from Hell the Prince of darkness hath held you under your blindness and this darkness leads to hell to the blackness of darkness for ever You are lost you are lost Souls lost for evâ—r if the Gospel leave you in this state of blindness in which you have so securely continued to this day Isa 27. 11. It is a people of no understanding therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them he that formed them will shew them no favour 2. Those upon whom the Gospel hath seemed to have done its work but it is its strange work There are two works which the Gospel doth some it enlightens others it smites with blindness some it softens others it seals up under hardness some it gains over to Christ others it gives up to the unbelief and impenitence of their hearts Isa 6. 10. Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes c. Go and preach to this people but preach them into hardness and blindness because they refused to see or hear let the light put out their eyes let the joyful sound strike them deaf and stop their ears never leave hammering them till thou hast hammered them into rocks or anvills Some there are that have so trifled with Convictions baffled Conscience and suffer'd their lusts so to resist and bear down their light that have had so many heats and colds so many thawings and freezings that have taken up so many purposes and made so many promises and yet all comes to nothing that the Gospel hath received a Charge from the Lord to make an end of its work Go sayes God and make an end with these men I 'le be mocked by them no more I 'le be trifled and dallied with by them no longer wound them no more fright them no more perswade them no longer make their hearts fat their ears heavy and shut their eyes and give them up to their hearts lusts that they may walk in their own counsells and fill up the measure of their iniquities you that after all the warnings you have received from the Lord and after some workings of them sometimes upon your Consciences are yet going after your Lusts prostituting your selves to your belluine and sensual pleasures filling up daily the measure of your iniquities Oh tremble and consider sadly whether this be not likely to be your case that the Gospel hath even done with you and given you over unto an impenitent heart and reprobate mind In hope that how near soever you are to this dreadful state you may be yet one step at least short of it I shall this once more adventure a few words upon you together with them that I have already mentioned And first let me reason a little with you 1. Art thou one of them that obey the Gospel or not Art thou one of them that love God one of the called according to his purpose or not Art thou not an Alien an Adversary against God and a Rebel against his Word Let thy Conscience speak let thy ways speak let thine Oaths and thy Drunkenness and thine Adulteries thy scoffing at God and his holy ways thy hating his Instructions and kicking at his Reproofs thy hardnings against his Calls thy treacherous dealings in his Covenant and the Vows of God that are upon thee let these speak what thou art Is this that which God hath chosen and called thee to Are these the Things thou hast learned and received and heard of him Did he ever say These things do and the God of Peace shall be with you Thou needest no other Conviction than that of Israels Jer. 2. 23. How canst thou say I am not polluted See tâ—y way in the Valley and know what thou hast done How canst thou say that thou art not a Wretch With what Face canst thou deny but thou art an Enemy of God and of all Righteousness See thy way in the Valley trace the Footsteps of tby Life behold thy practices and thy course Sure thou art very blind if thou behold thy self in this Glass and doest not see thy Face as the Face of a Devil There are some whom it may be harder work to convince who have the Face of a Christian the Tongue of a Saint but within the Heart of a Beast Hypocrites are as hard to be convinced as Hypocrisie is hard to be detected But thou who carryest thy wicked Heart in thy Forehead upon thy Tongue upon the Palms of thine Hands and in the very prints of thy Feet whose Malice against God and his Holiness may be read in every look in every word in every Line of thy Life needest thou any further proof that thou art not of God Thou mayst as well put me to prove that Hell is not Heaven that the Devil is no Saint as that thou att no Christian Dost thou love God art thou under the hope of the Promise Ask thy Wayes man and let these tell thee 2. Doest thou mean to keep at this distance from God to the Death Doest thou in earnest Is there nothing in those rich Promises that have been laid before thee which thou canst wish 't were thine Is there no such word in thine heart Oh that my Lot were here Art thou content thy name should be left out for ever Is there so little in the peace of God that thou canst sell it for the pleasures of sin Art thou content that nothing should prosper with thee but that every thing should be a Gin and a Snare and a Curse to thee Art thou content that the Pit should be thy place Eternal Wrath thy portion and that every Creature every Comfort every Cross that comes should give thee a pluck down from Heaven and a kick towards Hell Canst thou think they mean thee any thing else when all does but harden thee in thy sin and make thee kick against thy God Art thou so unwilling to leave thy sins for the hope of the Promise of God that thou art content to give up thy hopes for the love of thy sins Darest thou say Let me have my part in the pleasures and contentments of this life and I am cnntent to relinquish my part in Christ Let God let me alone in my sins and let him damn my Soul Let me live at my ease and my liberty and let my name be blotted out of the Book of Life I am content to take my ylace and my lot among the damned in another World so I may have my pleasure with them in this World And doest thou say less or other than this whilest thou refusest or resolvest against following thy God He that refuses to accept of the Redemption of Christ upon the holy Terms upon which 't is offer'd says in effect I am lost I am sold for a Captive to the Devil my first Father sold me for an Apple Christ would now buy me back again to my self but for my part I am
Hearers and if you will needs have it so then let it be forborn Secondly Hath the Devil yet given over Preaching and are the Preachers yet silent Hath the Devil yet given over his Preaching his deceiving Souls his perverting the good ways of the Lord and discouâ—aging persons from walking in them Sure there 's need that Christ be preached while there is a Devil that impeaches him Hath the Devil them that preach him every day and must not Christ have them that preach him at least every Sabbath-day may once a moneth or once a quarter be enough for these when every day and all the day-long doeâ— scarce suffice for those When or where are evill men silent Are they not preaching daily in the House in the Streets in the Taverns on the Stage iâ— the Stews Preaching by their Oaths their Curses by their Lâ—es by their Scoffâ— by their Habits bâ— theiâ— Cups by their Wâ—ores and almost by all their words and workâ— And is there no need that Christ be any longer preached any where when the Devil is preached every where If in such a case the Preachers of Christ should altogether hold their peace might we not expect that the very stones would cry out This is but a seasonable Demand Let Faith and Holiness first have none found that preach against them before those that preach them be concluded such as may well be spared But what need we reason any longer in a case so plain wherein I can have no Adversaries but such as the Apostle had when he fought with Beasts at Ephesus Whosoever is an Adversary to Preaâ—hing is either an Infidel or a Brute I shall onely leave one word for such to â—hew upon and so leave them and their cause to the Judgment of God Act. 13. 46. It was necessary that the Word of God should have been first spoken to you but because you put it from you and judge your selves unworthy of everlasting Life Lo we turn unto the Gentiles Let all back-friends to Preaching pause sâ—dly upon that Word you have prevented the Judgment of God by putting the Word from you you have given your selves your own Sentence you have judged your selves unworthy of Everlasting Life Well by what hath been said notwithstanding all that can be said against it it appears that the removal of the Gospel and the preaching of it is a grievous Judgment 2. This grievous Judgment shall yet work to the good of Saints That which comes in Wrath on some may be in Mercy to others 'T is the ignorant the unconverted the unbelieving part of men on whom the Vengeance of this Judgment falls 'T is those that are weary of the Word that can worse it Sinners you that say to the Seers see not to the Prophets prophecie no more to us let us alone we have enough of this preaching if God once say as you say Let it be according to their word 't is your Souls are like to go for it And 't is not the least aggravation of the Sorrows of the Saints the misery they see hereby coming on you As for themselves that I may answer more distinctly 1. The Gospel shall never be totally removed from them they shall never see days of Famine If they never again hear the joyful Sound from without they shall have it within The Word which they have receiv'd shall be in them a Well of Water springing up unto Eternal Life If the Showers and the Rain fail yet the Spring which is within them shall supply that want If they have no Bible in the House no preaching in the Pulpit yet they have 〈◊〉 Bible in their Hearts a Preacher in their Breasts thâ—â— shall instruct and comfort them Pharaoh's Dream and the Interpretation of it shall be to the Egyptians and not to Israel The lean Kine shall not devour the fat ones there is a Store-house from whence they shall be supply'd Whatever scarcity there be this is certain not one of them shall want a Viaticum to bring them to theâ— Journeys end God will not suffer one of his Eleâ—â— to starve or perish in the way There shall not faâ— means of one kind or another till the whole Bodâ—â—e perfected and built up Till we all come unto pâ—rfect Man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ 2. That Scarcity that does at any time befal theâ— shall happen to them for the better and not for thâ— worse 1. For who knows when ever the Ministry is removed but it may be in ordeâ— to a greater Glory it 's Return Perhaps God's sending away Pastoâ— from a People may be as Paul's absence from the Romans that they may return in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel Or as Onesimus his departing from Philemon Perhaps they therefore depart for a season that they may be received for ever Or if this should not be the case of any particular Church if they should return no more yet 2. Their want of means shall supply their want of means their want of means shall be their means When they have no Preacher their empty Pulpits shall preach to them this most smarting of Rods will have its voice If they have no longer the Light with them their Darkness shall instruct them if they want their burning Lights the very Cold shall preserve and increase their inward vigour the wickedness of others shall make them more holy the violence of evil men upon sin shall enkindle their zeal for God the darkness that 's here below shall make them to live more above and all this shall make to their fuller Reward 'T is a greater Verâ—ue to keep up the Heart to keep on our way where there is a want than where there are abundance of means and helps and an higher Vertue shall have a greater Reward 3. The failing of the Word will bring back to their Memories and upon their own Hearts that which they have receiv'd and as the emptiness of the Stomach will cause a second and better Concoction and turn it into better nourishment when there are no more Loaves they 'l gather up the Fragments that nothing be lost the less there is more to be hâ—d the more reckoning and the better use they will make of what they hâ—ve their present want will be a rebuke of their former wantonness their want of Remembrancers will help their Mercies and whet their Appetites Every old truth that hath been too much laid by will then be pretious 4. Whenever ordinary means fail God will either find extraordinary means fail God will either find extraordinary or else will feed them more immâ—diately from himself Psal 34. 9. God hath promised that those that fear the Lord shall want no good thing If that be meant of temporal good things yet sure it will yield us an Argument that will reach the present case If God will provide for their Carkases much more for their Souls If God will supply them with less necessaries then
or a quickning Word let them have or lift up a prayer and drop down a blessing upon them Something or oâ—her of the Dew of Heaven let them feel flowing from our Lips Let your Lips drop as the Honey Comb and your Hands drop sweet smelling Myrrhe Let your Holy Practices your Holy Examples second and set on your wholesom Counsels and Instructions Let your words be savoury and your works be gracious Let Lip and Life speak the same things and lead on the same way Christians By your nursing up the Souls and Fruits of others you will ripen and increase your own If you should look on all the Fruit as little which your selves have brought forth to God you will have this to comfort you That you have born more upon your Brethren's knees The Fruits of those Fields which you have planted or water'd will abound to your account Bring forth much Fruit unto God and be much in immediate converse with God Phil. 3. 20. Our Conversation is in Heaven Be more elevated and raised in your Spirits daily above Things Sensual and Carnal Above Carnal Delights Above Carnal Discouragements 1. Above Carnal Delights Live more purely in the Spirit let your Hearts be wrought up to such a Spiritual Frame That all the Joys Pleasures and Comforts of your Lives may be Spiritual Let the Lord be all your delight Psal 37. 5. Let it be with you as much as may be as it is with the Saints already in Glory to whom God is all who being changed into his Image and dwelling in his presence are satisfied in him Let God alone be as much to you as God and all the World Let the Fashions and Pleasures and Delights of this World be so much beneath your Spirits that it may neither be an abatement of your Joy to want nor an Addition to your Content to possess them Let the Light of all these lower Sparks be swallow'd up in God when the Sun shines all the Stars disappear and are not needed Lift up thine Eyes Christian and see what pleasures there are within the Veil Come drink thy fill of this new Wine let thy Faith draw the Curtains of Eternity and take a view of those heights depths â—nd lengths and breadths of that Glory and Joy which there it may discover Look on him that sits on the Throne and those everlasting Treasures of Light Holiness Goodness and Mercy which are â—treaming from his Face on those overflowing Bowels of Kindness and Compassion on those Rivers of pure and Eteâ—nal Pleasures Rest and Peace that rise from that Glorious Throne and run through the City of God Behold the Tree of Life and feed thy Soul on its pretious Fruit whose very Leaves are for the healing of Nations Hearken to and fill thine Ears and Heart with those Triumphs and Exultations those Reptures and Extasies of unspeakable and glorious Joys those Blessings and Praisings those Hallelujahs that are tuned upon the Hearts and Tongues of the Heavenly Chore the glorious Angels and the Spirits of just men made perfect by the vision and fruition of thy God the God of Glory Look on and possess this Joy and Glory Say to thy Soul as God 〈◊〉 Abraham Gen. 13. 14. Lift up thine Eyes and look from the place where thou art Northward and Southward and Eastward and Westward though all the Coasts and all the Dimensions of the Blested Land of Promise and Holy City and then say Come Soul take up thy rest here all this is thine Look and love love and long long and hope hope and rejoyce in hope of this glory of God Look on thy God and never leave looking till thou art changed into his Image and satisfied with his Image And here let thy delight and thy dwelling be 2. Above all carnal discouragements from any adversaries or dangers wherewith you are baited and affrighted as you walk in the Lord let the joy of the Lord be your strength let your Sun be your shield let your hope be your confidence and fear not your duâ—y nor danger Look to your hope and you will laugh at fear Dwell in your Reward and you will not be afraid to dwell in your Duty But of this a word more by and by Thus much for general Directions 2. I shall next give you some special Directions for your daily walk Generalls necessarily depend on and subsist in Particulars As there can be no Religion in a Kingdome unless it be first in particular Families nor none in Families unless it be in particular persons so a general course of Christianity there cannot be unless it be supported in our particular daily walk The Advice I am giving you I have in part borrowed for your use which some of you may possibly have received elsewhere Before I give you the particular Directions I shall first premise these things 1. Count upon this That the Directions I am now giving you if you ever mean to bring it to any thing will cost you pains and labour and how can you count your selves Christians if you refuse to be at the necessary cost of Christianity If you think to be Christians without labour or if you wilâ— stand out from Christianity to save your labour you are alike wise in both Either come to a Resolution to fall upon an industrious painful life or 't will be in vain to give you counsel 2. Practice the Directions I shall give you in pursuance of your Covenant with God wherein you have engaged to take the strictest severest Laws of Christ for the Rule of your Life What I am pressing on you for the matter of it is no more than you have bound your selves to as Christians Remember your Bonds and let this holy practice be followed on by you as the paying your Vows Remember daily the Vows of God are upon you and there is not any material thing here prescribed to you which falls not under your vows Your Covenant if your eye be much upon it will be a cord to hold you to your work 3. Press hard for sensible Communion with God in all your Duties 4. Keep up a spiritual and holy Frame from Duty to Duty Remember what I have elsewhere spoken to you more at large on these two Particulars See that there be Religion in your Duties and confine not your Religion to your Duties 5. Be Watchful The Life of all Religion lies much here whatever you resolve upon will come to nothing without it Watchfulness is the Executioner of your Will Let your eye be upon your Rule and your Work Especially watch against your prevailing sins There 's no Christian that observes himself but may find some one sin or more that in regard of their power over him are taller by the head and shoulders than all the rest In some Pride in others Worldliness in others Passion in others Slothfulness It may be if thou searchest some one of these four or possibly some other may be it that by a Specialty