desire is not true grace Object You will say men come to Church they pray they come to the Sacraments for grace they professe they would have grace and will you say that they doe not desire it Answ I answer with Solomon The soule of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing but the soule of the diligent shall be made fat As it is with a sluggish man that desires his ground should be tilled but yet will take no paines to plough it who desires that his busines should goe forward that hee might have the harvest yet will not be at the cost and charges needfull for it he may wish and desire a harvest but shall have nothing So the soule of a sluggish Christian of a lukewarme professor desires faith and repentance but gets neither but the soule of a diligent Christian shall have enough to justifie him grace enough eternally to save him But the soule of a carnall Christian desires faith but gets but a lazie faith a faith that will not justifie him a leane or perhaps a lazie repentance that will not save him a dead performance and profession together Rom. 11. 7. Israel saith the Apostle hath not obtained that which he sought for but the Election hath obtained it first carnall Israel sought for the promises of Christ but they got it not but the Election hath obtained it Object 2 O but our Saviour saith Seeke and yee shall finde Answ 2 I answere true if you seeke well this word is of few letters but of great force it is the very forme of all Arts for Rhetoricke is the Art of pleading well and Logicke of disputing well so is Divinity the Art of seeking well of living well it is nothing to desire grace unlesse you seeke it well the truth is a wicked man desires not true grace but something that seemes to him to bee true grace Now suppose a man were sicke and five pills would cure him he thinketh foure will doe it and therefore neglects the fifth and dyes for want of it So a man having his conscience convinced from the Word of God that unlesse hee have such and such faith such and such graces of the spirit of God such knowledge such holinesse he shall be damned Hee thinkes if I can bee but thus and thus if I can doe but thus much I shall bee saved whereupon hee will heare the Word of God he will pray he will keepe the Sabbath give over this and that sinne leave his drunkennesse his swearing and yet when all comes to all he goes to hell Why because true grace which was commanded and which he should have had hee accounted and called Puritanisme and precisnesse and rejected as a superfluous thing hee thinkes if he can attaine to such a pitch as to live justly and quietly and to be well governed and to follow his particular calling and keepe the Church and performe some good duties though he bee not zealous for God nor in the worship of God will not endure reproach for Christ and for his strict profession Such a one shall be damned though he have all the grace he lookes for A crimson shooe cannot cure the Goute so fine comelinesse of carriage in a naturall man cannot heale the infection and poyson of corrupt nature An Asse is an Asse still though he be never so well trapped so a naturall man is a naturall man still though never so well qualified Hath he love hath hee knowledge meekenesse gentlenesse and a kind of humility and liberality comes hee to the Church heares the Word receives the Sacraments yet unlesse he be mortified and converted changed and renewed by the Spirit of God it is impossible he should bee saved Tit. 2. 11. 12. The grace of God which bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all men and teacheth us that we should deny ungodlines c. as if the Apostle would give us to understand that there is a grace that bringeth not Salvation but that which bringeth Salvation teacheth us to deny all ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world if then that grace thou desirest and hast attained to teach not thee to cast away all sinfull corruptions and doe not make thee live holily it cannot bring thee to heaven This grace which saith the Apostle teacheth us to deny ungodly lusts as if he had sayd I know it hath appeared to all all the world hath it offered to them it hath appeared to them but they will not learne of it to deny ungodlinesse worldly lusts and therefore in stead of Salvation it bringeth damnation to them but it teacheth us and brings Salvation to us But now because men are apt to say every one boasting that they desire grace therefore for the third Use Vse 3 Come examine thy selfe or thy soule and we will lay it bare before the Lord that if thou hast grace thou mayst know of it if not thou mayest bee convinced of it and so perswaded in time to seeke truely for it Now if thou hast a true desire of grace than it purifieth the conscience from all dead workes If thy Conscience now tell thee that thou hast any sinne and corruption that thou art not willing to lay off it is an evident demonstration that thou hast no true desire of grace A man that hath his hands full of base luggage if a pearle should bee at his feete unlesse he empty his hands hee cannot take it up and therefore if he will not cast away that base stuffe we would say hee hath no minde to the Pearle Now thy hands and thy heart are full of corruptiō so that though grace lye even at thy feete yet thou canst not receive it up unlesse thou empty thy hands and thy heart Mark 1 1. Wherefore if there be any lust though never so deare any bosome sinne which thou wilt not part with it is an evident signe that thou hast not a true desire of grace Heb. 3. 18. Willingnesse and desire to live honestly and a good conscience are joyned together noting that so a man cannot have a desire to live piously according to Gods will but hee must have a good conscience in all things If then thy conscience tell thee that thou wilt sweare now and then thou wilt tell a lye upon occasion and bee scandalous to others now and then and wilt reserve some passage for thy lusts know that thou canst not thou dost not desire grace For true grace animates the soule to lay off all hinderances of the grace desired Mark 2 2. It is a vehement desire if true a lukewarme desire is not true desire As a man hath a desire to a peece of cloth and goes to the Drapers shop to buy it he judgeth it to bee worth twenty or forty shillings now if the Draper should hold it at three or foure pound he scornes the motion and slings away with detestation of it he desired it but his desire was stinted upon such
a condition at such a price above which hee loatheth it This is the reason why the Mininisters of Christ are so unwelcome to men and their Ministery too Because they would bring men beyond the price which they would bid for Christ and grace they would willingly have Christ have faith have heaven but they are loath to take so much paines to bee at so much cost as they must be at if they ever have it suppose thou give over thy whoring thy swearing for grace yet if not thy company keeping thy lying thou hast no true desire of grace though thou give over all thy grosse sinnes yet if thou retainest thy deadnesse thy luke-warmenesse though thou give over all thy sinnes save one though but in a corner or a nook of thy heart though I say thou come to this price yet unlesse thou wilt give all thou hast no true desire of grace For the man that truly desires grace his desires are vehement such as will part with all things for it 2 Cor. 7. 11. Yea what vehement desires the word signifies desire upon desire one desire upon the backe of another and all for grace Gen. 30. Give me children or else I dye saith Rachel unto Jacob So the heart cryeth unto the Lord for grace as for a thing without which it perisheth Augustine saith that the desire of grace is the thirst of the soule it is a burning and gnawing desire that will consume a man with desiring Here therefore the whole world is convinced of their unprofitable desires For what dead prayer what dead hearing what dead receiving as if men would teach God how to deny them or as if they would bid the Lord keepe his graces They will come and say prayers and give an eare but they have no burning nor thirsting desire Mark 3 3 Delight in the means of grace though delight be an effect of true desire yet it is a signe of grace because grace in potentia is in the Ordinance of God therefore the man that desires grace hee will delight in the Ordinances of grace hee that desires learning delights in reading and studying the meanes of it so hee that desires mortification delights in the powerfull preaching whereby hee may have all the corruptions of his heart layd open hee that desires grace delights in all the meanes of it Psal. 37. 4. Delight thy selfe in the Lord and hee shall give thee the desire of thine heart Doest not thou onely pray but doest thou delight in prayer doest not thou onely heare the Word but delightest in hearing the Word doest thou not onely come to the Sacraments but delight in the receiving Then thy desire is true desire when the heart hath this delight there is an inward drawing the heart to it Canst thou finde a forcible tugging and moving of thy heart and soule to all holy duties that thou canst not but must at them but if thou art aukward and untoward unto holy duties to the worship of God thy desires are counterfeit Mark 4 The more delayes the greater desire delayes are as Oyle cast into the fire which makes the flame the greater As a stone the further it is from its center the faster it goes to it so if thou dost truely desire grace the longer thy soule is before it can attaine it the more thou art affected after it The Comicke hath a pretty Proverb When a man is athirst it is a miserable thing to goe digge a Well to quench it for every shovelfull will but aggravate his drought So it is with men that desire grace Prov. 13. 12. Hope desired maketh the heart sicke when a mans desires are held off and still deferred that yet he cannot have it it doth even make the heart sicke with griefe a man that wants health is sicke because he cannot get it he tumbleth and tosseth and turneth from this side to that side cannot be at rest So the soule that truely desireth grace is even sicke for it it cannot have content in this nor in that it is never where it would be it is as a stone cast up from its owne center till it have gotten Christ and his graces every delay though never so small seemes tedious to a man at such a time But on the contrary thou hast beene without grace it may bee these 20. 30. 40. 50. or 60. yeares what are thy desires are they more than before No but as before so they are still as thou didst pray before so thou prayest still as thou heardst before so thou hearest still and as thou was faint in thy desires so thou art still and such are thy endeavours it is an evident argument that thou didst never truly desire grace true desire the longer the more earnest Therfore the Prophet begins his prayer Psal. 13. with a How long Lord shall I have this proud heart shall I never be humble How long Lord shall I have this unbeleeving and impenitent heart shall I never have faith to rest upon thee and repent of my sinnes cōmitted against thee How long Lord shall I have such a dead heart such earthly affections in thy worship and service shall my heart never bee quickned and my affections never drawne to thee and fastned neerer to thy service How long Lord shall my heart bee under these corruptions shall I never get victory over them how long shall I serve the devil shall I never serve my God how long ere I shall bee a factor for heaven as I have beene for earth Mark 5 If thy desires be true then thou hast gotten some grace As it is in the veines of a mans body the more they are opened the more they are filled with blood and as the bellowes the more they are opened the more they are filled with wind so it is with the heart the more it is opened with enlarged desires unto God the more it is filled by God with grace the Psalmist hath a sweet passage Psal. 37. 4. Thou hast given him his hearts desire there is no desire on mans part but there is a hath given on Gods part Psal. 145. 16. there is no living thing in the world that can desire but the Lord satisfieth the desire of it Examine therefore thy selfe hast thou desired faith and yet doest thou distrust God hast thou desired repentance and doest thou live in thy sinne never the humbler never the lowlyer for all thy desires but as thou wast yesterday so thou art to day as the last weeke so this as the last yeare so this certainely thy desires are not true For then thou shouldest finde God satisfying of them as thou desirest so thou speedest little desiring little speeding great desire great speeding Alamentable thing it is that the desire of grace so great a thing should be so little esteemed in the world men say they have good desires but they are like wicked God-fathers and Godmothers at the Font who if the Minister asketh them Doe you forsake the Devill and all his
workes the vanity and pompe of this world say Wee forsake them all Now let the Devill but tempt them to pride malice drunkennesse revenge and the like presently they yeeld to it they say they forsake them all but they doe but lye So aske them Doe you desire grace Yes that is my desire saith one and I desire it saith another but they desire not to cut off their sinnes or if they doe it is as Saul cut off the witches hee cut them off with one hand and enquired of them with the other when he was in a straight So men can be content to cut off their sinnes till a pinch come to draw them to them againe they can lay a side their covetousnesse till a baite bee offered them to revenge againe to drunkennesse againe and so to gaming whoredome and the like that these men doe not desire grace is evident They that truely desire grace desire the meanes of grace men that desire a crop of corne they will bee at the cost charges and paines for ploughing harrowing and sowing of their ground and all other requisites but notwithstanding their desires of grace they are both to be at the cost and paines to heare the Word of God and keepe it Paul and Barnabas going to Paphos Paulus Sergus hearing of it presently desireth to heare him Preach no sooner can a faithfull people come to a town but the godly Christians will be at him to preach to them No sooner did the Eunuch espye Philip but hee presently calls him into his Chariot to expound the Scriptures to him But thou mayst heare the Word every Sabbath day but it may be thou wilt sit at home or in the Ale-house or if thou hearest it is but with a slight care Christ hath commanded thee to pray for labourers how many prayers hast thou put up to God for faithfull Ministers such as may breake to every one his portion in due season I feare there are many thousands amongst us to whom these things are as Riddles men doe not desire the breath of grace I know there are many talkers but few doers talkers by the ell but doers by the inch men must first be doers and then talkers some are onely great speakers of Religion and holinesse and now you all sit in your Pewes I know not which is the best Christian among you you all heare and looke upon the Minister but the triall is anon when the Church doores are shut and you gone home to your houses by your meditations repetitions prayer and the like duties to engrave it into your hearts and that your lives may be guided by it Many hearers are like ale-houses with faire inscriptions engraven at the entry or walls of the house as love God feare God honour the King pray continually be watchfull and the like yet there is nothing but drunkennesse and cursing swearing and all hellish ungodlinesse within So it is with men that make faire motions faire shewes like Ezcchiels hearers they will heare well enough but they doe not as talking without doing is nothing so there can be no doing without talking a man that hath true grace he desires to bee speaking of it we beleeve and therefore we speak if a man have grace in his inward soule it will cast forth a savour into his lippes it will season his speech the voluptuous man talkes of his hounds and Hawkes the Drunkard of his cuppes the worldling of his plough and cart and cowes the trades man of his wares and the women of their housholdstuffe this or that matter but scarce a word of God or the worke of grace 7. Men desire not the companions of grace like to like and as the Proverb is birds of a featherwill flye together Where shall we have the drunkard but at the Ale-bench the Whore-master but at the drabs house the gamester but at the gaming house the worldling but with worldly men They cannot indure the society of the Saints for they cannot rip up an oath but some James will rebuke them saying My brethren sweare not at all they cannot tell a lye but some John will tell them of hell that they shall be cast into the Lake that burneth with fire and brimstone they cannot drinke a pot or two and be a little merry but some Paul will tell them that drunkards shall not inherit the Kingdome of heaven they cannot play the wantons but some one or other that takes Christs part will checke them and tell them that hell openeth her mouth wide to receive them I never read in any history sacred or prophane that ever any of the governours of Sodome did visite Lot but when they would have done him mischiefe And againe when they desire not the workes of grace grace bids men live in love and amity and forgive wrongs now where men conceive malice and revenge and receive 6. 10. 20. Sacraments and swallow up wrath and hatred and spend 1000. shillings in revenge these desire grace no more than the devill nay grace will teach a man to deny his lusts and sinfull pleasures and corrupt desires I know many think they desire grace O they would have it faine but they will not have it in Gods sense There was a fool sent to fetch wood from the stacke hee would not goe up to the top of it but stood pulling at the bottome and had got but a few stickes which if hee had gone to the top he might have had a great many more in lesse time but whiles he was pulling at the bottome at last the whole stacke fell upon him and killed him Just so it is with all men all the world hath a stacke of sinne lying upon their backes and consciences now they must take away the whole stacke before they can be converted True it is men pray O Lord convert me O Lord give mee thy grace but they cast not away all their sinnes they may bee a pulling at this or that but retaine others they live in their deadnes and lukewarmenes in Gods worship and in carnall performance of Gods duties at last the whole pile of their sinnes falls upon them and damnes them body and soule in hell for ever And lastly it is an evident signe that men have not true desire of grace for when grace is offered then they will not accept of it nor take it Can a man desire an hundred pound and yet when it lyeth at his feete and offered him will not take it up God offers thee grace hee calls by his ministers How long will ye love foolishnesse forsake your wayes ye foolish and ye shall live and walke in the way of understanding Prov. 8. But now men will not they cast grace from them I tell thee hereafter thou mayst desire grace when grace will not be found You shall seeke me but you shall not finde me saith Christ Now I bid you repent but you will not beleeve and receive the Gospell but the time shall come that you