that doth so long hold back thy heart What is the matter that we can no more speedily and effectually manage this great affair What is it that thou dost prefer before God What is it that thou thinkest more worthy of thy warmest love then Christ What is that great thing that thou stickest not to venture thy soul for Act like a man that is rational and not beside himself If the World be God if Earth be better then Christ then choose that if Christ be God then choose him How long will you stand halting between two love that which will last longest be acquainted with him that is willing and able to do most for thee Is the world worth more now then it was in Davids time when he preferred the favour of God before thousands of Gold and Silver Is the price of it raised Can it bribe death and stop the mouth of Divine Justice and procure thee a reaâ— respect in another world Go chaffer and see what bargain thou canst make tell God that thou wilt give him thousands for thy brothers life and as much more for the lengthning the lease of thy own to Eternity What doth God say is the bargain made is it not enough why add a world to it will that do If it will not do this if this purchase be too great for thy purse then go lower can all thou hast keep thee from fears get thee a stomach procure thee ease rectifie thy constitution will it do this or will it not if not why shouldst thou value that which can do so little for thee before that which can do all things for thee Be perswaded at last to be wise What is God like to get by your love or lose by your hatred What have you to boast of What excellencies to set you out what portion to advance you that you stand thus upon your tearms Come let 's hear a little what it is thou thinkest so highly of thy self for I am sure your over-great beauty can't commend you for a Black-moor may with better reason brag of comliness then such a deformed loathsome creature can of beauty I am sure your helpfulness will not speak for you for thou art a crazy decrepid sickly creature that will cost God more to cure thee then thou art worth a thousand times It can't be for thy Estate that thou art so much desired for all thy Gold is adulterate thy Jewels counterfeit thy All forfeited and what is it then that thou hast yet to boast of come and set it before us that we may acknowledge our mistakes Are the Cloaths upon thy back as fine as thou art thy own is the Food that thou eatest paid for and is this the Creature that must be wooed with so much earnestnes Behold all ye Inhabitants of the world and admire hear O Heavens this is that I want a name to call her by which thinks it below her to be match't to Christ and an undervaluing to be acquainted with her Maker and a shame to have God for her Father from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot there is nothing but wounds and bruises and putrified sores running plague-sores that are broken are her greatest beauty and here 's a thing to be lov'd with all my heart Ezck. 16. Whosoever thou art that readest these lines this was once thy condition in these ornaments he found thee when God came to ask thy heart this was thy dress though thou art thus highly advanced And such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are cleansed And after all this O Sinner art thou still as stout and proud as ever Is Christ so willing to bring thee to his Father is he willing to Cloath thee from head to foot with glorious Robes such a dress as may become thee in the presence of a King doth he offer to lead thee in his hands to his own Palace is God so willing and desirous to be your Father and Christ to be your Husband are all the Ministers of Christ so willing to do their utmost to bring this match to protection shall they lie at you day and night to give your consent and to be willing and are you still unwilling Well if all this signifie little and you miss of Christ at last and be not acquainted with God after all remember it was your own doings and that you thought it greater wisdom to marry the Servant then the Master to obey the Rebel rather then your loving Prince Remember you preferred Darkness before Light Hell before Heaven I call Heaven and Earth to Record this day that I have set Life and Death before you and you stand as if it were so difficult a matter to resolve which were the best This sounds strangely and every one will be ready to write Fool upon that mans forehead that acts thus Hold man be not too ready to pass thy censure before thou look within thee Dost thou see an absolute need of Christ Dost thou adore his infinite love and kindness Dost thou give up thy self to him for thy Lord and receive him for better for worse come on it what will Or dost thou not rather spend thy thoughts and let out thy affections upon the vanities and pleasures of the world Dost thou not love Father and Mother Wife and Children Brethren and Sisters House and Lands more then him Why if this be thy case I must say thou art one of the Fools that loves Death and hatest Life thou callest that folly in another which in thy self thou countest wisdom I wonder who it is that you strive to please all this while Is not the hand of Joab in all this hath not Satan been deep in retarding this match hath not he a design to marry thee to some painted Lust though he undoe thee for ever and must he be pleased rather then Is it more necessary to gratifie him that never yet intended to do any of the Sons of Adam any kindness rather then thy best friends Come away for shame and let us lose our breath no longer and let that time we spend in pleading with you for God be spent in singing with you and praising God for you and congratulating your happy acquaintance with God and you matching to his only Son 20. But because man is so wedded to the world and dotes upon his lust that all the arguments that we can use are most commonly unsuccesseful I shall add one more upon this sort of motives drawn from the qualifications of him whom I would fain have you acquainted with and that shall take in all that can be said on this head and that is this Consider that he is altogether lovely he is made up of love goodness and all excellencies and whatsoever pleasure delight and content you find in the Creature it is transcendently in him he is the chiefest of ten thousands ask of them that by Faith have seen him inquire of the Spouse in the Canticles
far off and that now you must not falter and that as you demean your self now it may be you may be happy or miserable while you have a Being This is the Language of that excellent Moralist I add what is it O sinner that thou stayest for Is it for the day of Judgment would you be taught by flames the worth of time You may then indeed learn but believe it your knowledg and learning will do you little good you may then learn what it is to be miserable but you can't learn how to get out of it you will know what you have lost but then will never know how to repair your Losses How many Thousands of them which have set a day in which they would return and repent have set and set and set it again and what with one thing or other they could not be at leasure to repent till they came to Hell and there indeed they have leisure enough to repent and they do repent too if Hell-Repentance would do any thing I believe that all that come there do repent and believe too more than they did while they were alive but then it 's too late They that are now in those dreadful Flames many of them thought it may be of repenting before they died as well as you and did just as you do O that you would understand your selves before your state be like theirs how infinitely doth it concern you to improve time and to comply with the present tender of mercy that are made to you for ere long it may be too late for you too O know this therefore that now thy God makes thee a gracious offer of pardon and if you refuse now this may be the last time this may be the very cast for Eternity God may say before to morrow This night thy soul shall be required of thee Go to therefore you that talk of trading for the great things of Eternity I do not know when thirty or forty years hence Do you not know that your life is but a blast When your breath goes out of your Nostrils you are not sure that you shall draw it in again What then do you mean to talk of delay have you not staid long enough already consider man what thou dost He that saith he will be good to morrow he saith he will be wicked to day And what if God should say thou shalt have the pleasure of sin to day the sorrow of sin to morrow Thou shalt be hardned to day and damned to morrow If your house were on fire you would scare say I will go and sleep four or five hours and then I will rise and call my Neighbours to help to quench it If your Child were a drowning you would scarce say I must needs stay till I have drunk a flaggon or two more and about half an hour hence it may be I may go and see whether I can get a Boat to help him out If you were condemned to dye to morrow you would scarce say I will have Musick and Sack and good company all night and then I will send a Messenger if I can get one to ride a Hundred Mile to try whether he can get a Pardon for me Yet thus for all the world thou dost do in the great affairs of thy immortal Soul O the folly of man saith Seneca who thinks to begin to live when a thousand to one but he will be dead and rotten I may say O the madness of sinners who make account to be looking after Heaven then when it 's likely their souls may be in Hell Judge now whether this be wisdom Now you think time one of the poorest commodities in the world it 's a very drugg which lies upon your hand a day or two a week a year is no great matter with you but believe it the case will be altered with a witness ere long Seneca wondred when he heard some asking one of his friends for to spend two or three weeks with them when he saw how easily the request was granted as if they asked as little as nothing when they ask'd time of him Thus saith he one of the preciousest things in the world is thrown away as little worth When you come to lie upon your death-bed we shall have you have other thoughts of time then a world if you had it for one of those hours that you could not tell how to spend You now study how to rob you self of your precious time you invent pastimes not considering how swiftly time flies and how much you will prize it before long O remember no body can give you a moment of that time when you want it that you are now so prodigal of When time is past if you would give a world to recal it it could not be If you would give thousands for the renewing of this Lease it would be refused Therefore live quickly Mans time runs away first Optima quaequae dies miseris mortalibus aevi prima fugit ... Seneca And then my Author Comments very bravely upon the whole verse I think that Proverb though it be an Italian one is worth our remembring He that will lodge well at night must set out betimes in the morning That which keeps us from living to day is the thoughts of living to morrow so that we lose this day while we expect the next Comenius speaking of the Tyger saith That when he hears the sound of the Trumpet he tears bites himself This will be the work of the merciless Tygers of the world that spend their time in which they should be providing for Eternity in hunting Gods people and taking their pleasures and it may be think to be a little more mild before they die but of a sudden the Trumpet sounds away away and O then what a lamentable taking are they in how do they wish for time again or that they had spent that which they had better Wicked men never knew the worth of time till they come to a Death-bed or a while after O then they that made nothing of spending thirty or fourty years would lay down all they are worth for one year one month one day one hour but it 's then too late O how do they gnash their teeth with what horrour do they think of past mercies and future miseries Men fear generally that Death will come sooner than they would have him they bewail that their lives are short at the longest whereas if men would wisely husband that time that God hath given them it would be long enough O happy is that man that hath done his great Work before his Sun is set O foolish men that complain of God for making their lives so short and complain not at all of themselves for making them ten times shorter For most men lives not at all the life of Religion and may be called Dead Others have a name to live and yet are little better than the former Most that live spiritually
Christ for he is our peace who hath made both one In verse the tenth is a description of our state withour Christ being aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel being strangers from the Covenant of promise and having no hope and without God in the world This is a description of our unacquaintance with God But Christ makes up the breach and that by a double Act. First by Covenant with the Father to make man sit for communion with him Secondly His giving man assurance that the Father will receive him upon his return This then is the great design in all those glorious accomplishments of Christ for this he left his Fathers bosome that he might bring us into acquaintance with the Father for this end did he who thought it no robbery to be equal with the Father make himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man and being sound in fashion of a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross that he might bring man into a re-union with God for this end did Christ live a wearisome troublesome life among a company of Rebells and Enemies as if a man should live among Toads and Serpents So that he cryed out as weary of any longer abiding with them Oh faithless generation How long shall I be with you How long shall I suffer you For this did he make himself an offering for sin that by taking away sin he might bring men to God This is the great purpose of Christ in all his offices Ye have heard of the three Offices of the Mediator that he is a Priest a Prophet and a King This is the end of the Priestly Office The purpose of Christs offering up himself a Sacrifice was by satisfying the justice of God to make way for sinners return to God This is the end of his prophetical Office to lead men into knowledg and acquaintance with God This is the end of his Kingly Office that governing them and ruling their hearts by his Spirit he might effectually bring men to God to acquaintance with him Now then since this is the great design of God in his great dispensation towards man to keep men in acquaintance with himself and to reduce him when he had lost it doth it not concern us to do our part for the bringing to pass this great work shall God lose his end in making us and in setting man in the world every way furnished for his service and shall God lose his end in sending his Son to receive us when we had forsaken him Shall Christ leave his Fathers bosom to bring us home to the Father and shall we refuse to return Shall he pour out his soul an offering for sin that he might make way for our access to God that we who were far off might be made nigh by the blood of Christ and shall we frustrate all by our refusing to go to him shall Christ come and offer us his help and direction to come to the Father and shall we abide still strangers Shall the Kings Son come into our Cottages to invite us to dwell with his Father at Court and shall we shut the door upon him esteeming our Cottages better than his Pallace Secondly It is the duty of man to acquaint himself with God because therein is the improvement of his highest excellency Every one acknowledgeth an excellency in man above all the rest of this lower world Now what is this excellency of man Is it not that he is made in a capacity of knowing God and enjoying God and having Communion with God This is the height of his glory Jer. 9.23 24. Thus saith the Lord let not the wise man glory in his wisdom let not the mighty man glory in his might nor the rich man in his riches but let him that glorieth glory in this that he understands and knoweth me that I am the Lord that exercise loving kindness and righteousness in the earth and judgment for in these things I delight saith the Lord. Yee see here wherein man is to glory for which he may value himself as truly glorious In his understanding and knowing of God man standeth above the rest of the Creatures in that he is a rational intellectual Agent This is part of the Image of God even knowledg Col. 3.15 which is renewed in knowledg after the Image of him that created him The nigher any thing resembleth God the greater is the excellency of that thing now in this we resemble God more than any other Creature in that we are knowing understanding Agents and the highest improvement of this excellency of man is in the knowledg of God and acquaintance with God Prov. 20.27 The spirit of a man is called the candle of the Lord that is it is a light set up in the soul to direct the soul to a discovery of God This is the highest improvement of our greatest excellency this is the excellency of man above other Creatures this is that whereby one man excels another Who are those whose names are as precious ointment poured forth who are those which have obtained a good report Are not they those who were most acquainted with God Enock is said to walk with God an expression which signifies intimate acquaintance with God and therefore was translated that he should not see death And Noah whose family alone was preserved when God destroyed the old World by water he was said to walk with God Gen. 6.9 Among all the sons of men he kept close to God and God took care of him alone Abraham who was the Father of the Faithful he was called the Friend of God Moses who was the Mediator of the old Covenant he was said to speak with God face to face as a man speakoth to his friend I might make mention of many more who were the excellent ones of the earth because they did delight in God God delighted in them Mal. 3.16 17. They that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkened and heard and the book of remembrance was written for them that fear the Lord and that thought upon his name And they shall be mine saith the Lord of Hosts in the day when I make up my Jewels Ye see how God accounts of those that are of his acquaintance that met together and spake of God and that thought upon his name he reckons them amongst his Jewels his peculiar Treasure Such honour have all those that are acquainted with God Ye see then the excellency of man above all the rest of the other Creatures Now if man fail in this which is his highest excellency he will become the vilest of Creatures Every thing if it fail in its chiefest end and purpose and highest excellency becomes base and of no account If salt lose its savour saith our Saviour it is good for nothing If man have lost his acquaintance with God he is
everlasting burnings do you not think it a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God and if you do not let me tell you you are worse than mad if you do believe all this why then let me ask you again whether you conceive it unnecessary to use the utmost care and diligence to get acquainted with him who can deliver you from the wrath to come O friends I call you so and I believe most of you love me dearly O that you would do me one kindness I should count it the greatest kindness that you can do me why what is that you say why it is but to pity your own Souls and to mind that one thing necessary and to pitty them that are mourning for your dry eyes and hard hearts What say you to all this if you have any thing to say against the necessity of these things I am ready to plead the case with you c. Well if it be not necessary to know God and Christ and lay in provision for eternity what then is necessary If it be not necessary to serve love and delight in him who can deliver from everlasting death and reward with everlasting life what then is Once more for your Souls sakes consider what you do when you vigorously pursue worldly things and look upon the favour and displeasure of God as small things O write not these things down amongst the superfluous things which are to be minded by the by Remember this that it is very possible for a man to be exceeding holy and yet to be altogether unknown to the world but it is altogether impossible to be truly happy and yet unacquainted with God 17. He is a tryed Friend Thousands and Millions can from their own experience say all this which I have said of him and much more but I shall pass this over at present having hinted it already and because it may be I may touch upon something of the same Nature hereafter 18. He is an everlasting Friend I shall be but brief in speaking to this head because what might have been spoken of this fell under that of his immorality Yet because it is possible to conceive God immortal in himself and yet by reason of mans default his kindness to him to be finite so it was in respect of the Angels that fell from him But now Blessed be free Grace man stands upon surer ground then ever he did the children of God have a firmer bottom by far then Adam had when he was in Paradice his state is more secure being once united to God in Christ then that of the Angels of Heaven in their first Creation For that their State was mutable is de facto proved but now blessed be rich goodness if we can but make sure of reconciliation with God again it is impossible for us to miscarry God hath sworn and he will perform it that the heirs of glory might have the more strong consolation Isa 54 9 10. For this is as the waters of Noah for I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth so have I sworn that I would not be wrath with thee nor rebuke thee For the mountains shall depart and the Hills be removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the Covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee Gods children need not fear dis-inheriting his gifts and callings are without repentence If God loved us while we were enemies how much more being reconciled will he continue his love to us once a Child of God and a Child of God for ever once in favour and never out of it again Rom. 8.35 39. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword Nor heighth nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Who can pluck us our of the Arms of the Almighty Who or what is that which can alienate our Fathers affections from us If the promise of God which saith I will never never never never never leave nor forsake you be valid if his oath bind him if the blood of Christ continue always to be satisfactory if his mediation can prevail if the nature of God be unchangeable we are well enough we are safe if this be but clear that we are really reconciled to God if we be acquainted with him We are kept by the mighty power of God through Faith unto Salvation If they had been of us saith the Apostle no doubt they would have continued with us It is possible indeed yea common for men to pretend love to God and to seem to have a true friendship for him and yet not to be truly so To have a name to live and to live are two things It is not unsual to bare God company as I may say abroad and yet at home to have some body that they have a greater kindness for It is common to go along with God if I may so call it in the external actions of Religion and yet to desert him at last Isa 58.1 2 3. Mat. 7.21 There are many that seem to bid fair for Heaven and if cap and knee will do God shall have that they will give him the husk and shell that they may keep the kernel for one that they love better Thousands there are of such persons in the world and these profess abundance of kindness for God they come oft to his house and sit down there and make as if they were his friends and his acquaintance and some of Gods servants by a mistake may bid them welcome but yet for all this they may be strangers only they have heard of God and can talk of him and it may be have given him many transient visits but yet they want the real properties of friends they never knew what it was to be brought nigh to the Father by the Son to have a fence of their lost state and estrangement from God and under a fence of this to make earnest inquiry after him they never knew what it was to converse with God to have an intimate acquaintance with him to be sending out the breathings of their Souls after him and to be unsatisfied without him they took up a trade of lifeless duties and that was all As for the life and power of Religion they never understood it communion with God they heard oft of but never understood what it meant they never savoured and rellished the things of God nor with any suitableness or complacency ingaged in his service And as for those more secret actings of Religion to take up the interest of God to design his glory to be deeply concerned for his honour observing their affections and the workings of their hearts in duty to take notice of answers of prayers or to look after their petitions when they
Mountains shall tremble and melt at the presence of God the mighty God of Jacob when the Heavens shall be rouled together as a Scroul and be all of a flame Make sure of this Friend it is impossible that one that hath such a one for his friend should much be daunted when he hears of Wars and Rumors of Wars when the Pestilence rages when there are dreadful Earthquakes in sundry places and such distress of Nations and perplexities that the stoutest heart shall sink that hath not this to support Then a Child of God may lift up his head with comfort because his redemption draweth near There is a vast difference between a godly man and a wicked as to their affections fears joys desires hope The godly thinks long for that which the wicked wishes withal his heart might never be the Day of Judgment The righteous man is even delighted with the fore-thoughts of that the thoughts of which doth put a damp upon all the comforts of the ungodly he rejoyceth in that which makes his Neighbour to tremble As for death a gracious heart that hath kept his watch and maintained a sweet constant correspondency with God and hath had his heart in heaven and can look upon the great Jehovah as his friend can't be very much affrighted at his approach He is not much appaled when he looks out at the window sees this messenger making hast to his house and when he knocks at his door he dares let him in and can heartily bid him welcome he understands whence he comes and what his errand is though he look somwhat grimly yet as long as he comes to conduct him to his friends house he can dispence with that he hath more reason to speake it then he which did Plotinus Let me make haste away to my Country there are my excellent Ancestors there dwell my noble Relations there is the constant residence of my dearest Friends Tull. O happy will that day be when I shall come into that glorious assembly when I shall have better company then Homer Orpheus Socrat. Cato when I shall sit down with Abraham Isaac Jacob in the Palace of their Friend and mine O happy day when I shall come to my Fathers house to that general Assembly the Church of the First born to an innumerable company of Angels to Jesus the Mediator of the New-Covenant and to the Spirits of just Men made perfect A mans knowledg of other things may add to his fears and make his miseries greater But the more knowledg we have of God the less our fears and sorrows must needs be and when our knowledg of God is perfect all our fears and sorrow shall be for ever blown over I can't omit a brave speech of that noble Stoick which comes to my mind Ar. Epist l. 1. c. 7. If the acquaintance and favour of Caesar can keep you as you are made to believe from some fears how much rather to have God for your Father and Friend how little cause have such to be afraid at any time of any thing Death it self is not evil to a friend of God he may say come let us go quickly to our Fathers house our Father calls us And doth this seem a small matter to you believe it when you come to dye you will be of another mind then you will think that 's a cordial worth any mony that wil raise your spirits at such a time make you with a smiling countenance to passe into an everlasting state It is but a folly to expect that any thing in the world should do this for us but the knowledg of our interest in God It 's possible indeed to get some stupifying intoxicating stuff that makes a man to dye like a beast without any great horror the Devils shop will furnish poor dying Creatures with enough of that Nay he is glad if he can keep men a sleep till death awaken them but miserable is that man who is beholding to the Devil for his Cordials miserable is he who hath nothing to keep him from a Hell upon Earth but his own ignorance and the Devils word I promise you 't is none of the joyfullest spectacles to an inlightned Soul to look upon one that lived wickedly and died peaceably You would think that a poor man that is going to Execution had little cause to smile though he should Ride to the Gallows upon an easie going Horse or in a Coach The Swine is usually very still when the Butcher is scraping away the hair of his Throat in order to the Sticking of him It 's no unusual thing for a vile unsanctified sinner to leap with a mad confidence into eternity but he alone hath a soild peace who hath God for his friend This is the only man hath just cause to sing for joy when his soul is going into another world It was none of the worst counsel which he gave whosoever he was who said that it doth highly concern us seriously to think of terrible things which we must most certainly see ere long and to lay in such provision as may make us fit to grapple with them when they come O for that which will keeps us from crying out hereafter what shall I do wo is me I am undon were it so that there were such rare extraction to be made which would certainly prolong our lives as long as we would and make us always cheerful what striving would there be to get such a receipt O how would the great ones bring out their bags to purchase it at any rate How willingly would they mortgage all their Lands part with their richest Jewels to buy it yet how little will they exspend for that which if they had would prove far more effectual O would men and women but understand themselves and mind their business what sweet lives might they lead what a calm might there be constantly upon their Spirits How cheerfully might they live and how joyfully might they dye Tully saith that he and many others had been gathering the most powerful herbs that they could find to cure all fears but saith he I know not what is the matter the disease is still stronger then the remedy And dost thou not know O Tully what 's the matter why then I will tell thee One principal Ingredient was left out viz Faith in the Bloud of Christ and Union with God by vertue of that bloud He that is by Christ brought acquainted with God need not much fear griefs sorrows and such things Christ was acquainted with for him he hath unsting'd Death and sweetened the Grave all his troubles are now but as Physick the Poyson of them is corrected though the Pill be bitter yet it 's of his Friends composing and therefore you may take it without any turning away of your head Shew me a man said old Epictetus that is happy truly in his life and happy in his death happy in his health in his sickness
joyfully into another world and this I say again a man acquainted with God may do he hath this to comfort him death doth more properly give him life then take it away from him and that as soon as he is dead his sin shall dye too and his grace live and act without controul then he shall live a life of joy a life of perfect holiness such a life as Saints and Angels live such a life as Christ lives the life of God a life without death an everlasting life and why then should he be afraid of dying As for his old Companion the body it is gon to rest and will ere long be awakened and rise from his bed more vigorous and fit for those Noble imployments which it must be engaged in for ever and Soul and Body shall meet with more comfort then now they part with pain when the body shall be in another kind of dress then now it wears and that also shall in some respects be like the Soul agil holy immortal This is such a man that I can call happy and so ere long will those that now scorn and persecute him call him too Blessed is he that in his life is holy and cheerful but most cheerful and perfect at his death This is the happy portion of Gods acquaintance this is the heritage of the Friends of the Bridegroom I have read of a wise man that would commend and be thankful for every thing because he was sure a friend of his had the management of every thing whose understanding was infinite and whose wisdom was unsearchable who could would work his own honour and his Friends comfort out of every thing yea though seemingly evil for the greater the evil seems to be the greater will be the real kindness which makes so much good out of it O but I have lately lost many of my most neer and precious relations If thou art one of Gods Friends let me tell thee for thy comfort you will meet them at your Friends house when you come thither It was no unsuitable advice that he gave to his Friend Lucilius to cheer him up after the loss of a dear Friend Let us consider my dear Lucilius that we our selves should be glad to be in that place and to enjoy that company which you are so sad that your Friend is gon to and he that you say is lost is not so but happy before you We do not judge rightly of things Well then would you know what a man is would you pass a true estimate of him and understand his worth and value Why then consider the man without his riches lay aside his honours take away all his externals from him nay further le ts see the man raked out of his body and how doth the Soul look is it now rich beautiful joyful can it stand confidently before God doth it appear cheerfully in the presence of it's maker Why this is something It matters not much whether his body were fed with Pulse or Dainties cloathed with Rags or Scarlet it matters not whether his Soul went out of his mouth or at a wound whether he dyed in bed of doun or in flames Methinks by this time you should be ready to think that Religion is an excellent thing that Gods acquaintance is desirable and that no life is like the life of a Christian all whose sorrows end in joys whose miseries make him more happy whose shame for Christ will make for his glory In a word whose death brings him into life This is the generation of them that seek thee that seek thy face O Jacob. 5. Another effect of acquaintance with God is That it will make us more highly to honour him Here familiarity is far from breeding contempt Those that are stangers to God see not his worth and excellency they honour him not but they have the most vile low contemptible thoughts of the infinitely glorious Majesty and they think any thing will serve his turn they make more bold with him then they would do with a man like themselves they put him off with the leavings of the world When they have been feeding their lusts and serving their pleasures and gratifying the Devil all the day long then they come between sleep and awake and pretend a great deal of love to him and anger with themselves for their sin whereas God knows they do but play the hyprocrites in all they do mean nothing that they say Lip-devotion knee-religion God shall have and but a little of that too and that pitiful stuff that they present him with they think God is very much beholding to them for As for the sanctifying the Lord God in their hearts as for inward hearty-love as for high prizings and admirings of God as for a real honouring of God and worshipping of him in Spirit and in Truth it is that which they understand not and as for them which do they laugh at them as if they were guilty of the greatest folly in the world But now he which converseth with God beholds such a beauty excellency majesty and glory in him that it is ready quite to swallow up his soul he speaks much of God but yet he thinks more he wonders that a God of such infinite goodness should be no more loved that a God of such infinite greatness justice and holiness should be no more feared that a God of such unspeakable power should be no more obeyed and while he remembers his own contempt of God in former times and the too mean thoughts that he hath at present of him he doth even stand astonished to think that he should be on this side the state of the damned He that before thought every thing too much for God now thinks nothing enough for him The man is strangely changed by his new acquaintance so that he may not improperly be called a New man all things are new with him In honor to this new guest he hath got on new cloaths he is clâ—â— with Righteousness as with a garment new food it is his meat and drink to do the will of his Father which is in Heaven new drink Wine on the Lees well refined he draws all out of those wells of Consolation the Promises he hath new thoughts words and actions God invisibles and all the things of faith are now Substances with him Now the threats or promises of a God are not counted small matters Heaven Hell and Eternity go for the greatest Realities because God saith they are such So he that sometimes lived without God in the world had no respect at all to his glory but valued himself and his most base lust and the Devil himself before God doth now respect Gods glory in all that he doth he ventures upon nothing deliberately but what may please him Religion runs through all he doth he eats he drinks and sleeps and cloaths himself he prayes he works he recreates himself with a design for God The grand project he
that we could maintain a constant intercourse with him here till we come to a perfect enjoyment of him in glory hereafter O that we may see thy face thy blessed face by faith O that thou wouldest cause thy glory to pass before us O that thy marvellous loving kindness might be made known to a company of poor Creatures of us whose desire is to fear thee who would fain love thee with the strength of our souls O blessed are they that love thee that are beloved by thee 5. I might also insist upon another Head of Motives which is named in the Text which is this Acquaint now thy self with him and thou shalt be at peace Though there be nothing but War on every side you shall have peace This peace of God whatsoever you may think of it is unspeakably advantagious the benefits that would accrue to a soul upon this peace are infinite It is a peace that passeth all under standing When we have this peace concluded we may drive a brave Trade without desturbance for the richest Commodities If we were thus acquainted with God we shall have such a peace as that we may laugh at the shaking of the spear and not be much disturbed when we hear of dreadfull things abroad in the World He that is acquainted with God may safely venture up and down he hath Gods pass a strong man of war for his convoy he hath such powerful allies that he need not fear as long as he is at peace with God he is sure not to be quite overcome by man He is at peace with himself when the Aire ecchoes with Drums and Trumpets and the roaring of Guns a musick that pleaseth the Devils Ear He may still rejoyce because he hath a bird within which sings sweetly there is a harmony between his will and Gods a harmony between his heart and his mouth This is no such contemptable thing and if you knew what a wounded Spirit a fire in the bosom is you would say so This peace that such a one hath is a wel-grounded peace not such a one as is built upon ignorance and hardness of heart but such a peace as results from the sence of the pardon of sin and reconciliation with God through the blood of Christ That blood of Christ hath washed his conscience from dead works Sins he had and hath but some of them he sees lying dead like the Egyptians upon the shore others striving for life with a deaths wound upon them and though he have enemies still living yet they are such as shall never have the absolute dominion over him as long as the great quarrel between him and God is at an end all is well enough the Law hath nothing against him all his accusers are silenced Christ hath fulfilled and satisfied the Law for him The great Creator hath given a full and general acquittance all debts are discharged for him and therefore the man hath little reason to trouble his head much with cares and fears now he may go up and down any where and not fear the Senjeant his noble surery hath paid that vast debt he hath laid down the ten thousand Talents upon the Nail so that the man is at peace with God he is also at peace with all the Creatures in the world from the glorious Angels that are in Heaven to the meanest insect or plant they are so far from doing him any real harm that they all are servants to the Friends of God they all stand ready to oppose their Enemies and those of them that are mortal are ready to lay down their lives for one that stands thus related to God For when any enters into Covenant with God God also makes a Covenant for them with the beasts of the field Great peace have they that love Gods law and nothing shall offend them such a one is at peace with death and the grave We read of some profane Monsters that made a Covenant with death and were at an agreement with Hell but this Covenant will soon be broken because he that hath the keys of death and Hell the power of life and death never subscribed to the Articles of their agreement But now the godly man hath a Friend that hath made a Covenant for him a firm Covenant with death and Hell so that none of them shall ever do him the least wrong As for death Christ hath took out it's sting as for the grave Christ hath spiced and season'd it it 's Power is master'd it 's Terribleness is taken away it's now no prison Christ hath opened the doors of it and now it is but a Chamber of repose a bed to rest in and he that hath already opened this door when it was bolted barr'd and double-locked can and will ere long open it again and awaken his from their sleep and is this inconsiderable Is not such a peace as this is desireable Who that is well in his wits would not be glad to be in so secure a condition as this peace will put him in And who are like to have the benefit of this peace but the Friends of God! O therefore if you value your own peace if you would be undisturbed from storms without Heart-quakes within If you would have all the Creatures it Heaven and Earth at peace with you If you would have Death unstung and the Grave a Chamber and not a Prison why then get acquainted with God and you shall be at peace 6. The next head of Motives I might take from these words Thereby good shall come unto you Acquaint your self with him and be at peace and thereby good shall come unto you But I shall here be but brief Think of what you will that is good for you and if you are acquainted with God you shall have it for asking for or that which is far better than that which you desire For the Lord God is a Sun a Shield he will give Grace and Glory and no good thing will he with-hold from them which walk uprightly that is from those that are acquainted with him All his ways are mercy and truth to such as be in covenant with him and all shall work together for good to them that love him Inlarge thy desires as wide as the Heavens request what you will ask never so much and you shall have it And what would you have more If it be the good of prosit that you desire What greater gain than Godliness Who can give such rewards to his servants as God Who will give greater portions to his children than this Father Who is like to thrive better than he who hath such a vast stock such a great Trade such quick and great returns and above all such a Partner O that those that are all for profit and gain that cry out what advantage shall it be to me if I serve God and what profit to me if I am acquainted with him O that such would but do that which will be most
before I leave you for ever I hope I should be contented to be trod in the dirt O that my heart may not deceive me O that my compassion to your souls were greater a thousand times greater O that I could never speak to you of such things as these without tears I must again and again profess I am ashamed of my heart that it is no more sensible of these weighty affairs But O mighty and glorious God if thou pleasest thou canst out of the mouth of a Babe and Suckling ordain strength O that thou wouldest make the worm Jacob to thresh Mountains O that thou wouldest make me of the most unworthy and weakest instrument in that bonourable Service of bringing home some Souls to thy self O if but any one Soul if but one Soul that was estranged from God might by these lines be brought acquainted with him if I might prevail with any other stubborn Enemy to lay down his weapons and be Friends with him I should think my pains well bestowed though if that will make you to regard it ever the more this work hath cost me many an hours study and it hath been interrupted with many bodily distempers groans and sorrows fears and sighs Yet if after all my travel I may hear of any Children born of God if I may meet but one soul the better for it by it brought to Glory I shall have abundant cause to blesse my God and to rejoyce that my labour hath not been in vain in the Lord. But if I might have more I should have more cause to adore infinite Goodness and rich Grace O my dear Friends O precious and immortal Souls What shall I say to you What shall I do for you O did you but know how hardly I fetch my breath at this time did you but see what a crazy Creature he is that writes to you did you but know how faint he hath been sometimes in speaking to you you would go nigh to pitty him O pitty your selves O pitty your own Souls that ere long must be turned naked out of your Bodies and hear the expostulations of a dying man that would gladly live with you in everlasting glory and meet you all among the Friends of the Bridegroom that I may see you among the Sons of God in your great meeting when the Father shall send his Servants the Angels to fetch all his children home to his own house O pitty your Souls let not all my pains be lost trample not under your feet the blood of the Covenant neither count it a common thing remember that the slighting of Christ is a dangerous thing the loss of his favour and the loss of your soul must go together O how shall I leave you How shall I part with you shall I go before my work is done What shall I say more What arguments shall I further make use of O that I knew what to say that I might prevail And are you still resolved to put me off with frivolous excuses Can you put off your consciences thus Are you still contented to be Aliens and Strangers If you are know this that I must leave these lines to bear witness against you Remember this that you were told of these things again and again Those that can forget Sermons here shall remember them hereafter if you be not the better for this discourse you will curse the day that ever you heard it it will be a cutting reflection when another day you shall say to your own Soul at such a time such a one did beseech me in Christs stead to be reconciled to God and I would not Cursed man that I was I made nothing of all the offers of Grace and Mercy I made little account of these intollerable Torments which now make me to gnash my teeth Hear O unhappy Creature that art yet alive Be not ye past hope O that thou mayest see thy sad state before it be quite past remedy O let me take up a lamentation for thee as one whose condition is beyond expression deplorable O that I could speak as affectionately to you as one did lately who spent his strength and life amongst you all viz. That I can neither eat nor drink nor sleep quietly whilst I think of the danger that precious Souls run every moment while they are unacquainted with God! O that mine eyes were waters and my head a fountain of Tears that I might weep day and night for poor Christ-less Creatures that laugh and are as cheerful as if no danger were near them whereas that dismal day approaches apace wherein they must bid an everlasting farewel to all their pleasures and lie down for ever under the scalding wrath of an angry God! O stand astonished O Heavens and wonder O Earth Here 's a man that had rather be a Beast than a man a Devil than a Saint that prefers Hell before Heaven that loves Death and hates Life Here 's a man that makes nothing of going to Hell Damnation is a thing that he jests with 't is but damning he saith But damning Is that so light a thing a thing to be laughed at Well if that damning be nothing never complain of it when you feel it If it be nothing never groan nor bite your tongue nor gnash your teeth for it If Heaven and your Soul the favour of God eternal happiness be such small matters never complain for the loss of them Well then belike you are pleased very well with your choice and you do choose rather to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a moment than the pleasures of Holiness which last for ever There stands a sinner that hears all this and frets and foameth at the hearing of it it 's a torture to his Soul to be within the sound of such Truths Why act like one in his wits If the hearing of Hell and damnation be so troublesome what will the feeling of it be thinkest thou But that I may if possible prevail I shall leave a few serious questions with you which I charge you in the presence of God seriously to consider of and to give a wise answer to these following Questions Quest 1. Are those things which you have heard true or are they not Doth not the Scriptures speak the same things which I do Dare you say that the word of Truth is False Do but open the Bible dip where you will what is that you read there Is it not something that hath a tendency to what I have been teaching of O that you would but give your selves the trouble of searching the Scriptures to see whether these things are so To what purpose do you think should we spend our breath To what purpose should we follow you with such exhortations if we had not some grounds for what we say If there be no such thing in the word of God why then do you not say so Why do you not shew us it if there be such a place that saith there is
undervalue the favour of God so as you do what reason have you thus foolishly to cast away your selves and to slight acquaintance with your Maker Let me plead with you in the language of a Reverend Divine R. B. of our own Look up your best and strongest Reasons and if you see a man put his hand into the fire till it burn off you 'l marvel at it but this is a thing that a man may have reason for as Bishop Cranmer had when he burnt off his hand for subscribing to Popery If you see a man cut off a Leg or an Arm it 's a sad sight but this is a thing that a man may have good reason for as many a man doth it to save his life If you see a man give his body to be burnt to ashes and to be tormented with Strappado's and Racks and refuse deliverance when it is offered this is a hard case to flesh and bloud but this a man may have good reason for as you see in Heb. 11.33 34 35 36. and as many an hundred Martyrs have done But for a man to forsake the Lord that made him for a man to run into the fire of Hell when he is told of it and intreated to turn that he might be saved this is a thing that can have no reason in it that is reason indeed to justifie or excuse it For Heaven will pay for the loss of any thing that we can lose to get it or for any labour that we bestow for it but nothing can pay for the loss of Heaven Read on in Mr. R. B's Call to the Vnconverted pag. 169. Do you still believe the Word of God to be true and the things contained in it to be the most weighty and yet will you still pass them over as if there were nothing at all in them Quest 4. My next Question that I shall propound to you and desire your serious and speedy answer to is this Do you believe that you can find a better friend then God can you mend your self any where else is there in Heaven or Earth any that can do as much for you as God can is there any one that can take you off when you come to be accused for High Treason against the King of Heaven and to be arraigned before that just Judge have you got that which will quit your cost in getting of it and countervail the loss of a Soul what is it that still hath an interest in your heart that is thought to be an equal competitor with God for your dearest love If it be indeed that which will shield you from the arrests of Death and the wrath of the Almighty if it be that which can shelter you from the storm of his displeasure if it be that which will do you as much good as Heaven and make you as happy as God can why then I have little to say make your best of it But consider well what you do first be sure that you be not mistaken have not many thought as you think and have found their mistake when it was too late Quest 5. Do you think that this world will last always with you do you not believe that ere long you must die and your soul appear before God and by him be sentenced to its everlasting state where is all the glory of those great Monarchs which despised God and oppressed his people what is become of all their pomp which of them that flourished three thousand years ago stand alive now in glory and are you better then they shall the worms which have made a prey of them spare you is Death more favourable now a days then he was before is not the world still as it was but vanity is not all flesh still but grass and the beauty of it as a flower that is cut down and withereth suddenly Well then this being granted that nothing is more certain then Death and that it is appointed for all men once to die would you not then be glad of something that will stand you instead after death a Friend in another world why then do you not speedily get acquainted with him who alone can befriend you in that dreadful hour Quest 6. What do you think will become of you if after all this you go on in your old ways what will become of you do you think if you should die without the knowledge of God what hopes hath you of life in peace if you bid defiance to the Lord of life and contemn the Prince of peace how shall you escape if you neglect so great salvation what do you think that those which did once as you do now slight Christ and never look after Reconciliation with God are now a doing in another world what would you do in this case should one come to you either out of Heaven or out of Hell how wonderfully do you think you should be affected with the Narration which they would give you of the affairs of the invisible world why then will you not now be affected with what we say for assure your selves whatever you may think our testimony is as true and hath a better foundation of credit then if one should tell you he came from the dead and speak to you of these things Quest 7. Another Question I would propound to you is this Are you willing to bear the displeasure of God can you undergo the weight of that wrath which made his back to ake who was mighty to do and suffer can you with any patience hear that dreadful word pronounced by the mouth of that Judg which will see to the execution of his sentence Depart from me ye cursed unto everlasting torment Depart from me ye workers of iniquity for I know you not Can you endure without any trouble that scalding hot wrath which is abundantly more painful then Fire and Brimstone more intolerable then to be shut up in a burning fiery Furnace or to be boyled in a Caldron of melted Lead or whatsoever torments the wit of men or Devils can invent Can you with any patience bear the Stone Gout Tooth-ach Chollick or some such distempers of body which last but for a while O how long do you think the time when you are in that condition how do you toss and tumble what lamentable moan do you make do not you think you can't be too much pitied in that condition how then will you be able to lie down in those torments the least drop of which is abundantly more painful then the greatest torment that ever you felt in your life If these seem dreadful to you why do you not go the way to avoid them which is by getting an interest in him who hath the Keys of Hell at his gridle for there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus to them that are brought into a state of Reconciliation and Acquaintance with God by his Son our Mediatour Quest 8. Are you contented to lose everlasting
excellently handled already by so many of our brave Worthies See Mr. Baxters Saints Rest and R. A. his Vindicia Pietatis XII DIRECTION If you would be acquainted with God resolvedly and freely given up your self to him and enter into a most solemn Covenant with him And here I shall make bold with that Reverend Author which R. A. doth mention in his Vindicia Pietatis and present you again with that excellent Form with the preparatories to it which I have lately met with in the forementioned Author After your most serious addresses to God and after a deliberate consideration of the terms of this Covenant and after a thorow search of your own heart whether you either have already or can now freely make such a closure with God in Christ as you have been exhorted to And when you have composed your spirits into the most serious frame possible suitable to a transaction of so high a nature Lay hold upon the Covenant and reply upon his promise of giving grace and strength whereby you may be enabled to perform your promise Resolve in the next place to be faithful having engaged your hearts and opened your mouths and subscribed with your hands to the Lord resolve in his strength never to go back And being thus prepared and some convenient time being set apart for the purpose set upon the work in the most solemn manner possible as if the Lord were visibly present before your eyes fall down on your knees and spreading forth your hands towards Heaven open your hearts to the Lord in these or the like words O most dreadful God for the Passion of thy Son I beseech thee accept of thy poor Prodigal now prostrating himself at thy door I have fallen from thee by mine Iniquity and am by Nature a Son of Death and a thousand fold more the Child of Hell by my Wicked Practise but of thine infinite Grace thou hast promised Mercy to me in Christ if I will but turn to thee with all my Heart Therefore upon the Call of the Gospel I am now come in and throwing down my Weapons submit my self to thy mercy And because thou requirest as the Condition of my Peace with thee that I should put away mine Idols and be at defiance with all thine Enemies which I acknowledge I have wickedly sided with against thee I here from the bottome of mine Heart renounce them all freely covenanting with thee not to allow my self in any known Sin but conscientiously to use all the means that I know thou hast prescribed for the Death and utter Destruction of all my Corruptions And whereas I have formerly inordinately and Idolatriously let out my Affections upon the World I do here resign my heart to thee that madest it Humbly protesting before thy glorious Majesty that it is the firm Resolution of my Heart and that I do unfeignedly desire grace from thee that when thou shalt call me hereunto I may practice this my Resolution through thy Assistance to forsake all that is dear unto me in this World rather than to turn from thee to the ways of sin And that I will watch against all its Temptations whether of Prosperity or Adversity lest they should withdraw my Heart from thee beseeching thee also to help me against the Temptations of Satan to whose suggestions I resolve by thy Grace never to yield my self a Servant And because mine own Righteousness is but menstruous Rags I renounce all Confidence therein and acknowledge that I am of my self a hopeless helpless undone Creature without righteousness or strength And for as much as thou hast of thy bottomless Mercy offered most graciously to me wretched sinner to be again my God through Christ if I would accept of thee I call Heaven and Earth to record this day that I do here solemnly avouch thee for the Lord my God and with all possible Veneration bowing the Neck of my Soul under the Feet of thy most Sacred Majesty I do here take thee the Lord Jehovah Father Son and Holy Ghost for my Portion and chief good and do give up my self Body and Soul for thy Servant promising and vowing to serve thee in holiness and righteousness all the dayes of my life And since thou hast appointed the Lord Jesus Christ the only means of coming unto thee I do here upon the bended Knees of my Soul accept of him as the only new and living way by which sinners may have access to thee and do here solemnly joyn my self in a Marriage Covenant to him O blessed Jesus I come to thee hungry and hardly bestead poor and wretched and miserable and blind and naked a most loathsome polluted wretch a guilty condemned Malefactor unworthy for ever to wash the feet of the Servants of my Lord much more to be solemnly Married to the King of Glory But since such is thine unparall'd Love I do here with all my power accept thee for my Head and Husband for better for worse for richer for poor for all times and conditions to Love and Honour and Obey thee before all others and this to the Death I embrace thee in all thy Offices I renounce mine own worthiness and do here avow thee to be the Lord my righteousness I renounce mine own wisdom and do here take thee for mine only Guide I renounce mine own will and take the will for my Law And since thou hast told me that I must suffer if I will reign I do here covenant with thee to take my Lot as it falls with thee and by thy Grace assisting to run all hazards with thee verily supposing that neither life nor death shall part between thee and me And because thou hast been pleased to give me thy Holy Law as the rule of my life and the way in which I should walk to thy Kingdom I do here willingly put my Neck under thy Yoke and set my shoulders to thy Burden and subscribing to all thy Laws as Holy Just and Good I solemnly take them as the rule of my Words Thoughts and Actions Promising that though my flesh contradict and rebel yet I will endeavour to order and govern my whole life according to thy direction and will not allow my self in the neglect of any thing that I know to be my duty Only because through the frailty of my flesh I am subject to many failings I am bold humbly to protest that unhallowed miscarriages contrary to the setled bent and resolution of my heart shall not make void this Covenant for so thou hast said Now Almighty God searcher of hearts thou knowest that I make this Covenant with thee this day without any known guile or reservation beseeching thee that if thou espiest any flaw or falshood herein thou wouldest discover it to me and help me to do it a right And now glory be to thee O God the Father whom I shall be bold from this day forward to look upon thee as my God and Father That ever thou shouldest
happy when poor scorned tormented and banished in a word happy in all conditions O that I could but talk with such a man O that I could see such a spectacle such a one as my eyes never yet beheld Why I will tell thee the reason of it O Epictetus It is because thou never sawest a Christian one that was acquainted with God for let me tell the world Through Grace I have seen such a sight and do believe it to be the most lovely sight on this side Heaven I have seen one smiling when his Jaws have been falling and eye-strings breaking rejoycing when most about him were weeping and accounting it a high act of patience to be willing to live and how do you like such a condition Is it better to lie quivering shaking and groaning or rejoycing and praysing and admiring of free grace and setting forth the riches of Gods love and goodnesse which of these would you chuse I can easily believe that few are so bad but that they could be contented as well as Balaam to dye the death of the righteous and to have their latter end like his But would you dye joyfully why then you must live holily get acquainted with God and then this may be your state I remember Seneca speaks of one Pacuvius who when he was drunk cry'd out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have been alive very merrily But had he well understood himself he would have thought be bad had much better reason to have cryed out I am dead I am dead But however what he said ungroundly and wickedly a child of God may easily and thankfully say when he is going to his last sleep he may with joy and cheerfulness say I have lived and through grace I have kept a fair correspondency with my God my Friend whom I am now going to dwell with for ever Do not think therefore that I come to take away your comforts and joys when I come to perswade you to get acquaintance with God no such matter I would have you learn to rejoyce but yet I would that that joy should be born from above that the foundation of it should be the knowledg of your interest in Gods love Other joys may make you have a smiling countenance but they do not raise and fill the Soul for I must tell you I am far from thinking that every one that laughs is joyful and without fears Give me a man that knows that God is his portion and Heaven his inheritance that knows with what Friend and in what a happy state he shall live in after death this this is the cheerful man such one as this is can overlook momentany sorrows he understands full well that the case will be quickly altered with him and the thoughts of Eternal happiness do swallow up his temporal miseries Tell one of Gods acquaintance of poverty he values is not as long as he knows he hath a brave estate that can't be confiscated riches that none can take from him a treasure that thieves can't break through to and steal As for all worldly things he knows that before a few years are over he must part with them however he is of that mans mind who having a considerable sum of money and precious Jewels hid in his saddle and a little odd mony in his pocket was set upon by thieves who readily went to his pocket and took what was there and look't no further Now the man scaping clear with his main treasure is so joyful that he takes no notice of what was stole from him Thus a child of God if he lose his estate his liberty and all his outward injoyments he counts all these but inconsiderable as long as his Soul is fafe his great treasure is out of their reach Tell him of torments racks flames or what the policy of Hell can invent he is not ignorant of this that the more he suffers for Christs sake the greater cause he hath to rejoyce to be exceeding glad for great shall be his reward in heaven and while they add to his sufferings they add to his glory and though against their will while they would injure him they do him the greatest kindness this light affliction works for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory As long as his torments want that dreadful Epithite Eternal he doth not much pass the thoughts of Gods love makes mans hatred inconsiderable O how sweet are the thoughts of his Friend when his enemies are most bitter Blessed be God as for those intolerable torments he knows it 's beyond mans power and far from Gods will to inflict them upon him and so long he cares not much All other tortures are but a Flea-bite to the pains of Hell and an enraged Conscience he can almost dare the world the devil to do their worst as being confident of this that as long as he is dear to God his Soul is out of their reach Threaten him with banishment he remembers that he hath a friend that will find him out and bear him company wheresoever he is Tell him of the barbarous unkindness and treachery of former Friends he reads that his betters have been worse handled by their pretended Friends above all this cheers him to think that all his Friends will not serve him so he hath one Friend that will never forsake him never be unfaithful to him Now bring a wicked man upon Earth that is without his sorrows I know there is none no not one there is none of them all but if he were within the sight of those devouring flames would tremble Those that have wickedness enough to dare God will not have courage enough to look him in the face when he shall appear in flaming fire to execute vengeance upon the ungodly he that will not now be troubled at the doing of wickedness will be troubled hereafter at the suffering for it Let sinners say what they will I am sure they can't be long without fears to behold Christ and his dear Servants coming together in the Clouds with Millions of mighty Angels to judge the world I am confident it will be such an amazing sight as can't choose but cool their courage and make the stoutest heart of them all to ake I am sure that as light as they make of Damnation and Gods displeasure that the day is coming when they will believe it was no such cowardise to be afraid of an angry God to flye from the wath to come and to run away from so formidable an enemy as sin So that it 's clear that a wicked man will first or last be a fearfull man a Magor missakib Fear on every side shall be his name But now he that doth exceedingly fear to offend God need not exceedingly to fear any thing else and he that fears no God hath cause enough to fear every thing O Sirs it 's a brave thing to be able to take death cheerfully by the hand and to walk with him