if thine affections be lukewarm to God thou mayst wish that God might be glorified but if he be not thou canst endure it Thou mayst pray to God for grace to heal thee of thy deadnesse but though he do not thou canst bear it But if thine affections were so farre hereto as to be zealous they would be impatient thou couldest never endure it Zeal is the impatient degree of the affections whereby when the soul does affect a thing it is impatient without it And therefore zeal is due only to God Thus ye discern the evidence of this truth that the zeal of our affection is due properly to God The X. Sermon Colos 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. THE Uses of this are these First Hence we may learn that God demandeth the zeal of our affections If the zeal of our affections be due unto God I beseech you take notice that God demandeth his due Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his Name and so God demandeth his due in our affections If I be a Father where is my honour if a Master where is my fear Mal. 1. 6. he does not only call for some honour and some love and some fear but he cals for his part where is my part sayes he Where is my fear Gods part of thy fear as I have shewed is the zeal of thy fear Gods part of thy love and thy joy and thy hope and the rest is the zeal of the same This now God demands of thy soul Where is my fear may be thou lovest him a little and his Commandments a little may be thou fearest him a little to offend him and disobey him thou fearest a little this is not Gods part the zeal of thine affection is Gods part and he cals for his part Where is my fear Secondly Hence we may learn that we must upon pain of Gods infinite displeasure give him the zeal of our affections whensoever we pray to pray to him zealously bleeding for our sinnes and melting under our wants and yearning for his graces Whensoever we praise him to praise him thus zealously rejoycing in his mercies and admiring his goodnesse Whensoever we enter his Courts to enter with zeal reverencing his footstool trembling at his Word in all our waies seeking how we may be most zealous of his glory for if God demand the zeal of our affections there is no keeping back Ananias was smitten dead for keeping back a little piece of money when God did demand it Cursed is he that keeps back a blow when God doth call for it God demandeth our zeal and wo is us if we keep back Thirdly Hence we may gather that we are in the state of damnation if we do not give God the zeal of our affections if God require it upon pain of damnation and we are bid to give it him upon pain of his everlasting displeasure then certainly we must needs be in a state of damnation if we do not give it Now this is proved by four Arguments First That man is in the state of damnation that never repents I need not prove that ye know it well enough he is sure to perish that never repents Though thou hast taken up all the outward duties of religion thou never repentest unlesse thou be zealous if thou be zealous then thou hast drawn out of Christ wine-seller as Bernard observes on the Canticles Introduxit me rex in cellam vinariam the King hath brought me into his wine-seller he expounds it of the souls drawing of zeal from Christ but if thou beest not zealous in repentance thou never repentest Be zealous and repent Rev. 3. 19. First he sayes be zealous and then he sayes repent First thou must resolve to be zealous or else thou dost not repent If a man have wronged a neighbour though never so mean he must be sorry for it or else he doth not repent of it if a man have wronged a Noble-man he must be more sorry for as the wrong is the greater the greater the party wronged is so the greater is the sorrow that is required to repentance If a man have wronged the King it must be greater sorrow yet till the sorrow be somewhat answerable to the greatness of the King who is wronged But if a man have wronged a God this must be the greatest sorrow of all sorrows otherwise thou dost not repent Repentance is the rending or breaking of the heart so sayes the Prophet Ioel it is not a lukewarm or a little grief that will break the heart Repentance is the humbling of the soul sayes David it is not a little bowing and a little bending will humble it before God Repentance is the mortifying or the killing of sin as Paul cals it alas sinne is like the heart of Oke that will be a hundred years a dying so sin will be long a dying it is not a little pricking and a little compunction will kill it Repentance is called repentance unto life in the Scripture it is not a little chafing and a little rubbing and a little Aqua-vitae will fetch a man from death untâ— life No no beloved thou never repentest unlesse thou be zealous And therefore the Apostle makes zeal a part of repentance 2 Cor. 7. 11. No zeal no repentance no repentance no salvation 2. That man is in the state of damnation that is not a beleever in Christ If a man be not in Christ by a lively faith he cannot be saved The Prophet prophesying of Christ saith thus Vnto us a childe is born and he shall be called wonderful the Prince of peace and the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this Isa 9 6 7. Never is Christ conceived in any man under heaven but the zeal of the Lord of Hosts doth perform it Doth he enlighten the minde or purge the heart or cleanse the conscience zeal does perform it Can I be so in love with Christ as to deny my self for him and not be zealous to him Can I count all my parts and all my gifts and all that I have as Paul did to be drosse â—nd dung for the worth I finde in Christ and not be zealous of him Can I hunger after him and pant for him and be sick of love till I have him and not be zealous towards him Thus we must doe otherwise we are not in Christ And therefore Moses confounds faith and zeal as if they were all one and both in one Phinehas was zealous for Gods sake Numb 25. 11. That is he was zealous and faithful both for so the Psalmist expounds it that was counted to him for righteousnesse sayes he that was speaking of his zeal in executing of judgement that was counted to him for righteousnesse Now ye know nothing can be counted to a man for righteousnesse but only faith and therefore by zeal there is meant faith This is an undeniable argument If a man have faith he is
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for such sayes he are the sinfull lusts and affections they are all fiery set on fire of hell this is one misery and this not a small one zeal is the fire of the soul and if it be not set upon God it is set on fire of hell Secondly Zeal is the running of the soul If thou beest not zealous for God thou runnest away after the things of this world thou dost not only go after vanities but thou runnest not only go after thy pleasures and thy profits but thou runnest As the affections are the feet of the soul so zeal is the swift running pace of these feet I will run the way of thy Commandments sayes David that is I will be zealous in it It is a long way to heaven especially now since the fall it is a very long way to heaven and death will overtake us before ever we can get there unlesse we run and therefore Saint Paul commands us to run fast enough lest we never get there So run that ye may obtain 1 Cor 9. 24. Now had we not need to set our zeal right for that way we run that way our zeal stands If the zeal of our affection stand to Godwards we run onwards to heaven but if it stand to the things here below we run onwards to hell I reade of Tiberius Nero who when his brother Drusus lay sick in Germany he ran two hundred miles in twenty four hours to visit him But we may finde tanker runners then so in sinne some in drunkennesse and good fellowship as they call it others in security and hardnesse of heart others in one sin and others in another and as they run themselves so if there be any that are stricter then themselves they wonder that they run not with them to the same excesse of ryot 1 Pet. 4. 4. Mark run not with them where note themselves run into ryot May be sometimes they have sudden and violent affections to good as if they were all on a fire for the present like the young man in the Gospel he came running to Christ and kneeled down to him sayes the Text Mar. 10 17. O he was all upon the haste he does not goe to him but he runs as many men and women have very good moods and violent pangs of goodnesse now and then but alas it was nothing but a flash for by and by he was as ready to be gone as ever he was hasty to come and then he ran on in his security and coveteousnesse of minde Do ye not see how fast many of you run on in arerages with God If we could see Gods debt-book might we not there reade Item ten thousand oaths thou hast sworn Item millions of millions of filthy words thou hast spoken Item a hundred millions of millions of wicked thoughts thou hast thought Item a thousand lazie prayers thou hast made Item 20. hundred Sabbaths thou hast prophaned Item fourty Sacraments thou hast unworthily received Thus ye have run on as if ye thought every day seven years till ye are in hell Thus it is with you when your zeal is set any where else then on God Thirdly Zeal is the predominant element in the soul Look what the soul is zealous unto that is the predominant temper of the soul if thou beest zealous for God Christ is predominant in thee if thou beest zealous for the things of this world the world is predominant in thee Non datur temperamentum ad pondus sayes the Philosopher there is no temper but something is predominant You never heard of a soul that had as much of the world in him as of Christ and of Christ as of the world No as he is zealous to one thing so one thing or other is predominant in him Men-pleasing is predominant in one pride predominant in another and pleasure predominant in a third Whatsoever a man is zealous unto that is his predominant element Now if thine affections if the zeal of them be not set upon God then something or other in the world is predominant in thee O what a misery then is it to be lesse zealous for God then for the world the world is predominant in thee this is the character of one that yet is no better then a reprobate Lovers of pleasure more then lovers of God 2 Tim. 3. 4. when pleasure is predominant and not God He that loveth father or mother more then me is not worthy of me c. sayes Christ Mat. 10. 37. when carnal relations are predominant and not spiritual this I say is an evident character of a wicked man for what difference is there between a godly man and wicked man both have sinne in them this is the difference a godly man hath sin in him but grace is predominant and therefore he is called a godly man A wicked man hath many good graces in him but sinne and wickednesse is predominant and therefore he is called a wicked man the denomination is from the part that is predominant The beasts of the earth because the earth is predominant the fishes of the Sea because the water is predominant a brick-house not as though there were no wood in it but because brick is predominant Mark all thy thoughts which is predominant in thee the world or Christ mark all thy speeches which is predominant earth or heaven mark all thy cares which is predominant to busie thee most O what a wofull estate art thou in when sin and corruption is predominant in thee If thou be more zealous after the things of this life then after grace and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord Thou canst never enter into Gods kingdom because sin is predominant in thee Fourthly Zeal is the self-cruelty of the soul If thou beest most zealous to God thy zeal is a holy cruelty to thy self Master spare thy self sayes Peter to Christ Get thee behinde me Saran sayes Christ he was zealous for the redemption of the world and he would not spare his own life Zeal is a holy cruelty of the soul it will spare nothing nor life nor credit nor living nor any thing M. Fox that was zealous in his love to the poor he was in a holy manner cruell to himself to give the very clothes off his back rather then the naked should not be covered Love is as strong as death and as cruell as the grave Cant. 8. 6. Durus sicut inferi zelus as Ambrose expounds it zeal is as hard as the grave A man that is zealous is a hard man to himself that he may be free unto God not as though true zeal were hard and cruell indeed unto his own soul but I mean to his own fleshly desires and respects he is the mercifullest man to his own soul under heaven Now then see what a woful estate thou art in if thou beest not zealous for God for if the zeal of thine affections gad any where else
lesse notable to others it is to be feared ye are not zealous for God The second sign of zeal towards God is to be impatient of sinne Zeal as aforesaid is the impatient part of the affections if a man do affect a thing but a little he can be patient without it but if he affect it very deep and with zeal O his affections are set on it and he is impatient if he speed not So that if thou beest zealous against sin thou art impatient of sin thou canst not suffer it Zeal is impatient of whatever is contrary to it That this is the nature of zeal you may see by the poor blinde zeal that was in Paul before his conversion he was zealous to God as he thought and thinking that the Church of Christ were contrary to all men enemies to God and man therefore now in the blindenesse of his zeal he persecutes that way unto death Concerning zeal I persecuted the Church Phil. 3. 6. It was a woful kinde of zeal to persecute the Church but yet there you may gather the nature of zeal it cannot abide that which is contrary and therefore if thou beest zealous against sin thou canst not abide sinne better journey riding studies prayers exhortations any course thou wilt use rather then abide it thou canst never abide any thing that is displeasing to God but resist it to the utmost and this resisting will be First Universal If thou beest zealous there is no sinne thou canst possibly abide Nothing is cold but the fire does resist it so nothing is sin but zeal does resist it to the utmost I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right I hate every false way Psa 119. 128. This is zeal indeed there is never a false way that a man can abide that is zealous To be zealous against one sinne and lukewarm against another this is not zeal Secondly General in all manner of persons First In a friend as well as in an enemy If thou beest zealous thou wilt finde fault with thy friends when they sin as well as observe a fault when thine enemy offendeth Men are apt to observe when their enemy sinneth O how unconscionable is he thus he hath done and so he hath done but if thou beest zealous when thy friend does transgresse thou wilt not abide it Fire will not only labour to consume the water that comes to put it out but also the wood that comes to maintain it So it is with zeal Do not I hate them that hate thee sayes David to God Psal 139 21. He could not abide to count them his friends that were not friends unto God though otherwise they were very friends unto him and may be saved his life and were patrons and benefactors unto him he could not wink at their sins because they were his friends though thy friend be a swearer or a carnal wretch yet if he be thy friend and thou dependest upon him thou canst see it and not see it but if thou beest zealous all his sins thou wilt count discourtesies to thee Secondly In ones childe as well as a servant you shall have many they are angry at every sin a servant commits but if their children do sin they connive it was no such great fault alas he did it unwittingly and what would ye have a childe do say they they can excuse it in their children and lessen it but if thou beest zealous thou canst not abide sinne in thy son any more then a servant thou wilt correct him and curb him and threaten him and counsell him and never endure he should sin if thou canst possibly help it What my son and be wicked what doe I love God and shall I suffer my loins to dishonour him Son know thou the God of thy father otherwise I count thee a bastard and no son This brake old Elies neck because he suffered his sons to be wicked when he by godly severity might have remedied it A zealous man when his son hath committed things worthy of death will not spare him Zech. 13. 3. Thirdly In ones own wife or husband or father or mother as well as in a neighbour zeal cannot abide it husband thou dost not love me as long as thou livest thus wife thy heart is not with me as long as thou dost thus how canst thou love me when thou dost not love God nor thine own soul this is the meaning of our Saviour If any come to me and hate not father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters yea and his own life he cannot be my Disciple Luk. 14. 26. A zealous man cannot abide to yield to sin for the best of them all Fourthly In a rich man as well as in a poor man if thou beest zealous thou canst not abide sin neither in the rich nor in the poor if poor men offend and if beggars be idle and ungodly then thou wilt complain Oh the poor are so wicked they break down our hedges who would releeve them they will not be orderly they lie drinking in Ale-houses and spend it away on the pot therefore who would releeve them But if the rich be keepers of company and vain in their pleasures thou art not so zealous against their sins alas this is no zeal but let a wicked man be as great as King Ahab Micaiah will deal roundly with him Nehemiah will not spare Lords nor Nobles when they sin Neh. 13. 17. For a Magistrate to punish poor Malefactors and not the Gentry when they do transgresse is this zeal no it is cursed partiality Fifthly In ones self rather then in any body else true zeal is more zealous against sinne in ones self then in all the world besides otherwise sayes our Saviour it is hypocrisie and not zeal Thou hypocrite first cast out the beam out of thine own eye and thou shalt see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brothers eye Mat. 5. 7. Zeal I say is like unto fire it is hot it self first before it heat others may be the fire meets with many other things that it is not able to heat it as the bottom of a kettle of water the fire cannot heat it neverthelesse the fire will be sure to be hot of it self So it is with thee if thou beest zealous against sinne thou wilt be like unto fire rather suffer cold to be in any other then suffer it to be in it self so thou wilt rather suffer sin in any body else then suffer it in thy self thou wilt not suffer sin any where else by thy good will but above all things thou wilt not suffer it in thy self This is the second sign of zeal towards God it is impatient of sin The third sign of zeal towards God is it cannot be quiet till it be assured of Gods favour and of Christ Thou art never earnest for God if thou canst possibly be quiet without assurance of Christ
carnal mans affections be so wrought on as ye have heard that they are not rightly wrought on First Because they are not kindely wrought on They are chafed and heated very much but they are not kindely wrought on The affections must be kindely wrought on otherwise they are not wrought on aright they may be violently and passionately wrought on there may be a great deal of pudder wrought in the affections but never are they rightly wrought on unlesse they be wrought upon kindely Be kindely affectioned one to another with brotherly love saies St Paul Rom. 12. 10. The Galatians that would have pluckt out their eyes for Saint Paul they were strongly affected with Saint Paul but they were not kindely affected If they had been kindely affected with him or his Doctrine they would not have hearkned to false Apostles as they did A carnal man natural reason and knowledge out of the Word may work on his affections his conscience and self-love whereby he is loth to be damned and glad to be saved when he dies these may work on his affections and cause him to weep for his sins and give over many corruptions and to be strongly affected but alas he is not kindely affected It 's only the love of God shed abroad in the heart that kindely affects one But it 's self-love and not love of the Lord Jesus that affects him he is not kindely affected Secondly A carnal mans affections are not judiciously wrought on They are wrought on in a fit at it but they are not wrought on with judgement they have not the true beginning of working which is sound judgement S. Hierom saies of the affections of Christ respectu Christi semper sequuntur rationem Christs affections had alwaies the right beginning which was true reason and judgement And therefore S. Matthew notes especially the beginning of his sorrow He began to be sorrowful and very heavy Mat. 26. 37. He had a right beginning of it The natural beginning of the affections is this when the judgement is first poysed and the heart is first fired this is the natural beginning of the affections So that the heart must first be wrought on and the spirit moved before the affections can be judiciously wronght on And therefore saies S. Iohn Christ troubled himself He groaned in spirit and he troubled himself Joh. 11. 33. He was exceedingly affected with sorrow for Lazarus his death and his kinsfolks sorrows and distrusts they were in and he troubled himself we translate it he was troubled but in the original it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he troubled himself his own judgement and his spirit and his heart stirred up his affections to be troubled His affections were wrought on judiciously A carnal mans affections though they be much wrought on yet they are not wrought on judiciously Now he is in the minde to be strict and to be godly now he weeps and takes on can ye wonder his conscience now jerks him and is quick but when a few tears and a few labours and endeavours that way have contented his conscience as his conscience is apt to be satisfied the man is of another judgement then quickly He is of the judgement then tush what need I be so strict and precise Thus he is affected not upon sound judgement Affected he is and strongly affected too for the while but he is not affected judiciously Thirdly A carnal mans affections are not wrought upon regularly His affections may be are wrought upon by Gods justice and judgements because God is a consuming fire against sin because God is severe against the works of iniquity because he hath made heaven-gate to be straight These are the grounds of his work His affections are wrought upon this way therefore he weeps and therefore he praies and therefore he reforms and therefore he is affected But this is not regular affection he is affected with fear but it is not the fear of Gods goodnesse not Gods mercy and goodnesse were there no other attribute in God he might look long enough before he would fear his mercy that 's a ground of presumption to him but he fears Gods judgements and his justice he doth not tremble and quake to consider that God is a merciful God and a good God whom he hath sinned against The true Israel of God They fear the Lord and his goodnesse Hos 3. 5. their affections are regular they are affected with fear of Gods goodnesse But a carnall man is not affected with the fear of Gods goodnesse He is affected with the fear of Gods justice his affections are wrought on irregularly Fourthly A carnal mans affections are not wrought upon universally Some affections are wrought on and others are not No he hath a contradiction of affections He hath some good affections to God and to grace and he hath some affections that are contradictory to these Some sinnes he grieves under some he is glad under some commandments he delights to be doing and some he delights to be breaking I do not mean part flesh and part spirit for so the best godly souls under Heaven have a contradiction of affections they have some affections of the spirit and some affections of the flesh contradicting and opposing one another I do not mean this But a carnal man hath such a contradiction of affections as that his carnal affections give the other the lye He is affected with sorrow for his sinnes but he is not troubled for his usury He is affected with desires to leave his sins but not to leave his sinful dependances As Esau he was affected with weeping for his missing of grace and the blessing but not for his pleasures and sensual delight Is not this a contradiction of affections He found no place of repentance though he sought it carefully with tears Heb. 12. 17. He was affected with weeping after repentance but he could finde no place to bestow it in There was not elbow-room enough for repentance in his heart He made some room in some part of his heart for repentance but not in all He found place for it in some of his affections but not in all He is affected but he is not affected universally He hath a contradiction of affections in his soul so that a carnal mans affections though they be wrought on they are not wrought upon universally It is true a carnal mans affections may be exceedingly wrought on then I pray examine your selves Two persons I would have to examine themselves First Them that think their affections are set upon God For as for them that are absolutely carnal whose affections are buried in the things of the World and have no affection at all unto grace or unto holinesse speak not to them their own consciences condemn them to be rotten and are as good as a thousand examiners I doe not speak to them If they will not hear their own conscienceâ—s much lesse will they hear me I speak
vainesse of these affections are the arguments that a man is a Christian man or an ungodly man I beseech you consider what a woful distressed condition ye are in if your affections be vain and earthly ye carry a brand in your hearts that ye are not of God that ye are yet the slaves of Satan and the servants of unrighteousness and your end is no better then eternal death and destruction Affectus virum indicat Your affections shew you what men and women ye be c. The IV. Sermon Colos 3. 2. Set your affections on things that are above c. HItherto it sufficeth to have spoken of the coherence of the words wherein ye â—ave heard First What these affections be Secondly That a wicked man cannot set his affectious on God Thirdly How far forth a wicked man may have good affections and how they differ from the godlies Fourthly How they may examine themselves and finde that their affections are not set right Fifthly Eight several arguments to convince them what a woful condition they are in till their affections are set upon God Now for the words they contain a special duty that a Christian is bound to namely to set his affections upon God The Apostle presses it strongly First Because it is an infallible mark of our being or not being in Christ If ye be risen with Christ c. set your affections on things above As if he should say Ye say ye are risen with Christ come then and demonstrate it now that ye are risen with Christ If ye be risen with Christ this will infallibly follow Ye will set your affections above it cannot be otherwise If your affections be not set above doubtlesse you are not risen with Christ Those that are Christs saies St Paul have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts Galat. 5. 24. He takes it for granted that if they be Christs they have crucified the flesh and the affections to the World-ward and set them upon God Secondly He presseth it as a matter of reasonable equity the competition stands but between two Either things in heaven or things on earth One of them ye must set your affections upon ye cannot set your affections upon both if ye set your affections any where ye must needs set them upon one of these two Mark the competition Set your affections on things that are above not on the things on the Earth now there is a necessity of reason that election should be made of the best that we should set our affections on the better of the twain to wit the things that are in Heaven which are infinitely better then the things here on Earth Set your affections on things that are above and not on the things on Earth So that hence ye may see the necessity of this duty We must set our affections above or which is all one upon God The strength of this necessity will the better appear if we consider these four things First That God is the principal object of our affections as the eye is made to be set upon colours and the ear is made to be set upon sounds and the smell is made to be set upon odours so the affections are made to be principally set upon God The affections are so naturally due unto God that if it be not God the souls affections are set on it makes it a God or an Idol And therefore the Apostle bids us mortifie our inordinate affections evil concupiscence and coveteousness which is Idolatry Col. 3. 5. when our affections are set upon gains and upon profits and the things of this life the Apostle cals this coveteousnesse and this coveteousnesse he saies it is Idolatry because the soul makes Gold a god and silver a god and profit a god by setting its affections thereupon As the eye doth either see colours or else it sees a thing under the likenesse of a colour colour is the principal object of the sight and therefore if it be not a colour which it sees as the eye may see light as the light of the fire the light of the Sun but it sees it under the likenesse of rednesse or whitenesse or some other colour It appears by a colour or else it cannot see it So beloved it is either God our affections are on or we idolize it as a God Indeed we may affect other things as mediums and in reference to God but look where we set our affections that is our God Only fear the Lord and serve him with all your heart 1 Sam. 12. 24. We must set our affection of fear only upon God The affections are the souls attendants Doth not a servant wait only upon his own Master whom he gives his attendance unto him he maketh his Master and whom should the soul wait on but only upon God the affections are the souls attendances upon whomsoever she bestows them she waits upon it as true God My soul saies David my soul wait thou only upon God Psa 62. 5. Give thine attendance to none but to him Thine affections of love and of joy and of hope and desire these must wait upon God for to worship him Thine affections of fear and of care these must wait upon God to provide what ever may please him Thine affections of hatred and of grief and sorrow and the like these must wait as a guard to keep off what ever may offend him thine affections are principally for God this is the first ground the affections were made for God Secondly As the affections were principally made for this purpose to be set upon God so nothing but God hath that which the affections look for It is God which the affections look for and where can the affections finde it but only in God there is none good but one that is God Mat. 19. 17. The young man would have thought he sought for good in a right place when he sought for it in Christ But as Chrysostome observes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when he lookt upon Christ as a meer man Christ tels him he was mistaken in calling him good there is none good but one that is God Christ himself as near as he was unto good as he came nearer to it then any creature in heaven or in earth yet if he had been a creature and men had set their affections on him as their good being a creature they had set their affections amisse why callest thou me good saies he so much more doth every creature answer Thou thinkest riches honors and pleasures are good Why call ye me good may they all say there 's none good but one that is God Will a man seek for the Sun in a pale of water Indeed if the Sunne shine on the water there may you see it But if the Sun do not look on it you may look over all the waters in the world and never finde the Sunne in them all So will you set your affections on
and must we set them on God this may teach us one lesson by the way we that are Gods Ministers must take notice from hence how to qualifie our preaching namely to stir up the affections of mens hearts Every man sayes Rodolphus Agricola that hath any learning at all is able to teach but concutere affectibus audientem to shake mens affections and turn mens hearts he is an extraordinary man that can doe this after this manner was the preaching of our Saviour he did so move the affections of his hearers that the Text sayes they were astonished at his doctrine Mat. 7. 28. Why so the Exangelist makes answer in the next verse for he taught them as one having authority and not as the Scribes that is non ita frigidus ut Pharisaei he was not such a frigid and cold Teacher as the Pharisees and Scribes were the people sate like immoveable stocks in their seats when the Scribes were a teaching they were not moved a jot but our Saviour was a powerful Teacher he taught them as one having authority and not as the Scribes his Sermons were moving and forceable Iohn the Baptist wrought strongly on the affections of his Auditors they could not possibly hold but cryed outrâ—ght as they heard him The people askt him What shall we do the Publicans cryed out Master what shall we do the Souldiers also whose affections are as hard to be moved as any yet they cried out too and what shall we do Luk. 3. 14. This use is plainly grounded on my Text. Gods Ministers ye know are Gods Instruments to bring men to faith and repentance and reconcile them to God and therefore if this be your duty to set your affections on God we must labour to work on your affections to provoke you to doe it The reasons of it are these First Because the Word is full of affections full of affections of love to wooe a man to God full of affections of pity to yern upon men in their misery full of affections of terrour to terrifie the wicked and therefore that Minister that preaches not affectionately preaches but one half of the Word he preaches but the dead corps of the Truth as I may call it he does not preach the life and the soul of the truth The affections of a speech are the soul of a speech both make up the whole of the Word Is not my Word like unto fire and like a hammer that breaketh the rocks in peeces Ier. 23. 29. If the Word be a fire he that delivers it coldly delivers the Word otherwise then it is Would you not say that a man were ridiculous who when his neighbours house is on fire should go and coldly advise the Parish in this manner O my dear neighbours you should do well to look to your houses lest fire fall upon them as now of late I understood it hath done I pray let me perswade you to provide water otherwise all your goods and mine too will be consumed to ashes it is true that this man sayes but would not men deem him a fool the truth is the truth of affection and he leaves out the affection of the truth Nature hath taught us another course in such a case He would run crying into the street fire fire help help for the Lords sake water water in all haste alas alas we are undone quickly speedily run for ladders pull down this rafter here cut down that beam there untile the house what mean you stir hands arms legs hie thee for water run thee for iron crooks crows hooks buckets haste haste we are all undone Here now is the affection of the truth the like must a Minister do who knowing his people wallow in sin in the state of hell and damnation as many as go on in their courses he ought not with filed phrases and mellow-mouthed words nor with cold exhortations admonish his hearers but he must put in the affection of the Word in his Sermons he must cry fire fire the fire of hell is among you the fire is kindled sin is entred into the soul O the water of tears tears repentance repentance help your selves for Gods sake the devil stands ready to devour you death watches unawares to strike you hell-mouth gapeth to swallow you look about you stirre your selves and consider or ye perish in a moment Leave off your ryots down with your pleasures away with your vanities put on Christ quickly work out your salvation with fear and trembling See ye not men die daily before you on a sudden falling to hell haste haste flatter not your souls time is uncertain the danger is too certain the punishment eternal damnation is intolerable Thus must a Minister preach this truth It is a truth full of affection the affection must be delivered as well as the body of the truth All the imaginations of the thoughts of mans heart are only evil c. Gen 6. 5. As this is a truth so there is a great deal of affection in this truth the affection of loathing Do we think when the Lord said it he said it coldly and nakedly all the imaginations c. No he said it with a great deal of affection of loathing c. O Jerusalem Jerusalem c. O that thou hadst known c. As this is a truth so there is a great deal of affection in this truth affection of pity There is a great deal of affection in every threatning a great deal of affection in every command a great deal of affection in every promise in every truth Christ does not bid us preach the letters and syllables and propositions of his Word but his Word Now my Word is like fire sayes God fire is the stirringest element of all elements and therefore if there be any feeling at all in you the Word is able to stir you even as if ye had a fire in your bowels Beloved either we that are Gods Ministers are unskilful to handle the Word or else ye are senselesse and stupid if ye do not sit upon hot coals for to hear it it will make the drunkards heart ake to hear what this Word sayes to him it will make the worldlings heart ake and the secure Christians heart ake The Word is fire Did not our hearts burn within us while he opened to us the Scriptures Luk. 24. 32. The Word did so inflame their affections that their hearts burned to hear it Does not the godly heart burn to hear the sweetnesse of Gods promises and burn when the Scriptures are opened to direct thee And so on the other side does not the Usurers heart burn when the Scriptures are opened that rip up his sins Does not the carnal professors heart burn now and then as he sits when the Scriptures are opened to shew him his rottennesse there be such scorching texts in the Word texts of death texts of judgement texts of hell and damnation they may well make a wicked heart