hearing or reading or meditating c. 2. It is such a softness as leaves a person in as great a pliableness nay greater to evil than to good You may as soon draw them to an Ale house and Play-house and Gaming-house as to Gods house they cannot deny their friend and request c. 3. Notwithstanding this softness and tenderness yet a mans heart remains spiritually hardned for take me this soft natured person which can weep almost at every thing and put him upon mourning for his sins for his long ignorance for his manifold profaness for his exceeding unprofitableness under the means of grace why this soft-natured man now cannot shed a tear and is ordinarily so far from relenting and mourning that even his heart riseth against what you speak and is extreamly incensed c. Secondly The second is Moral which ariseth from education and learning Moral and is of that force as to restrain and civilize and scowre off the barbarous rudeness of spirit and behaviour and trims up the person to a gentleness of conversation but neither is this the heart of flesh in the Text for 1. This is but an outward and seeming softness 2. If any thing of it may be said to be inward yet it flows not from any work of grace but from the Rules of Moral Philosophy admitted iâ—to the understanding as fit to be received and practised for a mans reputation in the world 3. It is Humane and not Divine it is a tenderness to respect men when all this while there is a stubbornness and resistance and unyieldingness and a constant irrespectiveness to God and his will and ways Thirdly The third is a legal tenderness which is the yielding tenderness Legal and pliableness of the heart under the sense of Gods dreadful wrath for sin what will not a sinner do in such a case he will pray and hear and forbear and do what God will have him to do and forsake what God will have him forsake but this is not the heart of flesh neither for 1. This is but anguish of heart it is not tenderness of heart 2. This will off when anguish is off like Iron that is softned in the fire when the fire is taken away it grows more hard Pharaoh yet hardned his heart more when God gave him some respite 3. The sinner is quickly weary of this tenderness and would with all his heart be rid of it but so it is not in the right softness 4. The fourth is Evangelical tenderness or softness of heart and this Evangelical is a gracious temper of heart given or formed by God himself whereby the whole soul becomes meâ—â—ing and yielding and pliable flexible to God in respect of his Attributes Word and Works here observe First It is a gracious temper or frame of heart no man hath it but first It is a gracious temper he partakes of the Spirit of grace his heart is converted and renewed by grace before the work of grace the heart is stubborn and rebellious disobedient and gain-saying the natural man is a child of disobedience as well as of wrath he is stiffe-necked and unto every good work reprobate but when grace enters into the heart now his heart is changed and subdued and mollified and is easie to be intreated and is ready to take any impression that God will stamp upon it Acts 10. 33. We are all here present before God to hear all things commanded thee of God Secondly It is a temper or frame of heart it is not an occasional and transient A temper of heart work but an inherent and permanent and fixed work upon the soul Simile even wicked and hardned sinners may have some fits and appearances of softness as some hard stones in change of weather appear to be moist Pharaoh under some of Gods judgements did relent and Ahab under those sharp threatnings of God did humble himself and Felix upon the hearing of Paul did tremble and the Israelitet in their distress did cover the Altar with tears and Judas with the terror of conscience did repent but these were fits and passions only they did not last and abide on their hearts when exigences were off their natural hardness appeared again It is not thus when God gives an heart of flesh i. e. a tender and soft heart for this dwells and reigns and continues in all estates in all changes in perplexity and in adversity in freedom and in danger under blessings as well as under afflictions Thirdly It is such a temper whereby the whole heart becomes a melting and By it the heart becomes melting and yielding yielding heart and pliable and flexible the Scripture calls it sometimes a contrite heart Psal 51. 17. sometimes a trembling heart Isa 66. 2. sometimes a tender heart 2 Chron. 34. 27. sometimes a mourning heart Zach. 12. 10 11. sometimes an obedient heart Rom. 6. 17. sometimes an heart that bows and stoops to receive the Word of God Deut. 33. 3. And this softness and pliableness spreads over the whole soul when God gives an heart of flesh It spreads over the whole soul First The mind is willing to see and to be taught and know the mind of God his will his way his work concerning us Teach me thy truth and teach me thy way and teach me thy will saith David Psal 27. 11. Let us go up to the house of the Mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths Isa 2. 3. Secondly The judgement is willing and ready to assent and to acknowledge the truths and commands of God the Law is good and holy said Paul Rom. 7. I esteem thy precepts to be right said David Psal 1 19. Thirdly The will is made tender and pliable I will keep thy statutes Psal 119. 8. I will run the way of thy Commandments Ver. 32. The Lord is our God and him will we serve Josh 24. 18. Fourthly All the affections are tender and pliable O what propensions to mourn for sin they that escape of them shall be on the Mountains as Doves of the Valley all of them mourning every one for his iniquity Ezek. 7. 16. and so a tender fear they fear the Lord and his goodness Hosea 3. 5. a tender love a tender delight c. Fourthly This frame of tenderness and softness appears towards God This tenderness appears towards God 1. In respect of his Attributes His mercifulness melts the heart and leads it to Repentance his goodness melts and draws it to more obedience his greatness and power and wisdom awes the heart O who would not fear and serve such a God 2. In respect of his Word Promises work on the heart and threatnings and precepts and reproofs the promises draw and raise the soft heart threatnings awaken and awe the soft heart precepts direct and bind the soft heart reproofs do pierce and recover and
for the good of his people and makes thâ—m serviceable thereunto All those choice gifts which he bestows on Ministers 〈◊〉 Apostles or others they are bestowed on them for the good of his Church And all the things of the world whatsoever good they may afford they are to let out the same for the good and comfort of the people of God and all the conditions and states of things are for their good life shall do them good and dâ—â—th shall be for their good and all the vicissitude of things are for their good the present postute of things and the future state of things whether of prosperity or adversity all occurrences whatsoever are for their good Rom. 8. â—â— We know that all things work together for good to them that love God to thâ—â— that are called according to his purpose As if you consider ungodly and wicked men who are none of the people of God there is nothing in all the world that doth them good The Ordinances of Christ by reason of the unbelief of their hearts do them no good they are the favour of death unto dâ—â—th â—nto them and not the savour of life 〈◊〉 life the blessings of God do thâ—m no good they prove curses unto them 〈◊〉 table is a sâ—â—â—e unto them and their richâ—◠〈◊〉 thorns 〈◊〉 them and their prosperity is a ruine unto them the judgments of God do them no good they learn not righteousnesse by them they harden their hearts under them and grow more obstinately wicked Wherefore should ye be smitten any more ye revolt more and more So on the contrâ—ry all the dispensations of God either of the world or in the world they are for good to the people of God Outward mercies are blessings to them they eat and drink and rejoyce and praise and blesse the Lord their God Outward afflictions are mercies to them they do them good It is good for me that I have been afflicted said David Psal 119. 71. By these things men live saith Hezekiah he chastiseth us for our profit or good saith the Apostle Heb. 12. 10. Wants and enjoyments honours and dishonours sicknesse and health smiles and frowns life and death all doth them good There are four things which I beseech you who are the people of God to remember 1. All the good in the World is in the Fathers hands it is the Fathers for possession All the good in the world is in the Fathers hands he is the possessor of Heaven and Earth Gen. 14. 22. and for Dominion The earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof Psal 24. 1. Both riches and honour come of thee and thou reignest over all and in thy hand is power and might and in thy hand it is to wake great and to give strength unto all 1 Chron. 29. 12. 2. When God makes a Covenant with you he doth also take in all the creatures God makes a Covenant with the creature to be serviceable for your good and layes a bond of special command upon them to be serviceable to your good he doth not leave them out but covenants with them to do you good This is I confesse a strange expression that God should make a Covenant with other creatures for the good of service unto his own people and yet this you may expresly read in Hos 2. 18. In that day will I make a Covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven and with the creeping things of the ground and I will break the bowe and the sword and the battle out of the earth and will make them to lie down safely ver 19. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever ver 21. And I will hear saith the Lord I will hear the heavens and they shall hear the earth ver 22. And the earth shall hear the corn and the wine and the oyle and they shall hear Jezreel There are two choice things observable in these words 1. One is that God makes a Covenant with his people to bring them into a near and sweet relation unto himself this you finde in verse 19. I will betroth thee unto me for ever 2. A second is That God makes a Covenant for his people and that is two-fold 1. For their security to secure them against all danger and evil and this you finde in verse 18. I will make a Covenant for them with the beasts of the field c. No creature shall do them hurt neither the beasts of the field nor fowles of the aire nor the creeping things of the earth nor no wicked enemies who bend the bow and draw the sword and prepare to the bottle As when a Covenant is between Nation and Nation all the people are thereby bound up from all acts of hostility and mischief so the Lord by making a Covenant with the beasts and fowls c. he doth therein binde them up from being prejudicial to his people A second is for their prosperity and this you may finde in verse 21. 22. I will hear the heavent and the heavens shall hear the earth and the earth shall hear the â—â—rn and the wine and the oyle and they shall hear Jezreel As if all the creatures when we are in covenant with God were so many supplicants and Petitioners unto God entreating of him that they might be used for a blessing unto us The heavens do as it were beg of God that they may send down seasonable showers and seasonable influences and the earth doth as it were beg of God that it may be made fruitful by those influences of heaven c. And God doth promise to hear every one of them for Jezreel 3. All the creatures are in the hand of the Father and as all creatures are All creatures are in a subordination to the will of your God brought into the bond of the Covenant for you so all the creatures of the world are in a subordination and a necessary submission unto the will and pleasure of your God If he saith to any of them Go it goeth or to any of them Come and it cometh your God hath an over-ruling Providence over them all their power and operations and motions are at the sole will and command of him they act as God will have them act and when God will have them act and for them for whom God will have them to act and shall not all this be for you for your good who are the people of his Covenant and the children of his love If all this cannot satisfie you then know that as God hath the command of all As God hath the command of all good in the creature so he hath engaged to settle it upon you creature good and comforts so he hath engaged himself unto you to settle that kind of good upon you Though the earth and the things of the earth be not your only portion and be not your best portion yet it is a part of your portion Psal
adultery fornication uncleanness lasciviousness Gal 5. 19. Secondly The Apostle reckons them up amongst the most detestable sins which the most loathsome Gentiles were guilty of who were filled with all unrighteousness Thirdly They are so vile sins that Christians may not once name them without detestation Ephes 5. 3. But fornication and all uncleanness let it not be once named among you as becometh Saints Fourthly They are such sins as are repugnant unto and inconsistent with Christian society Christians must not entertain fellowship with persons guilty of them 1 Cor. 5. 11. If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator c. with such an one no not to eat Fifthly They are sins especially adultery against the three persons of the Trinity 1. Against God the Father who created the man and the woman and married them to each other and said they two shall be one flesh Gen. 2. 24. Now by adultery they are separated whom God hath joined together and made one yea God hath made Marriage a resemblance of Christ and his Church Ephes 5. but adultery brings contempt upon this resemblance of union 2. Against God the Son Jesus Christ hath payed a price for our bodies as well as for our spirits and upon that account we are to glorifie him in both 1 Cor. 6. 20. nay saith the same Apostle Ver 15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ Now to alienate Christs purchase from Christ and to bestow it upon an Harlot and make the members of Christ the members of an Harlot as every adulterer doth is exceedingly injurious unto Christ Shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of an Harlot God forbid so the Apostle in ver 15. 3. Against God the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 6. 19. Know you not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost and Chap. 3. 17. If any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy for the Temple of God is holy which Temple ye are Sixthly Of all sins these are the most brutish making persons like the beasts and therefore in Scripture unclean and adulterous persons are compared to beasts To the Oxe Prov. 7. 22. He goeth after her as an Oxe to the slaughter To the Horse Jerem. 5. 8. They were as fed Horses every one neighed after his Neighbours wife and Jer. 13. 27. I have sâ—en thy adulteries and thy neighings the lewdness of thy whoredomes c. To the Dog Deut. 23. 18. Thou shalt not bring the hire of an Whore or the price of a Dog into the house of the Lord. By Dog here is meant an unclean adulterous person An persona Canina ego replied Abner to Ishbosheth am I a person like a Dog who charged him that he lay with his fathers Concubine Rizpah 2 Sam. 3. 8. Seventhly Adultery in some respect is worse than many other sins against our Neighbours it is a very great sin to slander the name of our Neighbour and to bear false witness against him it is very bad by theft to take away the goods of our Neighbour it is yet worse to kill and take away the life of our Neighbour but adultery is in some respect more sinful than any one of these v. g. In all these sinnings the person sinning brings a guilt only upon himself for when he defames another though he casts reproach on him yet he makes him not guilty and in stealing from another though he brings loss to him yet he makes him not guilty and when he kills another he brings death to him yet he makes him not sinfully guilty but in adultery there is a mutual consent to sin and a mutual contract of guilt and although the one party should repent and so escape wrath yet the other party repenting not hath a soul which for this sin must be cast into hell Eighthly They are such sins for which God himself will judge the offender though possibly they may escape the hands of men Hebr. 13. 4. Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge and verily God hath severely judged persons for these sins even in this life The Old World was drowned for them Gen 6. 2 3 c. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire Gen. 19. Twenty and foure thousand destroyed with the plague Num. 25. 9. The Tribe of Benjamin was almost extinguished and rooted out upon this account Judg. 19. 28. The Land of Canaan spued out her Inhabitantt for them Lev. 18. 28. How often doth God make these sins in this life a punishment unto those who are guilty of them by causing unto themselves most loathsome and irksome and incurable diseases such as make them odious to others and a shame and burden to themselves Ninthly They are such sins as many times do bring with them an universal losse and ruine 1. To our name Prov. 6. 33. A wound and dishonour shall he get and his reproach shall not be wiped away 2. To our estate Prov. 5. 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth and thy labours be in the house of a stranger Job 31. 11 22. it roots out all our increase 3. To our health ib. ver 11. And thou mourn at the last when thy flesh and thy body are consumed 4. To our consciences Prov. 7. 23. till a dart strike through his liver c. The great terrors of conscience usually arise from these sins Job 24. 17. If one know of them they are in the terrors of the shadow of death 5. To our souls and as unto them you shall find three very sad expressions in the Word of God 1. That they are the way to hell Prov. 7. 27. Her house is the way to hell going down to the chambers of death and Prov. 9. 18. Their guests are in the depths of hell 2. That they destroy the soul He that committeth adultery with a woman destroyeth his own soul Prov. 6. 32. 3. That they exclude from the Kingdome of God nor adulterers nor fornicators nor effeminate nor defilers ef themselves with mankind shall inherit the Kingdome of God 1 Cor. 6. 9 10. Tenthly They are such sins as whereof persons cannot easily repent they do exceedingly dispose the soul to hardness and impenitency they darken the mind and infatuate the judgement and harden the heart and so make the sinners condition almost desperate Hose 4. 11. Whoredom and wine take away the heart Prov. 2. 19. None that go unto her return again neither take they hold of the paths of life None i. e. very few repent of these sins For her heart is snares and nets and her hands are bands Eccles 7. 26. All these things do abundantly show what an exceeding great sin the sin of uncleanness is yet God hath pardoned them unto his people Lot was pardoned and Davids adultery was pardoned and the fornications and adulteries and effeminateness and Sodomies of the Corinthians were pardoned 1 Cor. 6. 11. Such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye
no good on your child If a Master hath a Servant or an Apprentice who after all his care and pains to instruct him in his Trade yet remains unapprehensive and stupid and perhaps vicious he longs to be rid of him If a Parent hath a childe that is naught and stubborn and will not hearken nor be reclaimed the Parent is weary of him and casts him out of doors or sends him into another Countrey Thus none but God will bear with a hard and stubborn heart God I say who is most provoked by it therefore unquestionably his patience is exceeding great it is wonderful towards sinners Vse 3 Is there a stony heart in every man this may then informe us of three things Informs us The conversion of a sinner is a miraculous work First That the conversion of a sinner is even a miraculous work We wonder that so few persons are converted by the Word nay but we should rather wonder that any person is converted by it because there is such a stony and hard heart in every person which is so unsensible of its own miserable condition which is so uncapable to be taught the knowledge of the matters of salvation which is so opposite and averse and unyielding and resisting as to all the means and ways of grace where there is a blind and proud judgement that will not be perswaded whereâ—â— there is such a stubborn will that will not be made willing and whereâ—â— there are so many vile affections which wâ—ll not be tamed and awed and subdued It is matter of greater wonder that any one sinner is brought in by grace than if all sinners should fall into hell Secondly That it is from grace and from that alone if any sinner be converted â—â— is from grâ—â—e that any are converted it is from the freeness of Gods grace and from the power of Gods grace not from any thing at all in the person converted And my reason is this because the heart of every sinner is naturally a stony heart a hard heart and a stony heart is not only an impotent heart but also a resisting heart to grace Verily the best man may and must confess that it is only of the Lords mercy that he was not consumed and that his present life and estate in grace was never of himself who is called but only from the favour and power of the grace of God who did call him What I am I am by the grace of God said Paul 1 Cor. 15. 10. Our hearts were hard hearts and therefore contradicting and opposing untill beaten down and conquered by the love and might of divine grace Thirdly That God is most righteous in all his judgements here on earth God is righteous in all his judgements and in all those future and eternal punishments of sinners in hell for sinners have hard and hardned hearts Why if sinners will not hearken to God if they will not obey his voice if they will stop their ears and withdraw their shoulders if they will not receive his Laws if they will not receive instruction and take warning if they will not know the day of their visitation if they will not know the things which concern their peace but harden their hearts it is righteous with God to reject them who do reject him to cast them off who do cast him off to abhor them who abhor him to punish and plague and destroy them who harden their hearts against him Object We have many amongst us who do wonder at Gods judgements abroad in the world and at all the changes and miseries which they have seen and perhaps felt Sol. And why do ye wonder at them rather wonder at the hardness of your own hearts which under all the judgements of God continue so proud and so scorning at holiness and so hating to be reformed and so manifestly irreligious and profane it is righteous with God to punish hard-hearted sinners Who ever hardened his heart against him and prospered Job 9. 4. If we will never be instructed to repent God will certainly destroy us Prov. 29. 1. SECT III. Vse 4 IS the heart of every man a stony or hard heart then let every man as he loves his soul Strive all that he can to be cured of the stone in the Labour to be cured of this hard heart heart i. e. to use all spiritual means to be delivered from hardness of heart And for this let me propound unto you 1. Some Motives which possibly may work on you Secondly Some means for the cure of it 1. The Motives to look after the cure of a stony or hard Motives heart are these First The Consideration of those sins which are included in this one sin of hardness From the sins included in hardness of heart Stupidity of heart which make it to be exceeding sinful What sins will you say There are three sins in this sin 1. Stupidity and senslesness of spirit O how dangerous there are three very dangerous qualities A Seared Conscience this is the worst of all Consciences A Reprobate Mind this is the worst of all Minds A Sensless Heart this is the worst of all Hearts tanto pejior quanto insensibilior This is to be at the farthest distance and hope of conversion Vicinior saluti dolor poenitentis quam stupor non sentientis saith Austin Simile This is a condition worse than that of Judas who was sensible and cryed out I have sinned nay in some respect worse than that of the Divels who do believe and tremble Isa 6. 9. Go and tell this people hear ye indeed but understand not and see you indeed but perceive not Ver. 10. Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and convert and be healed Contempt of God 2. Contempt of God O what a child is he who will not hearken to his father and what a sinner is he who will not hearken to his God Simile yet every hard heart refuseth to hearken unto God and what is this but to displease the Lord and scornfully to set him at naught q. d. What tell you me of God or of his will I care not for him what care I what he saith I will follow mine own hearts lusts I will not be guided and commanded by him 3. Desperate wickedness I will be sinful still and I will go on in my Desperate wickedness sinful ways though I lose mercy and heaven yea though I shall be damned for ever O Lord What a condition is this yet this is the condition of hardness of heart Secondly The Consideration of the Losses unto which you will certainly The losses you are exposed to expose your selves if you get not the cure of your hard and stony heart There are six losses which do and will befall you by it 1. You lose the benefit
of Christ hardness and unbelief ever go together the same word which we render hardness doth signifie unbelief many times and the same word which we render unbelief sometimes signifies hardness but certainly hardness of heart keeps you from Christ for it keeps you from the sense of your sins and seeing a need of Christ and it keeps up a rebellious â—â—â— unyielding and unsubjection to the voice of Christ Hebr. 3. 7. Therefore saith the Holy Ghost To day if ye will hear his voice Ver. 8. Harden not your hearts 2. You lose the benefit of pardoning mercy for hardness of heart and impenitency go together Rom. 2. 5. After thy hardness and impenitent heart an hardned sinner is an impenitent sinner and neither the one nor the other remaining so shall have mercy Prov. 28. 13. Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy Ver. 14. But he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief 3. You lose the hope of heaven Read the Apostle Rom. 2. 5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up wrath unto thy self against the day of wrath 4. You lose the benefit of all the Ordinances of Christ all of them are in vain unto you the Word of the Gospel cannot profit you and the Seals of the Gospel cannot comfort you nay you will pervert the one and abuse the other and will gâ—ow more wicked and more hardened after them as the Clay by the shining of the Sun c. 5 You will lose the benefit of all the Providences of God if the Lord shines upon you with outward prosperity you will sin the more by how much the more he blesses you and if the Lord visits you with afflictions the more he strikes you and smites you the more stubbornly and frowardly will you go on in your sinful ways 6. You will lose all the benefit of the workings of the Spirit of God whom by the hardness of your hearts you do resist and despite and grieve and quench Thirdly Consider the sad effects and fruits of an hard and hardening heart The effects and fruits of a hard heart 1. You grieve the Lord by it exceedingly and cause him to complain of you bitterly Psal 95 10 speaking of the hardened Israelites Ver 8. he saith Forty years long was I grieved with this generation Mark 3. 5. Christ was grieved at the hardness of their hearts As a father grieves at the continued course of wickedness in his child Alas all my counsels and corrections are lost they do no good c. 2. You provoke the Lord by it the day of hardening the heart is the day of provocation Hebr. 3. 15. Harden not your hearts as in the provocation you do incense him to wrath against your own souls Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly 3. You will cause him to leave you and forsake you and to give you up to your selves Psal 81. 11. But my people would not hearken to my voice and Israel would none of me Ver. 12. So I gave them up unto their own hearts lust and they walked in their own counsel What a sin is it for a sinner to forsake God what a judgement is it for God to forsake a sinner Woe unto them when I depart from them Hosea 9. 12. Simile It is worse than if the Pilot forsakes the Ship or if the Sun forsakes the world c. 4. You will cause him to punish you the hard heart is like the barren ground which is near to the curse Hebr. 6. 8. Now you shall finde three sorts of punishments which God hath inflicted upon hard hearts First Corporal Pharaoh hardned his heart and he was drowned Exod. 15. 17. The Jews hardned their hearts and they were carried away captive 2 Chron. 36. 16. Nebuchadnezzar hardned his heart and he was driven out amongst the beasts of the Field Dan. 4. 33. with 5. 20. Jerusalem hardned her heart against Jesus Christ and is a desolation to this day Secondly Spiritual God gives up the hard heart to a reprobate mind Rom. 1. 28. To vile affections and unnatural lusts Rom. 1. 26. To the efficacy of Satans temptations 2 Thes 2. 11. To delusions to belief of lyes and frequently to final impenitency Thirdly Eternal 2 Thes 1. 8. The Lord Jesus shall come in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that obey not the Gospel Ver. 9. And to punish them with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power so true is that of Solomon Prov. 29. 1. He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy 2ly The means to cure the hardness of heart Means to cure a hard heart Concerning this there are three questions unto which I desire to speak 1. Whether stonyness or hardness of heart be a curable disease or no 2. If any hardness of heart be curable then What is the way of the cure of it 3. How one may know that he is cured of the hardness or stonyness of his heart Quest 1. Whether stonyness or hardness of heart be a curable disease yea or no Whether it be curable Three sorts of hardned sinners Some hardned sinners reject the means Sol. For answer unto this know that there are three sorts of hardened sinners First Some are so hardened in their heart and ways that they are obstinately resolved to walk in them and are likewise desperately set against all counsel and reproof they do not only decline and disregard them but also do make a mock and scorn of them they stop the ear and with-draw the shoulder and refuse to hearken and the Word of the Lord is a reproach unto them they hold fast their iniquities and refuse to return and the more they are spoken unto the more are their hearts enraged We may say of this voluntary and malicious hardness of heart what the Prophet spake thy Wound is incurable And there are five things which declare it to be so 1. Such persons will put and keep themselves out of all ways of cure how then can the Patient be cured they will not come in publick to hear the Word and they will not in private call upon God they forsake the Lord. 2. They do not only forsake the means of cure but also do reject and despise them the words and ways of God are abomination unto their souls 3. They do continually strengthen themselves in the hardness of their hearts by adding drunkenness to thirst and iniquity unto iniquity and by a wilful progress in sinning they do make their hearts more uncapable and more untractable and more averse 4. They do not only quench the Spirit of God in all his motions so that he will no longer strive with them but also they do by their daring presumptions extinguish also all the light and power of conscience in them so that conscience is stupified and seared 5. They are rejected of God and judicially given up to their
own hearts lusts and having resisted and despised his grace and mercy he will now never give grace nor shew mercy unto them Ezek. 24. 13. In thy filthiness is lewdness because I have purged thee and thou wast not purged thou shalt not be purged from thy silthiness any more till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee Ver. 14. I the Lord have spoken it it shall come to pass and I will do it I will not go back neither will I spare neither will I repent c. Secondly There are some hardened sinners whose hearts still take delight in Some frequent the means their sinful ways and are extreamly opposite to the Reformation of them nevertheless they will present themselves unto the means they will come to hear the Word although they cannot comply with the Word which they do hear but do secretly dislike and gain-say it and go on in their wicked ways which do harden their hearts Now although this kind of darâ—â—ess is very fearful and in it self very damnable and very difficult to be cured yet it is not utterly uncapable of cure it is not impossible for that hardned sinner to be cured who hath gone on in his wicked ways contrary to the voice of the Word of God which he hath heard and still doth hear which may thus appear 1. Whiles any sinner is in Gods ways he is not utterly uncapable of Gods blessings if yet the sinner hath an ear to hear who can tell but God may give him a heart to consider and to repent Indeed it is confessed that neither this sinner nor any other can convert or soften his own heart to change the heart and to mollifie the heart is the proper work of the Almighty God and as God can do it so he doth it by the Word which is his Hammer to break and his Furnace to melt and therefore whiles the sinner will come and hear the Word God may put out such a power of grace upon his heart as may break down the pride of his heart and may take away the hardness and resistance and opposition of his heart 2. All the sinners who have been converted by grace they have been such hardened sinners â—â— they have been disobedient and have served divers lusts they have opposed the Word and they have gone on in wicked ways contrary unto the Word and yet God did break in by the power of his grace and overcome all the proud resistances of their hearts and made them to yield and cry out Lord what wilt thou have me to do Acts 9. 6. And what shall I do to be saved Acts 16. 3. 3. Although it be true that there are many hardened sinners on whom God will â—â— never work yet no particular hard heart may say that his cure is impossible because that grace by which hardness of heart is cured is gracious and very free it is given unto whom God will please to give it and when he pleaseth to give it sometimes to one sometimes to another sometimes to one whose heart hath been less hardned sometimes to another whose heart hath been more hardned sometimes to one who hath been sinning and hardning his heart twenty or thirty years and sometimes to one who hath been hardning his heart forty or sixty years c. Thirdly There are some hardned sinners who have been a long time unyielding Some are sensâ—ble or their â—â—â—dness and disobedient to the Word and no threats of wrath nor offers of mercy nor treaties of the Spirit nor stroaks of affliction could eâ—er yet make their hearts to bow or yield but still their base hearts would go on in their sins and they would not hearken unto Christ and nothing that God hath spoken or done hath made them to stoop but on they would in their ways and works of sin which they had châ—sen and loved But now they are sensible of all their hardness against God and likewise of the present hardness which lies upon them sensible how stout and refusing they have been and sensible what resisting hearts still they have and sensible what unsensible hearts they have of all their sins Now concerning those hardned sinners there is without all just dispute a possibility of cure because 1. There is in them a sense of their disease of stonyness of heart which is the beginning of the cure 2. They are willing to use the means and for this end that they may be cured 3. If any are under this promise of God to take away the stony heart probably these are the men Quest 2. If this hardness of heart be curable then what is the way and what What is the means of care is the means for the cure of it Sol. If indeed you would be cured of this stony and hard heart within you then you must do as men who would be cured of the disease of the stone 1. You must have a care to remove and forbear all which breeds and increaseth the stone 2. You must take such Medicines as are proper to heal it First You must have a special care to remove and forbear all those things which do Remove what breeds this hardness breed and increase the stonyness or hardness of heart or else you can never be cured There are six things which give being and strength to the hardness of mans heart First One is ignorance of mind you shall find in Ephes 4. 8. a conjunction Ignorance 'twixt the darkness of the understanding and alienation from the life of God and hardness of heart the word is there rendered blindness of heart but that is the original word spiritual blindness breeds spiritual boldness and boldness to sin will presently breed hardness of heart O get off this ignorance which knows not what it is to sin nor what is the danger of sinning and therefore leaves the heart to his own vile inclination and unto Satans temptations Secondly Pride of heart you read of Nebuchadnezzar that his heart was Ptide of heart lifted up and his mind was hardned in pride Dan. 5. 20. There are four cursed effects of pride 1. One It will not suffer the heart to obey the voice of God Who is the Lord that I should let Israel go said proud Pharaoh Exod. 5. 2. As for the Word which thou hast spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee spake those proud men to Jeremiah Jer. 44. 2. Another It makes us Self-willed we will have our will and our own desires and our own ways and who is Lord over us so those proud men Psal 12. 3 4. 3. A third is It makes the Lord to abhor a person Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord Prov. 16. 5. and to leave a person as the Lord left Hezekiah because his heart was lifted up 2 Chron. 32. 25 31. 4. A fourth is It makes us self-confident as in Peter and therefore watchless and careless
punishment An exegential softness as in Pharaohs case You would not imagine what tenderness may appear in men while the rod is held over them or whiles the rod lies heavy upon them penal evils have a marvellous contrariety unto our natures and they have many times a strong authority with us the rod of God commands and obtains that from us which the Word of God cannot because our natures are servile and are more ready to act out of fear than out of love Hence is it that we read of such a quick plyableness in distressed and punished sinners unto the will of God Psal 78 34. When he slew them then they sought him and they returned and enquired early after God ver 35. They remembred that God was their Rock and the high God their Redeemer Nevertheless ver 36. they did flatter him with the mouth and they lyed unto him with their tongues Hose 5. 15. In their affliction they will seek me early Chap. 6. 1. Come and let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will bind us up Judg. 10. 15. And the children of Israel said unto the Lord Do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee ver 16. And they put away the strange gods from among them and served the Lord. How many persons in times of common judgements and in personal sicknesses how mournful prayerful dutiful yet their hearts are not softned Secondly The Legal softness which is when Conscience is awakened with the Legal softness sense of Gods wrath O what a softness what a tenderness what a plyableness doth there appear in persons at such a time as this they will weep most bitterly they will pray most earnestly they will hear most diligently they will not come near to sin or the occasions thereof they set upon a â—eformation what may not God have now from them what resolution Covenants yet all this is but iron in the fire all this is but a Mariner in a storm but a Sea sickness all this is but forced work all this crouching is but to compound the sooner self-love and self-ease and self-fear and self-deceit are the Grounds and Reasons of this softness or tenderness And when this Conscience troubled sinner hath got safe to land and all grows quiet and calm then his tenderness and plyablness is gone he laies aside his cares and fears and tears and reformations and resolutions and he returns to folly again and his heart grows more hard and more unsensible and unmournful and unflexible and disobedient than before Thirdly The Partial softnesse which is when the heart of man is uneven in Partial softnesse this work of tenderness it appears in some things but not in other things v. g. In trouble for sin where the sin hath been foule and notorious now the man is sensible and troubled but not so for spiritual sins which are more dishonouring of God and more dangerous though less infamous amongst men ignorance guile of heart unbelief c. In commission of sin a tenderness is like to be discovered when it is with them as with those Job 24. 17. If one know them they are in the terrors of the shadow of death but none if it may be carried with security Jehu is against Ahabs idolatry but not against Jeroboams idolatry Some have a tenderness not to swear but no tenderness to lye and slander and speak idly In practice of obedience there may be a tenderness not wholly to neglect it but no tenderness conscienciously to perform it a tenderness in duties to man but no tenderness in duties to God Fourthly The Temporary softnesse which may be great even to zeale and yet at length it wears away what an earnestness have we seen in some against sin Temporal softness and what a forwardness in duties nay they have seemed very much to bewaile their own sins as well as to bewail the sins of others and to put on themselves as well as others to the practice of duties both publick and private and yet after a while this tenderness is lost their jealousie and watchfulness and provocation of themselves and others it is gone they grow very negligent very careless and may perhaps be found amongst the companions of profaneness and ungodliness Again some in the hearing of a Sermon in good company c. as Felix when he heard Paul may express much tenderness This tenderness doth nor arise from renewing grace but from some secret lash in conscience or from some inconsiderateness of spirit or from some carnal design or from vain glory c.. Fifthly The Worldly softness I have observed a kind of tenderness and plyableness and softness in some persons First When they would get some worldly things as the Shechemites would be Worldly softness circumcised upon this ground Shall not their cattel and their substance be ours Gen. 34. 22 23. O how many persons will come to the publick Ordinances hear the best Ministers be acquainted with them order their conversations demurely and inoffensively yea and religiously and all this is but to get some good match or some rich place Secondly When they have lost some worldly things a Husband a Wife a Child a Parent a Friend an Estate now they melt into tears mourn and will not be comforted they accuse their sins and send for a Minister and what must they do But this softness is only worldly sorrow and aâ—â—seth from natural affections and is quickly alayed and cured by the accesse of some other worldly comfort and blessing Sixthly The Desperate softnesse and tenderness of despair And indeed when Desperate softnesse any one doth despair there is in him an exceeding and surpassing sensibleness he is deeply semsible of his sins and dejected and overwhelmed in the apprehension of them and often cries out in an amazing manner concerning them and the wrath of God for them and the expectation of judgement and destruction But this is also a false tenderness of heart and it comes not from faith and is not raised by mercy drives the soul from God keeps up impenitency and hardens the heart against all help and hope 3ly The demonstrations of the manifold miseries incumbent The misery of â—ersons destiâ—ute of softness of heart upon and incident unto all persons destitute of softness and tenderness of heart I will mention some of them unto you First Certainly there is no work of grace in such persons they are still in their sins under the power and dominion of them in a dead and unconverted condition There is no work of grace in them without the Spirit and the life of Christ For where renewing grace is wrought in the heart there is alwayes an heart of flesh a soft heart a plyable heart the heart is brought in and made willing and obedient and ready and serviceable unto God Now a graceless condition is a most miserable condition Secondly Certainly these people
run to hell 3. If you would enjoy liberty indeed then become the servants of God and walk in his wayes If the Son shall make you free then are you free indeed Joh. 8. 36. Now your shackles and fetters and prison doores are broken open we are freemen in a spiritual sense when we are freed from sin Rom. 6. 18. Being then made free from sin we became the servants of Righteousness We are freed from all slavish fears by reason of sinne when we receive the free spirit of liberty we become a voluntary people to serve the Lord with newness of spirit and freeness of spirit Dsal 116. 16. O Lord truly I am thy servant thou hast loosed my bonds 4. Object But men will disesteem us neglect us cast us out of their favour and But then we shall be disesteemed reproach us if c. Sol. 1. It is their sin to do so but it is our duty to walk as God would have us to walk 2. What men will do so none but ungodly men who speak evil of us because 1. we run not with them to the same excess of riot 2. A goodly conversation is a reproach to their ungodly life and shames them 3. Regard not the praises of men but the praise of God this you shall be sure to meet with he will own you and honour you though men do not Psal 27. 10. When my Father and my Mother forsake me then the Lord shall take me up The Pharisees reviled and cast out the blind man cured by Christ but Christ met with him and owned and saved him Joh. 9. 35 36 c. 4. You will give a fair account to God that you feared man more than God Lord I should have walked in thy wayes but c. 5. Object Then I will walk in these statutes hereafter Then I will do it hereafter Sol. 1. Hereafter may be too late Gods command is for all our dayes and for the set time whiles it is called to day c. Secondly Continuance in sinful wayes will harden your hearts in them keep up the love of sinne and render the wayes of God more distastful unto you Thirdly And God may in judgement give you up to your own hearts lusts to walk in the counsels of them because you do not hearken unto him See Psal 81. 11 12. 6. Object But I have assayed aad can make no work of it But I find I cannot do it Sol. First Because you assayed slightly and not with all your heart Secondly And because you assayed in your own strength 7. Object But it is a great work however to walk in Gods statutes and How shall we get power to do it what shall I do for power to enable me to walk in them Sol. God who requires us to walk in his statutes doth promise to give us power I will cause you to walk c. Ezek. 36. 27. And cause you to walk in my Statutes and ye shall keep my Judgements and do them THese words as I have heretofore observed contain in them two parts 1. The work or duty which concerns the people of God viz. to walk in his statutes c. this Subject I finished the last Lords day 2. The help or sufficiencies for all that work and duty I will cause you to walk in my statutes whence observe CHAP. XV. Doctr. TThat the people of God have the promise of God to enable them to God will enable his people to walk in his wayes walk in the statutes of God I will cause you c. Zech. 10. 12. I will strengthen them in the Lord and they shall walk up and down in his Name saith the Lord. Phil. 2. 13. It is God which worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure Isa 26. 12. Thou hast wrought all our works in us Chap. 45. 24. Surely shall one say In the Lord have I righteousness and strength For the opening of this excellent and comfortable Truth I will shew unto you five things 1. The many parallels 'twixt Gods command of our duties and Gods promise of help for these duties 2. The parallels 'twixt promises to and instanceâ— in Gods people 3. The several wayes how God doth cause or enable his people to walk in his statutes and do them 4. How far the Lord doth engage his strength of grace to enable his people to walk in his statutes 5. The Reasons both in respect of God and in respect of his people why he will cause them to walk in his wayes or statutes c. 1. The parallels 'twixt Gods commands and his promises or 'twixt the Parallels betwixt Gods commands and his preceps duties commanded by him and the helps promised to enable his people First The Lord commands his people to know him and his wayes 1 Chron. 28. 9. Know thou the God of thy Father c. And God doth promise to cause them to know him Jer. 24. 7. I will give them an heart to know me that I am the Lord. And Jer. 31. 34. They shall all know me from the least of them to the greattest of them saith the Lord. Secondly The Lord commands his people to trust upon him Psal 62. 8. Trust in him at all times Isa 26. 4. Trust ye in the Lord for ever c. And God doth promise to enable his people to trust on him Zeph. 3. 12. I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people and they shall trust in the Name of the Lord. 3ly The Lord commands his people to fear him Deut. 6. 13. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him So Deut. 8. 6. Thou shalt keep his Commandements and walk in his wayes and fear him This likewise hath God promised unto his people Jer. 32. 40. I will put my fear into their hearts that they shall not depart from me Fourthly The Lord commands his people to love him Deut. 11. 1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God Psal 31. 23. O love the Lord all ye his Saints and God doth promise to give them an heart to love him Deut. 30. 6. The Lord thy God will circumcise the heart and the heart of thy seed to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul Fifthly The Lord commands his people to pray unto him and to call upon his Name Call upon me Psal 50. 15. Pray without ceasing 1 Thes 5. 17. I will that men pray everywhere 1 Tim. 2. 8. And the Lord hath promised to give unto them a spirit of prayer Zech. 12. 10. I will poure upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and the Spirit of supplication Sixthly The Lord commands his people to mourn for their sinnes and to loath their sins and to turn from their sins Isa 22. 12. In that day did the Lord call to weeping and to mourning Jam. 4. 10. Humble your selves in the sight of the Lord And
Ten things concerning the goodness of God to his people ibid. Twelve things may assure you that God will be kind to his people 51 Gods Eternity 52 It gives confidence to live upon God as long as we live 53 If God be your God then Christ is your Christ 54 Comfort to the people of God in Covenant 339 God would have the hearts of his people fixt on him alone 348 God doth confine our prayers to himself alone ibid. God gives all needful good assuredly 349 All the blessings which God promiseth to his people in Covenant he gives only upon account of his graciousness 353 God doth not enjoyn nor expect any worthiness as a reason of his blessings 354 God will have us acknowledge our selves unworthy 356 Under the sense of unworthiness let us go to God and trust in him 358 Arguments to demonstrate God is great in mercy 441 God brings great sinners into Covenant in a perfect league of love and peace ibid. God makes use of great sins to humble men 442 They are no small matters that God doth for us ibid. God takes away the ground of despair 443 The people of God may be guilty of great sins 444 God will be praised for Christ 469 God himself undertakes to sanctifie his people 493 God doth not expect that you should bring but receive 108 Difference betwixt restraining and renewing grace 506 Why such as have grace should labour to grow in it p. 635 I but I am under much weakness of grace and many wants Ans 215 H. H … ness OF the kinds of hardness in men 529 Some are sensible of their Hardness 538 Remove what breeds this Hardness ibid. God takes away hardness of Heart from his people 544 A difference betwixt the hardness remaining in the best and that in the wicked 547 Resist hardness returning ibid. They who partake of this mercy should beware of hardning themselves again 550 Of the judgements of God upon hardned sinners ibid. Three sorts of hardned sinners ibid. When we make most Haste we shall hardly finish all we have to do 685 A new Heart is a changed heart 497 God gives a new Heart and a new Spirit to his people in Covenant 496 Ten Characters of a new Heart 511 Why God gives a new Heart 501 Then many are not Gods people they have their old hearts still 502 Exhortation to use the means to get a new Heart 522 The misery of an old Heart ibid. The necessity of a new Heart 523 Hearken not to the prejudices of your old Heart 524 The way to get a new Heart 525 There is a stony Heart in every man 527 Why called a stony Heart 528 Comfort to those that have a new Heart 519 Of the evil of an hard Heart 540 Why God takes away the stony Heart and that by promise 546 The means how God takes hardness of heart away ibid. Labour to be cured of this hard Heart 534 The effects and fruits of a hard Heart 536 Means to cure a hard Heart ib. They are none of the people of God whose hard heart is not removed 548 Keep up the tenderness of heart 554 Search your Hearts often ibid. All the people of God have a softned heart given them 555 What a heart of flesh is A fourfold softness 556 Characters of a heart spiritually soft and tender 567 This tenderness of Heart appears towards â—od 557 Why God gives a heart of flesh 559 Tryals whether we have a tender Heart 560 Bless God for this Heart of flesh 549 Convictions that many deceive themselves in a false softnesse of Heart 564 Get newness of Heart 583 Cet Hearts to love the Lord ib. How the tender Heart is affected in case of Gods honour 574 The workings of a tender Heart in case of Gods dishonour 575 The misery of persons destitute of softness of Heart 566 The benefits of a tender heart 579 How to know which is true humiliation 598 The carnal heart counts any one common and burthensom 668 Our helps are more then our work 693 Six things affirmed of Holiness 33 Why men look after mercy and not holiness 492 Be not discouraged in the sense of the want of holiness 495 The nature of holiness 136 How true holiness may be known ibid. The Author of this Covenant commands holiness 132 What the sin against the holy Ghost is 385 No creature can make another holy 494 What is to be done that we may be holy 137 I. Jesus JEsus the Mediator of the Covenant p. 222 Whilst we live we are imperfect 676 A threefold intercession in Scripture 274 How sad is their condition who have no part in Christs intercession 276 The Popish Doctrine of other Intercessors confuted 275 Idolatry the greatness of that sin 440 Every justified person hath cause of rejoycing 442 The difference between Justification and Sanctification 489 Wonder not to see little good done upon many by private Instructors 532 Its a great judgement not be accepted with God 664 K. Knowledge HOw Knowledge contributes to obedience 655 Without Knowledge obedience is not practical ibid. Some more slow in point of Knowledge some in point of practice 684 Get a clear Knowledge of the wayes of God 698 L. Laws THe observation of Gods Laws belongs to all that are in Covenant with him 643 How Gods people being not under the Law are bound to obedience 646 How the Moral Law never ceaseth ibid. How we are said to be under the Law 647 What is Legal obedience 652 A Legal obedience is indeed impossible 670 In what cases God leaves his Servants 710 Love is not the only rule of our obedience 658 M. Mediator WE cannot serve a better Master then God 696 God is the best Master and why ibid. God is no hard Master 707 Of the Mediator of the Covenant 225 What is a a Mediator ibid. Christ the Mediator betwixt God and us ib. There is a necessity of a Mediator betwixt God and us 226 There cannot be a New Covenant without a Mediator 227 Jesus Christ and he only is the Mediator ibid. Three conditions in a Mediator agree only to Christ 228 How Christ is to be considered as being a Mediator as God-man ibid. A Mediator must be a middle person twixt differing parties ibid. This Mediator undertakes all betwixt God and us 231 According to which Nature in Christ he is a Mediator 132 The works of Christs Mediation were such as no person could effect except he were both God and man 229 There is in us an unworthiness of any mercy 355 That God is a God of infinite mercy 431 Though your sins be great yet there is hopes of mercy 445 What is to be observed about mercies and blessings 662 N. Newness A Natural man can of himself do no good 706 Try our selves what newness is in us 504 O. Obedience HOw to please God in our obedience 664 Progressive Obedience is true Obedience 676 Three things in Christs obedience for our imitation 677 P.
and him Such as through unbelief persevere in refusing Christ 4. Such as through unbelief persevere in the refusing of Christ you think it no great matter to have Jesus Christ preach'd unto you and offered unto you and yet for you to slight Jesus Christ thus offered but remember what I say that person who refuseth Christ doth refuse God to be his God in Covenant He that refuseth you refuseth me and he that refuseth me saith Christ despiseth him that sent me Luk. 10. 16. God becomes our God and our Father only in Christ and therefore Christ saith I go to my God and to your God and my Father and your Father Joh 2. 17. We are brought near to God by Christ and he becomes near to us through the blood of Christ there you find hâ—s love towards you c. and therefore if you will not embrace Jesus Christ there is no covenanting 'twixt you and God he only being the foundation and head and Mediator of the Covenant All uncovenanted people are an unforgiven people Secondly The second conclusion is this that all uncovenanted people are an unforgiven people i. e. all who do continue to refuse God to be their God in Covenant and to be his people in Covenant their sins neither are forgiven nor ever shall be forgiven why so will you say because 1. Forgiveness of sins is only promised in the Covenant of Grace in no Covenant but Reasons of it this not in the Covenant of Works for that is a letter of death and condemnation unto the sinner 2. And as it is only in the Covenant of Grace so it is promised only to the people in that Covenant 1 Kin. 8. 34. Forgive the sin of thy people Ver. 36. Forgive the sin of thy servants Jer. 31. 34. I will forgive their iniquity 3. Only those who are in Christ shall have their sins forgiven Rom. 8. 1. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus Acts 10. 43. Whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins Joh. 8. 24. If ye believe not that I am he ye shall dye in your sins Joh. 3. 18. He that believeth not is condemned already 4. All impenitent persons are unforgiven persons all uncovenanted persons are impenitent persons Ergo. The first Proposition is clear in Scripture see at leisure Ezek. 18. 31. Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby ye have transgressed for why will ye dye O house of â—srael Luk. 13. 3. Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish Prov. 28. 14. He that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief Rom. 2. 5. But thou after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thy self wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God Thirdly Now follows the third conclusion Because these sins are unforgiven therefore The dreadful â—â—ndition of â—â— unforgiven people Sâ—mile they are in a most miserable and dreadful condition It is reported of Caesar that he wondered at one who could sleep so quietly and yet had so many debts upon him In like manner we may wonder at many persons who can live so merrily and jovially and yet have all their sins unforgiven surely they are persons of very gross ignorance and stupidity or else are very high and desperate Atheists But to the point in hand there are eight things which may set forth the dreadful In eight particulars misery of an unforgiven sinner 1. His unutterable privation and loss 2. The full power of the Law against him in all its threatnings and curses 3. The wrath of God under which he walks all his days and which may fall on him whensoever the Lord pleaseth 4. The authority which conscience hath to deal with him in a way of accusation and condemnation 5. The unavoidableness of death and the sting thereof when sins are unpardoned 6. That just and irreversible sentence of condemnation from God in the day of judgement 7. The immediate portion and condition in hell amongst the damned after the sentence of condemnation 8. The eternity of that miserable estate unto which impenitent and unbelieving and unforgiven sinners are adjudged First The unforgiven sinner is under the greatest loss and privation which man possibly He is under the greatest losse and privation can be and what is that greatest loss and privation if you know what the greatest good and happiness is you may then quickly tell what the greatest loss and privation is to enjoy God perfectly and fully and eternally in glory is there any good and happiness like unto this O but the unforgiven sinner shall never see God in glory he shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord heaven is no place for the enemies of God sins unpardoned are like the Angel with a flaming Sword who kept the passage into Paradise there is no entring into life with sins unpardoned they do certainly and eternally bar up that door of heaven and heavenly happiness and now how miserable must that soul be which is eternally excluded from all true happiness Secondly The Law of God is in full power against every unpardoned sinner 1. All the The Law of God is in full power against him inditements and charges of the Law for being transgressed 2. All the threatnings of the Law in the several sorts of judicial punishment 3. All the curses of the Law even to the utmost extent of them Cursed is every one c. the soul that sins shall dye and there is no one moment of this life that he can secure himself c. they may light on him in the house or in the field when he is waking or when he is sleeping when alone or when in company when rejoycing or when making merry when boasting when in highest abundance and confidence when sinning and putting far from himself the evil day Thirdly The unforgiven sinner walks all his dayes under the wrath of God He is all his dâ—yes under the wrath of God God is angry with the wicked every day Psal 7. 11. not with a Paternal but with a Judicial anger even to hatred and abhorment The wicked is an abomination unto him and he hates all workers of iniquity Prov. 3. 32. 15. 9. And this wrath God can reveal it to his soul and poure it forth upon him when he pleaseth and when God poures on him the fierceness of his wrath and indignation he can neither decline it nor sustain it it is like the tempest and whirlewinds it is like burning fire and devouring flames it drives the sinner to his feet breakes down all his arrogancies and vain hopes and sensual joyes and fills him with amazing distractions and terrors and despairs How heavy was this wrath on Christ suffering for our sins it made him to sweat clods of blood how terrible is the apprehension and fear of it to David to Heman how infinitely dreadful will the sense of it be to the unforgiven
they will repent but not yet hereafter they will when they are sick and when they are old and near to death and what mean you to do for the present til the time of sickness or age or death is it not that you serve your sins and take your delights and pleasures and when you can no longer enjoy them then you will give over your sins and then God must give down your forgiveness Simile As if a Malefactor should say I will steal and kill a few years more untill I be taken and then I will leave those courses and the Judge shall pardon me O what a cheat and deceit is this 1. To think that we have repentance in our power 2ly To think that we have forgiving mercy at our command 3ly To love and serve and live in our sins for the present and to promise unto our selves the forgiveness of our sins at the last But wilt thou know and understand O vain man that he who defers to repent is in the mean time impenitent and he that resolves only for hereafter to leave his sins resolves also untill that time to keep his sins and he that resolves to keep his sins doth for lying vanities forsake his own mercies He that will not presently repent doth put himself out of a present capacity of mercy and he who puts himselfe out of a present capacity of mercy may by going on in his sins so harden his heart as to put out himself from a future capacity of repentance The promise of forgiveness is to him who doth repent or forsake his sins it is not to him who defers to repent and saith he will do so hereafter O how foolish is the sinner who might be presently forgiven upon a present repentance and yet will hazard his soul to the loss of mercy upon a presumption of future repenting Surely thou dost not prize the great mercies of God in the pardon of thy sins who dost put off that blessed mercy to enjoy a little longer thy cursed lusts To day if you will hear his voice put it not off till to morrow for 1. It is a question whether late repentance be true 2ly You at least will question it 3ly And whether God will give it at the last 4ly Especially when we put it off to the last Fourthly They do put themselves out of a capacity of the forgiveness of their sins who do presently repent but it is fainedly and hypocritically not cordially They who repent presently but fainedly and really Jer. 3. 10 Her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart but fainedly saith the Lord. Psal 78. v. 4. They returned and inquired early after God Ver. 36. Neverthelesse they did flatter him with their mouth and they lyed unto him with their tongue Ver. 37. For their heart was not right with him Now they do repent fainedly who 1. Spare their beloved sins 2. Who put them off with a purpose to resume them again You have many persons who in the times of sickness or of danger or of loss or of fear of death or of terror of conscience will forbear their sins will cry out against their sins will pray and beg for mercy and as soon as hope and ease and safety appears they do return again with the dog to his vomit and with the swine to the wallowing in the mire 2 Pet. 2. 22. They forget their terrors and tears and prayings and resolutions and professions and are worse in wayes of wickedness than heretofore Their righteousnesse is as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passeth away To these God may speak as in Hose 11. 12. Ephraim compasseth me about with lyes and the house of Israel with deceit They think to circumvent and deceive the Lord with penitential pretences but indeed they do deceive their own souls for God searcheth the heart and trieth the reins and his eyes are upon the heart and upon the truth and it is just that they should be deceived with the fancy of pardon who think to deceive God with the shadow of repentance He who is but hypocritically good is really wicked and he that repents fainedly and falsly doth but provoke the wrath of God more against his soul c. Fifthly They do put themselves out of a capacity of forgiveness who remain They vvho remain unbelieving unbelieving whose hearts are not subdued and brought in to Christ by the Gospel will not consent to take him for their Head and Lord and will not serve Christ in his commands will not suffer him to reign over them to set up his kingdom in them nor to destroy his enemies in them Beloved mark what I say unto you be you what you will if yet you remain unbelievers your sins shall never be forgiven Suppose you be great or mean persons rich or poor persons learned or simple persons covetous and civil persons and just persons Papists or Protestants of this or that Opinion for Doctrine or Government if you believe not on Christ as well as profess Christ if your hearts will not consent to match with Christ if there be any sin or any thing of the world which lies nearer your heart than Christ which holds it off and keeps it from Christ you are now unbelievers and your sin shall not be forgiven 1 Joh. 5. 12. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life Joh. 3. 36. He that believeth not shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Mar. 16. 16. He that believeth not shall be damned Sixthly They also do put themselves out of a capacity of forgiveness who do They vvho despair of mercy absolutely despair of mercy Isidore said right Desperare est in infernum descendere to fall into dâ—spair is to fall into hell where there is perfection of misery without any hope of mercy Here consider a few Particulars 1. It is one thing to doubt and fear and question whether God will be merciful unto our sins and it is another thing to despaire of his mercies one may fear and doubt of mercy for his sins who yet doth not absolutely despair of mercy fear and questionings about mercy may arise from infirmity Psal 77. 9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious hath he in anger shut up his mercies Ver 10. I said this is my infirmity but absolute despair of mercy ariseth from absolute infidelity and it is a peremptory concluding against all the powers and goodness of mercy in God My sinne said Cain is greater than may or can be forgiven Gen. 4. 13. 2. Again there is a passionate and transient despaire And there is a setled and permanent despaire The one is total but not final the other is total and final In times of strong temptation and Gods desertion and our own melancholy and troubles of conscience one may possibly conclude there is no hope of mercy and his sins are such as exceed
sinnes Repenting sinners confesse their sins First You shall find Repenting sinners confessing their sins Ezra 9 6. O my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face unto thee my God for our iniquities are increased over our head and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens Ver. 10. And now O our God What shall we say after this for we have forsaken thy Commandments c. Psal 51. 3. I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me Ver. 4. Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight Dan. 9. 4. I prayed unto the Lord my God and made my confession and said O Lord the great and dreadful God c. Ver. 5. We have sinned and committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgements c. Ver. 8. O Lord righteousness belongeth unto thee but unto us confusion of face as at this day Luk. 15. 18. I will arise and go to my Father and will say unto him Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee Ver. 19. and am no more worthy to be called thy Son c. Secondly Now these penitently confessing sinners you shall expresly find And are under the promise of forgiveness to be under the promise of the forgiveness of sins I Joh. 1. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins Psal 32. 5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee and mine iniquity have I not hid I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sinne Selah 3. The third and last part of Repentance is conversion or turning from Conversion from sin to God sin unto God Ezek. 33. 11. Turn ye turn ye from your evil wayes Repenting in Scripture is to this purpose styled a putting away of sins Isa 1. 16. and a casting away of our sins Ezek. 18. 31. and a forsaking of our sins Prov. 28. 13. and a departing from iniquity 2 Tim. 2. 19. and a turning to repent of sin and to continue in sin are a contradiction as if you should say that a man leaves his sins when yet he holds them fast and will not let them go Two things you also read of this part of Repentance 1. One That truly penitent persons do forsake their sins they turn from Penitent persons forsake their sins them they put them away Isa 30. 22. Ye shall defile the covering of thy graven images of silver and the ornaments of thy molten images of gold Thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth Thou shall say unto it Get thee hence Hos 14. 8. Ephraim shall say What have I to do any more with Idols Judg. 10. 15. And the children of Israel said unto the Lord We have sinned Do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee Ver. 16. And they put away the strange gods from among them and served the Lord. Job 34. 31. Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born chastisement I will not offend any more Ver. 32. That which I see not Teach thou me if I have done iniquity I will do no more Jonah 3. 8. Let them every one turn from his evil way Ver. 10. And God saw their works that they turned from their evil way 2. The other That they who do penitentially turn from their sins are They who turn frâ—m sin are under the promise of pardon under the promise of forgiveness of sin Prov. 28. 13. Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall finde mercy Many men confess their sins who yet do still love to keep their sins and therefore shall miss of mercy but the way for mercy is to forsake their sin as well as to confess sin Isa 55. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way and let the unrighteous forsake his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Thus have I opened unto you the integral parts of Repentance which doth certainly bring us within the capacity of the promise of forgiveness of sins Secondly I shall now proceed to handle the Qualifications of every one of The right qualifications of those parts of Repentance these parts of Repentance by which you may know that you do in truth act every one of them and consequently are under the promise c. And the rather do I insist on this because many persons do think that they are sorry for their sins and do think that they do rightly confess their sins and do think that they forsake their sins and thereupon do presume upon forgiving mercy whereas really they are still under the love and power and service of their sins and do not repent at all all which you shall find in every part which I have mentioned clearly instanced in Scripture First For mourning and weeping and afflicting the soul persons have acted something in this way and yet have not repented in truth and therefore have missed of forgiveness Mal. 2. 13. This have ye done again covering the Altar of the Lord with tears with weeping and with crying insomuch that ye regarded not the offering any more All this was but hypocrisie for notwithstanding all these tears they dealt treacherously every one against his brother Ver. 10. And profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved and married the daughter of a strange god Ver. 11. Isa 58. 3. Wherefore have we fasted and thou seest not Wherefore have we afflicted our souls and thou takest no knowledge Ver. 5. Is it such a Fast as I have chosen a day for a man to afflict his soul c. Secondly For confession of sins some have done this and yet they have not rightly and penitentially done this Exod. 9. 27. Pharaoh said I have sinned this time the Lord is righteous and I and my people are wicked see what a confession is here but then see Ver 34. when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder were ceased he sinned yet more and hardened his heart he and his servants Thirdly For turning from sin some have pretended thus far and yet have not truly acted therein Psal 78. 34. When he slew them then they sought him and they returned and enquired early after God Ver. 35 36. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth and they lyed unto him with their tongues Ver. 37. For their heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant Jer. 2. 20. Of old time I have broken thy yoke and burst thy hands and thou saidst I will not transgress when upon every high hill and under every green Tree thou wanderedst playing the harlot Thus you see that some have pretended to all the parts of Repentance and yet have not acted up to any one part in truth Therefore I will now deliver unto you the right qualifications of all
5. 5. This ye know that no Whoremonger nor unclean person hath any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God Ver. 6. Let no man deceive you with vain words for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience Zach. 5. 3. This is the curse that goeth forth Every one that stealeth shall be cut off on this side and every one that sweareth shall be cut off on that side Secondly Suppose indeed that thy particular sin comparatively were a small sin yet thy love of that sin and delight in it makes that exceedingly hainous and thy condition very dreadful Is there any thing which God hates but sin and which he hath forbidden but sin and against which he hath revealed his wrath but sin and must this be the only object of thy love and delight this which his soul abhors which so dishonours and provokes and grieves him O what a condition is this to delight in that which dishonours thy God to love that which grieves and provokes God As Saul said to Jonathan Do I not know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion 1 Sam. 20. 30. So say I Dost thou not know that thou lovest that which will be thy damnation is there any thing which will damn a man but sin and is there any thing which will more certainly do it than the love of sin and is there any thing more inconsistent with the nature and practice of true Repentance than to set the heart on sin Thirdly Of all sins whatsoever the sins which we have loved and delighted in are to be forsaken if we will approve our selves true penitents and within the hopes of pardoning mercies because 1. Nothing keeps up the power and dominion of sin so as the love of sin doth 2. And nothing continues us in the way and course of sin so much as the love of sin c. 3. Nothing makes us more presumptuous in sinning than the love of sin 4. And nothing makes us more to neglect and slight the warnings and threatnings and calls of God than the love of sin 5. And nothing doth more harden the heart in the way of sin than the love of sin 6. And nothing doth more hinder our hearts to close with Christ than the love of sin 7. Nothing doth more provoke God and render us more obnoxious to the wrath and curse of God Fourthly There is not a clearer evidence of true Repentance than in time to forsake oâ—â— beloved sins and to walk in ways contrary to them I have kept my self from mine iniquity Psal 18. 23. This is the laying of the Axe to the root of the Tree this is indeed a change of the heart and other sins will easily fall off if beloved sins be really renounced But we have been accustomed to such a sin and cannot leave it Object But yet some will reply There are some sins unto which we have been so accustomed that do what we can we cannot leave and forsake them Will not God pardon us unless we come off from them Answered Sol. To this I answer 1. Be the sin what it may be if you see it to be a sin and the way to be sinful it must be forsaken if we will have mercy 2. Of all sins whatsoever the sins of custome are to be repented of custome is no plea but an aggravation for a custome of sinning is a long course and time of sinning a long time of sinning against God although he hath exercised much goodness and long-suffering towards the sinner which should have led him to repentance it is high time for such a sinner to consider and fear and return least the Lord give him up unto a seared conscience and a reprobate mind and never treat with him more but break out into wrath against him 3. Although you cannot forsake any sin by your strength yet you may be enabled to forsake the accustomed sinning by the strength of God to whom you must pray to turn you that you may be turned from sin This work is very difficult but not impossible perhaps impossible to you but yet not impossible unto God who can break the cords and chains a sunder and say to the Captives Go free and to them who have been long dead Live and rise I but I should be undone if I should leave some sins Object It is once more objected But I cannot live I should be undone if I should turn from every sin and should I not sometimes sell on the Sabbath and sometimes lye and forswear and cheat and cozen people my trade should fall and custome be gone and I go a begging This is a strange plea you should be undone unless you commit those sins by which you are undone but Answered Sol. To this let me thus answer 1. There is no man whom God puts in a lawful Calling that hath any reason at all to use any sinful way to uphold and maintain himself why so because God hath abundantly undertaken to provide for him and to bless him whiles he conscientiously walks and labours in his Calling Gen. 17. 1. I am the Almighty God Walk before me and be thou perfect q. d. Trouble not thy self for other things only be thou upright and I who am the Almighty God will take care for thee Psal 37. 3. Trust in the Lord and do good so shalt then dwell in the Land and verily thou shalt be fed Hebr. 13. 5. Let your Conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee 2. Sinful ways are no ways to live or thrive by but expose to curse and ruine Jer. 17. 11. As the Partridge sitteth on Eggs and hatcheth them not so he that getteth riches and not by right shall leave them in the midst of his days and at his end shall be a fool Micah 6. 10. Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked And the scant measures which is an abomination Ver. 11. Shall I count them pure with the wicked ballances and with the bag of deceitful weights Ver. 12. The Inhabitants have spoken lyes and their tongue is deceitful in their mouths Ver. 13. Therfore will I make thee sick in smiting thee in making thee desolate because of thy â—â—ns Ver. 14. They shall eat and not be satisfied Ver. 15. Thou shalt sowe but thou shalt not reap thou shalt tread the Olives but thou shalt not anoint thee with oyle 1 Thes 4. 6. That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter for that the Lord is the avenger of all such 3. Suppose thy trading should fall it were much better to be piously poor than to be wickedly rich to have a little estate and a good conscience than a large estate with a guilty conscience to lose the world and to save the soul than to gain the whole world and to
forgive us all love all kindes of true love and all degrees of true love First A love of desire our souls should long after him Psal 73. 25. Secondly A love of delight our souls should take their fill of contentmtent and satisfaction in him Thirdly A love of extasy wondering and admiring at this great love and rich mercy of God towards us Who is a God like unto thee who pardoneth iniquity Mich. 7. 18. But I obtained mercy I said Paul 1 Tim. 1. 13. Fourthly A love of similitude Forgiving one another as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you Ephes 4. 32. shall we be so hardened to others when God is so tender to us Fifthly And a love of zeale in promoting what God loves and doth respect his honour and in removing what God hates and makes for his dishonour Sixthly A love of friendship to have our hearts knit unto him and bound unto him in an everlasting Covenant Thirdly Fear much They shall fear the Lord and his goodness Hos 3. 5. There Fear much is forgivenesse with thee that that thou mayest be feared Psal 130. 4. He will speak peace to his people and to his Saints but let them not turn again to folly Psal 85. 8. No man should have a more tender Conscience than he who hath gained a pacified Conscience None more feare to commit sin than he whose sins God hath remitted though God can multiply pardons yet it is not good nor safe for you to put him to it It is the right and proper improving of forgiveness of sins to watch our hearts and to take heed that we sin no more It argues a profaneness of heart to sin because God is merciful so it argues a most wicked heart to sin after God hath shewen mercy in the forgiving of sins Is forgiveness of sins so cheap and ordinary that you will again venture to sin Did it cost Jesus Christ his precious blood to purchase the forgiveness of sins and wilt thou as it were crucifie him again to procure thee another pardon Did it cost thee so many troubles of heart and confession and supplication to gain forgiveness of former sins and wilt thou break thy bones again that mercy may set them again did God shew unto thee such riches of grace after all the evil thou hadst committed to discharge thee to be reconciled unto thee to quiet and pacifie thy Conscience to passe by all and wilt thou now break the Laws of Love and Bonds of Friendship to sin and provoke a pardoning and a kind God Fourthly Improve much this singular mercy that ye are within the promise Improve much of the forgiveness of your sins Improve this four wayes 1. As to what depends upon it 2. As to what accompanies it 3. As to what may still preserve you in the sweet and comfortable fruition of it 4. As to what you may conclude from it both à parte Ante a parte Post First Improve it as to all the fruits which do depend upon it and flow from it Our justification or remission of sins is a Root which bears very precious fruit Improve it as to all the fruits which depend upon it and a Fountain from which do flow many sweet streams Thence ariseth all the peace in Conscience thence ariseth all the transcendent joy of the heart thence ariseth all the hope of the soul thence ariseth your great confidence in your communion with God Peace in Conscience depends on peace with God which certainly you have when God forgives your sins And therefore beseech the Lord to speak this peace unto you O Lord thou sayest in thy promise unto me thy sins are forgiven now I beseech thee say unto my Conscience Go in peace live in peace peace be unto thee in forgiving thou respectest thy glory and my comfort say unto my Conscience Neither trouble nor be troubled more let me know that I have found grace in thine eyes let grace and peace come from thee Joy of heart this also springs from forgiveness of sins received by Faith A condemned Malefactor hath no cause to joy but the pardoned sinner hath Rom. 5. 11. We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have received the attonement Psal 51. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Sin brake his bones his strength his comfort his joyes and the forgiveness of sin the news of that the hearing of that the knowledge of that would be a ground of joy and gladness to him O thou pardoned sinner why dost thou walk so heavily so dejectedly so pensively so unchearfully is not the promise of forgiveness of thy sins clear and open to thee and should not a forgiven sinner rejoyce God rejoyceth when he shews us mercy and should not we rejoyce when we receive mercy Indeed when we seek for pardoning mercy we should seek it with tears but when we have found mercy we should go home with joy Beloved pardoned sinners may rejoyce and should rejoyce In whom after ye believed ye rejoyced with joy unspeakable and full of glory â— Pet. 1. 8. Should not the forgiveness of of sins a passing from death to life from wrath to love from hell to heaven and the enjoying of God as our God and as our Friend and as our Father are not here causes good enough sufficient to â—ejoyce in the Lord Therefore in the times of your sadness chear your hearts and expostulate with your hearts why are you thus cast down and why walk you thus heavily what God your God! what Christ your Christ and all your sins freely forgiven and out of all danger and within all hopes and yet be so heavy c. Secondly Improve the forgivenesse of sins as to what accompanies a forgiven Improve it as to what accompanies a pardoned condition condition Beloved forgiveness of sins never goes alone in promise nor in participation you shall find the great Covenant of gifts linked together in promise and they are joyntly desired by the people of God a false heart is only for pardon do you not find the new heart and the new Spirit and the soft heart and the obedient heart all conjoyned with this promise of forgiveness Ezek. 36. 25 26. O then rest not here saying My sins are pardoned but press the other promises there of sanctification O Lord subdue mine iniquities as well as forgive iniquities thou hast given me mercy O give me grace thou hast broken my fetters O heal my diseases thou hast covered my sins O turn my sinful soul enable me to bring thee glory by holy walking seeing thou hast graciously pardoned the wickedness of my former living Thirdly Improve the forgiveness of your sins as to what may still preserve you in Improve it as to what may still preserves you in the comfortable fruition of it the sweet and comfortable fruition of it Though one cannot lose the forgiveness which God hath
repentance not else Isa 1. 16. Wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well Ver. 18. Come now let us reason together saith the Lord Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool Acts 3. 19. Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out what their great sins were you may read in Ver 14. They denied the holy One. And Ver. 15. Killed the Prince of life and if they would have these sins blotted out they must repent of them Fourthly God hath threatned unto great sinners on whom his mercy hath God threatens eternal wrath to them that repent not not wrought repentance eternal wrath and a peremptory privation of mercy with inevitable destruction unto them who have presumed to go on in their sins for the first of these see the known place of the Apostle Rom. 2. 4. Not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance Ver. 5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up to thy self wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God For the latter of these see that smart place in Deut. 29. 19. And it come to pass when he heareth the wâ—â—ds of this curse that he bless himself in his heart saying I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of mine heart to adde drunkenness to thirst Ver. 20. The Lord will not spare him but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoak against that man and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him and the Lord shall blot out his Name from under heaven Ver. 21. And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the Tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the Covenant that are written in this book of the Law Fifthly A going on still in great sins if it be any sure testimony at all it is Persisting in great sins if any testimony at all it is rather that God will not pardon rather that God will never forgive you than otherwise why so will you say because 1. There is no promise of mercy to any that goes on in his great transgressions but refuseth to hearken and to return in such a condiâ—ion and course no promise 2. There are dreadful threatnings of God against such who shall go still on in their trespasses Psal 68. 21. And God shall wound the head of his enemies and the hairy scalp of such a one as goes on still in his trespasses Isa 65. 20. The sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed Prov. 29. 1. He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy 3. Your going on still in sinning unless the Lord be infinitely and extraordinary merciful towards you will render you utterly uncapable of forgiving mercy for First This course of sinning is that which doth desperately harden your hearts and fear your consciences that no dealing whatsoever can make any impression upon you toward Repentance Secondly The Lord doth usually give up such sinners to their own hearts lusts and to a reprobate mind and soul Sixthly Though possibly some few sinners who have for a long time continued Though a few such obtain mercy yet they are hardly perswaded of Gods mercy in great transgressions may obtain mercy yet they shall find it a very difficult work to be perswaded of Gods mercy to their souls Psal 6. 3. My soul is also sore vexed but O Lord how long My Reasons are these 1. Because the threatnings of God are so many and so express against great sins especially against the continuing in them that it will not be easie to over-ballance these threatnings of God with the promise of God 2. Because the truth of repentance is very apt to be much questioned by great sinners when yet indeed they do repent they do conceive and that rightly that for extraordinary sinnings extraordinary repentance is required but they feel such a hardness such a deadness of heart O they cannot repent And let me tell you if any great sinner be in dispute about the truth of his Repentance he will also be in dispute about the apprehension of mercy 3. Because of all sins whatsoever great sins do incline us under the clear apprehension of them to despair You shall find this experimentally true that the more desperate people have been in sinning they are more apt to despair when conscience ever sets upon them for their sins The guilt of great sins will be heavy and bitter and the woundings for great sins will be sharp and deep always for them there falls in the sense of Gods great wrath and the fear of Gods great judgement and the instances of the great punishments of God inflicted on great transgressions and with all these Satans great and subtile temptations all which are powerfully apt to sink the sinner with despair and then this is clear that the more apt any sinner is to despair the less apt is the sinner to close with pardoning mercy nay it falls off the more from the hope of it 4. Because the Lord is pleased to hold up the manifestation of his love a long time from those that have a long time sinned against the offers and calls of his love and mercy thereby teaching great sinners how unworthy they are to taste of his goodness and warning other great sinners not to presume of any easie enjoyment of mercy And you shall find it a hard work to settle and perswade the conscience of a great sinner about mercy when the Lord doth after many seekings still hold up the manifestations or sensible expressions of his favour and mercy towards him 5. Because it is a very difficult thing to act faith under the sense of great transgressions lesser iniquities do many times check and keep down our confidences much mort do great transgressions c. SECT V. Cases of conâ—ience What a troubled sinner should do that can find no parallel instance of the like sin forgiven Ansâ—ered Troubled sinners look after instances of like sinners pardoned BEfore I pass away from this Point of Gods pardoning great sins I would speak to a few Cases or Scruples of conscience with which some are or may be troubled Quest 1. What that troubled sinner should do who hath been guilty of some great sin for which he cannot finde any one parallel instance of forgiveness in all the Scriptures i. e. that ever God did forgive any that were guilty of that sinne Sol. To this very sadly distressing Case I would deliver these six Answers First It is true that a person convinced of and really troubled with the sense of any great sin doth look after and will not easily be satisfied in conscience without a parallel instance in the Scripture
appear and no Use private helps of Conference and Prayer with godly and experienced Ministers and Christians special workings yet arise and no hope of mercy then let him conferre with some godly and well experienced Ministers and Christians if there be a messenger with him an Interpreter one among a thousand Job 33. 23. to pity his soul and to shew him his way and to open counsel unto him and to poure out his heart in prayer to the Lord for him The fervent prayers of the Righteous are effectual and prevalent Jam. 5. 16. and should be called in for help in such a case And when all of them joyn together and cry mightily unto God O Lord in the midst of judgement remember mercy Lord deal not with this sinner according to his sinning against thee Lord do not forsake him and leave him Lord return in mercy to his soul aâ—d renew him again unto repentance for thy Name sake for thy Christs sake do not abhor him but heal his back-slidings and be merciful unto his back slidings I teâ—l you that such joynt and earnest prayers of the people of God are seldom denyed by God Fourthly If yet no spiritual working can be revived but his heart like the Shunamites Repair to some soul-searching and quickning Ministry child which for all that Gehazi could say or do still remained dead so this mans heart for all that private helps can do still remains hard and unaffected then let him think on and repair to some soul-searching and quickning Ministry which God doth ordinarily bless to break down a presumptuous heart and to lift up a contrite heart to pierce and wound a hard heart and to comfort and revive a troubled heart Who can tell what the Lord will or may do in and by his own Ordinance especially when a poor â—â—nner comes directly for that end to receive impressions from God and renouncing all his own power as well he may for it utterly fails him offers up his heart such as it is unto the Lord to be created as it were again and new mouâ—ded and formed and quickned O Lord I doubt I have lost all since my sinning against thee oh that sinning against thee I can neither find thee nor my self Repentance seems to be dead O I cannot grieve or mourn and Faith seems to be dead and I cannot believe or trust Lord may I come to thee may I look up to thee may I call upon thee may I hope in thee thou canst yet do me good wilt thou so O that thou wouldest make thy power to appear if yet thou wilt not make thy grace to appear I have cast my self down and I cannot raise my self I have hardened my heart and I cannot soften it I have weakened every grace and I cannot quicken any one again yet O Lord thou canst do all this thou canst convince and humble and turn and raise and renew I bring my heart to thee do with me what seemes good in thine eyes only take not thy Spirit from me by thy Spirit breathe some life into this dead heart I have lived a presumptuous sinner yet O Lord let me not dye an hardened and impenitent and unbelieving sinner Fifthly If after all this nothing appears of change in thy hard heart then set Set some time apart for fasting and prayer somesolemn time apart for fasting and prayer to humble thy soule and to seek the face of God And indeed this is convenient and necessary in this case for extraordinary sinnings do require extraordinary humiliations and God gives in and comes unto us upon such extraordinary seeking when he holds off upon ordinary and common addresses The Word of God tells us so much and experience seals and bears witness thereunto And therefore let nothing hinder or divert thee from this work not that this kind of service hath any kind of merit in it but that 1. God expects it if we would have peace after great sinnings And 2ly it shews how much the heart is displeased with itself and truly longs to be raised and reconciled And 3ly God is usually found in this way and returns again and shews compassion and forgives sins and subdues iniquities And withall remember three things about this work 1. Be not discouraged though at the beginning thou findest thy heart very hardened and dull and straitned yet still hold on and before the end of it thou shalt find it altered into some mournings and meltings and hopes of mercy and gracious answers 2. Fasten all thy hopes on the Lord Jesus pray and ask in his Name and trust in his Name for thy pardon and for thy recovery and resolve plainly to wait and hearken what the Lord in his time will speak to thee and do for thee 3. Apply those promises which do especially respect thy â—ad condition What are those will you say They are 1. the promise of softening a hard heart 2ly The promises of healing a back-sliding heart 3ly The promises of pardoning great transgressions you have them all expressed in the Word Ezek. 36. 26. I will take away the heart of stone and will give them an heart of flesh Hose 14. 4. Isa 1. 18. I will heal their back slidings Though your sins be as scarlet I will make them as white as snow EZEK 36. 25. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean c. YOU have heard already from this Verse two things One was the Quality of the mercy promised by God unto his people and that was the forgiveness of their sins The other was the Quantity of that promised mercy respecting partly the multitude of their sins and partly the magnitude of their sins From all your filthiness and from all you Idols will I cleanse you Now there remaines yet a little more which God doth promise about the forgiveness of the sins of his people and that is expressed in the words which I have read unto you I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean Object For it might be objected How it is possible that our sins which are so many and which are so great should be forgiven us what can be found to appease Gods justice for them and to take them away so that they shall never be imputed unto us and how may we be assured or ascertained concerning this Sol. The Answer is made in the Text I will sprinkle clean water upon you and What is meant by sprinkling clean water upon them The blood of Christ The particular application of his blood you shall be cleaâ—â—â— by which expression two things are meant 1. The blood of Christ which is the effectually meritorious reason of the forgiveness of the most and of the greatest of the sins of the people of God 2. The particular application of the blood of Christ unto them with an assurance that it was shed for their sins Both these doth the sprinkling of clean water import You read in
this it is enjoyed at an It is enjoyed at an easâ—e rate easie rate the price of it is very cheap as that ill piece of ground presently received the Word with joy Luke 8. 13. so a false assurance riseth very suddenly This houre very wicked and the next strangely assured it cost the man no tears nor prayers nor wrestlings for a man to be much in ignorance and wickedness and much in joy and assurance this cannot be right for the Apostle 2 Pet. 1. 10. would have us give all diligence to make our calling and election sure and Phil. 2. 12. To work out our salvation with fear and trembling All diligence and much pains must be laid out to attain a true assurance Many prayers Psal 51. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness Many tears Psal 6. 6. All the night make I my bed to swim I water my couch with my tears Many waitings Psal 85. 2. I will hearken what God the Lord will speak for he will speak peace c. Fourthly A false assurance is a possession without a title The man talks of It is a possession without a title much joy and peace and comfort and assurance but there is not any one promise of God of these things to him nay God is so far from promising assurance of forgiveness that in the condition wherein this person remains there is not any one promise of forgiveness for he is wicked and unconverted and a stranger to Christ and to one remaining so there is not so much as a promise of pardon much less a promise of assurance that sin is pardoned Now take this for a certain truth that the assurance which any man hath of the pardon of his sins if it hath no foundation in a promise it is but a false delusion if God hath not promised to forgive you you cannot be safely assured that you are forgiven much more is it false if God threatens to destroy you for your unbelief and impenitency Suppose one doth promise and ensure in a conveyance of land such or such an estate to such or such a person whose name is there inserted and expressed Will you or may you thereupon seize your self of that estate and think to make money of it as yours who are not named in it this were a ridiculous madness Simile So the Lord makes promise of forgiveness of sins unto his â—eople unto them that believe unto them that repent those are their names whom God calls the heirs of his promise and presently you are confident and you are perswaded and you are assured that your sins are forgiven I pray you why so Is your name amongst the living do you repent of your sins who do still hold them fast and will not let them go Do you believe who still refuse to obey the voice of Christ God doth promise to comfort those that are cast down 2 Cor. 7. 6. Were your souls ever cast down And that they who sowe in tears shall reap in joy Psal 126. 5. Did you ever sowe in tears whose heart is hardened to this very day Fifthly A false assurance it is either without all ground or without all It is without ground or without sure ground proper and sure ground it is like the house built on the sand and not on a rock Matth. 7. For put it to any presumptuous sinner what are the reasons and grounds of your confidence what is the medium which doth thus perswade and assure you that your sins are certainly forgiven The man cannot if he will speak the truth give you any reason at all but so he thinks and he is of that mind and will be so and if he doth give you arguments and grounds they are of such a vulgar and common nature as no solid Christian dare build on them and the Scripture rejects them as unsafe being at the best and highest no other than civil men or hypocrites may be possessed of perhaps some outward temporal prosperity perhaps some works of civil righteousness perhaps some common supernatural gifts perhaps some external religious performances perhaps some sudden transient affections these or some other common works of the Spirit or matters below these are the foundations and bottomes upon which all his assurance is built Simile As if one should build a Ship of paper and set up there his confidence of safety The Scripture as you shall shortly hear lays other and more sure and higher foundations of building up a right assurance Sixthly I will adde one discovery more of a false assurance and that is It is vain and ineffectual this it is a vain and ineffectual assurance like painted fire which heats not or like a counterfeit drug which purges not There are five things which it never produceth and therefore it is not true assurance but an empty delusion 1. It makes not the heart more holy He that hath this hope purifieth himself as he is pure 2. It makes not the heart more humble but always more proud therefore it is no work of the Spirit 3. It makes not the heart more sorrowful for sin past and ashamed for sinning against such gracious mercies but leaves it hardened 4. It makes not the heart more fearful to sin but rather more ventrous neither do any more additions of sinning shake and interrupt or trouble this assurance 5. It puts not out the heart in more love to God or zeal for him or to express one jot more of godliness in the conversation all which doth infallibly prove that the assurance comes not from the Spirit of God but from a spirit of delusion Fourthly Now in the fourth and last place I will shew unto you that this false assurance concerning the pardon of our sins is a most dangerous deceit It is a most dangerous deceit It is soul deceit which will appear unto you thus First It is a soul deceit such a sinner deceives his own soul which is of all other deceits the highest and the worst There is a twofold self deceit 1. One respects our bodies and our outward temporal estates this many times proves very uncomfortable unto us and very miserable to our posterity 2. Another respects our souls and our sâ—iritual and eternal estates as to be confident that we are in a good estate when really we are in a bad estate and that we belong to Christ when really we do belong to Satan and that our sins are pardoned and that God loves us and will indeed save us when indeed our sins are not pardoned but remain debts uncrossed and we still lie under the wrath of God and under condemnation This is soul deceit and most woful deceit it is worse than to rest upon a false title for all our worldly estate it is worse than to trust to a false plea and vain defence for a mans life and it is the worse because 1. The sinner will not easily be convinced 2. Nor come back and begin the work
for mercy to pardon their sins and never mind holiness nor how to get their hearts to be sanctified Nay they oppose holiness and scoff and scorn at holiness These men will lose their souls because both of these which God hath promised are necessary for salvation you must have your sins pardoned or else you cannot be saved and so you must have your hearts sanctified or else you cannot be saved Quest 1. But you may say unto me why do men look only after mercy and Why men look after mercy and not holiness not also after holinesse seeing God hath joyned them together in his promise and both must be in persons which will be saved The Reasons may be these First Holinesse is more contrary to mans sinful nature than mercy Mercy indeed relieves the sinner in a more easie and delightful way but holiness though it doth relieve the sinner yet it doth it in a way more cross to our sinfull love for it fights against our sins and doth purge and work them out from our hearts and will not suffer sin to bear Rule there Secondly Though holiness be the way to heaven yet sinfull men do not look on it as so but they look on it as the way of trouble and reproach as a way that is contradicted and exposing them to crosses losses and contempts and which is too severe against their carnal liberties and pleasures and wills and therefore they like it not No man reproacheth another because he is justified but because he is sanctified for sanctification is a reproach and condemnation to the evil wayes of men Vse 3. Doth God promise to sanctifie his people as well as to justifie Be not content with the one without the other them Then be not content with the one without the other but joyn them in your prayers which God hath joyned in his promises Be not satisfied that you sins are pardoned neither be satisfied that your hearts be sanctified as he cryed out Domine de penitentiam da indulgentiam so do you Lord give me grace and Lord give me mercy God is a holy God as well as a mercifull God and Jesus Christ came by water and blood 1 Joh. 5. 6. Let your hearts be earnestly carried out for both To this end remember six Conclusions First Though your Right and Title to heaven lies in Justification yet your meetnesse and fitnesse for heaven lies in your Sanctification Col. 1. 12. Giving thanks unto God the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light Acts 20. 32. I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified Is it meet or fit that an ungodly person should be in heavenly glory The Leper had a right to his house yet was not fit to dwell in it untill he was cleansed Secondly When you look at the pardon of your sins you seem to look more at your selves your own safety your own peace your own deliverance from wrath and hell but when you look after sanctification you rather look more at Gods glory how you may be enabled to honour him more 1 Pet. 2. 9. Yea are a chosen generation a royal Priesthood an holy Nation a peculiar people that you should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light Thirdly We should be compleat in Christ Col. 2. 10. And in all the will of God Chap. 4. 12. How can this be if Christ be not your sanctification as well as Righteousness if you be not partakers of his Spirit as well as of his merit if you do not dye and live with him Fourthly It is a sign of a naughty heart when mercy alone is desired and that only will satisfie In an exigence the most wicked man will cry out for mercy but he never cries for sanctity Pharaoh put Moses upon it to pray that God would forgive his sinne but never that God would heale his hardness Fifthly As God promiseth the one as well as the other so he will never give the one without the other If he justifies you he likewise sanctifies you and if you are not sanctified assuredly you are not justified when you are by Faith united to Christ your communion immediately falls in for sanctification as well for Righteousness And it is impossible that Christ should be yours but you must have the Spirit of Christ Rom. 8. 9. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his and that Spirit quickning us with a new life and mortifies our lusts Some hold that sanctification is an inseparable effect of justification but unquestionably it is a companion of it and a lively testimony of it Sixthly Because he promiseth both therefore seeke for both Consider 1. God promiseth nothing that is superfluous or useless but it is good and for our good 2. He promiseth no good which he 1. Is not able to perform And 2ly willing to perform Holiness is an excellent good it is the image of God it is the glory of God it is called glory 2 Cor. 10. it is the glory and excellency an unholy person is but vile and base the Saints are the excellent on the earth Psal 16. 2. It is our perfection it is the highest elevation of our names here on earth and hereafter in heaven it is the prime work of the Spirit it is the scope of election he hath chosen us that we should be holy Ephes 1. 4. It is the scope of vocation God calls us unto holiness 1 Thes 4. 7. And this God hath promised to give c. But I shall speak no more at present of this general Observation I will touch a little also upon the next general Proposition and then I will come to the principal matter in the Text. SECT II. Doct. 2. THat God himself undertakes in promise to sanctifie the hearts of his people I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit within God himself undertakes to sanctifie his people you Levit. 20. 8. I am the Lord that sanctifieth thee Luke 11. 13. How much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him Joh. 17. 17. Sanctifie them through thy truth thy Word is truth 1 Thes 5. 23. The very God of peace sanctifie you wholly Quest Why God undertakes it First Else it were impossible to be effected Consider First That no creature can make it self holy it cannot change it self no man Why God undertakes it Else it were impossible No creature can make itself holy can change his own sinful heart Who can say I have made my heart clean Prov. 20. 9. And this will appear by two particulars 1. No sinful man hath any supernatural power in him to produce any superdatural work in himself he is without all strength without me saith Christ
that seek thee I believe all this Lord help my unbelief c. 3. Perseverance hold on this request and against all the rebellious workings of your old heart and against all the fears and disputes and discouragements of your old hearts yet lift up one Prayer more and one Prayer more you shall certainly prevail if you can persevere in Prayer There are three Requests which a poor broken-heart is sure to speed in if he will pray alwayes and not faint One is for a Christ and another is for pardoning mercy and a third is for a new heart Thirdly Diligently and patienly attend the Word by which God converts Attend the Word and changeth and renews the heart Psal 19. 7. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting souls Jam. 1. 18. Of his own Will begat he us with the Word of Truth Ephes 5. 26. That he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word How many old sinful hearts hath God convinced and converted by his Word that have come unto it with ignorance and been sent from it with knowledge that have come to it with hardness and have been sent from it with tenderness that have come to it with pride and have been sent from it with humility that have come to it with all manner of profaneness and have been sent from it with all manner of holiness with the Love of God and fear of God and hatred of sin and real purpose to walk with God in newness of obedience O therefore attend the Word of the Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation and therefore the power of God to Renovation c. Fourthly Lastly beseech the Lord to give you the uniting faith that faith which will unite your hearts to Jesus Christ which will effectually bring you into Begge uniting Faith relation with him as Members of the Body of which he is the head as Branches of himself the true Vine Object Why what will this do may some of you say Sol. I will tell you what it will do it will infallibly bring in renewing grace to your hearts You can never be changed and renewed Creatures unless you be in Christ 2 Cor 5. 17. For our spiritual life is in and from him he is the Authour of life unto us as Adam was the authour of death unto us And he was anointed with the Spirit that we from him might be Anointed with the Spirit And if once you be united by Faith unto him you partake of his Spirit to sanctifie and renew and conform you unto himself He that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit 1 Cor. 6. 17. EZEK 36. 26. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh THese words are yet a further Declaration of the gracious will and intention of God towards the people of his Covenant Two things already hath God promised unto them one was to justifie them to pardon all their sins another was to sanctifie them to renew all their hearts And there are two more choice mercies and blessings which he doth graciously undertake to bestow upon them First One is to take away the stony heart out of their flesh Secondly The other is to give them an heart of flesh O what a mercy is it to be rid of the stone in the body which puts us to such exquisite pain and torment your mercy is infinitely greater to be delivered from the stone in the heart which is the depth of sin and the height of judgement There are three Propositions which these words do hold forth unto us viz. First There is a stony heart or an heart of stone in every man Secondly That God will take away the stony heart from his people Thirdly He will not only take away from them the heart of stone but he will also give them an heart of flesh CHAP. IX A heart of stone in every man Doctr. 1. THat there is a stony heart in every man I will take away the There is a stony heart in every man stony heart out of your flesh there it was else it could not be taken away the natural heart is a stony heart not Physically so as if it were so indeed but Metaphoriaclly so it is like the stone it is a hard heart spiritually hard that is meant by the stony heart Zach. 7. 12. They have made their hearts as an Adamant stone Isa 48. 4. Thy neck is an iron sinew and thy brow brass q. d. Thy heart is exceeding hard like Iron which will not bow and like brass which will not change both which are explained in the first words of the verse Thou art obstinate For the opening of this Point I will shew unto you 1. Why the hard heart which is in every man is called a stony heart 2. What stonyness or hardness of heart is to be found in man 3. Several Demonstrations or Convictions that the heart of every man naturally is a hard or stony heart SECT I. Quest 1. VVHY is the hard heart called a stony heart Why called a stony heart It is so called for the resemblance which it hath with a stone and in five particulars 1. Unsensibleness 2. Unflexibleness 3. Resistingness 4. Heaviness 5. Unfruitfulness First Because it is an unsensible heart What sense is there in a Rock in a An unsensible heart Stone in the Adamant in Ephes 4. 18 19. hardened sinners are said to be past feeling and that expression past feeling seems to be taken from the hands of labouring men which are so thickned and hardned by pains that they can grasp nettles and thorns and yet not feel the sharpness nor sting the natural heart is in this respect a stony heart i. e. unsensible Though he hath as many sins upon the soul which makes the very Creation to groan and to travail in pain Rom. 8. 22. yet he neither complains nor feels he goes on fâ—om day to day and adds drunkenness to thirst and drinks up iniquity as water yet he saith What evil have I done and there is no iniquity in my doings though the judgements of God be very near him and the tokens do abundantly appear yet like Ephraim when gray hairs were here and there upon him he perceived them not Hosea 7. 9. Yea though the anger of the Lord be poured upon him and sets him on fire round about yet he knows it not nay though it burn him yet he lays it not to heart Isa 42. 25. Such a gross stupidity is there in the natural and stony heart What one spake of himself in an humble way Erubescenda video nec erubesco dolenda intueor nec doleo peccata inspicio Bern. in Med. cap. 12. p. 1200. nec geno This and much more may be said of him that hath the hard and stony heart he blushes not he grieves not he sighs not for his sins nay he rejoyceth and boasteth and makes
but a mock of sin so utterly unsensible is he of sin Secondly Because it is an unflexible heart you may bow a stick and melt An unflexible heart the brass and bend the very iron but you cannot bow nor bend the stone the stone may be broken in pieces yet you can never so mollifie it as to make it to bow it is naturally hard and naturally unyielding Thus it is with the heart which is hard it is unflexible and unyielding it will be what it hath been Ezek. 3. 7. It will not hearken it will not obey it will receive no instruction advice counsel let God speak and do what he will let men speak and do what they can yet a hard heart fears not God nor regards man God sends Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh with a command to let Israel go he rejects this command Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice c. Then they shew wonders before him yet he will not yield then God sends plagues upon the fruit and corn and cattle and servants yet he will not yield nor obey Thus when the Israelites fell sick of the stone I mean when their hearts became hardned then they became unflexible and unyielding 2 Chron. 36. 15 16. The Lord sent Prophets to them early and late but they mocked the Messengers of God and despised his Word and misused his Prophets You may read in Amos the 4th how God dealt with them in manifold ways of judgement yet there was no yielding in ver 6. He sends them cleanness of teeth and want of bread yet have ye not returned unto me saith the Lord in ver 7. He with-held rain from them yet ver 8. have ye not returned unto me in ver 9. He smites them with blasting and mildew yet have ye not returned unto me in ver 10. He sent the pestilence among them after the manner of Egypt yet have ye not returned in ver 11. He overthrew some of them as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the rest were as a fire-brand pluck't out of the fire yet have ye not returned O this is the hard heart which when God speaks it will not hear when God calls it will not yield though God intreats it by mercies yet it will not yield to leave sin though God threatens it with wrath for continuing in sin yet it will not forsake sin though God plucks away mercies after mercies though God lets down judgement after judgement though he wounds the conscience though he throws it into hell yet it will not yield to obey the voice of the Lord to turn from sin Thirdly Because it is a resisting heart the hard stone doth not only not A resisting heart receive impression but it resists and turns back the stroaks even so when the heart is hard it doth not only not admit the Word but instead of yielding it opposeth the Word and resists the Spirit of God Jer. 44. 16. As for the Word which thou hast spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee Ver. 17. but we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth out of our own mouth Zach. 7. 11. They refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped their ears that they should not hear Ver. 12. And made their hearts as an Adamant stone lest they should hear the Law Acts 7. 51. Ye stiffe-necked and uncircumcised in heart ye do always resist the Holy Ghost Hence it is that sinners of hard hearts are said to make light of the Word to despise it to reject it to mock at it to contradict it to blaspheme and speak against it as the Pharisees and the Jews c. Fourthly Because it is an heavy heart the stone is naturally heavy descending A heavy heart and inclining downward if you will find it you must look for it in the earth and if you throw it up it will fall down again to the earth that is its center thither it inclines and there it resteth So the hard heart it is an heavy heart not only heavy in a way of indisposition and untowardliness to what is good no mind to pray or hear or repent c. but also heavy in a way of inclination it is an heart which inclines downward to worldly lusts and sinful lusts in them it delights and rests as in its center Although sometimes in an exigence of outward trouble and inward anguish of conscience it seems to be lifted up yet upon the cessation of their working it returns again to its old love and practice of sin Fifthly Lastly The hard heart is called a stony heart because it is a barren A barren heart and unfruitful heart What fruit is to be gathered from the stone or rock Cast the seed on it let the rain come down from heaven upon it let the Sun shine with its beams upon it yet the stone is a stone still a barren and unfruitful lump of earth And thus is it with an hard heart though the man lives under many precious means of grace and manifold helps and daily opportunities and though others are wrought upon by the Word the Word brings forth in them the fruits of knowledge of godly sorrow of repentance of faith of love of newness of heart and life c. yet in him it is unfruitful though he lives under it many years yet his heart is ignorant still and proud still and earthly still and filthy still he is not humbled nor changed nor reformed at all Thus you have some Reasons why the hard heart is called a stony heart Now in the next place lets enquire Quest 2. What kinds of stonyness or hardness of heart is to be found in man The kinds of hardness in man that so we may the more admire at the greatness of Gods mercy who promiseth to take it away out of our natures Sol. For this know that there is a threefold hardness incident to the heart of man 1. One is Natural 2. The second is Habitual or Contracted 3. The third is Judicial or Penal First Natural hardness of heart is that Tomb-stone of sin and death Natural hardness it is one part of that wretched nature conveyed unto us by the fall of Adam by which our hearts are made dark and unsensible of our sins and untoward and disobedient and gain-saying and unyielding and refractory and obstinately set against the commands and ways of God and the strivings of his Spirit and all his dealings either in ways of mercy or in ways of judgement This natural hardness as it is in every man by nature so it is in every part of man in every faculty of his soul In his understanding there is a wonderful incapacity and stupidity and inapprehensiveness of them though distinctly opened and often revealed truths and ways of God In his memory there is such a hardness that all the heavenly delivery of the mind of God in things pertaining to salvation fall away as
waters from the Rock are forgotten and they slip away they stay not sometimes one minute though other discourses are held fast In his judgement there is such a hardness that raiseth enmity and resistance and affords a world of carnal reasonings to oppose and put by the truth In his will there is such a hardness of obstinacy and perversness that when all is said that can be said by Law or Gospel yet men will not hear Joh. 5. 40. though they may be saved nor will they hear though therefore they shall be damned In his affections there is such an hardness that men sin without fear and without all compunction and sorrow of heart and though the glorious things of Christ are revealed and offered and pressed upon them yet no delight no love no desire at all can be raised in them c. In his conscience which under all the threats of God and terrors of God revealed remains quiet unstirred scared and careless as if these were fables and impertinent notions Secondly The Contracted hardness is that which we bring upon our sinful Contracted hardness hearts and adde unto them by the frequency of our sinning actions or practices or by a voluntary opposing of all the means which do tend to the softning our heart And by the way let me tell you that there are three kinds of sinning which do extreamly super adde to the hardning of mans heart One is the sinning against clear light The second is the sinning with delight The third is the customary way of sinning long going in a path often beating the anvile Thirdly The Judicial hardness which is that unto which God gives the stubborn sinner up for not harkning unto him but still continuing and persisting Judicial hardness in a sinful course and therefore he leaves him unto himself and to his own lusts and his Spirit shall no more strive with him and hereupon the sinful heart being left unto it self breaks forth into all manner of wickedness and so doth exceedingly obdurate it self it becomes more unsensible and more fearless and more enraged against all that is good c. Now the stony heart or hard heart spoken of here in the Text is principally that which is natural and I will not deny that the Contracted hardness may be meant but not the Judicial Quest 3. But how then may it be demonstrated that naturally every mans Demonstrations of it heart is a stony or hard heart Sol. There are six things which may convince us that it is so First The forwardness in men to sin every natural heart is ready to sinful The forwradness in men to sin acts and easie unto them Ephes 4. 19. If temptations present themselves the natural heart presently entertains them and complies with them and if no temptations from Satan and the world present themselves the natural heart will tempt it self why this is a conviction that the heart is hard for if it be a good sign of a tender and soft heart when it is afraid to sin How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God said Joseph Gen. 39. 9. Then surely it is a sign of a hard heart when it is forward to sin and greedy to sin and easily and willingly lets out it self to sin and fears not at all to sin but every mans heart naturally is so forward and bent to sin that it cannot and it will not be restrained from sin Gen. 11. 6. Nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do Zeph. 3. 5. The unjust know no shame Secondly The silence and quietness in conscience under all sinnings Men neglect Quietness under sinning all holy duties and sweaâ— and lie and deceive and are drunken and commit adultery c. and conscience saith nothing to them Assuredly this is a strong conviction that their hearts are hard for where there is any softness of heart there conscience is alive and hath some power to warn and check and oppose before sinning and likewise to accuse and condemn and trouble after sinning But now natural men generally find it thus that conscience is dead and takes no notice or it is weak and can do nothing with them before sinning it appears not and after sinning it troubles not Ergo. their hearts are hard Thirdly The security of heart Taken me any one broken-hearted sinner Security of heart why under the sense of any one transgression he goes heavy all the day long and he weeps bitterly and he waters his couch with his tears and he is afraid of the Lord whom he hath provoked and he makes in earnestly for reconciliation and peace with God and why doth he so because his heart is soft and tender But on the contrary the natural man he sins and is confident exposes himself to wrath and yet is secure and though God saith he is offended and displeased with him and though God threatens him with wrath and though he knows that God hath destroyed some for the same sin of which he is guilty yet the man goes on in his sinful practices and makes no account of this And what is the cause of it it is this his heart is hard and hardened Were not the man under a reprobate sense infinitely stupid and seared he could not rest so secure Fourthly The absence of all penitential works Whensoever the Lord gives The absence of penitential works a soft heart which is opposite to this stony heart then ariseth presently 1. A sight and solemn consideration of sin 2. An humble mourning and lamenting for sin 3. A self-judging confession of sin 4. A cordial aversation from sin 5. Importunate supplication for pardoning mercy and grace 6. A serious application of the heart to Christ And on the contrary where the heart is hard there are none of these no hard heart considers of its ways saying What have I done no man smites on his thigh and is humbled no man repents no man seeks after the Lord no man cries out for mercy or for grace or for Christ Certainly so much as there is of impenitency so much there is of hardness of heart but naturally every mans heart is impenitent and he is not only a stranger to these penitential works but also he is an enemy unto them Ergo. Fifthly The inefficacy of the Word the Word of God is compared The inefficacy of the Word sometimes 1. To the Sun which enlightens and quickens 2. To water which softens and cleanseth 3. To the hammer which bruises and breaks 4. To fire which heats and melts and refines but on the natural heart either it hath no efficacy at all or it is a long time before it can make any impression and yet a longer time before it make any saving impression either the heart will not suffer us to hear the voice of the Word or it will not suffer us to acknowledge the truth of the Word or it is so hard that it will not suffer us
to do any thing according to the Word indeed the heart is so hard that unless the Lord himself be pleased to put out his Almighty power it will never yield unto any saving operation of the Word Sixthly I will adde one Demonstration more of the hardness of mans heart The unsensibleness of it which is this the unsensibleness of that hardness of heart naturally the heart is so hard that it doth not and cannot perceive its own hardness indeed when grace comes into the heart then a spiritual sensation comes into the heart then we can feel our sins and feel our hardness and complain of the one and bewail the other O Lord why hast thou hardened our hearts from thy fear Isa 63. 17. But while men are in this natural sinful condition they are not sensible of their finful burdens nor are they sensible of the unsensibleness of their stupidity and hardness of their hearts They are sensible of this loss and of that want and can complain of this and take on for that but when did you ever hear a natural man complain of his hard heart O I have such an heart so full of sin and yet I cannot mourn for sin so unteachable so untractable so resisting so opposing the Word of God and ways of God! What shall I do whether shall I go O it is a burden that I cannot bear c. Why this unsensibleness that our hearts are hard it is a demonstrative conviction that they are hard and indeed no heart is more hard than that heart which is not sensible that it is hard Now I come to the useful Application of this unto our selves SECT II. Vse 1 IS there a stony heart in every man is the heart of every man naturally a hard heart Then wonder not to see so little good done upon men wonder Wonder not to see so little good done upon many By private instructions not 1. That our own private instructions and counsels and intreaties and reproofs usually come to nothing How often do we find parents abounding in cares and watchings and teachings and advising and checking and correctings of their children and when they have said and done all they can they fall a weeping and a sobbing and sighing why what 's the matter O nothing will work on my childe and what 's the reason of it thy childe hath a hard heart and an hard heart is an unteachable and an untractable heart Publick pains 2. Wonder not that Simile the publick pains and labours in the Ministry of the Gospel of Christ many times proves but like rain that falls upon the house top or upon the rocks little or no fruit comes of studies of prayers of doctrines of exhortations of reproofs but people remain still what they were as proud as vain as profane as impudent in sins as before And Ministers are apt to be discouraged and complain that they spend their strength in vain and labour for naught Isa 49. 4. And some imagine if other Ministers came into their room the matter would be much mended and other Ministers do come and then awhile they fall a weeping and complaining What a people are these that no part of the Word of God will work on and no kind of delivery of the same will take hold of them if we intreat them they slight us and if we plainly reprove them they grow worse Now I say wonder not at this Christ himself met with such kinds of people when he preached here on earth and he did hit upon the right cause of all this untowardliness and aversness and that was the hardness of mens hearts I have heard some preach that if Ministers would use clear convictions in their preaching that their hearers would be taken for they were reasonable creatures alas that they should proclaim their own ignorance that men are rational creatures a Philosopher can teach us but that men are sinful creatures and have hard hearts the Scriptures teach us and all the convictions and demonstrations of the will of God will never make impression unless the Lord take away the stony heart out of them 3. Wonder not that all the Providential Dispensations of God work not better amongst men you see many times that personal affections do no good at Providential Dispensations all though one loseth husband wife children estate he fears not he returns not he mends not wonder not at this for the man hath an hard heart You find many times publick judgements in a Nation and God pouring contempt and wrath upon it and on all sorts of men and yet the Inhabitants thereof do learn no righteousness but he that was ignorant is ignorant still and he that was filthy is filthy still and he that was proud is proud still and men grow more wicked under the judgements and plagues of God upon them wonder not at this for their hearts are hard hearts and nothing whatsoever will or can effectually work as long as the heart continues hard Thou mayst pity and pray and weep and fear but persons of hard hearts will do none of these untill God take away the stony heart from them Vse 2 Is there a stony heart in every man then let us make a stand and wonder at the exceeding patience of the Lord and his long-suffering that he can Wonder at the exceeding patience of God bear so much and forbear and hold in his wrath and not make an end of sinners and utterly destroy them You cannot possibly comprehend what affronts and injuries the hard heart puts upon God and what continued provocations that heart daily sends forth and raiseth against him O what careless neglects of his commanding will What proud slightings of his severe threatnings What contemptuous refusals of his gracious offers of mercy What audacious resistances of his Spirit What desperate boldness in sinning What an obstinate course and progress in offending of him What unteachableness and barrenness after all the pains that God takes with it all the cost that he is at to work upon it for good and yet the Lord is patient towards it and renews offers of grace and sends early and late and there is line upon line and precept upon precept and yet he doth not leave the sinner for all this but for a long time stands at the door and knocks and waits that he may be gracious and gives him time and expects him when he will consider and hearken and return Truly the hardness of mans heart is wonderful which will not bow after so many gracious dealings of God and the patience of God is more wonderful who will bear so many and so long affronts from a proud and hard heart If the Husband-man hath a piece of ground which after all his Tillage still bears bryars and thorns he will cast it off If the School-Master hath a Scholar which after long teaching and instructing continues dull and uncapable he will meddle no more with him Sir I can do
and open to the strength of temptations And certainly all these will cause or occasion exceeding hardness of heart therefore if you would be rid of a hard heart beseech the Lord to cure you of a proud heart which is above counsel and without fear Thirdly Vnbelief of heart Take heed saith the Apostle Hebr. 3. 12. lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God Unbelief but Ver. 13. Exhorting one another daily lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin One said well that Unbelief will in time make a man an Atheist When a man believes not that there is a God or that God is true in his threatnings or in his promises this man will not fear to sin where there is no faith there is no fear and where there is no fear of God there is no fear to sin against God and where there is no fear to sin there the heart will let out it self to all wickedness and who can now question but all this will cause exceeding hardness of heart Fourthly Hypocrisie of heart this likewise breeds and strengthens hardness Hypocrisie of heart When a man will dâ—ssemble with God and godliness pretends love to them and zeal to them and yet secretly his soul loves sin and keeps up a way of wickedness and bears down the light and actings of conscience this man doth wofully obdurate his own heart and fears his conscience by speaking lies in hypocrisie Fifthly Deceitfulness of sin Hebr. 3. 13. Lest any of you be hardned through Deceitfulness of sin Lib. de Consc p. 1749. Edit Basil the deceitfulness of sin Bernard doth notably describe the degrees by which a man steps up unto hardness of heart 1. Saith he the man with much ado ventures to commit a sin and this sinful act or work it is importabile oh the terror and hell that it is unto him 2. Then after a while when the terror is off he ventures to sin again and now that which was importabile becomes grave it is only a burden but not a terror unto him 3. Then after some little time he commits the sin again and now that which was grave becomes love it is no such great matter vulnera non sentit verbera non attendit 4. After a lesser space he returns again to folly and now leve becomes dulce non solum non sentit sed placet that sin which was light is now become delight and pleasant 5. And after this Dulcedo becomes consuetudo that which was pleasant to him now becomes constant with him it is no more to sin than it is to eat and drink 6. And at last Consuetudo vertitur in naturam whereas at the first it did almost seem impossible to draw him to commit the sin now it proves more impossible to restrain him from sinning sic itur in aversionem duritiem cordis thus the sinner makes way for the hardning of his own heaâ—t Take heed of this and keep far from this and break off all progressive ways of sinning or else you will never get off hardness of heart but you will dye and perish under it Sixthly Wicked Society From this you must be removed if ever you would Wicked society have hardness of heart removed wicked company will easily entice you to sin and will cunningly lead you on to more sin and will teach how to plead for sin and how to despise and reject the counsel of friends and the commands of God to turn from sin 2ly You must take such Medicines you must use such means as are proper Medicines for cure to cure the stonyness or hardness of your hearts Now these means I shall reduce unto 1. Meditations 2. Practical Actions 1. The solemn and serious Meditations First Consider and Meditate upon the multitude and greatness of our sins which Serious Meditations Of the multitude and greatness of oursins are 1. A separation from God O what is this to be in such a condition wherein a mans soul is separated from God and blessedness 2. A vexing and a provocation of God What is it to provoke the Lord to wrath and to kindle his displeasure against you 3. A rebellion against God and trampling under feet his holy and righteous will 4. A dishonouring of God it had been better that thou hadst never been born than that God should lose so much of his honour by thee 5. An exposure to the curse of God who may every moment damn thee for thy wickedness and transgression 6. An unutterable madness to set thy delight on that and serve that and take pains to accomplish that which only brings all misery and destruct on on you Secondly Consider and Meditate on the wonderful evil of an hard heart by which Of the evil of an hard hearâ— 1. You are so unlike to God he is tender and thy heart is hard he is sensible of thy sinnings but thou art not sensible of them he is troubled at thy sins but thou art not troubled for thy sins he cryes out against them but thou cryest not out for them forty years long was I grieved c. 2. You are unlike to Jesus Christ the Son of God Christ did gâ—ieve at the hardness of mans heart and yet thou dost not grieve at the hardness of thine own heart he shed tears and wept over the hardness of Jerusalem and yet thou weepest not at the hardness of thine heart he complained of this yet thou complainest not of this 3. You are unlike to the Holy Ghost the Spirit of God thy hard heart grieves him who hath moved so often and striven so long with thee yet thou grievest not but rejoycest thy hard heart vexes the Spirit of God and yet thou art not sensible at all 4. You are worse than the Divels who tremble but thou fearest not by reason of any Word that God doth speak nor of any wrath or judgement which God hath threatned 5. You have been more brutish than the very beasts they are teachable and they are tractable and they are sensible of love and anger but nothing doth thee good thou art unteachable and untractable and unsensible and stupid 6. You maintain an enmity and contradiction to God whom you are bound to obey as creatures as redeemed c. Thirdly Meditate of the judgements upon hardned sinners the judgements Of the judgements of God upon hardned sinners 1. Threatned by God against them Job 9. 4. They shall not prosper Prov. 28. 14. They shall fall into mischief Rom. 2. 5. They treasure up wrath against the day of wrath Prov. 29. 1. They shall be destroyed suddenly and without remedy 2. Executed Pharaoh drowned in the red Sea Saul falling and dying upon his own Sword the King Zedekiah his eyes put out and bound with chains and carried into Babylon the Jews scattered over all the world Jerusalem a desolation by the Romans Julian killed with
a dart Spira longing for death rather than life c. if the Lord should let fall any of these judgements upon thee what would become of thee Fourthly Meditate on the patience of God and on the goodness of God Of the patience of God 1. On the patience of God who hath been so long provoked by thy hard heart and yet hath spared thee held off his hand from striking of thee hath all this while born with thee and forborn to judge thee 2. On the goodness of God both to thy body and soul thou who hast so Of the goodness of God much hardned thy heart against him hast yet every day tasted of his bounty and blessings yea and that he is treating with thy soul sends Ministers deals with thee in a Gospel way calls on thee to repent offers thee Christ and mercy and heaven and assures thee if thou wilt yet hearken thy soul shall live 2ly Practical Actions and they are these Practical actions Come and hear First Come and hear 'T is true an hard heart cares not to hear the Word yet because thou hast a power to come and hear the Word as well as to go to any other place or work use thy power rather to come and hear the Word and that Word which is most convincing piercing humbling Moses rod made the waters to come out of the Rock The Word of God is able to save a soul and therefore certainly it is able to convert and soften the soul The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and live Joh. 5. 25. All who have got the cure of hardness of heart they have found it at the Word and by the Word which is the Sword of the Spirit and the power of God Secondly Go and pray beseech the Lord himself to circumcise thy heart he Go and pray only can cure the stone in the heart he only can take away the stony heart out of the flesh nothing is too hard for him Lord Lord leave me not to the hardness of my heart Lord open mine eyes make me sensible over-power my stiffe and rebellious and gain-saying heart Object O but my heart is so hard that I cannot pray Sol. 1. Pray as thou mayst at least grieve 2. And sigh under the burden of thy hard heart cry out O that I were made sensible and that I could pray to God to be cured 3. And go to them that can pray beseech them to beseech the Lord for thee O Sirs be sensible of one who is not sensible of himself pray for me who cannot pray for my self Thirdly Look a little on Jesus Christ whom thou hast pierced that thou mayst Look on Jesus Christ mourn Zach. 12. 10 Look on him and what thy hard heart hath done unto him thy hard heart it was which crucified him which pierced him which shed his precious blood And now hearken what Jesus Christ saith unto thee O hard-hearted sinner thy sins have put my soul to grief thy sins have drawn tears from mine eyes and blood from my heart Thou hast been very cruel to me I will not be so to thee lo I offer my self unto thee and my blood unto thee it shall wash thee from all thy sins it shall make thy peace it shall save thy soul if yet thou wilt no more harden thy heart but forsake thy sins and receive my offers Methinks this cannot but bow and melt thee if this doth not what will if the love of Christ if the blood of Christ will not nothing will They say that the blood of the Lamb is that which can soften the Adamant if any thing will work on will melt an hard heart it is the blood which came from the heart of Christ Fourthly If at any time the power of God appear on thy heart in meditation or hearing or praying or affections or secret workings of his Spirit that it begins to yield to hearken and consider to relent to soften 1. Do not dash and quench these by sinning by unbelief or by wicked security 2. But cherish them work with these workings keep them up raise them up Quest 3. How may one know that he is cured of a stony and hard heart at the How may one know that he is cured least that the cure is beginning Sol. The resolution of this question hath reference unto the second Proposition viz. that God promiseth to take away the heart of stone from his people but to speak unto the question as it now falls First When hardness of heart is cured or curing there is instantly wrought a By a spiritual sensation spiritual sensation such a sight and such a feeling as the poor sinner never had the like in all his life Simile As when a man is delivered from a deadly palsie he begins to feel and complain of the benummedness and heaviness of his limbs saith he What ails my arms and my feet I can hardly stir them there is scarce life in them nor sense nor motion So when the Lord is curing any sinner of the hardness of his heart he begins to see and feel and complain O saith he What a hard heart have I what a sinful and wretched heart I have heard of a proud and stout heart of a careless and unbelieving heart of an hard and rebellious heart of an impenitent and obstinate heart alas my heart hath been and it is all this O what an untoward heart do I feel in my self to any good what an unyielding heart to any thing which God commands and an unwilling heart to part with sin what a gain-saying heart to stoop to Christ this my heart I now feel to be like the flint the Iron the Adamant no man hath such an insensible hard heart as I. This is the first evidence of the cure of an hard heart viz. the sensibleness of the unsensibleness and hardness of the heart Secondly When hardness of heart is cured or curing then the sinner will By judging of himself and sins in another manner judge of his â—â—ns and of himself so as he did never before He looks on his sinful heart as on a root of gall and wormewood and he looks on his sinful ways and doings as vile and cursed and wonders at himself what he meant to be so forward to sin and to be so obstinate in sinning and to be so desperately profane as to contend with God in slighting the knowledge of him in refusing to hearken unto him in opposing of his Word in rejecting all the gracious and saving offers of Christ O my madness and folly O my pride and misery to forsake my meâ—cies for lying vanities to pitch on hell rather than heaven to love darkness rather than light O how jâ—st were it with God to reject me who have rejected him and never to hear me calling upon him who have so often turned away my ears from hearing him when calling upon me I am the chiefest of sinners
and unworthy of any mercy Lord be merciful to me a sinner Thirdly When hardness of heart is cured or curing then conscience recovers Conscience recovers it seâ—â— in all its offices it self in all its offices and operations it was 1. Asleep before but now it is awakened it was 2. Dead before but now it is alive it was 3. Silent before but now it speaks and now it shews it self with wonderful authority and power First Now it is an Accuser These have been your sins Secondly Now it is a witness in testifying against thee that thou wast guilty at such a time and in such a place and in such company Thirdly Now it is a Judge and condemns the sinner Wrath belongs to thee fâ—om which thou shalt never escape unless thou get into Christ Fourthly And now it wounds and troubles the sinner for what he hath done thou didst withstand such means of grace and thou didst resist such strivings of Gods Spirit and thou didst scorn and mock at the Word of God and thou didst hate instruction and reproof and thou didst therefore harden thy heart and wouldst commit such and such sins because thy sins were discovered and reproved c. Fourthly When hardness of heart is cured or curing then the sinner will not The sinner will make out for counsel rest in the sense of his miserable condition but out he goes for counsel to this Minister and that Minister and there he cries out with tears O Sirs what shall I do to be saved Acts 16. 30. I have slighted God and I have despised you and mock't at your counsel the good Lord forgive it me I now see what I saw not before and my heart is over-whelmed within me I know not what to do what way to take for the Lords sake shew me the way of life and mercy and peace Fifthly When hardness of heart is cured or curing then there is a special teachableness He is become teachable and tractableness fallen into the heart of a sinner the man can now hear reason and he is content to receive the Law from the mouth of God his slighting mocking despising spirit is departed from him and now it is Lord what wilt thou have me to do Acts 9. 6. and now it is Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk Psal 143. 8. Whiles hardness prevails upon the heart no word of mercy no work of affliction no command of God no counsel of man can do any thing but the sinner will hold on in his sinful way come of it what will but when hardness is off then the heart becomes like a tender branch you may bend it which way you will or like the soft wax which presently receives the impression Speak but one word Take heed do not such a thing it is evil the heart presently flies off Have a care do such a work the Lord requires it at your hands presently the heart yields it stands in awe of the Word Sixthly When hardness of heart is cured or curing then all the dealings The dealings of God will work kindly of God will work kindly and effectually upon thee When thou hearest the threatnings of God thy heart will tremble and melt as Josias did when thou seest the judgement of God thy heart will lament and mourn as Davids did when the Lord meets thee in a way of affliction thy heart will humble it self and bow before the Lord when the Lord shews thee any mercy and blessings thy heart will receive them with tears O how good is God to me a sinner when the Lord reveals himself in his Covenant and Promise and sets out himself in the exceeding riches of his grace and love and mercy why thy bowels are stirred within thee and tears do trickle down thine eyes and longings rise up in thy heart O Lord that thou wouldst be my portion Seventhly When hardness of heart is cured or curing then the sinner He will never be quiet till he have Christ will never be quiet untill he hath Christ and untill he can see God to be at peace with him and reconciled in Christ There is no hoâ— with a broken and tender heart without a Christ and without a reconciled God Lord give me Christ and Lord take away iniquity and Lord receive me graciously O he is now sensible what a sinner he hath been and what injuries God hath received from him and what God may do against him and what need he hath of a Christ to make peace for him and therefore his soul is impatient and strives and wrestles for Christ and the distressed man indeed is become willing to part with all so that he may have his part in Christ and Gods reconciled favour Eighthly What shall I say more when hardness of heart is cured or curing He hath a singular aptitude to prayer the sinner will find a singular aptitude to prayer and his great delight will be to be with God unto whom he can now open himself with enlarged confessions and with floods of tears and grief even for an heart to be given unto him to mourn and bewail his sins and to obey c. and that he would never suffer his heart to harden it self any more Ninthly When hardness of heart is cured or is curing there will be A singular fear to sin then a singular fear to sin against God any more the man would not live and do as formerly for all the world How shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God Gen. 39. 9. How shall we live in sin any longer Rom. 6. 2. Ezek. 36. 26. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and will give you an heart of flesh You have heard something of the first Proposition vâ— That there is a stoninesse or hardnesse of heart in every man naturallyiz I now proceed to the second Proposition which is this CHAP. X. The stony heart taken away 2. Doct. THat God will take away that hardness of heart from his people I God takes away hardness of heart from his people will take away the stony heart out of your flesh you have the same promise in Ezek. 11. 19. I will take the stony heart out of their flesh For the opening of this Point I would speak unto these Particulars 1. The manner how God takes away the hardness of heart from his people 2. Why the Lord will do so 3. How this can be affirmed seeing there doth remain much hardness of heart in the people of God SECT I. Quest 1. THe manner how God takes away the hardnesse of heart from his The meanes how God takes it away peeople Sol. For Answer unto this remember that hardness of heart may be taken away 1. Preparatively 2. Effectually 3. Successively 4. Perfectly and compleatly First The Lord takes away the hardness of heart Preparatively when he lets in such a powerful work of his Spirit by the Law which doth
both convince Preparatively and break the heart of a sinner The Spirit by the Law doth let in the sense of sin and wrath which is irresistible upon the Conscience which is of that authority and force that it rents the heart and fills it with fear and trembling and astonishment This is that which the Schoolmen call Attrition And our Divines usually stile Legal preparation and the Scripture the spirit and bondage whereby all the powers and presumptions and confidences of the soule are shaken and the heart is made so sensible of its transgressions that it quakes and trembles and hath no rest nor peace but is filled with bitterness and terror and cries out with woful complaints I have undone my self I have sinned I have sinned and what will become of me I feel the wrath of God and what shall I do to be delivered I cannot live thus and I dare not dye thus if the Lord shew me not mercy I perish for ever Secondly The Lord takes away the hardness of the heart Effectually and this Effectually he doth when he diâ—solves and melts the stonyness of the heart It is one thing to break a stone into pieces and it is another thing to melt a stone as it were into water Simile The Lord doth by the Law break the stony and stout heart of a sinner but he melts and dissolves the heart by the Gospel and on this wise he doth dissolve and melt it 1. By revealing of mercy and hope of mercy to the broken and distressed sinner thus and thus hast thou â—â—nned against me and now thou seest and findest it to be an evil and bitter thing to slight my Word and resist my Spirit and to harden thy heart thou art now fallen into the hands of the living God and I can make all my wrath to fall on thee and to destroy thee at once for all thy rebellions But I am the Lord merciful and gracious I desire not the death of a sinner but rather that he turn and live Lo I have given mine own Son Jesus Christ to dye for sinners and I have said that whosoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life Joh. 3 16. Therefore go thou broken-hearted sinner go thou unto him and be saved accept of him and thou shalt find mercy to pardon all that is past he is able to save thee to the uttermost and he is a merciful High Priest O how this works on that sinner but is it possible that there should be such a surpassing goodness in God what and to such a proud and stout-hearted sinner as I have been what mercy to one who hath so often slighted mercy and Christ for one who hath so often refused Christ this begins to melt the hard heart of the sinner 2. By the offer of mercy and particular invitation of the broken-hearted sinner to lay hold on it The Lord Jesus comes as it were to the very house of this sinner and knocks at the door and saith Here dwells a broken-hearted sinner and my Father hath sent me to him that I may save his poor soul Come come unto me be not afraid I my self do call thee to come unto me And I do assure thee in the word of a Saviour that I will not reject thee but I will pity and help and refresh thee I will answer for thy sins and I will make thy peace though thou hast been very wicked I will not stand upon that and though thou art utterly unworthy yet I will not stand on that neither only receive me and I will be thine and mercy and salvation shall be thine freely and aâ—suredly 3. By the collation of Faith which makes the sinner willingly and really to close with Christ The Lord by his Spirit doth enable the broken-hearted sinner to receive Jesus Christ and to take livery and seizin of a reconciled merciful loving blessing God in and by him And now the apprehension and possession of all this rich mercy and great love and exceeding goodness of God in Christ melts and dissolves the stonyness of the heart this works in him a tenderness a mournfulness a pliableness and all that is contrary to hardness of heart Thirdly The Lord takes away the stony heart from his people successively Successively or by degrees indeed the dominion of it is taken away in an instant as soon as ever the sinner is brought into Christ as soon as he is called and converted the raigning power of hardness is taken away the man shall never have such a stubborn opposing resisting base heart any longer But yet the grudging of the stone the remaining gravel the reliques of hardness are taken away by degrees the remaining hardnesse the Lord takes away First one while by Afflictions Psal 119. 67. Before I was afflicted I went astray but now I have kept thy Word Secondly Another while by mercies and kindnesses Ezek. 16. 60. I will remember my Covenant with thee in the dayes of thy youth I will establish unto thee an everlasting Covenant Ver. 61. Then shalt thou remember thy wayes and be ashamed So Hose 3. 5. Afterwards shall the Children return and seek the Lord and shall fear the Lord and his goodness Thirdly Sometimes by his Word and Ordinances which are like Refining fire to melt and purge away our dross How frequently do the people of God find the Word of God to be the power of God to melt away their carelesness and their indisposition of heart and deadness of heart and backwardness and unruliness of heart Fourthly The Lord takes away the stony heart from his people perfectly and compleatly Root and Branch so that no part of it and no degree of it shall Perfectly ever be found in their hearts any more This shall be done in the very moment of death when we come to the dissolution of soul and body we shall then come to the perfect dissolution of all hardness and of all remaining sinfulness of heart Quest 2. Now to the second question why the Lord will take away the stony Why God takes away the stony heart and that by promise The Lord will do it that They may be his people heart from his people and why he himself doth undertake it by promise Sol. The Lord will take away the heart of stone from his people That First They may be his people and receive him for their God and Lord Beloved as long as hardness of heart prevails on any people it is impossible that they should become the people of the Lord they will not hearken to his voice nor obey his voice nor receive his Laws nor fall in with his offers and entreaties but will reject his Word and despise his counsel and will follow the lusts of their own hearts and therefore of necessity the Lord must take away the hardness of heart if he will have any people to be his people he must break down the pride and stoutness and resistance
and rebellion of their hearts there must be a mutual will and consent and agreement which cannot be till resistance in our hearts be removed that so our hearts may be made willing to comply with him and with his will and with his wayes and with his works Secondly That he may bring them all into union with Jesus Christ his people Bring them into union with Christ are a people given unto Christ from all eternity Thine they were and thou gavest them me Joh. 17. 6. And as they are given to Christ by an eternal compact so they must be given in to Christ in time by effectual vocation in a way of believing And for this reason also he will take away the hardness of their hearts which is imcompatible with closing with Christ Heb. 3. 7. To day if ye will hear his voice ver 8. harden not your hearts Thirdly That he may enjoy communion with them and they with him This is one Reason why he makes us to be his people that he might make known all Enjoy communion with them his love and goodness unto us and that our hearts might be taken up with him and set on him in love and fear and desire and joy and hope None of which will or can be unless the Lord were pleased to take away the heart of stone from his people c. Fourthly That he may bring upon them all the good which he hath promised unto And bring upon them all the good that he hath promised to his people viz. All the blessings of mercy and peace and comfort and joy of which they are not capable untill the Lord take away the hardness of their hearts Would you have the Lord to settle pardoning mercy on a hard heart and to speak peace to a hard heart and to revive with comfort and joy the soul of an hardened sinner who will hold fast his iniquities and who will not obey his voyce and will none of him This is as it were a foundation-work for the other works of the Covenant Sol. 2. Again the Lord himself doth again by promise undertake to take away God by promise undertakes it Because of the impossibility of it the stony heart from his people upon a twofold account First On the impossibility of the work without his own Omnipotency None but the Almighty can cure the stone of the heart neither Angels nor Men nor Ministry nor Self-power for the hard heart is too hard for all means whatsoever only the Lord is too hard for it he can subdue all the powers of sin and he can pull down all high imaginations which do exalt themselves and he can abase the pride of man and he can circumcise all the stoutness of the heart so that the rebellious shall submit themselves Secondly The other that his people when they are made sensible of their That men may not despair hardnesse may not despair but may apply themselves unto him who is able to work all their work in and for them and to heal all their diseases and to subdue all their iniquities Beloved a Promise of God in any kind is a singular foundation for Faith and Prayer And so it is in this business of hardness of heart if the Lord promise to take it away then the work is possible it may be done and it is likewise de futuro it shall be done As the Lord is able to perform whatsoever he promiseth to his people so he is faithful and will perform the same And both these are grounds for Faith and Prayer to go unto the Lord and beseech him and trust upon him that he will according to his word take away the hardness of our hearts Quest 3. How this can be affirmed for a truth seeing that much hardnesse How this can be since much hardness remains A difference betwixt the hardness remaining in the best and that in the wicked The godly are sensible of it of heart remaines in all the people of God all the dayes of their lives Sol. This hath been answered in part already in the manner how God takes away the hardness of heart from his people only I will adde that there is a vast difference 'twixt the hardness of heart remaining in the people of God and that hardness of heart abiding in ungodly men v. g. First Though hardness of heart in some degrees remains in the people of God yet they are sensible of it as their great evil and burden and do exceedingly bewail it and complain to the Lord of it and cry out Why hast thou hardned our hearts from thy fear Isa 63. 17. But wicked men are unsensible of the hardness of their hearts they are past feeling and their consciences are seared as with a hot iron as the Apostle speaks 1 Tim. 4. 2. When a part of the body is feared with a hot iron it becomes utterly stupid and unsensible c. Secondly The hardnesse of heart remaining in the people of God it It is still mortifying in the best is still mortifying and decreasing the more they feel it the more they pray against it and never give over till they have obtained more grace and strength against it untill they find their hearts more tender and pliable But the hardness of heart in ungodly men as it is raigning so it is raging it still increaseth unto more hardness ungodly men sin more and more and still oppose the means of softning their hearts and the more they do sin the more they do harden their hearts and the more they do oppose the light and means of softning the more they do augment their sins and hardness Thirdly Though hardness of heart doth remain in the people of God yet Though it remains yet They do not willingly take those wayes that tend to hardening 1. They do not willingly and advisedly give up themselves to any wayes and courses which tend to the hardning of their hearts as to the neglect of the Ordinances to the omission of holy duties to the commission of sins against the light of the Word and of Conscience 2. They do cordially use all the means to work off the hardness of their hearts as frequent self-examinations humble confessions and self-judgings earnest Prayer for more Faith and fear and tenderness of spirit and the Lord doth Cordially use the means against it graciously â—ear them in these Requests But thus it is not with ungodly men whose hearts are hardened they practice wickedness and they sell themselves to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord 1 King 21. 25. And give themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greedinesse Ephes 4. 19. And trample under feet the light of the Word and the actings of Conscience and whatsoever stands in their way to restrain them from sinning and are so far from improving any means for the removing of the hardness of their hearts that they deride and scorn at them and reject and abhor
them When did you ever see any ungodly hardened sinner judging himself for his hard heart and begging of the Lord to heal it or willingly applying himself to a 〈◊〉 heart-breaking Ministery c. SECT II. Vse 1. DOth the Lord promise that he will take away the stony heart from his people and doth he really do so in his time Hence it will follow First Then they are none of the people of God whose stony heart doth They are none of the people of God whose hard heart is not removed still abide in them and compleatly raign in them and then in what a wofull condition are many people â— fear amongst our selves e. g. All those who are unsensible of their sinful estate all those who incorrigibly go on in their sinful wayes all those who were never wrought on by the Word of Christ all those who oppose and reject and slight the Word in the threatnings and precepts thereof all those who do continue impenitent and unbelieving notwithstanding all the offers and invitations of grace c. Secondly Then no marvel that the people of God are of another spirit and The people of God are of another spirit than other men of another temper than the common sort of people are that they dare not run into the same excesse of riot with others nor live so as other men do live that they are so much altered as to themselves Heretofore they were frequent in swearing and now they fear an oath heretofore they made nothing of great transgressions and now a small sin even a little neglect carelesness remisness doth exceedingly disquiet and deject their hearts heretofore they could neglect the Word as well as others and scoff at it and refuse to be ordered by it but now they stand in awe of the Word they are presently bound up by it and wholly moulded and fashioned and ruled by it The reason of all this is because God doth take away the hardnesse of our hearts c. Thirdly Then it is no sign of an evil estate to be troubled for our own sins or for the sins of others David did water his couch for his own sins Psal 6. 6. It is no sign of an evil state to be troubled for our sins And rivers of tears did fall from his eyes for the sins of other men Psal 119. 136. When your former sins are your grief and your present sins are your burden and future sins are your fear and other mens sins are your sorrow this is a clear evidence that the stony heart is taken away and therefore you stand in relation to God as his people To sin and not to be troubled for sin is a sign of an hard heart and of an evil condition but to fear sin and to be grieved for sinning this is a signe of a changed and broken heart They are not to be blamed who oppose Heresies and blaspâ—emies Fourthly Then it is very unjust to accuse and discountenance any of the people of God as ill affected for this reason only Because they do oppose the Heresâ—es and blasphemies of these times and because they doe so earnestly contend for the Gospel and Ordinances of Christ by Prayers and tears and speaking and writing c. Why are you angry with them that God hath taken away from them the heart of stone must we be sensible of Gods dishonour or must we not And if if Christ wept at the hardness of heart in Jerusalem because she would not receive the Gospel is there not much more reason to weep and pray because of the hardness nay of the desperateness of any man who endeavours to pull down and extirpate the Gospel I say the Gospel in which all the love and goodness of God is revealed and in which all the glory of Christ is interested and in which all the salvation of poor sinners souls is so necessarily concerned Vse 2. Will the Lord take away the heart of stone from his people what Blesse God for this cause then have those people to bless the Lord who do find this cure wrought in their hearts O it is an unspeakable mercy and favour whether you respect the evil from which you are delivered or else the good which falls in upon the removal of hardness of heart First If that you do consider the evill from which you are delivered by being In respect of the evil from which you are delivered delivered from an hard hâ—art One saith it is the greatest sin in the world another saith it is the greatest judgement in the world Certainly it is one of the strongest holds of sin and it was the hardness of heart which kept up all the power of your sins and all the sinful practâ—ses it was the foundation of your long impenitency you had long ere this repented had not your hearts been hardned If the Lord had not in wonderful mercy by his exceeding power of grace taken away the hardness of your hearts your souls would never have been brought in to Christ but you would have gon on in your sins and dyed in your sins and been damned for your sins And yet again that after the long reâ—stance of Gods grace offers of mercy callings of the Gospel strivings and resistings of his Spirit the Lord shall pass by all this and mercifully cure thy foolish proud stout self-destroying soul O what mercy was this and what grace was this And the good which falls in with it Secondly If you do likewise consider the good which falls in upon the removal of hardness of heart certainly you have great cause to blesse God c. e. g. 1. An immediate receptivity or capacity to have the Law or will of God written and engraven on your hearts Simile as when the wax is softned it is thereby made capable of any impression 2. A spring of repentance is set up in the heart to bewail all our sins and transgressions and fear to transgress any more 3. An obediential principle appears in making of us ready and willing to comply with the precepts of God liberty and ability c. 4. The great work of Faith to receive the Lord Jesus into our hearts 5. Affectionate communions with God and a special delight in his presence and Ordinances and Services 6. A liberty and confidences in our accesses unto the throne of grace 7. In one word a newnesse of heart and a newness of relation unto God as our God and Father All these flow in upon the soul when God takes away the hardness of the heart and in time all the good of the Covenant and therefore unquestionably you have great obligations lying on your hearts to blesse God if he doth take away the hardness of your hearts Object I will some say no question it is a great blessing to be delivered from an hard heart but we feare it is not so with us for we finde sometimes such 1. A strange indisposition to what is good 2.
A marvellous unsensibleness and cannot mourn for our sins 3. No delight in communion with God cannot pray Sol. For your help in these cases know First Melancholy is one thing and hardness of heart is another thing Melancholy breeds an indisposition to all works Religious and Civil unfit to Pray and unfit to Trade But hardness of heart is rather an opposition than an indisposition Melancholy indisposeth for a time for a fit but when that is off the soul is free again Secondly Indisposition from temptation is one thing and from affection is another Temptations may deject the heart and distract it but these are grievous and burdensome to the soul Thirdly Indisposition is absolute no heart at all or comparative not so full free quick and lively as at sometimes Fourthly Constant And transient approved resisted and bewailed And to that of unmournfulness First There is direct grief and there is reflexive grief a mourning because we cannot mourn Secondly There is dolor voluntatis which is displeasing and dolor passionis which is vexing this not alwayes nor always alike Thirdly Though you finde not your hearts so mournful yet you have hearts to beseech the Lord to give a Spirit of mourning Zach. 12. 10. We cannot pray First What not at all never no desires Secondly Not at sometimes with that freedom fulness chearfulness uninterruptedness Thirdly Yet you will pray you will look up Fourthly Three things may comfort and quiet you though you cannot pray with that earnestness and enlargedness yet if you can can pray 1. With a believing heart 2ly With an humble heart in the sense of it 3ly With a sincere heart and desire God will accept you SECT III. Vse 3. DOth the Lord himself undertake to take away the heart of stone from They who partake of this mercy should beware of hardning themselves again his people O then let all such who are the people of God whose hearts God hath cured of this Spiritual disease of hardnesse let them in a special manner beware that they suffer not their hearts to harden themselves again Perhaps this may be a word in season to some of us this day who have lost our former tenderness of heart and do now find a strong obduration upon our spirits and we know not therefore what to think of our selves and conditions With your favour I will speak three things unto this Case 1. The real Symptomes of an heart harding in a godly man 2. The sadness of that condition 3. Directions in this case for recovery I. The real Symptomes of an heart hardning in a godly man Symptomes of it Listlestness to the Ordinances First A listlestnesse of heart to the Ordinances the man hath not that flying spirit unto them Simile flies not as Doves to the windows nor that hungring spirit after them as heretofore he longs not for a Sabbath nor doth his soul complain for his appointed food It is with him as with a man on whom a disease is seasing his stomack begins to fail him and he mindes not his meat as he was wont to do So it is with a good man on whom hardness of heart is seasing the Ordinances are not so precious and dear to him as heretofore he falls in the high estimation of them and in the wonted affectionateness of them and the man can miss many a Sermon quietly and neglect any Ordinance Ah friend remember from whence thou art falling consider whither thou art going Hardness is growing when carelesness is rising c. Secondly A flatness of spirit under the Ordinances The time was that the Flatness of spirit under Ordinances mans heart was to the Word as wax to the seal every part of the world would have wrought and imprinted something on his heart a threatning would have startled him a Precept would have guided him a promise would have revived him there was ordinarily a vigour and warmth falling from the Ordinances upon his heart But now his heart is chill and cold and formal and dead under the means of life he is little or nothing stirred or moved He comes and hears the sound of the Word but he seldome meets with the power of the Word there is not that mourning nor joy nor fear nor trusting as formerly Divine Precepts do not quicken his heart Divine Promises do not establsh his heart Divine Exhortations do not encourage and enlarge his heart Divine Tryals and discourses do not make him to search his heart Divine Rewards do not affect and open his heart as heretofore they have done Thirdly A carelesnesse of mind after the Ordinances Heretofore when the man had heard the Word home he would go and retire himself and consider Careiesnesse of mind after Ordinances and confess and pray and bless the Lord Lord in such a Point thou didest discover my sin and failing O pardon and heal me in another thou didst clear my doubts be pleased still to settle and quiet my soul in another Point thou didst shew me more of my work O now grant unto thy servant more of thy strength in another Point thou didst raise my faith and comfort my soul my soul did therefore love and bless thee You would not imagine what pains the man took with a Sermon after a Sermon what wrestlings with God what tears and cries to take out the lessons of God to be cast into the mould of every Divine Truth O but now it is not so with him he hath quickly done with the Word after he hath read or heard the Word the Word doth not dwell with him nor go home with him he is seldom in after Meditations in after Applications in after Supplications The Word of God comes and goes is heard and laid aside perhaps the man speaks a little of it but mindes it not as a Message or Errand from God to him Fourthly A remisnesse concerning private duties when these begin either to Remisness in private duties be omitted or seldomly to be performed rather out of course than Conscience without that intentiveness of minde and without the labour of the heart and affections which God requires and which the Christian formerly found and expressed v. g. The Christians confessions were wont to be with singular sense of sin compunction and brokenness of heart judgings mournings shames and condemnings of himself his Prayers were wont to be strong cries importunate wrestlings vehement strivings and pleadings in the name of Christ humble urgings and pressings of the promises of God unsatisfiable thirsts after mercies graces comforts O but now they are not so or are very seldom so This poor Christian is scarce sensible of the sins which he doth now confess and scarce apprehensive of any Spiritual good which he seems to crave he doth not insist on these with his ancient affections and ancient expectations he seemes to be satisfied with what he doth and not with what he desireth Ah friend when the edge and fervor of the spirit is gone
when fervency daily degenerates into formality surely tenderness is falling into hardness of heart Watchlesness over the spirit Fifthly A watchlesnesse over the spirit or soul it is not minded observed lookt unto in its motions affections transactions as formerly but the guard is drawn off there is less fear and more security less diligent care and more loose presumption The man was wont to keep his heart with all diligence narrowly observing the passages and workings of his Spirit the inclinations of his heart temptations of Satan behaviours of every day alone and in company and accordingly did apply himself with variety of petitions to God and humbled himself for what was amiss and renewed his strength in the Lord for the time to come O but now it is not thus the precious soul is neglected the City is not watched the thoughts and affections and actions are not observed the poor man is asleep and drowsie and his spirituall frame is impaired and he considers it not 2ly The sadnesse of this condition The sadness of this condition It is an evill distemper First It is a very evil and naughty distemper an hard heart softning that is good but the soft hardning again that 's very evil Was it good to tremble at the Word what is it now not to be moved by the Word was it good to think of sin and mourn what is it now to hear of thy sins and not to be troubled at all was it good to act duties with affections and life what is it now to neglect the duties or to act them with a heavy and careless Spirit There are four things which shew this hardning to be very evil 1. The marvellous ingratitude in it that the Lord should shew so much mercy to heal the disease and yet you relapse into it again 2. There is an express self-condemnation why you were exceedingly troubled at the hardness of your hearts and prayed against it and sought the prayers of others and now to harden your hearts again 3. There is presumption in it you do tempt the Lord by it Do you mean to continue in this case then you are undone do you mean to come out of it why do you then tempt the Lord by falling into it and presuming on his grace to recover you 4. If you look not speedily to your selves where think you will this hardning end perhaps in some great desertion perhaps in some great transgression perhaps in some exceeding great and long trouble of conscience Secondly It is a very uncomfortable condition How is thy Sun eclipsed It is a very uncomfortable condition and thy Spring cut off what is become of that spirit of Prayer what is become of that excellent assurance of which thou hast so much spoken where is that sweetly excusing testimony of Conscience what is become of that joy in the Holy Ghost and that peace with which thou wast wont to work Ah! thou hast suffered thy heart to harden again and God looks not on thee as he was wont and Conscience speaks not as it was wont and the Spirit of God manifests not himself as he was wont and Ordinances smile not on thee as they were wont nor doth Providence shine upon thy Tabernacle as it was wont But instead of these thou meetest with many a sharp affliction with many piercing reproofs with many a sad item and reckoning and scourges which no man knows and feels in the sting and bitterness of it but thou thy self Thirdly It is a very formal and empty estate how may it grieve thee to see It is an empty state a fruitless Vintage of thy soul Tell me what returns hast thou had all this while that this hardning distemper hath been upon thee thou hearest carelesly and negligently what hast thou been the better for all the Sermons which thou hast heard thou prayest coldly and formally and what good hath returned upon thy soul after them thou hast had no trading all this while at heaven how dull must grace be which is not used and how decaying must thy Spiritual strength be which all this while recovers no more strength Fourthly It is a very dangerour posture though it be not absolute Apostacy It is a dangerous posture yet it looks toward it Though I will not say that it is the turning of the grace of God into wantonnesse yet it bends towards it Though it be not falling from grace and though it be not a forsaking of God yet unquestionably it is a gâ—ieving of God and a provoking of him and for which he may very far leave a person 3ly Directions in this case for recovery Directions for recovery Finde out the cause First By all means find out the cause or causes of the hardning observe well 1. What conscience tells thee in thy bed at night or in the day of fear and affliction or in a day of Solemn Humiliation or in the meditation of thy short appearances before God 2. What the Word of God hints and points at in thee at what it levels and strikes there is an arrow some time or other shot which falls into thy very heart a message that is secretly delivered in way of conviction and reproof which saith Thou art the man and this is thy way and thy doings 3. What thy faithful and watchful friends say unto thee what their suspicions and fears are and unto what their friendly counsels do tend A thousand to one but some of these things which I shall mention have brought on thee this new hardness upon thy heart 1. Either spiritual pride this hath made thee to neglect thy watch and to neglect the Ordinances 2. Or a worldly surfet thou hast been taking in too much of the world and worldly business and this hath robbed thee of thy precious time to converse at heaven to meditate to examine to read to hear to pray to confer with thy Fellow-Christians 3. Or the deceitfulness of sin Thou hast ventured on lesser sins and they have ensnared thee and drawn thee to greater sins and these have brought upon thee the hardness of thy heart again c. Secondly When you have found out the spiritual causes by which your hearts Judge your selves and repent have been hardned then judge your selves and repent remember from whence thou art fallen and repent said Christ unto Ephesus Rev. 2. 5. Nay do not stay to look when this hardning will fall off from thee but hasten but compel thy self to retiredness and to a penitential consideration of thy hardning with the causes of it and the great evils in it and fall down before the Lord in humble confessions of thy great back-slidings and poure out prayer upon prayer O wrestle with the Father of mercies for his Christs sake to pity and pardon and heal and once more to cure and recover thee Follow on to seek the Lord though he doth secretly upbraid thee though for a while he delays thee though to thy
apprehension thy heart is more hardned yet pray and yet pray that God would heal thy back-slidings Praise the Lord in the Name of Christ presenting his Covenant unto him wherein he promiseth to take away the heart of stone And this contains in it not only the natural or original hardness of heart but also the accidental contracted hardness by his people the Covenant of taking away the heart of stone extends to both of them O Lord cure this hardning as well as the former hardness I have hardned the heart which thou hast softned O do thou soften the heart which I have hardned revive thy work and quicken my almost dead heart restore my soul and recover my ancient estimations affections tenderness love fear care zeal c. Thirdly If the Lord at length begins to make thy heart to relent by Bless God for any softning his Word or by his Rod or by his Spirit O bless his Name He is come he is come said the Martyr so c. get thee into a corner help on the spring pump the water when the water comes enlarge thy confession abound now in supplications Fourthly Be earnest with God to pardon thee and to give thee assurance of the pardoning Be earnest for pardon and assurance of this hardning and be importunate with him for it I tell thee such a gracious assurance will presently soften and melt thy soul assuredly raise and restore thy soul to those careful and tender communions with God and watchful walking with him Fifthly When you are recovered then bless God and keep up tenderness Keep up tenderness of heart of heart and beware of suffering hardnesse to grow upon your hearts again Quest What is to be done for this Sol. I answer First Never trust hardning causes any more as Eliphas spake in Joh. 15. Never trust hardning causes 31. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity for vanity shall be his recompence After your great humblings and prayings and wrestlings and prevailings with God do not now go and tamper with sinne and sinful occasions again and do not go and over-world your selves again and do not go and renew familiarity with wicked company again and do not neglect the Ordinances any more c. If you do you will harden your hearts more than ever Secondly If at any time you do espy any hardness creeping and rising Resist hardness returning upon your spirits O make a present resistance and wrestle against it even unto present victory When you pray if you finde coldness and formality in your spirit O stirre up Prayer stirre up the heart and stirre up the graceâ— Simile blow the spark break the ice when it begins to harden c. Thirdly Be often in the search of your hearts and keep a daily and Search your hearts often strict watch over them and your ways Blessed is the man that feareth always Prov. 28. 14. Fourthly Constantly and seriously attend the Ordinances which do beget Attend the Ordinances and preserve and encrease softness and tenderness of heart Ezek. 36. 26. And I will give you an heart of flesh I Have finished two Propositions already from these words viz. 1. That there is a natural hardness in every mans heart 2. That God will take away that stonynesse or hardnesse of heart from his people I shall now proceed unto the third and last Proposition from the Text which is this CHAP. XI God gives a heart of flesh Doct. 3. THat God will not only take away the heart of stone from his people All the people of God have a softned heart given them but also he will give them an heart of flesh or that all the people of God have soft and tender hearts given unto them And by the way before I insist upon this Point observe two things 1. That Gods works in restoring and renewing of man are noâ— terminated in Privatives or Negatives but they are Positive also and Collative Evill is removed and good contrary to that evill comes in the place of it He doth take away the old heart and also he gives a new heart he takes away the heart of stone and also he gives an heart of flesh He takes away ignorance and gives knowledge he takes away pride and gives humility God is a wise and perfect Agent he will not only deface and abolish Satans Image but also he will repair his own Image he will not only root up what is evil but also he will plant and lay foundations and build up Therefore have a care of your selves that you be not deceived in the judgement of your conditions you are not so wicked as you were but what good is wrought in your hearts what contrary quality unto the former evil c 2. That as to the conversion or change of the sinner all the work rests on God he doth all he works all if the heart of stone be to be removed he must do that work he must take it away and if the heart of flesh be to be enjoyed he must also do that work he must give unto us the heart of flesh power against evil and power to any good all from God we are the Patients he is the Agent we are the receivers he is the giver you cannot take away the hardness of your own hearts nor can you give unto your selves an heart of flesh both of them are the work of God These things being briefly premised I now come to the Proposition it self viz. That the people of God are the people of soft and tender hearts God gives unto them unto every one of them an heart of flesh i. e. a tender and soft heart An heart of flesh in this place stands in opposition to the heart of stone to the unsensible unmournful stubborn unyielding resisting heart and it notes a sensible mourning relenting yielding complying tender teachable and tractable heart But for the opening of this excellent Point I shall discusse these three Questions 1. What this heart of flesh is what this soft and tender heart is 2. How it may appear that the people of God are a people of soft and tender hearts 3. Why the Lord gives such an heart to all his people SECT I. Quest 1. VVHat this heart of flesh is or what the soft and tender What a heart of flesh is heart is Sol. To understand this you must remember that there is a fourfold softness A fourfold softness or tenderness First One is Natural and this is that which we call commonly a good nature Natural and tender disposition and a softly spirit on which any thing is apt to work any harsh word any sad news any affliction any cross any thing that hath the notion of calamitous or grievous This tenderness or softnes is not the soft heart here in the Text for 1. It is no heavenly quality nor is it let in by heavenly means a man never got this tenderness by praying or
and with this hedge hath our portion been secured Yet this Providential mercy and goodness of God doth not work kindly and effectually on the hearts of many men no penitential plyableness and obedience at all Hos 11. â— I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws and laid meat unto them Ver. 5. But they refused to return Rom. 2. 4. Despisest thou the riches of the goodness and forbearance and longsuffering of God not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance ver 5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart c. Nay instead of yielding unto and complying with God by reason of his good hand of blessing many sinners do therefore grow more disobedient and wicked I spake unto thee in thy prosperity but thou saydst I wilt not hear Jer. 22. 21. Deut. 32. 15. But Jesuron waxed fat and kicked then he forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the Rock of his Salvation Secondly Gods merciful Treaties The Lord sends the Gospel unto a people His merciful Treaties and by that sets open his Mercy-seat and sets up his Throne of Grace and proclaims himself to be the Lord the Lord gracious and merciful in goodness and truth and by it reports unto sinners that he hath raised up an horn of salvation for them that he hath out of his infinite love sent his own Son Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners and that whosoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life And he offers his Christ unto sinners invites them commands them earnestly urgeth them to come unto him to receive him to believe on him and assures them of the pardon of all their sins and of eternal life nay intimates clearly that though they have no worthiness yet they may come and drink of the water of life freely O what merciful dealing is this and yet after all this the hearts of many sinners are no more stirred or drawn than the stones or Rocks Who hath believed our report saith the Prophet Who hath believed our report said Christ Matth. 23. 37. Who hath believed our report said the Apostle Sinners are not gathered and ye will not come unto me that ye might have life Joh. 5. 40. Thirdly Gods merciful Strivings what he offers by his Word he presseth the His merciful Strivings same ofttimes by his Spirit who follows our hearts with one work after another with Humiliation and then with Conviction and then with Pulsation and Excitation the Spirit of God doth ofttimes make sinners to see their sins and their need of Christ and that their life and health and hope is oâ—ly in him and in no other Name and that they shall certainly perish and be damned if they believe not nay he troubles their Consciences and sets them a work to regard Jesus Christ and to comply with his excellent self and gracious offers and yet all this is lost many sinners harden their hearts and will not put their necks into his yoke they will not have him to raign over them Fourthly Gods merciful waitings The Lord doth not presently take the denial His merciful Waitings and forfeiture but waits that he may be gracious comes to the door again renews the offer sends one servant and a second and a third gives yet more time he waits thus on sinners more than three years sometimes more than twenty years sometimes more than fourty years sometimes more than sixty years for so long and perhaps longer doth he continue his Gospel to them yet after all his patient waiting many sinners do continue as they were ignorant proud obstinate impudent and unbelieving and are not drawn either by the goodnesse or by the patience of his grace Fithly Gods merciful warnings when all this works not on sinners then the His merciful Warnings Lord gives notice unto them that if they will not hearken unto his voice of mercy he will forsake them he will give them up unto their own hearts lust and they shall perish and never enter into his rest Joh. 8. 24. If ye believe not that I am he ye shall dye in your sins Hebr. 2. 2. If the word spoken by Angels was stedfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward ver 3. How shall we escape if we neglect such great salvation which at the first began to be spoken of by the Lord Heb. 12. 25. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven And yet all the warnings of God that he will not bear any longer that he will close up the day of grace that refusers of his grace in Christ shall not escape but shall receive a just recompence of reward for their disobedience I say all these move not many sinners at all but though they must die in their sins perish and be damned for their unbelief yet will they not yeild to come to Christ Sixthly Gods merciful recoilings or repentings i. e. when the Lord being so His merciful Repentings contemned and provoked by proud and obstinate sinners draws out his wrath and is now ready to execute vengeance on them that obey not his Gospel his hand is even stretched out to destroy yet his bowels work within him and his mercy prevails with his justice for a little forbearance and trial Luk. 13. 7. Behold these three yeers I come seeking fruit on this figtree and find none cut it down O Lord let it alone this year also c. Hose 11. 8. How shall I give thee up Ephraim how shall I deliver thee Israel how shall I make thee as Admah how shall I set thee as Zeboim mine heart is turned within me my repentings are kindled together ver 9. I will not execute the fiercenesse of mine anger I will not return to destroy Ephraim for I am God and not man Nevertheless though God repents of his wrath yet how few do repent of their sins they do not return to the Lord nor seek him for all this by all which it doth evidently appear that many sinners are destitute of all spiritual softness and tenderness of heart 2ly The convictions in a defective way that many persons do deceive Convictions that many deceive themselves in a false softness themselves with a false softness of heart There are six sorts of softness or tenderness of heart with which many do deceive themselves instead of this true spirituall softness of heart v. g. 1. Exigential softness 2. The Legal softness 3. The Partial softness 4. The Temporary softness 5. Worldly softness 6. The Desperate softness and tenderness First The Exigential softness and tenderness I mean that which ariseth only from fear of punishment as in Ahabs case or from that present sense of
are out of Covenant God is not their God nor are they his people For God doth give unto all his people in Covenant an heart They are out of Covenant of flesh i. e. a soft and tender heart Now remember that as it is our only happiness to have God to be our God Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord so it is our greatest misery to be none of the people of God not to have the loving God to be our God not to have the merciful God the pardoning blessing comforting saving God to be our God Thirdly It cannot but be a most dreadful and reproachful frame of heart To be at an utter incompliance with God and contradiction unto his will his will They are at an uâ—â—er incompliance with God being a Holy Good Righteous Perfect Soveraign will unto which every creature should yield What would you think of that Child or of that Servant who casts off all acknowledgement of a Father or of a Master and will not own their commands but will set up their own wills against their wills Mal 1. 6. If I be a Father where is my honour And if I be a Master where is my fear So what should we think of those men but as of a company of Atheists who will not acknowledge the Lord God and will not obey his voice but reject his Word and despise his Counsels Fouthly It seems to be a very hopelesse and desperate condition and ripe for destruction when no word of God doth a man any good and no blessings do him It is a hopeless condition any good and no afflictions do him any good but still he goes on in his wickedness still he refuseth Christ still he is unmoved and unperswaded why what will the end of this man be at the last Fifthly Although nothing doth this sinner good yet he must be accountable to God He must be accountable to God for all means for all the means which have been used to do him good and he shall be judged of the Lord because his hard heart hath received no good by them God will call him to an account for every disobedience to every command of God and for his slighting of every request and warning and threatning of his Word and for neglecting and refusing every offer of Christ c. Sixthly A sinner that is destitute of all spiritual softness and tenderness he is He is in danger of every temptation in danger of the powerful efficacy of every great temptation which may easily prevail upon an heart void of Spiritual tenderness For as a man is preserved from lesser sins when there is tenderness in his heart so he is open and obnoxious to great sins where there is no tenderness of heart And verily that he doth not upon every temptation and occasion fall into great sins it is not because the sins are great and that God will be greatly dishonoured by them but only because of shame and trouble which may befall him Seventhly He can never be recovered out of his lost estate by repentance and faith till his heart be softned 4ly The Testimonies or Characters of a heart Spiritually Characters of a heart spiritually soft and tender soft and tender Now I come to the discovering evidences by which we may know whether we have indeed the hearts of flesh i. e. the soft and tender hearts which God hath promised to give unto his people in Covenant If there be such a soft and tender heart given unto us it will appear 1. By our behaviour toward sin 2. By the special activities in Conscience 3. By the respectiveness of our hearts to the Word of God 4. By the sense and expressions of our soules in the cases of Gods honour and dishonour 5. By the performance of our duties both for matter and manner 6. By the temper of our spirits in times of temptation First If you have hearts Spiritually soft and tender this will appear by the disposition and behaviour of your heart towards sin v. g. The disposition of our hearts towards sin Shame for sin First Shame for sin one of a soft heart is ashamed of sin and for sin as one who is ashamed of any deformity in his body or of any thing that is a reproach and dishonour unto his name Ezra 9. 6. O my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face unto thee my God for our iniquities are increased over our heads and our trespasses are grown up to the heavens Here are two expressions directly contrary to those in hardned sinners mentioned Jer. 6. 15. Were they ashamed when they had committed abominations Nay they were not at all ashamed neither could they blush But soft-hearted sinners are ashamed and they do blush for shame that they have offended their God Jer. 31. 10. Surely after I was turned I repented and after I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth In the former place there was shame and blushing in this place there is shame and confusion Ephraim was ashamed and confounded for the reproach of his youth Confounded i. e. amazed knew not what to say or do could not open his mouth O such a sinner hath sinned against God! Job 7. 20. I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men Luke 18. 13. The Publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven but smote upon his brest saying God be merciful unto me a sinner One that is ashamed keeps a loof off looks with a dejected countenance and is angry and vexed with himself for doing what was unworthy and reproachful and would fain have his offence and reproach wiped away Thus was it with the Publican and thus is it with every soft-hearted person he doth by reason of his sinning judge himself unworthy unmeet to draw near to God or to look up unto him he is ashamed of what he hath done dejected vexed troubled at his sins which are appearing with him before God and earnestly begs the Lord to remove them out of his sight by a merciful forgiveness that his shame may appear no more Secondly Grief for sinning A soft and tender heart is a mournful and sorrowful Grief for sinning heart no heart so stout against sin as a soft heart and no heart so mournful for sin as a soft heart which is therefore called a broken heart and a grieved heart and an afflâ—cted heart and a weeping and lamenting heart A person of a soft heart mourns more for one sin than a hardened person doth for all his sins how bitterly did Peter weep for his one sin yet Pharaoh never mourned for his many sins a person of a soft heart mourns more for one sin than for all the afflictions that ever have or shall befall him dolore appreciationis dolore voluntatis dolore perennitatis
several relations and any one who is of a soft and tender heart makes conscience of them all The tender Magistrate makes conscience of governing and ruling and believing and protecting and reclaiming and punishing and rewarding and dare not be unjust neglect or unfaithful or oppressing or out-facing or over-bearing and so people of tender hearts dare not to be disobedient unruly reviling despising c. The tender Minister makes conscience of feeding his flock with wholsome food and not to keep back any of the counsel of God concerning them he is instant and diligent in his work he instructs and exhorts and warns and reproves and comforts according to the several conditions of his people and the people will pray will love will honour will encourage will obey them that have the rule over them in the Lord. The tender husband will love and cherish his wife and the tender wife will love and please and reverence her husband The tender Parent will pray for will instruct will teach his children and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and the tender child will hearken c. Fourthly A person of a tender heart and soft heart makes conscience of all He makes coâ—scâ—ence of all duties 〈◊〉 the â—imâ—s the duties respecting the times and changes that do befall him He meets with times of adversity and with times of prosperity with times of love and with times of hatred with times of peace and with times of trouble with times of light and with times of darknesse with times of Gods clear presence and with times of Gods desertions And there are several and distinct duties proper unto these variations the which he strives to draw out and act in their time If his time be the time of prosperity he is doing whilst he hath that time and to honour God with his increase and to blesse him and to do for him and if his be the time of adversity he desires patient submission unto the hand of God and special instruction and improvement and refining c. In an high estate he will love his God and in a low estate he will by faith live still upon his God Fifthly A person of a tender heart will make conscience of duties 1. Though never so small and little thou shalt not lay a stumbling block before the blind nor cause the deaf c. thou shalt fear the Lord thy God The smallest 2. Though never so great and difficult and strict to deny himself to enter in at the strait gate to render good for evil blessing for The greatest cursing 3. Though contemned and reproached by profane men and erroneous Most contemned men or disaccepted by those unto whom it is performed 4. Though dangerous and exposing c. as Daniel of praying the three children Most dangerous of worshipping God only the Apostles of preaching Christ 2ly For the manner of performing these duties The manner of performance of duties A tender heart hath a special regard unto that he will serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear Heb 12. 28. And as David after the due order 1 Chro. 15. 13. The duties which he performes they are by him done 1. Willingly Psal 110 3. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power Rom. 7. Willingly 19. The good that I would do And Isa 26. 8. The desire of our soul is to thy Name freewill-offerings 2. Delightfully 1 Joh. 5. 3. His Commandements are not grievous Nay Delightfully Psal 40. 8. I delight to do thy will It was Christs meat and drink to do the will of his Father that sent him Joh. 4. 34. 3. Humbly as Paul Act. 20. 19. Serving the Lord with all humility of Humbly mind and with many tears 4. Believingly resting on the strength of Christ for their performance Phil. 4. 13. I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me And he acknowledgeth Believingly all that is done to be done in his strength 1 Cor. 15. 10. I laboured more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me and expecting all the acceptance of duties for Christs sake Rev. 8. 3. The prayers of the Saints were offered up with incense upon the golden Altar 5. Sincerely with a plain honest obediential heart with all his heart Sincerely with his very soul and spirit in truth without guile and with a direct pure and single respect unto Gods glory These are the desires and these are the endeavours thus to serve and obey the Lord by every truely soft and tender heart and if he misseth or is interrupted in any of these his heart is troubled and grieved and he strives and wrestles with God to cloth him with the strength of his Spirit that he may thus serve his God according to his will Sixthly If our hearts be soft and tender hearts this will appear by the temper of our spirits in the occurrences of temptations There are temptations and suggestions By the temper of our spirits in temptations From Satan 1. From Satan he many times presents unto the minds even of the people of God thoughts of Atheism and blasphemy and other vile and inglorious thoughts O what an affrightment amazement and grievous burden are these unto a person of a soft and tender heart they do even crack and crush his spirits and take away all rest from him and fill his heart with tears and complaints and prayers 2. From the World to withdraw from God and Christ and the truth and From the World holy walking partly by reproaches scoffs threatnings restraints and punishments these a tender heart will bear and suffer and rejoyce in and by them grows more resolute for Christ and to hold fast his truth and to walk with him And partly by profits pleasure friendship fears and honours these a tender heart will trample under foot rather than sin against Christ Like Moses who refused to be called the Son of Pharaohs daughter Hebr. 11. 24. Châ—sing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ver 25. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the creasures of Egypt ver 26. 3. From our own hearts in several wicked motions to several vile affections From our own hearts And if your heart be tender it will not dally with them in contemplation nor yield unto them in prosecution but will resist them and pray against them and strive to have them mortified and subdued and instead of them would have a daily frame of holy and heavenly thoughts raigning in the mind SECT IV. Vse 2. DOth the Lord promise to give unto all his people a soft and tender Get such a heart heart an heart of flesh Then by all means let every one of uâ— strive to get this heart which God promiseth to give Now for this I will propound 1. Some Motives
and to rest on his Arm acknowledging that our standing and safety is not in our strength but in the presence and influence of his grace 2ly The Means how to compass a soft and tender heart The Means First You must go to the Lord by Prayer for it a sinner can harden his own Beg it by prayer heart but God only can soften the heart If four things were wrought in the heart it would be soft and tender viz. 1. An experimental Sensation 2. A mournful Humiliation 3. A spirit of Fear 4. An yieldingness and plyableness of the heart to the will of God Object True will some say but who can work these things in the heart Sol. That can God and he hath promised to work every one of them in our hearts if we do earnestly and unfeignedly seek him 1. He can make us to see to feel to remember to consider our sins and our doings which have not been good Job 34. 32. That which I see not teach thou me c. Job 13. 26. Thou makest me to possesse the iniquities of my youth Ezek. 16. 61. Then shalt thou remember thy wayes and be ashamed 2. He can make the heart mourning and humbling and lamenting Zac. 12. 10. They shall look on him whom they have pierced and they shall mourn c. Ezek. 7. 16. All of them mourning every one for his iniquity 3. He can put his fear in their hearts Jer. 32. 40. I will put my fear in their hearts And Hose 3. 5. They shall fear the Lord and his goodness 4. He can make the heart yielding and plyable unto his Word and Will Psal 68. 18. Thou hast received gifts for men yea for the rebellious also that the Lord God might dwell amongst them Acts 9. 6. Lord what wilt thou have me to do Jer. 31. 33. I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts Secondly You must to his Word which is the hammer to break and the fire to Attend the Word melt the heart Acts 2. 37. When they heard this they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and the rest of the Apostles Men and brethren what shall we do 2 Chron. 34. 27. Thou diddest humble thy self before God when thou heardest his Word c. Object But many men hear the Word and that a long time and yet their hearts are not at all softned by it therefore it cannot be a means to soften the heart Sol. I answer 1. It is true that many men do hear the Word and for many years and are not softned but their hearts are more hardned under it nevertheless this induration comes not from the Word which is a means to soften but from the pride and perverseness of the hearts of men who do hear the Word but will despise and reject the Word 2. It is also true that though many men have not their hearts softned by the Word yet many others have their hearts softned by it Simile as although many who take Physick are nothing better by it yet many who do so are recovered by it and this we find by experience that though the Word be the savour of death unto death unto some yet it is the savour of life unto life unto others And as we must not conclude that the Word is not the means of saving faith because all that hear the Word do not believe so neither must we deny the Word as a means to soften the heart because many who do hear it do remain hardned but if we find First that God hath instituted his Word for such a purpose and end Secondly That God hath blessed his Word and made it effectual to that purpose Thirdly Doth call even sinners to come and attend that they may attain that blessing depending upon this Word And lastly that without the attendance upon the Word there is no enjoyment of that softness of heart but a greater access and confirmation of hardness of heart Thence we may confidently conclude that the Word of God is a means to soften the heart But 3. You must know that the efficacy of spiritual means doth not depend upon the meer presence of the means but upon the concomitancy and influence of the Spirit of God who sometimes doth put forth his power through those means and sometimes doth not so The Word by its own natural and proper vigour doth not convince nor convert nor soften the heart for then every one that hears it should be convinced and converted and softned nor then should it be a means but a principal efficient but those effects it doth work on all who hear it when the Spirit of God comes with the Word unto their hearts in his mighty power working that grace in us which the Word commands from us And therefore when we come to hear the Word to have our hearts softned we should look on the Word as the means but withall on the Spirit of God as the principal cause who works that effect by the Word nor should we ever hear the Word without special prayer and requests that the Lord would by his Spirit make his Word a lively and effectual means of knowledge of faith of all grace unto us and if we did do so the Lord would be found of us and he would give this softness of heart which he promiseth in his Covenant Thirdly If you would have softness of heart you must then get newness of Get newnesse of heart heart Your hearts can never be softned untill they be renewed and if they were renewed certainly they would be softned The old heart is an hard heart and the new heart is a soft heart You may as well expect that a dead man should weep and mourn and go and come as that an old sinful heart dead in trespasses and sins should be a soft and mournful heart for sins or be willing and ready to obey the will of God why hardness in all the causes of it and in all the effects of it is predominant and raigning in an unconverted graceless heart But if the heart were once changed by renewing grace then softness must needs fall into it Forasmuch as the change made by renewing grace brings into the soul another nature quite contrary to our sinful nature and other principles quite contrary to all our old principles Light contrary to darkness and humblenesse contrary to pride and yieldingness contrary to stubbornnesse and softnesse contrary unto hardness Fourthly if we would have softnses or tenderness of heart then we must get Faith for faith is indeed the foundation of a soft and tender heart and the Get Faith more of Faith the more of tenderness Quest What Faith will some say Sol. I answer a Faith 1. Of Knowledge or Credence that God is that he is a great God the living God the Almighty God the dreadful God most knowing most holy most righteous and faithful who will be so to us as his Word
if I may so speak the very Genius and natural disposition of the holy Spirit to be casting out pulling down cleansing and purging of all our impurities and fleshly lusts which are so contrary to his nature and so offensive unto his presence Hence it is that he maintains a constant and perpetual war with sin in the hearts of the people of God till at the last he gives unto them a compleat and perfect victory Now from what I have delivered in this concerning the Spirit of judgement and of burning two things will flow 1. A conviction unto some that they have not yet received the Spirit of God because 1. They have not received the spirit of judgement to disallow and condemn their sinful lusts and wayes but are so far from it that on the contrary they do approve them and defend them and support them and cannot endure to hear the reproof and condemnation of them from the Word or Ministry or any other but presently they rage and swell and grow discontented and malicious and revengeful 2. They have not received the spirit of burning to abhor their sins and to crucifie them forasmuch as they do still love their sins and will serve them and will not forsake them Job 20. 13. But their great delight is in their sinful wayes and they hold fast their iniquities and hate to be reformed surely these persons have never received the Spirit of God 2. A comfort unto others that they have received the Spirit of God Because 1. They do judge themselves and really do disallow and condemn all sin in themselves Rom. 7. 15. That which I do I allow not 2. They are daily mortifying their sinful lusts by striving after a fuller fellowship in the death of Christ by relying on sin-subduing and mortifying promises and by constant hatred and opposition of their lusts which war against the law in their mind so that they will not serve sin any more and though as the Apostle spake in 2 Cor. 10 3. they walk in the flesh yet they do not warre after the flesh Secondly The Spirit of God is the Spirit of knowledge and wisdom so you read in Isa 11. 2. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Ephes 1. 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him Whosoever hath the Spirit of God that man hath wisdom given unto him by the Spirit not carnal wisdom but heavenly wisdom true wisdome indeed which wisdom appears in four things First as to the subject If thou be wise saith Solomon thou shalt be wise for thy self Prov. 9. 12. And herein is a mans wisdom for himself when he principally minds and looks after and spends his choysest cares and layes out his chiefest pains to make sure work for the saving of his immortal soul That man is wise indeed and he only is wise who so attends his soul that he is never at rest untill he finds his soul to be ready in a safe and sound condition And thus doth every one who hath the Spirit of God given unto him he is by the Spirit made wise unto salvation What shall I do to be saved Act. 16. 30 He workâ— out his own salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2. 12. And gives all diligence to make his calling and election sure 2 Per. 1. 12. 2ly As to the Object in making choice of the best and most necessary object for the soul and in refuâ—ing that which is pernicious and impertinent And this wisdom all have who have the Spirit of God For 1 They pitch upon the most excellent and most necessary object to enjoy that viz. God to be their God and reconciled Father and Christ to be their Lord and Redeemer and Saviour One thing is necessary and Mary hath chosen that good part c. 2. They abhor sin which is the pernicious object I hate every false way said David Psal 119. 104. And Solomon saith Prov. 14. 16. A wise man feareth and departeth from evil 3. They are above the world which is the impertinent object for the soul We look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal 2 Cor. 4. 18. Thirdly As to means and wayes tending to the fruition of eternal blessedness These they find out and in these they walk untill they come and appear before God Repentance Faith Holiness Righteousness Love new Obedience Uprightness these are the vety paths and wayes to heaven and all these do they chuse and walk in who have the Spirit of God given unto them Psal 119. 30. I have chosen the way of truth Ver. 35. Make me to go in the path of thy commandements for therein do I delight Isa 26. 7. The way of the just is uprightnesse Fourthly As to time or season Eccles 8. 5. A wise mans heart discerneth both time and judgement And this part of wisdom also is found in all that have the Spirit of God There is a day of visitation a day of knowledge of the things which do concern our peace Luke 19. 42 44. A day of salvation an accepted time 2 Cor. 6. 2. A time when Christ offers himself and love and mercy and happiness and strives with the hearts of men to know and accept of him And this time they who have the Spirit of God discern and do lay hold on and do gladly embrace they do not slight nor delay nor harden their hearts But while it is called to day they hearken Like the wise Merchant who as soon as he found the pearl of great price sold all and bought it Matth. 13. 45 46. Now if this wisdom of the spirit be as indeed it is the evidence that we have the Spirit O how few then have the Spirit of God given unto them Who takes care in the first place for his soule and makes sure the salvation of it Who sets his heart upon a God upon a Christ upon Reconciliation upon pardoning mercy and not rather upon his sins and on the world Who knows the day of grace the day of his visitation the day of his salvation the accepted time Who chuse the path of holiness the way of uprightness c. 3. Thirdly The Spirit of God is the Spirit of power and he is such a Spirit in and unto all unto whom he is given Rom. 15. 18. The Gentiles were made obedient Ver. 19 By the power of the Spirit of God 2 Tim. 1. 7. God hath given unto us not the spirit of fear but of power Isa 11. 2. The Spirit of the Lord is there called the Spirit of might Ephes 6. 10. Be strong in the Lord aâ—d in the power of his might The Spirit of God is a most strong
been and are the cause of all our troubles The troubles which the Spirit causeth in us for sinne is a meanes to deliver us from sinne and the eternal troubles for sinne 2. The troubles which the Spirit causeth in us for sinne do end in much joy They end in joy and peace and peace The joy and peace of the Spirit are very precious and they cannot be delivered out unto us unless we be first troubled for our sin The Spirit comforts mourners and them that are cast down Now the Spirit troubles us for sin 1. To make sinne bitter to us 2ly To make Christ sweet to us As he troubles us for our sins so he leads and draws the troubleâ— soul to Christ that in him he may find deliverance from those sinnes and his peace made with God c. Trouble is not all the work of the Spirit it is an inceptive work and a preparative work he troubles you for sin that you may not be damned for sinne and that you may make out for Christ to save you from your sinnes Object We should be willing to have the Spirit but that then we must bid farewell to all our sins the Spirit is a mortifying Spirit he will not suffer us to love our sins nor to take pleasure in them as heretofore we are affraid of the sword of the Spirit Sol. I answer First It is granted that the spirit will do this as you do speak it will cast sin The second prejudice removed He dethrones sin The death of sin is our life out of the throne it will take off love and service from sin and it will be more and more â—â— mortifying of it Secondly But then where is the hurt the danger the prejudice which you have against this Gal. 5. 24. They that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts Rom. 8. 13. If ye live after the flesh ye shall dye but if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live Here is death and life If you keep your sins alive ye shall dye if you through the spirit mortifie your sins you shall live The life of sin is your death and the death of sin is your life Saul spared Agag but it was his ruine and Ahab spared Benhadad but it was his ruine c. Object O but the Spirit will make us holy and we must then live holily and not so lâ—osly and freely as heretofore Sol. First Will the spirit of God make you holy and should you not be The third prejudice removed so 1 Pet. 1. 16. Be holy for I am holy and should you not walk so As he who hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation 1 Pet. 1. 15. Secondly Consider only three places of Scripture for this 1. Isa 4. 3. He that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy even every We should be holy one that is written amongst the living in Jerusalem 2. Heb. 12. 14. Follow holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. 3. Matth. 5. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Object But I shall be a derision and a mock if I should pretend to the Spirit c. Sol. 1. Who will mock you those that are led by the Divel wicked graceless The fourth prejudice removed ungodly men 2. All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution 3. If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of glory and of Christ resteth upon you 1 Pet. 4. 14. Secondly if you would come to partake of the Spirit you must not then resist We must not resist the spirit the Spirit Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears ye do alwayes resâ—st the Holy Ghost Acts 7. 51. Men resist the Spirit two wayes 1. When they will not hearken unto nor regard the counsel and commands of the Spirit delivered in the Word but set themselves against them and oppose and How the spiriâ— is resisted despise them 2. When they will not receive the offers and motions of the Spirit but harden their hearts against them and quench them and will not give way or enterance unto them Now take heed of this when the Spirit of God is knocking at your hearts and stirs your hearts to accept of him and of his graces which he is willing and ready to work in you by no means neglect them or slight them but lay hold of them presently as one of the greatest mercies that God is intending toward you bless him and cherish them and beseech him to go on with his work on your souls do not reject any work of the Spirit neither grieve him by neglecting his good motions Prov. 1. 23. Turn you at my reproof behold I will poure out my Spirit unto you I will make known my works unto you my Spirit shall not alwayes strive with man Thirdly If you would come to partake of the spirit then you must pray the We must pray for the spirit Lord to give you his spirit you must thirst after him and seek for him Isa 44. 3. I will poure water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground I will poure my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thy off-spring Luke 11. 13. Your heavenly Father will give the spirit to them that ask him What a promise is this to encourage any man sensible of the want of the spirit to pray unto God! Jesus Christ assures him that if he will ask for the Holy Spirit he shall have him Object But who can pray unless he hath the Spirit first Sol. I grant that the spirit must make you sensible of the want of the spirit and he must stir up your hearts to pray for him there is some degree of the spirits presence in stirring us up to pray for these but then if you would fully enjoy the spirit you must poure out you hearts c. Fourthly You must attend the Preaching of the Gospel the Gospel is called Attend upon the Ministry oâ— the Word the Ministry of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3. 6. And you read that whiles Peter was Preaching the Word unâ—o Cornelius and the rest the Holy Ghost came upon them Act. 10 44. Whiles Peter yet spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the Word So Gal. 3. 2. Received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the hearing of faith They received the spirit upon the hearing of the Gospel which is the word of faith You read that aâ—l the works of the spirit and all the graces of the spirit and all the joyes and comforts of the spirit are let into us by the Word by that the spirit is pleased to convey himself First His works He enlightens our minds by the Word he convinceth us of He enlightens our minds by the Word sin by the Word I
would not seem unto us a servile burden but a gracious priviledge and special favour that we might freely approach to God and be imployed as servants unto him Object Onely here take heed of a mistake that you do not look on love to God as the rule of your obedience but only as a sweet inward spring or principle of it Sol. Some who would cancel the Law as to believers would make our Love is not the only rule of our obedience love to God the rule of all our obedience to God but this is not sound doctrine For 1. That which is a part of our obedience cannot be the rule of our obedience Now love is a part of a mans obedience as well as faith and fear c. Antinomians confuted 2. No rule of mans obedience must be imperfect but perfect and full now our love is imperfect and therefore it cannot be the rule of our obedience Get humble and tender hearts Sixthly If you would walk in Gods statutes and do them then you mâ—st gâ—â— humble hearts and tender hearts Simile It is with our hearts as with mettals digged out of the earth which are impure and hard and as so of little or no use but when they are melted and purged they are then capable of being useful and being serviceable vessels Thus it is with our hearts whiles they are unbroken and hard and proud they are rebellious disobedient reprobate to every good work Exod. 5. 2. Pharaoh said Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to leâ— Israel go I know not the Lord neither will I let Israel go Psal 119. 21 Thoâ— hast rebuked the proud that are cursed which do erre from thy Commandements Jer. 44. 16. The proud men Chap. 43. 2. spake As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee But when the Lord gives unto men humble and tender hearts now they will close with and submit unto Gods statutes and to a walking in them Deut. 33. 3. All his Saints are in thy hand and they sate down at thy feet every one shall receive of thy word Lord said Paul when the pride and rage of his spirit was off and himself himself what wilt thou have me to do Acts. 9. 6. You read in James 4. 6. that God gives grace to the humble And Psal 25. 9. The meek will he teach his way c. Hence saith Christ Matth. 11. 29. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart intimating unto us that there is no taking upon us the yoke of obedience untill we first learn of him the lesson of lowliness of heart An humble and tender heart is wholly at Gods disposing and ready for his service most affraid to offend and dishonour him and most ready to give audience to every part of his will and to to do it and to bring him honour and glory in the whole course of a mans life Beseech the Lord to give you this humble and tender heart without which you will neither regard God nor his statutes 2. Quest What mistakes are we to take heed of in walking in Gods statutes or What we must take heed of in walking in Gods wayes in the performance of our duties of obedience unto him Sol. There are these things which you must take heed of in your walking and in your performance of duties First You must take heed of formality and resting in the opus operatum in the meere doing of duties commanded There are two parts of duties there is Of Formality the body of it and there is the soul of it there is the work and there is the manner of working As in Prayer there are the words of prayer and there is the Spirit of Prayer and in hearing of the Word there is the meer hearing and there is the right hearing or the spiritual hearing of the Word Now we must take heed that we content not our selves with the meer outward doing of any duty because 1. God requires more then the meer outward work My son saith he give God requires the heart me thy heart Prov. 23. 26. And Christ saith that God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth Joh. 4. 4 2. God Abhors and rejects the meer outward service Isa 29. 13. Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me and have removed their hearts far from me and their fear towards me is taught by precepts of men Ver. 14. therefore behold I will proceed to do a marvellous worke amongst this people a marvellous work and a wonder for the wisdom of the wise men shall perish c. Now there are four things which demonstrate that men do perform duties in a formal manner and content themselves with the meer opus operatum Why do men rest in the work done It s an easie service 1. One is the facility of their obedience To perform any one duty to make any one prayer in a spiritual manner will cost us much care and watchfulness many workings of heart many workings of faith and fear but to perform duties in a carnal formal way costs a man nothing if he can but read or say his prayers this is all and there he rests 2. A second is the deadness of the services It is a service without any heart It s a dead service at all the understanding acts not and the will acts not and the affections act not in it the man confesseth sin without any grief of heart for sin and even prays for grace and mercy without any longing desires or faith in Christ or the promises to obtain it 3. A carelesness of service The formal man minds not God nor any communion A careless service with him and minds not prayer and minds nothing beyond prayer whether his own heart be right or no and whether God regards him and answers him this he minds not 4. A fruitlesness of doing Nothing comes of the formal work of duty the man saith a prayer but no good comes of it and he hears but no good comes of it A fruitless service still he prayes and still he hears and still he reads and still he is drunk and still he swears c. Secondly You must take heed of neutrality in walking in Gods statutes neutrality Take heed of neutrality is an indifferent participation of both extreams it hath something of the one and something of the other as luke-warm water hath something of heat and something of cold So the man who is guilty of neutrality in walking in Gods statutes he hath one foot in the wayes of God and another foot in the wayes of wickedness he halts between two Opinions he is not only for God nor only for Baal 1 King 18. 21. he is not altogether for Gods commands nor
David I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever then mayst thou confidenly say with him Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the dayes oâ— my life Psal 23. 6. 2ly Their great sin in Revolting and giving over walking in Gods The great sin of Revolters Statutes There is a Question which I have read somewhere of Infidels and Hereticks and Apostates which of them do sin more heinously And it is Resolved that the Apostate is the greatest sinner of them defection is a greater sin then the negation of subjection because in defection or Apostasie 1. More of God is rejected and the Apostate sins more against God Why Apostaâ—es are such great sinners 2. Having received the knowledge of God and his wayes 3. And likewise breaks asunder more bonds which lay upon him to continue his obedience And indeed the Apostle speaking of Apostates delivers three things concerning them which do set out their sins unto amazment Heb. 6. 6. First One is that its impossible to renew them againe unto repentance How great It s impossible to renew them is that sin which doth so harden the hearts of men that he doth never repent of it nay can never repent of it nay that it is impossible to renew him again to repentance A Second is that they crucify to themselves the Son of God they deal with They crucify to themselves Christ a fâ—esh Christ as the Jews did who rejected and crucified him O what a sin is this to crucify the Son God and to crucify him a fresh to pierce his heart and to shed his blood the second time The third is that they put him to open shame they themselves do put a reproach They put him to open shame and contempt upon Christ and cause others so to do as if Christ were not a master fit to be followed and his wayes were not worth our regarding and that the poor woâ—ld and our base sins are rather to be regarded and embâ—aced and followed then the Lord Jesus and his precepts and his wayes And take one thing more that never did any fall off or turn away from walking in Gods statutes but he grew far more wicked then ever he was before and likewise a desperate enemies to the wayes of God 3ly Their great danger and judgement This I shall shew unto you in three Particulars First Revolters or Apostates are judicially given up to the great power of Satan The great danger and judgement of Apostates They are given up to Satan The Lord doth in his just judgement give them over unto Satan that he should rule them and that they should be his sworn servants who will break off with God and refuse to serve him any longer Mat. 12. 44. That unclean spirit returned unto his house from whence he came out ver 45. and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself and enter they in and dwell there and the last estate of that man is worse than the first Secondly They are judicially given up to the power of their sinful lusts they And to the power of their lusts grow worse and worse they having cast away the cords and all fear of God there is no wickedness but they are ready to obey it and they do now go on in their daring wayes of bold profaness with seared consciences Thirdly They are judiciously given up to the powers of damnation therefore And to the power of damnation it is said that they draw back unto perdition Heb. 10. 39. And the soul of God hath no pleasure in them Ver. 38. O what a dreadful condition is this to forsake the path of life and heaven and to turn back to walk in the path of death and Hell Fourthly They are many times in their life given up to exceeding terrors They are oft given up to terrors of conscience and despair of conscience and despair You may read this in Judas who turned back and what horror did that poor creature fall into he forsook his Master and left the path of life for a few pieces of silver but what got he by this he lept out of the ship into the Sea he could never meet with rest or peace afterwards but conscience brake in pieces and did so pursue him with guilt and terror that thereupon he fell into absolute despair and made an end of himself Simile The like you read of Spira who revolted from the truth and the path of Evangelical obedience after clear convictions and secret warnings of Conscience but what befell him O he presently fell into terror of conscience and despair and never could recover the least hopes of mercy to his dying day Fifthly They are many times punished by some extraordinary judgement here They are oft punished with extraordinary judgements on earth Take an instance in Israel and Judah they gave up to walk any longer in Gods statutes and wayes they forsook God and his Laws and what came of this why God forsook them and gave them up to their own hearts lusts and at last overthrew them with an utter destruction and scattered them over the face of the earth So you read of Joash who did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the dayes of Jehoiada the Priest 2 Chron. 24. 2. But afterwards Ver. 18. He left the house of the Lord and served Groves and Idols but what befell him for this you read of two great judgements that did befall him one in verse 24. That the Syrians came in with a small company of men and the Lord delivered a great Host into their hand because they had forsaken the Lord so they executed judgement against Joash The other is in ver 25. His servants conspired against him and slew him SECT II. 2. Use SHould the people of God continue proceed on and persevere in walking in Gods statutes then you who are the people of God give me leave to offer unto you 1. A few Cautions about your walking 2. A few exhortations concerning our walking 3. A few encouragements for your walking continued walking in Gods statutes 1. The Cautions about your walking You see that it is your duty to walk on to proceed to persevere in walking in Gods statutes therefore take heed unto your selves and beware of four Cautions about our walking in Gods statutes Beware of slothfulness things First Beware of slothfulness and carelesness at any time in doing the will of God or in walking in his wayes Rom. 12. 11. Be not slothful in business but fervent in spirit serving the Lord. When a man doth a business slothfully he doth it with a slight spirit he doth not put out himself not his strength he hath no care in doing of it he doth it not with a serious and diligent spirit but remisly and indifferently as one not affected about what he doth nor addicted unto it saith the Apostle Heb. 6. 11. We desire that every