like his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself Phil. 3.21 no condition desperate to Christ he can give sight to one that is born blinde he 〈◊〉 change the spots of the Leopard plague spots all things touching the fallen condition of man are possible to him 't was spoken you know by himself upon a sad fight which none of Christs Disciples could do good to to wit one rended and torn by Satan which Christ cured with ease There be many thousand impossibilia to us yea in us not a sin in a mans soul the least but is impossible to us to subdue because in our nature Can a Leopard change his spots any one of his spots He may lick at them but can he remove them 'T is as if Christ had said Can a sinner take out any stain in his soul he may lick at them by prayer and the like but he cannot remove them because as a nature to him yet I can do it as if Christ had said I can take out any spot out of any cloth out of any part soul or body He is able to save all that come to God by him Christ hath this vast power and he cannot suspend it If he refuse to do what he can for any distressed creature that comes unto him and be the most miserable in the world he will displease his Father which we know he would not do he would undergo hell first The power that Christ hath for the good of sinners is necessarily acted The Sun shines upon all the world and it cannot do otherwise Christ in the 6th of John when he had discoursed largely according to what latitude and compasse he wrought for the salvation of souls he puts it to this conclusion I can do no lesse saith he for this is the will of my Father that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on him might have everlasting life if it be the tatterdst the forlornst creature in the city that looks pitifully upon me I must look pitifully upon him if he hang about me for soul favour I must in no wayes cast him off but take him out of the jaws of death and carry him in my arms to eternall life What is the will of the Father is the will of Christ the will of Christ naturally not artificially in a way of self-deniall and contest as the will of God is said to be a Saints will so that what the Father would have Christ own Christ cannot but own for the same Spirit is in him and in the same measure and therefore you have him setting himself forth by the Prophet just as I do as one bound by that Spirit which anointed him The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and he hath anointed me to preach unto these and these and to comfort all that mourn a Christ doth not say the will of the Lord is nakedly revealed to me how far I shall shew mercy and how far not but the same Spirit that speaks to me saith he is upon me i. in the same measure that it speaks to me 't is in me and so necessitates me to obey or captivates me as my own nature and as my own affection God is captivated with love toward all captives so am I saith Christ he would have all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth Jewes and Gentiles so would I too saith Christ the same bottomlesse sea of love that fluctuates in his breast is in mine the Father and I are one and often Christ uses this expression when he speaks about love to the creature Vse Sinners if ever you would be saved consider this point well how wide the arms of Christ are how big the bosome of mercy is it hath many thousands between her breasts already and yet there is roome for you The love of Christ is not coy 't is not humerous ' thath not naturall antipathy against any but persons that sleight it Sinners sinners I beseech you consider it at what height you love your sins Do you love your sins above your bodies above your estates and names yet there may be hope Do ye love your sins above your souls this is sad yet there may be hope But do ye not love your sins above that love which stands with her arms open to you yet for all this What hope can there be in this case How can you escape the damnation of hell as Christ spake to this generation There is no art to make the soul set open the everlasting dores like telling him of the King of glory which would come in I conclude so because 't is the art the holy Ghost useth Mercy held out in the extent of it is the King in visible glory drunkards swearers adulterers set open your everlasting dores the King of glory would come into you he would forgive your sins against the light of Scripture your sins against the light of nature your beastly sins I those wherein you have been worse then beasts your sins against your own bodies as well as against your own souls Love would get her self a name upon you by cleansing and kissing of Swine by laying a Toad in her bosome by bringing a devill out of hel to heaven Can you spit in the face of this Love now in the sight of all this congregation and turn to your lusts again Mercy comes to all your dores she falls down at all your feet will you tread upon her Mercy shews you what she would have you do Christ humbles himself to the dust laies himself at all your feet if you would but do the like to him not a soul of you should perish We hold out to you now the riches of grace if it work kindly you shall know it by this the soul longs to be partaker of it this grace must be nourished if longing die ere it obtain the soul is guilty of stifling the Spirit What buds in the soul will blossome do but keep it in the Sun all that are weary and heavie laden have ease all that are opprest with the devill are healed 't is the thing we are upon If this grace work not kindly the soul hardens it self in its sin If love be so large I may go on in my sin yet a while longer and do well enough at last God rejects none not young sinners not old sinners I will make as much as I can of my sin and lie as long as I may in the lap of Delilah if I must part with it I will part with it at last when I must part with all Death is seised violently upon this soul he vomits his excrements Would a Judas speak worse then this man I will keep my covetousnesse and treachery as long as I can if I must leave it it shall be at last when I leave this world my master and my hope for ever You cannot imagine the depth of guile that is in our hearts naturally
glory strive to corrupt infinite glory let this set an edge upon every mans sword I go forth against a company of carnall worshippers which destroy God which change the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man I know not what fire this puts in your spirits I know what fire it kindles in Gods spirit namely jealousie which is a kind of unquenchable fire which burns to the third and fourth generation and which nothing quencheth but the bloud of them that kindle it shed this when called to it or else God will and yours too Read the sad condition of this generation Revel 14.9 If any man worship the beast and his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is powred out without mixture into the cup of his indignation and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the holy Lambe False representation makes false adoration and our kingdome is full of this and we have done little spiritually to give better instruction and therefore 't is no wonder that we fall corporally with them that fall 't is the manner of God to whip his with those with whom they sinne and commit fornication The beast and the image of the beast idolatry and superstition hath swayed above three parts of us for a long time and it will be no wonder to see scarce one part of four out-live our present misery if there be any place to sanctifie your selves and to save this generation it will be well if God give you hearts to take it know your own blindnesse and it will teach you how to use your out-going against others Immedicabile vulnus ense c. if means to reclaim take place before cutting off I wish that may be used every where Coloss 1.15 Who is the image of the invisible God GOd is invisible in action and in person in the one partly and in the other wholly in the one for a time and in the other till time shall be no more God is invisible in creation this world is a glorious fabrick but built without hands and without tools onely with the word of his mouth and can you see the words a man speaks God was rather audible then visible in the making of all things Consider all things as made and the glory of these is invisible Can you see thrones and dominions principalities and powers spirits which serve you or spirits which maligne you of which the aire you breath in is full as the sunne of beams The heavens and all the hosts of them do you see You have many mighty friends which you see not and many mighty enemies and all these in such a large room the breadth of which above nor below you see not look above you and look under you have you seen how your countrey-house is roofed and floored Can you see the breadth of that canopy that is over you or of that green foot-cloth that is under you Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth declare if thou knowest it all saith God to Job chap. 38.18 so I may say to the greatest astronomer Hast thou perceived the breadth of the heavens declare if thou knowest it all If we see not the roof nor the floore surely we see not the foundation of this world at all whereupon are the foundations of the world framed or who laid the corner-stone thereof The profundity and invisibility of God in creation doth he himself go on thus speaking of to Job Solomon in a like style speaks to this purpose He hath set the world in its perfection so that no man can find out the work which God makes from the beginning to the end Eccles 3. God in providence is invisible Can you see those pillars upon which the world stands upon which England now stands Can you behold those wheels that turn round the world and behold how in their motion still they fulfill eternall counsells Can you apprehend as you are apprehended Can you comprehend as you are comprehended Can you master divine actions with your eye as it masters you with its hand Can you see him that speaks to the little world and to the great world and to the proud seas and waves which rage in both Come thus far and no farther He that speaks to the clouds Water this citie and not that and to the sword Go and destroy in this kingdome and not in that Can you see that hand which leads you that hand which feeds you that hand which protects you those everlasting arms which are underneath you That bosome in which lambs are carried and those leggs on which the weak run and are not weary Can you tell me how many servants wait upon you and can you see of what stature they are and what livery they wear Is their cognizance your cognizance When I propose such queries as these to my sad shallow soul I am fain to break out and break off with Job He doth great things past finding out and wonders without number Lo he goeth by me and I see him not and he passeth on also but I perceive him not Job 9.10 A man a Christian cannot see God many times and yet God fast by A man thinks God is going backward with such a businesse when he is going on with it He passeth on and yet I cannot perceive him Job spake this as if this had been his case alone but alas 't is not 't is every mans case God goes out of sight to him the wisest man the most seeing man is in the dark frequently in this point of providence Eccles. 8.17 You see now that God is invisible in action in that wherein he is most seeable and therefore I thinke you will easily believe he is so in person the materiality of his being the immensity of his being and the glory of being which results from both the former necessarily render him invisible to us God is not onely invisible in regard of his essence or god-head but also in regard of the fulnesse and glory thereof which is called light indeed in the Scripture but yet such as to which no mortall eye can approch The beams of the sunne above though light yet so glorious as too big for any organ we have to take in Things have density to terminate colour to congregate being and glory of being finite yea both not onely finite but both brought down to a suitable proportion to such a tender organ or else our eye languishes and closes it self as able to make no vision God is not simply invisible but invisible in reference to us Angels see him and Saints above see him they behold his face which is the most invisible God is invisible to a mortall eye as the Apostle speaks a mortall eye must have its adaequatae objecta or else 't is discouraged and closes
man naught at heart is Gods enemy Neutrality hath the seeds of enmity there is the buddings of hatred where love is but cold to Christ Men that love not hate truth They that are not with me are against me saith Christ and all that are against Christ though never so gently neutrally and indifferently yet are his enemies Judas was an enemy when no hearty lover as well as when an actuall betrayer of Christ Enmity is sown deep it lies long under ground and puts up with a very little blade at first no body takes it for such a deadly weed as 't is it may be not the party in whose heart it lies but the Lord of the vineyard who knowes all grain in its first bud calls men and things as they are this is a Serpent by kinde though it do not sting yet he will do False love is true hatred Cinders will burn out anon when blown Christ is disobeyed when stubbornly opposed Some are fighters against God and will be so these are deadly enemies Deliver me from my deadly enemies saith David Psal 17.9 There is fighting against God within and fighting against God without strong art and industry to kill conscience in a mans self and others this is a bloody enemy Christ knocks at most mens doors though he can have entrance into few Not a soul where the Gospel comes but he strives and wrestles with it to gain it to God pravity cannot bear these conflicts something is taken to destroy conception vineger is used to prevent vomiting to stay and still the wambling stomack that it may hold what it hath acts of violence rushed upon to darken that light that troubles and any medium good that may but stupifie that faculty that stings when the soul chooseth his own way this is called resisting the Holy Ghost this is a fight under deck a murthering Christ in the cradle these are Christs bloody enemies Christ layes the axe to the root of some sinners and some sinners lay the axe to the root of Christ as soon as ever any word of Christ begins to take hold of the heart as soon as ever Christ begins to stir in the conscience or affection as if the soule were on fire on hell all means are used to quench the Spirit hell is sent for to keep out heaven many bad spirits to keep out one good there are sad issues of this men kill themselves sometimes rather then Christ should live in them Opposition hath rejection folded up in it this is distinguished from that as it carries despight against the spirit of grace makes the hand bloudy if need be as well as the heart and tongue with the bloud of Gods dearest ones these are Esaus red all over And the first came out red all over like an hairy garment and I called his name Esau Gen. 25.25 The summe of all is this An enemy is one that with resolution and delight disobeys the will of God Vse What is your state This is my errand from this point to you Are you enemies or friends to God Amongst Christians this may seeme a strange question yet needfull all are not Israel who are of Israel Christ hath enemies in his own house would we knew them would they knew themselves 'T is a time of much opposition party against party this side against that if wee should all be found opposite to Christ we are undone Heate transports so doth self-ends such persons doe they know not what and are they know not what themselves one while this and another while that constant in nothing but enemies to Christ being secretly sway'd by blind and base principles Say we not well that thou art so and so and hast a Devill Hypocrisie knowes every one but her self exactly knowes another to be a Devill an arch enemy to Christ but knowes not her selfe to be so To mistake others proves sometimes afflicting but to mistake our selves is damning O how should we beg to be delivered from this In a trying time wherein many prove rotten let us doe as Christs disciples lay our hand upon our own heart is it I Tell me O Christ is it I that am an enemy to thee A man that looks into his heart and then looks up to God he will know much He that tasketh himselfe but to know one will certainly finde him out but he that tasketh himselfe to know many and to call them by their names as hypocrites or the like will certainly mistake them or himselfe or both Truth and the heart compar'd speake out one another Christ puts us all upon an exact way to know the thing in question Yee are my friends if yee doe whatsoever I command A friend loves not onely in word but in deed what you are in action for Christ speakes out what you are in denomination whether friends or enemies Yee are my friends if yee doe c. Good talke is cheape hath a great many friends if this were it But what doe yee doe for Christ Action also must have its latitude or els doing is nothing neither The will of Christ runs forth into many precepts that 's obedience which excepts against none Then are yee my friends if yee doe whatsoever I command you Truth is Homogeniall one precept sweet and all precepts are so when the heart is right the heart is naught the man an enemy to Christ that is partiall in his Law Yet this is the plague of most mens hearts Surely Christ hath more enemies a great many then we are aware of We are for dividing the living childe therefore are divisions and rumors amongst us it speakes stony hearts unnaturallnesse to Christ he answerably handles us the truths we scorne are the swords which kill us as Gods enemies as a generation of hypocrites Integrity hath a double universalitie in it all Gods precepts are obeyed alwayes a friend loves at all times it doth not divide Christ to day nor to morrow nor never will his bowels will not beare it all truth is of everlasting sweetnesse in a sound soule Christ is the bright morning Star a Star holds its glory 't is alwayes admirable a man admires it to day and admires to morrow and so as long as he liveth So is Christ in the eye of him which indeed seeth him The Land in which wee live is stony ground Love withers it doth so very frequently men that were friends fall off and become enemies Apostate are the worst enemies Christ hath yet how many doth this time make The Land is full of Apostates therefore it groanes God is avenging himselfe upon these enemies first fire goeth before him and burnes up these enemies round about Psal 97.3 The most notorious are made examplary amongst us 't is so in the proceedings of God All the adversaries of the Lord should tremble when some are executed and learne instruction by his judgements that wrath is kindled which will burne you all such of you as are not burnt here will be burnt
no matter what the instrument be so that it hath but the advantage of divine ordination to such an end All the means that God useth are effectuall to his end because he hath appointed them and not for any cause or reason naturally in themselves If there be no likely power in an instituted means yet it shall accomplish its end because instituted I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ 't is the power of God unto salvation To speak a few plain words of a despised person and think by this to convert the souls of men from their wicked wayes and to bring them to heaven and to wave a lofty strain of humane wisdome more likely to take I am not ashamed to do this this course may seem folly yet certainly it shall accomplish its work 't will be the power of God to salvation because the will of God hath instituted it That Christ should have such a frail instrument and no other to wit a body of flesh a substance capable of death to conquer death withall was of Gods appointment a body hast thou prepared for me and therefore effectuall to such an end God eyes himself in all he doth by us He doth so order action and instrument as may most advance his own glory When the instrument is great God is little we cannot see much of Christ when he takes up much of any thing here below to do his will by Mans argumentation generally is very destructive to the glory of God That hand which is most visible still that did all Saul hath slain his thousand David his ten thousand God none God therefore leaves all which we so much look upon and goes alone and doth work with poor despised ones which we cast off The Stone which the builders refused he must be head Weak and unlikely things to sense are trampled upon by us Can death bring about heaven Can base things bring about glory Thus we reject and refuse things and then God uses them and then he is seen as God The humanity of Christ was the fittest medium in the world to demonstrate the Divinity of Christ by to all the world For such an organ as ours to be made do mighty things made beholders put that question What manner of man Christ was We admire power wisdome and every attribute else when they put forth themselves by poore and unlikely things and not else If means be likely to such an end according to our reason we usually never look at God but bury the glory of all that is done in instruments Enemies to Christ should tremble at this point The kingdome of the Devill is strong men are confident and rage Round-heads shall not live a man of them God suddenly blast this pride with a little power Men despised for valour and skill God makes to drink the blood of despisers so he will do 't is his way Great men and great spirits should abase themselves if they will not weak things Worms Flies Frogs shall devoure a king The heart secretly riseth but the man is openly puld down the ruine of the stout-hearted is very notorious by two circumstances in that it is done openly and utterly that God useth weak means to overthrow strong and so as never to rise more They sank as a stone saith the Text. Doth a stone rise again Jael nails Sisera to the ground could he rise again Ah! what is become of many thousands of the Lords enemies in this Land which were mighty in battell Are they not sunk as a stone pinned to the ground gone to their center to their place whence they cannot return and this by poor despised means With weake instruments God doth through work David strikes down the Philistine and that is not all he is used to make sure work with him he runs and cuts off his head which shadowed out the utter ruine of the kingdome of the Devill by Christ a despised man God is upon a design the world will not believe not a man shall stand before him that stands against him The baiers of the Lord shall be destroyed that is all of them If any ask how this shall be because things are so unlikely I answer The Lord creates evill he can take any thing a hailstone a wounded man and form them into deadly instruments for his enemies The fan in Christs hand 't is but a weak thing a despised company yet he will throughly purge his floore he will out with all that offends When some bad humors are let out they gather and swell again there is no end of action in an evill heart till there be an utter end of the man 'T is sad to behold how enemies gather ino a head again when blasted from heaven we shall prevaile we shall prevaile The Devill befools wise men How can ye prevaile and cannot conquer the weaknesse of God Poor weak things if you cannot conquer an army of men how will you conquer a legion of Angels God hath a reserve which you are not aware of you choose out your stoutest for a forlorn but God his weakest and yet these are too hard for you and yet you feed your fancy that you shall prevaile The Devill is in this would bloody wretches were aware of it that he may have all he would not have a man sit down in an evill way till he come to his journeys end which is Hell the destruction of the body and soul Christ hath many sorts of enemies all should tremble at this point that God doth great things with small means There is a corporall war and a spirituall war in England and both bloody in both Christ will conquer how weak and poor and despised soever his instruments be which he useth When Christ drew out a party to go out against the kingdome of the Devill observe how he furnished him with munition Go saith he and take neither sword nor staffe nor money yet these carried it in the businesse they went about Externall advantages about internall works are much lookt at and much sway with sense what power what honour and wealth goes along with the wayes which are profest Christ takes neither and yet raiseth up his Kingdome in the world sends out men not a whit seconded from secular advantage no power from man but the sword of men against them no honour from men but the frownes of all against them and yet turnes the world thus opposite with two or three upside down These are they which turn the world upside down The world is a vast body and holds very hard in its way and yet this turned upside down by two or three despised ones Thus hath Christ done thus doth Christ do and thus will he Choller is a scurvie humor it burns black mens throats and tongues The Devill hath shot thousands in the mouth if not in the heart in this war between Presbyterians and Independants O how wickedly do some good men talk now and yet Christ will live and every
sit down in here and yet this is not all 't is a place much haunted which is the last particular which speaks the forlornnesse of a place you take but a fancy that this place and that is haunted with evill spirits and you will not sit downe in such a place for all the world this is reall and no fancy concerning your soules there is no place in all the world hell excepted so haunted with evill spirits as the soule of man that room within us Come out of the man thou unclean spirit saith Christ and Christ askt him his name and he said my name is Legion for we are many but how many that the devill himself could not tell or would not Mark 5.9 The invisible world is more populous then the visible you have an innumerable company of evill spirits haunting one soule the numerousnesse of diabolicall spirits infesting the soule is hinted by that similitude of our Saviour comparing them to Fowles that flock to their prey Some fell by the high way and the Fowles came and gathered it up saith the Text Rev. 16.14 There be flocks of Crowes and Rooks and Ravens and black fowle in the aire And then they are called Locusts in the Revelation a creature more populous then any History writes of them that they foresee a famine and then leave such parts and flee in such a mighty company that like a great thick cloud they darken the Sun for a great compas that whole countreys of people see them as they flee and fear lest they will light where they live and devoure all There is another title given to diabolicall spirits to note etheir populousnesse in the pursuit of the soule of man the devill is called Beel-zebub an Idol or God of flies intimating that those evill spirits that haunt our soules here are as thicke as swarmes of flies There is another Scripture that speaks to this point Math. 7.21 This kinde goes not out c. There are it seems divers kinds of evill spirits The result of all is this Christ useth a very forlorne seat in this world There is a necessity of this if he have to doe with us for there are no other seats to be found here It speaks the great condiscension of Christ and should be taken notice of by us and mentioned to his honour Meek sitting upon an Asse Consider or this expression how divine condiscension is observed and extold Had not Christ been very meek and full of humility he had never stoopt so low as to take a dwelling in us the word you translate meek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latine word parvus comes from it which signifies little meeknesse and humility is that which doth little one The great God oh how doth he little himselfe to come to live in us how doth he obscure his glory to lie in a Stable and in a Manger brutish filthy places and yet those did but typifie where his internall lodging as God is to wit in a stinking loathsome hellish place the souls of men the highest the perfectest purity to seat himself in the perfect'st impurity The Apostle when he speaks of something a this side this he cals it humbling and debasing himselfe he humbled himselfe to the death yea to the grave yea to a spirituall grave not onely to at base place for his body which was quickly over but to a base place for his soule to wit our soules which grave lasts a great while Thou wilt not leave my soule in grave yes 't is left in our soules and what is this but a grave a place of rottennesse a continent of devills an uppermost though not a neather most hell Can a hell praise God Can the grave praise Christ The Scripture seems to put an impossibility upon what I exhort to I am exhorting the grave to praise Christ that hee would come there if it be possible let the grave praise Christ let your soules which are the spirituall graves of Christ open their mouthes and make a resurrection of him and of his love that lies there Take up Hannah's song The Lord killeth and maketh alive he bringeth downe to the grave and bringeth up the Lord maketh poore and maketh rich he bringeth low and lifteth up He raiseth the poore out of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dung-hil to set them among Princes and to make them inherit thrones of glory for the pillars are the Lords and he hath set the world upon them c. Vse 'T is mighty consolatory this point where Christ lodges himselfe yea be it never so filthy or forlorne a place he will make it absolutely blessed before he hath done Doe but observe what he saith O grave I will be thy victory and the Apostle applyes this spiritually and cheares the godly the grave death and hell they are all within you and there lyes Christ and he will be the destruction of all though your soules be as the grave full of rottennesse full of filthy smels a thousand times worse than any grave in the world yet he that sweetned the corporal grave by lying in it he will sweeten this before Christ hath done with the soule he will not leave the least ill favour in it not any thing that is sinne or lookes like it not any evill spirit not any wicked spirit shall fift you haunt you he will make the place where he lyes even as pure and perfect as heaven what is that which kils good people in this world but when the grave opens and they see their misdeeds and smell how loathsome they are you see the grave open you must also think who lies there as it were buried you must as she * Martha look for the living amongst the dead and remember what Christ hath said That he will be the victorie and rest and cheare your soules with this hath Christ conquered the greater hell and will he not conquer the lesser hath he made victory over the grave in which he lay under infinite wait of sinne and wrath and will he not make victory over that grave where some sinnes lye and no wrath Certainly he will turne the grave into a Palace and furnish it royally and so hang it that it shall doe any one good to behold it The soule is Christs in-room and he is very curious about this all appurtinances to it shall be like the possessour of it very exact there shall be nothing called lignum as the Roman Dames were wont to say that is meare wood COLOS. 1.27 Hope of glory DIvine things at a distance have their influence upon the soul a word of heaven sets the soul a longing and looking after it and this is called hope Hope speaks an heire under age knowing his inheritance and expecting possession writings are throughly read propriety plainly found out evidence about the man yea evidence in him to shew Christ in you the hope of glory As corporall nourishment passeth through severall concoctions and