon me 2. Consent to Christ whilest he offers to take you in you may know what 's to be done to get in to Christ by considering over that special mark which I have already given you to prove your being in Christ T is your consent that will prove you to be in Christ and the same which will be your evidence will give you entrance in him Sinners give your consent to Christ get your hearts to approve of him to be will satisfied that t is safe venturing upon him that he is a sure refuge that both can and will hide you from the wrath to come Accept of Christ If you be satisfied that t is safe venturing with him make your adventure embarque with this faithful Pilot and with him trust your selves Dedicate and give your selves to him as his right and property and be sure he will hide his own Speak unto him this hour here I am Lord no longer mine own I here pass away and make over my self unto thee for ever take me as thine own for thine I am resolv'd to be take me for thine own and take care of me as thine own I am thine save me Give him the right and give him the present possession of you rise up this day ye servants of the Lord and go and serve him What wilt thou have me to do Lord how wilt thou have me to live speak Lord I 'le henceforth know no other voice but thine this world shall be no longer heard against the voice of Christ this flesh shall be no longer heard against the voice of Christ depart usurpers I am neither mine own nor yours what have I any longer to do with you I am Christs and him only will I serve and through the help of the Lord I will go from this place bound in the spirit and resolved in mine heart to be governed guided and employed by him alone This is the
and in that fear follow on towards perfection Particularly 1. Follow on the work of Mortification in fear lest whatsoever wound sin hath received it should recover and get head again Hast thou gotten it a little under make it as sure as thou canst though thou hast gotten over Jordan and hast set thy foot on the banks of Canaan yet the Canaanite is still in the land and will be a briar and thorn unto thee Thou wilt never have peace thou wilt never prosper in the Grace of God but according as thou prosperest in thy warre against sin Dost thou ever design to come to any thing in Religion and to grow up in the Grace of God Let thine eye and thine hand be upon this adversary which will otherwise certainly keep thee down and it may be bring thee much lower than thou art this day 'T is with Grace in an unmortified heart as with poor Israel in Egypt 't is under Oppression The task-masters were upon Israels backs to keep them in bondage they were not their own men to do as they would they could not go and serve the Lord their tyrants would not suffer them and thus it 's like to be with thee Rom. 7. When I would do good evil is present with me O these Egyptians have me in hold I am so captivated to the Law of sin that I cannot do the thing that I would What an hard servitude am I under wretched man that I am who shall deliver me Onely betwixt oppressed Israel and this oppressed Israelite the new Creature there is this difference Israel by how much the more they were oppressed by so much the more they grew and multiplyed 't was more than all Egypt could do to keep them barren But Grace will never grow and fructifie under the oppression of Sin Grace oppressed by affliction will prosper and grow as Israel did Christians are seldom in such a thriving state as when under trouble and that may comfort us under all the oppressions of men we may be as holy under them all we may serve the Lord as well it may be better we may enjoy the Lord as much it may be more in our afflicted than in our prosperous state But under the tyranny and usurpation of sin Grace cannot thrive 't will hardly be kept alive whiles lust so lords it over it When the poor Soul under this oppression of lust groans and cryes as poor Israel did Let me goe let me go that I may serve the Lord the flesh possibly when in a fright as the Egyptians did when they were smitten with their plagues may say Go go and serve the Lord be as holy as thou wilt get thee up out of Egyt get thee on towards Heaven But then shortly after when the fright is over it falls on again and it may be doubles the bondage Go serve the Lord To your work says the flesh or it may be To your play you shall not go Or if the Soul hath gotten a little more liberty than ordinary these Egyptians will after it again Israel can never get free and be let alone to serve the Lord indeed till the Egyptians be dead 'T is in vain to hold a treaty with our flesh to make terms and to article with it for a larger allowance till this enemy be dead thy Soul will never prosper nor go comfortably on its way Get Egypt into the Red Sea let thy Sin be drown'd in that Sea of Blood the Blood of Christ that 's the only Ocean in which Sin will drown and die when thou hast it there then that oppressed thing within thee will grow and increase mightily when Sin is dead then Grace will thrive Grace in an unmortified heart is as a spark of fire in green wood it will not burn all the blowing it up will hardly keep it alive the sap and moysture of the wood will choak it when the sticks are dryed then 't will burn O what a flame of holy Affections what a flame of Love and holy Desires would break forth what burning and shining Lights should we be if these green Faggots our lusts were dried up and withered when you are dead to sin then you shall be alive unto God Rom. 6.11 Christian art thou nothing concern'd for that little Grace that 's in thee preserve it for it is thy Life and look upon thy lusts as its Oppressors and Murtherers that would strangle the babe in thy womb and never count thy self secure till they be dead which seek this child's life Say within thine heart I go in fear of my life of them there 's no binding them to the Peace or the good Behaviour they are thy mortal Enemies and thou canst have no security but in their death But how shall I doe to get my sins mortified Why first let me ask thee art thou so sensible of the evil of them and the mischiefs thou art like to suffer by them that thou darest not let them live Art thou so heartily afraid of them that nothing less than their death will give thee quiet Art thou more afraid of thy living lusts than of the labour and the smart that their death will cost thee who would bear the cutting off of a limb an arm or a legge that is not sensible that his life is concerned in it This mortifying work is one of the most painfull works of a Christian It is not so difficult to tell you how you should do it as to make you willing to doe it Physicians sometimes have an harder task to perswade to the taking of the Physick than to cure the Disease when once the Patient is willing and when no other Arguments will prevail 't is Fear at last that must do it Art thou in such a fear of thy Disease that this does swallow up thy fear of thy remedy Art thou for the death of sin how painfull soever it may be to thee Why if thou art in good earnest then take these following Directions 1. Lay the axe to the Root of sin 2. Put a Knife to the Throat of sin 3. Put a Bridle on its Jawes 4. Set thy Foot on the Neck of sin 1. Lay the Axe to the root of sin When Christ appeared in the World to cut off impenitent sinners it is expressed thus Matth. 3.10 Now also is the Axe laid to the root of the tree every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewen down Sure enough the tree must down when it is cut up at the root What was to be done by those sinners do thou by sin lay the Axe to the root There are sometimes some hopefull assaults made against sin which yet prosper not because the blow goes not to the root the branches may be lopp'd the Acts of sin may be cut off the Drunkard may cease from his Wine and the Adulterer from his Harlots swearing and lying and oppression may be all cut down as to what appears but soon after all these branches and evil
fruits may sprout forth and grow up again the root was not touched whatever was done upon the boughs The heart-Adulteries and heart drunkenness the swearing and lying and oppressing heart the root of all these wickednesses remained untouch'd Let that inward corruption of Nature which is the root of Actual sin be first and most effectually laid at The root of sin is to be destroyed By the Word of Christ By the Blood of Christ 1. By the Word of Christ Heb. 4.12 The Word of God is quick and powerfull sharper than any two-edged Sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit of the joynts and marrow It reaches to the inwards and pierces the Entrails Like the Lightning it will melt the sword in the scabbard 't will break the bones 't will slay the babe in the womb When they heard this they were pricked in their hearts Act. 2.37 Friends do not open the Ear only but open the Breast to the Word set the point of this Sword to the very heart of your sins and count not that it hath done its work whatever slaughter it hath made of your sins without till the Soul of them the inward pravity of your Natures and the inward lusts immediately issuing thence have received their mortal wound 2. By the Blood or Death of Christ Rom. 6.6 Our old man is crucified with him Ay that 's it that must do it 't is Christ crucified that must crucifie sin We read Mark 5.29 of a Woman that had been many years afflicted with an issue of Blood who by the influence of Christ through the touch of his hemme had the fountain of her blood dried up and so her bloody issue cured The irruptions and breakings forth of lust into action are as so many Issues of blood running upon us the workings of pride the workings of Covetousness sensuality and the like are a filthy fluxe so many unclean issues or running sores upon us Those that sport themselves with their sins are as men that make a sport of their filthy ulcers and unclean diseases Now the way of cure of these unclean issues may be illustrated from that Scripture There are three things to be noted in the cure of that woman 1. The bloody Issue was cured by the drying up the Fountain of her blood These filthy fluxes of lust and wickedness will never be cured till their Fountain be dryed up till the Body of sin be destroyed 2. The fountain of her blood was dried up by vertue issuing from Christ There went out vertue from him 't is said upon which the woman was cured Sin can never be slain but by vertue and influence from Christ Therefore he is said to be a fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness Zech. 13.1 Here 's a Fountain prepared against a Fountain and a fountain of blood against a fountain of blood the blood of Christ is a fountain opened to drayn out and dry up our fountain of iniquity 1 Joh. 1.7 The Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin 3. The vertue of Christ was received and the cure wrought by a touch of the hemme of his garment that is by the faith of the woman who said that is who believed If I may touch the hemme of his garment I shall be whole Her faith was it which got out the vertue as Christ himself afterwards testifies vers 34. Thy faith hath made thee whole Friends would you be healed of your plagues Go to Christ for a cure Put forth the hand of faith and touch touch not the hemme of his garment but his side and his heart his hands and his feet touch this Jesus as a crucified Jesus Christ can heal you with a touch but he will not touch your diseased Souls unless your faith first touch him We read Numb 21. that a look of a stung Israelite which was the same thing with this womans touch on the brazen Serpent got out such vertue from him who was signified by that Serpent as cured him of his sting Christ look'd on by faith will not only heal thee of the sting but will kill the Serpent that it shall never smite thee with such a deadly sting again Go to Christ sinner say within thy self If I can but touch him I shall be made whole look to the brazen Serpent and both thou shalt be healed and the fiery Serpent slain Believe that there is such vertue in Christ as will do the cure and lay hold and relye upon him for it Bring thy unclean fountain to that fountain which is opened for sin and for uncleanness and thou shalt certainly find that this blood of Christ shall cleanse thee from all sin Thou that art a Saint mayst set thy Probatum est to this remedy thou hast been with Jesus and thy Faith hath made thee whole thine Old man is crucified with him and the body of sin is destroyed onely because the cure is but begun and must be perfected by degrees by the same remedy as long as thou livest in this imperfect state by renewed acts of faith upon the blood of Christ expect thy total cure From the continual issuing forth of the same vertue by which sin hath received its deaths wound let it die daily till it cease to be for ever 2. Put a knife to the throat of sin My meaning is cut it short of that Provision that would feed and nourish it The old man is given to Appetite and you know what the counsel is in that case Prov. 23.2 Put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man given to appetite Look how many lusts there are so many sorts of feedings there are to keep them in heart Pride must have ornaments or honour applause respect and observance and for want of other feeding 't will feed upon thoughts upon our self-reflections and dotages any vain conceit of some worth or excellency we find in us Covetousness must have money houses and lands the hopes of getting and the content of possessing them Sensuality must have carnal pleasure and mirth wine and strong drink and dainties and varieties c. and whilest the flesh may have its lust it growes head-strong and imperious there 's no way to keep it tame but by keeping it short of what it craves Make no provision for the flesh saith the Apostle Rom. 13.14 to fulfill the lusts thereof And you may observe it that he prescribes this as a remedy to cure those intemperances riot and drunkenness chambering and wantonness strife and envying mentioned ver 13. It may be thou complainest sometimes of thy corruptions of the impetuousness of lust of the unruliness of thy spirit and confessest it and prayest against it but whilest thou prayest thou canst not find in thine heart to make thy lust to fast it must have its provision still allowed it It may be even when thou art praying against thy pride thou letst it feed upon thy very Prayer thy eloquence or affectionate Enlargement or
any thing thou apprehendest to be praise-worthy this must be meat for thy pride It may be thou prayest against thy covetousness or sensuality but as soon as thou art off thy knees away thou goest to work for the one or to thy play to please the other When some of thy last words are lead us not into temptation it may be thy very next steps may be running into temptation this is but mocking of God and deluding thy self If thou would'st prosper against this enemy whil'st thou stormest it by seeking to God starve it by denying thy self 3. Put a bridle on its Jaws My meaning is restrain it from its actings if thou canst not prevent its conception strangle it in the birth if the fire be kindled within yet give it no vent allow not the lust of thine heart the priviledge of thy mouth or the command of thine hand if thou canst not restrain thy covetous desires yet hold in from covetous practices if thou lovest the wine and the strong drink yet withhold the cup from the lip if thou canst not so easily rule thy spirit yet bridle thy tongue the fire of passion doth not waste by spending but rather increases the ordinary preventing and restraining the acts of sin will weaken its habits I have heard some persons vainly speaking at this rate when I have anger in mine heart out it must and then I am friends and so take it for their vertue rather than their sin that they cast out all their mire and dirt in a storm because then a calm follows Thou fool hast thou conquered thine unruly spirit by suffering thy self to be thus conquered by it what do'st thou think of him that conquers his lust by going to an Harlot when thou hast eas'd thy stomach by thy Bedlam-language then there is a calm but thou neither considerest the sin of letting fly thine angry words nor yet wilt mind that the fire will kindle the sooner for that it finds so easie a vent Damme up the furnace and that 's the best way to quench the coals 4. Set thy foot on the neck of Sin Have any of thy lusts fallen before thee make them sure tread them under thee that they rise not up again do not slight them as conquered enemies which now thou needest no more to fear those which are now under thy foot if thou look not well to them may be Lords over thee again Hath the Lord humbled thy proud heart broken thy unruly spirit and seem'd to turn a Lyon into a Lamb whilest thou sayest I hope I shall never be proud again never be so froward or peevish again whil'st thus thou hopest thou shalt not yet still fear lest thou should'st whil'st sin hath any life in it thou art still in danger as we use to say of dying men whil'st there is life there is hope so may it be said of these dying beasts while there is life there is fear Let that fear be as the foot upon their necks to prevent their rising and return upon thee Well thus set upon sin let it be destroyed reward it as it would serve thee and because it will be long a dying let it be killed all the day long draw not back thine hand whil'st its life is left in it O what an advantage will the death of of sin be to the life of holiness when the body of sin is dead 't will stink dead bodies will do so and all the issues of it will be noisome and loathsome to thee Lust is never deadly but when it lives and is sweet and pleasant when it dies and stinks and is become an annoyance to thee it will be the less thine hindrance it hath now done its worst the more it offends the less it will hurt Do'st thou find sin sweet Is it still a pleasure to thee beware of it 't is a sign 't is still alive it would stink if it were dead thou would'st nauseate it thy stomach would rise against it O this stinking pride this stinking covetousness these stinking pleasures away with them my very soul is sick with the stench they make and when sin stinks then holiness will be pleasant and the work of holiness a delight the very severities of Religion will be sweet when the pleasure of sin ceases The death of sin is all our diseases cured the lean and consumptive Soul will now revive and recover and be strengthened for its work The crucifying of sin is the casting off our weights that hang on to hinder us in our way Heb. 12.1 2. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that doth easily be set us and run with patience the race that is set before us 't is ill running with weights upon our backs Lust is such a weight upon the Saints as Conscience is upon sinners some sinners Consciences make them drive heavily on in their way of sin when they can once knock off this weight when they can kill Conscience and get themselves rid of its checks and controuls then they rush on upon iniquity as the horse rusheth into the battel let the Saints serve their Lusts as Sinners do their Consciences and then they may run with patience the race which is set before them There is a sore evil that is seen under the Sun Sinners all upon the Tantivie riding post towards Hell O how sprightly O how hot are they upon their chace of sin and vanity and poor creeple-Christians but barely wagging on by a Snail-creeping motion heavenward O 't is a sign that the weights do yet hang on thou art yet heavy loaden thou carriest too many bundles of thorns upon thy back too many burthens of earth and flesh upon thine heart to make any hast heaven-ward lay aside these weights tread down these worldly lusts throw off these worldly cares and carnal desires and delights yea get this carnality which is the body of Sin and the very soul of that body to be slain and crucifyed with Christ and when thou art dead with Christ thou shalt live the better to him He that is dead is freed from sin Rom. 6.7 and vers 18.22 Being made free from sin ye then become the Servants of Righteousness and so shall have your fruit unto holiness and your end everlasting life O what a visible improvement should we quickly see on the professing world did we prosper more in our mortifying work then would the languid and pale-fac'd Saints have blood in their cheeks and more spirits in all their veins the young man within would be fresh and ruddy were the old man once well laid then would the Plants grow up into Trees and the Shrubs into Cedars then will the lame man leap as an Hart and the tongue of the dumb be loosed then would this vile image of earth and flesh vanish and disappear and the Spirit of Glory and of God would more visibly rest upon us and we should go forth as the Sun out of his Chamber and rejoyce as the
out upon me in vain Behold the winter is past and the spring comes on the flowers appear the fig tree putteth forth and the vines with the tender grapes give a goodly smell Behold the fruits of that blessed blood and spirit in the reviving of this dead heart in the fructifying of this barren heart My Soul make thy boast of God though I have nothing of mine own but what I loath and am asham'd of yet here 's through rich mercy something of his fruits I have brought forth yet not I but the grace of God which was with me and his grace hath not been bestowed on me in vain Come on thou withering Soul cry out with the Spouse Awake thou North-wind and come thou South blow upon my Garden let the Spirit of the Lord breath upon me that my Spices may flow forth and my fruits may appear and then thou mayest go on now let my beloved come into his Garden and eat his pleasant fruits I cannot enumerate the particular fruits that you should bring forth they are all the fruits of righteousness but in hope that after all that hath been said your fear of being found among the barren may prepare you to receive some farther instruction for your growth and fructifying in every good work I shall only lay before you seven things which if they be in you and abound will make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ Follow after 1. Power 2. Activity 3. Severity 4. Simplicity 5. Ingenuity 6. Spirituality 7. Pleasure 1. Power Grace in the very being of it includes power 1 Cor. 4.20 The Kingdom or grace of God is not in word but in power Natural men have natural powers but there is nothing of spiritual power in them wishes and velleities they may have after that which is really and spiritually good O that I could forsake this world and crucifie this flesh and follow God and walk worthy of the Gospel in all things thus they may wish and desire but for their hearts they cannot come to it they cannot bring forth their wish into a will nor their will into performance The least child of God hath more of the power of God in him than the most knowing and the very best of natural men all the parts and vertues of a natural man do fall as much short as to this spiritual vital power of the least of Saints as a dead man does of a living child But yet where there is grace in the beginnings of it in comparison of what it may grow to its power may be small and its strength may be but weakness How great is the power of the healthy above the sickly and faint how much is the power of a man above the power of an infant 'T is well thou art alive but wilt thou still be but a child O what weakly Souls are many amongst the living Souls How ordinary is this complaint To will is present with me but how to perform I find not O how many frustraneous attempts and ineffectual offers do we make at an holy fruitful life we wish for more care and more diligence and more usefulness but still we fall short we are reaching towards but cannot reach to it We judge our selves for our failings we groan under our imperfect duties we are sick of those corruptions that are mingled with them but we cannot overcome them we lament our barrenness we hunger and thirst after more fruitfulness and yet we cannot obtain we cannot do the good that we would we cannot forbear to do the evils that we would not so weak is our heart that though we can weep over our falls and failings yet we cannot amend them But art thou not afraid to continue thus what if death should overtake thee thus how would'st thou dye when thy sin is so much alive yea how canst thou live in any peace whil'st thou seest thou livest to so little purpose Therefore my Brethren let me exhort you in the words of the Apostle Ephes 6.10 Be ye strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Put forth the power that you have receiv'd trust on God for more Put forth that power that you have that 's the way to encrease your strength Do not make your selves to be weaker than you are say not 't is for want of power that 't is no better with you when 't is for want of care and industry much more certainly might be done if we were better Stewards of what we have Let there not be a pretence of weakness to excuse your laziness do what thou canst thou canst do more than thou do'st and if indeed thy strength be but small thou knowest whether to go for more Study well and lay hold on that word Isa 40.28 29.31 Hast thou not known hast thou not heard that the everlasting God the Lord the Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not neither is weary He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as the Eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not be faint Christians let it not suffice you that you are men of understanding and good affections get a Spirit of power as well as of love and of a sound mind 2. Activity An unactive spirit is next to impotence Awaken from thy liveless wretchless temper put away sloth thou sluggard wilt thou still be a drone this drone hath a sting thine own Soul will feel it sooner or later that thy sloth will sting thee to the heart Christians let it appear that the spirit of the living God is in you by your sprightfulness and vivacity Shall the evil spirit be the only active spirit shall sinners flow forth in vanity and wickedness shall their filthy waters be such a quick and running stream and shall the waters of the Sanctuary be but as a standing pool Be bent for holy action be prepared and ready for every good work It 's said Ephes 2.10 that Christians are created unto good works in the very make and constitution of the new creature we may read its use and end we are new made for this very end and purpose we are adopted and prepared for an active useful life for those good works which God hath ordained that we should walk in them Thou had'st need stir up thy self and put thy self on lest thou quickly come to question whether thou be a new creature or no if thou continuest so backward and unready to that for which the new creature is Hast thou grace indeed blow off the ashes from that living coal that it may burn and shine out in a gracious life Fire it the most active of all the elements it will not be inclosed but will find a vent for its flames sure thou hast little of that divine fire in