greater than sin here committed upon the earth therefore the sin of the fallen Angels was the greater because committed in a place where God was pleased to make speciall and extraordinary discoveries of his presence the more of God there is in any thing the greater is their sin who abuse it there is more of God in the Gospel then there is in all the works of the Creation and providence Secondly We should have a care least we be found guilty of neglecting the Gospel because that is the conduit which God hath appointed to convey the choicest blessings to the hearts of his people Those that live under the faithful and powerful dispensations of the Gospel let them know that they enjoy the greatest priviledge which they are capable of receiving in this life Oh then what shall we think of those poor soules which have continued for many years and are grown gray-headed under the preaching of the Gospel and yet are never the better for it every Sermon hath been like a shower of water falling upon a rock making no impression at all Thirdly Therefore do not neglect the Gospel because it is very quick and lively in its working it will quickly bring men into a state of Salvation or else sinke them deeper into perdition Heb. 4.12 the word of God is quick and powerful saith the Apostle and sharper than a two-edged sword and pierceth even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit Math. 3.10 Now the Ax saith he is laid unto the root of the Tree and every Tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewen down and cast into the fire The Ax is laid to the root of the Tree When was that Why when John the Baptist came preaching repentance because the kingdome of God was at hand the preaching of the Gospel was at hand though the tree was barren before yet it might stand still and not be cut down but now when the powerful ministration of the word cometh either close with the Gospel and be saved or else refuse the Gospel and perish So Mar. 16.15 16. Goe saith Christ and preach the Gospel to every creature He that beleeveth and is baptized shall be saved and he that beleeveth not shal be damned Fourthly therefore we should not neglect the Gospel because it is that by which we must be judged at the last day Heathens that never heard of Christ they shall not be punished for not beleiving in him for obligation unto duty doth necessarily presuppose the promulgation of a Law but as for those that have lived under the Gospel without controversie they shall be judged according to the Gospel what would many a person give to know how it shall speed with him in that great and notable day when the Heavens shall pass away with a mighty noise and the Elements melt with fervent heat when all the beauty and bravery of the World shall sink into a bed of ashes what would many a man give to know how he shall speed then why the Gospel tells you those which the Gospel doth condemn now they shall be condemned then and they that are acquitted by the Gospel now they shall be acquitted then Fifthly All that neglect the Gospel they are near to a curse c. There is a clear place for it in Heb. 6.7 8. The Earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it and bringeth for Herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth a blessing from God but that which bringeth forth briars and thornes is rejected and is nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned the meaning of it is briefly thus the good soyl are those honest hearers which receive the word and bring forth fruit and receive a blessing from God but that which bears briars and thornes the bad ground is those hearers which receive the word hear as many Sermons as others yet they bring nothing forth but briars and thornes repining and murmuring against the purity and truth of Gospel-Ordinances these are rejected and are nigh unto cursing Then in the last place those that do neglect the Gospel it will deeply agravate their condemnation The Sodomites that were consumed with fire and brimstone from Heaven you will say they were great sinners and yet Christ tells us plainly it will be more tollerable for them at the day of judgement then for those that neglect the Gospel Secondly if it be so dreadfull to neglect the Gospel then endeavour to receive the Preaching of the Gospel as Christ hath appointed receive with meekness that ingrafted word which is able to save your souls I shall onely name these three 1. Receive it with reverence and attention as those which must give an account to the Lord of Glory for every Sermon which 〈…〉 2. Receive it with thankfulness we give 〈…〉 for the shining of the Sun and for the dropping of the clouds and for fruitful seasons 〈…〉 seldome do we break forth into 〈…〉 Christ for the unspeakable benefit of his Gospel 3. Receive it with an holy hunger and 〈◊〉 after it as new born Babes desire the 〈◊〉 Milk of the word that you may 〈◊〉 thereby FINIS
by the subordinate administration of Angels If that Word the Law were so stedfast if it obtained full authority so that every transgression every disobedience against it received a just recompence of reward If men were severely punished for transgressing the Law of Moses how much more shall we be severely punished if we sin against the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation I would willingly spend the short time allotted for the present exercise in that discourse which might most conduce to general edification And therefore I shall without further delay present to you this doctrinal point of Observation from the words to be insisted upon Namely Doct. That those which go on in the final neglect of that Salvation which is offered and held forth in the Gospel they must unavoidably perish In the Handling of the point I shall propose this ensuing method First I shall shew what this salvation is Secondly Why it is called a great Salvation Thirdly How many wayes men are guilty of neglecting this great Salvation Fourthly What are the causes from whence the general neglect of this great Salvation may proceed Fifthly I shall wind up all in some usefull application First What this Salvation is The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly signifies the preservation of any thing or Person in a state of safety But in the Scripture it is taken divers ways First It is taken for a Deliverance from some temporal danger or calaminity Thus you have it in Exodus 14.13 When the Israelites were encompassed with an Army of Egyptians at their backs and the Red Sea was before them and that the murmuring of the people might be satisfied Moses stands up and bids them stand still and see the salvation of the Lord as if he had said Let not your hearts be troubled let not your spirits sink under a load of discouraging fears do not fall into the hands of unbeliefe for that is worse than if you should fall into the hands of your enemies but have a stedfast eye unto the God of Israel and so take notice what a seasonable and speedy deliverance he will work for you Secondly Salvation is taken for the providential care and power of God whereby he will not let his people want those things that are needfull Thus you have it Psal 78.22 When the Israelites murmured against God in the Wilderness for want of food why saith the Psalmist They trusted not in his salvation they believed not in God and trusted not in his salvation that is They trusted not in that wonderful providence of God which would certainly make a provision for them in their wants and difficulties had they but patience to wait for it Thirdly Salvation is taken in scripture for the Author of salvation Psal 27.1 The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear so in Luke 2.30 they are the words of Simeon Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace verse 30. for mine eyes have seen thy salvation that is I have beheld him that shall be the Author of salvation both to the Jews and to the Gentiles Fourthly Salvation is taken for that state of Glory and perfect Blessedness which the soules of Gods people shall enter upon immediately after the dissolution of their bodies Thus you have it in Heb. 1.14 speaking there conc rning the Angels Are they not all ministring spirits sent forth that they may minister for those which shall be the heirs of salvation the heirs of salvation that is the heirs of future Glory And Lastly Salvation is sometimes Metonymically taken for the doctrine of the Gospel because that is the only way which God hath ordinarily appointed for the salvation of his rational creatures And thus it is taken in the words of the Text How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation I have finished the first Branch and proceed to the second to enquire why this is here called a great Salvation And First It is so called because it doth concern our soules Oh! that men were more deeply sensible of the incomparable excellency and preciousness that is in their soules Why Pleasure is a Dream Honour is a smoak Wealth is a deceitful shadow Our soules are the onely jewels that are worth the preserving If these be saved no matter what is lost and if these be lost no matter what is saved Alas What would all the preferments the world can give avail us if after the enjoyment of all our souls should be swallowed up in a gulf of remediless torment I tell you and there is ground for it in the word of God that the loathsome toad and the venemous snake they are in a better condition than the highest unsanctified Monarch upon the earth who shall be condemned to have his portion in this present life If you highly esteem those things or persons which may be instrumental for the saving of your estates or to save the life of your bodies are you not infinitely much more engaged to set an high esteem upon the Gospel which God hath appointed to be the only instrument for the saving of your souls Why our time is here spent to very little purpose unlesse we do industriously promote the salvation of our souls We live here in vain unless that short time which is allotted for us to continue here upon the earth be wisely improved to prepare us for an everlasting enjoyment of God in heaven it had been better for us that our bodies had never lived the life of nature unless a life of grace here dispose our soules for a life of Glory hereafter Those which lay out all their care to cherish frail perishing bodies and in the mean time neglect their soules they goe the ready way to plunge both body and soul in everlasting ruine For oh sinner dost thou not know that at the Resurrection thy body shall be in the same condition with thy soul when they are reunited together they must be both companions in joy or companions in torment But when the care which we lay out upon our bodies is nothing if compared with the care which we lay out upon our soules we go the ready way to save both to make both eternally happy that is the first reason it is called a great salvation because it concerns our soules Secondly That salvation which the Gospel brings is therefore called a great salvation because it is often bestowed upon the greatest Sinners There is no person so deeply defiled with the pollutions of the world or grown so black with the guilt of high and hainous sins but that the Gospel can furnish him with a robe of imputed Righteousness large enough to cover all his spots and stains to conceal all his shame and nakedness in the presence of God No person hath so much run upon the score of divine justice but the Gospel can bring him acquainted with a Surety which is able to discharge his debt
guilty of neglecting this great salvation when they will not lay to heart the things of the Gospel when they count it a burthen to be engaged in meditating upon them when they will not consider nor allow the Gospel any room in their serious thoughts but rather do what they can to banish and cast it out of their minds how can you more evidently discover that you despise a thing then when you do not judge it worth the thinking upon Oh! how many are there that melt themselves into luxury and wantonness rufling it out into pride and bravery and wasting their precious time yet they never took any successful care for their impartial souls they never set apart one hour seriously to consider how they might provide for their everlasting state Alas what will become of those men do they not think that they shall taste of Death as well as others and then how can they look their Judge in the face I beseech you sinners take notice of the indispensible necessity that lies upon you to practice the duty of consideration Is Christ before you is grace and a crown of glory before you and will you not consider why is Death ready to seize upon you is the judge at the door and yet will ye not consider why have you any better things to consider upon then the Gospel doth afford what is not a God and a Christ is not the state of your souls worth the considering upon why Crowns and Kingdoms Lands and Lordships they are but toys and trifles but chaff and stubble dross and dung if compared with those everlasting things and yet will you not be perswaded to consider Alas doth not Conscience tell you that you can entertain wanton and covetous and revengeful thoughts from morning until night and that is no wearisomeness to your spirits and have you no leisure no time to think how you may make your peace with God and procure the pardon of your sins That is the second Men are guilty of neglecting this great Salvation when they will not meditate upon the Gospel Thirdly Men are guilty of neglecting this great Salvation when they will not put forth their strength to work out their own Salvation when they resolve to be at no further cost for the saving of their souls then the laying out of a few cold customary desires and sluggish wishes why consider what work you have to do if ever you will enter into life you have a dark understanding to be enlightned an hard heart to be softned a stubborn will to be subdued defiled affections that must be cleansed strong corruptions that must be mortified violent temptations that must be resisted and can all this be done while you sleep in the bosome of brutish security and slothful negligence why doth not the Scripture tell you that if you will be saved you must strive to enter in at the straight gate for many shall seek to enter and shall not be able you must wrestle with Principalities and Powers so run that you may obtain and fight the good fight of faith that you may lay hold upon eternal life and do such expressions as these give the least encouragement to sloath Oh! that men should take more paines to get a morsel of bread then they do to get an immortal Kingdom of glory that they should go to bed late and rise early and eat the bread of carefulness as if they never could take too much pains for the getting of earthly riches yet think every hour too much that is spent for the things of eternity those which will not put forth their strength in working out Salvation they are guilty of neglecting it But in the fourth place what are the causes from whence the general neglect of this salvation may proceed Why first ignorance many are so ignorant as that they do not understand the common termes of Christianity though Ministers do cloath their matter in the plainest and most familiar expressions yet they hear all as if the discourse were delivered in an unknown language Secondly another cause is unbelief why men neglect this great Salvation though they have a competent measure of knowledge yet they do not believe the Gospel of Christ to be true they dont heartily believe that t is the word of God though perhaps with their tongues they may profess to believe as well as others least they should be shamed by the company with whom they converse yet in their hearts they have no stedfast perswasion concerning the truth of these things if there were not so much unbeleif men would be a great deal more diligent in working out their Salvation Multorum fides natat in labris dum nulla est in corde aut vehementer languet as saith Cyprian many profess to have faith when nothing but the works of infidelity appear in their lives Thirdly Hardness of heart that is another reason men are hard enough by nature but by customary continuance in sin and by grieving the spirit and by slighting the means of grace they grow harder so that their hearts will not be broken under the threatnings of the Law nor melted under the promises of the Gospel A broken heart can no more neglect the Gospel than an hungry man can neglect his food But Fourthly The greatest cause of all in the generality of men is earthly-mindedness they are so taken up with the things of the world that they have no leisure to think of heaven their thoughts are earthly their project and endeavours are earthly their affections earthly head heart hand and all conspire to carry on those designs on which their temporal advantages do especially depend You know in Mathew 13.22 those hearers that are compared to the thorny ground they received the word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choaked the word so that it became unfruitful they were never the better for it If a person goes aside to consider about the matters of his salvation presently some worldly business or other steps in and interrupteth his thoughts The young man in Matthew 19. was very fair for heaven yet notwithstanding the world that was a bar to him for saith the text he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions Christ and the world they are contrary Masters and they set their servants about a contrary work therefore none can serve both of these together I come to the first and last thing which is to wind up all in some usefull application And first If those which neglect the salvation of the Gospel must unavoidably perish then let all take heed how they do attend and give ear to the preaching of the Gospel For first there is much of God and Christ in the Gospel there are thousands amongst the glorified saints and Angels blessing the Name of God for ever for that which they met withal in the preaching of the word if it were possible that sin should be committed in heaven that would be