from servants ordinarily But when the fulness of time was come God sent forth his Son that we might receive the adoption of Sons And the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father They had the spirit of Bondage unto fear and we have the Spirit of Adoption unto Love to cry Abba Father They could not go to God but with many fears but there is none of all the Saints now but go with a Spirit of Love go to God as a Father Every Saint now may go to God and say Father Father I labor under such a temptation Oh! Father help me I want such a blessing or mercy Oh! Father give it me Again further Although they had many sprinklings of the Doctrins of Grace yet they fell but droppingly upon them now a drop and then a drop As you have it in the 1. Chap. of the Hebrews 1. verse God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the Prophets hath in these last dayes spoken unto us by His Son God who by piece-meals drop by drop now a drop and then a drop spake unto our fore-fathers by the Prophets hath in these last times spoke unto us by His Son This being the opposition shews that God spake perfectly and spake al by His Son When this King came then all the Cocks run with wine Some observe that Jesus Christ preached the Gospel more plainly unto one poor ignorant sinful wicked woman that ye reade of in the 4. of John then He did unto al our fore-fathers under the Old Testament for unto which of all our fore-fathers did He say I am the Messiah Ask of Me the water of life and I will give it thee You know the great Doctrins of the Gospel Justification by Grace Free remission of sins and the like Now though these Doctrins be in the Old Testament yet take your Book and howmany leaves shal you reade over before you be able to reade this Doctrine cleerly But open your Book where you wil open in the New Testament and you shall meet with one everie where with this Doctrine this great Doctrine of Free-Grace every where Oh! much much of Jesus Christ and of His Grace that is now Discovered surely Abundance of Grace Abundance of Grace Discovered to the Saints now and to all the Saints But in the Second place As there is Abundance of Grace Discovered So there is Abundance of Grace Exhibited and Communicated to all the Saints Those that have the least measure of Grace now have Abundance of Grace That is the Thing that I would cleer up to you That those that have the least measure of Gospel-Grace they receive Grace for Grace they have abundance of Grace Is it not a great matter for an ungodly man to be Justified What man so godly but he was ungodly before Justified Is it not a great matter for a man to be the Son of God to be the Child of God All Gods Children shall be Portioned answerable to their Fathers Estate David counted it a great matter to be son-in-law to a King though but a wicked King and the Kingdom but small What is it then to be Adopted to be the Son of God the Daughter of God To as many as receive Him Joh 1.12 He gives power to be called the Sons of God And there is this difference between Gods Adoption and mans When man does Adopt one to be his son he may put his Name upon him he may give his Estate to him but he cannot make the person to be like himself he cannot communicate his nature to him But now when God does Adopt one to be His Child He does not only put His Name upon the Soul and give him a great Estate but He makes him to be like Himself and communicates His Nature to him So saies the Apostle 2 Pet. 1.4 We are made partakers of the Divine Nature Is it not a great matter To have the Image of Jesus Christ drawn upon a filthy soul To have ones heart inclin'd naturally inclin'd as it were unto all the Commandements of the Gospel I will write My Law in your heart Jer. 31.33 saies God in the Covenant of Grace That look as the Heathen having the law of nature written in their hearts are naturally inclin'd unto the works of Nature So will I write my Law of Grace in your hearts and you shall be naturally inclin'd unto the works of Grace and unto the works of the Gospel He that hath least of Christ he hath all Christ all Christ imputed unto all the Saints Beloved we have not so much of Christ in our lives as Peter and Paul and John had but wee have as much of Christs Righteousness imputed to us for our Justification as any of all the Apostles had and if our Faith be right 't is like precious with theirs Is it not a great matter for a man to be in Heaven before he comes there Joh 17.3 To have eternal life in this world This is eternal life to know thee and whom thou hast sent Jesus Christ And that day that any soul begins to know Jesus Christ that day is the day-break of his eternity the Saints that are in Heaven they count from that day there began our eternity This is eternal life here it begins All the Saints and People of God they do know God in Jesus Christ And therefore surely There is an Abundance of Grace Grace for Grace an Abundance of Grace Communicated and given our unto all the Saints under the new Testament But you will say unto me Object We do not find this in experience do not see such an Abundance of Grace in the lives of those ye count godly those that are in Christ indeed we do not find that they have such an Abundance of Grace I but Ans Do you consider The Opposition of Grace The Retinue of Grace And the Mysiery of Grace First For the Opposition of Grace A little Grace may be much opposed and when the Opposition is great though Grace be small in the Bulk it may be great in the Work though little in the Quantity yet it may be much in Quality There 's no true Gospel-Grace but it is much opposed When Jesus Christ came into the world you know Herod raised all the County upon him And so when Christ comes into the heart the whol soul it is raised against Him because He comes as an enemy unto the soul As when an enemy Lands the Beacons are all fired and the Country all rises what do you say An enemy is landed an enemy is landed and all the Country rises So when Christ Lands upon a soule at the first He Lands as an enemy unto the â—â—n and soul and all the soul the Region the Continent it rises up against Him Then also as the Dragon â—ood before the woman which you reade of in that of the Revelations to out off the child as soon as it was born
18.15 A Prophet will I raise up like unto thee I 'l put My Name in him He shall be called God Jehovah as I am Then the Lord proclaimed before Moses himself to be the Lord gracious merciful forgiving iniquity transgression and sin reserving mercy for thousands Then the Lord gave the Law and least they should think that God intended it as a Covenant of works He did at the same time give the Ceremonial Law that thereby they might reade the satisfaction of Jesus Christ for any sin they should commit against the Moral Law Here was a higher Advance But because this was still under-vail'd And it is a pain to love to conceal it self the Lord does make a further revelation of His Grace of Christ by His servant David for after David and Solomons time we reade of the Eternal generation of Christ Proverbs the 8. Of the Incarnation of Christ Loe I come Psal 40.7 in the volume of thy Book saies the Psalmist Of the Death and Suffering of Christ Psalm the 22.1 and divers other Psalms My God My God why hast thou forsaken me Of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in the 118. Psalm and the 16. Psalm Thou wilt not suffer thine holy One to see corruption Of all the Three Offices of Jesus Christ His Kingly Office The second Psalm Yet will I set my King upon my holy Hill His Prophetical Office He shall declare the Decree Psal 2.7 And His Priestly Office Thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedech Psal 110. Of the Ascention of Jesus Christ Psal 68. He hath ascended on high and received gifts for men Of the Sitting at the right hand of God the Father the 110. Psal The Lord said unto my Lord sit thou on my right hand Thus you see in Davids time the Gospel had Advance further had gotten a great deal of ground But the Lord was not yet contented but causes more of His Grace to break forth in the times of the Prophets more concerning Christ He tells them of the very Time Christ should be born Daniel the 9. Of the Place where He should be born At Bethlehem The Person that should bear Him Mic. 5.2 Isa 7.14 Mal. 3.1 A Virgin shal conceive Gives them divers Characters whereby they should know Him when He came And I will send my Messenger before Him The voice of one crying in the wilderness He will ride upon an Asses colt Behold thy King Isa 40.3 Zac. 9.9 11.12 Isa 53.5 comes riding upon an Asses colt He shall be sold for Thirty pieces of silver saies the Prophet Zachary He shall die not for His own sins but ours The chastisement of our peace shall be upon Him And as if all this were not enough The Lord speaks out the Covenant of Grace expresly in Jer. 31.31 The daies come saie the Lord that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah verse the 33. This shall be the Covenant that I will make with them after those daies saith the Lord I will put my Law into their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my people And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother saying Know the Lord They shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more What a mighty Advance had Grace made now Is there any more yet Yes our Savior Himself comes and then Grace Advances higher by much higher then Grace enlarges her Quarters extending it self unto all the world go teach all Nations Go teach all Nations saies our Savior That house of Israel would serve such a candle as Moses was Mat. 28.19 But when the Sun arises no less then the whol world for him to display his beams upon He had set up a school of Grace in that corner of the world in Jenny But when the Lord Jesus Himself comes a Free-School is set up the School of Free Grace for all the children of men to come unto Go teach all Nations Yea in the second place Although our Savior Christ did go unto our fore fathers the Jews and preach unto them by His Spirit He came to them as Joseph to his brethren at the first in a hidden way under a vail But now the vail of the Temple is rent asunder and the most common people may see into the Holy of Holiest Now we all with open face behold as in a glass the Glory of the Lord. The Jews 2 Cor. 3.18 they had the Shadows and we have as it were the Picture but the Substance the Thing it is yet to come These Three ye find in that first verse of the 10. Chapter to the Hebrews For the Law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very Image of the thing Here 's the Shadow and here 's the Image and here 's the Thing it self The Thing it self it is yet to come They indeed had the Shadow but we have the Image and look how much an Image or the picture of a man goes beyond a shadow So much does the discovery of Christ now go beyond the discoveries of Him then Luther saies The whol world is but one day as it were And as the evening and the morning made the day so saies he our fore fathers the Jews they had the evening but we have the morning Again Though there were many Doctrines of Grace and mercy communicated to our fore fathers the Jews Yet notwithstanding they were so tempered with the Law that the very Gospel seem'd to be Law to them As now we have the Law among us but 't is so temper'd with the Gospel that the Law it self is Gospel-wise to us They had Christ in the hand of Moses and we have Moses in the hand of Christ A mighty difference As we have a Baptized and a Christian Moses so they had a Circumcized and a Mosaical Christ They had Grace in the hand of the Law And therefore you shall observe that when the Lord appear'd unto them in way of greatest mercy He appear'd still with tokens of Majesty and Greatness But now we have Grace in the hand of Grace we have Grace with the tokens of Grace and with the tokens of Love And this difference the Apostle makes out cleerly in the 12. of the Hebrews from the 18. unto the 25. Again Though they had many Doctrins of Grace and of free Grace yet themselves were not made free thereby but they were as the children of the bond-woman they were not free from Ceremonial Rites They had the free use of the creature their hearts were not free and enlarged towards God Indeed those that were Godly among them they were Children Gal. 4.1 4 5 6. But as the Apostle speaks they being under age they differed not
this than with the other And I pray what then Do but observe Paul who gracious he is how humble he is how thankful he is how ready to serve Christ how ready to serve the Churches for Christ how ready to suffer for Christ upon all occasions Oh! how gracious did this make him Thus 't is with a poor soul that hath tasted of the free-grace of God in Christ the heart is more taken herewithal than with the thoughts of Heaven Ah saies a poor soul I was going on in such a sinful way or I lay sleeping and snorting in my sins and I know not how before ever I was aware the Kingdom of Heaven did approach unto me and the Lord in his free-grace showed mercy to my family and to my poor soul Oh! therefore any thing for Jesus Christ Oh! I will spend and be spent Oh! any thing for Jesus Christ The sight of Gods grace does make one gracious and therefore Christ does take this way Causing the Kingdom of Heaven grace and free remission to approach first unto us before we do draw neer to it There is one Reason more I will but name it Christ does so order things in the dispensations of his grace that no flesh might glory in it selfe or in any thing that it hath or doth that no flesh might rest in any duty in any service in any suffering but only upon grace upon Christ alone Beloved we are very unwilling to come unto any duty and when we have done we are then as apt to rest upon it as ever we were unwilling to come unto it But what 's the reason that men are so apt to rest upon their duties but because there are these secret thoughts that they come to Christ before he does come to them Let the heart be possest with this truth That Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven and of free-grace does approach unto us and come neer to us before we draw neer to it And then he will not rest so much upon what he is doth or suffereth A man in this case is like unto a Silk-worme you know how 't is with that worme it makes a fine web a fine work and when it hath done it dies in it afterward it eats a hole through the work and it comes out with wings a quite other creature than it went into it So it is with a poor Christian he makes a fine work of duty and then he dies in it but through the manifestations of Gods free grace he does as it were eat a hole through all and he comes out with wings flying away from his duties not so as to neglect the performance of them but so as not to rest upon them flyes away from in regard of resting upon any duty and only upon this ground because saies he God did draw neer to me grace did draw neer to me mercy did draw neer to me before ever I drew neer to it and therefore why should I rest upon any duty performe it I will but through grace I will not rest upon it By way of Application Applic. 1 Let us I pray consider with our selves whether God hath dealt thus by our souls or no Hath the Kingdom of Heaven approch't and drawn neer unto us before we drew neer to it if not truly for ought that I know we are yet under the Law and all our mournings and walkings Heaven-ward they are but Legal If God love you indeed He shews kindness and mercy to you before you do come to him 'T is with Gods darlings as 't is with the worlds-darlings You have some men take a great deal of pains rise early and go to bed late and yet the world does not smile upon them these are the world's enemies Some take pains and grow rich thereby these are the worlds friends Others there are again that before ever they take any pains the Lord is upon them with the worlds blessings these are the worlds darlings So I say God hath his darlings and if thou art one of Gods darlings He does cause the Kingdom of Heaven Grace and Free-remission to appear and draw neer unto thy soul even before thou dost draw neer to it Hath God dealt thus by any of you Oh! contemplate consider seriously the sweetness of this grace Beloved preventing grace is sweet grace The Lord gave a Grown a Kingdom to David but the best Pearle in all the Crown that his eye was most upon was Gods preventing mercy Psa 21.3 Lord saies he thou hast prevented me with the goodness of thy blessing As if he had said thus Lord thou hast not only given me a kingdom made me a King over thy people but when I was a poor Shepheard keeping my fathers sheep thou diddest prevent me with thy love So may a poor soul say Ah Lord thou hast not only given me a kingdom but thou hast prevented me with thy love 'T is a great matter that the great God of Heaven and Earth should answer our prayers give us any mercy upon our request I but that the Lord should give us the greatest mercie before we come for it Pray good people mark it a little Ye shall observe that the greatest mercies that ye have ye have them and they are given unto you before you come for them There are some great mercies that a Christian hath as Conversion of his soul Justification Remission of sin Some lesser mercies as comfort and peace and outward plenty As for these lesser mercies God gives them when we do come for them but as for the great Mercies Remission of sin Justification of our persons Conversion of our souls God is upon us with these mercies before we come for them Oh! what grace is here Oh! what glorious rich grace is here What! shall be not stand and admire at the glory of this free grace of God in Jesus Christ You will say unto me Quest But suppose this that the Lord hath brought the Kingdom of Heaven neer to me and my family before I did come to it for I must confess that I have tasted and drunk deeply of Gods preventing love Oh! how graciously hath God dealt by our poor family wee were a poor ignorant family and the Lord shewed mercy to our family when we little thought of it to such a Child to such a Servant to such a Friend to mine own soul Indeed this is true That the Kingdom of Heaven hath approch't unto me drawn neer unto me before I drew neer to it Oh! what is my duty now that does flow from hence Let me tell you Ans 1 Duty First of all Be sooner at Heaven gate with your duties hereafter than ever you were before When as a Master comes into his servants Chamber in the morning and takes him abed if the servant have any ingenuity the servant saies this my Masters coming thus early is plainly a rebuke to my sloth and therfore God willing I will be up sooner another day So now
of heaven is approaching Surely therefore this is the great Motive the motive of motives In the invitation to the great Supper spoken of in the Gospel what is the motive used for to bring men unto the supper but this Come for all things are now ready Mercy is ready the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is ready Come for all things are now ready this is the motive that is used there And if ye look into the 12. Chapter of Paul to the Romans ye shall find at the 1. verse That when the Apostle doth exhort them to present themselves a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God he perswades by this motive of mercy I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice I beseech ye therefore That Therefore sends us unto the former Chapter to enquire what these mercies were At the 30. verse of the former Chapter he saies unto them For as ye in times past have not beleeved God yet now have obtained mercy through their unbeliefe The Jewes were cast off and the Gentiles these Romans received to mercy the Kingdom of Heaven did come to them the Gospel effectually preach't to them the Doctrine of free-remission of poor sinners Now saies he I beseech you by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice The Scripture is full of this But for our better opening and clearing of this Truth Let us I pray descend into the particulars of Repentance and consider how the grace and mercy and love of God in Christ which is the substance of this Kingdom of Heaven hath an influence upon them all and how all of them are caused thereby First A man that does Repent must see and know his sins true-sight of sin is requisite to true Repentance Indeed a man may in some measure attain unto the knowledge and discovery of his sin by some Affliction when Adoni-bezek had his fingers and toes cut off you know what he said Thus have I done Afflictions do un-leave a man take off his leaves when the leaves are off the hedges ye see those birds-nests that ye could not see before when the leaves were on And so when affliction hath made one naked and taken ones leaves off a man is able to see those nests of corruption in his own heart that he never did see before The Apostle saies By the Law is the knowledge of sin but now though by the Law as by a rule we come to the knowledge of our sin and by Affliction we are help't to see the nests of our own hearts yet notwithstanding a man cannot see his sins fully but by Gospel-light it is a work of the Spirit to convince of sin I will send the Spirit the Comforter and he shall convince the world of sin And where does the Spirit breath but in the Gospel the Kingdom of Heaven the preaching of the Gospel Received ye the Spirit saies the Apostle by the works of the Law or by the preaching of faith When once Esay the Prophet had had a fight of Christ he cries out Vae mihi I am undone We is me I am undone I am unclean Again for I will but touch upon these As a man must know his sin So if he will repent truly he must be grieved and humbled for it If you look into the 7. of Luke ye may see what work it had A woman a great sinner comes to Christ and she washes his feet with her teares what made her do so She loved much for much was forgiven her So that the more the love and mercy of God in Chrst is opened in the Gospel or does make it's approach unto a soul the more the soul is set a weeping and mourning for sin committed Again As a man Repenting must be grieved for sin committed So he must and he will loath himself self-loa-thing is requisite to Repentance If a man have taken a surfet by cating or drinking he does not only loath the meat which caused the surfet but he loaths the very Vessel that hath the smell of the meat or the liquor in it So now when a man comes to Repent he does not only loath his sin but he loaths himselfe the vessel where the sinne was Oh! these filthy eyes of mine Oh! these vile hands Oh! this vile heart of mine hee loaths himself But what causes this self-loathing Th Prophet Ezekiel will tell ye in the 20. of Ezekiel the 41 42 and 43. verses Then shall ye loath your selves when I am pacified or when God had shown them mercy caused his love to approach unto them Then should they loath themselves 'T is not all your Afflictions nor all my Threatnings saies God that will make ye to loath your selves but when ye see my love my grace my pardoning mercy then shall ye loath your selves not your sins only but your selves also Again A Repenting person does not only loath himself for his sin but he is ashamed of it he is ashamed of his former evil waies What fruit have ye of those things whereof ye are now ashamed not before but wereof ye are now ashamed So long as a man walks in the dark he does not blush he is not ashamed though his Cloaths be ragged and torne and his naked flesh appears because he is in the dark But if he come to the light then he blushes that his nakedness appears And so long as men are in their sins and are in darkness they are not ashamed of their sins because they are in darkness But when once they come to the light then they blush and then they are ashamed What light is that that will ashame one of sin there is light enough in hel-fire for the damned there to reade their sins by but that don't make them ashamed where the light of the Gospel the opening of the Kingdom of Heaven is and pardoning love is there is shame Ye shall see therefore how Ezra bulshes when he considered the love of God and their sins together in the 9. of Ezra and the 6. verse And he said O my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face unto thee my God Why for our iniquities are increased Is that all No saies he at the 8. verse for a little space grace hath been shewed us from the Lord our God to give us a remnant to eseape and to give us a nail in his Holy place we were bond-men yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage And now O our God what shall we say after this after this The sight of their own sins and the remembrance of Gods love together made him blush Ye know the place in Ezekiel Then shall ye be confounded and ashamed when I am pacified towards ye The more a man knows that God is pacified towards him the more he is ashamed Again A Repenting person is not only ashamed of his former evil waies but as occasion serves he will acknowledge his
sins But I pray what works the heart over to this acknowledgment When David had Saul at a great advantage and spar'd him Saul breaks forth into this expression O my son David thou art more righteous than I O David thou art a righteous man but I am an unrighteous man So when the soul sees what infinite advantage the Lord hath it at and how the Lord spareth then the soul breaks forth and saies The Lord is righteous I am unrighteous I am unrighteous this works an acknowledgment Sixtly A Repenting person does not only acknowledge his sin as occasion serves but he labours to un-sin his sin and truely else it is no Repentance He does walk contrary unto himself and his former self he does labour to undo what he had done before sinfully he does labour to unsay what he had said before wickedly Before the Jaylor was converted he clap't up the Apostle into close prison and either he whipt him there or else being whipt he did not relieve him and wash his wounds But the Jaylor Repenting mark how he walks contrary to himself Repenting he opens the prison door he washes the Apostles wounds brings him into his own house sets meat before him Those Sorcerers Acts 19. repenting burnt their books which before they prized and studies much How did Manasses walk contrary to himself when he once Repented Well But what is that that will bring the soul to this disposition to walk contrary to ones former self If you look into the 116. Psalm ye shall find there how the Psalmist eats up his former words I said in my hast all men are lyers It was amiss in me I eat my words I am sorry for it what made him do it Saies he at the 3. verse The sorrows of death compassed me about and the pains of hell gate hold upon me I found trouble and sorrow Then called I upon the Name of the Lord O Lord I beseech thee deliver me at the 5. verse Gracious is the Lord and righteous yea our God is mercisul Now having had a tast of Gods grace and God mercy now he eats his former words And so the good man Hezekiab I said saies he I am cut off from the land of the living Isa 38.11 He did eat his words I repent it was suddenly done How was he wrought off to this He had tasted of the love and grace and goodness of God and this made him do it So that now look into the bowels of Repentance and the several workings thereof and ye shall find there is no such way or means or motive to bring a soul unto Repentance as the approaching of the Kingdom of Heaven the word and work of Gods grace and love of God in Jesus Christ Would you know the Reason Briefly thus Repentance is a fruit of faith Ye have a notable expression of godly sorrow to the height in the 12. of Zachary the latter end of the 10 11 and 12. verses speaking of the Call and Conversion of the Jews They shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him the latter end of the 10. verse as one that is in bitterness for his first-born Bitterness upon bitterness and mourning And in that day at the 11. verse there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon And the land shall mourn every family apart the family of the house of David apart and their wives apart Here is great mourning and sorrow What caused this saies he at the 10. verse They shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn They shall look upon me whom they have piercit This is the eye of faith and all true mourning and sorrow does come from thence All tears of Repentance flow from the eye of faith the more a man by faith is able to see a pierced Christ the more his heart is pierced for sin committed the more by faith a man is able to see a wounded Christ the more will his heart be wounded for sin committed Faith works Repentance but what worketh faith Surely the Gospel the preaching of the Gospel Received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the preaching of faith He does not say by the preaching of the Gospel but by the preaching of faith The Gospel is called faith not only because 't is the Cbject of faith but that by which faith is wrought Again As Repentance is a fruit of faith So also it does flow from love Amor doloris causa Love is the cause of grief The more a man loves another or apprehends that he is loved of him the more he grieves if he hath any way injured him If you at un-awares do strike another and one tell you that he is your enemy ye grieve not ye are not troubled unless it be in regard of some mischief that may come to your self But if one tell you that he is a friend a specialfriend that grieves you So now if by my sins I have striken at God if I look upon God as an enemy I am not grieved much I am not troubled much But when I consider him as my father the best friend I have in the world and consider how by my sins I have stricken at him this makes me grieve Oh! that ever I should wound the name of him whom my soul loves She loved much saies our Saviour concerning the weeping woman she loved much for much was forgiven her He does not say she wept much for much was forgiven her there was no mention before of her love but only of her weeping and yet saies our Saviour she loved much because he would shew what it was that drew up the sluce of these tears it was her love And what causeth love Love causeth love The more a man sees and apprehends the love of Christ towards him the more his heart is drawn out in love towards Christ again And what greater act of love than this That the Kingdom of Heaven approaches that the Kingdom of Heaven should come and make it's approach to such a poor sinner as I am Surely therefore the approaching or drawing neer of the Kingdom of Heaven is the highest and greatest motive in the world unto true Repentance You will say Experience seems for to speak the contrary for arguments drawn from Hell and the wrath of God seem to be more powerful and efficacious in the working of Repentance I have will some say sometimes considered the wrath of God and let out my heart upon arguments drawn from thence and then I have bin much humbled broken been much affected yea the truth is I have been more humbled and more broken and more affected and more troubled for sin than when the Gospel the word of the Kingdom hath been preach'd and opened unto me How therefore is this true Experience seems to speak the contrary I answer Quicquid recipitur c.
Every thing is received according unto the receiver A legal spirit doth relish and savour most of those arguments which are drawn from Hell and from the wrath of God But an Evangelical Christian those that are drawn from love and mercy But for the more full Answer to this pray consider with me these Six or Seven Distinctions First It 's one thing for a man to be troubled in Conscience and another thing to be humbled for sin committed Those that are Damn'd in Hell and lie there despairing must needs be troubled in Conscience how could they despaire else Take a soul that hath the work of the Law upon him and a meer work of the Law and in some respects he may be more troubled in Conscience but a Christian that hath a work of the Gospel upon his heart is notwithstanding this more humbled for sin committed Again It 's one thing for a man to be prick't in heart and another thing for a man to Repent Ye shall find therefore that in the 2. of the Acts 't is said concerning divers That they were prick't in their heart and said What shall we do Peter said nnto them Repent They were prick't in their heart and said what shall we do and he said Repent Possibly then a man or woman may be prick't in the heart and yet not Repent Those that have the work of the Law upon them may have more legal prickings but those that have the work of the Gospel they Repent more Again It 's one thing for a man to Repent of sin considered in genere entis and another thing in genere moris Sin may be considered in regard of the mischief and inconvenience that does come thereby Or in regard of the moral evil of it 'T is said concerning Judas That when he saw what became of things he Repented And a Malefactor a murderer when he sees what shall become of him that he must die for his sin he may Repent of his sin in genere entis wishing that he had never done it and yet my be not Repent in genere moris Ye reade concerning Esau in the 12. of the Hebrews That he sought his birth-right with teares but found no room for his Repentance He Repented he Repented with Tears but found no room for his Repentance What Repentance was this Saies Austin He greived that he had lost his birth-right not that he had sold his birth-right So there was no room for such a Repentance And so now take a man that hath the work of the Law upon his soul and he may be much troubled he may Repent and he may have more Repentings in regard of the evil that does come by sin but the other more in regard of the evil that is in sin it self In the Fourth place It 's one thing for a man to be broken with the weight of sin and another thing to have his soul thawen and melted for it There is a great deal of difference you know between the breaking of the ice with your hands or with a staffe and the thawing of the ice melting by the thaw When you take a staffe and break the ice with your hands though you break it in one place it freezes in another but when there is a thaw then it melts then it breaks every where So now it is in regard of legal breakings Here 's a man hath a work of the Law upon his soul he breaks for his Drunkenness and he breaks for his Swearing and he breaks for his Wantonness Oh! but he freezes in Unbelief in another place he freezes in Unthankfulness But when a gospel-work comes it makes a general thaw a man is broken every where And this is more Again It is one thing for a man to have more sorrow griefe Repentance in the Ore and another thing to have a more sorrow griefe and Repentance that is well Refin'd As now suppose a man take a hand full of gold in the Ore it seems to be a great deal more than a twenty shilling-piece I but because much of that is to be taken away a great deal of Earth is to be taken away it is less in the worth Thus it is between Legal Repentance and Evangelical The Legal Repentance may seem to be more in bulk I but a great deal of that is to be taken away Much unbelief to be taken away many sad despairing conclusions to be taken away a great deal of Mercinariness to be taken away And therefore ye shall observe That when the father had kiss't the Prodigal he left out the Mercinary piece that he spoke of before he came home Saies he at the 18. verse I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son make me as one of thy hired servants in the 15. Chapter the 18. and 19. verses verse the 20. He arose and came to his father his father saw him and ran and fell on his neck and kiss't him had compassion on him ran and fell on his neck and kiss't him And the son said unto him Father Now see whether he makes good his words that he said he would say when he came to his father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy Son But his Father said to his servants Bring forth the best robe He leaves out that Make me as one of thy hired servants One kisse from his father had fyled off all the mercinary disposition Oh! much much of the Legal-work is to be taken away In Evangelical Repentance there is much in little in Legal Repentance there is little in much Again It 's one thing for grief sorrow Repentance to be more in view sence and noise and another thing to be more in spirit and in profit As now for Example The rain does sometime fall in a storme and when it does so it makes a great noise the earth hath not time for to take it at the first into it's bosome it runs down the streets in great abandance and it stands in some places in great plashes of water At another time the rain fals by smal drops and makes no such noise but yet notwithstanding it fals to the root of the Corn and profits more for when the rain fals so in a storm it laies the Corn the Corn I say is laid by it So now sorrow and griefe sometimes fals in a storm as in Legal Repentance and it is great in view stands in great plashes of water Oh! but then it doth lay our Duties it laies our Assurance it laies our Faith Evangelical Repentance that makes no such noise but it fals to the root of the graces and don 't lay your comfort it don't lay your Assurance it don't lay your Duties And so it is more in profit Lastly This Sorrow grief and Repentance may take ones own heart much or the heart of
for Christ When the poor sinner the woman spoken of in the 7. of Luke had much forgiven her freely she came and brought her precious boxes and powred them out upon Jesus Christ So when a soul hath tasted of the free love of God in Christ then no boxes of ointment too precious to powre out upon the feet of Jesus Christ Further The more of the Gospel and the more of the Kingdom of Heaven is in your Repentance The more of the Gospel will be in your Obedience the more of the Gospel will be in your Assurance the more of the Gospel will be in your Performance in your prayers and other duties Beloved Repentance is foundation work it hath an influence upon all your service If your Repentance be Legal your Obedience Legal and your Performance Legal and your Assurance Legal ever tying God unto such conditions as he never tyed you to through the improvement of your own unbelief But now when as your Repentance hath the Gospel in it drawn up and raised upon such motives as these then your Obedience your Comforts your Duties your Assurance will have the impression of the Gospel also upon them And Seventhly The more of the Gospel the Kingdom of Heaven is in your Repentance The more your hearts and spirits will be meekned and sweetned towards the Saints towards your fellow Servants the people of God What is the Gospel but a dead Christ As Jesus Christ was a living Gospel So the Gospel is a dead Christ When the Gospel approaches when the kingdom of Heaven draws neer to a soul and Christ therein the heart is meekned and made like to Christ The Law is called a fiery Law the Law of fire Comapred unto Hagar And saies the Apostle The children of the bond-woman will persecute the children of the free-woman of Sarah And what 's the reason that there is so much bitterness among Professors but because there is no more of the Gospel and of the Kingdom of Heaven in our Profession Beloved in the Lord Ye see into what sad times of Discord and Bitterness we are now brought As ever you do desire to be free from this spirit of Bitterness as ye do desire that ye may not have a hand in opposing your fellow-servants and acting a spirit of bitterness towards the Children of God Oh! labour for more of the Gospel get more of it into your Repentance and into your Obedience Oh! let us labour to be more Evangelical than ever we have been I had need call upon my own heart for this and give me leave to measure your own hearts by mine Beloved I don't now come to call for Repentance barely but I come this night unto you calling for refined Repentance Gospel-Repentance these are refining times your publick Worship refin'd the Government refin'd Christians had need refine all their Duties and all their Graces and all their Comforts and all their Assurance we had need even take our whole garment and look into every seame brush every seame there is so much dust gotten into it Oh! labour labour to be more Evangelical to get more of the Gospel of Christ into all your Duties The Gospel is the Ministration of life And the Ministration of the Law is called the Ministration of death The Ministration of the Gospel called the Ministration of righteousness the Ministration of the Law is called the Ministration of Condemnation The Gospel is called a Glorious Gospel a Glorious Gospel as ye do desire that Glory may be upon you get more of this Glorious Gospel into you more of the Gospel into all your Duties into your Repentance Which that you may do Now even Repent that ever you have been so Legal in your Repentance A man will never be Evangelical in his Repentance that does not in some measure grieve that he hath been so Legal in his Repentance And to end all If at amy time Man or Woman thou dost find thy heart dead and dull and saiest thou canst not pray thou art unapt and thy heart 's hardened Then go go to the word of the Kingdom go to the Gospel go lay out thy soul before the word of the Gospel consider the Kingdom of Heaven the word of the Kingdom free remission unto poor sinners and this is the only way for to break your heart for certainly this is a truth that I have spread before you think of it The appropinquation approaching or drawing neer of the Kingdom of Heaven is the highest and the greatest motive in the world unto true Repentance FINIS AN ALPHABETICAL TABLE Of the Second VOLVMNE A Abundance ABundance of grace Page 71 Acknowledge see Forgive Adam Difference between the first and Second Adam 21. Page 117 Advance Several advances of grace since the begining of the world Page 71 Affliction Affliction in some measure shews sin Page 242 Alsufficiency God will have his alsufficiency seen Page 157 Alsufficiency in Christ Page 93 Answerable see Grace Appointment Things are rather done by Gods appointment than by the use of the means Page 50 Assistance Fresh Assistance comes from Christ Page 101 Assurance brings comfort and how Page 43 B Beholding Frequent beholding Christ makes us like to him Page 125 Beleevers Gods infinit care over Beleevers Page 62 Beleevers must trust in God Page 157 Beleevers must be conformable to Christ Page 158 Saints should beleeve when all means fail Page 179 To beleeve when all means fail is well pleasing to God Page 180 How to beleeve when means fail Page 189 All things are possible to him that beleeves Page 214 See Fear and Union Blessings Some blessings are more common than others Page 160 See God Boldness Saints may come with boldness to the throne of grace and why Page 24 C Care see Beleevers Christ Christs care over weak ones Page 4 Christ condescends to man Page 5 Christ as kind after death as before Page 6 Christ is above Moses Page 10 Christ hath paid all our debts Page 11 Christ is the desire of all nations Ibid Spending for Christ makes men receive from Christ Page 16 Why Christ put on our flesh Page 22 Christ gives freely Page 27 How Christ is fully honoured Page 61 All comes from Christ Page 63 Christ is Commissioned by his Father Page 97 Christs willingness to save sinners Page 224 Christ most willing to save the greatest sinners ibid Christ draws neer to those that are not sensible of their sins Page 226 Christ orders things so that no flesh my glory Page 230 See Love Holiness upbraid Want Glory Prophetical Priestly Kingly-office Union Grace Willingness Work Happiness Alsufficiency Grace Honour Spirit Throne Civil Meerly Civil men are not answerable to the grace of Christ Page 122 Christian see Spirit Comfort The Comforts of the Saints are sure Page 158 Comfort is brought in to men before they seek for it Page 223 Contention All Contention ariseth from scantiness Page 47 Conversion see moment Creator Men should comit themselves unto God