shall see the Lord without it Sometimes the carnal heart rises against holiness because it imagines that nothing of delight and pleasure is consistent with it whereas indeed by being converted unto God our joy is not lost but only changed The Kingdom of God is not only righteousness but also peace and joy in the holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. whereas the joy before was poor and low and bruitish and defiling being mixed with many secret grudgings of conscience and misgivings of heart Now upon conversion the joy is pure angelical satisfactory and an earnest of those pleasures which will be for evermore Psal 16. ult Neither is this unreasonable prejudice only against the wayes of holiness but also against the publishers of these wayes There was a prejudice against Elijah as if he had been a troubler of Israel against Jeremiah as if he had been unfaithful to the State and a secret friend to the Chaldeans against the Apostles as if they had been intolerable disturbers that had turned the world upside-down And truly the treasure oft-times is disregarded though of such inestimable value because of the vessel in which 't is brought But when any are turned the mist of prejudice is immediately scattered Then strict doctrine will go down which before was nauseated and made the heart to rise against it then a servant of Christ will be esteemed and obeyed that before was lookt upon as the filth and off-scouring of the world 1 Cor. 4. 13. 4. Converts are turned from the works of darkness These works are cast off Rom. 13. 12. No known presumptuous sin is allowed of they perceive the fruitlessness of their former wayes and therefore now are ashamed of them Rom. 6. 21. Formerly they went on securely in sin because they knew not whither they were going but now they perceive the tendency of these works of darkness even unto blackness of darkness for ever and so they are made free from sin that is from sins servitude and become the servants of righteousness Sin may plead hard against its being cast away but its pleas are all invalid The gainful sin does thus plead for it self I have raised thee from a mean to an high degree I have filled thy bag and furnished thy Table By me thou hast gotten a fair estate who else wouldst have been little differing from a beggar And what shall I now be cast off having been so beneficial and yielded so much advantage But the Convert has enough to reply to such a plea. Whatever he has gained unjustly he must restore and if he had trusted in God and done good he would have fared better the Mammon of unrighteousness is attended with a curse And all the while he thrived in a wicked way he was destitute of the true riches and 't is a wonder by such dishonest gaining of the world he lost not his soul long ago Now therefore he is resolved against sinful gain lest e're he is aware God and Christ and his soul be lost beyond recovery The pleasing sin also is not without arguments for its being cherished I have pleased thy flesh and rejoyced thy heart I have made dayes and nights to pass unsensibly away I have gratified thy senses and made thy tongue to sing for joy I have stupified and laid that Fury called conscience when it has begun to stir and torture thee I have chased away thy cares and made thee to forget thy sorrows Time was when the very thoughts of me were delightful and I was embraced as a darling and why should I now be banished and killed as if I were an enemy Is affliction of soul and brokenness of heart to be preferred before the sweetness I was wont to afford thee But the Converts ear is deaf unto such Syren-melody one word is enough to dash and answer all That the pleasures of sin are but for a season Heb. 11. 25. but the pains of Hell which without conversion are sure to follow will never have a period nor be in the least mitigated The rich man who had lived jocundly fared deliciously every day when he was cast into the flames begged but for a drop of water and 't was denied him Therefore the works of darkness are cast off by the Convert the pleasure of these works is nothing comparable to the pain nor the gain to the loss which will speedily follow 2. As this conversion implies a being turned from darkness so also a being turned unto light Eph. 5. 8. For ye were sometimes darkness but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of light And so 2 Cor. 4. 6. God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ This light has a threefold property to discover to direct to operate 1. This light discovers The Apostle tells us whatever does make manifest is light The Convert sees what he never saw before There may be many toads and serpents and other loathsom and hateful creatures in a dungeon but till the light shine in these are not perceived the breaking in of light discovers them And so in the heart of man many impure and noysom lusts have their abode but they are not indeed acknowledged neither are they any annoyance till the light does make them manifest The Convert sees his sin his shame he is sensible of the plagues of his own heart and the absolute necessity of a cure His interest likewise is discovered to him and that is in seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness in securing his soul which is of far greater value than the world in minding the one thing needful that good part which can never be taken away 2. This light directs It guides those who are turned into the way of peace and truth The Lamp of the Word the Spirit joyning with and teaching by it shews which are the perverse and crooked paths to the end that these may be shunned and avoided and it also directs into those wayes which are pleasing unto God and pleasant in themselves and moreover so exceeding safe that rone ever missed of heaven that continued to tread in them We are directed to believe and to obey and where faith and obedience are linked together the off-spring of that conjunction will most certainly be glory honour and immortality 3. This light operates in a powerful manner 'T is such a light as has heat along with it Converts were before told of the evil the folly of sin but now they see this by another light and their hearts are warmed with indignation against it They see sin so as to be deeply affected they sorrow for it and abhor it They were before informed of the mercy and alsufficiency and other perfections of God but now they have such a view of his glory in the face of Christ as that the fire of love is enkindled and that love does put
THE CONVERSION OF A SINNER Explained and Applied FROM Ezek. 33. 11. Turn ye turn ye from your evil wayes for why will ye die O house of Israel Part whereof was preached some while since at Saviours Southwark THE Day of Grace DISCOURSED OF FROM Luke 19. 41 42. If thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong to thy peace But now they are hid from thine eyes By Nathanael Vincent Minister of the Gospel London Printed for Thomas Parkburst at the Golden Bible on London-Brdge under the Gate 1669. The Dedication To his Sacred and most Glorious Majesty the God of Heaven and Earth the KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS who is much more above the highest Potentates and Emperors in the World than they are above their meanest Slaves Almighty Lord TO Thee I dedicate my Book to whom I have devoted my self all that is good therein it is thy own and if it do any good to Thee I must ascribe the praise The In 〈…〉 nt indeed might be ashamed and discouraged if he did not know that thou canst work as well by weak means as by strong nay sometimes thou makest choice of weak on purpose that flesh may not glory but the excellency of the power may be of thee alone It was most free and rich Grace which Eternity it self will be short enough to admire and adore that I my self was pitied who once lay as much polluted in my blood as any other who had run so far in the broad way and had sinn'd my self so neer the destruction which is everlasting But if I am not only made a Convert but also made use of to convert others my obligation will be hightned which is infinitely vast already to shew forth thy praise 'T is the desire of my soul O Lord that thy Kingdom may be advanced and that the Dominion which sin and Satan have usurped may be overthrown Since thy yoak is easie and thy government so sweet so gracious why should not thy subjects also be most numerous Gird thy sword upon thy thing Oh most mighty one and ride forth conquering and to conquer and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things Let thine arrows be sharp and thy Word pierce like a two-edged sword and let the whole world either by conversion or subversion buâ— especially by conversion fall under thee Thou art the God of the spirits of all flesh is there any thing too hard for thee When the Devil sinn'd against thee and thereby became a Devil thou didst easily throw him out of heaven and shackle him in chains of darkness and canst thou not as easily throw him out of those sinners hearts which he has possessed and filled and pull down all his strong holds And as for sin though it be so mighty a thing that Adam in innocency was overcome by it that Angels in Heaven could not stand before it yet thou art able and hast promised to subdue it Oh shew thy power and Grace Since thy mercy is so great why should there be so few partakers of mercy Since thy Son is so able to save to the uttermost why should so small a number be saved by him Since the New Jerusalem is so spacious why should Hell fill so exceeding fast Oh let thy special love be more generally manifested Let thy healing and thy saving grace run in a much broader channel Let thy tents be enlarged and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation Let not so many souls be the Devils prey which are of greater value than the world and which are capable of loving and admiring and glorifying thee for ever Answer O my God such desires as these so far â—â— consistent with the secrets of thy Counsel and thy Wayes and Judgments which are unsearchable and past finding out Let thy Gospel continue in this Land of England Let the Sun of righteousness shine forth in greater strength and glory and dispel the mists of error and chase away the night of Ignorance Let not the Sea be more full of water than this Land of the knowledge of thy glory As long as there is a Church on earth let there be a Church in England And let the Lamp of thy Word shine cleerly among us as long as the Sun and the Moon shall shine in the Firmament Thou who hast the hearts of all in thy own hand incline some to read these following Sermons and let all that read be the better by them Let them understand in this their day the things which concern their peace and obey thy Call to Turn before thou comest to this Resolution to call and cry no more after them Oh let none grow blâ—nder by the light 's shining in their eyes let none grow harder by the means which were design'd to soften them Let not the Word of Life prove unto any a deadly savour Let some souls date their conversion from their reading this Book and let those who are converted be further strengthned by it Encourage thy servant more and more by making his labours more abundantly successful who has resigned and given up himself to Thee and whose greatest Hâ—nour and truest Happiness it is to be Thine for ever NATHANAEL VINCENT THE EPISTLE TO THE READER Reader AS soon as thou hast looked on immediately look off again and look up to heaven How canst thou see to read with any profit unless the Father of lights do open thine eyes and give thee an understanding heart He can shew thee wonders in the most commune Truths which before thou wert unacquainted with Those doctrines that are most usually preached as thy Judgment may yet more fully be informed about them so I am sure thy affections have need to be stirr'd up to bear some more proportionable suitableness unto the weight and concernment of them It has moved my sorrow and almost my indignation to see how many Truths because often as 't is needful insisted on are nauseated by some Professors And yet alas these very Truths though they have often heard them they do not know them as they ought to know As to any heart-affecting and operative knowledge these persons who fancy and conceit themselves so very intelligent are very grosly ignorant Their consciences are stupid and they were never brought under the power of the Word which is preached to them Duties though plainly and frequently pressed are neglected and sins which they communly hear reproved are yet notwithstanding more communly given way to Thou who canst not like of a Discourse unless thy fancy be pleased and thy itching ear clawed what just reason hast thou to question whether thy nature has been indeed renewed for they who have been born again desire the sincere milk of the word though there be little mixture of what is humane that they may grow thereby Reader Art thou grosly ignorant and ungodly How much then doth it concern thee to use those means which are appointed for the attaining
Mount from whence the curses were denounced he tells them in his Word of the cursedness and wo of the unconverted's state He sends the Law as School-Master to teach them a sad Lesson that because of their frequent transgressions they are just upon the brink of eternal misery and his design is that hereby they may be awakened and stopt in their destructive way and not flatter themselves with hopes of peace though they still walk on after the imagination of their evil heart This voice of the Lord by the Law is loud and terrible uttered on purpose to rouze startle them that are dead asleep When the Law was delivered There was a burning with fire there was blackness and darkness and tempest the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words which voice they that heard increated that the word might not be spoken to them any more and so terrible was the sight that Moses said I exceedingly fear and quake Heb. 12. 18 19 21. And if the manner of the Law 's delivery was so dreadful much more dreadful will be the manner of the Laws execution upon those by whom it has been violated The fire and darkness at Mount Sinai were nothing in comparison with the fire of Hell and the blackness of darkness there Upon the impenitently wicked the Lord has threatned to rain snares fire and brimston and an horrible tempest this shall be the portion of their câ—p Psal 11. 6. And truly this lecture of the Law is necessary that we may attain to a true knowledge and understanding of sin and when we have been thus at the foot of Mount Ebal and Sinai and have heard that sin is the great hindrance of all sorts of blessings and loads us with curses of all sorts both temporal and spiritual and also everlasting this is the way to cure our unreasonable doating upon it and to make us fear and tremble because we have given so much way to it 2. God calls upon sinners from Mount Gerizzim to turn to him from hence of old the blessings were â—ounded forth He not only gives them a sight of wrath as nigh at hand while they continue workers of iniquity but also he gives them a view of mercy afar â—ff which shall be brought neer them on condition their wickedness is forsaken Upon the unrighteous man's forsaking of his sinful ways and thoughts mercy and abundant pardon are promised Isa 55. 7. This call of the Gospel from Mount Gerizzim is like the still voice after the strong wind the fire and the earthquake How full of encouragement are those words Zech. 1. 3. Turn unto me saith the Lord of Hosts and I will turn unto you saith the Lord of Hosts And Hos 14. 1. O Israel return unto the Lord thy God for thou hast fallen by thy iniquity Thou hast destroyed thy self but in me is thy help found I will heal thy back-slidings and will love thee freely though thou deservest nothing but my anger and my hatred Satan by tempting us to sin has taken away our blessing from us yet we ought not to despond for the Lord has more than one blessing That which the first Adam forfeited the second Adam was sent to restore Act. 3. 26. God having raised up his Son Jesus sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities The Lord does take sinners up as it were into mout Gerizzim he shews them his Kingdom and the glories of it he tells them of his store of blessings of the inestimable benefits which his Son has purchased justification adoption sanctification glory and assures them All shall be theirs if they will but turn indeed And truly these are other kind of offers than Satan ever did or can possibly make 3. God calls upon sinners to turn by the most passionate pleadings and pressing expostulations His design in expostulating is to make them sensible of their unreasonableness in persuing deceitful vanities and fulfilling their defiling lusts and refusing to convert unto him who both can sanctifie them from their defilements and satisfie them with his all-sufficiency He expostulates the matter with Judah Isa 55. 2 3. Why will you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which cannot satisfie since upon your coming to me the life of your souls and the sure mercies of an everlasting covenant may be obtained The Lord pleads with the ungodly by the Ministry of the Word after this manner What! Though you are told of sins deceitful defiling and damnable nature will you still embrace and hold it fast to my dishonour and your own destruction Though you are forewarned of the heat and heaviness of my anger will you not flee from it though you are informed so often how little Hell will be for your ease will you needs run thither and burn there for ever though you are told of a Kingdom that cannot be moved will not you be moved with desire after it will you not be perswaded to strive for it Are grace and glory of no worth at all Is not a Saviour to be prized by them who by sin have enslaved and lost themselves and are in danger of being lost unto eternity Consider these things and shew your selves men O ye transgressors Thus the Lord pleads that he may prevail with sinners for their own good 4. God calls upon sinners to turn by the examples of others and by the voice of the rod upon themselves The ungodly are very prone to observe bad examples that they may imitate them but 't is their duty to take notice when exemplary punishments are inflicted upon them that they may be afraid to follow them in wickedness any longer When we behold others plagued for the sins which we are guilty of the Lord bids us to see the heinousness of our own iniquities in the stroaks which others have felt before our eyes And we may justly expect that like sins will have like ends if there be a continuance in provocation Examples are purpurposely set before us that we may not lust after evil things 1 Cor. 10. 6. that we may be admonished to turn out of those paths which have led others to ruin But especially when the rod does fall upon our own backs God calls upon us in a more perceivable and sensible way to turn to him The design of the rod is to imbitter sin both to the flesh and to the conscience and that it may not any longer be imagined delightful which is the procuring cause of every stripe that is endured The rod has a voice as well as the Word which 't is our wisdom to hear When affliction is laid upon the sinners â—oyns by it the Lord speaks such kind of â—anguage Jer. 2. 17. Hast thou not procured â—his unto thy self by sin to turn from thine â—niquity is to consult thine own ease let the â—ain of the rod which yet is nothing to the â—ains of Hell convince thee that