world that knew him not that had no interest in him and the like and then was promised Therefore seeing there are so many poor wretched creatures so many Families that live without a God in the world that know nothing of him and live as if they expected nothing from him and fear no evil to come from him at all therefore wee promised to labour to set forth before you somewhat of God that might help you to know him to shew you what hee is And to that end turn to that Scripture Psal 148. part of the 13. verse For his Name alone is excellent Text. THis Psalm is a Psalm of praise praising of God for all the glorious manifestations of himself in his great Works and calling upon all creatures to praise him because hee is glorious in every creature but the Psalmist rests not in this in praising God for the glory of him that appears in the creatures but hee riseâ— higher and takes indeed the rise from thence to praise and bless God for what there is in himself above that which doth appear in any creature For so it is clear that to this the Psalmist doth arise in my Text Let them praise the name of the Lord for his name alone is excellent his glory is above the Earth and Heaven The Earth and Heaven and all creatures therein are called to praise Gods name and David praises the name of God for what appeared there but saith hee Praise the Lord for his Name alone is excellent and his glory is above the Earth and Heaven His Name the Name of God is either taken for God himself or for the manifestation of God often in Scripture for God himself Prov. 18.10 as The Name of the Lord is a strong Tower the righteous run unto it and are safe that is God himself Hee is the strength and Tower hee is the object of the trust of his people and so other Scriptures or otherwise that whereby God may bee known Psal 76.1 His Name is great in Israel And here we are to understand both for his Name alone is excellent that is God himself is excellent alone the Name of him of him alone is high is lifted up is excellent and that wee are to understand by the Name of God here God himself as well as his Manifestations appears in the words at the end of the verse His glory is above the earth and heaven Now Gods manifestation is either in heaven or earth But there is a further glory of God that is in himself that is beyond all that is or can bee manifested in or to any creature so that from the words thus opened there are these two doctrinal Points one I wil but only touch it is raised from the connexion of the words with the former and the other that is the substance of the Text that wee shall abide a while upon The first is this That a gracious heart is not satisfied with praising God onely for his works but rises higher to praise him and especially to praise him for himself for that that it sees in himself I say a gracious heart doth not stick in the Works of God nor is it onely inlarged to praise God for what it sees in Gods works but it will rise higher than all the works of God and praise him especially for that it sees in himself Thy self O Lord is excellent the glory that is in thy self it is above the earth and above the heaven While wee praise God for what wee see in his works our thoughts and hearts are limited for Gods manifestations of himself are finite and so there is not that spaciousness that a gracious heart desires to let our its self in but when it can rise up to God himself and look at the infinite excellency that there is in himself above all that doth appear in his works then the heart inlarged with grace can expatiate it self to the uttermost and that is that which doth delight him then is a gracious heart indeed in its own element when it is expatiating it self even in God himself And further God in setting himself before the soul in way of Covenant Jer. 31.33.32.39.24.7 Ezek. 11 2â— Gen. 15.1 hee doth not onely tell those that hee takes into Covenant that hee will do such and such things for them but hee would have them to close with himself I will bee your God The Lord told Abraham that hee would bee his exceeding great reward but that would not satisfie Abraham What wilt thou give mee Vers 2. having an eye to Christ and the enjoyment of God in him so let God say that hee will do never such things for a gracious heart that is not enough except God himself bee the portion of the soul the soul cannot bee satisfied with any thing that God doth if God should say to one whose heart he hath inlarged with grace I will give thee all the world to possess thou shalt have all the glory all the pomp all the sweetness all the comforts in the world nay more than that I will make ten thousand worlds more and give thee them all and they shall have all of them more excellency than this present world hath why all this would not satisfie a heart inlarged with grace for the portion of it though such a one sees its self unworthy of the least crum of bread yet it cannot bee satisfied with all the world what then will satisfie him onely God himself for so God propounds himse f unto his people in way of Covenant Psal 16.5 I will bee thy God I will bee your portion And upon this those that are in Covenant with him though they do rejoyce to see God manifesting himself in all his Names they bless God for the beholding so much as they do of him in his works but the thing that their hearts are most upon is God himself the excellency that there is in God above all his works And as it is in praising God so also it is in other workings of the heart towards God as now grace doth not love God so much for what God gives to it as for what God is himself that is the difference between true sanctifying grace and common grace common grace may make mee love God for what I receive from him oâ— for what I hope to receive from him but sanctifying grace makes mee to love God for what is in himself more than for what I receive from him or expect to receive and so there may bee the fear of God for some works of God when God doth manifest his power and dreadfulness in his works in thundring or lightening then the heart of a sinner may fear God though there bee no grace but now where there is grace such a one fears God more because of that excellency hee sees in God himself than from any dreadful works of God and this would bee a good rule to try your selves by You say you
other creature in this or the other manner So God is the fountain of all good to all creatures whatsoever they are to look upon him as having all coming from him And therefore hee alone is excellent and his glory is above the Heavens and Earth 14 Further As all things are from him so they depend upon him all excellencies that are in the creature as they come from God so they have their absolute dependency upon God so as God need do nothing to destroy a creature if hee doth but withdraw himself from it it falls to nothing presently take the most glorious Angels and the highest Heavens Sun Moon Stars Sea and Earth if God should but withdraw his hand from these creatures they would presently fall down to nothing they do depend upon God as the light upon the Sun there is no more light if the beams of the Sun bee withdrawn so if God withdraw his influence from the creature it can do nothing and it s nothing presently so that the influence that there is from God to the creature it is to maintain the creature in his being every moment the Lord must put forth as infinite a power to maintain thee and mee and every creature as hee did at the first for the making of the world Heb. 1.3 And this is Gods excellency to uphold all things they do so depend upon him If a work-man make a house hee goes away the house can stand without him but when God built the world the world could not stand one moment without him And not onely God must have an influence into the creature to preserve the being but likewise to inable the creature to act the creature cannot act one moment without God no creature can stir in the least degree Act. 17.28 except the Lord concur with it Therefore the Name of God alone is excellent By him saith the Scripture wee live wee move wee have our being not onely wee are upheld in our being and lives but wee move wee cannot stir one moment but God must concur with his creature for the motion and action of it 15 Further God alone is excellent in his operation in his power in the manner of his working though God give a power to other creatures to work yet God works in a different way from all other creatures First God hee doth whatsoever hee pleases either in heaven or earth The will of God as I shewed you before it cannot bee beyond Gods power God cannot will to do more than hee hath power to do Psal 115.3 Psal 135.6 Eccles 8.3 Therefore the Lord hee doth whatsoever hee pleases in heaven and earth The power of every creature can but work within the sphere so far as the causes give a vertue and efficacy so far it is able to work and no further Secondly The power of God appears in this that the Lord doth the greatest and the most difficult things as easily as hee doth the least and the easiest as thus God makes the whole world as easily as hee can make a crum of dirt God can make the Heavens Sun Moon and Stars and all the Seas and Earth with as much ease as hee can make a flye God can make ten thousand Angels as soon as hee can make one worm And therefore God hee can as soon speak the word to the soul of a man that is dead Joh. 5.25 to live hee can as soon raise aâ—l the dead out of their graves as hee can give them a peece of bread to eat while they are alive such is the infiniteness of Gods operation 3 Further God is excellent in all that hee doth There is nothing that God doth in any time but was decreed to bee done from eternity that is the excellency of Gods working the creature works something but perhaps a man did not think of what hee doth a few dayes ago but God doth nothing nor never will do any thing but it is that that was decreed from all eternity that hee would do and God will never do any thing to all eternity but what hee had decreed from all eternity before yet it is for us creatures to observe according to his revealed will but this is the excellency of God above all creatures whatever 4 And then there is a further thing that is as considerable as any of the other God is so far from needing any matter to work upon or instrument to work by when he doth do anything as there is no more required for any creature to bee or work at any time when God would have it but the alone act of Gods will that was from eternity As now the world it was not made six thousand years ago Now God willed from all eternity that there should bee a world in time and there was nothing required to make this world but that act of Gods will that was from all eternity that it should bee at that time Man hee doth will and decree to do such a thing now when the time comes then hee bestirs himself and takes this tool or instrument and puts forth a power that hee did not put forth before But the act of Gods will from all eternity was sufficient to make all creatures that ever since have been made and to provide for all creatures that ever since have been provided for one act of Gods will hath done all this and that act of the will of God that hath been from all eternity hath done it there are not several acts of Gods will but Gods act is himself Divers other things might bee shewed as this 5 Where God hath done any work all his works adde nothing to him The creature hath somewhat added to him by his works as thus A man that is a work-man hee can make a house and so hee hath the benefit of it to dwell in to keep off the weather and so hee makes cloath and hath the benefit of it But all the works of God adde nothing to him A man can do something by the work that hee hath made that hee could not do without his work but God can do nothing by any work that hee hath made but hee can do the same without that work when hee hath made all his works they are not helpful to him but this was a branch of the All-sufficiency of God 16 In the next place God alone is excellent in the manner of his communication of himself God doth so communicate himself to his creatures as one creature cannot to another First God can let out as much of himself as hee will to any creature now one creature cannot let out as much as hee pleases to another for instance A man that hath learning hee cannot make another as learned as hee will a man that hath holiness and goodness cannot make another as holy and as good as hee will but God can this is Gods propriety hee can let out of himself as much as hee pleases as much holiness as much
this Text in the Ephesians Wee must labour to comprehend the heights and depths and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge You wiâ—l say these are too wonderful things for us to know Nay The Apostle praies that they may know that which passeth knowledge Though the fulnesse of the glory of it passeth all knowledge yet still there may bee so much of the knowledge of these things as may help you to sanctifie Gods Name and make your hearts spiritual for saith the Text That yee may know the love of God which passeth knowledge that yee might bee filled with all the fulnesse of God It is a very strange phrase for the creature to bee filled with God and had wee it not in Scripture wee should not have dared to have used such an expression But here it is to bee filled with all the fulnesse of God This phrase is a great deal higher but how comes this to passe by comprehending the height and depth and length and breadth that is by understanding Jesus Christ and the Glory of God in him by this means doth the soul come to bee filled with all the fulnesse of God What is the reason that Christians are so empty in their spirits in their conversations but because they know so little of the Mystery of the Gospel If thou didst but understand the Mystery of the Gospel but how the Lord makes known himself in the face of Jesus Christ this would fill thy heart with all the fulnesse of God those Christians are the Christians filled with excellency indeed that do comprehend the height and depth and length and breadth of this wonderful work of God in Christ There is nothing sanctifies the heart so much as the knowledge of Christ in a right way Seneca hath such an expression concerning the Heavens Oh the Heavens are a wonderful spectacle and a spectacle fit for a reasonable creature to bee imployed about Though wee should get little benefit by knowing the Motions of the Heavens the Sun Moon and Stars yet the beauty and excellency that is there and the wonderful work of God in the Heavens it cannot but take a rational creature Now if the wonderful work of God in the Heavens bee such as it must needs take a rational creature Oh what is the wonderful work of God in Jesus Christ therefore let us make it the chief of our study to study the Lord Jesus Luther hath an expression to the same purpose O saith hee I vehemently I extreamly am displeased with my self and displease my self yea saith hee I hate my self because I cannot get that great benefit that great work that there is in mans Redemption because I cannot get it to bee transfused into my very bones and marrow I would fain get it in there Saint Paul in Gal. 1.15 16. said hee was separated from his Mothers womb and called by Grace and had Christ revealed in him O blessed is that soul that the Lord hath separated for himself that Jesus Christ might bee revealed in it that is a blessed soul You know how Paul accounted the knowledge of Christ The excellent knowledge the excellencie of knowledge and accounted all things dung and drosse in comparison and so David in Psal 119.27 Make mee to understand the way of thy Precepts so shall I talk of thy wondrous works When you come together you can bee talking of this News and the other News but were your hearts filled with the knowledge of Jesus Christ you could not but talk of the wonderful things that God hath done for your souls in Jesus Christ And as wee are to labour to search that wee may know more so to give God the praise of this his wonder that hee hath done In Psal 107.8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for the wonderful things that hee hath done for the children of men It is meant there I confesse of the wonderful works of Gods providence but surely if God bee to bee praised and magnified for his wonderful works of providence much more for the wonderful works that hee hath done for the soul in Jesus Christ And so in Psal 86.9 10. You have an expression there to the same purpose All Nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee O Lord and shall gloâ—ifie thy Name for thou art great and dost wondrous things Oh that this Scripture were fulfilled that all Nations might come and worship the Lord and glorifie God upon this ground because God is great and doth wonderful things The wonderful things of God in his works of Creation and Providence are nothing so much regarded of God himself as the wonderful things hee hath done in Christ and therefore the Lord expects that the Saints should glorifie him more for that than for any thing else And the truth is God reâ—ects all the glory that hee hath from his creatures except hee hath it because of the wonders that hee hath done in his Son And as wee should study Christ and praise and bless God and have our hearts enlarged for Jesus Christ So this is the duty of beleevers to whom God hath revealed Christ as wonderful that in their conversations they should hold out the wonderful Glory of Jesus Christ thou shouldest so walk before men as to manifest to all the world that thy Saviour is a wonderful Saviour And thou shouldest manifest it by thy wonderful change that soul that hath part in Christ whose Name is wonderful honours Christ in this If hee doth manifest that since hee came to know Jesus Christ there is a wonderful change made in him what a change is there made in this youth or childe young-man or neighbour or friend Not long since what an ignorant sot was hee but since hee went to hear the Word Oh the understanding in a little time that such a one hath got in the Mysteries of the Gospel such a one was not able to go into Gods presence to expresse himself in prayer any otherwise but upon a book but now Oh what a spirit of prayer hath God given to such a poor wretch that was so ignorant the other day Now O how can hee pour out his soul before the Lord Such a one that not long since was a prophane and loose liver and sensual and base in his life and conversation now oh how holy how heavenly how spiritual and would not commit the lest known sin if hee might gain a thousand worlds for it such a one that was false in his service before now how trusty one may trust ones life and all that one hath with him now such a one that heretofore was a swearer oh how doth hee reverence the Name of God! such a one that was a froward passionate spirited man or woman now how meek and gentle are they what a mighty change is there in the spirit of such a servant or wife or husband or neighbour And such a one that was altogether for himself and proud and haughty but now
him as musick good cheer friends estate yet there is that horror and torment in his spirit sometimes through the consciousness of the guilt of sin that hee is not able to bear nay were there not somewhat beyond this bodily substance certainly this could never bee verily then there is a spirit in man and hence therefore you see that there is somewhat doth concern you all beyond your present outward and bodily condition Let no man think that hee hath provided well for himself when hee hath provided mony and house and lands and good chear and cloaths and such kinde of things do not think that thou art happy in that for these are things that concern thy outward man there is still another substance in thee that thou art to look after that takes little notice of such things as these are Neither do you think that you have provided well for your children when you have provided an estate an inheritance somewhat to leave them know that there is another substance in your children besides that outward bodily substance you look upon Do you see a fine feature comely parts comely countenance and your children finely cloathed I but know there is a spirit in that childe besides that bodily substance that you are to look to Certainly man is very far fallen from God that none scarce takes notice of his own spirit We do not only naturally live without a God in the world so as to know little of that infinite divine Spirit that is the first being of all things but wee live without the knowledge of our own spirits of our own souls Truly few men there are that know their own souls As a man by his eye sees things that are without him but he doth not see his own eye so by the soul wee come to understand many things without us but yet how little do wee understand of our own souls well might the Psalmist therefore complain and say in Psal 49.20 Man that is in honour and understandeth not is like the beasts that perish God did indeed make man at first in honour but now hee is become like the very beasts hee doth minde little or nothing more than the very beasts themselves hee blesses himself if hee hath but content for the body for a while as if there were nothing else concerned him I appeal unto your consciences in this thing whether the uttermost sphere of your thoughts have been any further than meerly within the compass of bodily content If you should come to a beast and talk to it about Trades and titles of honour and Arts and Sciences and such kind of things why what is all this to a beast Give a beast hay or corn and such kinde of things that are suitable to it and it mindes that more than it doth any high notions that you are able to tell it and truly thus it is with sensual men even as the Atheist who saith in his heart That there is no God so a kinde of Atheism there is in their hearts to say they have no souls that there is no difference between them and the brute-beasts hence it is that they savour spiritual things so little Tell carnal men of the excellency of the Name of God Tell them of Jesus Christ how wonderful hee is of the wonderful mysteries of the Gospel and of the things of eternal life they are dry things to such a one hee savours them not Tell him of money and meat and drink and sports and cloaths and such kinde of things they are suitable unto him there is some savour in them but for the great things of the Kingdome of God and of eternal life there is no savour at all in them and thus far is man fallen from God and lives for the most part as if so bee hee were capable of no higher good but meerly to eat and drink and live for a while here like a beast Thus doth the Devil gull and deceive most of us Now my brethren this is a work that I have undertaken and it concerns as much the Ministers of God to shew unto you what you are your selves what God hath made you as to shew you what God is and what Christ is that you may come to understand your selves you can never come to know your reference unto God untill you come to know what God hath made you this is therefore my scope in this Scripture to shew unto you what God hath made you and that you have souls within you and souls of exceeding great worth I will not say infinite for none is infinite but God himself but more worth than all the world than all the creatures that God hath made except the Angels in heaven The souls of the children of men are most excellent creatures did but a man or woman consider seriously that they have souls in them beyond their bodies it would raise them up a little But this next Point that is the main and principal Doct 2 Did they but know the worth of their souls it could not but raise them very high above those poor empty vanities that they have minded all this while Therefore there is in man not onely a soul but that that is more worth than all the world that if it should bee lost that man that gained the whole world would bee a great loser in his bargain Know therefore this that there is not the poorest man or woman living nay not the poorest childe that lyes begging a crust of bread at your door but this childe hath a soul in it that is more worth than heaven and earth this poor ragged tattered childe that lyes in rags I say crying at your threshold and begging a peece of bread it hath a soul in it that hath greater excellency than the Sun Moon and Stars than all the Heavens than the Sea than the Earth put all the creatures in the world together that are under Angels the spirit of this poor childe hath more excellency in it than all these things and that is the thing that I am to make out unto you Why natural life hath more excellency in it than any creature that hath no life I remember Austin saith of a Flye because it hath life that it hath more excellency in it than the Sun its self because though the Sun bee a glorious creature yet it hath no life in it life in the meanest creature hath a greater excellency than any thing else that hath not life But now the soul hath the highest natural life that is and capable of the highest happiness that any creature is capable of and therefore more excellent than all the world But that wee shall come too in its order The excellency of the soul may bee discovered first In the relation it hath to God The Excellency of the Soul discovered 1 In its relation to God God doth challenge a peculiar relation to the spirits of men and therefore in Heb. 12.9 â—od is called the Father
bee lost And here for the present every man and womans soul in the world by nature is a lost soul First Every man and woman as they come into the world are deprived of the glory and excellency that God did indow the souls of men withall in their first creation wee are all deprived of the glory of God saith the Scripture And secondly All our souls do now naturally wander away from God continually depart and wander from the infinite glorious first-being of all things Thou that art an old man or woman that hast lived many years and God hath not revealed himself in working the true work of conversion in thee to change thy estate know that thy soul hath been departing and wandring from the Lord all the dayes of thy life to this very present thou art like a lost sheep wandring up and down in the wilderness and in danger to bee destroyed every minute of an hour by some wilde beast or other though it is true thy soul is not made a prey to the Devil so as to destroy thee utterly yet thou hast been in danger all the while thou hast been wandring from the Lord to bee made a prey upon by the Devil and utterly to have been cast away Yea and thirdly There is a great deal of misery upon thy soul if thou knewest it as contrary to that light that hee hath set up in thy understanding there is blindness in thee there is errour in thee contrary to that holiness that was at first in thy heart and soul there is nothing but sin and wickedness all the spauns and seeds of all kinde of sin is in thy heart there is a great deal of that evil that is contrary to what thy soul was made withall at first there is enmity in thy soul against God himself Yea and fourthly Thy soul is in a succourless helpless shiftless condition in respect of what thou art able to do or what all the creatures in heaven or earth are able to do for thee let all the Angels in heaven and men in the world joyn together to seek to do good to thy soul they are not able to deliver thy soul from that evil that now it is in and that it is in further danger of And this is the reason of that phrase that you have in Luke 19.10 The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost Wee are all lost sheep going astray and Jesus Christ came to seek and to save lost souls Souls deprived of the glory of God Souls wandring away from God Souls filled with evil Souls succourless and helpless in regard of any power in any creature in heaven and earth to save them Christ beholding how such precious souls were every one of them lost if hee had not come to save them hee was pleased to come from heaven to seek and to save souls thus lost Now though souls bee for the present in a lost condition yet there is a further loss of the soul than this for if the soul be neglected here it will bee lost forever there are many that are lost now for the present and yet afterwards Christ findes them and there is joy in heaven at the finding of them but there is a loss that shall bee eternal and that loss is more dreadful than the former yet the former hath the degree of it but that the perfection of the former Now the loss of the soul in hell consists in these three particulars First The full and perfect eternal rejection of the soul from God and from all good in him together with the fulness of all kinde of evil that the soul is capable of this is the condition of a lost soul that perishes Secondly And then in the next place it consists in the making of this soul to bee perfectly sensible of the loss of that good and of all the evil it is possest withall making of it perfectly sensible of it Here men and women are in lost conditions but they know it not they are not sensible of it But God will bring the soul into such a condition as it shall bee made perfectly sensible of the loss of all the good that it might have had and of all the evil that is upon it Thirdly And then lastly It shall bee in such a condition so succourless so helpless as is not onely beyond the power of Angels and all men to help it but I say so succourless so lost as that Gods mercy and all the good there is in Christ shall never save it and as God hath set and ordered things can never save it Now then these things being opened to you you will understand what this Text means When you read this Text you think there may bee truth in it and in general you will â—ssent unto it but if you come to understand but these things then indeed you cannot but all subscribe to it and acknowledge Oh it is indeed a dreadful thing the loss of the soul But now because it is a point of so great moment I will not satisfie my self meerly in telling you these things but endeavour to open them unto you what the evil of this loss is that if it might bee by presenting this before the souls of men they may see more the danger that they are in and how the Devil hath gulled and deceived them all this while It may make many souls to bee at a stand if they come to know what this loss indeed doth mean Now I shall endeavour the opening of this in the three last particulars that I named First For the rejection of the soul from God so as to bee deprived of all the good there is in God and that it is capable of Now for the understanding of the evil of this wee must inquire what is that good that the souls of men are capable of or else wee cannot come to understand what an evil thing it is to lose it Now for the good that the soul is capable of I will but onely name some heads unto you for in a Treatise that some of you have in your hands of Moses looking to the recompense of reward there are the principal heads of the good and excellency that the soul is capable of and shall bee blessed in heaven eternally with And the apprehending the loss of these things will discover much The first part of the evil of the loss of the soul I will but in a very brief way present them unto you Why the Glory of God upon the soul the Image of God the Life of God the Divine nature that the soul is capable of Now for the soul never to live the Life of God nor to have his Image nor any of the Glory of Gold upon it this is a fearful evil to those that know the excellency of these things of the blessed vision of God in heaven to see him that is the infinite first-being of all things to see him as hee
bee thou that art a carnal Master mayst see thy poor servant taken up to God and thou thy self shut out or it may bee the carnal Father or Mother may see their childe saved and yet they themselves lost Oh this will bee a sad aggravation of their loss And thus you have heard the dreadful loss of the soul together with the aggravations thereof in these ten particulars Now for the Use Is it so that the loss of the soul eternally is so dreadful a loss as you have heard it is Oh then let every one here bless God for their souls that their souls are not thus lost It might have been so long ere this time when such a kinsman of thine dyed or thy fellow-servant or when such a neighbour or acquaintance of thine dyed if thou hadst but dyed when they dyed thy soul it may bee had been eternally lost This I can assure you that naturally you are all lost and what makes the difference between thy soul and the condition of a lost soul as you have heard but onely the meer mercy of God Oh therefore now bless God for his mercy unto thee that thy soul is not as yet a lost soul and think thus with thy self Lord if these things bee true and so dreadful to hear of Oh then what would be my misery if it should prove that I should bee the person made sensible thereof by experiencing the misery I hear of to bee the miserable condition of a lost soul The Scripture doth say concerning the joy and happiness of the Saints That eye hath not seen nor ear heard 1 Cor. 2.9 neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive what their happiness shall bee that shall bee saved And the like may bee said of the misery of the souls that are eternally lost and the Scripture doth say That if our Gospel bee hid 2 Cor. 4.3 it is hid to them that are lost I beseech you therefore remember what hath been spoken concerning the condition of loâ—t souls and lay to heart what hath been spoken out of this Text lest within a little time you feel what hath been spoken to bee a truth and so bee forced to cry out True it is I heard such a day out of such a text what was the miserable condition of a soul eternally lost but now I finde it by experience to bee true and the one half I now feel I could not then conceive And know the reason my Brethren why we lay the misery of lost souls thus before you it is to this end that none of you might be thus lost And it is a blessed thing for you to hear these things for how many are there that have lost their souls which till they were thus lost never so much as heard any thing about the loss of their souls which if they had who knows what might have been done by them for the saving of their souls Beloved such a subject as this cannot be spoken unto you without trembling for certainly this subject will bee much adding to the prevention of the loss or else it will mightily aggravate the loss of your souls if ever they are eternally lost therefore all I have at present to counsel you to is to lay these things to your hearts seriously as also to bless God for your souls that as yet they are not in this dreadful eternally lost condition The Fifth SERMON ON The Excellency of the Soul Matthew 16.26 For what is a man profited if hee shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul Use IF the loss of our souls bee so dreadful as you have heard bless God that your souls are not gone and thus lost as hath been opened unto you It may bee thou hast lost thy husband or thy wife or thy childe or thy friend or a great part of thine estate but blessed bee God that thy soul is not lost In a great fire where men use to lose most if not all that they have when a man comes to view what hee hath lost and hee findes hee hath lost this thing that was in such a parlour and that that was in such a chest but if at length he comes to finde that such a Jewel that hee had in the house or such a bagg of gold in which most of his estate consisted that that is not lost though all the lumber all the houshold-stuff is lost that comforts him in all other of his losses So it should bee here whatever wee lose wee are to bee comforted in this that our souls are not gone and lost It is a notable Scripture in 1 Pet. 4. vers last Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing as unto a faithful Creator As if the Apostle should say you are like to meet with great sufferings you may likely bee deprived of all you have of your estates and of all your comforts and may come to suffer much yet commit the keeping of your souls to him in well doing as unto a faithful Creator Why they might have said but what shall become of other things if storms and tempests and sufferings come what shall become of our estates what shall become of our livelihoods and of our bodies why saith the Apostle as for them for your estates for your bodies it may bee they may perish you are not so much to look after them but commit the keeping of your souls unto him as unto a faithful Creator The Apostle here exhorts them what to do in times of sufferings and by what hee doth express hee doth imply that they should take no care for outward estate and body it is enough that your souls are well commit the keeping of your souls to him as unto a faithful Creator wee have enough if that bee safe You know in time of danger as fires and other times if a man hath any precious thing hee carries that presently to some special friend and commits the keeping of that to him his writings and such things wherein his estate is most So saith the Apostle in the time of publick danger Take care to commit the keeping of your souls to him as unto a faithful Creator and you are well enough That is the first Secondly If the loss of the soul bee so dreadful a loss Oh let us bless God then for Jesus Christ without whom all our souls had been eternally lost never a soul in the world but must have perished unto all eternity had not Jesus Christ come into the world to bee the great Saviour of souls All the Angels in Heaven and men in the world could never have saved one soul now Christ saw this and his bowels did even yearn towards so many thousands of precious souls and rather than they should perish hee was content to come and make his own soul to bee an offering for sin Isa 53.10 the soul of Christ was made an
and woman thou art not undone for thy soul is safe Lord strike saith Luther strike onely pardon my sin And my Brethren well may you bee incouraged to undergo any difficulties and to bear the loss of the comforts of this world for the saving of your souls for indeed the Lord hath granted to us the way of salvation of souls at an easier rate than our Forefathers had If I should but tell you the way that many of our Forefathers had for the saving of their souls and many of the Saints of God in former times you would have said then that it was a difficult way to save souls and go to Heaven As I will but give you an instance of one man and another woman how hardly they came to salvation That blessed Martyr Bensesius see but what a way hee had to Heaven for profession of Christian Religion The Persecutors came to him and because hee would not deny the Truth they strike his body in all his members out if joynt and when they had done that they make wounds in all parts of his body then thirdly they bring Iron combs sharpened and so rake upon his body thus wounded and when they had done that they laid him upon an Iron grate and with instruments of Iron open those wounds and after that they melt hot burning salt and strew it upon those wounds being opened and then they come with hot Irons and fear him with those hot Irons and after that dragg him by the heels into a dungeon where they had prepared sharp shells and there hee lay and perished here is one that went to Heaven upon hard terms you will say but God calls not you to do so but to deny your selves in some base lust in some sinful and ungodly way in something that you may spare that you may spare as well as the water out of your shooes as wee use to say And then of a woman that was of Noble birth and yet shee being convented for Religion and answering boldly and resolutely and would not yeeld after many temptations and fair speeches they dragged her by the hair of the head from the seat of Judicature and having dragged her they pull off one joynt from another and having done that get the teeth and claws of wilde beasts and rake her flesh from the bones and having afterwards done that then they came with hot Irons and Torches and burning flames one of one side and another of another side and scorch and burn her to death in such a way as that was and yet shee goes on constantly so bee it shee might save her soul shee was willing to indure all this misery wee do not know what God may call you to before you die many of our Brethren have suffered very hard things and God may call you to hard things Oh that this Text might prepare you And now my Brethren as it hath been a means to carry others thorow temptations and many difficulties in this world so if you would lay but these truths to your hearts and if you cannot think of every particular passage yet do but think of the Text and take but this one Note and that is that whereas God calls others to spend their strength in suffering so great evils to save their souls bee you willing to spend the strength that God spares you in doing in serving spend your strength in active obedience so much the more by how much the less you are called to spend it in the way of passive obedience that so you may have cause to bless God for ever in Heaven when you shall come to see soul and body to bee blessed and saved eternally you may bless God for ever in Heaven for revealing such a truth and setting home such a Text What shall it profit a man though hee gain the whole world and lose his soul and what shall a man give in exchange for his soul FINIS Books printed for and sold by Thomas Parkhurst at the three Crowns over against the great Conduit at the lower end of Cheapside Folios A Practical Commentary or an Exposition with Observations Reasons and Uses upon the first Epistle General of John By that pious and worthy Divine Master John Cotâ—on Pastor of Bostox in New-England A Learned Commentary or Exposition upon the first Chapter of the second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians being the substance of many Sermons formerly Preached at Grayes-Inne London by that Reverend and judicious Divine Richard Sibbs D. D. sometimes Master of Katherine-Hall in Cambridge and Preacher to that Honourable Society Published for the publick good and benefit of the Church of Christ by Tho. Manton B. D. and Preacher of the Gospel at Stoake-Newington near London 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Divine Characters in two parts acutely distinguishing the more secret and undiscerned differences between 1. The Hypocrite in his best dress of seeming vertue and formal duties And the true Christian in his real graces and sincere obedience As also between the blackest weeds of daily infirmities of the truly godly eclipsing saving grace and the reigning sins of the unregenerate that pretend unto that godliness they never had By that late burning and shining Lamp Mr. Samuel Crook B. D. late Pastor of Wrington in Sommerset A Commentary upon the Divine Revelation of the Apostle and Evangelist John By David Pareus sometimes Professour of Divinity in the University of Heidelburg And specially some things upon the twentieth Chapter are observed by the same Author against the Millenaries Translated out of the Latine into English by Elias Arnold Quartoes A Theatre of flying Infects wherein especially the manner of right ordering the Bee is excellently described with discourses Historical and Physical concerning them with a Second part of Meditations and Observations Theological and Moral in three Centuries upon the same subject by Samuel Purchas M. A. Peoples Need of a living Pastor at the Funeral of Mr. Iohn Frost M. A. by Mr. Zach. Crofton 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Saint's Worthiness and the World's worthlesness both opened and declared in a Sermon preached at the Funeral of that eminently Religious and highly honoured Knight Sir Nathanael Barnardiston Aug. 26. 1653. By Samuel Faireclough Pastor of the Congregation at Ketton Holy things for holy men or the Lawyers Plea non-suited c. In some Christian reproof and pitty expressed towards M. Prynn's book intituled The Lord's Supper briefly Vindicated by S. S. Minister of the Gospel An Antid te against H. Haggar's poysonous Pamphlet intituled The Foundation of the Font discovered or a reply wherein his audaciousness and sophistry in arguing against Infant-Baptism Discipleship Church-membership is detected his cavils against M. C. M. B. and M. Hall are answered c. By A. Houghton Minister of the Gospel at Prees in Salop. Large Octavoes Four profitable Treatises very useful for Christian practice viz. The Killing power of the Law The Spiritual Watch The New Birth Of the Sabbath By the