sins because they are against a most easie gracious merciful Law God will more punish for sins against the Gospel than for those sins that are against the Law of nature Sodom sinned against the Law written upon her heart but the Jews they sinned against the Gospel and therefore were the greatest sinners Let Christ be judg I tell you saith Christ it shall be more tollerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the great day than it shall be for you More tolerable why for if they had had the means that you have had they would have repented They had sinned but they had not the means of repentance or at least not such means as you have had for you have had not only the means of the Law to convert yon Oh Jews but you have had the means of the Gospel The means of the Gospel doth as it were lift a people up unto Heaven it bringeth them as near to Heaven as means can bring them and thus was Bethsaida and Corazin lifted up with What with the means of the grace of the Gospel they had the preaching of Christ among them but they did despise these means and continue in their infidelity and therefore were thrown down to Hell as Christ threatned them And saith the Apostle to the Hebrews I am shewing of you that sins against the Gospel are the greatest sins If a trangression against the Law of Moses deserveth death and was punished by death of how much sorer punishment shall they be thought worthy that do neglect so great salvation That is the Gospel-salvation gospel-Gospel-sins are the greatest sins when God punisheth he punisheth for both And now I have spoken to the four parts Application Let me make a short Application and I shall conclude Doth it thus appear that God is the author of all the punishments that are upon a City are you convinced of it my Brethren are you satisfied by what I have said That there is no punishment that befalls any person any family any City but it is of Gods appointing and of Gods executing that is he provideth and seeth to the execution of it Is this true Then you have in the First place a clear and a full information of the author of the burning of your City Who did burn London why what was the burning of London an evil ay and a great one too Was it so Be it then known to all you Londoners saith the Lord you that are the Citizens thereof be it known to you I did burn this City and I do this day own it God doth own it this day God hath burnt it I know you may be ready to be complaining of instruments and surely if there were any they were wicked instruments for as I told you before in several instances God may make use of wicked instruments to do his work to inflict his punishments God made use of lying Prophets to deceive Ahab for to bring Ahabs death about and God made use of Judas his Treason to bring the punishment of the iniquity of us all upon the back of Jesus Christ But my Brethren whoever were the instruments God is the principal efficient Pray will you remember and carry it home with you God did it How did God do it God did decree it it came doubtless according to the determinate counsel of God For as the world was not drowned without an antecedent decree nor Sodom burned without an antecedent decree nor Jerusalem the first and second time destroyed without an antecedent decree so doubtless this City of London did not come to ashes without the decree of God it was before determined in the counsel of God and as God did decree it so God in his Providence took order for all the means that were employed to the burning thereof God had a hand in giving leave to all the lesser wheels to work It was God that by six week or two months hot weather did purposely dry the Houses of London to make them fuel fit for the fire Would you have believed it the weather was the Lords the Lord caused it When it was fired that men wanted wisdom or courage or success to put it out God took away their wisdom God took away their courage God stood by and as it were said Hands off I intend to execute my wrath upon London touch it not let it go on Magistrates do nothing or if you do let it be to no purpose Again God provided a wind that when the fire began at one end God ordered the wind to blow it on to the other end The wind came out of the hollow of Gods hand it was no casual thing no accidental thing my Brethren it was according to the predeterminate Counsel of God That is the first thing if God be the cause of all the evil of punishment then of the burning of London God hath done it who ever was the instrument God was the principal cause Secondly if God burnt London then in the second place let us this day learn to be silent under the hand of God let us not question nor quarrel with his Providence let us not say to the Almighty why hast thou done so Let us not have a thought rise up against him as to charge him foolishly let us be silent nay let us not too eagerly in our passion run out and vent our selves against any that were instruments for that is to do like the Dog that snarls and gnaws the staff and run after the stone and gnaweth the stone but never regards the hand that threw the stone nor the hand that strikes with the staff you vent your anger and wrath against the instruments alas the instruments they were but rods in the hand of Almighty God they were but the stone and the staff alas they were in the hand of God he could have frustrated them if he would but he had so ordered it in his Providence to give men leave to execute their malice upon London let us lay our hanâ—â— upon our mouths and not murmur against the Lord let us acknowledg that since it is the evil of punishment it was a just one for never did City deserve to be burnt as London did Never No say you What do you think of Sodom do you think that we are as bad as they I tell you worse you are worse you are as much worse than Sodom as Bethsaida was worse than Sodom Why wherein was Bethsaida worse because Bethsaida did sin under Gospel-light and so did London Never had a people more of the Gospel than you have had never Ministers more gifted than you have had never a Ministry more drawn out in their affections after your Conversion than you have had and yet London have blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts and would not be converted So that you deserved it more than Sodom and it will be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of Judgment than for you Humble your selves therefore under his mighty hand Why how shall we
soul after God security doth Again Patience makes the soul more cautious of its walkings to take heed of offending God Security doth not Let a man therefore in his waiting seek for an holy restlesness of soul after God I found it in my practise hard to distinguish betwixt these two cases 1650. XXXV Men go to Ordinances as Reading Hearing Praying c. and meet not God in them The Reasons of which distemper are 1. because of the distraction of their thoughts in them and that ariseth from the temper or rather distemper of the soul exercis'd in thoughts of those things before they went which in Ordinances do distract them As for instance Perhaps a mans studies or affairs of the world and his thought of them distracts him it 's a sign he had been thinking of these things either immediately before he came or else his heart was too much carried out in the week-days after them 2 Thine heart was hard when thou wentest to hear or read and it 's no wonder if the seed falling on rocky ground that it do not grow up and bring forth fruit 3 Because thou wentest not with an open mouth and an hungry soul to the Ordinances that 's another reason why thou art neither filled nor art satisfied with divine Consolations few have gone to hearing with a full intent to hear what God would speak to them there and so have come away empty It is ordinary for Saints in a weak and low estate to put up Petitions to God as low as they themselves They think it presumption to ask the great things promis'd as Adoption Assurance c. and they are apt to think they do well in it then doubtless this came from an unbelieving heart which would seal the fountain which God hath open'd and close those arms which God hath spread open to receive sinners and to cover the breasts of consolation with a vail of modesty which God taketh not well at our hands Many Saints will complain of their hardness of heart listlesness to praying reading hearing and this is the burthen which they lie under Now if I were to advise such a soul it would be thus Let him cast all these distempers of soul upon his own self as the cause of them Let him reflect upon his conversation hath he walked close with God or hath he not given way to loosness either in his carriage he hath been too light or in his tongue too vain If he say he hath set a watch over himself and resolv'd to walk more strictly and yet hath fal'n Ans But didst thou not first let fall thy watch and then fall into sin or art thou not conscious to thy self that thou could'st walk more strictly if thou wouldst Thine own thoughts shall condemn thee thy conscience tells thee thou mayest pray more if thou wilt thou mayest read more and meditate more on what thou readest and pray more over what thou meditatest if thou wouldst O man thy judgment herein is just XXXVI It is a general complaint of Saints that they cannot get up their hearts as to mourning for the sins of others And for Answer This may cast down many a poor Saint but I would have such an one to take notice of what temper his soul is as to his own sins and if he finds his heart hard and not able to mourn for his own sins it is no wonder if it mourns not for the sins of others So then I would have thy soul in this case as thou wouldest in the other Now as for thine own sins thou canst satisfie thy self as to this case that thou canst remember God hath drawn thee out in a melting frame for them So then think thou whether at any time when thou hast been in an humble melting temper thou could'st then mourn for others sins But withall take notice of this that a mourning temper for others sins is an high attainment Therefore pray thou for it that thou mayest continually be in such a temper and that upon this account because thy God thy Father is dishonoured by their sins labour for a tender regard to Gods glory And as to mourn for the sins of others so it is hard in praying for another Saint if one hears that soul hath received that which he prayed for to believe that his prayers had an interest in his deliverance and this is the reason why he cannot find his heart carried out in praises to God for the deliverance of that soul Let such a soul take up only this consideration and know that his prayers have as much influence upon another as upon himself and so let him resolve himself But in our praying for mortification or comfort in our souls we are apt to miscarry in determining Gods time in our souls for the giving of it As for instance Suppose I pray for strength against my passions I am apt to determine Gods time to the next time I have an offer to my passion and this occasions great dejection to some who are apt to think that God did not hear neither did Christ intercede nor the spirit help in that prayer Therefore this is the advice I would give to all Saints in this case let them pray for that which they want but be sure let them withall adjoyn patient waiting upon God to the giving in of an answer Or thus I would have a man be resolv'd that God will give in an answer but let him be undetermin'd as to the time It is very difficult for a soul that hath been praying againstany particular corruption and that for a long while and yet finds his corruptions to overcome him or to get head to persuade himself that God hath heard his prayers and that Christ interceded for those prayers yet thou maist know whether Christ interceded for thee in those prayers First if thou art carried out in thy dependance upon God notwithstanding these prayers are not answered directly as to the conquest of thy particular corruption Thus he dealt with Peter saith Christ I have pray'd that thy faith fail thee not And that the prick in Pauls flesh was not quickly took away yet he had an answer Gods grace was sufficient for him Secondly If he keeps up thine heart in a continual praying against this corruption For we must know that every breathing of the soul after mortification is purchased of the Father by the death and intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ Thirdly If God answers thee as to the mortification of any corruption though not in that which thou prayedst against in particular Suppose thou prayed'st against anger or pride perhaps God will answer thee in deadning thine heart to the world and by these signs thou mayest discover the beams of love though there be a cloud that interposeth XXXVII Now we have given you a taste out of his own journal in his own words how this Pious Virtuoso besides his Philosophical and Theological studies was exercised in gathering experiments for the
the Presbytery and Prayer in a great Congregation at St. Mary-Axe Church London like a good Husband-man as he was careful when he had sown his seed with diligence in Preaching of the Word to see how it sprang up so he was to prepare the ground for the receiving of it by Catechizing his people which he was very zealous to carry on successfully as you may see by the Epistle before the short Catechism he recommended in the words he then printed To all the Inhabitants of the Parish of Newington-Butts Grace and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ My dear Parishioners GOD is my witness how the Salvation of your never-dying Souls is desired by me If I could not have compassionated you as men and women drawing near to that Tribunal where you shall within these few days receive your final sentence either to everlasting Happiness or Torment I had never been so earnest and importunate with you in my Pulpit for your hearty entertainment of the Lord Jesus in a sincere obedience to his Laws and unfeigned love of his person and benefits as the only way to eternal life And if the same love and tenderness had not continued in me I would never have ventured upon this toylsome laborious work of sending for you family by family to instruct you in the knowledg of that Jesus Christ through whom only you expect to find salvation If God shall be pleased to make you as willing a people to learn as he hath made me willing to spend and be spent in this service of teaching you I shall have cause to praise him to my dying day The God and Father of our Lord Jesus perswade your heart to receive his teachings of you in your Ministers that you may not shut the knowledg of himself in the Gospel out of your doors which will prove of more sad and dreadful consequence to your Souls than you imagine Amen So prays one that unfeignedly loves you and that is willing to sacrifice health strength ease and all I have in the service of your Souls Thomas Wadsworth AT the end of the Catechism he adjoyn'd an Admonition I have here presented you but with a few things to commend to your memories but if through age or other weaknesses some of you cannot get this little without book let me desire you to perfect your selves in the Creed the Lords Prayer and the Ten Commandments But however if you are Parents or Masters and Mistresses of families let me entreat you to command your Children and Servants to get the rest and to hear them say it once or twice a week you may make it part of your Lords-days work and adjoyn it to your Praying Reading or Repetition of what you heard when you come home Having laboured much in this and other ways with great success to reduce the Inhabitants of that great Parish from their disorderly living to the obedience of the Gospel After a profession of their faith Printed singly after the example of the Ministers in the Worcester-shire Association he engag'd those instructed who were willing to joyn in all Ordinances to signifie in these words I do consent to be a member of the particular Church of Christ at Newington-Butts whereof Thomas Wadsworth is Teacher and Overseer and to submit to his Teaching and Ministerial guidance and oversight according to Gods word and to hold communion with that Church in the publick worshipping of God and to submit to the brotherly admonition of fellow-members that so we may be built up in knowledg and holiness and may the better maintain our obedience to Christ and the welfare of this society and hereby may the more please and glorifie God XLI You see what pains and cost he was at for the good of the Souls under his Charge at Newington where you had before from his Hearers in Mr. Baxters Preface to his Two last Sermons a more particular account of his most exemplary and unwearied industry in his Ministerial-office And then on the Lords day in his own family when his great work was over in the publick Congregation he us'd to have Sermons repeated and he himself prayed and Sung Psalms with them yea and being well instructed of his Lord and Master who knew how to speak a word in season to him that is weary and remembring the Apostles charge for Preaching the Word 2 Tim. 4.2 to be instant in season and out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine He did in a time of an extraordinary long Frost when poor Watermen were sorely put to it for a subsistence set up an Expository-Lecture for four or five mornings in a week at least two months together When it pleased God to manifest his special presence with him in this seasonable work for it prov'd the means of turning several from their evil ways unto God and some who had liv'd loosely before can to this day with humility and thankfulness testifie that a work of grace was then wrought upon them So that they were seals to his Ministry and to that truth of the Wisemans Prov. 25.11 A word fitly spoken or seasonably on the wheels is like Apples of gold in Pictures of silver This was extraordinary but the other was his course whiles he continued at Newington which was till Mr. James Meggs who vouch'd himself to be Legal Rector of it forc'd him to resign that Benefice to him in August 12. Carol. 2di and put an end to all Suits only he yielded that Mr. Wadsworth should Preach there till Septemb. 29. next ensuing Though Mr. Meggs sometime before his death could not but acknowledge that however he had given Mr. Wadsworth trouble he had not before that real and legal title to Newington he had made the world believe he had But our Practical Divine had learn'd to suffer rather than to do any wrong XLII However the great God who had made much use of this choice instrument in his work would not let him as yet lye by useless For after he was remov'd from Newington by no fair dealing as before of him that succeeded besides his Lecture on Saturday mornings at S. Antholins yea and for some time likewise there at five of the Clock in the evening of the Lords days and for a Winter or two on Monday nights at Margrets Fish-street-Hill London where by the concourse of Auditors 't was evident his labours were much valued though he had low thoughts of the apprehension of men He was by the Parishioners in whose power the presentation or nomination then was chosen to be Minister of Laurence Poultney where he continued and being then a Widower and removing from the House of his intimate friend Mr. Sedgwick then marrying liv'd in the family of his worthy friend Mr. Robert de Lunà Merchant till the frowning Bartholomew 1662. when he was ejected thence and out of his Lectures as 2000 of his Brethren were elsewhere because they could not assent and consent
you come to ground Ye glorious Angels and ye blessed spirits of just men made perfect that live above you that have been wading downward these five thousands of years do ye feel a bottom or are ye near one Away away my foolish heart if this be all thou hast to plead he may redeem thee and take thee for his Spouse and betroth thee to himself notwithstanding all this Object But Oh this filthy loath some fleshly self this base unthankeful earthly heart that can prefer a dunghill dross and dirt before him that can freely lay out his love to a creature like my self But Oh how hard and stiff and unrelenting am I to my God But Oh he will slight me because I have often put him off and slighted him he cannot love and die for such a one as I am Answ Cease fool thy reasonings he cannot love an enemy because thou canst not he cannot die because thy cowardly heart will not suffer thee Why should he fear the grave that had power over it And what though thou art unworthy of his love if he will have thee and make thee worthy Thy heart is base and what of that if he will mend it thy filthy rotten and polluted soul he intends to wash and cleanse it till it is without spot and wrinkle or any such thing Thy stubborn proud earthly and lustful heart he can make humble tender soft and yielding And when he hath made thee as he would why may not he take thee to himself and lay thee next his heart and delight over thee everlastingly Object But will his Father yield to this I am too poor a match for the Son and heir of all things But will he can he suffer his Son to die to buy such a beggarly thing to himself as I am Answ Away these silly simple childish thoughts how like an inhabitant of this earthly sensual world dost thou reason thou wilt not under-match and therefore will not God his Son Thou fool thou wilt not because thou canst find another equal But dost thou not know that God can find none equal to his Son he must stoop or else go without It 's true he might have gone without but what if he would not why should not Heaven have its will as well as thou Thou hast no dowry and he doth need none and yet thou arguest as if Heaven would make traffick with his Son and his love as we filly worms do here but we are beggars and so are Angels and all the glorious Hosts above they are his Creatures hang and depend upon him and cannot subsist one moment happy without supplies and helps of his Grace and why may he not bring a beggarly man as near to himself as a beggarly Angel if so it pleaseth him Object But doth it so please him Answ How often have I told thee it doth please him and hast thou not believed Come if thy hearing will not satisfie let thy seeing do it Look if thou hast eyes Come tell me doth not Heaven look as though it was pleased with the offer of his Son What cloud or darkness dost thou see about the Throne what sign or token of displeasure canst thou at all discover Open thine eyes view the God of Glory Do his looks bespeak him to be thy Father or thy Judg And canst thou not read both Husband Father and Lord and all in his countenance What not see it surely thou art blind If he had not told as much from his own mouth his eyes and looks bespeak his love and favour loud and clear enough to thee But doth he not tell thee to put thee out of all doubt this is my well beloved Son hear him hear him what 's that believe him whatsoever he says why what saith he O dull and stupid heart hast thou forgot already He said he will pay his life for thine and doth not his Father bid thee hear him He said he would reconcile thee love thee and make thee friends again And is it not comfort when the Father bids thee believe him he said he will pardon wash and cleanse thee and take thee to himself and betroth thee to him for ever and after all will give thee to see his Glory even the same Glory which he had before the world And the Father is willing to all this for he tells thee his Son is his well-beloved Son and bids thee believe him and misdoubt not one syllable And canst thou after all this doubt that the Father is not willing But do not his Angels likewise who are ministring spirits with voice and looks proclaim as much that Heaven is well pleased with the Son and with his Death and Passion and so with thee in him Do not the Angels admire the mystery of Redeeming Grace that makes them so desirous to peep into it Why did they proclaim his coming into the world and sing for joy that there was good-will in Heaven to men on earth or why do they so diligently attend thee by night and by day Thou seest them not keep guard about thy Chamber-door and round about the curtains of thy bed Why do they attend thee from room to room and follow thee down stairs and out of doors if it were not but that thou art some great Princess nearly allied to their Lord and Master Thou dost not see this blame then thine eyes and the infidelity of thy heart shall it be less true because thy base infidelity cannot digest it Thou might doubt God Heaven and every thing else on that score but hast thou not it from his own mouth that the Angels are ministring spirits for the heirs of glory Come tell me I say tell me quickly I must have an answer Can this and all this be true and Heaven yet not be pleased If God with his Son and Angels be all content that thou shouldst be restored and so exalted to such dignities as to be heir unto the Crown of Heaven if these be pleased who is there in Heaven that can else be displeased What saith my heart what not yet one word Oh how long shall I be troubled and pestered with thy unbelief Oh my God strike chide and break this flint reprove this stubborn and unbelieving heart I cannot perswade it that thou lovest me or art willing to love me I urge thy word and my best reason to prove it but I cannot make it yield Oh break I pray thee this Flint or Adamant upon thy downy breast of love strike and one blow of thine will make it fall in pieces and confess at length that thou art well pleased with thy Son and fully satisfied that he should bleed and die for me But let me try thee once again if thou hast lost thine ears and eyes I 'le see if thou hast lost thy feeling too Thou sayest thou canst not believe that God is willing to accept the Son for thee or that thou so vile a wretch canst be accepted of by the Father
through the merits of his Death and sufferings Come tell me is not this thy language I know thou darest not to speak so much in words But ah my Heart I find thou hast got a Tongue as well as my Mouth that often mutters and speaks a different language But tell me if thy unbelief hath any ground for it What makes it then that thy self is so free from fears and terrours when thou shouldst believe the Almighty of thy Bodies Death Resurrection and coming to Judgment if thou thoughtest him not thy friend and reconciled to thee in his Son if not methinks thy fears should fright thee and trembling seize on every joint and yet thou wilt foolishly mutter against thine own feeling Soul speaks O blessed God! I feel thou hast overcome I yield I yield I have not left a word to speak against thy love thy Son hath offered satisfaction and thou hast accepted it thou hast laid down O my Saviour thy life for mine and thy Father and my Father is well pleased with it Blood is paid Justice is satisfied Heavens doors are widened thine arms opened to receive me nothing is wanting but my heart make it such as thou wilt have it and then take it to thy self Come up my soul thou hast an heart and there is a Christ the Father thou feest is willing and the Son is willing give but thy consent and he is thine for ever Fear not thy hardness blindness deadness loathsomeness all these cannot hinder if thou be but willing He hath been in the world to ask the worlds consent already and also thine thou canst not doubt of his good-will speak but the word and he hath thine too What stickest thou at surely thou art a sluggish spirit what dost thou ail Half of this ado would find a heart for a little mire or dirt or something else that is worse and is not Christ better But ah yet I feel a spice of unbelief still working in thy very bowels as if that Jesus that died at Jerusalem were not the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world And is this all O were I certain thou wouldst ne're doubt more how freely should I make satisfaction But Oh! I faint and tire with the trips and stumblings of my unbelief But mount my soul thou must resolve to tire and put to silence all thy unbelieving bablings or they will thee which if they do never expect an hours peace or quiet more thou must resolve to conquer thy unbelief or to be conquered thou knowest her tyranny too well to let her go away the victoress He was not the Christ thou sayest but tell me why Object His Parentage was too low and mean what the Saviour of the world a Carpenters Son how can it be Answ My unbelief in the first place thou lyest his Mother was a Virgin and her Conception knew no Father but the Almighty power of the overshadowing Holy Ghost he was more truly the Son of God than Joseph's Son And was his birth thinkst thou so mean whose Parentage was so glorious Object His birth but mean and beggarly no sooner born but cradled in a manger and could Heaven suffer this Answ It is confest But yet it was as glorious for did not a Star proclaim him born and did not a whole Host of Angels sing and shout it up for joy and did not wise men yea and Kings bring Incense Myrrh and Frankincense being but as so much tribute unto the new-born King and heir of all things as if by instinct they knew they held their Crowns of him a greater honour than ever any new-born Prince hath yet received before him or ever shall or will do after him Methinks my unbelieving heart I could dare to tell thee that room was no stable it was a Palace and did not the cost presents and glorious presence of Kings speak as much Object But his days were spent in poverty meanness and disgrace and can I dare I trust my soul with such a one and take him to be the Son of God Answ And now I wonder at thee it's true what thou fayest if thou lookst upon him one way his life was such as thou tellest me of but 't is a strong argument against thy self for just such a one was the Christ to be according to the Prophets the 53 Chapter of Isaiah shews as much But yet if thou truly understandest what true pomp and glory means even to an eye of sense as well as to that of faith Solomon's life imbroidered with all his glorious acts was not comparable to this life of his Was it not filled with miracles and wonders was he not proclaimed the Son of God with voices from Heaven did he not conquer Devils and therefore the Kingdom of Hell Was ever Prince on Earth honoured with so great a Conquest Were not his miraculous Feasts more splendid than those of Princes the fare was but poor and mean but the miracles made it rich and glorious Had I been present should I not have wondered and gazed more at the Master of this Feast and have taken more pleasure to have seen him sit down with these five thousands than with a Table full of Princes and great men Alas it were a trifling sight to this Methinks my unbelief that pleads so much for sense sense it self pleads too strongly against thee for thou canst not argue one syllable Object But would the Son of God be hanged and crucified could Heaven have suffered this could not the Saviour of the world save himself how could he then save me Answ Hadst thou not the blindness of the Jews thou couldest not reason thus like them but was it not necessary it should be so Did not the Prophets foretell his death and such a death Had he not died and died as he did I might then have had some ground to doubt him whether he were the Messias or not for it was needful that the Prophesies should be fulfilled Dan. 9. But yet as wretched and as contemptible a going out of the world as he had and his manner of dying on the Cross how vile soever it seemed to be yet was there not enough to silence all the doubts that could possibly from thence arise and much for the confirmation of my faith in the wonderful Eclipse of the Sun the rending of the veil of the Temple the opening of the Graves the raising of the dead and afterwards his own rising the third day and ascending up to Heaven in a Cloud If my faith might have staggered in seeing him on the Cross dying it could not when it saw him risen and in the Clouds ascending Object But were those wonders true and certain Answ But hast thou any ground to doubt them are they not written in thy Bible and art thou not certain that it is the word of God or hast thou not sufficient reason to believe it to be so But hast thou not a whole Nation yea Nations that do believe the
same and before this age did not our Fathers and Grandfathers and great Grandfathers and so continued a testimony of ages from the time that they were done to this day witness to the truth of them and that so unanimously and resolutely that ten thousands have rather chosen to lose their lives than the truth of them Now put all these together and tell me canst thou doubt Away I see thou dost but trifle confess the truth or I am resolved to heed thee no longer Come take and embrace that crucified Jesus account all things else but as loss and dross and dung in comparison with him stick not at his outward meanness scruple not at his ignominious dying it is the very Christ the Saviour of the world Oh why shouldest-thou thus torment me Dost thou not see all thy fellow-Christians to glory in that Cross and in that Christ that died on it Do they not bear it as a badg of honour and shall it be to thee as shame Do not all the Christian World eat and drink as often as they can the Symbols of this their dying Lord And do they not all sing and joy and triumph in it and wilt thou the while lye vexing thy self over a company of needless fears and scruples Farewell all needless doubts and tormenting questions I see my faith is built on a Rock blow winds beat waves you cannot now remove me Blessed God! I thank thee for thy Son thou hast given his life for the spoiler thou hast bowed his back to the enemies long furrows have they plowed upon it and the day of his calamity they laughed at Lord thou hast wounded him for my sins and bruised him for my iniquities These speak the depth of thy counsels and the ways of thy mercy past finding out and the tenderness of thy Bowels Thou hast made him my Rock and my shield and my strong tower and in the day of my sorrow through him thou wilt hear me To thee O God will I make my vows and to thee will I pay them I will humble my self before thee I will always lye at the feet of my Redeemer Lord his Cross and his shame shall be no more a stumbling-block to me I will take it up and follow him it shall be my Crown my Song and the glory of my rejoicing I will enter into thy Courts with joy and in the Congregations of thy Saints shall be my delight I will remember thy loving-kindnesses of old and the days in which thou didst afflict thy only Son for the sins of my Soul I will call to mind the Covenant of thy Grace and my heart shall praise thee when I see it founded on blood Then will I betroth my self to thy Son join thou Lord both our hands and hearts and we will strike up a match for ever Praise thou the Lord Oh my soul and all you that love and fear him praise his holy name The SACRAMENT The Dress Lord where am I What! all the Children of the Bride-chamber up and drest and I slumbering in my bed Tell me ye fairest what make you up so early Alas our Lord was up before us all He called us up by break of the day and wondered that we were not triming our lamps knowing with whom we were to feast this day Oh! well then I will rise up too Oh what a shew do these bright and glittering Saints make in mine eyes What a brightness do these pearls and diamonds cast in mine eyes they do strike me into amazement Oh what a lovely humble look doth crown their brow and what a comely countenance hath joy and Heavenly delight cast on their cheeks surely they did not thus dress themselves it was my Father that made them thus prepar'd to entertain his Son But where are my Clothes Now for the fairest sweetest robe of thoughts and wishes that can be found or that the wardrobe of my Father can afford me Oh how naked am I But where are my silken golden twists of Faith to hang the jewels of joy and love and humility upon I am never drest till they be on Oh where where are they I saw them by me but just now I laid them by my heart before I went to bed Oh what was I so long a reasoning about Oh what long and many threds did my reason spin even now but to make these twines to tye up my joy and to raise up my love and to hang my Heavenly delight upon But ah I fear this envious world hath with her vanities stollen them away or hid them from me or the envious Devil or unbelief have been ravelling or snarling of them that now I am as far to seek as ever Whither O whither shall I go to find them out Now will the Bridegroom come and I am not ready I cannot dare not go to day Now will my Lord be angry and ask me why I came not and I have no answer to make him And if I go undrest he will ask me where is my Wedding-garment and then I shall be speechless Ah foolish simple heart that thou wouldst take no more care but to let these thoughts of earth so intangle themselves with thy so pure and Heavenly contemplations Now how to get them loose again thou knowest not this thou mightst by heed and care have prevented but now what help Lord I have sinned O holy Father pardon this time and I will take more heed Oh come and unty my thoughts from this earth and come and dress me up as best pleaseth thee Come be not discouraged Oh my soul Let but thy attire of Grace be whole that is sincere thy God and so thy Saviour will accept thee Though thy garments are not so much perfumed with heaven as thy brethrens are but yet if they are but white and free from the spots of flesh and spirit thou wilt be looked on and liked of well enough Thy Lord doth know that all have not talents alike and where he gives but a little he expects but little A Faith that is richly embroidered over with love and delight is not given to all and is not expected from any but from those to whom it is given Thou hast an honest willing serious heart that thinks it doth despise and trample under feet the nearest dearest pleasures profits and glories in the world in compare with him that gave himself to death for thee and hadst rather anger flesh and blood the dearest friends and all the world than him by sinning against him in the least If this be true fear not thou hast thy Wedding-garment on thou art well clad as mean soever as it is it is such a one as Heaven gave thee and such a one as thy dear Redeemer can and will embrace thee in The Presence-Chamber Fear not O my soul I charge thee do not faint Let not thy weakness and the poverty of thy grace discourage thee see how thy Lord draws nigh Fear not I say he will not ask
God comes to make inquisition for blood How will you do if this sin shall find you out If God requires blood for blood what will become of yours If he had been no more than a common man the Law would then have required your lives for payment But how if in the end he prove a Prophet nay more than that the Son of the most high God the Prince and Saviour whom God had promised to raise the Messiah whom Moses and the Prophets bare witness to and him that you so long long'd and wisht to see How will you look what will you say what answer will you make when all these truths are cleared where will you hide your selves for shame and what will you do when confusion shall thus take hold upon you What! will you then confess the fact or will you deny it with what face can you do the first And if you do the latter the curse you and your Fathers drew upon your selves Let his blood be upon us and our children stands still on record against you and will cry you guilty Will you excuse it with your unbelieving ignorance But how will you be able to rub your brows into so much confidence How dare you say you were ignorant of him when you say you knew both Moses and the Prophets and they bare witness of him You askt a sign and did he not give you both signs and wonders How often did he cure your Lame How wonderfully did he heal your Lepers and those sick of the Palsie yea of all manner of diseases How did he open the eyes of the blind and give light to him that was born blind yea restore the withered hand and make the crooked straight and open the ears of the deaf and cast out Devils and raise the dead Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that Son Jesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ Upon which Text Act. 2.36 the Author Mr. Tho. Wadsworth preach'd at Gregories Church by Pauls March 29 1656. evidencing clearly from those words 1 That the poor life and ignominious death of him that was crucified at Jerusalem was no good argument why the Jews should reject him from being the promised Messiah 2 That that very God-man named Jesus Christ that was crucified at Hierusalem was the true Messiah whom God made and appointed to be Saviour to the World If his Notes were sufficiently legible in the proving and improving of these two Propositions so that they might have been publisht as they cannot unless any took them in short-hand for his own use there would have been found in that Discourse a notable antidote against the poysons of Judaism and the Atheism of this present age Three Letters of Mr. Tho. Wadsworth to his Sister Elizabeth Wadsworth in Southwark when he was a young Student in Christs-Colledg in Cambridge wherein we may see the early breathings of his pious Soul Dear Sister YOU may remember very well that I sent a Letter to you all in general to wit my Brother and other Sisters but it is my wonder and grief that I should receive an answer from none of you I thought that your loves to me were not so contracted but that I might have procured such a favour at your hands as three or four lines in a Letter but however your not regarding of me hath not begotten in my soul such regardlesness towards you and therefore from among the rest I have chosen you out in particular to see whether you in particular will give me an answer to my other Letter I remember that the last time I was with you upon Conference that I had with you I found a good and pliable nature in you some softness of heart appear'd by that crystal dew which trickled down your cheeks I would have wisht in some respects that it had continued until this time For truly nothing speaks fairer weather in Heaven than moistned cheeks below on earth you must not think to come to Mount Zion the Heavenly Jerusalem before you have past thorow a vail of tears Heaven is not a bauble and it can't be attain'd by mirth and jollity you must not think to live merrily in Earth and in Heaven too I know you are naturally merry and jocond but you must labour to mortifie that merry nature you have you are naturally full of talk but if you love your soul you must labour to bridle the tongue Perhaps you would say O Brother this I would willingly do but I cannot tell how I will give you this answer First Labour to live more seriously to talk less let your thoughts be on God and think that he hears every word you speak and as our Saviour says You must give an account for every idle word You must not think you shall ever be swallowed up in love that you shall ever bathe your self in Divine ravishments to all eternity with God in glory and walk so lightly and vainly here on earth O that I could but perswade your soul of this If I could I know that you would desire no other glory than to swim all your life-time in a river of tears I shall not here speak of the glory which your soul should enjoy in Heaven lest my soul in writing should be swallow'd up with confusion for if I knew where to begin yet I should never know where to make an end Angels themselves have been wading these five thousand years in this Ocean and cannot come to the depth of it yea and shall be wading to all eternity with the glorified Saints and yet shall never fathom it And now if thou art willing that thy soul should accompany my soul unto this Ocean of Love take notice then of these paths which I shall here set down which will lead thee unto this desir'd happiness And truly I beg of thee and likewise charge thee in the presence of the Almighty God as thou shalt one day answer it at the Judgment-seat when God shall judg the quick and the dead that you do not when you have read this Letter cast it away and look on it no more Therefore I beseech of thee as thou art dear to me as a Sister that thou wouldst put into practise every word that I shall say First then Be constant in prayer by thy self both evening and morning and if you find any good motion in the day-time go then again to prayer And if you ask me How you should pray I answer thee pray against every sin thou find'st thy heart prone to commit Pray against thy carnal joy and beg that thou maist be most serious in thy conversation Dost thou find in thy soul that thou canst not mourn for sin Pray that God would soften thy hard heart that he would make thee to mourn to weep and lament thy sins because they are against such a tender and loving Father as God Dost thou find that thou art given to anger pettishness and frowardness pray
the times to be drunk and commit adultery sobriety is laughed at a scornful defiance is bid to the Law of God and Ministers have now much ado to perswade men that these things are sins It is for London's impudence in sin that God burnt London Secondly they are not only the bare sins of London but God is angry with them for these sins under the preaching of the Gospel Alas if you were drunk you might be drunk and God never have burnt the City if you swore and forswore and had been some of the Americans that had no Law nor Prophets nor Christ nor Apostles nor Ministers you might have sworn and cursed and God would have stood still and let you alone and only took a course with you at death burned you then in Hell But since God hath taken England for his people and London for his people and sent Christ to be preached and sent Ministers and gifted them and bid them cry and cry aloud believe it God will not take your sins as he takes the sins of others No Sabbath-breaking is a greater sin in London than it is in the Northern parts of this Kingdom Why you have more means you have the Gospel in a greater light And you Parents in London and Masters for you to neglect your Families God taketh it worse at your hands than he doth at those in the Country Why you should know better God hath given you more means to know the preciousness of servants and childrens souls therefore you should look more carefully after them Your sins are committed against Gospel-light and therefore more dangerous therefore God punishes you Thirdly sins after vows of reformation did London never promise God solemnly to reform if you have forgotten it God hath not London hath been under a promise to reform How to reform to entertain Christ and the Gospel and to improve it better to promote his Ordinances and to reform their Families every one in their places If you have broken your Vows and thrown them behind your backs God is still alive to punish for it Ay your sins are greater too than others Why because they are against more mercies temporal mercies in some respects than the Countries about In the time of the Civil War when all the Country almost was laid wast London was not touched there were Cities besieged Cities burnt Cities and Towns laid waste and desolate people beggered and undone every where London did thrive all the while God had a great reckoning with London London a people of so much means so many mercies so many deliverances so much of the Gospel and yet London a drunken London a covetous London an adulterous London Believe it God hath now at length reckoned with you and hath begun to pay off your old and long score and I fear he hath not yet done with you Christ hath been neglected the Spirit grieved Ministers rejected hated persecuted Sabbaths prophaned London full of pride covetousness lying swearing luxury drunkenness and all these under the Gospel and all these committed with a brazen face impudently for these things God is angry with you for these things God sent the Pestilence for these things sake God brought the fire If this be true here is another Inference followeth Have our sins burnt our City and brought so many thousands by the Pestilence to the grave Oh that we could be ashamed of our sins confess them with shame be humbled for our sins learn to hate our sins beg of God for grace to conquer our sins Oh that there might be a separation between sin and us that the great separation between God and us may be prevented Is God angry with London it is for sin Oh be rid of your sins let us all this day search our hearts and try our reins and see what iniquity is in us what personal sins what Family-sins what City-sins what Church sins let us see how far we contributed to the burning of London and Oh that we might by repentance and reformation crucifie those sins that burnt London this would be a good work and without this work in vain do you fast this day God told Israel when they came fasting and mourning before him there in the Prophet Isaiah That they should cease to do evil and learn to do well and then come and fast and pray and then faith he Let us reason together if you will cease to do evil and learn to do well Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool So I say in the name of the Lord to you this day you are about praying to God that he would be at peâ—ce with London let all of us cease to do evil what evils those evils that I have named have any of us been guilty of London's pride the Lord help every one of us to resolve for to crucifie that sin and to resolve we will not have a hand any more in burning London Which of you would not part with pride to save so great a City let your ornaments be sober as become men and women professing Godliness Those that have been guilty of drunkenness let them be drunk no more take up that resolution those that have been guilty of injustice in their callings let them resolve they will never more sin to get an estate and that they will rather live and die beggars Believe it that is not the way to die beggars if you come to resolve upon it For God can bless you in his way more than you can gain by walking in your own sinful ways Resolve to lye no more cozen no more swear no more are there any unclean let them be unclean no more Have you broken the Lords-day and prophaned that do so no more Resolve every one of you in your places that for the future you and your Families will endeavour to spend the whole Lords-day in serving God and looking after the Salvation of your Souls Again take up a resolution to give Christ a greater acceptation a better acceptation stand with your hearts wide open to the offers of Salvation do not neglect and slight Salvation when God offers it When you despise his Son you despise God himself They that receive me saith Christ receive him that sent me So those that reject Christ reject God the Father When you come hither and Christ is offered and you will not entertain him you reject God you will not entertain God See that the Gospel may come in its efficacy and power upon your souls God is angry with every Citizen that hath not after all the offers of Salvation accepted of it Every impenitent unconverted sinner because of his impenitency and unconvertedness he had a hand in the firing the City Let us I say repent of our sins let us forsake those sins whereby we have provoked the Lord against us But you will say How if we should we shall leave thousands and ten
cups and sing Scoff laugh deride your Preachers now Care not for Christ your King You worldlings call upon your gods See what your Gold can do Ye proud ambitious of the earth Judg whether Gospel's true Fear not you humble holy Saints This is your Marriage-day Your night is past your tears dri'd up Your sorrows fled away This day you heard of and believ'd At it your hearts did melt This wrath now come you beg'd to ' scape Whilest on the earth you dwelt Third Part. Lord I astonisht stand to think What brightness will thy face That day put on when thou thy self To mortals wilt uncase How will the bleeding mangled Christ On earth that seem'd so poor Outshine the Sun and put it out For it shall shine no more Then to the wicked he shall say See him whom you have pierce't It 's I whom you did scorn to fear And bid me do my worst You sin'd yet would not bow your knee Though I you pardon could You would go on and have your way Though th' danger you were told I must not rule you you had got A better Lord than I I cri'd I call'd but you were deaf Why sinners will you die How long did I your leisure wait With hope you might repent Ah sinners now it is too late My patience is quite spent You hope 't to find a Lamb your Judg And of my love to share You shall me find a Lion now That can in pieces tare Go cursed cursed from my sight I 'le never see you more I would have wip't off all your debts Now you shall pay the score Ye Angels that attend my will Bind them in chains about Now cast them in the dreadful gulf They never shall come out Loaded with sins now get you hence Sink deep sink deep in flames Torments seize on your trembling joints I ever be free from pains Blow blow thou wrathful breath of God That kindlest Tophets fires Ye worms of conscience catch your hold Bite hard and never tire You poys'nous curled snakes arise Out of the sulphur'd Lake Torment them ever with your smells Their lives yet never take Bear witness sinners I your Judg Am free from cruelty I would have sav'd you from this death You rather chose to die Now you would leave your loved sins Have me at any rate Leave pride and drink and gold and life Ah! now it is too late Lord hear a trembling sinner cry While I on earth do dwell I thee will love and fear and serve Free me but from this Hell Oh! when I die grant me this wish That I thy face but see Gold honour pleasures here on earth I will forsake for thee HYMN VIII WHat if my Chests were cram'd with Gold My Chariots stood at Gate What if a thousand servants did Upon my pleasure wait What if my House a Palace were Its walls with Rubies shone My Chambers costly Tissue wore In-laid with Diamond-stone What if my Bed were cloath'd with Gold Befring'd with Pearls most bright What if some clouds of ruffled Silks Were Curtains for my light What if I drank the sp'rits of Pearl Eat of all sowls beasts fishes What if each day these were serv'd up In massie golden dishes What if I had espoused one So wise so good so fair That both in soul and shape she might With Angels well compare What if my numerous off-spring were Of Wits deeply profound Their outward carriage state did bear Yet all with meekness crown'd What if for one whole thousand years Our youth a spring-tide had What if that while no pains we knew That ever made us sad Yet ah my soul this thread of life At length would fret away A dark and sullen cloudy night Would rise upon our day This long-liv'd candle at the last Would to her socket burn Her flame would struggle for a life And then to smoke would turn My soul chuse rather to live well How long it matters not He that lives ill while he hath liv'd Hath done he knows not what Thou maist live well without this wealth Be good without this state Please but thy God and thou wilt think Thy death will come too late HYMN IX 53 Chap. of Isaiah Translated WHO hath believed our report Who hath the Lords arm seen When he his Son sends to the world By blood it to redeem He must spring up before his face As a most tender plant Out of dry ground he must shoot up Yet seem all form to want When one his visage shall behold He nothing there shall see Of that alluring beauty which May well desired be Men him despise and shall reject Add sorrows to his grief Of him asham'd they hide themselves So give him no relief Yet certainly he only was The man our griefs that bore But we thought he was smitt'n of God So paid but his own score For our transgressions he had wounds And for our sins was bruised By his chastisements we had peace For our health stripes he chused All we like sheep have gone astray And turn'd from God each one But God all our iniquities Hath laid on him alone He was afflicted and opprest Yet moved not his tongue Lay like a lamb when to be kill'd By butchers laid along From darksome prison he was took Who shall declare his birth For th' peoples sins he smitten was And cut off from the earth With wicked men he found a death Among the rich a tomb Because for ill nor done nor said He had receiv'd his doom Yet did it please the Lord to bruise And put him for to bleed Therefore he shall prolong his days And after see his seed Therefore the pleasure of the Lord Shall prosper in his hand The travel of his soul shall see His children at command By his knowledg my righteous Son Shall many justifie For he by suffering shall bear All their iniquity Therefore I him a portion With the great will divide Because to death his soul he pour'd His Kingdom shall be wide HYMN X. A Consolatory against the fears of Death THOU tyrant Death look not so stern Think not me to affright The giddy tumult thou maist awe With thy unconquer'd might I wear di'd in a Saviours blood A scarlet robe about Strike where thou wilt thy Serpents sting This robe shall fetch it out Were I to die but like a beast I think my heart would break But now I know my soul survives To fear it were but weak Were it not baseness for to think Of Saints souls though the least That after death they did enjoy No more than a poor beast If then I shall as joyful be And happier every way Than I am here why should I fear To bid that world good day But Oh! the fainting-fits and pains That I must needs go through Why what of that they 'r quickly o're Then what needs such ado They are not past some fourteen days Diseases come to height Be patient but for that small time Bid sorrows then
pore about a channel was Which pains had open'd wide Through which as through sulphureous mynes Did scalding liquors glide Amidst those simpring plashes lay My wrinkl'd par-boil'd skin In my own sweats I had expir'd Had not my good Lord been My God then dri'd up all my dews Me richest cordials gave Out of those waters I did cry And he my life did save Colds gone and waters now asswag'd A fire fast hold doth catch My muddy cottage was on flame Through sparks within my thatch Its sindgings made my former griefs Desir'd they would return That winds would blow or waters flow To cool me that did burn While my house flam'd about my ears My soul wisht to get out I cri'd I call'd my God did hear And then put th' hot fire out Next must my rest a burthen prove Unto my drowsie head My spirits spent my strength 's decay'd I was as those are dead My eyes as useless were through sleep My tongue had lost her taste Each thing it did offend my smell My flesh about did waste That very God that on dry bones Did breathe and make them live That very pow'r that Laz'rus rais'd Again this life did give He put this quickness in my joints These spirits in mine eyes Restor'd this joy unto my heart Thus answer'd all my crys HYMN XIII Remedies against Discontents THAT blessed peace which all men wish That none but good enjoy Is when all states of life do please And nothing doth annoy If thus unshaken thou wouldst live Contemplate God on high As near as may be live like him Fixt in self-constancy Wish nothing more than to be good Do justly fear no man Think on the blest eternity Let th' world do what it can Be no more mov'd with thy reproach Than God when men blaspheme Let not want loss or death affright Which men so dreadful deem Think that the world below the Moon As yet thy self contains And that all things here ebb and flow That nothing fixt remains What wonder is' t the Mariner At sea meets with a storm How boldly yet he plows the waves In danger fears no harm The traveller his weary steps Directs unto his Inn Sometimes meets Sun-shine and then storms Yet ne'r leaves travelling Are not our days and months and years Now foul and sometimes fair Variety doth not annoy Change makes things please as rare Why should I wish it always day The world without a night Why should I wish it always Spring For flowers for delight Were I not fool to weep to see A cloud creep o're the Sun Such folly is it to lament A cross when it is come II. Rash man complains In any strait But this I could be blest Any mans trouble I could bear Mine only gives no rest Says he what sorrow can be like To want and beggery This this I feel or else I fear Which makes me wish to die Man be thou faithful do thy work Thou serv'st a righteous Lord He will not let his servant want But bread will sure afford Starving-extremity thou fear'st This beggars never feel Better allowance God them gives To whom his dole he deals Hunger and cold and nakedness True blessed Paul complains Yet so as that he glorieth In them so in his chains Are not the Lilies gaily cloath'd They neither toil nor spin Are not the birds of th' air fed That ne'r brought harvest in Will God give grace and glory both Yet barely bread deny Will he give Crowns and Scepters too Of want yet let thee die True murm'ring Israel cri'd out Can God a Table spread Can he in this vast wilderness Prepare for all here bread The Devil could have taught those men That God of stones could take Could mould and knead them up to dough And of them bread could make III. The fool fears want while plenty lasts Like one in Summers day Should shake and blow his hands for cold Then winters coming say Or like one that in streams doth swim Yet gasps and crys for thirst Then says Oh me what shall I do This river leave I must It 's best things should be as they ' r made That rivers ebb and flow That glass or earthen ware may break That riches come and go Fool do'nt torment thy heart in vain If these things fleeting be Fix but thy soul on things above They ' l constant prove to thee All will be gone say let them go Man lives not all on bread There is a word of promise that In want holds up thy head I never will to death thee leave I 'le never thee forsake Think but on this do but believe Thine heart 't will joyful make IV. I know whence spring more troubles yet That do annoy me here My undertakings oft are great And I success do fear I often am engag'd in more Than able to go through Which makes me sit and moan my self Not knowing what to do Whose fault is that why didst thou so Thy God's too good a Lord To set thee on more work than he To do doth strength afford Where he finds will he doth accept With eye to what thou hast Give but thine all he wont refuse To crown that all at last I often have intended much But could not what I meant I would men save but ah I can't Because they wo'nt consent Instead of thanks for my good-will With taunting scoffs I meet I would them raise up unto Thrones They would me under feet Sometimes I talk like to a fool Deridingly they say I now teach false and then too sharp I can't please any way Be wise and such things ne'r will touch Thy heart as to disturb All thy attempts if good should joy Though insuccess them curb It 's reason to think in this world That good things should be crost If thou wilt fish for men thou must With winds and waves be tost What if I disappointments meet They are in use with men Why should I not expect to share Alike with my breth'ren What wonder is' t that they should call That false or sharp that tart That frets the sinews of their soul And that corrodes their heart Can the old man it quiet take To see him bound about That thence where so long he hath lodg'd He should be thus cast out Is not my work a warfare call'd What and no enemy How canst thou fight and not oppose Or use Heav'ns armory HYMN XIV TWO things Lord I desire of thee First that with thee I live If thou delay'st to bring me there Oh then assurance give Content I 'le be in th' shades of night Until my glory dawn Do but for surety grant this wish That I may keep the pawn Give Lord the earnest in my breast A gracious heart to see Let me but know thou dost me love And I shall quiet be Can I have peace whilst that I fear Thy curse hangs o're my head It makes my heart to ake to think What now if I were dead Pardon O Lord it