Being as the Logicians and Metaphysicians say But only a Dissolution of a Thing and a Privation of a Being And that is only as to the Body which is as the breaking of a Shell towards the hatching or bringing forth of a Chicking or as a Woman when she is in Travel hath Pain and Anguish till the bringing forth of her Child But after that is born she remembers no more the Pain or Anguish for joy that a Child is born into the World Even so through the Pain and Languishing of Death the Soul is born and comes forth into the invisible World and she remembers no more the Pangs and Throws and Anguish she felt by the Body dropping from her as she came through the Gate of Death and now she is in an Happy and Blessed State But this is only the favour God bears unto his own People and the Heritage of the Servants of the Lord No Weapon that is formed against them shall prosper Isa 54. 17. For though the Devil thought to make an end of them and destroy them utterly by Sin and Death yet they are escaped whole and safe through them both It is only to such who have this Blessing and Mark of Favour from God as to see the Lord's Christ before they see Death It is these that dâ—part in Peace The People of that Generation did see Christ in the days of his Flesh We of this present Generation may see Christ in his Grace and Revelation which is full of Mercy Goodness and Truth Simeon took up the Child Jesus in his Arms and Blessed God Even so we may go yet nearer and farther and take up Christ and receive him into our Hearts This is seeing the Lord 's Christ in our days when we see him within us with the Eyes of Faith or with the Eyes of our Understanding being enlightened When what we have heard we have seen with our eyes we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the Word of Life for the Life was manifest and we have seen it and bear witness and shew uâ—to you Eternal Life which was manifest unto us or rather within us And so Paul saith by the Spirit unto those to whom he writes Little Children of whom I travail in birth until Christ be formed in ye The same is the end of all our Preaching to beget Christ formed in you which is a work of time and by degrees And if this be done ye will never see Death Eternal Though ye will for all see the first Death for Moses is dead and the Prophets are dead yet ye will never be hurt by the second Death SERMON V Isaiah 38. 1. Set thine House in Order for thoâ— shalt Die and not live TO see the Lord 's Christ before we see Death is to be a Partaker of the Divine Nature to have the Christian or Christ-like Nature formed and fashioned within us And that not in part or in some things only bâ—â— in the whole and throughout And the very God 〈◊〉 Peace Sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lorâ— Jesus Christ This word wholly and whole being repeated twice here in the same verse doth shew that thâ— Holy Ghost doâ—h lay exceeding much stress and necessitâ— thereon As the Soul doth actâ—ate the whole Body eveâ— so Christ should actuate the Soul throughout and wholly But here is the fault and failure of the generalitâ— of People of those who call themselves Christian whether they be of the straiter Sect of the Christiaâ— Religion whatever it be or whatever they are called for they would pretend unto others and seem to themselves to be more Holy Real and Sincere in their Christian Profession and the Service of God than others I profess truly I do not love to name the distinguishing Names for I would that the time were once come as it is drawing on in these latter days When the Lord shall be one and his Name one and then all those Nick-names of the several Sorts and Sects of Christianity will be laid aside and be used no more in our Tongue But it hath been my Observation a long time and I seldom knew it fail that when I have came near and beheld the Lives and Manner of Conversation of the Dissenters who seem to be more Religious than ordinary who talk so much of Christ I find that they are for taking up Christ in some yea perhaps in most but not in all things And whereas he that keeps Christ's Sayings shall never see Death John 8. 51. Yet they do not keep and obey that last Commandment which Christ Jesus is Recorded to have given as consequently comprehensive and of greatest concernment of all the rest Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever he hath commanded us Matth. 28. 20. But contrariwise several of them do break some or more of these least Commandments and teach Men so Matth. 5. 19. Do not some break or rather neglect those his lesser Commandments concerning Baptism and the Lord's Supper which he commanded to do in Remembrance of him These are lesser Commandments which are only the possitive outward Duties or Ordinances of Religion in comparison to the greater things of the Law which concern intrinsick Good or Evil Right or Wrong Again doth another sort observe strictly the weightier matters of the Law Judgment Justice and Mercy For it hath been observed of those who are called Rigid Strict Presbyterians â—hat they have been given unto Oppression Injurious Dealing all for their own ends an Heart they have exercised with covetous practices cursed Children 2. Pet. 2. 14. And they have been noted to be Stubborn Perverse Blood-thirsty and Cruel Which is as contrary to Mercy one of the weightier matters of the Law as Darkness is to Light And so that together with their Pervereness is as diametrically opposite to Long-Suffering the Gentleness and Mâ—ekness of Christ as any thing in the World can be Now if you charge any of them closely and talk with them of these things they have a parcel of Sayings and Excuses as indeed all Sin and Transgression hath its excuse There being nothing so bad in the World but somewhat may be said for it Distinctions and Traditions of their own whereby they would make the Commandments of God of none effect So it is evident they break one of his least Commandments and teach Men so Which Disobedience and Prevarication of theirs shews that Christ the Wisdom of the Father who knew was in Man had not supposed against a vain and unlikely thing such as would never happen for these do contrary and different unto it every day But what is the consequence or harm of breaking of one of the least of those his Commandments and teaching Men so He shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven which there signifies the Ministration or Profession of the Gospel This Gospel being to prepare us for and get us
Bed God shall surely Visit you it might at first seem an hard matter to make it out from thence Which notwithstanding will easily and clearly appear if we attend unto and consider throughly that Reasoning and Inference which lies as it were hidden within those very words For though indeed and in truth these words according to the intent and meaning of Joseph when he then spake them were a prophecy and foretelling that God would bring the Children of Israel from out of the Land of Egypt the House of Bondage unto that good Land the Land of Canaan which he had promised and Sworn unto Abram that begat them that he would do But as the Apostle saith by the Spirit concerning what befel the Sons of Jacob and Joseph All those things happened to them in a Figure So what God did and the several things Recorded of them they are a Shew and Representation to us they are a Type and Signification that as the Lord God the Creator and Preserver yea and the Restorer of Mankind did lead forth the Children of Israel from out of Egypt through the Wilderness into the Land of Promise So he did before that time and hath ever since and doth continue to do so at this Day to lead all the Generations yea and single Persons of Men and Women of every Nation Countrey and Language from and throughout this Earth unto the Land of Promise the Heavenly Canaan either to the New Heavâ—n and New Earth where dwelleth Righteousness or else to the Land of Darkness of Dragons and Scorpions where the Shadow of Death and no Light is the Inhabitation of Sin and Misery Where every Son and Daughter of Men and all the descendants from Adam and Eve shall be after that we shall Die and are removed from hence But now I come to that inward Reasoning and Inference which lies couched and included within those words of Joseph and Reader do thou observe it When we Die it is evidently seen that the Soul and Breath vanisheth and goes away and seems to be nothing at all And so the Body or House of Clâ—y putrifies and turns into common Earth and undistinguishable Dust and consequently as good as nothing or as nothing as to a Reasonable and Living Creature Now what is absolutely nothing cannot be properly the Object of God's care and concern and what is not simply nothing or as it were nothing he doth not neither so much mind Because that as God is a Being or rather the Foundation Root Centre and Comprehensive of all Beings he containing all things that are in himself As the Divinely Inspired Psalmist saith His tender Mercy is over all his Works So of necessity it must be his work or being for to engage God's Conservation care and concern about it As we learn from Heb. 12. 26. Every least Word or Particle of Scripture is observable for from out of it may be gathered some Truth and Signification So that when we Read Therefore Sprang there even of one and him as good as Dead Heb. 11 12. From hence we may Reason and infer that when any one is Dead he is then as we commonly say as good as nothing And inasmuch as God is not the God of the Dead but of the Living therefore when Joseph spake thus by the Spirit God shall surely Visit you both himself included when he was just giving up the Ghost as also his Brethren who were to Die a little afterwards hereby must be meant and understood as the last End and Event of things will most fully prove and manifest it that God would both speak unto and also do somewhat for his Creatures after that they are Dead and gone and that is no other but to raise up to Life again what before was Dead and to give it a Being what before had no being or at least as good as no Being Our selves whilst here in life do not usually go into the Grave or into a Charnel House to Visit Dry Boneâ— for when our friends and acquaintance are once Dead if we are perhaps invited and go to their Funeral and accompany their Corps to the Ground there is an end of all Visits as to them And also unless we are Dumb or Mute or Ideots we nâ—ver make a visit to any one but we talk somewhat or another to him And also when we Read of a Duty implied of Visiting and Ministring unto those that are Sick or in Prison Mat. 25. 43 44. We may from thence learn that the end of all Visits unto People seeing that much time is Squandred away herein amongst Rich People to impertinent talk and impertinent purposâ—s should be to be helpful one to another For they in Sickness or in Prison cannot so well help themselves or to edifie one another Either to ask or Minister help shoulâ— be the End of all Visits Though here again the Humour and manner of this Corrupt World is to say unto such as are in Want or Distress Depart in peace be you warm and filled But notwithstanding they give them not those things which are needful to the Body what doth it profit James 2. 16. What do all their good and pitiful words signify which cost them nothing People are very free of them and of their fruitless Wishes when they Visit People in Imprisonment or in Distress Or they spend their Time in some vain worldly Talk without dropping one Word of Godly and Divine Conversation But as God is infinitely greater and better than Man so his Visits do as much differ from and proportionably excel theirs in Help and Benefit For whereas Man says and doth not which is sometimes for want of Power and more commonly through Dissimulation or for want of Will God both says and doth Our Good and Gracious God doth most effectually answer the true end of all Visits For he never makes a Visit where it is understood in a way of Love and Friendship for the Scripture also makes mention of God's Visiting in a way of Anger and Punishment as Jer. 5. 9. Shall I not visit for these things saith the Lord Shall not my Soul be avenged on such a Nation as this But either he doth some good thing or some helpful thing to those he visits With God to say and to do is one and the same thing For he spake and it was done he commanded and it stood fast For hath he said and shall it not come to pass Yes as surely as he ever sâ—id though most commonly the one may be according to his own Divine Method some Thousands of Years before the other From all which hath been aforesaid on this Argument put together it may be evidently concluded That whereas God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who ordered and decreed him to be put to death in the Flâ—â— but quickned by the Spirit by which also he went and preached to the Spirits in Prison 1 Pet. 3. 18 19. shall surely visit all the Children of Men who
which succeeds after that An Holy Body is an Orderly Body In the second place this proves and confirms that as we do carry along with us in these our Bodies the Seeds of Mortality and Corruption So if we have already or can get Holiness ingrafâ—ed in them This thing of Holiness is a Seed of Immortality and Eternal Life which the Man or Woman hath abiding in them even at the very same time when he is in this life which is as a Vapour and continueth not To mention again the Apostle's Dehortation That ye yield not your Members Servants to Vncleanness and to Iniquity unto Iniquity and as we naturally receive in Food and put on Raiment to avoid Hunger and Cold and as we would not willingly throw our selves headlâ—ng from an high Tower or Precipice nor yet dash out our Brains against a Stoneâ— Wall nor run our tender Flesh upon sharp Iron Spikes for in all these and alike Instances this would be the ready way to break these our Earthen Vessels And no Man that loves himself or understands how precious they are and what a precious Jewel is contained in them would willingly have them broken or dissolved before their time So by the very same consequence we should abstain from all appearance of Evil but more especially and particularly we should abstain from those Sins and Evils which sooner bring on Diseases and Death than others Agreeable to thâ—s Christ Jesus the Wisdom of the Father and the Captain of our Salvation hath given this word of Command And take â—eed to your selves the manner of expressing it is observable take heed lest at any time your Hearts be overcharged with Surfeiâ—ing and Drunkenness and Cares of this life and so that day come upon you at unawares Now these three especially Surfeiting and Drunkenness and Cares of this Life besides that the two first do overwhelm and drown a Man and the latter waste him out sooner do expose to Sickness and sundry kinds of Diseases and outward Accidents so that the day of Death comes upon such who give themselves unto these sins at unawares or sooner than it would otherwise to which succeeds the day of Judgment and of Account So Adultery Whoredom and following the strange Woman renders People weakly and short liv'd and brings rottenness into their Bones that their Body and their Flesh are consumed as some of us have seen sad Spectacles Examples and Monuments thereof So Anger Wrath Malice Hatred Variance Envyings set People together by the Ears to Wound or Murder one another when they go forth by Armies or single Persons Covetousness and Idleness doth tempt them to Steal and Rob upon the High-way which at length brings them to the Gallows So indeed almost every Sin one way or another is a Destroyer for it hastens sooner into the Pit of Destruction And it is one of those Paths of the Destroyer mentioned in Psal 17. 4. even of Satan the invisible Enemy of Mankind who hath his Name in the Hebrew Tongue Abaddon and in the Greek Apollyon Both which in our English Tongue signifies a Destroyer Which he makes use of to lead the Sons and Daughters of Men into the Chambers of Death the very Pit and Brink of Hell till at last they drop into it This place of Psalm 17. 4. is so excellent and observable and there is so much necessary and useful Truth contained in it that it is worthy to be quoted out at length for the Reader to meditate upon the significancy and the Word of Instruction which arises from thence Concerning the Works of men by the Word of thy Lips have I kept me from the Paths of the Destroyer As much as if David should say let other Men do as they will if they go on to destroy themselves as we see the Works of Men are and by their manner of acting abroad in the World they do as for my part I will make God's Word my Guide and my Rule I will be sure to keep to that and not vary from it and then I shall keep my self from the Paâ—hs of the Destroyer I shall not be in those Paths which the Blood-thirsty and deceitful Men are in who do not live out half their Days and which those Sinners and Workers of Iniquity are in who do not live out half their days for if it had not been for that they might have attained unto the Days of their Fathers But this Rule doth not hold always for sometimes the Wicked grow old and are mighty in Power as Job saith And then chiefly my Comfort is as long as I hold my self to the Word of Gods Lips not to turn aside from it to the Right Hand or to the Left thereby I keep my self from the Paths that lead to Hell the Place of Destruction which is on the other side of the Grave And so to preserve our Bodies from falling into that Place of Destruction is to keep and set them in order for to that end we should have them ordered according to the Word of Gods Lips And this is according to the afore-quoted Place Rom. 6. 22. to have them made free from Sin Let not Sin therefore reign in your mortal Body ver 12. I beseech you Brethren by the Merciâ—s of God that ye present your Bodies a living Sacrifice Holy mark that Epithet Holy acceptable unto the Lord which is your reasonable Service Know ye that ye are the Temple of God and thaâ— the Spiâ—it of God dwells in you If any Man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy for the Temple of God is Holy here we see again how the Eterâ—â—â—â—pirit in a wonderful manner is all along Conâ—â—â—â—nt to it self in promoting this thing of Holiness in us 〈◊〉 Temple ye are And so it is elsewhere writtenâ— Be ye clean that bear the Vessels of the Lord Isa 52. 11. And we carrying these â—arthen Vessels of the Lord that is to say our Bodies continually along with us Having therefore these Commands and Instructions Directions and Promises Dearly Beloved Let us cleanse our selves here must be some Act of our own from all filthiness of Flâ—sh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God And then if this earthly House be thus set in Order as to be free from Sin and to be Holy to be swept and garnished within and kept so And if we touch not the unclean thing but be separaâ—e from all Evil and Defilement then will be fulfilled and brought to pass what God hath said I will dwell in them and I will be their God and they shall be my People Let us hear the summ and substance the Conclusion of this particular Head of Discourse set your Bodies in order That hath been shewed let your Bodies be oâ—dered according to the Word of God's Lips which requires that they be made free from Sin and that they be kept and preserved continually in Sanctification and Holiness The Reason is evident Why Holiness in Particular must be had
Salvation which also knows what is the Will and Expectation and Decree of God who is very Pure and Holy hath chalked out Rules of the highest Perfections and Attainments though withal it doth foresee that Men and Women through Ignorance Errour Failings Infirmities and Temptations will not arrive up unto but come short of them However there is no Salvation nor Assurance nor yet well grounded Hope to be had for Men and Women without a sincere and diligent endeavour without an actual pressing forward towards the mark of the high Calling which is in Christ Jesus even unless they follow and strive after the very highest Perfâ—ctions and Attainments of Christianity even until they do indeed lay aside every weight and the Sin that doth so easily beset them and run with Patience the Race that is set before them resisting unto Blood striving against Sin Which if they have not done as yet God expects it from them and woe be unto them if they do it not As aforesaid for this cause God doth as yet leave us breathing on this Earth oâ—ly for a very little while longer that we should set in Order what things are wanâ—ing in our Souls That is we should fill and make up and supply what is yet wanting according to what hath been afore spoken of If we have been and are a-doing this when the Time draws nigh that we must die and be taken off from this Earth God will translate us up into Heaven because we have this Testimony that whilst we were here by this doing we pleased God Which again is done by Faith SERMON IV. Isaiah 38. 1. Set thine House in Order for thou shalt Die and not live SO much of the Duty enjoined Set thine House in Order Now come we to the Reason annexed For Thou shalt die and not live I have composed a Sermon concerning Death and Mortality on Hebrews 2. 15. which also I have caused to be Printed and thus it now remains written for the Generations to come Psal 102. 18. This is an easie Subject to Discourse on because here so many things lie open common â—â—d obvious to the Knowledge of all People whatsoever Yet here again on the other hand it is so much the more hard to Preach thereon inasmuch as Preaching the Word should be in a somewhat higher strain above the level of the usual Talk and Thoughts of common People for it should make known such things which are not commonly known already For it is according to the Mind and Will of God that Knowledge should be increased Dan. 12. 4. So that is not barely to gratifie an itching Ear or the Athenian-like temper which is in Mankind in being desirous to hear or tell of some new thing for besides to answer the expectation of our Hearers it is our Duty And new things do I declare Isa 42. 9. at least such as do newly spring up in our mind although they be old Truths However we are also allowed of God having Authority for the same from his Word and also his Apostles and Ministers for our example hereof both to Preach the very same things which are commonly known and Preached already as also to write and speak the same things again which we have already written and spoken in order to stir up your pure Minds by way of Remembrance and also to make safe and full Proof of our Ministry And so whilst in the Course and Order of my Ministry I do partly Preach such things which I have Preached already and also some other farther Truths from week to week according as God bringeth the same to my Knowledge herein I do exactly answer and comply with that saying of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Every Scribe instructed into the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a House-holder which bringeth forth out of Treasury things new and old My intention and design at present is only to make known what new and further Thoughts and Truths do arise in my Mind as I Treat upon these words Thou shalt die and not live Of which as we speak it may be convenient and profitable to use this method 1st To handle the words simply and abstractedly Thou shalt die and not live 2dly To shew what mighty Force Reasoning and Exhorâ—ation is in this Consideration Thou shalt die and not live to the iâ—â—â—nt tâ—at we may set our House that is all our Worldly Concerns Body and Soul in Order because that we shall die and not live These words were not spoken and intended to Hezekiah only but they are also spoken and do belong unto and are for Admonition unto every Man and Woman of every Countrey Nation and Language and of every Generation and Time even from Adam until the last Resurrection of the Dead when they shall not Marry nor be given in Marriage and Men and Women shall be Born and Created no more It is hence demonstratively evident that it doth belong to all because the reason thereof doth sensibly and evidently belong to all Thou shalt die and not live For if any Man or Woman is exempted or priviledged from Death and from being liable unto it then indeed these words do concern Hezekiah who afterwards died but not him or her But it being most certain for nothing is so sure as Death that all must die therefore of necessity these words of Isa 38. 11. are a Command and Instruction they are for the Learning and Admonition of every one of us upon whom the ends of the World are come And as Jesus Christ spake to his Disciples and Followers What I say unto ye I say unto all watch From whence it doth appear that that word of his did appertain to the whole Multitude that followed him as unto the Twelve from hence it will appear also that what the Lord the Creator and Preserver of all Mankind said unto Hezekiah it is as much and the very same for we are to take and receive it all one as if the Lord God should speak to every Son and Daughter of Men that were Descendants from Adam and Eve whom He bath Created and calls them all by Names Set your Houses severally in Order for ye shall die and not live It is as certain and unavoidable that we shall die as that we now live We of our selves could not possibly hinder our selves from coming forth into life and the light of the Living For when and as soon as we were ready and ripe for the bringing forth we struggled in the Womb and the God of Nature ordered and provides a way for our coming forth from thence neither is it in the Knowledge or Power of the Embryo or Infant to strangle or suffocate it self in the Womb or of it self for it is done by the Mother or some other outward accident to pass away as the untimely Fruit of a Woman neither hath it Strength or Understanding immediately after it is brought forth to kill or destroy it self And as it grows up towards Manhood
heard a a Sermon in their Life as there is hardly any one in this Nation who hath not heard a Sermon unless some ignorant Papists who are next door to Atheists Whither they do Hope to go to Heaven Every one will say that they do But the Scripture here saith Every Man presseth into it To explain the very sence and meaning of that Word it will be necessary to use this instance and similitude suppose that we did see or word was brought unto us that all such an House wherein was a great Assembly of People were on Fire what running and scampering would there be to the doors And each one would press upon another who could get out first The Parallel place in Mat. 11. 12. especially the Marginal Reading thereof confirms this very same Acceptation and Signification of the Word for there it is on this wise And from the Days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by foâ—ce In the Margent there it is gotten by force and they that thrust Mâ—n Which last is as much as to say that People are for all by Nature luggish so that they would not run and press enough of themselves in such a Case of Necessity and Danger But we Ministers and Preachers of the Word must also thrust them on For so it is the door of the Kingdom of Heaven stands and is held open by the Preaching and Ministry of the Word But in as much as the Fathers where are they and do the Prophets live for ever Both Preachers and Hearers must dye the Death So that the door is not always open to them And as to this again the rule iâ— certain that if any one doth not in this Life which is the time oâ— Probation and Trial on this account do things worthy to stand before the Son of Man or to which Heaven is promised unless He doth the Commandments of God that He may have right to the Tree of Life and may enter in through the Gates into the City unless People bring forth fruits meet for Repentance and so except People do things meet for Heaven before they die they will never go to Heaven after that they die As to that important Question What we must do to be saved or how much we must do to be saved Or to get into Heaven In these two foregoing Texts it is said The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth Violence and the violent take it by force Every Man presseth into it Strive to enter into the streight Gate Luke 13. 24. It hath been observed by the learned in that Language that the Word strive in the Original Greek doth require to put forth the utmost Strength even until we break a Vein and the Blood gusheth forth which none of the Lazy Formalists meer outward Worshippers and nominal Christians can pretend unto and so again we read That the Righteous shall scarcely be saved And indeed throughout the Scriptures and the Gospel especially there are scattered up and down so many true sayings of God concerning the exceeding difficulty danger and fear of disappointment herein that they who have enquired and searched diligently therein of the very Terms and Condiâ—ions of this Salvation do truly make this return upon their whole search and enquiry of this matter That the Kingdom of God is a Pearl of great Price which if a Man would buy and obtain he must sell all that he hath and give for it Who knows this better than our Saviour Jesus Christ who is the Author of this Salvation and understands upon what Terms it is to be had So we must sell all that we have all Sin Evil and Wickedness which is properly our own We must part with all the Guilt and Corruption that is in our Nature all that savours of Sin or of our selves and so all that savours of the World or of the Devil is to be renounced utterly and we are to dispossess our selves thereof in order to have that Pearl of great Price For less than this cannot be to make room for Christ to be formed in us Forasmuch as he will not dwell with any Evil or with a Body that is leavened or tainted with Sin Now if People will not bid up to the Price which the Lord hath put upon it they must go away without it they have neither Part nor Lot in this matter for their Heart is not right and whole in the sight of God Behold I have told you before and I do hereby warn People of as much before hand against the Time they shall see it fulfilled and found true in the valley of Derision that all People will not go to Heaven who now seek to go to Heaven For many now-a-days talk of Heaven who will never go there For there will be rejected at the last day those who have Prophesied in Christ's Name and in his Name have cast out Devils and in his Name have done many wonderful Works One may Preach throughout all his Life unto others and be a cast-a-way for all that For it is equally possible for a Preacher or Minister for a Priest or Clergy-Man to be damned as for any other Person I am to look to this and to take heed to my self least the Devil deceive me also O the exceeding subtlety of the old Serpent even whiâ—â—â— I am laying down Rules out of the Scriptures of Truth to prevent his deceiving of others See ye well to it therefore all that shall hear or read this that now the Kingdom and Word of God is a Preaching unto you that every one of ye do press in thereat and now in these days the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth Violence and the violent take it by force Looking diligently least any Man fail of the Grace of God left there be any Fornicator or Profane Person as Esau and so it is applicable in like manner if there be any Sinner in any kind who for one Morsel of Meat sold his Birthright for ye know how that afterward when he would have inherited the Blessing he was rejected for he found no place for Repentanâ—e though he sought it carefully with Tears And so when your Souls are shut under Hatches by Death then if ye would labour for Hâ—aven and strive for Heaven and ye would then do the Will of God yet ye would be rejected and not accepted Ye will find no place for Repentance no room for seeking nor yet striving to enter in at the strait Gate though ye should seek it carefully with Tears Ye may cry out and howl to all Eternity Lord Lord open to us when the door is shut for ye should have pressed and strove and run yea we Ministers of the Gospel do push and thrust ye on dull Beasts as ye are with the Prick and Goad of the Word which is committed to our Ministration to enter in thereat whilst the door was open I have read of one who was converted and brought over to a