Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n
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A96034
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A glasse and salve for professors held to them. By William Voile minister of the Gospel.
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Voile, William.
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1668
(1668)
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Wing V749A; ESTC R186085
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101,652
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114
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sins and to do your duty or else suffer whâ—t ye are unwilling to suffer But the love of Christ in dying for poor miserable sinners when they were without strength to help themselves and unworthy to be pitied and helped constraineth those who live by and through him not to live to themselves but to him who died for them and rose again 2 Cor. 5. 14 15. 2. Brethren ye ought to reform your conversings universally and unreservedly compleatly 1. That your sins may be blotted out c. Act. 3. 19. 2. That ye may attain that great salvation Prov. 28. 13. 2 Cor. 7. 10. 3. That ye may be vesseâ—s unto honour meet for the Masters use 2 Tim. 2. 21 22. 4. That ye may be blameless and harmless the children of God without rebuke in the midst of the Nation among whom ye live Phil. 2. 15. 5. That ye may be able to pray as the Psalmist prayes Psal 119. 28 41 58 76. 107 116 154 169 176. 6. That your prayers may be the more effectual and of the greater force towards the near-approaching destruction of Babylon and the hastening of Christ's reign on earth if he shall reign here otherwise than now he doth either in person or by the Saints and the coming down of the holy City the new Jerusalem from God out of Heaven when the glory and and prosperity of the Church militant on earth shall be next to that of the Church triumphant in Heaven against which time we ought to be prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband Eph. 5. 27. Rev. 21. 1 2. Do not these things require an exact and plenary Reformation even the cleansing of our selves from all filthiness both of the flâ—sh and spirit 2 Cor 7. 1. and the keeping of our selves unspotted from the world Jam. 1. 27. I think they do 3. But let me shew you wherefore I think that of the Professors in England many be meer Formalâ—sts and many born again who are one or more degrees too short of that exact and even walking which is called for Eph. 5. 15. Heb. 12. 12 13. First Solomon Prov. 16. 7. saith When a mans wayes please the LORD he maketh his enemies to be at peace with him If this Scripture be of no great force now to make us fear that the waies of many Professors do not please the Lord I pray God we may not be as it were enforced to fear it hereafter by the encrease of our afflictions Secondly it is something to my purpose which we read of the weakness and failings of the twelve Apostles in the Histories of the Gospel and of Paul or Barnabas Act. 15. 16. c. and of Peter and Barnabas Gal. 2. 11. c. and in the Scriptures of the failings of others whereof I have named many Marg. 32 33 34. The Scriptures do witness that God's Covenant-servants yea his holy servants have missed it in a considerable measure before the Law and under the Law and under the Gospel 2. The devils are as malicious as cruel as strong as cunning as industrious and watchful as they have at any time hitherto been and if they have not gotten some skill by experience as some think they have yet if this be part of the time prophecied of Rev. 12. 12. the devil is very wroth against the Church of Christ more wroth than he hath ordinarily used to be And for the flesh in us that is by nature in respect of Temptations the same in all men and there is some quantity of it in the best men Gal. 5. 17. And the world that also is as to the tempting of men with its baits and allurements speaking in a general manner the very same which it hath been from the beginning only it is much fuller of such traps and snares than formerly So that an understanding and impartial stranger may think we have been and be as likely to trespass against our God as his servants of old have been 3. Is not this part of the time concerning which the faithful and true witness foretold Mat. 24. 12. that iniquity should abound and the love of many wax cold I believe it is and part of those perillous times which Paul prophecied of 2 Tim. 3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. and that the Formalists there spoken of be many of them such as have a spacious and specious form of godliness yea that many of them be men and women of this Nation because it hath so huge a multitude of Professors For the fuller any Countrey is of such the more probable it is that there be among them many meer Formalists But 4. my own experience and observation in near 50 years the unfit words which I have heard with my ears and the actions which I have seen with my eyes and that which I have heard of credible persons and my rational conjectures these do tell me that it may be very truly said of many Professors which Moses spake of the Israelites Deut. 29. 4. that they have not a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear unto this day For many Professors do so behave and carry themselves as if the forsaking of some gross sins entring into an excellent way of the Protestant Religion a partial form at home and going to Meetings were the four integral parts of godliness Insomuch that when there was a report that the Act of the Ministers removal five miles was rerejected there came to my mind according to that which I feared would come to pass the word of the LORD Jer. 37. 10. Though yeâ— had smitten the whole Army of the Caldeans that fight against you and there remained but wounded men among them yet should they rise up and bâ—rn this City with fire 4. But let me speak somewhat more of the Holiness and prosperity of the Church of Christ before and after the fall of Babylon I cannot but expect a greater Reformation than I yet see of the conversings of Pâ—ofessors before the ruine of Babylon that their transgressions may not hinder their prayers for the destruction of it and as for the superlative tranquillity and happiness of the true Church on earth which shall be next to that of Heaven I believe the foregoer of it will be a very through and full Reformation and a more sinless and heaven-like life of the true Christians than that of any generation before it since the dayes of the holy Apostles Which degree of perfection if thou who readest or hearest read any part of this Book shalt not covet and endeavour diligently to attain it thou mayest fare as the nameless Lord 2 King 7. did who saw with the eyes of his body fine flour and barley sold in the gate of Samaria at easie prices but through unbelief did not eat thereof So thou possibly mayest foresee darkly with the eyes of thy mind what excellent things very many of the members of the Church shall be partakers of hereafter and thy self not partake
meer Formalists and wholly destitute of true godliness which therefore I believe see Marg. 125 126 127 128. 2. I believe God hath and doth afflict many godly persons for all the rest of the ends excepting the 21 and 22. And if any think God hath done it to drive pride out of very many of us I shall readily and chearfully subscribe to that but with this earnest request to every one that is of that opinion to consider as wisely as he possibly can whether he be one of them but whether we shall be exalted or no I know not To speak more plainly True it is speaking in a general manner the sins of the Nation in general may well be looked on as the cause of the common calamities of the Nation But As for the afflictions and grievances which are peculiar to us who are called Professors and Phanaticks the most forcible and prevalent cause of the beginning and continuance of them the strongest impediment of our Petitions for Liberty Peace and Prosperity the causa sine qua non the cause without which things would not be with us as they be and that hath the most considerable hand in with-holding good things from us is I believe the sins of Professors And because men be ap◠to look on the faults of others too much and on their own too little and to impute calamities common to themselves with others in too great a measure to the sins of others and in too small a measure or not in any measure at all to their own sins Therefore I beseech all you who are Professors to use great diligence to find out your sins and to know every one of you in particular what hand his or her sins have had in this evil work Now for the ends whereat our heavenly Father shoots in the Afflictions and Troubles which are peculiar to us I verily believe they be these 1. By them to exercise and try our Faith Zeal for Christ Humility Patience and other graces and our spiritual gifts Lam. 3. 39. c. Heb. 12. 11. Ps 11. 5. Jer. 20. 12. Dan. 12. 10. Zech. 13. 9. Job 1. 2. 1 Pet. 5. 6. that we may know whether our graces be true graces or not c. 2. To make us see the benefits and use of grace and of the assurance of Gods favour more distinctly and clearly than we have seen them in the times of our prosperity 3. To purifie and make us white Dan. 12. 10. Mal. 3. 2 3. 4. To work in us patience and experience of Gods love and gracious assistance and hope a well-grounded and solid hope whereof we shall not be ashamed For tribulation worketh patience and patience experience and experience hope c. Rom. 5. 3 4 5. Jam. 1. 3. and to stablish strengthen and settle us 1 Pet. 5. 10. 〈◊〉 we may cleave to our Saviour Jesus Christ with 〈◊〉 purpose of heart Acts 11. 23. and seek for glory and honour and immortality by patient continuance in well-doing Rom. 2. 7. following the Captain of our salvation through thick and thin whithersoever he goeth not being overcome by either fair words or frowns and to make it appear to the world that our Lord Jesus Christ hath such faithful servants which will be unto his praise and honour and glory 1 Pet. 1. 7. and unto the credit of the Gospel 5. By the Rods wherewith God hath been and is pleased to whip and scourge us he calls upon us Mic. 6. 9. To consider our wayes and hearts exactly to accomplish a diligent search to find out our sins and corruptions Lam. 3. 39. 40. Ps 119. 59. and considering what evil and bitter fruits they have brought forth to God and to us to humble our selves under the mighty and correcting hand of God 1 Pet. 1. 6. more particularly and more deeply than formerly and accepting the punishment of our iniquities with the whole heart Lev. 27. 41. 6. To reform our conversings with God and man and our behaviour universally without exceptions or reservations and especially to purge and drive away our pride all this unto the honour of God and the bettering of our spiritual estate and the encreasing of our consolation 7. To learn to use liberty and peace and all kinds of prosperity well Phil. 4. 12. to make better use of them than many of us have heretofore and altogether as we ought to use prosperity 8. To give due diligence which I fear many of us have not yet done to make our effectual Calling and Election unto everlasting life sure 2 Pet. 1. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. and to know assuredly that God is our Father and that those of us who have no true Holiness may exercise themselves more frequently and more seriously in the means to get some 9. It may be God exerciseth some of us by light Afflictions to prepare and fit us for greater and sorer sufferings 2. Tim. 3. 12. Acts 14. 22. Rom. 2. 7. or to press us to cry mightily unto God to prepare the called chosen and faithful spoken of Rev. 17. 14. that so we may have a hand in the ruine of Babylon or peradventure to prepare us or our Children to be members of the Church of Christ when its glory and splendor shall 〈◊〉 that of Heaven Hitherto of 〈◊〉 our Afflictions Now for this that Professors sins be 〈◊〉 greatest hinderance of Professors Petitions for liberty and peace c. I have thought good to shew the Reasons of my belief thus reserving to the last place those which some will look on as having most of reason in them 1. First consider I pray what I have already said Marg. 16. of the Birth iniquity and the unavoidable fruits of it to shew that God hath not dealt unjustly with us in afflicting us but consider further concerning sin in general 2. Every sin is a transgression of the Law of the most high God 1 John 3. 4. which Law because he made it cannot but be holy and just and good Rom. 7. 12. and all his precepts concerning every thing right Psal 119. 128. and for the same reason because he is the Lawgiver therefore whatsoever sin is committed against his Law is committed against him and if I may speak so as they speak of earthly Kings against his Crown and Dignity and the true God being no little God but infinitely great therefore although sins being compared one with another some of them be lesser than other yet the least of them is a great sin and a great evil because committed against a great God Yea beloved as wrongs done to men are judged to merit lesser or greater punishments according to the worthiness Authority and merit of the party wronged whether he be a Constable Justice of the Peace Privy-Counsellor or of some other Rank so whereas all the Nations of the earth compared to God be as a drop of water of a Bucket and as the small dust of the ballance yea as nothing yea as less