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A41668
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The young man's guide through the wilderness of this world to the heavenly Canaan shewing him how to carry himself Christian-like in the whole course of his life / by Tho. Gouge ...
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Gouge, Thomas, 1605-1681.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing G1387; ESTC R32454
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122,357
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176
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frequent the means of grace I mean the Ministry of the word that being the ordinary instrument whereby the Spirit of God who is the principal Author of grace doth convey grace into the hearts of sinners Whereupon the Apostle Peter affirmeth 1 Pet. 1. 23 That we are born a new not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of God Where by being born a new is meant such a thorow change in us whereby we are brought out of the state of nature into the state of grace and so are made new Creatures having an infusion of new and holy habits or supernatural graces put into our hearts which blessing is ordinarily wrought in us through the Ministry of the Word Acts 2. 41. We read of three thousand sinners who had grace wrought in their souls by one Sermon Yea Acts 10. 44. It is said Whilest Peter was preaching the Holy Ghoss fell on all them that heard the Word And therefore O Young man as thou desirest true saving grace frequent the Ministry of the word take all occasions of hearing the same hoth in season and out of season And for thine incouragement know that as graceless and prophane hearts as thine have been sanctified by the Spirit of God as they have been attending upon the Ministry of the Word And who knoweth but thou maist find the same effect of the Word upon thy soul whilst thou art waiting upon it 3. Beware thou neglect not the day of grace There are certain seasons of Grace when the Lord makes tenders and offers of grace to the Souls of poor sinners Yea there is no man that lives in the bosome of the Church but probably he hath his critical day a certain time for grace which if he neglect it is a question whether ever it will be offered to him again Happy therefore and thrice happy are they who observe those seasons of grace and know in their day the things that concern their everlasting peace Now it may he God speaks home to thy Conscience now he warms thine heart and puts thereinto good purposes and resolutions It will be therefore thy wisedome carefully to observe and improve the same to thy Souls advantage not suffering them carelesly to pass away lest if thou lose the benefit of those blessed motions thou lose life and salvation for ever Luke 19. 41 42. Our Saviour tells the Jews they had a day of grace which because they slighted and neglected they should never enjoy it again the means of grace and salvation should be no more offered unto them God being a just God is it not just that he should reject them for ever who have for a long time rejected him that he should turn a deaf ear unto them crying unto him on their death beds for grace and mercy who would not hearken unto him calling upon them in the day of his merciful visitation Whilest therefore the day of grace lasteth whilest God stands knocking at the door of thine heart by the motions of his Spirit and admonitions of his Ministers speedily open to him embrace his motions be willing to follow the dictates of his Spirit in ways of obedience Thou knowest not when thy day of graee will end Though some mens day continueth to their old age some to the day of their death yet some mens day of grace may end in their youth and younger years Thy first day may be thine only day for Heaven loyter out that and thence forth it may be night with thee for ever Therefore O young man how doth it concern thee to take the first and present season Now hearken now accept and submit to mercy now give thy self unto God be his faithful servant to obey and serve him with all thy heart and strength or the day may be lost and thy soul lost for ever Behold now is the accepted time now is the day of salvation Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth thou maist suddenly be taken from the means of grace or the means of grace may be suddenly taken from thee The Sun of heavenly light which now shineth may set and thou be left in darkness The gate of mercy now opened to thee may be shut against thee The things belonging to thy peace may be hid from thee There is a time coming and we know not how near it is in which as Christ saith many shall seek to enter in and shall not be able Luke 13. 24. Oh what woful yelling what pitiful crying and earnest knocking will there be then at the gate with Lord Lord open to us But all in vain having slighted and neglected their day of grace when they should have got Oyle into their Lamps and grace into their hearts 4. Be earnest with God in prayer who is the God of all grace that be would be pleased to vouchsafe unto thee his holy sanctifying Spirit which may quicken thy dead soul infuse the grace of life and make thee partaker of his holiness whereby thou maist become a new Creature Beg of God that he would not put thee off with the things of this world but together with his outward blessings or whether thou have them or not that he would bless thee with spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus and that he would inrich thee in the Inner man with his saving and sanctifying graces What the Apostle Iames saith of Wisdom is true of all grace If any one lack it let him asâ—… of God that giveth to all men liberally and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not and it shall be given him Jam. 1. 5. O young man may grace be had for asking Ask and ask again never keep silence nor let fall thy suit till thou hast obtained And in thy Prayers plead that gracious promise Isa. 44. 3. I will pour Water upon him that is thirsty and flouds upon the dry ground That is where there is no sap of grace nor moisture of goodness upon such saith the Lord will I pour out my water my living water my grace shall flow down upon him and his soul shall be as a well watered garden Go therefore thou poor sinful soul who never yet to this day hadst one drop of grace within thee go thou to the Throne of Grace go to the Fountain of Grace lament thy sinful barren heart before God and plead his promise of pouring the spiritual water of grace upon the barren thirsty soul say unto him Lord make good this good promise unto me behold the dry and barren heart upon which no dew or rain from above hath ever fallen pity this hard and parched soul a drop Lord a drop from the fountain of living water God of grace give grace unto me and effectually work it in me And know for thy comfort that if God hath given thee a sense of the want of grace and an heart to pray for it it is an hopeful sign that he intends to bestow it on thee 5. Stir up in thy soul an earnest longing desire after grace To that
to cast away thy sins and to cast thy self upon him to come unto Christ that thou mightst be saved and yet hast slighted and rejected his gracious invitations and quenched the good motions of his Spirit therefore thy case is far different from his 4. Though the Thief continued in his wicked and ungodly course of life to the last and then became a true Convert yet can it not be proved that he purposely put off his repentance to that day But questionless he persisted in his sinful ways till the hour of death through ignorance and not through wilfulness whereas thou designest to follow thy sinful lusts and pleasures all thy life long at least the best and greatest part thereof and then at the last to resign up thy self to God and his service Therefore his late repentance can be no ground of incouragement unto thee who wilfully resolvest to go on in thy wicked courses so long as thou hast time and strength CHAP. VI. Containeth Directions suitable to Young Men. HAving answered the Objections of some Young Men against their early serving of God I come now to give you some Directions suitable to your state and condition 1. Labour to be well rooted and grounded in the principles of Religion otherwise you will soon be carried away with every wind of Doctrine and so made a prey to every seducer Observe who they be that are easiest seduced by Papists Quakers and false Teachers and you will find that they were such who were never well grounded in the Principles of Religion Ephes. 4. 14. They are said to be Children in understanding who are tossed to and fro and carried away with every wind of Doctrine implying that weak and ungrounded Christians are aptest to imbrace every false and erronious Doctrine Whereas the Martyrs being well grounded in the Principles of Religion could not be removed from the Truth by all the Arguments of the most Learned Doctors As therefore thou wouldst be preserved from all erronious Doctrines and damnable Heresies labour in the use of all means God hath sanctified that thou mayst be well rooted and grounded in the truth To that end 1. Learn some good and sound Catechism If thou canst not get it by heart then read it over again and again Thou mayst read and hear much and yet never attain to a well-grounded knowledge in Religion till thou beest well instructed in the Principles of it This the Apostles well knew therefore they delivered to their several Churches a Form of Doctrine which contained the Fundamental Principles of Religion which every Member thereof was perfectly to learn Rom. 6. 17. 2 Tim. 1. 13. Heb. 5. 12. and 6. 1. Whosoever shall think to attain unto any sound knowledge in Religion meerly by hearing the Word preached before he be well grounded in the Principles thereof will find it a hard work and understand by his experience how necessary the laying a good Foundation is to his building up in Faith and Holiness 2. Take all opportunities of reading the writings of godly learned men who by their labours have cleared the main and principal points of Religion And amongst the many Books now extant be sure you rather make choice of such as do soundly inform the judgment and work powerfully upon the heart and affections than of such as containing little but frothy conceits of wit do only please the phantasie with fruitless flashes 3. Especially be frequent in reading the holy Scriptures which contain not only the Principles of Religion but also all necessary truths to be known and practised Yea as David speaketh Psal. 119. 105. Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path It giveth wisdom to the simple and to the young man knowledge and discretion For this Timothy is commended That he had known the Scriptures from his Childhood 2 Tim. 3. 15. II. Return to the Lord Repent and be converted to God Conversion being so great and necessary a duty and so especially included in that remembring of our Creator required in the Text I shall insist a little the more distinctly upon it and shall 1. Open the nature of it 2. Press thee to it 1. For the nature of Conversion it is a turning or coming back to the Lord. Sin is our departing or going away from God Impenitence in sin is our keeping away from him Conversion is our return or coming back to God It is our coming back 1. From unbelief to faith in God 2. From our enmity and rebellion unto friendship and obedience to God 1. It is our coming back from unbelief to faith in God Every Convert is become a Believer The unconverted World are all concluded in unbelief Rom. 11. 32. In Conversion we are fetched out from that wretched multitude of unbelievers Converts and Believers signifie the same persons in Scripture-sense This faith we are converted to comprehends in it three things 1. Our sealing to the truth of God 2. Our adventuring upon the truth of God 3. Our resigning our selves to the government of the truth 1. Faith is our sealing to the truth of God or our belief of the truth of the Word of God Ioh. 3. 33. He that believeth hath set to his Seal that God is true It is our belief of the truth of the Scriptures in general and in special of the truth of the Gospel It is our sealing to Christ or our believing that he is the Messiah of God and the Saviour of the world that this is the Stone that is laid in Sion on whom whosoever believeth shall not be confounded 1 Pet. 2. 6. that in him there is Salvation and none other Act. 4. 12. 2. Faith is our adventuring upon the truth of God an adventuring our lives an adventuring our Souls upon the truth of the Word of God and upon that Jesus concerning whom this Word bears witness Faith is an adventuring for the other world The object of Faith are things not seen Heb. 11. 1. that is the invisible world The Scripture tells us of another stare a more blessed and glorious state than that we here are in this blessed state is in the other world which however it cannot now be seen yet Faith hath such evidence that there is such a state that it will adventure for it Believers are Merchants Matth. 13. 45. Merchant-adventurers that will adventure all they have their whole Stock and Patrimony for the riches of that good Land Believers are adventurers for the other world and they trust their whole adventure with Christ he shall be their Pilot yea he shall be their Ark to bring them into the holy Land above Whither art thou bound O believing soul For Canaan for Ierusalem which is above I am bound for Heaven But art thou sure that there is such a place as Heaven and such blessedness there So sure I am that I will adventure all upon it But who is it shall bring thee to Heaven Iesus of Nazareth he who suffered the just for