to inâ—â—rict many judgements upon the people of Israel because they had not walked in his statutes after the Lord had done this yet 〈◊〉 tells them in the 16. Verse if they would walke in his wayes he would be a Sanctuary unto them he would make them better than ever they were and hee would doe better for them than ever hee did but how will hee doe this Why saith he I will take away that stony sturdy heart which is in them and will give them a frameable heart and a teachable heart which shall yeeld to whatsoever I cammand and then they will be able to cast away all those evills which they have embraced and performe all those holy duties which they have neglected the heart which God takes away from them cannot be meant the heart it selfe the naturall facultie of willing and the heart which hee gives them cannot be meant the bare faculty it selfe but the rebellious disposition that was in the faculty the Lord removeth and that same teachable frameable disposition he putteth into the facultie whereby their hearts should be carried to that which was pleasing to God comfortable to themselves I intend to speake of two things concerning Gods taking away of this same stony heart and giving a heart of flesh unto his people first that God doth this that hee is the Author of it secondly I will speake of the circumstance of time when God doth this when he thus workes upon the hearts of his chosen sometimes sooner sometimes later and this same circumstance of time when the Lord doth this is double first in regard of the meanes the Lord doth thus worke upon the hearts of those which belong to the election of grace when hee gives them the meanes of salvation when they have the Sunne-shine of the Gospell shining in their faces The second circumstance of this time is in regard of the men whom the Lord will thus worke upon some sooner some later some in all ages some in their young and tenderage some in their middle age and some though very few in their old age First I will speake of the Authour of this and that is God hee takes away the stony heart and gives a heart of flesh to his servants The Doctrine out of the words is The taking away of the indisposition of the soule to any good dutie and the fitting framing and disposing of a soule to performe any spirituall service is the alone worke of God hee removes the indisposition of the soule and hee puts the disposition to any good into the soules of his the case is cleare if we reason after this manner what is a stony heart A stony heart is a sturdy unteachable heart uncapeable and indisposed to any good what is a heart of flesh it is a lowly teachable pliable heart wiling to receive any impression that God stampes upon it who takes away the one The Lord who gives the other The Lord. So that both the remooving of the stony heart is the Lords worke and the giving of the fleshy heart is the Lords worke also I will take away their stony heart and I will give them a heart of flesh Nay the Lord doth make it his chiefest prerogative to doe this worke for a poore sinner Ezek. 36.25 Ezeck 36.25 I will powre cleane water upon you saith the Lord and yee shall be cleane from all your â—ilâ—hinesse and your Idols I will cleanse you A new heart also will I give you and put a new spirit within you I will take away the stony heart and I will give you a heart of flesh and therefore wee shall take notice of it this great worke of conversion is compared with the worke of creation God onely created man and God onely converteth a man how was it when darkenesse was over the face of the earth Let there bee light said the Lord and there was light the same God that created light the same God doth shine in our hearts nay this worke of conversion is sayd to be one of the greatest workes of God as if God did the best he could doe for a poore sinner when hee converts him To whom is the arme of the Lord revealed saith the Prophet Esay that is to whom is the utmost power of the Almighty God revealed the Lord putteth forth his whole strength upon poore sinners when he converts them unto himselfe The power of Gods strength the depth of Gods wisedome and the riches of Gods mercy is discovered in this worke of conversion here is power against all power and strength above all strength for the Lord doth not meete with the soule of a sinner in the worke of conversion as hee did in the worke of creation with the world for when he made the world hee met with nothing to resist him but he onely spoke the word hee commanded and it was made but when the Lord commeth to meete with the soule of a poore sinner to open his eyes and convert him unto himselfe and bring him home hee meeteth with the whole frame of all creatures opposing and resisting him the divell and the world without and sinne and corruption within when the Lord comes to convert a firmer hee meetes with all these with sinne Sathan and the world resisting him and therefore here must needs be power against all strength that opposeth him here must needs bee wisedome against all pollicie that resists him and here must needes be wonderfull mercy against all weakenesse and miserie 1 Cor. 14.24 and therefore 1 Cor. 14.24 there saith the Text If all prophesie and there come in 〈◊〉 that beleeveth not or unlearned he is rebuked of all and judged of all and so are the secrets of his heart made manifest and so he will fall downe on his face and worship God and say plainely God is in you indeede here the Text faith when the Lord commeth to speake home to a poore sinner a poore soule he comes into the Congregation though he be simple the word is wise and powerfull and that discovereth what is in his heart man is not able to doe this but God can doe this and then the soule will say God is in you in deede as who should say Here is God or else I had never beene humbled or else my sinnes had never beene subdued or else my soule had never beene wrought upon the sinner that is strucken with this worke he professeth plainely that here is the stroake of God and power of God and wisedome of God which was able to discover all things that were in my heart and take 〈◊〉 this stubborne heart of mine Oh this is 〈◊〉 â—orle of God indeede The grounds of the point why it is necessary that God should be the Author both of taking away the stony heart and giving the heart of flesh are these if we doe but consider the nature of the stoninesse and the fleshinesse of the heart it will appeare that God onely can take away
the blow that is 〈…〉 upon it so it is with a stony heart there is a 〈◊〉 union betweene sinne and it secondly by 〈◊〉 of this union sinne comes to have a 〈…〉 power in the soule and not onely so but in the third place there is a great resistance in the soule against Gods Command Looke as it is with a stone of a man striketh a blow upon it it resistes the blow and beates it backe so it is with the soule with a stony heart the Word the Sacraments Admonitions Reproofes Counsells Exhortations they enter not into it they prevaile not with it but it resists and obpposeth all meanes of grace and salvation that are offered unto it what helpe soever God bestowes upon it it beates it backe it will not be disposed it will not be framed and fashioned according to Gods holy Will Zach. 7.12 there saith the Text Zach. 7.12 They made their hearts as an adamant stone least they should beare the lâ—s and the words which the Lord of Hosts sent by his Spirit in the Ministery of the former Prophets that is they closed with their corruptions and grew strong in their corruptions and resisted the commandements of the Lord and therefore it is said of Pharoah that he hardened his heart that is hee strengthened his heart in sinne and would not obey the commandement of the Lord but refused to let the people of Israel goe when there comes to be a neare union betweene sinne and the soule then the soule doth strengthen it selfe in sinne and opposeth the Law of God the proud man saith he will have his lust let God say what hee will the covetous man hee will have his corruption let God say what hee will and the drunkard hee will have his owne way and the adulterer hee will take up his owne course let God say what he will they grow strong in their sinnes and therefore resist all meanes which may be for their good untill the Lord by his almightie power doth breake this fast knot that is betweene corruption and the soule and removes the power and strength of sinne and then by a strong hand takes away this resistance and over-powers a soule in this case so that then to gather up all together if it be so that the union betweene sinne and the soule cannot be dissolved but by God alone if the strength and power of sinne and Satan cannot be vanquished but onely by the Lord if the resistance that commeth from sinne cannot be taken away and removed but by the worke of the Spirit of God then the case is cleare and the point evident That it is God which taketh away the stony heart and giveth a heart of flesh if God alone by his almighty power doth these things then he is the author of this worke it is his worke to doe this in the soule of a poore sinnefull creature The first Vse is an use of instruction from hence wee may see that therefore this great worke of conversion the fitting and preparing of a poore sinner to entertaine the Lord Iesus it is a worke of great weight it is a worke not of ordinary but of marvellous and admirable difficulty if it be the worke of the Lord onely if nothing else can doe this worke but it lieth upon Gods alone almightie power if all meanes faile nay if the wisedome of men Angells stand agast amazed at this work then I must conclude it is the Lords worke and is ought to be marvellous in our eyes And from hence it is that it is a marvellous wonder that any creature that is under the power of sinne and Satan it is a wonder it is a miracle that after all teaching after all meanes used any soule is humbled and prepared to receive mercy from the hand of the Lord Iesus Christ Nay hence it is that wee see little profit come from the worke of the Ministerie when wee see the greatnesse of this worke of conversion wee may wonder how it commeth to passe that any are converted and brought home unto the Lord the Ministers are faine to lift up their voyces like trumpets and spend their hearts as it were they pray againe and fast againe and preach againe and yet all will not d ee for when is the heart of any humbled when is the soule of any turned and converted unto God and therefore away with that cursed delusion that harbours in the minds of many men they will repent and they will beleeve when they list why Alas it is not in your power it is the almighty worke of God thou hast not the worke of repentance to command at thy pleasure it is not talking and saying I doe repent with all my heart and doe beleeve that will serve the turne this will not doe the Lord must worke effectually in thy soule by his almighty power or else the union that is betweene sinne and thy soule will not be dissolved or else the strength of sinne and power of Satan that is in thy soule will never be vanquished or else the resistance that is in thy soule and which commeth from this strength against the blow of the Spirit and all meanes that may fit it and prepare it for to receive the Lord Iesus and mercy from him will never be removed a man shall sometimes find that the indisposition of his soule to any good shall be a little abated by the power of the Word the edge of it will a little be blunted but a poore soule cannot be freed altogether from this untill it shall please the Lord by his almightie hand to remove it and therefore in the first of Iames the 18. Verse the text saith Iam. 1.18 Of his own will begat he us by the Word of truth that wee should be as the first fruits of his creatures Ioh. 1.13 and Ioh. 1.13 To them that received him saith the Text he gave power to be the sonnes of God to them which beleeve in his name which are borne not of bloud nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God And therefore thinke of it Ministers that teach the Word and people that heare the Word wee must know that unlesse the Lord steppeth in and doth the worke for us all our labour is lost it must be I â—ay the Lord that must take away the stony heart and it must be hee that must give the heart of 〈◊〉 it is not talking and making a profession that can plucke sinne out of the soule of a man in this kinde but it must be the almighty power of the Lord that must doe it The second Vse is a ground of comfort whereby the soule of poore sinners may be supported and the hearts of those that have sinne hunging about them may be cheared when the soule considers that it is laden with abundance of corruptions and abominations then it is quite discouraged and thinkes with all that it shall never be recovered
ever he meane to come to heaven and this is the first meanes when the soule of a sinner is inlightned and his mind informed that he is in a wrong course and that he must take a better course or else he shall never come at heaven and this the Lord doth suddenly the sinner not perceiving of it the Lord setteth a sudden flash upon his soule and telleth him that he is going unto hell the soule presently wonders at this and marvels how it came to passe Esay 66.1 there saith the text I am sought of them that asked not for mee and I am found of them that sought mee not the Lord putteth a sudden light into soules of men which they never dreamed of Hypocrites if they can but goe to Church and sit in the Church as Gods servants do and leane on their elbowes and heare as Gods people do then all is well with them but as many of them as belong to God God will discover unto them that they are in a wrong way and he will shew and reveale another way unto them which they never dreamed of and therefore this is that we shall observe haply we shall see a man come riding into a town on a Sabboth day and when he comes there hee seeth the people going to Church well perhaps then he sets up his horse at the Inne and goes into the Church for a custome and for company sake and when he is in the Church he goes into a seat and sets down his staffe and sits down and attends the Minister and never thinks of any thing well at last the Lord sends a light into his soule and telleth him thou art now riding about thy own worldly businesse when thoushouldst be in sanctifying of my Sabboth I tell thee my friend thou art in a wrong way thou takest a naughty course thou dost wickedly and if thou continuest and goest on in this course thou wilt never come at heaven And this the Lord doth on a sudden when a man never so much as thought of any such matter And after a man is thus enlightned he will be ready to say the truth is heretofore I went to heare the word but for customes sake but when I least dreamed of any such thing it pleased the Lord blessed be his name to reveale such things unto mee as I before never knew he told mee that which sticketh upon mee to this present houre he discovered that unto mee which I hope I shall carry with me unto my grave this is that we may observe in the 9. of the Acts Paul there was running on in a resolute-course he had gotten letters at Damascus and purposed to make havock of all poore Christians where he came now while he was in his journey the Lord met him from heaven and cryed unto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou mee as he if had said this is not the way to heaven you think to persecute my poore Saints but Saul Saul I tell thee this is not the way thou takest a wrong course he called unto him as a man would call after one that is running out of his right way into some wildernesse or dangerous place And when Saul heard this he presently fell off his horse and humbled himselfe and said Lord what wilt thou that I do and so Luke 15.4 the text saith that the shepherd that had lost his sheep left his ninty and nine and went into the wildernesse to seek that which was lost and if he had not gone to seek the sheep the sheep would never have sought him alas the poore sheep was gone astray and bewilderd and if the shepheard had not followed it and sought after it that would never have found the sheepheard nay to go further many a man goeth to the word and heareth it for nothing else but to carp at the Minister and yet the Lord hath caught many such men also and hath put such a light into their hearts that he hath made them know that they were in a wrong way and mark when the Lord hath let in this light then the soule begins to be at a stand and thinks with himselfe surely if this be the right way I am in the wrong if the Minister saith true then I am not right but then sometimes the heart would put out this light it would not be informed and perswaded if the Minister tels a man that he must sanctifie Gods Sabboths here or else he shall never sanctifie a Sabboth unto him in heaven hereafter when the Minister saith that unlesse God humble us here he will break us in peeces in hell hereafter loath a man is to know this and be informed of this because hee would not be offended by this and provoked to performe this but though a sinner would shift off this yet the Lord will not leave him but will still pursue him and lay reasons upon him unanswerable the soule would fain play tricks with the Lord in this case and put out this light but God will reveale to the soule of a sinner that these things are certainly true God will lay hold upon the understanding of a poore sinner and follow him with reasons that are undeniable untill his reason shall yeeld and his understanding give verdit to that which the Lord reveales untill hee sayes I confesse Lord it is true I yeeld full assent thereto Thus the Lord knocketh at the doore or heart of a poore sinner and not only so but lifts up the latch and opens the doore of a mans heart and letteth in the light and this is the first course that God useth 2 2. The second is this after that the Lord hath thus enlightened the minde and let in the light of his spirit into the heart of a sinner and though a man would defeat the power of it yet God still followeth him with forceable arguments untill the understanding is setled and reason answered after the Lord hath done this then the second cord wherewith God draweth sinners unto himselfe is a cord of mercy whereby the Lord doth compasse a poore sinner about with kindnesse goodnesse and compassion Hos 11.4 there saith the Lord I taught Ephraim to goe taking them by the armes I drew them with the cords of love and with the bonds of a man This same cord of Gods mercy is a cable rope the abundant riches of Gods mercy is a great thick cable and we will tell you of what it is twisted it makes known it selfe in foure particulars if the illumination that God sends into the heart will not bee able to perswade the heart though it answers all objections pursueth it with arguments undeniable why then the Lord will draw us with the cord of his mercy and this great cable of Gods goodnesse is made up of foure cords First First Cord. the Lord revealed himselfe to be ready to receive and willing and easie to entertayne poore sinners when they come unto him Esay 55.7 there saith
the text let the wicked for sake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him returne unto the Lord and hee will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon The word in the original is this the Lord multiplyeth pardons the Lord hath not uttered all his pardons the Popes pardons indeed may bee all sold but Gods pardons are not at the bottome no no hee hath a multitude of pardons The Lord is ready to give thee pardon for all thy transgressions what ever thy corruptions bee whatsoever thy abominations be the Lord standeth to multiply mercy and pardon and forgivenesse that so thou mayest have mercy for all and forgivenesse to all thy sinnes and distempers hast thou multiplyed rebellion why the Lord doth also multiply pardons the bowels of compassion are still open and the armes of mercy are still spread abroad and when the soule seeth the attributes of God in Scripture that hee pardons all poore sinners that come unto him stubborne Manasses he was humbled and resolute Paul hee was converted when the soule seeth this then the soule thinketh why not I Lord why not I pardoned also why yes thou mayst bee received to mercy and pardoned also for the Lord doth still multiply pardons Manasses had some mercy and Paul had some and yet there is mercy for thee also and for a thousand thousand more the Lord is ready to pardon poore sinners and willing to entertaine them Secondly Second Cord. the Lord is not onely ready to forgive when men will come unto him but hee doth also call and command them for to come for the poore sinner when he heares this that God is mercifull and ready to forgive he may bee amazed and at a stand and thinkes with himselfe oh but may I shall I dare I goe unto the Lord for mercy may I be so bold to presse in for favour at the hands of the Lord it is the Lord indeed that sheweth mercy but may I come unto the Lord I have beene a gievous sinner and have heaped abomination upon abomination and therefore I am affraid to approach neere unto the presence of the Lord why I â—â—ll thee thou mayest come and the Lord willeth and commandeth thee to come upon the penalty of his everlasting wrath hee chargeth thee to come unto him and entertayne that favour hee hath provided for thee in the 3. of Ier. 22. there sayth the Lord come unto me yee rebellious people and I will heale your rebellions you that never prayed nor never came to heare all rebells come unto me and I will heale your rebellions and then the people answer behold we come unto thee for thou art our God be not to full of nicenesse in this case do not stagger and say I have dispised Gods goodnesse and slighted Gods mercies and therefore may I bee bold to come why I tell you you may goe to God for mercy come to me yea rebellious people and I will heale your rebellions mercy will answer all your sinnes they shall bee no impediment unto you in the 3. of Ier. 1. it is a fine passage there saith the text They say that if a man put away his wife and shee goe from him and shee become another mans will he receive her againe but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers yet returne againe to me saith the Lord if a man should put away his wife for an adultresse would hee take her againe no certainely all the world will say an adultresse whore away with her after so many injuries wrongs done unto her husband there is no expectation of mercy or kindnesse from him but the Lord saith thou hast played the harlot with many lovers yet returne unto me whatsoever we delight in more or love more than God they are our lovers now the Lord saith though thou hast had pride and covetousnesse and malice drunkennesse and adultery for thy lovers yet returne unto me notwithstanding all thy base doings and wicked practises yet come unto me saith the Lord this is great incouragement to a poore sinner that all his sinfull abominations should not hinder him from receiving mercy this workes wonderfully upon the soule of a sinner and he begings to wonder and say Lord shall all my sinnes bee pardoned shall all those oathes and all that prophanenesse of mine be forgiven after so many mercies slighted and so many abominations committed yet forgiven why aye saith the Lord come unto me and you shall be forgiven thou hast played the harlot yet come unto me thou proud heart and bee humbled come unto me thou stout stubborne sturdy heart and be softened come unto me yet for all this thou covetous heart and be sanctified and this is the second cord of this cable of mercy the Lord doth not only reveale unto the soule of a sinfull creature that if he doth come unto him he shall be accepted but hee commands him to come and receive mercy from him Thirdly Third Cord. the Lord doth not only command a poore sinner to come unto him but to go further it is marvellous strange to consider when a sinner in the sight of his unworthinesse is hardly brought to goe to the Lord for mercy but sayes it is true there is a great deale of mercy with God but not for me when a sinner thus goeth away from God and flyeth from mercy the Lord followeth him still and fendeth another cord after him and pursueth him with mercy and kindnesse that so if it were possible he might winne him and wooe him to receive mercy and forgivenesse It is almost impossible to conceive the wonderfull goodnesse of the Lord in this kind he doth not only command poore sinners to come unto him but hee entreates and beseeches them to come and receive mercy and this one would think should move the heardest heart under heaven 2 Cor. 5.20 there saith the Apostle Now then we are ambassadours for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be you reconciled unto God the matter here wee see is past all question the Lord doth not only command you to come but rather then you shall goe away hee will beseech you to come and take the mercy that the Lord offereth to you and you have so much need of mercy will come and kneele down before you and beseech you and intreat you for the Lord Iesus sake to pittie your poore soules and receive pardon for your sinnes to receive sanctification and justification here that you may be blessed and glorified for ever hereafter this is that which a sinner is not able to comprehend but he begins to be at a stand and at amazement It is a great matter that God should command a sinner for to come unto him and that he should be accepted when he doth come but that God should beseech and intreat a poore sinner to receive mercy herein is discovered the incomprehensible depth of
this naturall and neare union between sinne and the soule must offer a kind of violence upon the soule otherwise this union could not be parted To speak punctually to every ones capacity I appeale to any here present is it not a violence to pluck a branch from the tree or an arme from the body every man will say you â—â—are and pluck it the arme naturally is knit to the body and the branch naturally growes to the tree our sinnes are as arme to the body and our corruptions as branches to the tree therefore the Lord Iesus when he comes to pluck off these armes and cut off those branches must offer a kind of violence to the soule before this union and combination betweene sinne and the soule will be parted and broken this is the second reason if there be such a naturall neare union betweene sinne and a corrupt heart then if God will pluck corruption from the soule and sever this union he must offer a kind of violence but there is a naturall neere union and league betweene sinne and the soule and therefore the Lord must dissolve this league and breake this union by a kind of violence and constraint The third and last argument is this The third Argument As in regard of that union that is betweene the soule and sinne the soule must by a holy kind of violence be drawn from sinne so also in the second place if wee consider that soveraigne kind of power that sinne hath over the soule and prevaileth within the soule which kind of resistance and soveraign command must be drawne away and removed from the soule we shall see that this cannot be done unlesse there be an almighty hand to work this and offer a kind of conquering and constraining violence upon the soule in this case the soveraigne rule that sinne doth exercise in the soule is such that unlesse the Lord by his almighty hand doth overpower this there is no kind of prevailing in the soule of a sinner in this case now to shew how the Lord Iesus doth overpower the strength of sinne and corruption observe it in two particulars how the Lord Iesus is pleased miraculously to overpower that rule which sinne hath over the soule the first is this The soule of a sinner being wholly possessed with and defiled by corruptions is so farre carried against God that it doth nothing but resist against God it is naturally so farre overwhelmed and possessed with sinne in every kind that it doth nothing but resist nay it can do nothing but resist the work of the spirit it beateth back the work of the spirit that it may not work upon it nor take place in it Ier. 2.31 there saith the text oh generation see yee the word of the Lord have I been a wildernesse unto Israel a land of darknesse wherefore say my people we are Lords we will come no more unto thee as who should say do you think to rule us or do you think that your commands shall take place with us no no our corruptions corruptions are our Lords wee will come at you no more we will neither heare your words nor obey your commands in this kind Secondly when the soule doth nothing but resist when the Lord would work upon the heart when the soule beateth back the work of the Spirit and doth nothing nay can do nothing but resist the Lord Iesus the Lord Iesus then takes away that stony heart he gives us a fleshy heart whereby we may lay hold on the meanes and be fitted to receive the good motions of the Spirit There is an old phrase which Saint Austin propounded in his time and Divines take it up with one consent in this case and that is this that God of an unwilling will doth make a willing will the word being truly interpreâ—ed I desire no more for the work in hand which implyeth a holy kind of violence to be offered thereunto and expressed thereupon before the work can be brought to passe For the opening of the poynt observe these particulars in the sentence before spoken of that I may speak punctually and precisely first the soule of a man naturally is altogether unwilling to receive grace secondly that the Lord doth bring willingnesse out of this unwillingnesse as light out of darknesse thirdly that God must take away this unwillingnesse before he can bring willingnesse into the soule lastly wherein lieth the strength of the poynt the Lord he only must do this unwillingnesse will not destroy it selfe the soule is altogether corrupt corruption will not destroy it selfe and therefore there is nothing else in the soule of a sinner but only the Almighty hand of God and his conquering power that must take away this unwillingnesse and put willingnesse into the soule The Text saith in the Corinthians 2. Cor. 4.6 that God bringeth light out of darknesse how must he do this why he must first destroy darknesse before he can bring light out of it for one contrary cannot make up another both remaining but darknesse must be destroyed before light can be brought forth So it is with the soule God brings willingnesse out of unwillingnesse first therefore he must destroy this unwillingnesse he must destroy that darknesse that is in the soule before he can bring willingnesse and light to the soule he must conquer that resistance against the Spirit which is in the soule before he can make it plyable and frameable to his owne will and pleasure It is a pretty passage Acts 9. there Paul went into the field against Christ and pitched a combate betweene Christ and him he had gotten letters from the Synagogue of Damascus and hee was resolutely bent to kill and slay all poore Christians when he came the Lord Iesus met him by the way and there was a fight betweene the Lord and Paul and in all reason he was resolved to fight against God to try it out to the last now the Lord met him and the battell was fought and the Lord Christ overcame him and what followeth instead of fierce resisting the Lord hee comes to submit himselfe humbly to the Lord he doth not only put off the act of resisting but the will of resisting also as we may see vers 6. there saith the text he trembling and astonished said Lord what wilt thou have me for to doe Saul Saul why persecutest thou me saith the Lord it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks Why Lord saith he what wilt thou have me to do Paul was not willing to take up his owne heart for that was madd against the Lord but he did submit himselfe and his will unto Christ Briefly then to gather up the point if it be so that the Lord doth destroy and bind and conquer Satan if the Lord break that naturall union and combination that is betweene sinne and the soule if it be so that the Lord by his almighty power and conquering hand doth overcome the power of sinne in the
hee will bee made fit for mercy Vse 2 The next use is a word of terrour it discovers the fearefull estate and wofull condition that those men are in which purpose to set themselves against that work of preparation which God meaneth for to work upon the soules of men Is this the work of the Lord that hee doth by an holy kind of violence draw a sinner from corruption to himselfe out of the bowells of his compassion what then shall we think and judge of those men that use all meanes and all slights that employ their wits to draw sinners from God to sinne is it Gods great work his Master-piece the greatest good that hee intends for his people to pluck them from their corruptions and draw them to himselfe what then wil become of those men that go professedly against God and oppose the work of God in this kind if there be any such persons here as I doubt there are many such in the congregation I tell you if God be an holy God then thou art an unholy man if God bee mercifull to poore sinners to save them then thou art cruell to damne them if God bee a gracious God and would draw poore sinners from sinne unto himselfe then thou art a gracelesse man and in a miserable condition that wouldst draw poore soules from God to hell and yet do no our townes swarme with such wretches and are not our villages pestered with such ungracious miscreants such as the wise man in the Proverbs speaketh of that eat the bread of wickednesse and drink the bloud of violence and they cannot sleep unlesse they cause some to fall the God of heaven open these mens eyes and awaken their consciences that they may see their wretched estate such as eat the bread of wickednesse and drink the wine of violence unlesse they can get such a man to bee drunk with them and such a woman to play the whore with them and such a fellow to couzen and cheat their hearts cannot be at quiet they are not at rest in this case their sleep departeth from their eyes unlesse they cause some to fall if the Lord let in a light into the soule of a sinner and discover unto him that he is in a wrong way and that hee must take up a better course if the Lord by the cords of mercy seeke to prevaile with a sinner nay if he lay the hooks of conscience upon a sinner to pluck him from sinne to himselfe there are a company that are mad the contrary way and they labour to cut the cords of mercy and breaketh the hookes of conscience and labour to hale a poore sinner downe to hell and destruction nay wicked men have invented cord against cord and hook against hook in this kind the devill hath his factors and his brokers under him which lay cords upon poore sinners to withdraw them from the Lord to sinne as God plucks heaven-ward so they pluck to hell-ward nay they have a cord for a cord God hath not so many cords to pluck from sinne to himselfe but they have as many to pluck men from God to sinne and into the paths of ungodlinesse that they may perish for ever the Lord hath mercies to allure and they have profits and pleasures to perswade and entice the Lord hath the hooks of conscience to awaken and they have base shifts this way also I will therefore discover these two things first the cunning of men in this course secondly the miserable condition that they are in which continue in this course I take it they are in the most wofull and wretched estate of any men under heaven First to see the cunning of sinners in this kind they will work upon the heart and draw the soule and cut Gods cords and break Gods bonds that God may not draw a poore sinner from sinne to himselfe they have a cord for a cord and a hook for a hook in this kind First if God let in the light of knowledge into the understanding of a poore sinner a young man perhaps receiveth direction by the word that hee is not in the right way the spirit that calls after him and tells him he is wrong and saies this is the good ancient way walk in it when the Lord lets in the light thus into the soule of a sinner and reveales the good way to him when the Lord thus turneth a man out of the mouth of the Lyon and paw of the Beare then happily he goes into a corner and mournes for his sinnes and resolves to forsake them hee will not keep company with his old companions but seeks God alwayes and prayes to God continually Now mark what hooks they apply to pull him off from this good course they use a company of carnall reasons to perswade him to the contrary when the master father or husband seeth that God is drawing his wife or his servant or his child unto himselfe why then the towne is in an uproare as if there were some fire in the towne mark what the husband saies my wife was wont to be carefull to go about her businesse but now shee leaves all at six and seven and is so precise that she is alwayes praying or poring upon a booke The child hee thinks his father distracted his father perhaps gives him a strict charge not to prophane the Sabbath any more no more gaming now sirra no more sporting now the child wonders at this and stands amazed he admires what is become of his father hee was wont to suffer him to do these things without any controulment and because now he commands him the contrary he thinks his father is out of the right way And as the child is to the father so is the father to the child if the understanding of the child be enlightned and he be creeping to salvation if hee will not do as he did in former times if hee will not runne on in those wicked practises which hee did before then the father thinks his sonne is undone his sonne was wont to yeeld obedience to him and hee was wont to have service from him but now hee is growne so curious and exact that he expects no goodnesse from him hee can look for nothing to be done by him I now give him over for lost and as their hearts are thus troubled so they pluck with a kind of violence from God as God plucks to himselfe so they labour to pluck a poore soule from God and they begin to chide taunt and chafe and brawle what say they will you alwayes be reading and will you alwayes be praying I warrant you think your mother and I are not in the right way because we doe not as you doe you thought heretofore such a man to be an honest man and your friend also and yet hee doth not do thus as you do nor you your selfe were not wont to do thus in former times neither Thus mark what cords they lay upon a man that hath
Spirit comes it is a lively grace and a quickning Spirit it begets life in the soule of a man In the 47 of Ezech. vers 9. the Prophet there discovering the time of the Gospell and the offer of salvation therein he saith there Every thing shall live whithersoever this river commeth The rivers there are nothing else but the rivers of grace and salvation when Christ shall come abundance of grace shall be offered and wrought in the soules of Gods people and wheresoever this grace commeth those that be dead shall be quickned Secondly they are said to bee waters of life in regard of the continuance of them for wheresoever this grace is truly wrought it never ceaseth so saith our Saviour Ioh. 4.14 Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst This water is not like a pit or standing poole that in the heate of summer is dryed up but it runneth amaine continually So that the frame of the words runne thus Whosoever will let him come and take living water living and quickning grace from Iesus Christ freely whereby a soule may be quickned and saved here is a proclamation Whoever will let him come and take the Lord Christ and grace and salvation by him freely he will not repine at the favour he vouchsafes unto us take more hope more faith more sanctification come and come freely and the more oftener ye come the more welcome shal you be This is the substance of the words in the text wherein wee have these three points formerly spoken of First here wee have the freenesse of Gods mercy Whoever will let him take of the water of life freely as who should say shall any man bring money with him and buy grace no no let him take the Spirit freely Secondly A man must will Christ before he can receive Christ and grace from him and this is the second thing in the text The third is That every man that doth truly will Christ and grace shall have Christ and grace from him Men thinke that they would be saved every man will be ready to say I would have Christ rule in me but this same willing of Christ is a hard matter whosoever doth will heartily to receive Christ shall have him and salvation by him but wee shall finde it a hard matter to bring our hearts to this willing of Christ as wee shall here hereafter and thus wee see the three points that arise out of the text and by this time we are entred into our worke let us proceede with the pursuite of the first point which is this The offer of grace from God is altogether free There is nothing but onely Gods will that moves him nothing but his owne good pleasure that perswades him to shew mercy to a poore soule there is nothing out of God that can move him or purchase this favour from him but it is from out of the goodnesse of his nature and the freenesse of his will he will have it so In the 21 of the Revel 6. there is a marvelous pregnant place for this purpose there saith the text I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountaine of the water of life freely There are three things or phrases considerable First God will give him to drinke and what is freer than gift nay that we may know that he will not give it us upon any consideration he will give it freely nay marke further hee will give it to every one that thirsteth though a man desireth it earnestly even as a man that is a thirst desireth drinke though he doe what he can to obtaine it though hee use all meanes for the procuring of it yet God will give it him and that freely and this cuts the throates of merit-mongers the Papists that stand so much upon their merits and therefore it is observeable in the 4. of Zach. 7.9 in the building of the materiall Temple the text saith That Zerubbabels hands which had layd the foundation thereof should finish it The same hand which layd the first stone so the same hand should lay the last the meaning of the place is this when the poore people of Israel were to build the Temple in time of persecution they had no ability of themselves to do it yet the Lord bids them go on cheerefully for I will dispose of all things for the gold and silver is mine and hereby the Lord doth quippe at a secret â—onceite of theirs they might thinke with themselves alasse wee have no gold wee have no silver how shall we bring this worke to passe the Lord he answers this secret objection of theirs and tels them the gold is mine the silver is mine the hands of Zeruâ—babell that hath layd the first stone shall bring forth the headstone thereof and what is the ground of all this the reason is rendered in the 7. vers All the people shall cry grace grace as if they had said Grace hath sent meanes grace hath continued means grace hath given us hearts to use the means all is grace nothing but grace and mercy hath done it thus the people admired at Gods great goodnesse that did so helpe them and shouted crying grace grace And as it was thus in the materiall Temple so it is here in the building of the soule a Temple for the Lord. The beginning of grace the receiving of grace the continuing of grace all is grace grace from the beginning of election to the end of glorification from the beginning of conversion to the end of salvation all is grace and mercy nothing but grace that doth all workes all prepares all for the good of Gods people Gods grace and mercy is altogether free and the freedome of it appeareth in these three particulars It is free First â—nregard of the preparation of the meanes of grace that God hath invented the meanes of salvation which God hath invented for his people being fallen in Adam was altogether free for when Adam had forsaken God and hearkned to the enemy had left the way of holinesse and went into the way of confusion it was free with God whither he would helpe him or no when Adam had spent the patrimony which God had given him it was free whether God would set him up againe or no free it was in God the Father which appointed the Sonne as the meanes free it was in Christ Iesus that tooke the taske upon him and free in the holy Spirit that wrought grace and salvation in the hearts of Gods people God out of his free will gave his Sonne to redeeme mankinde and Christ gave himselfe freely and the holy Ghost doth freely worke comfort in the hearts of Gods chosen it was free with God to appoint Christ for the meanes free with Christ to be the meanes free with the Spirit to worke the meanes Secondly as it is free in regard of the appointing the meanes so likewise in regard of the Revelation of the meanes to any soule it was
free with God whether he would enlighten any mans eyes and bring Salvation unto him why doth God raine upon one Citty and not upon another that is why doth the dew of the Gospell raine upon one place and not upon another it is for nothing but because it is Gods will it should be so in the 4 of Luke the 25. the place is very pregnant for this purpose There saith the text many widdowes were in Israel in the dayes of Elias when the heavens were shut up three yeares and sixe moneths but to none of them was Elias sent save unto Sarepta a City of Sidon unto a woman which was a widdow and this was onely out of Gods free grace he may take the meanes from one man and give it to another he may send his Gospell and the meanes of Salvation to one poore soule to one poore towne in a Shire or County and not to another according to his owne good pleasure for his mercy is free looke into the 17 of the Acts the 30. together with the 6 of the Acts the 1. for those two places interpret one another in the 17 of Acts the 30. the text saith And the times of this ignorance God winked at now the word winked as is the saâ—e with the word neglected Act. 6.1 there saith the text There arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrewes because their widdowes were neglected in the dayly ministration the word in the Originall signifies not to regard a thing and the same doth the word winked at â—ignifie in Acts 17.30 The Lord winked at this ignorance as if he should say the Lord over-looked and regarded it not the heathen they never had the knowlede of his lawes he neglected the heathen and had an eye onely upon the lewes he vouchsafed his grace and ordinary meanes of Salvation to them onely and why was this it was of his free mercy of his owne good pleasure and for the others the abuse of their knowledge and as the freedome of Gods grace and mercy appeareth in the appointing of the meanes and in Revelation of the meanes so Thirdly it appeares in the blessing of the meanes it is in the free mercy of God that any meanes of Grace and Salvation are blessed unto men and that they worke upon the soules of men 1 Cor. 1.21 there saith the text after that in the wisdome of God the world by wisedome knew not God it pleased God by the foolishnesse of Preaching to save them that beleeve how comes it to passe that men beleeve and are saved why it is because it pleaseth God it is not because men could procure this but it is of Gods meere good will of his free goodnesse and mercy and this was the cause of our Saviour Christs great thankes-giving Math. 11.25 26. many poore soules were converted by the Preaching of his Apostles and therefore saith Christ I thanke thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast reveal'd them unto babes even so father for it seemed good in thy sight the reason why God did this was because it was his good pleasure so then the point standeth faire in regard of explication Namely that the offer of grace is free free in regard of the meanes that God hath appointed free in regard of the Revelation of the means appointed free in regard of the blessing of the meanes revealed But you will say what is the reason of this by what argument can you proove that the offer of grace is thus free The reasons briefely are three First this offer of grace musts needes be free because there is nothing in man that can purchase this in the 8 of the Acts 19.20 when Simon Magus saw that the Apostles by laying on of hands conveyed the grace of the Spirit into mens soules he thought to have gotten a booty and have done so also and offered money that he might receive that gift but marke how Saint Peter tooke him up with indignation Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter It was a marvelous fearefull sin and therefore the Apostle Peter bad him pray that if it were possible the thought of his heart might bee forgiven him It is a vaine thing to conceive and a great sinne to thinke or imagine that grace can be purchased from God by any thing that we have received for there must be some proportion betweene the price and the thing that is bought in common reason but in the 3. of the Prov. 14 15. Salomon saith That the Merchandize of Wisedome that is of the wisedome of God wrought by the Spirit of God is better than the Merchandize of silver and the gaine thereof than fine gold shee is more pretious than Rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to bee compared unto her There is no proportion between any thing and this wisedome no no they that thinke that God loves them any whit the better because they are rich and learned and honourable let them know that all those things are dung in regard of the graces of Gods Spirit If any thinke to buy grace they shall perish and their money with them for the offer of grace is free And secondly as there is nothing that can purchase grace so wee can do nothing that can merit grace for some man may say however I have no money to purchase it yet I can worke it out as poore men use to say to those for whom they worke when they would have any commodity of them they tell them they have no money to pay them for it but they will worke it out by their handy labour But alasse there is nothing that can bee done of the sinfull sonne of man that can procure any thing from God this way as we may see Rom. 9.16 It is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that sheweth mercy It is not our willing our working our running what ever wee have or can doe is nothing for the procuring of grace in this kinde it is God alone that sheweth mercy Thus he will have mercy on whom hee will have mercy and compassion on whom hee will have compassion and whom he will he hardneth Rom. 9.18 If thou shouldest marke what is done amisse saith the Prophet David who could abide it If God should enter into judgement with any poore soule upon the earth there were no living for him hee could expect nothing but death and the fierce anger of God continually to pursue him and therefore farre it is from man to have any thing that can procure grace at the hand of God Thirdly a man naturally hath no ground whereby he can challenge this by way of promise from the Lord no naturall man hath any promise in this kind The promises are Yea and Amen to them that
will buy house and land and make it his owne for ever he first chooseth that house and land and then hee resolves to keepe it for ever and never part with it againe and if hee part from it or sell it againe then he is sayd to refuse it as well as to choose it and the stomach that chooseth meate when it hath such liking to any dyer that it openeth it selfe and receiveth it and closeth with it then we are sayd to will and choose Christ when we see the worth of Christ and take him before all and fasten upon him to make him our owne for ever when wee take such delight in him that we will not be freed from him but desire that he may be for our soules and our soules for him forever this is to will the Lord Iesus So then to gather up all when the soule priseth Christ as the chiefest of all when it chooseth him above all when the soule answerablely giveth up it selfe to Christ that Christ may take possession of it and never sever from it then a man doth will Christ Iesus heartily So that by this time we see the nature of the point and the English of the Doctrine is thus much the soule that seeth the worth of Christ and chooseth him above all things and closeth with him that soule willeth Christ Iesus But now heere a question may arise you may aske mee whether a man can will Christ and grace thus naturally out of the power of nature I answere no it is beyond the power of man to will Christ and grace naturally it is the free gift of God as it is the Lord which must give grace so it is the Lord that must give the will to receive grace what availeth all the water in the Sea if we have no vessell to receive it what avayleth it to have meate if wee have no stomach to digest it what avayleth it to have the fountaine of grace set open unto us if we have no vessels no hearts to receive it if we have no stomach to digest it all is worth nothing therfore the doctrine of the Scripture is compared to raine the raine which falleth upon a rock remaineth not but presently slides off so it is here the fountaine of grace is set open to every one that heareth the Word this day but if you have no vessels to receive no wills to embrace it no heart to entertaine it all this mercy of God grace of God love of God will fall downe at your feete you may carry away some words in your mouthes but unlesse you have a will to receive grace it will never dwell in your hearts it is impossible that the soule should receive grace and Salvation by the Lord Iesus unlesse it hath a will to entertaine him for common sence telleth us that those actions that have relation one to another cannot bee done one without the other no man can buy unlesse another will sell no man can take or receive any thing unlesse another will give it and bestow it upon him Christ cannot be bestowed upon us and given unto us unlesse wee have a will to receive him there is no giving of a thing unlesse there bee a taking and receiving of it Christ will not be a guest with us unlesse he bee entertained by us If a man should come unto an Inne and aske for lodging if the Host of the Inne tell him that the Inne is full and there is no roome for him and thereupon hee goes his way this man cannot be sayd to be a guest unto that Inne but that hee onely offered himselfe to bee a guest so it is here there is no soule that ever can or shall receive Christ as a guest to himselfe unlesse he be content to make roome for Christ and bee a receiver of him Christ will never come with salvation or comfort unto thy heart unlesse thou hast a will to entertaine him if our willing of Christ bee that which makes roome for Christ then it must go before the entertaining of Christ but the willing of Christ is that which makes roome for Christ and therefore it must goe before the entertaining of him So then the case is cleare and the point evident that a man must will to receive Christ before hee shall have Christ and grace and salvation by him The use of the point is threefold the first is for reproofe must a man have a will to receive Christ and grace before hee can receive Christ and grace then this condemneth that carnall conceit of a company of poore deluded persons in the world that thinke they may receive grace upon other conditions than the word hath revealed upon other conditions than Christ ever made agreement with them this conceit it is mervailous common it is a generall fault in all carnall professors they thinke to goe to heaven nay they make no doubt of it they thinke they have grace and why because they say so and professe so and therefore it must needs be so because a man can say hee beleeves and would have grace and wils to receive Christ therefore out of all question it must needes be so grace must needes be given them they cannot be without grace because they say they have it and if a man presse upon them and say the truth is the world knowes it that you live in base courses a common swearer you are a covetous wretch a base usurer that loves your money more than God true say they all flesh is grasse and in many things we sinne the Lord give us of his grace and for give us our sinnes and I hope he will doe so and this will make up the breach presently nothing but repent and say Lord have mercy upon us and then all will be well it is true if you can but truely repent all will be well indeede your sinnes shall bee forgiven you but now you talke of cost you must do more than say so you must do so likewise but thus a thousand poore soules goe to hell hood-winckt after this fashion they have invented a shorter cut to heaven they have invented a new way a backe doore to heaven and happinesse more than the word ever discovered But let any soule make this conceit good in Scripture and then I will beleeve them but if it be so that they cannot make it good by the word of God then know that if you continue in it your soules will be damned Is it thus in the word hee that saith hee hath grace hath grace if a man professe grace he cannot bee without grace no no it is not thus in Scripture the text saith He that wils grace that is hee that hath a heart to receive grace he shall have grace not hee that saith and professeth that he hath grace but hee that wils it you must not bring your tongues to talke of grace and your heads to thinke of grace but you must bring your hearts to will grace
otherwise you never shall you never can receive grace and yet notwithstanding what is that which carryeth away men in the world they are naught and wicked reprove them for it they heale all and make up all presently they beleeve in Christ and they repent them of their sinnes and shall not they bee saved They say indeede that they doe beleeve and they doe repent but the text saith they doe not so and the Lord in his word saith it is not talke it is not wishes but it is the willing of Christ and grace that will obtaine grace In the 15 of Mathew Mat. 15.8 9. and the 8 and 9 verses there saith the text In vaine doe these men worshippe mee for they draw nigh unto mee with their mouth and honour mee with their lippes but their heart is farre from me they draw neere Christ with their lippes that is they speake as good words as can bee they say they are sinners and that the Lord came to save sinners and they are humbled for their sinnes and attend their Church diligently and hurt no body But their hearts are from me saith the text why because that hearts are still upon their sinnes they are as proud as ever as ignorant as ever as vaine as ever their hearts still runne after sinfull courses and wicked practises and therefore away with this talke and such vaine pretences as men make in this case unlesse your hearts goe together with your words all is worth nothing what a fond imagination is this that a man should thinke his words should doe him good when his heart goeth against them when their mouthes professe Christ and their hearts oppose Christ Thou sayest thou prizest Christ above all things and yet thou wilt not lose a base sinne for Christ thou wilt not forsake any wicked lust or corruption for Christ you will say you prize Christ above all and yet many of your prophane drunkards will not lose a cup for Christ nay you will not lose any base custome for Christ you were prophane and you will be so still you were proud and you will bee so still thy heart and thy words doe not goe together and therefore never thinke that thy words will save thee Thou sayest thou beleevest but thy heart saith the contrary thou professest thou hast grace but thy heart denieth it and therefore it is a very sottish conceit to thinke thy words will doe thee any good when thy 〈◊〉 denieth what thy tongue professeth goe home therefore and examine your owne hearts and thinke thus with your selves I have talked much and I have said that I had faith and grace but oh wretch that I am my heart saith the contrary What a wretch am I doe I thinke that God will have mercy on mee because I say and professe that I am a sinner and because I say that I pray unto God for the forgivenesse of my sinnes no no those very words will condemne me because my heart goes not with my words it had beene farre better for these men that they never had spoke these things for these very words will rise up in judgement against them nay these words will keep them from the true willing of grace for they thinke they have it already because they say they have it this is a very dangerous conceit and therefore know that words will not carry all away to say we repent and beleeve and have grace these doe us no good at all wee must will grace before wee shall have grace but this is not a willing but onely a talking of grace The second use is a word of terror to shake the hearts of all wretched sinfull creatures under heaven those whom wee may condemne out of their owne mouthes they professe they will not have grace and therefore wee may conclude they never shall have grace their owne words will witnesse against them for when the Ministers list up their voyces like a Trumpet and cry night and day and cal upon them this is the good and ancient way walke in this way in the way of faith and repentance what answer doe men give they openly professe they will not doe this they will not walke in this way The Lord tendereth grace happinesse and salvation unto us and yet many do professe they will not come they will not attend upon God in his ordinances they will not embrace nor they will not entertaine Christ and grace and salvation they will not come to the meanes of grace and therefore they shall never have grace they never shall bee made partakers of it A man must will grace before he can have grace but you will it not you desire it not and therefore as sure as the Lord liveth you cannot have it Another generation there is that come to the house of God and sit as Gods people do and heare as Gods people doe but their hearts runneth after their covetousnesse when in your soules you can say our bodies are here indeed but our hearts are after our lusts and corruptions after our profits and pleasures if it be thus with you then still you resolve that your hearts shall not will the grace of God and therefore it is cleare and evident that you have not yet received grace Men resolve to doe as they did in the 18 of the Prophecy of Ieremie verse Ier. 18.12 12. They said there is no hope but wee will walke every one after our owne devices and doe the imaginations of our evill heart When the Lord called upon them to walke in the good way oh they would none of that but they would walke after the imaginations of their hearts And did these spirits thinke yee dye in those times are not some such now among us in these times wherein men say wee will not reforme our families nor wee will not pray with them wee will not keepe the Sabbaths nor wee will not leave our swearing and our swaggering our pride and our covetousnesse no all the Ministers under heaven shall not perswade us wee will take up our owne lewd and wicked courses we will bee prophane still and wee will sweare still wee will not amend our lives nor reforme our families in what a miserable accursed damnable estate are those men they will not leave and forsake their lewd practises and therefore they cannot will grace and if they cannot will it then we may certainely conclude they shall never obtaine it But you will say you would leave your wicked courses and reforme your families if you could doe it but you cannot I answer is it nor in your power to plucke your children and your servants into the Lords house on the Sabbath day is it not in your power to use the meanes whereby you may reforme your lives you can doe it but you will not doe it you will take up your owne wayes and your owne practises and therefore the case is plaine you will not take Christ and therefore you shall never have him
and Salvation by him there is also a cursed kinde of Hypocrites which professe saire and much they say they will doe for the Lord Iesus Ier. 24.20 but they are like unto those in the 42. of Ieremy the 20. verse marke what the text saith there Yee dissembled in your hearts wheâ— you sent me to the Lord our God saying Pray for us unto the Lord our God and according unto all that the Lord our God shall say so declare unto us and wee will doe it So there are many that make a faire outside and will take up holy duties and they will be professing and talking of God but there must be more than this there must be a willing of grace besides a professing of grace you pretend faire and promise this and purpose that but when it commeth to you you fly off and you will have your owne liberty your heart is double you say you will reforme your wayes and yet you will be idle still and loose still and therefore you never yet willed Christ you never yet prized him aright you never truely chose him and therefore as sure as the Lord liveth Christ is not yours if the condition bee not performed by you you shall never bee made partakers of that which is promised upon the performance of that condition if you will Christ and grace then indeed you have Christ and grace but you never willed Christ and therefore it is evident you never had Christ Deut. 29.4 In the 29. of Deut. 4. vers there saith the text The Lord hath shewed you great wâ—nders and discovered many mercies unto you and you the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and eares to heâ—re unto this very day and therefore go home and mourne for yourselves and reason with your soules and say what after all ouâ— profession bearing praying talking after all the cost and care that God hath bestowed upon us have we not yet a heart to will grace and desire the Lord Iesus many mercies have beene vouchsafed unto us many judgements removed from us there is no nation that God hath dealt so mercifully with as with us we have peace yet and the Gospell yet and prosperity yet and yet for all this to this very day God hath not given us a heart to receive grace and the things belonging to our everlasting peace and therefore wives mourne for your husbands in secret and say oh my husband what hath not God yet given thee a heart to feare him and fathers mourne for your children that are not yet in the state of grace and say oh my sonne not yet a heart that God hath given thee to sanctifie a Sabboth and to leave off thy wickâ—d courses and friends mourne you also one for another and say oh my friend what not yet a heart to humble thy selfe and to feare the name of God thus mourne in secret and say God hath done this and this for thee and hast thou not yet a heart not yet a will to entertaine Christ the world carries al pleasure carries all profit beares all away malice carries away all The promises and Commandements of God are despised and hast thou not yell a heart to beleeve the promises and prize the Lawes of â—od above liberty and peace profit and pleasure there is nothing wanting on Gods part hee gives peace still and the Gospell still and yet not a heart all this while to feare God and keepe his Commandements thou hast a good house and good land and many mercies are vouchsafed unto thee and not yet a good heart what a misery is this not yet a will to embrace Christ and receive grace why what a lamentable condition is this and therefore in the last place it is a word of Exhortation to every soule here present to labour now to begin at the right end and take a right course and follow the path that God hath chalked out unto us in a word we see it is come to this passe that all is grown to an outside every man must be a Christian go to heaven and all the argument is this because a man can talke well of religion but this is not the right way the willing of grace must goe before the receiving of grace and therefore go home and examine your selves whether grace bee truely wrought and fashioned in you or no and reason thus with your owne hearts and say it is not enough to bring my mouth and profession to the Word of the Lord but heart what sayst thou in the meane time I can talke of religion and many good matters but will what sayst thou in the meane time dost thou prize Christ above all things dost thou choose Christ and grace above all other things in the world whatsoever heart what sayst thou dost thou open thy selfe and close with him and dost thou purpose never to forsake him Deut. 32.42 in the 32 of Deut. 42. there saith Moses to the people Set your hearts to all the words which I testifie among you this day for it is not a vaine thing for you because it is your life and through this thing you shall prolong your dayes so say I set your hearts to the word labour to set your soules to the word of God for it is not a vaine word it is your life and length of your daies it is not talking of Christ but it is the willing of Christ from the heart that will obtaine Christ and Salvation by him We have spoken already of the reasonablenesse of the condition whosoever will may receive grace and that freely and now we come to the universality of it the work of the Spirit is tendered to every one whosoever will give way thus unto it grace is set open to all and proclamed to all that will take it upon those tearmes before spoken of therfore saith the Text Whosoever will let him take of the water of life the word in the originall is every willing man there is no man exempted no man debarred no man hindred to take grace upon those tearmes if he will condiscend to Gods conditions be he what he will be naturally either in regard of sins and corruptions or in regard of poverty or infirmities whatsoever his naturall condition be yet if he wil but agree to Gods conditions if he will but choose and prize Christ above all other things â—he shall receive him and grace and salvation by hiâ—â—â— so that the doctrin is this Whosoever in truth doth will to have Christ shall receive him and salvation by him the Text doth not say Whosoever saith Lord Lord shall have Christ and grace but the willing soule he shall have him not the talâ—eing man nor the presuming man nor the glorying man but the willing man so that this is the point Whosoever in good earnest and in truth will have Christ shall receive Christ and salvation by him in the 10. of Luke ver 5 6.
Luke 10. 〈…〉 when our Saviour Christ sent out his Disciples to prepare way for himselfe he saith into what house soever ye enter say first peace be unto this house and if the sonne of peace be there your peace shall rest upon it if not it shall turne to you againe By peace is meant here all prosperity whatsoever all good temporall and eternall it was the manner of the â—â—lutation of the Hebrews to say Peace be unto you therin including all good things whatsoever now saith the Text if the house be worthy that is if the house be truely disposed if the son of peace be there that is he which hath a soule so disposed towards peace as a Son is towards his Father that is he that desires peace upon that Soule peace shall rest a blessing shall be upon that soule but if the house be not worthy that is if the heart will not receive the Gospell of Salvation if the Sonne of peace be not there if he be a rebell against God and against peace in this kind then let your peace returne to you againe there is no footing for Salvation in the soule of that man that refuseth the Gospell and the meanes of Salvation which God hath tendered and as our Saviour Christ before he comes in doth knocke at the doore that he may come in so whensoever the doore is opened Reve. 3.20 he will come in Reve. 3.20 there saith the Text Behold I stand at the doore and knocke if any man will heare my voice and open the doore I wil come in to him and suppe with him and he with me The doore is the heart if the doore be opened if the will be opened to prize and entertaine Christ then Christ and his Father will come into that soule and dwell with it for ever and refresh it with all spirituall comfort and in the 15. of Luke Luk. 15.17.18 the 17 and 18 verses when the Prodigall sonne was returning to his Father when hee saw that hee was in misery and how the case stood with him no body succoured nor releeved him he returned to himselfe saith the text and reasoneth thus with himselfe How many hired servants in my fathers house have bread enough and to spare but I perish with hunger as who should say Now I know what it is to be â—n a fathers family here no man considers meeâ— no man regards me or respects me and though I bee 〈◊〉 sonne yet there are many in my fathers house which are but servants which have bread enough â—ut I though a sonne have want of all things and â—m ready to famish here is the prize now that hee â—utteth upon a fathers house hee thinkes now it is good to be in a fathers house hee thinks now oh â—he provision and love of a father happy are they that have it blessed are they that doe enjoy it and when hee had set this prize upon his fathers house Then he ariseth and saith I will go to my Father and say Father I have sinned against heaven and against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy sonne make me as one of thy hyred servants Then the soule doth put a prize upon Christ and returneth to him when it seeth the excellency that is in him The father of the Prodigall sonne when he saw this that his sonne returned unto him and humbled himselfe and confessed his fault he made much of him The Prodigall had a purpose a will a desire to come to his father And assoone as his father saw him afarre off he went out to meete him and fell on his necke and kissed him and made much of him and commanded to bring forth the bestrâ—be put it on him put a ringâ— on his hand and shooes on his feete The Prodigall is a sinner and hee that is enlightned so farre forth as to see his wretchednesse and is able to set a prize upon the mercy of Christ hee that hath runne away from God the base sinfull wretch that never made any account of the word if the Lord hath awakned his hâ—â—rt so farre forth as that heâ— can set a high prize upon the word and say I wondered heretofore 〈◊〉 see men runne to sermons so fast and make such hast to the house of God when the bels rnuge woe is me I could never doe so but oh happy are they 〈◊〉 and blessed are they that did so 〈◊〉 oh one promise now is worth a world now the assurance of the forgivenesse of sinnes is worth all the world besides when the soule of a poore sinner begiâ— thus to prize Christ and resolves to go to Christ and expects mercy from him then the Lord seeth this soule a farre off and is resolved to give entertainement to it to afford comfort thereunto But you will say what is the reason of it that if a maâ— wils Christ and salvation he shall have it I answer the reasons hereof are three The first is this because the Lord requires no more at the hands of a poore sinner nay the Lord Iesus is fully contented when the soule commeth to give entertainment to him this alone will give contentment wholy to the Lord Iesus Christ It is the meaning of that speech of the Wiseman in the Prov. My sonne give me thy heart by heart in that place is not meant the substance of the soule as it was created of God this is not that which God looketh for but My sonne give me thy heart that is let the actions of thy heart bee set upon mee prize mee and choose me this is that with which the Lord is contented nay it is the maine thing with which the Lord is fully pleased In the 5. of Deut. 29. Deut. 5.29 when the people heard the voyce of Moses and were â—esolved to yeeld obedience to Gods Commandements they sayd Whatsoever the Lord hath spoken by thee that will we doe when the Lord heard that â—hey would attend and obey his word which hee â—oke by his servant Moses these are very good words saith the Lord But oh that there were such a â—eart in them to feare mee and keepe my Commandements alwayes that it might bee well with them and with their children for ever God hee tooke their outward profession and appearance in good part but oh that there were such a heart this strikes all dead this gives God full content and therefore we shall observe that when all other things are weake in us though there be many failings and many distempers in a poore soule yet when the heart is sound and sincere that is that which giveth the Lord full contentment hee goeth away fully satisfied with that In the 2. of Chron. 15.17 2 Chron. 15.17 there the text saith of Asa that hee did not take away the high places out of Israel neverthelesse the heart of Asa was perfect all his dâ—yes though he failed in many things yet his heart was perfect and upright and
this the Lord accepted Secondly as God onely requires this namely the willing and choosing and prizing of Christ so also by this worke of the soule a poore sinner comes to bee inabled to close with God it is the will that is the maine thing whereby wee are fitted to close and lay hold of God and to fasten with the Lord Iesus for it is a rule which we have iâ—â—â—turall causes that all good properly is the object oâ— the will of a man truth is the object of the understanding but the object of the will is good looke as it is with the body of a man it hath severall sences and those sences have severall operations about which they are exercised as the eye that seâ—th colours the eare heareth sounds and the tongue that relisheth the meate a man eateth now all these have severall things about which they are exercised and they are not able to reach one unto the worke of another as the eye cannot heare sounds nor the eare discerne of colours and neither of these can taste or relish any goodnesse in that which a man â—ateth but the eye that seeth and the â—are that heareth and the tongue that onely is exercised about tasting every one of these have severall operations so it is here all things are made for man the body for the soule the understanding for the will and the will for God the understanding that seeth truths and discernes the excellency that is in God but there is nothing that relisheth and tasteth the goodnesse which is in God but the will so that looke as the eye cannot heare not the care see and neither of these can relish any goodnesse in the meate a man eateth but this is proper to the tongue onely so there is nothing in a man that is able to relish and receive the goodnesse or the mercy of the Lord but the will of a man all things are made for man the body for the soule the understanding for the will and the will for God the understanding is the Councellâ—r that seeth all but the will is the Queene of the soule that taketh all that good which the understanding seeth and discerneth and which is offered and tendred unto it In the 2 of Hosea and the beginning this was the ground why the repentant Church came home to God it is in the 2 of Hos 7. there saith the text She shall follow after her lovers Hosea 2.7 but shall not overtake them and she shall seeke them but she shall not finde them then shall she say I will returne unto my first husband for it was better with me than than it is now she would returne to her first husband she would give entertainement to the Lord why what is the reason of this why saith she it was better with me than than it is now when the soule can see that it is better to performe the holy services which God requires than enjoy all the things of the world when it can say it is better to be with God than any where else then it returneth to Christ and this is the reason why a reasonable creature onely is able to receive grace and salvation reasonable creatures onely can receive it because they onely have to receive it so that we see the willingnesse of the soule is the heart whereby we lay hold upon the Lord Iesus whereby our soules are inabled to close with the graces and goodnesse of God The third reason is this because the want of this same willingnesse and heart to receive and embrace Christ and grace is that which breaketh the match betweene God and the soule it is a point of some weighty consideration there is no lacke on Gods part there is no failings on Gods side which may hinder or debarre a poore soule from receiving the Lord Iesus Christ the fault is our owne and lyeth at home for God commandeth all to believe in Christ nay he beseecheth and intreateth them that they would receive the Lord Iesus Christ and comfort and salvation by him nay it cannot be because God is just and holy but he must will that the soule should receive the Lord Iesus and beleeve in him and bee willing to give entertainement to him in this case So that it is evident that there is no backwardnesse on Gods part God doth freely will that every soule that heareth the Word of God and hath Christ offered that they should receive the Lord Iesus and benefit thereby and comfort there from to their soules but the failing is onely in our part wee have not a will to receive Christ Iesus when hee is offered and give entertainement to him and this is that which breedeth the jarre betweene God and our soules it is not want of obedience to the Commandements of God that will condemne if the soule be but contented to receive Christ and entertaine the worke of grace but this is that which breaketh the match and maketh a separation betweene the soule and God because men will not entertaine that grace nor embrace that faith which should procure the forgivenesse of their sinnes A man may be saved though hee doe not keepe the Commandements of God so perfectly as God required Adam should doe for God sayd unto Adam Doe this and live but though a man doe not so now he may live but a man cannot live unlesse hee beleeve in Christ and have a will to receive Christ Iesus The first covenant that God made with Adam was doe and live because he created him after his owne Image in righteousnesse and true holinesse and made him able to performe obedience to all his commandements but though we have never so many weaknesses never so many infirmities and sins yet if wee will but be content to receive Christ Iesus and grace from him all our weaknesses shall be strengthned our wants supplied and our sinnes pardoned but when a man commeth to this passe that hee is naught in himselfe and will not take Christ to be made better then hee must needs perish and come unto everlasting destruction and this is that which breaketh the match and breedeth the opposition betweene God and the soule Matth. 23.37 Matth. 23.37 38. there saith our Saviour O Ierusalem Ierusalem thou which killest the Prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee how often would I have gathered thy children together even as a Hen gathereth hâ—r Chickens under her wings and yee would not Behold therefore your house is left unto you desolate the fault was on their parts the Lord woed them and strived with them hee would have gathered them as a henne doth her chickings but they would not and this caused the jarre betweene the Lord and them and therefore their house was left unto them desolate So Psal 81.13 there saith the text Psal 81.13 Oh that may people Israel had hearkned unto me and had walked in my wayes I should soone have subdued their enemies and turned my hand
man is not able to abide an admonition when he cannot endure to be informed or councelled exhorted or reproved when the ministers nor the Word of God can have any power over men when these poore creatures shall come into hell then they shall have elbow roome to fulfill their lusts and corruptions wherein they so much delighted they tooke pleasure in wickednesse they would not they could not abide the meanes of grace and salvation you would have no reproofes you would endure no admonitions it was well with you when you had no ministers to checke and reproove you but alas poore soule when you are gone downe into the bottomelesse pit of everlasting perdition then you may have your full swing then you shall never be reprooved more then you shall never be councelled more you shall never be admonished more you shall then never be prayed for any more but be damned in hell for ever from everlasting to everlasting you shall then have your full pleasure in your sinnes is it not just with God that you who would live in wickednesse and prophanenesse and would not receive grace and mercy when it was offerd that God should give you up to the hardnes of your owne hearts and blindnesse of your owne minds send you into everlasting condemnation for ever First look as it is with a malefactor that is convicted of high treason for plotting some wicked practise against his Prince or for proceeding into rebellion for the overthrow of his Countrey after all the sinnefull passages of his be discovered and made knowne both to himselfe and the world if the King after this make the Proclamation that if hee will leave of his wicked enterprizes hee shall be pardoned nay if the King shall send message after message unto him secretly to tell him that if he now will lay downe armes and take his pardon he shall freely be remitted and graciously received into favour if this Traytor shall rather fling away his pardon then his weapons I appeale to your owne consciences in this case if the King should â—â—ife an army and overcome him and take him and execute him without any pitty or mercy is he not justly rewarded what will the world say they will say execution and death is too good for him so he had a faire offer of pardon if hee had had a heart to receive it hee had pardon proclamed unto him nay the King sent messenger after messenger to tell him that if he would stoope to him he should receive mercy and favour from him and therefore seeing be refused and neglected so kinde an offer he is executed justly it is pitty but condemnation should befall him because hâ— would not take the meanes of consolation this is the condition of every poore soule under Heaven truely we are all Rebels and Traytors against Heaven by our â—â—thes and blasphemies we fet our mouâ—â— against Heaven we have often taken up armes against God and yet after all our pride and stubbornenesse and loosenesse and prophanenesse and contempt of Gods Word and Ordinances and yet the Lord is pleased to proclame mercy still to every one that will receive it all you that have dishonoured my name all you that have prophaned my Sabbaths and contemned my Ordinances all you cursed wretches come come who that will and take pardon let them lay aside all their weapons and receive it and salvation by him when it is offered to them and they shall have their sinnes forgiven and they shall be received to mercy now if any soule will stand out against God and say I will not have Christ and Salvation but will shift for my selfe and try it out to the last I will walke in my owne wayes and take up my owne courses I will be proud still I will breake Gods Sabbaths still and I will be malicious still and breake Gods Commandements still if any man shall be thus disposed if then the great God of Heaven and Earth shall come with tenne thousand thousand of judgements and execute them upon that man if he shall bring a whole legion of devils and say Take him devils and torment him devils in hell forever because he would not have mercy when it was offered he shall not have mercy because he would not have Salvation when it was tendered unto him therefore let him have everlasting condemntion if God should thus deale with that man the Lord should be just in so doing and he justly miserable And this is the second use it is an use of terror to all those that will not receive Christ and grace and salvation by him Thirdly in the third place it is a word of exhortation it should set an edge upon your desires and provoke your soules to give no sleepe to your eyes nor slumber to your eye-lids to give no quiet to your soules nor contentment to your hearts untill you have brought your soules to be willing to receive Christ Iesus you are the Spouse of Iesus Christ it is good for you therefore to consider and thinke of your estate in this kind if you will but have Christ that is all he careth for if he can but get your good wils he lookes for no more and therefore you are to consider of it and lie at your hearts daily you should daily be perswading of your soules and never cease till you have brought your hearts in some measure to be willing to receive the Lord Iesus and bid him welcome and give entertainement unto him and the more to prevaile with you in this case consider of the reasonablenesse of the condition and this may be a motive to provoke your soules hereunto because the offer is marveilous easie as faire as can be the tearmes of agreement are as faire as any heart can desire nay there is very good consideration in the goodnesse which the Lord hath tendred to us and that is thus much If we will but receive Christ Iesus all that he hath shall be ours the treasures of wisdome and grace and salvation they shall be all ours if we will but entertaine the Lord Iesus let us therefore reason with our owne soules and commune with our owne spirits concerning this gratious offer of salvation the soule should say What hath the Lord offered salvation at so easie a rate will hee notwithstanding what ever I have beene heretofore full of corruptions and abhominations though my soule stands guilty of my sinnes and distempers though I bee possessed with many weakenesses and infirmities yet notwithstanding all this will the Lord be pleased to pardon all to supply all to passe by all onely upon this condition if I will welcome and entertaine him may I have Christ for taking of him may I receive grace for carrying it away why good Lord if I will not doe this for Christ and grace I will do nothing doth God require no more why then if grace and mercy and salvation bee not worth this they are worth nothing if I will
your minde stands deferre not the time but welcome him and give entertainment unto him now presently do not put him off with delayes but presently embrace his kinde offer and be married unto him for if you will not now take him he will come in a flaming fire hereafter to take vengeance of you all that now refuse and reject him and therefore I beseech you let 〈◊〉 get your good will for this every man that will let him take grace and salvation freely tell mâ—â— then will you have mercy and salvation oh take heed of refusing it for if you do the time will come when you shall never have it though you never so earnestly desire it if you obtaine it you are made for ever if you enjoy it not you are for ever damned returne therefore I beseech you a comfortable answere to the demand which the Lord maketh if you will receive grace and Christ and Salvation from him then speake to the Lord in this case let your soules answere him cheerefully we will Lord the Lord saith come unto me ye sinfull sonnes of men and I will hâ—ale your rebellions answere the Lord and say we come Lord for thou art our God thinke upon this and worke your soules hereunto graâ—nt Christ your good wills in this kind if you will but prize him and choose him above all things in this world if you be resolved to cleave onely to him and forsake all other things in the world for him if your soules be but willing to receive Christ I proclaime mercy and salvation unto you we are as I told you before Christs messengers sent to speake a good word for Christ and to get your good wills for him oh that we may have our errant from you shall I say to the Lord Iesus all the poore soules that have heard the Word this day and received the tender of Salvation this day I have all their hands they have all writ downe their names that they will have Christ and they will have salvation offered unto them is it thus with you if it be so then I may goe and returne a chearefull answer to Christ but doe not doe not I beseech you give me the deniall doe not say I cannot live by grace I must provide for family for wife and children can you not so why I must not take this answer from you let not Gods messengers go drooping to heaven and returne this uncomfortable answer to the Lord in this case let us not say we offered mercy no body would receive it we tendred salvation but no body regarded it shall we returne this answer no no we must have another answer from you and therefore I beseech you worke yet more upon your soules and turne unto us a chearefull answer in this case for God looketh for a comfortable answer he wooeth from heaven and therefore never give her the deniall Deut. 5.29 In the 5. of Deut. 29. Oh that there were such a heart in my people to feare me and keepe my Commandements that it may goe well with them and with their children after them thus hee writeth thus wee speake what answer shall wee have from you that you will not have Christ and you will not have grace and salvation Oh take heede of this wee come for your hearts and wee must have your hearts therefore shut up your doores against all other lovers and come and say cheerefully wee will Lord wee will cleave to thee onely goe home therefore and whatsoever you now resolve this way persevere in it and take heed that no man inveagle you and withdraw your love from the Lord Iesus and when you come at home reason with your owne soules and say Lord I have followed raâ—ties heretofore I have had profits and pleasures do looke after but now I care for nothing but for the Lord Iesus if I may but have him I care for nothing else I â—are not whether I ever see good day againe or no and therefore if pleasures call if profits entise if lusts and corruptions stirre then I will answer I am married to Christ I will have Christ and I will have salvation nothing shall make mee forsake him thus cleave fast unto Christ forever let every soule resolve that hath heard mee this day that they will have Christ and let them take heede that they never start backe from him and say to your soâ—â—es before so many witnesses in the Congregation the Lord called and asked whither I would have him and I answered I was willing and what shall I now breake off my resolutionâ— no never doe it for shame for if you doe for sake Christ and do not keepe close to your resolution at the last day when the Angels of God a whole Congregation shall come and witnesse against you what a miserable estate will you then bee in therefore resolve to hold fâ—st to Christ and keepe this resolution unto the end 1 COR. 2.14 The naturall man receiveth noâ— the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishnesse unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned WEE have propounded heretofore five generall circumstances of preparation First a man must know that the offer of grace is free Secondly that a man must will Christ and grace before hee shall have Christ grace Thirdly he that doth will Christ shall have Christ and salvation by him all which we have already handled out of that place Revel 22.17 Whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely And now wee are come to the fourth circumstance which is that no man by nature can will Christ and Grace and for this purpose I have chosen this Text. And a little to make way for our selves if you take your eyes backe to the beginning of the Chapter about the 3 4 and 5. Verses you may see how the holy Apostle doth expresse his earnest desire to preach nothing not know any thing but Christ Iesus and him crucified and therefore hee lookes not after the excellencie of humane eloquence or wisedome of men though hee could have had this too and happily expressed this also yet hee proclaimes it in the eares of the Corinthian Doctours that hee desired nothing in that Vniversity for Corinth was a famous Vniversity as Cambridge and Oxford is but to know the Lord Iesus and him crucified and therefore his speech and preaching was not with entising words of mans wisedome but in demonstration of the spirit and of power the Corinthâ—an Doctors bragged of that humane wisedome and learning wherewith they were endued but hee tells them he desired not this nor never lookâ— after it Now least some might cavill at the Apostles neglecting of this elegance whereby 〈◊〉 might sugar over his doctrine that was to be dâ—â—â—vered by him to the people least by the nor regarding of this he might bring a neglect upon himselfe and upon his doctrine the Apostle therefore to remoove these filly objections and secret
empty the soule of these lusts and abominations and prepare him for grace before grace can be put into him before he can receive grace from God the fallow ground that hath a great many thistles and is full of weedes and nettles and grasse this ground we use to say is yet arable ground it may be plowed and made fit to receive seede and beare fruite but it must first be plowed for all the while this trash is in it it is not fit for seed though it may be made fit by tilling of it so the soule of a sinner is arable God can fit it and prepare it to receive grace and eternall life but he must be first plowed and made fit he is overrunne with all corruptions and therefore of himselfe for a while before the Lord humble him and fit him and prepare him to entertaine Christ and receive grace he cannot receive it Ioh. 5.44 Ioh. 5.44 There saith the Text Hoâ— can you beleeve which receive honour one of another and sâ—eke not the honor which commeth from God onely As who should say these things cannot stand together that a man should be full of sinne and at that time goe to the Spirit to have his sinnes crucified these thing cannot stand so that there is a kinde of indisposition and impossibility for the present Rom. 6 20. that a naturall man should receive grace Rom. 6.20 There saith the Text When you 〈◊〉 servants to sinne you were free from righteousnesse that is when a mans corruptions rule over him when a man yeelds himselfe to be under the power of his lusts when sinne is a mans master insomuch that he must do every thing which that commands him if malice command him to hate then he must obey malice and hate and envy his brother when covetousnesse is a mans master and if that bids him gripe and cheate and cozen he must then doe it iâ— a man be thus a servant to sin he is free from righteousnes he cannot be made partaker of grace and salvation so long as he remaines in this estate and condition Fourthly the fourth passage is this as the soule of a naturall man declines from grace offered and revealed as it opposeth grace pressed so in the fourth place it is not willing to be wrought upon that it may be fit to receive grace and be made capable of it there is no naturall man under heaven that is willing to be wrought upon that hee may be capable to receive grace Luke 19 14. hee would not have grace and Christ and though he might in the 19. of Luke the 14. and 27. verses our Saviour Compares himselfe to a master that was to goe into a farre Country to receive a kingdome and therefore gives over his estate into the hands of his servants hee called his ten servants and gave them ten pounds saying Occupie till I come Now when hee is gone marke what the Text saith in the 14. Verse We will not have this man to rule over us the Citizens hated him and sent a messenger after him saying We will not have this man to rule over us Herein is implyed two things first that God would rule over the hearts hee would informe their judgements and fit their soules to receive grace but marke what they say We will not have him to reigne over us wee will not have the Lord Iesus take possession of our hearts and rule and guide them in the way of grace and salvation and so say all naturall men when the truth of God is followed and pressed and their consciences awakened and their minds enlightned then they cry out we will not be troubled and pestered with these matters in the 8. of Rom. 7. there saith the Text the carnall minde is enmitie against God Rom. 8.7 for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeede can be A naturall man is not subject to God he is not nay hee cannot be subject to the Law of God the Text doth not say he doth not obey the Law of God but hee is not subject to it for it is one thing to obey the word and Spirit of God and another thing to be subject unto it as for example suppose a master command his servant to doe something that is unjust and unlawfull and if hee will not doe it then beats him the servant is then said to be subject to his master hee may beare the blow and endure the stripes of his master but if he be honest and will not doe the thing hee cannot bee sayd to obey his master so likewise if it please a Prince to deale harshly with his subject and punish him unjustly his subject may submit himselfe unto him but he doth not obey him but this is the madnesse of our sinfull natures that wee will not be subject to the Word of God we will not beare the blow nor indure the stroake of the Spirit that so it may plucke us out of our corruptions and frame us and fashion us in this case and make us fit to receive grace but when the word discovereth our sinnes unto us and our misery in regard of the same the soule beginns to swell and take up an indignation against the truth revealed it endeavours what it may and labours what it can to acquit it selfe of the word and to cast out the same wee professe that wee will not have our hearts informed and our mindes enlightned wee will not be humbled and prepared to receive grace and salvation offered by the Lord Iesus If it bee not thus what meane those swellings and bublings of heart against the word when it is preached sometimes a mans conscience is opened and touched by the Word of God and what followes why presently hee professeth hee will never heare that Minister more hee saith t is pittie hee should ever preach more and tw'ere good hee were out of the Country and that the kingdome were rid of him alas what doth the Minister this while what doth he intend all this while that you take such distaste at him why you have a proud heart hee would humble it he would plucke you out of your corruptions that you may be prepared for grace but your soules say you will not be wrought upon and framed that you may receive grace and salvation however you doe not professe so much with your mouthes yet your actions testifie as much there is never a faithfull Minister of God but speakes home to the consciences of men and tells them of their beloved sinnes and bosome corruptions and hee doth this to prepare way for the Lord Iesus He knowes you must be fitted to receive grace and salvation before you shall be made partakers of grace and salvation he knowes that there are many mountaines to bee levelled and crooked things to bee made straight and many rough things to bee made smooth and plaine and therefore hee intends nothing but to have your soules broken and prepared for
thou able to doe this No thou must aske thy sin leave first So take a covetous man art thou able to set open thy house if thou hast wronged any man or griped or coâ—ened any man art thou able to say I will restore him fourefold art thou able to doe this No no thou must aske thy covetousnesse leave first now whether you thinke that the divell will suffer you to goe out of his clutches when hee hath power over you if you thinke sinne will give you leave to forsake your lusts when you are servants to it I appeaâ—e to your owne consciences and therefore whosoever he be that is a naturall man let him not coâ—â—n himselfe he hath no power in himselfe to forsake finne if heaven were layd downe before him and offered him for the leaving of one lust hee could as well make a world as part with one lust for heaven and therefore every man should labour to see this and say Lord heretofore I have beene deluded I thought if I would have grace at any time I might have grace when I would if I would not have grace I might choose and therefore I thought I would have profit now and pleasures now and corruptions and hereafter I will repent hereafter I will have Christ but Lord I was deluded what was it in my power then to entertaine the Lord Iesus then it was in my power to goe to heaven to make a world and to create a soule also I will assure you it is the almighty power of God that must doe this in the first of Ephesians 19. Ephes 1.19 there the Apostle giveth us to understand how God worketh in our conversion What is the exceeding greatnesse of his power saith hee to us ward that beleeve according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when hee raised him from the dead and set him at his owne right hand in the heavenly places When the Lords body had lien in the grave three dayes the selfe same power that raised Christ from the dead this is the very same almighty power that workes in the heart of a man that is converted in this case canst thou raise Christ from the dead if thou canst doe this then thou mayst repent if not then of thy selfe thou canst not repent for the very same power that raised Christ from the dead the same power must worke repentance in the heart of a man be not therefore deceived but now looke to it â—â—â—ny Christians have thought that they might have grace and salvation when they would at commend but when God opened their eyes O then they saw no hope of this they then knew that the same power that raised Christ out of the grave the same power must raise them out of the grave of their sinner I beseech you therefore to be informed to yeelâ— to to be convinced of this truth the Text saithâ— naturall man cannot receive the things of God you say you can who shall we beleeve now What will you be Atheists the Lord saith the word saith a naturall doth not receive the things of God nay he cannot now whether thy word or the word of God will stand thou wilt one day know it to thy everlasting woe and therefore now be perswaded to see your owne follies and abandon this foolish conceit The second use is an use of examination namely from the former doctrine delivered every soule that heareth the word this day if they will deâ—â— plainely with their soules may understand what their condition is you may reade your owne estates whether you bee naturall men or spirituall whether gracious or gracelesse men what wouldst thou know then whether thou art a naturall man 〈◊〉 no and if thou beest so woe be unto thee The triall is easie in this kind observe what disposition thou hast to the things of God observe whether thy soule be affected with them whether thy soule can give entertainement to them the 〈◊〉 man cannot receive the things of God if thou beest a naturall man thou then canst not receive grace nor entertaine Christ and salvation so then canst thou finde that if pleasures come then thy heart giveth way to them if profits come then thy heart is transported with the love thereof Is thy soule inlarged to these things dost thou love and desire them canst thou swallow downe all entertaine all digest all very willingly in this kind never too much riches never too much honour never too much profit never too much pleasure is thy soule thus disposed But when the word calleth for repentance when the Gospell calleth for selfe deniall at thy hand the Lord Iesus would rule in thy heart when the Lord would take away all thy sinnes and all thy corruptions is it so now that thy heart is weary to heare the seâ— is it so that thou canst not give way to these then the case is cleare thou art in a naturall estate for the Lords sake take notice of it naturall things please thee profits and pleasures sinnes and corruptions please thee but thou canst not away with the things of the Spirit thou art therefore a naturall man there is therefore no roome for Christ in thy soule therefore there is no true grace yet wrought in thy soule In the 8. of the Rom. 5. 〈◊〉 saith the Text They that are after the flesh doe mind the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit the things of the Spirit Now observe therefore what rellish thou findest in the things 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—low canst thou rellish base courses and ill â—â—â—â—pany is any course or advice taken that may adduce thee unto wickednesse canst thou sweare with the blasphemer and swagger with the drunkard canst thou rellish and appove of these courses but when the Gospell comes and when a man checkes thee for drinking and swearing and tells thee that these things stand not with the kingdome of God the kingdome of Christ consists in righteousnesse and joy and peace in the holy Ghost and thou must deny thy selfe before thou canst receive the Lord Iesus if a man shall tell thee that thou must be pure as Christ himselfe is pure that the Lord Christ Iesus did not come into the world to make men loose and carelesse but holy and righteous to live soberly in this present world and deny all ungodly and worldly lusts to renounce and abhorre these when thou hearest that thou must become a foole that thou mayst 〈◊〉 made wise and that the Lord came to refesh those onely that where laden with the burthen of 〈◊〉 firmes when thou hearest these things how 〈◊〉 thou take them most men may give this answer wee thinke not so wee beleeve it not nay we cannot be perswaded of it is it thus with thee why then the case is ended the tryall is doâ—â— whoever doth not nay cannot receive the thingâ— of God the Gospell of God and the things revealed therein why the Text saith and the
Lord saith that man is a naturall man Now many soule can say I am not perswaded of these things which the Gospell reveales why then the cases cleare thou sayst plainely thou canst not receive the things of God why then the Lord saith the Text saith and God of heaven saith that thou art a naturall man as thou camest into the world and that thou hast not the grace and spirit of Christ But then some may say if I be a natural man what then what hurt is it And therefore in the fourth place it is an use of terrour I presume many that have heard this will say wee are so and shall a man bee ashamed because he is a naturall man Therefore observe from the former doctrine a word of terrour to all naturall creatures under heaven I am almost afraid to speake of the misery of a naturall man my tongue trembles to discover the wretched fearefull damned miserable estate that every naturall man is in you thinke it is nothing to be in a natuturall estate but I tell you did you but know what the Lord hath revealed concerning a naturall man it were enough to breake the backe of a man a naturall man why it is enough to make thee goe sighing to thy grave though thou livest a thousand yeares if thou beest a naturall man thou hast not received Christ nay thou art not neare the things of a better life nay you are not onely still to attaine those things but you are not able to receive the things of the Lord Iesus whereby you may be quickned to entertaine those things and this is that which maketh the soules of naturall men miserable and the misery of those soules the more miserable because they are not onely unwilling to bee out of this condition but they are unwilling to be made willing to be out of it they boast that still they remaine in it for marke what naturall men say they bring a reproach upon Gods Saints and children what say they you are a man of the Spirit you are a spirituall professor one of the holy brethren are you miserable wretch dost thou professe thy selfe that thou art not so but that thou art a naturall man why then thou art a miserable man a naturall man why then a damned man a naturall man why thâ—â— an accursed man thou that professest thou hast no part and portion in the Lord Iesus take heede that one day hee doth not professe that hee hath no part in thee Rom. 8.9 If any man hath 〈◊〉 the Spirit of Christ Rom. 8.9 he is none of his thou that dost make a matter of mocking at those that doe walke uprightly before God and that have the Spirit of God in them thou that proclamest to the world that thou hast not the Spirit of God the Lord proclaimes it as openly to thee that the Lord Iesus will not owne thee hee will have nothing to doe with thee and then what shall become of thee 〈◊〉 the devill must take thee at the last day when all flesh shall appeare before the judgement seate of God and the booke shall be opened and the actions of men made manifest to Saints and Angells Oh one drop of mercy then one dram of comfort then will bee worth a world Oh then you will wish Oh that Christ would save us no no you that were naturall men Christ will not owne you now you had none at all of the Spirit you have opposed the good Spirit of God and flouted it these are your spirituall men these are your holy ones thus you have mocked and blasphemed you have sayd the Spirit of Christ is not mine and therefore Christ saith hee is none of thine thy estate therefore here is miserable but thrice wretched and miserable will it be hereafter men may imagine great matters and boast of themselves of their riches and their wisedome and their honour and preferment in the world but if they be naturall there is small good at all in them they may have lands and preferments and honours but they have small good in them and therefore miserable needs must their estate bee here but farre worse hereafter Doe not thinke ye may climbe up to heaven by your owne imaginations good Lord how can a man that is in a naturall condition sleepe quietly with what contentment can hee walke when a man goeth into his fields to recreate and delight himselfe and then considers the meanes that God hath offred him whereby hee might attaine unto grace and salvation when the soule thinks with it selfe I may goe into my ground to be eased and refreshed but alas I am but a naturall man what therefore shall become of this poore soule of mine he considers with himselfe I am but in a naturall condition and therefore in a miserable damned condition and then when hee returnes home still this strikes in his minde I aâ—â— but naturall flesh and blood and therefore never shall receive any spirituall comfort but when these things shall neither helpe me nor I be helpefull unto them Oh what then shall become of me I have had no part in Christ here and therefore I can never looke that hee will owne me hereafter it is a great evill for a man to have no good but this is the misery of a man that hee cannot procure any good and this is the misery of all miseries that he cannot desire to be out of this misery and yet this is the condition of every naturall man you therefore that are naturall goe into comers and mourne for your selves and those that belong unto you and for those to whom you have relation you husbands that have wives which be naturall and you wives who have naturall husbands goe and mourne for them and for you selves and sigh to heaven for mercy and pray to God that hee would be mercifull unto them and forgive them their sinnes and bring them out of their naturall estate and make them able to entertaine Christ and grace and salvation Parents mourne for your children that are naturall when thou lookest upon thy child whom thou dearely lovest and whom perhaps hath good naturall parts and is obedient unto thee in outward respects when thou beholdest this child of thine and considerest that hee is in a naturall estate then this may peirce thee to the very heart then thou mayst burst out and say woe is me that this child of mine was ever borne for he is in a naturall condition and therefore in a miserable condition hee is a naturall child and herefore a child of the divell truly he is my sonne and for ought I know if God have not mercy upon him the child of the divell also a naturall child is a damned child a naturall man is an accursed man consider this doth not the Word say this doth not the Lord say this that a naturall man cannot receive the things of God and therefore deale with your owne soules and with the soules of
thy friends as men use to doe with those that are sicke hast thou a child or a husband sicke of any disease thou goest to the Phisitian to aske his counsell concerning the diseases he tells the disease is not dangerous and deadly it may be helped and if hee be but able to receive those things which he shall prescribe he will warrant his recovery but now if the disease continue and hee be not able to take any food on receive any Phisicke then the disease cannot bee helped health cannot be procured you that are naturall men you are sicke of corruptions the disease I must confesse is not deadly if you can but take mercy receive grace which is the phisick of the soule then you may recover but as long as you remaine in your naturall estate you can receive no spirituall foode no spirituall phisicke but cast up all and therefore you are gone you are but dead men I tell you you have many brethren many friends many children that are sicke I tell you they are proud and carelesse and loose and prophane but this is their greatest miserie above all the rest they cannot take any spirituall foode they cannot receive any spirituall good thing but cast up all and vomit up all the 〈◊〉 of the Gospell prevailes not your counsell they will not heare the Ministers exhort admonish reprove they will not regard they cannot away with any spirituall phisicke I tell you this will be their death and if God be not mercifull their damnation also and therefore goe and mourne for your children and for your friends if they be naturall and pray for them When a man is sicke of some disease if hee can take no foode if no phisicke will stay with him nor worke upon him 〈◊〉 he casts up all then his wife shee sits in one corner of the house weeping and his children in another corner mourning and lamenting now if one comes in and askes them how doth your husband or how doth your father Oh then they fallâ— wringing their hands Oh my father or my husband is but a dead man if hee could but take any thing then there were some hope of life but 〈◊〉 nothing will stay with him but as soone as he takes it he vomits it up againe and therefore now there is no expectation of his recovery this is the condition of many of your friends and children they can take nothing which should doe them good they can receive no spirituall good things 〈◊〉 counsell can take place with them the word of God prevailes not with them O mourne for them therefore they are in a miserable estate they 〈◊〉 but dead men they will be damned if they could but receive the things of the Spirit then there were some comfort but alas how can a man receive salvation is it not by the Word why then if the Word will not prevaile with them or take any place in them nor worke upon them how then shall they come to salvation why they must therefore be damned they must therefore perish they must be cast into utter confusion and destruction for evermore Oh mourne therefore and pray for those which belong unto you if they be in a naturall condition In the last place if it be so dangerous to bee in a naturall condition then it is a word of exhortation to you all that you would labour to get out of this naturall corruption I intreate you for the Lord Iesus sake as you love your owne soules whoever you be that heare this doctrine if you be naturall men give no sleepe unto your eyes not slumber unto your eye lids give no rest to your soules nor contentment to your hearts untill you have studied by all meanes possible to recover your selves out of your naturall condition beginne speedily and persevere constantly in the meanes that God hath appointed that the Lord may bestow that power upon you whereby you may bee enabled to receive grace and salvation offered you that so it may goe well with you for ever Iohn 3.27 there saith the Text Iohn 3.27 a man cannot receive any thing unlesse it be given him from heaven so then the case is cleare though thou of thy selfe canst not receive grace and salvation yet God can give abilitie to receive them away therefore from yourselves look up higher flie unto God for strength and sufficiencie I would have such a naturall man feare continually that God will cut him off and than he is damned for ever Oh consider of 〈◊〉 a naturall man why hee may be affraid that Gods judgements will every moment in every place 〈◊〉 upon him both at home abroad within without hee may feare they will fall upon him upon every occasion hee meetes withall when heâ— goeth in the way when hee sitteth still when 〈◊〉 eates when he sleepes what businesse soever hee is about in every place at all times upon all occasions hee may feare that the curse of God will fall upon him A naturall man may continually stand in feare and consider if God should cut 〈…〉 by death what then would become of me my body must returne to the ground and my soule that 〈◊〉 go into everlasting torments in hell fire among 〈◊〉 devill and his angels where the worme never 〈◊〉 nor the fire never goeth out and therefore sure 〈◊〉 estate is woefull and my condition miserable 〈◊〉 you will say a naturall man cannot receive 〈◊〉 good why should hee then be counselled to receive the things of God as grace and salvation this is a cavill of Bellarmin and thus I answer it we have no spirituall abilitie in our selves to performe any spirituall duty but yet wee have ability to performe some morall actions a man hath restaining and preventing grace whereby he is able to waiâ—â— upon God in the meanes that so he may be enabled to receive grace and therefore as long as the parts and members of your bodies and the faculties of your soules continue as long as your understandings and memories indure why cannot you bestow your bodies to come to Church as well as to goe to the Alehouse why cannot you bestow your eyes as well in reading as in carding and dicing God hath given you liberty to use these meanes that so you might receive grace and therefore this objection is onely a cavill of Bellarmine God doth not punish a man because he cannot get faith but because he will not use the meanes whereby he might get faith wee may waite upon God in his ordinances wee may attend upon the meanes these things you may doe and those things you have power to doe you may doe naturall and civill actions and therefore you should imploy your selves in hearing the Word and reading and praying you should use the meanes which God ordained for the working of grace in yours soules when you come under the ministery of God hereby you may be converted and therefore you must come that so grace may
the one and give the other First if we consider the nature of the stony heart and the distempers thereof it will appeare that it must bee the worke of the Lord onely to take it away and not to follow any other similituds then the Text affords I will shew the similitude and resemblance that is betweene the sturdy stout heart of a sinner and a stone by which it shall bee made manifest that none but the Almighty power of God is able to remoove it Now in a stone observe three particulars which discover the nature of it first the ground of all the hardnesse which is in the stone is from hence there is a close fastning combining and knitting of the parts together which is the ground of the hardnesse that is therein as for example take a path if it be continually plowed up it will bee soft and loose but if many walke upon it if it be continually trod upon then it will be hard what is the reason of this namely this hardnesse proceeds from the close fastning and setling of the earth together this it is which makes the way hard but if it were daily plowed and the earth continually loosened it would then 〈…〉 soft but when there is a naturall fastning and compiling of the earth together it cannot but bâ—e hard Secondly from this fastning of the parts of a stone together as there comes hardnesse so also from this hardnesse ariseth a great strength in the stone and that is the reason that the hardest things are marvelous strong a child before his joynts be setled is but weake he is not come to his strength but a man when his parts are setled and his joynts throughly knit together then wee use to say bee is come to his full strength and so it is in mettals those mettals that are closest knit together and most nearely concocted they are sayd to bee strongest mettalls as Gold is sayd to be a stronger mettall then Silver and Silver is sayd to bee a stronger mettall then Lead because the parts thereof are more nearely setled and more closely concocted So it is the nature of stones those stones whose parts are most combined together as Flints they are sayd to be the hardest stones and those whose parts are not so closely knit they are sayd to be more soft and of lesse strength Thirdly from the hardnesse and strength of a stone there comes a resistance against any thing from without it because the parts of a stone are knit together therefore it is hard and from the hardnesse thereof proceedes strength and being hard and strong in the third place it resists and beaâ—s backe any thing that falls upon it as if you knocke against a stone with a hammer it resists it and makes it â—lie backe by reason of the strength and hardnesse of it Even so it is with the soule of every poore sinner of 〈◊〉 sinfull creature under heaven it hath an inward secret kind of union betweene sinne and its selfe betweene corruption and its owne nature The heart of a poore sinfull soule hath a neere combination with sinne there is a fast closure betweene sinne and the soule and therefore sinne in the Scripture is tearmed by the name of the old man as who should say The sinne and corruption that is in a poore sinner is as it were another nature in him in so much that the union and combination that is betweene sinne and the soule is farre stronger then any other bond of nature and this is the reason of that phrase Luke 21.16 there saith the Text Luke 21.16 Yee shall be betrayed also of your parents and of your brethren and kinsmen and some of you shall be put to death and yee shall be hated of men all for my names sake this is the reason because the union that is betweene sinne and the soule of a wicked man exceeds all other bonds of nature as for example if a naughtie wicked father have a godly religious child the father will neglect those duties to his child which even nature it selfe 〈…〉 him to performe and if a wicked lewd for the 〈◊〉 a good father he will not discharge those 〈◊〉 unto him which nature binds him unto but the â—ather he hates the sonne and the sonne he hates 〈◊〉 father the mother hates the daughter 〈…〉 daughter hates the mother and they breake 〈◊〉 bonds both of nature and religion the 〈◊〉 father will doe any thing against his sonne before the bond that is betweene sinne 〈…〉 soule shall be broken before this union 〈…〉 broken he will not abide the presence of his sinne nay that which is most unreasonable to consider a wicked lewd ungracious man will lose his life he will spend his owne heart blood before hee will leave one sinfull beloved lust or corruption and the reason of this is because there is a nearer 〈◊〉 on and a closer combination betweene sinne and the soule then betweene all relation that nature can put upon a man insomuch that a man will rather have his sinnes and his lusts then his owne child nay such is the union betweene sinne and the soule that it becomes 〈◊〉 God unto the soule looke as it is with a stone the parts thereof being closely fastned and nearely setled together it becomes marveilous strong and hard so when God hath forsaken the soule and it closeth with his corruptions this union that is betweene the soule and its corruptions is marveilous strong and firme nay so strong and firme that there is no meanes under heaven no creature in the world that is able to breake this union and dissolve this combination that is betweene sinne and the soule unlesse the Lord by his Almighty power come and breake this concord and conspiracy that is betweene sinne and the soule against himselfe and the glory of his name and for the truth hereof observe this all outward meanes are too scant too narrow too short to breake the union betweene the soule and sinne as it is with the body of a man if there were a great and an old distemper in a mans stomacke if a man should put a rich doublet upon him and lay him in a Featherbed and use all other outward meanes this would doe him no good because the disease is within and is become as it were another nature in him it is an old distemper that hath eaten into his very bowels and therefore all outward meanes cannot make a separation betweene the disease and the body because the disease being inward they cannot come neare it Iust so it is with the soule of a man a mans heart will have his sinne there is an inward combination betweene the soule and sinne now all meanes as the Word and the like is outward and can doe no good in this kind they cannot break the union betweene a mans heart and his corruptions unlesse God give a blessing to these meanes unlesse the Lord by his Almighty power and
why though you be not able yet here is the comfort of a poore foule the worke is the Lords and he whose worke it is is able to bring it to passe what though thou beest weake yet God is strong and therefore quiet thy soule and content thy heart a man may say I have a hard heart from within and it will receive no good from without the Word prevailes not the Sacraments have no power over me why all the meanes and cost and charges that God hath bestowed upon me is lost and my heart is not yet humbled my corruptions are not yet weakened be yet comforted though meanes cannot doe it which God useth at his pleasure though these cannot doe it yet the Lord can doe it there is nothing hard or difficult to him that hath hardnesse it selfe at command hee is a God which hath all things at command hee can command the devill himselfe and therefore hee hath the hardnesse of thy heart at command also there is nothing hard to him that hath hardnesse at his command nay though all things be impossible to man yet nothing is impossible with God God can doe what man not meanes cannot the Lord hee sheweth mercy upon us why because wee will no because he wills and though we cannot cast away our sinnes yet the Lord will remove them Oh then saith the soule this is somewhat comfortable that the Lords mercie depends not upon my will but upon Gods will And I would tell you somewhat by experience in this kinde for I knew one that was over whelmed with dispaire a whole yeare together because hee thought hee had committed the sinne against the holy Ghost and yet at last was comforted by this meanes he refolved with himselfe if my conversion were in my will onely then I should be damned but it is not because I will but because God will doe good to my poore soule aye but the soule will say I confesse it is not in my will but it is in Gods will that hee sheweth mercy and this is some comfort yet but oh my corruptions are old sinnes of a long time can those be pardoned they are become as another nature in me can those therefore be removed yes the Lord is able to remove those also for saith the Prophet the Lord hath laid salvation upon the mightie so that though thy corruptions be mightie and powerfull yet there is a mighty God that is able to undoe that cursed combination that is betweene thy soule and thy corruptions and therefore quiet thy selfe in the consideration hereof and say I must confesse that I have many corruptions but the mighty Lord of hosts hath promised that hee will take away my stony heart and give me a heart of flesh and hee is able to doe it also be herein quieted and supported and looke up to heaven for comfort In the third place it is a word of exhortation to all those that are in the bond of iniquitie and under the power of Satan to those which carry a stony heart about them it is a word of exhortation to these see your owne wants and be exhorted in the name of the Lord Iesus to have recourse to this great God and intreate him to take away your stony heart from you looke as it is with men if there be a Physition of excellent skill that cures all diseases that are brought unto him why then all men will repaire to him why so it is here God alone is able to doe this cure for us and herefore he should have our custome if a man should set up a bill upon the market post that he would cure all that come to him which were troubled with the stone in the reines or any other grievous disease and if wee should meete with many comming from him that were healed by him why then wee would be ready to say such a one went and hee was healed such a one went and hee was cured and this will stirre up all to repaire unto him and every one would bring those that appertaine unto them and were troubled with this disease unto him that they might be cured by him the Lord hath set up a bill this day that he will cure all those that come unto him of their stony heart and all the Sonnes of God have found proofe hereof to the comfort of their owne soules the Lord is hee that will doe this hee will take away your stony heart you wives therefore that have husbands which have stony hearts and you parents that have children that are troubled with stony hearts goe home with comfort and tell them that you have heard this day of a Phisitian that will undertake to cure them of this disease and exhort them therefore to repaire unto him Our Saviour Christ when hee had healed many of their diseases the Text saith in the third of Matthew That all came unto him and brought their sicke that hee might heale them In the bowells of the Lord Iesus be intreated you that have stony hearts to goe unto the Lord that so you may be cured you were better have a milstone about your neckes then have this stony heart we have all of us this stony heart more or lesse as it is with a man that hath beene cured of a disease perhaps the disease is much mitigated but there will still be much weakenes and some reliques of the disease remaining in him a long time after So the Sonnes of God have the strength of this stony heart somewhat lessened and abated in them but they are not altogether freed from it but those that were never cured of this disease those that never had this stony heart in any measure removed they were better have a milstone about their neckes for it will sinke them into the bottomlesse pit of hell and destruction if death take them away while they carrie this stony heart about them they will be surely damned therefore 〈◊〉 them as they love their owne soules be 〈…〉 and perswaded to come to this Physitian God 〈◊〉 I will take away your stony hearts and I will 〈◊〉 you hearts of flesh come therefore and 〈…〉 selves to the hammer of God that your stony hearts may be taken away when you 〈◊〉 this Ministers teach then say Lord I beseech 〈◊〉 teach thou mee in the meane time when the Minister perswades then say Lord doe thou over rule and perswade this sinnefull heart of mine take thou away this power of corruptions which is in my heart and remove thou the rebellions of my heart goe home and be exhorted to goe to this Physition and importune the Lord in this case put him in minde of all those many savours which he hath vouchsafed to you put the Lord in remembrance of that which he hath desired in his Word Oh that people had such hearts as would feare me and keepe my Commandements alwayes say unto the Lord that it is as easie for him to create such hearts in you as to
doth beseech thee to give way to this exhortation of his all meanes should have beene embraced all opportunities should have beene entertained all Ministers should have beene heard and regarded but principally these things belonging to thy peace especially in this thy day 〈◊〉 not to have beene rejected thy Saviour above all other should not have beene refused and conâ—â—â—ned and then hee falls a weeping and then 〈◊〉 mournes Oh that thou hadst knowne these things in this thy day and then his heart even breakâ—◠〈◊〉 hee weepes againe Oh but now they bee hidden from thine eyes thou shalt never receive the like favour againe the like opportunitie shall never hereafter bee offered Wee will first handle the fir circumstance but before I can come to deliver the poin plainely and nakedly give mee leave a little to open the meaning of this word day knâ—w therefore thus much that this word in phrase of Scripture discovereth unto us that time or that percell of time which God hath set out in his providence for any particular service As it was in the creation of the world when the Lord made all things the Lord turned an houre glasse as it were and set downe the time wherein every thing was made God said let there bee light and there was light and the evening and the morning was the first day then God said let there be a firmament and there was so and the evening and the morning were the second day and here is the stoppe and stay that God maketh to the creature as who should say as every thing hath a day wherein it was made so every thing hath a day wherein it workes and the Lord hath limited a certaine time to every action that every creature is able to performe and which God requires of it so that observe a mans day in generall is nothing but the time of his lifeâ— besides this a day discovereth the passages of Gods providence and that speciall nicke of opportunitie that God hath layd out for every particular act as God hath appointed a day wherein anguish and greefe shall come upon us and that is sayd to bee the day of trouble â—all upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you saith the Psalmist there is a day of tryall also in the third of Hebr. 8. harden not your hearts as in the day of tryall or temptation in the Wildernesse and there is a day of visitation also as wee may see in this Chapter verse 44. They shall lay thee even with the ground and thy children within thee and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another because thou knewst not the day of thy visitation Ierusalem was like a sicke person as indeede all sinners are sicke men now the Lord Iesus being the great Physition of the world came to visit Ierusalem When he sent his balme from Gilead the glad tidings of grace and salvation then the Lord did visit Ierusalem for the healing comforting and saving of her and this was Ierusalem day So that then the day of a man is the time of his life together with that parcell of time that God hath alotted him for every particular worâ—e and the day of a man which belongs to his visitation is that particular opportunitie wherein grace is offered and salvation tendred unto him as there is a day of trouble and a day of tryall so in the third place there is a day of salvation and a day of visitation which is that particular season wherein God sends his faithfull messengers to dispense the meanes of life and salvation unto a people O that thou hadst knowne as if Christ should have said O yee inhabitants of Ierusalem while the word of life lasteth and the meanes of grace and salvation is continued unto you this is your day and this is the meaning of the word every man hath his day more or lesse as Ierusalem had when the meanes of salvation were discovered unto it The doctrine with which we will grapple is thus much namely That while life is continued the meanes of grace salvation afforded to a people that is the season wherein God meaneth to worke upon their hearts effectually that they may receive life and salvation It is true when Corne failes God can send Manna from heaven God can use extraordinary meanes to bring men to life and salvation and happinesse but men must not looke now for extraordinary conversions they must not expect to be miraculously saved as in former times some were when the meanes of salvation was revealed onely to the people of the Iewes Rahab indeede and Iob that had not the meanes of salvatition so apparently revealed unto them but had onely â—â—inckling of the happinesse that God had wrought for his people this wrought upon them and prevailed with their hearts and by the power of the Almighty God brought them to the knowledge of the things belonging to salvation But in the common course of God if ever soule now be converted it must be by the ministery of the word that is our day that is our time that is the speciall season wherein God will vouchsafe to looke upon poore sinners and convert them unto himselfe if a man were not alive meanes would not profit him and if a man were alive and had no meanes hee could get no good neither but when both these goe together then is the time wherein God offereth life and salvation then is the season wherein God if ever will worke upon the soule of a sinner to make him fit to entertaine things belonging to his peace We must handle two parts in the point first that a mans life is part of this season secondly that the meanes offered in that season is the making up of the point wee will prove both parts severally and then make uses of them both together First wee will proove that the time of a mans life is part of the season wherein God will worke effectually upon him for his everlasting comfort Eccles 9.10 in the in the ninth of Ecclesiastes 10. there saith the wise man Whatsoever thy hand findeth to doe doe it with thy might for there is no worke nor device nor knowledge nor wisedome in the grave whither thou goest as though he had sayd if there be any thing that God requireth of thee If there be any duty that ought to be discharged by the labour whilst thou livest to doe it And now be carefull to performe it for when death shall close thine eyes and thy body returneth to the grave then there is no more teaching no more hearing no more expecting of grace and mercy from God and wee shall finde in course of Scripture that a man shall receive according tot hat he hath done in the flesh while a man lives here he is in the time of trading and the time after this life is the time of enjoying in this life is the time of labouring and the time to come
is the time of rewarding as our trading and labouring is here in this life so shall our injoying and rewarding be hereafter in the life to come A◠〈◊〉 soweth so shall a man reape Gal. 6.8 if hee sow to the flesh he shall reape to the flesh Gal. 6.8 if hee yeeld to the corruptions of his owne nature and gives way thereunto and be carried aside thereby hee shall have the wages of sinne but hee that is willing for to stoope to the Commandements of God he that serves God here and walkes uprightly before him shall receive everlasting life and eternall happinesse hereafter and so much for the proofe of the first Point after this life is once ended there is no hope of life and salvation Secondly together with our lives wee must also have the meanes of grace continued unto us for the making up of that season wherein God will if ever fit us and prepare us for mercy I meane by the meanes of grace the preaching of the Gospell for this was one part of Ierusalems day here spoken of and therefore this is the second part of every mans day namely when we have the glad tidings of the Gospell vouchsafed unto us 2 Cor. 6.2 in 2. Cor. 6.2 the Apostle doth conclude that when the meanes of life and salvation is afforded this is the time of salvation he laieth his finger as it were upon the season of life and happinesse for he saith I have heard thee in a time accepted and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee now some may say when is this time of salvation The Apostle doth particularly make this good in the words following now saith hee behold is the accepted time behold now is the day of salvation Now while the Lord is pleased to vouchsafe the meanes of grace and salvation to you and to send the Doctrine of salvation among you why now is the time accepted now is the day of your salvation Luke 19.9 and therefore Luke 19.9 Zacheus when hee had a strong desire to see Christ and to meete with the Lord Iesus and could not by reason of the prease hee gets him out of the croud and came before into a Sycamore tree that so hee might the better behold him but before Zacheus could see Christ Christ saw him and calleth to him Make haste Zacheus and come downe for to day I must abide at thy house and Zacheus made haste and came downe joyfully and then the Lord Iesus when hee came with him to his house said unto him this day is salvation come unto this house why because this day hee was made the sonne of Abraham as wee may see in the words following this day it pleased Christ to bring that desire of Zacheus unto some perfection this was the day of Zacheus while then the Word is revealed and while the meanes of happinesse is laid open while God makes a tender of grace and salvation to a soule this is the day of every mans salvation so then wee have the proofe of the point plaine out of Scripture namely that while life and the meanes last that is the season that God hath appointed and set apart to doe good to the soules of those whom hee meaneth to convert unto himselfe The next thing to be considered is the reason of this how it commeth to be thus that the time of a mans life and the time wherein God vouchsafeth the meanes that this is the time wherein God offereth salvation to a poore soule and wee will lay downe the reasons of both parts severally First concerning the time of a mans life and the reason of this is because when this crazie frame of ours beginnes to be dissolved then comes Gods definitive sentence Gods definitive verdict then passes upon a man God then passeth a sentence upon a â—an which hee never meaneth to recall a man at the time of his death when death closeth a mans eyes hee is then either everlastingly happy or else everlastingly miserable there is then afterwards no alteration to be expected Heb. 9.27 There saith the Text Heb. 9 27. it is appointed for all men once to die but after that comes judgement as death leaves a man so judgement findes a man hee doth not say after death comes amendment after death comes repentance after death comes Purgatory no no this is a dreame of the Papists they thinke that a man may after death be in trouble a while and be in Purgatorie and then be brought out by the treasure of the Church but alas this is a vaine dreame to inlarge the Popes coffers and to make the Popes Kitchin hot as Divines use to say that so the Pope may have a great deale of money they say if a man have leâ— never so wicked a life if yet he will bestow such a legacie upon the Popes holinesse though hee have beene in Purgatory a great while hee shall yet by the treasure of the Church be released but this is a fond foolish sottish dreame the case is plaine enough after death judgement comes next a man shall either goe into everlasting happinesse or else into everlasting confusion there is no third place for a soule to goe unto but a man must either goe to hell for ever or to heaven for ever every man that is saved is saved by Christ Ioh. 3.36 Ioh. 3.36 He that beleeveth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that beleeveth not the Sonne shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him so then now if a man beleeve in Christ hee is perfectly saved if he beleeve not in Christ hee is pâ—â—fectly damned Ioh. 3.18 Ioh. 3.18 Hee that beleeveth on him is not condemned but hee that beleeveth not is condemned already that is hee hath one foote in hell as it were hee is now in the gall of bitternesse and if hee liveth thus and endeth his dayes in this condition hee shall as surely be damned and goe to hell as if hee were there already All that beleeve in Christ are fully saved and therefore to heaven they must goe 〈◊〉 if they beleeve not in Christ they are as surely damned and therefore to hell they must go so theâ— the case is cleare the sentence of God is firâ—â— and the virdict that God passeth upon a 〈◊〉 sinner at thet time of death is most certaine there is no repealing of the sentence there is no recalling of the verdict and this is the reason why the time of a mans life is the season wherein 〈◊〉 man shall receive grace and salvation if ever hee receive it The second thing to be prooved is this why the meanes of salvation makes up the opportunitie wherein God meaneth to save poore sinners if 〈◊〉 they be converted and wee shall observe that the ground of this lieth in the very nature of a season if wee aske what makes a season of grace I answer that it will appeare that only the revelation of
hearing while we are all living now is the time 2 Cor. 6.2 now is the season it is in 2 Cor. 6.2 the Text saith I have heard thee in a time accepted and in a day of salvation have I succoured thee behold now is the accepted time now is the day of salvation Whilst Ministers are calling upon you and you are living though they cannot give you grace nor you of your selves receive grace yet wee have the promise in the accepted time God will heare us even now while I am speaking and you are hearing this the very day of salvation and therefore let us not turne the deafe eare upon the Lord but while opportunity is affoorded let us make use of it while the Lord is pleased to continue opportunities unto us let us embrace them hee that never heard let him heare now hee that never prayed let him pray now it is now high time to awake out of that cursed securitie wherein wee have a long time lien the Lord is come neare unto us even to the very next doore Christ Iesus is calling and mercie is intreating and wisedome is even hoarse with crying after us there is nothing but a heart wanting mercy is offered we ought therefore to entertaine it the meanes of salvation are revealed therefore we ought for to embrace them Cant. 2.10 Cant. 2.10 there saith the Text My beloved spake and said unto me Rise up my love my faire one and come away for the winter is past and the raine is over and gone the flowers appeare on the earth and the time of the singing of birds is come and the voyce of the turtle is heard in our Land thus God speaketh to you this day those words are made good to every soule that heareth me this day God calleth to every poore sinner the Church was then in misery and so the Lord speaketh to every poore soule thou art in the grave of thy sinnes arise my love my dove the time of persecution is past and the voyce of the turtle is yet heard the Ministers of God are preaching to us and wooing of us and saying the Spring time of grace is now present The Lord saith unto us as to the Church there rise and come out of those sinnefull courses wherein you are he pluckes the adulterer out of his leud practises and hee calls the proud man out of his wicked courses and the covetous man out of his counting house and from the things here below and bids them come unto the house of the Lord that he may speake comfort and consolation to their soules the Lord doth even strive with us and labours every way to plucke us out of our base and sinnefull courses the Lord dealeth with us Ezeck 12.3 as he did with Israel Ezeck 12.3 there saith the Text Prepare thou sonne of man thee stuffe for removing and remove by day in their sight and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place it may be they will consider though they be a rebellious people as if hee had said it may be when all these meanes are used it may be at last they will be perswaded and performe that which I require of them it is a lively patterne of Gods speciall providence over us in this Land God hath not dealt thus with other Nations hee hath passed by other people and hath let the Gospell abide among us the sound of the Gospell an inkeling of it hath beene in other countries but hee hath commanded the Gospell to abide with us twentie thirtie fortie sixtie yeares wee have yet the Gospell among us we are yet in peace and prosperitie we enjoy those liberties that thousands of our poore brethren want and would attaine unto many have had some meanes but wee have had all meanes we have had famine for to affright us the Plague to awaken us and peace to cheere us nay the Gospell and meanes of salvation are still continued to us the Lord saith preach still continue still calling and still crying to the people of England that so if it be possible their proud hearts may be humbled their sturdy hearts may be softned their unregenerate hearts may be converted and their soules may be saved The second cavill is this the soule may say though the opportunity be now present yet there is time enough the day is long enough for the answer hereof I will goe no further then the Text saith O that thou hadst knowne the things belonging to thy peace in this thy day but now they are hidden from thine eyes The day of a mans life is very uncertaine no man knoweth how long he shall live who knoweth not what our lives are bubbles and vapours and flowers how soone are the bubbles downe how soone are the vapours vanisht how soone doe the flowers fade nay many of us are in our middle age nay some of us are in our old age wee have one foote already in the grave and how soone may these flowers wither how soone may these men returne unto the earth and then what will become of all their expectations It is good saith the wise man to injoy the present time while life and strength continue young men will bee ready to say I will take my owne content now and hereafter I will returne unto the Lord I will gather the flower while it is greene and while I am young I will not spend my dayes in mourning I will not breake my heart with sighing and sorrowing for my sinnes but when I grow crooked and aged and sit at home then I will repent and 〈◊〉 unto the Lord and become a new man those young men say unto repentance as Felix did to Paul go thy wayes now I will heare thee another time so say they to repentance hereafter when there comes a convenient time I will repeâ—t I will be holy and obedient and turne over a new leafe and become a new man but now let me make use of the treasurie of my youth and because I am in the strength of my yeares therefore I will follow my pleasures O foole O foole I say unto thee as Christ did to the rich man in the Gospell this night thy soule may be taken from thee and then what will become of thy thoughts plots and plojects thy bed may become thy grave and then what will become of thy poore soule the divells may drag it into hell It was the word of the rich man when he had filled his barnes full of goods and his purse full of money then he saith unto his soule Soule take thy rest thou hast goods layd up for many yeares take thy cups saith the drunkard take thy whore saith the adulterer Oh foole this night the divell may hale thy soule into everlasting confusion how knowest thou but that sentence may bee given upon thee which was given upon him and then there will be no repentance in the grave But bee it so that thy life may continue which is
very uncertaine though thy day continue yet the day of grace happily will not continue that is but a minute of the particular time of thy day if God take away the light of the Gospell thou mayst die so hunger and thirst and never come to the like mercies never receive the like incouragements thou that heretofore hast despised a faithfull Minister it may bee thou shalt never see the face of a good Minister more hereafter and then what shall become of all thy faire hopes and goodly expectations Oh then when the market is done thou wilt come too late to buy salvation thou shalt never receive those benefits and meanes of grace and salvation againe which thou hast neglected Nay consider that this which I have spoken may be the case of any one in this congregation every man hath his day I gave her a time to repent saith the Lord of wicked Iesabel but shee would not the Lord would have plucked her out of her bed of downe and from the armes of her lovers into a bed of sorrow shee hath now paine for her pleasure and sorrow for her jollitie who knoweth but this may be my day and thy day and every particular mans day When the word of God comes home to the soule of a man and the Lord is pleased to knocke at the conscience of a poore sinner he may then breake out into admiration and say is it thus is the Lord so compassionate that notwithstanding all my rebellions hee is still pleased to strive with mee nay to mourne over me as hee did over Ierusalem O that thou hadst knowne at least in this thy day the things belonging to thy peace many mercies hath the Lord let into my soule to allute me many judgements to terrifie me many promises to perswade me and hath used all meanes possible to bring mee to a better life no mercy equalls this no goodnesse is to be compared with this thus take notice of the mercies of God towards you and go aside and make good use of those good motions that God by his Spirit shall suggest into your soules and if the Lord hath almost perswaded thee to be a Christian oh then make much of those blessed motions and beginne to be a new man presently oh goe home and say if God doe thus strive and struggle with me in particular then resolve and say this is my day if there be any soule here present that it hath pleased God thus to move oh know and consider that this is thy particular time thy particular season say and remember that such a time thou hadst a faire offer it may be he that now moves and perswades thee and intreats thee to come to everlasting life and happinesse it may be hee will never looke after thee more And now what remaineth more when a man resolves that this is his day and that now the Lord comes neare unto him but even then presently to breake off all impediments and leape over all blockes that lie in his way and resolve thenceforward to bid adue to all his corruptions hee should consider with himselfe and say seeing the Lord doth even mourningly strive with me for my good then I will never attend more to those lusts I will never yeeld more to those occasions that have gotten the mastery over me I would wish every poore soule to take up this resolution to give a bill of divorcement to his sinnes and never to see the face of his corruptions any more to doe this now will be a very hard thing I know it and experience proves it your lusts will cleave to you and hang about you you would be loath to part with your old corruptions old friends that have beene of old acquaintance for these to be shaken off on a sudden this will be very grievous S. Austin speaking of his conversion confesseth this his sinnes did hang about him and he was loath to leave them and forsake them he was often perswaded by the motions of Gods Spirit to returne from his wicked courses and become a new man but hee was loath to part with his beloved lusts and therefore thought hee might have time enough to repent afterwards but at length hee tooke up this resolution to breake through all impediments and brake out into those words Why not to day Lord why not to day hee had dallied too often and deferred too long and therefore now hee resolved to goe thorough stitch in this case he resolved to doe so and kept his resolution Why do you as he did and say why not to day Lord why not to day you could be content on your death beds to be drunke no more why cannot you as well to day resolve to be sober the adulterer when he lies upon his death bed wil not endure so much as to look upon his Quene why should hee not as well abstaine from this base sinne to day wee know not whether the meanes may be taken from us or wee from the meanes and therefore when the Lord saith My face seeke you answer againe and say thy face Lord will we seeke But there are yet some shifts still behind which must be answered the heart will yet be ready further to reply suppose God call and I refuse may I not heare this call againe hereafter I answer take heede of that for the text saith here they are now hidden from thine eyes yee are not Authours and Patrons of this grace yee are not givers of this mercy it is of Gods free love to offer mercy and salvation unto you and therefore especially take heed of this conceit he that offereth grace unto thee now if thou refusest it may chance never to give it thee hereafter though thou greatly desirest it and earnestly seekest after it he that now holdeth out a golden Scepter to entertaine thee may afterwards have an iron rod to breake thee in pieces if thou dost not accept his kinde offer and come in unto him he that now doth perswade thee to receive mercy at his hands while hee offers it that God hereafter may seale up thy heart in stupidnesse and benummednesse for ever if thou dost not embrace it that Spirit which now strives with thee may never strive more that Spirit may never worke upon thee more and then when the gate is shut you may knocke till your heart ake as the foolish Virgins did and yet never get in you may then howle and crie and call and knocke and yet with Esaâ— you shall not obtaine a blessing though you seeke it even with teares but the Lord will answer Depart from mee yee workers of iniquitie I know you not it will be just with God to take away those holy motions of his blessed Spirit which you have slighted to take away that mercy which you have despised take heede that doe not befall you which shall befall all despisers of grace and salvation Pro. 1.24 there saith the text Because I have called and yee have
refused Pro. 1.24 because I stretched out my hand and none would regard but ye have despised all my counselle and yee would none of my correction I will also laugh at your destruction and mocke when your feare commeth when your feare commeth like sudden desolation and your destruction as a whirlewind There was a time when the Lord called to all despisers of grace and refusers of mercie how long and how often but they that would not heare the time will come when the Lord will say I will laugh at your destruction when a poore sinnefull creature at the day of judgement shall come before the Lord of glory the devill drawing him and then the Lord shall laugh at him and say how often have I sent unto you and called upon you and you would not heare nor regard me Behold men and Angels this is the man this is hee that contemned my Word and slighted the meanes of salvation and therefore laugh at him mocke at his destruction Oh what will become of that man then when the Lord of mercy shall not onely take mercy from him when the God of goodnesse shall not onely take goodnesse from him but shall laugh at his confusion and shall rejoyce when hee executes his judgements upon this man to his everlasting destruction and therefore I beseech you take heede of this dangerous conceit The fourth shift is this if all will not work upon the soule then it falls upon this is it so that grace and mercie being neglected they shall never be obtained why then it takes up this conclusion if I never have grace and mercy then I can live without it oh foole if there were any creature of this distemper in this congregation I may speake terrible things unto that soule when a man is brought to this passe that he cares not what becomes of his soule when hee sayes what matter is it if I have not grace is this such a losse When a soule is come to this oh then he is in a miserable cōdition in a woefull lamentable estate is it no matter to be saved is it no matter to be comforted is it no matter to be glorified eternally what matter is it to lose grace Nay what availeth it to live frolickely here and miserably hereafter What matter is it to neglect grace here and to be deprived of glory hereafter is this no matter Let me say to you as the man of God did to his servant 2 Kings 5.26 2 King 5.26 Is this a time to take money and receive garments and olives and vineyards and sheepe and oxen So say I is this a time to live frolickely and merrily Is this a time for a man to follow cursed companions and embrace sinnefull corruptions is this a time for a man to follow the world and the vanities thereof and in the meane time neglect the meanes of life and salvation No no know it is the day of God the day of grace our soules lie at pawne if these opportunities be omitted woe and griefe and paine and wormewood will be upon that man by whom they be neglected he that despiseth these meanes here shall live miserably hereafter everlasting happinesse and glory depends upon this opportunitie tell not me it is a day of marchandise and you must provide for your families I tell you it is a day of salvation hast thou time to provide for thy house and familie and not for thy soule and for thy ever lasting happinesse So then gather up all briefely and the scope will be this it is now the most opportune time and therefore the fittest it is the day of salvation therefore the shortest it is the day of visitation and therefore the greatest commoditie the opportunity is the fittest the day is the shortest the commoditie the greatest and what remaineth now but that the Lord will worke this upon your soules that he which spake this to Ierusalem whilst he lived on earth may speake the same to you though now in glory and perswade your hearts to entertaine this opportunitie to make use of this day and embrace this commoditie But if all meanes will not perswade men hereunto then the last use is an use of exhortation unto us all to pitty the case of such men and to shew remorse for the desolation of those that neglect the meanes of their salvation If wee cannot perswade you yet give us leave to mourne for you if our perswasions will not take place in your soules yet I hope you will give us leave to goe in secret and let our eyes droppe downe teares for the miserable desolation that will fall upon those that neglect the meanes of life and happinesse you must not thinke to passe thorough Purgatory you must not thinke to goe to heaven whither you will or no me thinks I see a poore creature that slighted mercy salvation when it was offered unto him me thinkes I see that soule lying upon his death bed light is departing from his eyes his soule is departing from his body his body is a burthen to him in regard of his disease and his conscience a hell unto him in regard of his sinnes oh the name of a Minister of a Church they are all as bills of inditements comming against the soule of this man me thinkes I heare such a man say at his last gaspe the day is gone the gate is shut and now it is too late to enter and thus the soule departs from the body the body to the grave and the soule to hell Oh what bitter and wofull lamentations will that soule make when it comes in hell Oh the golden time that I have seene and not regarded oh the gracious opportunities of salvation that my eyes have beheld and yet I neglected Oh the mercy and grace and goodnesse of God that have been offered unto me and I have contemned and trampled under my feet and therfore now must be tormented with the devil his angels from ever lasting to everlasting on the Lord give us hearts to take notice of these things If we cannot doe what good we would to men yet let us lament their miserable conditions wives mourne for your husbands parents mourne for your children and say the Lord hath offered the meanes of salvation both profitable and comfortable yet my husband heares not my child receives not these meanes why then mourne and lament oh my poore husband oh my child thou mightest have had grace but now it is taken from thee thou hadst the offer of salvation and now perhaps it shall never again be tendered to thee but if mercy cannot prevaile with you nor the voyce of the Ministers take place in you yet let the saftie and comfort of your owne soules move you to make much of the opportunities and meanes of grace and salvation Let every master of a family goe home and resolve and say this is my day Lord this very day may be my day and thy day the
good of men a gracious foote will be swift to runne the wayes of Gods Commandements now the wisest workeman will not chuse an instrument that is broken and unfit for service now an old man is a broken and crazie instrument little honour can God have by his tongue when it faulters little good can God have by his understanding and learning and wisedome when as in regard of his age he is become a child againe and therefore it is marvellous reasonable that God should take this time for the expressing of his grace for when a man is in the strength of nature then grace turnes all the members of his body and faculties of his soule the right way and a man runnes as earnestly forward in a good course as hee did before in the wayes of wickednesse so then gather up the point if in regard of the constitution of his body a man is then fittest to receive the things of grace if in regard of corruption he is not so hardened to resist grace if also then he is fittest to glorifie God for bestowing grace upon him then it is reasonable that as God can call when he will so it is most fit that he should call him before he is in his old declining age when his body is fit for nothing but to be carried upon a coffin and laid into the grave now we see then that it is cleare God can call at any time but God doth most usually call most of his servants before their old age Let us now see what use we can make of the Point and first observe from hence a ground of Instruction we must take heede that we be not too rash giddily censorious in setting downe a finall censure upon men seest thou men running on headlong in the wayes of wickednesse yet never conclude therefore that God will never shew mercy and favour unto them and worke upon the soules of them for we know that God can call at the eleventh houre and therefore be not too rash in censuring this way 1 Cor. 4.5 but receive the exhortation of the Apostle 1 Cor. 4.5 There saith the Text Iudge nothing before the time untill the Lord come c. FINIS THE FIRST TABLE Out of Revel 22.17 WHosoever will let him take of the water of life freely Doct. I. That the offer of grace from God is free page 6 It is free in regard of the preparation and the meanes of grace that God hath invented p. 8. Secondly it is free in regard of the revelation of the meanes p. 9. Thirdly it is free in regard of the blessing the meanes of grace and salvation to any soule p. 10 Reas I. This offer of grace must needes be free because there is nothing in man to purchase this p. 11 Reas II. Because the creature can doe nothing to merit it p. 12 Reas III. Because no naturall man hath any promise to challenge grace p. 13 Vse I. It is a word of advice to the Saints that have received grace to magnifie the mercy of God p. 15 Vse II. It is to the wicked that want this mercy a ground of encouragement to seeke after this mercy seeing it is free p. 19 Vse III. It is a Vse of Exhortation to all poore creatures that are burthened under the multitude of their sinnes to hope for mercy from the freenesse of of it p. 23 Doct. II. That the soule must be willing to receive Christ and grace before it shall have Christ and grace p. 27. What is meant here by the will p. 30 Quest But how shall a man come to know that he wills grace and Christ Answ A man may know whither he will grace or Christ by these 3. particulars First when the soule seeth such an excellency in Christ and grace that he highly priseth Christ and grace p. 35. Secondly whereby a man may know whether he will Christ or no is this when the soule can chuse Christ above all things p. 36. Thirdly if the soule truly wills Christ it will be carried towards Christ to close with him p. 39 Vse I. It is for reproofe and condemneth all those carnall Gospellers that thinke to be saved though they have no will to receive Christ. p. 41 Vse II. It is a word of terrour to all sinnefull creatures that doe professe by their wicked lives and conversations they will not have Christ. p. 45 Doct. III. Whosoever in truth doth will to have Christ shall receive him and salvation by him p. 51 Reas I. Because the Lord requires no more at the hands of a poore finner p. 54 Reas II. Because by this willing of Christ the creature is made fit to close with God p. 56 Reas III. Because the want of this wilingnesse to receive and embrace Christ is that which breaketh the match betweene God and the soule p. 58 Vse I. It is a ground of instruction to wonder at the riches of Gods bountie and goodnesse in his reasonable dealing with poore suiters onely to take Christ and mercy offered p. 62 Vse II. It is a word of terrour to shew the just heavie condemnation of all such as perish as are damned and goe to hell it is because they will be damned they will have none of Christ and grace p. 65 Vse III. It is an use of exhortation to stirre you up never to be quiet untill you have brought your soules to be willing to receive Christ p. 72 1 COR. 2.14 Doct. NO man of himselfe by nature can will to receive Christ p. 85. What is meant by a naturall man vid. p. 85. What is meant by the things of the Spirit vid. p. 87. That a naturall man hath no power to will Christ appeareth in foure particulars p. 90 Part. I. That the things of salvation must be first made knowne unto a naturall man else be can never of himselfe finde them out yet when these things of Christ and salvation by Christ are made knowne unto naturall men they cannot entertaine these spirituall truths p. 90 Part. II. When these things of life and salvation â—e brought home to the soules of naturall men yet the heart cannot but resist and oppose the Spirits worke p. 92 Part. III. If the Lord followeth a naturall man further that he may give him grace yet in himselfe he is not capeable of this grace p. 94 Par. IV. The naturall man is unwilling to be wrought upon that he might be made capeable to receive grace p. 97 Reas I Because a naturall man cannot receive the things of God p. 100 Reas II. Because all naturall men are fleshly and wholely overpowred with sinne p. 102 Reas III. Because a dead man hath no power to procure life unto himselfe p. 104 Vse I. It is to condemne that foolish conceit that â—arbours in the mindes of many poore ignorant soules that they brought grace into the world with them p. 105. Vse II. It is an use of Examination to trie whether you are naturall or spirituall p. 111
not to be perswaded not to bee yoaked and then they think they are the bravest men alive they care not what the Minister saies they care not what the word commands oh these men think they are in the greatest liberty of all men under the Sunne let me speak a little to these men didst thou never see a poore prisoner look out of Newgate and cry bread bread for the Lords sake or didst thou never here of a poore man that was fetter'd and cast into a filthy dark dungeon where light never came where Sunne never shined if you have seene these or heard of these do you think these men free and at liberty I appeale to your owne consciences in this case Why truly these men are free men in regard of that bondage that slavery that vassallage that those men are in which break Gods commandements Thy body indeed may be at liberty and may go from alchouse to alehouse but alas thou hast a poore soule that is shut up in sinne and corruption nay it never saw the Sunne the Sunshine of the Gospell never came unto it never any promise tooke place in thy soule never did any counsell do thee any good and yet notwithstanding these base slaves the miserable prisoners those are they that account of the poore servants of God as if they were the basest persons in the world If there be any poore soules that humble themselves and obey his commandements then they count those poore sneaks and base fellows if God commands any thing they obey it if he threatens they tremble and howle and cry and even breake their hearts because of their sinnes they account this as a base thing they count these men of no spirits but when no feare of man terrifieth them when the word of God cannot â—rule them these are royall hearts and the brave spirits of the world brave spirits for the Lord Iesus sake think of it Of all peasants in the world I tell you they are the basest bondslaves the most miserable vassals that ever breathed on the face of the earth to have sinne to be a mans commander and the devill his jaylor and his heart a hell and to have an ill conscience to be his hangman that continually keepeth the roap about his neck when there is not one haire breadth betweene death and him but if it please God by death to tutne the ladder then he is hanged in hell for ever is this freedome are these the brave spirits of the world the Lord deliver his from such liberty Should we see a malefactor arraygned imprisoned condemned and gone to the place of execution and upon the top of the ladder and the Hangman having the roap about his neck ready to turne him off would wee think this man a free man would we think him a man of a brave spirit that is in this condition I tell thee thy condition if thou beest in a naturall estate is farre worse Thou art a poore soule that hast been imprisoned and â—ettered thou art under the bondage of sinne and Satan and thy evill conscience is like a hangman that every day hath the noose about thy neck and if the ladder by death be but once turned then thou art hanged in endlesse and easelesse torments for ever never to be comforted never to be refreshed and yet these brag and say who is Lord over us why I tell you the devill is Lord over you â—and sinne is your commander you are in the greatest slavery of any men under the cope of heaven This is the first use to shew the miserable slavery that all poore creatures are in In the second place it is a word of exhortation 2 Vse Is it so that all sinnefull men are in such a wretched condition then we ought to be perswaded and intreated especially the servants of God that have had their bolts knocked off and have beene freed from the slavery of sinne and Satan these ought to be exhorted to put on the bowells of compassion and to pitty these poore creatures these poore prisoners and to lend them their helping hand to pluck them out of the mire and clay wherein they stuck It is the custome of the world if a poore prisoner be taken and condemned and is going to the place of execution why reason perswades men thus farre to yearne towards him they will be ready to pitty him and say alas poore man he is alive now within this short time he will be dead and what shall become of his soule who knowes unlesse God have mercy upon him he is like to perish for ever Why doe you see a company of proud persons covetous wretches prophane creatures in the world alas they are going to the place of execution there is but one hayres breadth between them and everlasting damnation if God turne the ladder once and a naturall death creep upon them what then shall become of their poore soules take notice therefore of these poore soules and pitty poore prisoners that are in such a wretched condition If a child that had a farher of good abilitie and of some place in the countrey wherein he lived if he should see his father for some offence apprehended by the officers and committed to prison or if he should see him go begging from doore to doore with his fetters and his bolts about his heeles oh how it would grieve him oh how he would weep and howle and say little had I thought my poore father would have come to this misery or if a wife should see her husband going to the gallowes for some haynous crime committed I know shee would have a heart to mourn for her husband in this kind she would be ready to say little thought I that my husband should have come to such an end it is his owne folly that hath brought him to this Can you pitty those that are overtaken with outward bonds with outward misery and can you mourne for that which is fallen upon their bodies why do thus much more for the soule of thy father for the soule of thy wise for the soule of thy child or thy friend and say little did I think that my father or my husband or my child should ever have been shut up in hell and fettered by Satan little did I think that ever sinne or Satan should be his jaylor that the devill should hale him to the place of execution alas he cannot speak a good word nor perform any good duty he cannot pray in his family but is shut up under pride and covetousnesse and drunkennesse and prophanenesse If thou canst pitty and pray for the body of thy father or for the body of thy husband or friend why then pitty and pray much more for the soule of thy father husband or friend It is that which is observable Deut 10.19 there saith the text you shall deale kindly with strangers why because yee your selves were strangers in the land of Aegypt we that have been in prison
answer it at the dreadfull day of judgement take heed of those evills and sinfull practises that heretofore you have committed lest you damne your soules for ever and you must know that conscience comes not without a commission but he hath a commission in his pocket and he shewes it also Pro. 29.1 there is one part of conscience's commission there saith the text he that being often reprooved hardeneth his neck shal suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy if you be often reprooved will not be bettered nor informed then the Lord sayes conscience froÌ„ the Lord tells you be it at your own perill ye shall surely perish that without remedy and in the 2. of the Thess 3.14 there is another part of his commission If any man obey not our word by this Epistle note that man and have no company with him that he may be ashamed hee that will not obey the Gospel he that will not stoope thereto nor be framed thereby why conscience he shewes his commission and charges men to take heed of this the God of heaven will take the part of conscience and will come in flaming fire to render vengeance to that soule that will not obey the Gospel But you will say cannot a man shift and free himselfe from the terrour of conscience I answer no conscience hath now a great deale of ayd from heaven because he hath been in former times so badly dealt withall therefore he will go no more so slenderly garded Deut. 29.19 there saith the text If it come to passe that hee that heareth the words of this curse shall blesse himselfe in his heart and say I shall have peace though I walke in the imagination of my heart to adde drunkennesse to thirst the Lord will not spare him but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoke against that man and al the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven and therefore you that say conscience may command what he pleaseth yet you will do what you list and though you adde dunkennesse unto thirst yet you shall have peace and it shall go well with you tell you the wrath of the Lord shall smok against your soules he shall blot your names out of the book of life the wrath of the Lord shall follow thee into all places and upon all occasions whatever thou dost or whithersoever thou goest the wrath of God shall follow thee Gods wrath shall follow thee to the Ale house and the Brothel-house and to the Taverne God shall follow thee and pluck thee out to thy shame here to thy confusion hereafter and this is the first work of conscience He hath been snubbed in former times and no man cared for him but now he is a wakened and backt with power from the Lord and gives a peremptory command to the soule of a sinner bee it at your owne perill if you meddle with sinne and this makes sinnefull wâ—â—â—ches lie snugge for a while they dare not shew themselves but shut themselves under hatches conscience perkes then upon the crowne and this makes them hang the wing a little and withdraw themselves from their base courses and abstaine from the Ale-house awhile but now when wicked persons see that their companion is gone and that they have lost one of their company they make after him amaine and then conscience plucks one way and they pluck another way they lay siege to the soule of a poore sinner conscience bids him look to himselfe and take heed what he doth perhaps conscience sees him halfe perswaded to yeeld to his old companions and then conscience hath an eye to him and biddeth him take heed unto himselfe and saies I command and charge you as you will answer it at the dreadfull day of Iudgement before the Tribunall seat of God that you runne not into your former wicked courses but then his cursed companions they draw backward and come unto him and say what is the reason that now you begin to sever your selfe from us he tells them his conscience hath troubled him and he heard the Word of God he heard the commission of conscience read that whosoever was often reproved and not bettered thereby should perish and that hee which obeyed not the Gospell should be accursed and this makes him do as he doth when his companions heare this they begin to blind his judgement as much as they can and take off the command of conscience you have heard say they many threatnings from God and conscience hath told you that you shall perish and be damned if you continue in your old courses but threatned men live long these words break no bones and this breath blowes no corne there have beene many so threatned and yet never felt any of those judgements but have lived a merry life to this day and are the bravest fellowes and the boonest companions in the whole countrey and thus by carnall company and cursed perswasions the soule is drawn back againe to his former wicked course and so haply this hooke is broken and the sinner is gone but when conscience sees this that his first hook is broken and that his command is slighted he followes fast after him and layeth another hooke upon him and as before hee was a commander over him so now he comes to be an accuser of him and a witnesse against him he accuseth him before God and is a witnesse against him because he hath committed those sinnes which he upon paine of Gods everlasting displeasure and his owne everlasting damnation commanded and charged him he should not commit conscience before was only Gods Herald to tell him what God commanded but now conscience is become a Pursevant and a Sergeant to arrest him and therefore 2. Sam. 24.10 Davids heart smote him after hee had numbred the people conscience hee flung his actions upon him know how-ever a man may avoid the warning of conscience and break the command of conscience yet he cannot avoid the herror and stroke of conscience but conscience will smite him and fling this hooke into the very heart of him and conscience will smite the heart so much the more heavily because his former commands were despised look as it was with Gideon Iudg. 8.5 when he was pursuing after the Midiâ—â—ites he came unto the men of Succoth and prayed for aide of them he intreated them to help him and joyne sides with him but they refused and scorned him and said Are Zâ—â—â— and Zalumna now in thy hands that wee should give bread unto thine army as if they had said art thou a commander over them art thou sure to overcome them no no wee will not helpe thee Marke now what answer Gidâ—on makes these men of Succoth in the 7th verse weâ—â— saith hee When the Lord hath delivered Zebâ— and. Zalumna into mine hands then I will teare your flesh with thornes of the
wildernesse and with bryers and in the 16. verse after the Lord had delivered those men into his hands he did unto them of Succoth according as he had threatned He took the Elders of the City and thornes of the â—ildernesse and bryers and with them he did teare the men of Sâ—â—coth saith the Text Iust so is it with conscience conscience before only commanded and perswaded men but because he hath beene slighted and despised by them because they have flouted him and said what must be a servant to my conscience must I be a slave and a foole to my conscieâ—e no no I will do what I list for all conscience will you so saith conscience well when God giveth mee authority and gives mee a commission I will teare your flesh for this and rend your hearts in peeces with horror and then conscience he surpriseth a sinner upon every occasion in this case he bursts into the Alâ—house and into the Tavern upon him like a Segeant and arrests him he follow shim to the alehouse he persueth him home he takes him in his bed and arrests him in his sleep and when he is in bed and asleep then conscience awakens him and terrifies him and hales the soule before the Tribunall seat of God and saith loe Lord behold this man this is the drunkard this is the adulterer this is the blasphemer that sweares by thy name prophanes thy Sabboths and contemnes thy word this is he Lord that is an enemy to thy servants and a hater of thy truth and a despiser of thy ordinances this is he Lord this is he that hath done these things and committed these abominations this is he that hath committed many sinnes in secret when no eye saw him this is so Lord at such a time and in such a place in such a chamber with such a company then this man blasphemed thy name and despised thy truth and rayled on good men this this Lord is the man and when conscience hath thus dragged him before God and witnessed against him then take him â—aylor take him divell saith the Lord and imprison him let vexation and horror and trouble and anguish lie upon his soule saith God untill he confesse his sinnes and resolve to forsake them now this this hook sticketh fast in the very heart of this man and all his friends and companions are not able to baile him one commeth and another commeth and all speak and ask him what is the reason what is the cause why are you thus discontented and why thus disquieted oh saith the poore soule you see not you know not you conceive not the horror that conscience hath layed upon mee and what heavy wrath and fearefull vengeance God hath threatned to inflict upon mee for my sinnes now when his companions heare this they cannot all of them bayle him but unlesse he will see his base courses and confesse his sinnes and be humbled for them and resolve to forsake them conscience will not be at quiet but will continually torment and perplex him with horror thus the Lord deals with the Prophet David as we may see Psal 32. when I kept silence sayth he my boneswaxed old through my roaring all the day long for day and night thy hand was heavy upon mâ—e my moysture is turned into the drought of Summer I acknowledged my sinne unto thee and mine iniquitie have I not hid I confessed my transgressions unto the Lord and then forganest the iniquitie of my sinne David he folded up his sinnes at first he would not come of eleverly he would not take them to himselfe and say I have committed adultery and I have murthered Vriâ—â— and therefore his bones were consumed and 〈◊〉 roâ—red continually when the Lord had him upon the rack he made him roare againe and would never leave tormenting of him untill he had confessed his sinnes but after he had confessed them then he forgave his iniquitie the Lord dealeth with the soule in this case as a King doth with a Traytor after his conspiracy is discovered and he attached if he will not confesse his conspiracy and who were his fellow traytors then he is brought upon the rack and then one joynt is broken and then he roares againe by reason of the extremity of the payne why confesse then saith the King and if he will not confesse the whole conspiracy but onely some circumstances of it then he is hoysed upon the rack the second time and then another joynt is broken and then he roars againe why confesse more yet then saith the King and never leaves racking and tormenting of him untill he hath discovered and layed open the whole treason so conscience will bring the foule of a sinner unto the rack and make him confesse his sinnes and come out of it selfe and then the drunkard he cryes out oh the abominations that I have committed which the Sunne never saw in such a place at such a time I rayled upon Gods servants and blasphemed Gods name I prophaned Gods Sabboths and contemned his ordinances but conscience will make him confesse more yet and the refore forceth him to the rack againâ— and then he cryes and râ—ares for anguish of spirit and confesses all and resolves to amend he purpurposes to pray and heare and sanctifie Gods Sabboths and lead a new life and now a conscience upon the confession of his sinnes and purpose of amendment receives some satisfaction and then it begiâ—â—es to be at quiet and give him some rest and this is the second hooke of conscience But when the poore sinner hath gotten some quiet by his confessing of his sinnes and resolving to forsake them when his companions see that he is come out of that horror and vexation wherein he was and that he puts his head out of doores and is creeping abroad then they set upon him againe and labour with might and mayne by wicked perswasions and cursed devices to draw him to his old courses they knew there was no medling with him before but now conscience is a little quieted and he a little eased then all the drunkards in the towne pursue him and all the loose mates hang about him and lay hookes upon him of love and enteâ—tainment and marke how they reply upon him Why refresh say they your soule with some of your ancient dalliance you know wee have beene old friends and of long acquaintance and what contentment have wee had in our times why do not smoak out your dayes in melancholly I dare warrant you the worst is past it was only a fit of melancholly that perplexed you and therefore now it is over refresh yourselfe with your friends and with those that love you Thus the divell by temptations on one side and wicked men by cursed perswasions on the other side be leagure a poore soule and the soule having some quiet he begins to listen to their perswasions and then he beginnes to take up his old course and follow his sinnesmore violently and with
so simple will you be such a foole to shake at the word of a teacher alas alas it is not conscience it is but conceit in this case and so at last the poore sinner falls off againe by the inticements of Satan and carnall counsells of wicked men and at last the Lord lets in horror and anguish and vexation into the conscience and sets the very flashes of hell fire upon his face and now scoffes and scornes will not serve the turne for the poore soule saith Now I find that it was not conceit that troubled mee for the flashes of hell have beene in my face and all the opposition against God and his truth all the taunts and scoffes against God and his servants and all my abominations that ever I committed I tell you I saw them all set before me and I saw hell open in conclusion and God executing judgement upon me for my sinnes Now when his companions see him in this humour they think a scoffe will not chase away this horrour for he tells them it is not your scoffes that will do it now no no I am going to hell and you will follow after me as fast as may be you haled me to drunkennesse and adultery and other base courses you drew me to ungodly practises and therefore you shall to hell as well as I do you think that I shall goe to hell and you not make haste after me do you think that I shall bee damned and you not be plagued when his companions see this then they leave scoffing and gibing of him and dare not appeare themselves but the devill hee transformes himselfe into an angell of light a drunkard will not now come unto him in the coate of a drunkard but he takes the coate of some seeming grave man upon him and hee must set upon him and tell him how the case stands and this carnall man doth three things to draw away the heart from God in this kind first he deludes conscience and tels him there is such a thing in feare but nothing in deed thou saith he art sinfull and God is mercifull thou hast beene an adulterer so was David and hee did nothing but say I have sinned and he was forgiven oh but saith the poore soule David was a broken hearted man and this broke his very bones Well when he seeth this will not do then secondly he must get him to cards and to dice to sports and to playes untill his conscience be benumed and seared and then thirdly all goodnesse must be kept from him in these cases especially they will be sure that he doth not look upon a Bible lest by that meanes hee might bee drawne away againe Now the Lord be mercifull unto us the poore man by counsell on one side and allurements on the other whereas before his soule was a little inlightned and his conscience awakened now he begins to turne a devill he flies about as though hell were broken loose he cares not what he doth for the dishonouring of God and damning of his owne soule so that by this time you see the subtilty of men in this kind Will you now know the condition of these men I tell you if there bee any wretched miserable wofull accursed damned people in the world I cannot tell who they be unlesse these be they and therefore observe the wofulnesse of their condition in three respects first they are most like the devill secondly they are most opposite to God thirdly they are the greatest enemies to mens salvation first they that oppose this worke oâ— conversion and salvation are as like the divell as can be Acts 13.8 the Text saith when Paul was to deale with Sergius Paulus the Deputy Lievetenant of the countrey the Deputy called for Paul and Barnabas and desired to heare the word of God now Elymas the sorcerer who was with the Deputy seeing the wind in that doore Paul hee would have drawne the Deputy to the faith but Elymas he withstood him seeking to turne him away from the faith now marke what Paul saies unto him I would not say so may I durst not speak it but that the Scripture is plaine then saith the Text Paul being full of the holy Ghost set his eyes on him and said oh full of all subtilty and mischiefe thou child of the divell thou enemy to all righteousnesse wilt thou not cease to pervert the way of God as if he had said here is the very claw and paw of the devill he is not only naught himselfe but hinders others from doing good Gen. 3.17 when the Lord had committed that threatning unto Adam and Eve that in that day that they eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evill they should surely perish so long as the woman could beleeve that threatning she was well enough now Satan perceiving this comes and takes away the life of the threatning and the power of the command and gainsayd the word of God what saith hee hath God said that yee shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evill and in that day yee eat thereof yee shall die no no saith he you shall not surely die at all for God doth know that in that day yee eat thereof your eyes shall be opened and yee shall be as Gods knowing good and evill first he takes away the edge of the command and causes the woman to slight the threatning what did God say you should die you shall not die at all but be as Gods knowing good and evill as who should say God doth this for his own ends for he knowes when you do this you shall be like unto Gods thus the devill did in the beginning and looke what hee did that his children do now They that oppose this worke of God they have the tricks of their father up and downe they are as like the devill as if he had spued them out of his mouth the Lord saith he that killeth shall surely die the death this the truth saith and Ministers say but they say there is no such matter God is gracious and mercifull God did this to feare men not to vexe men and they slight that commandement of God also thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy selfe as thy life and as thy soule but they say though the word say so yet it is no matter whether men obey that commandement or no the divell did so from the beginning and they doe so now what saith the divell did God say that you should not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evill and in the day yee eat thereof yee should die why you shall not die at all what say they did the Minister say that your consciences must bee awakened and your hearts must be humbled or else you should perish you shall not die your conversation is holy enough and you need not take so strict a course in this kind thus the divell did
hereafter then it will go marvellous heavily with you you have hindred the worke of conversion for being wrought in them and you have drawne them into wicked courses they shall go to hell they shall perish poore soules but I tell you their blood will God require at your hands at that day they will appeare before the Lord of glory and call for vengeance against you when the heavens shall melt with fire and when the Lord shall have tenne thousand thousand of Angels ministring unto him when all flesh at the dreadfull day of judgement shall appeare before the judgement seat of God and render an account of that they have done here upon earth then here you shall see a cursed drunkard there a wretched adulterer and there a prophane swearer and they shall come and accuse those that have drawne them into the commission of these sinnes and they shall say I confesse Lord I was inlightned my eyes were opened and my heart was touched and my conscience was awakened and I was resolved to walke in a good course but Lord here is the man behold here is the woman that by wicked devises and cursed perswasions never left untill I fell off from this good resolution and turned to my former wicked wayes this is the man Lord that did this and therfore I beseech thee though I perish yet let not my bloud go unrevenged at this mans hands that hath beene the cause of my destruction and then this will lie heavy upon your score at the day of death or the day of judgement when these poore soules shall appeare before God I will tell you what complaints they will make to his Majesty they will say Lord I was in a good way my eyes were opened and my heart was humbled my heart did earne towards Gods truth and holy men I would have turned over a new leafe and led a new life but it was this Land-lord of mine that feared bernard and terrified mee and pluckt mee aside from this good course good Lord revenge my bloud at my Land-lords hand the servant he will say Lord there was a gracious fellow servant lived in the house with me and did me much good I loved to heare thy word and pray and read and performe good duties but good Lord it was the sharp reproofes and bitter taunts of my master that discouraged me and made me forsake my former course and therfore now I must go to hell but Lord though I perish yet I beseech thee revenge my bloud at my masters hands Many of you have wives that lie in your bosomes in whose hearts the word of God hath begun to take place and they have resolved to walk uprightly before God they have gone and mourned in secret and sighed to heaven but it is you that are their husbands which have hindered this gracious disposition and you thought your selves undone because your wives took this course and therefore you never left brawling and bayting and rayling untill your poore wives left all left praying and left reading and left all goodnesse I tell you those wives that now lie in your bosomes though they love you now the time will come when they will curse the day that ever they saw or knew you what a wofull case will it be at the day of judgement when the wife shall come before the Lord and say I confesse Lord I enjoyed thy word and it was brought home to my soule and it wrought upon my conscience and I had a full purpose to become a new creature and take a new course I was comming Lord I was comming but it was this husband of mine that drew mee from my selfe and thy service from a good course and from a good way and therefore require my bloud at his hands though I perish yet good Lord let not my damnation be unrevenged at my husbands hands and many of you wives if your husbands have beene inlightned and wrought upon by the word insomuch that they come home and say wife wee must reforme our families and we must pray with them and wee must bee carefull that both wee and they keep Gods Commandements then you wives are untoward and unreasonable and the house is not able to hold you and your husbands live in a miserable condition untill they have altered their former purpose why these husbands of yours will go downe to hell but their bloud will lie heavie upon your heads and will bee required at your hands they will say Lord I was once in the right way I was comming I was almost perswaded to be a Christian I do think verily if I had had another wife I should have led a good life upon the earth and have beene saved hereafter but this wife of mine Lord never left bayting and hayning at me untill I turned out of the right way they will curse the day that ever they saw you or that ever you met together and they will entreat God not to suffer them to goe to hell without revenging of their bloud upon your heads you that are such I beseech you think of these things you that have heard these things the Lord of heaven perswade your hearts to take heed of drawing away poore sinners from God if it were in my power I would not only perswade you but overcome you in this kind if it were in my power to save you I would give salvation unto you but alas it is not in my power and indeed it is pitty it should it is the Lord that must do it you that have heard this word I beseech you let it not fall to the ground but all you scorners and mockers at Gods Saints you that have drawne men out of the right way and out of a good course for the Lords sake and for mercies sake and for your owne poore soules sake be resolved never againe to draw away poore sinners from that course wherein they walke but when you see them going on well why then goe you along with them and if you see any lay cords upon them to draw them away helpe them you in this kind and labour to draw them backe againe The fourth use is an use of comfort and consolation to all poore soules marke it for the Lord Iesus sake it is a ground of unspeakable comfort to all poore creatures partly unconverted and partly converted all from the former truth they may observe marvellous refreshment of heart if they will but attend thereunto and be ruled thereby you that are in the gall of bitternesse and in a carnall condition you that live in base grosse courses you who are knowne to all the world that you live in common ordinarie sinnes you that are locked up under infidelity under a proud stubborne heart here is a ground of admirable joy and consolation to sustaine the hearts of all such poore creatures in the expectation of mercy and comfort when the flouds of iniquity beset a man on every side when the weight of his
acquaintance together saith the Text and then he saith to Peter we are all here present-before thee to heare all things that are commanded thee of God and it was that passage Ezech. 33.3 there the people speake one to another saying Come let us goe up to the house of the Lord and heare what is the word that commeth from the Lord mark how they call one another together and rap at one anothers doore thus do you counsell men to come unto the Lord and heare his word they will never come under the power of the hammer else that they may bee stricken hale them and draw them to the ministery of the word that so what you cannot do privately that the word may do in publick Ioh. 5.4 there was an Angell went downe at a cortaine time into the poole of Bethesda and troubled the waters then whosoever first stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had now there lay a poore lame man at the brinke of the waters and because he was not able to step in every one stepped in before him and no man would help him mark how hee complaineth in the seventh verse I have no man saith he when the water is troubled to put me into the poole but while I am comming another steppeth downe before me he would faine have got in bâ— could not the word of God is like this poole of Bethesda when the word of God is opened and plainly and familiarly discovered when the spirit moveth upon the waters why put a poore soule into the water fling the soule of your child or your servant or your friend into the poole perswade what you may and compell those that are under you to come unto the word of God wheÌ„ the word of God is soundly revealed delivered why put a poore soule into the waters such a man hath a lame heart hee is lame in his practise and lame in his praying and lame in the performance of holy duties he is a cripple from his cradle why bring such of your neighbours and put them into the water and intreat the Lord to work upon them that the Angell may move from heaven and work conversion and salvation to the soules of them secondly as you must labour to bring them under the power of the word so secondly when God hath made knowne his word to the hearts of them follow you the blow as much as in you lyeth if there bee any exhortation settle it if there be any admonition presse it if there be any reproofe apply it home unto their soules strike thou while the iron is hot if thy child were touched and inlightned by the word when the Lord hath strucken his heart follow thou the blow when the Lord is pleased to smite his soule bring thou the blow home unto the heart of him remember that Deut. 6.7 there saith the Text these words which I command thee shall be in thy heart and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children the word in the originall is thou shalt sharpen them thou shalt teach them that is thou shalt sharpen them upon the soules of thy children and upon the soules of thy servants the Ministers do what they can and you heare reproofes and exhortations and when you go out of the Church leave them in your stooles behind you but you should sharpen them and bring them home to the hearts of your wives and your children and servants and they that belong unto you you should follow the blow home when the Lord is pleased to exhort exhort you when the Lord is pleased to reprove reprove you it is no great matter haply to bring your children or servants under the word but when they are here they play and sport and talk and runne about as though there were no God here and therefore you should tell your children and servants it is the word of the Lord child and it is the word of the Lord servant it is not the word of man as you may think but it is the word of the Lord by which you shall one day be judged the Minister told you that God hateth a proud man and and a drunkard and an adulterer and a swearer why this was the word of the Lord thus bring the word home unto their soules and this is the way to bring them home unto God here that they may receive salvation hereafter we should use all the cords of mercy and love and anger and indignatioÌ„n that so if it were possible we might hale the soules of poore sinners to God oh blessed spirit of Saint Paul in this kind I wonder what is become of that love zeale that was in him as we may see in the 19. of the Acts he travells from place to place froÌ„ countrey to countrey he goes from house to house and rappes at every mans doore perswading men with all patience to be reconciled to God he dealeth as the nurse doth with her child the child cries and shrâ—ikes and wrawles and yet the nurse beares all so doth the Apostle Paul he met with much opposition here mocked there imprisoned there set in the stocks and scourged and yet he beares all with patience and perswades and beseeches men to be reconciled I say this power this zeale this love is gone if wee had hearts and hands and endeavours much more might be done in this case and God might work more mercifully with us powerfully by us for the conversion of poore sinners and this doth not lie only in the Ministers hands but Masters in yours and Officers in yours and so much shall serve for this poynt The next thing considerable in the Text is from the order first drawing then comming you cannot come unto me except my father draweth you the point is that God must first pluck us froÌ„ sin before we will fasten our soules upon the Lord Iesus it is evident Mat. 12.29 no man commeth into a strong mans house saith the Text unlesse he first bind the strong man first there must be binding and casting out before there can be taking of possession the house is the heart and the strong man is Satan the Lord must bind the one before he can take possession of the other the soule must be drawne before it will come to God however for the manner of this drawing it be divers God dealeth with some one way and some another some hee drawes with the cords of his mercy and some with the hookes of conscience yet this is certaine there must be a drawing before there can or will be a comming Gal. 3.22 it is said that all men are shut up under sinne c. Ioh. 1.12 As many as received him to them he gave power to become the sonnes of God now before the Lord Iesus can be received the bonds of sinne must be removed and the lock must bee opened before the Lord Iesus can come in and bee entertained but God doth loose these locks divers wayes as sometimes
we may see a man open some easie lock with some trifle hee slips it haply or opens it with a picklock but if he come to a strong one especially if it bee old and rusty then hee breaks it in pieces and that with much violence before hee can open it so deales the Lord with the soules of sinners he slips every lock before he comes in but sometimes if he meet with a proud sturdy sinner that is rivetted to his corruptions and scrued into wickednesse an old drunkard or an old blasphemer if the lock be rusty then he knocks off al he breaks the lock and lifts the doore off the hinges this is true that all the means of God generally partly mercy alluring and conscience rending the heart both these make the soule see the vilenesse of his sinnes and the necessity of parting with them and thus God doth draw before a sinner will come there must bee a kind of violence offered to the soule before any comming can proceed from the creature the reasons are these I will only touch them first because every man by nature is a despiser of Christ and rebellious to Christ Mat. 21.38 when God sent his Sonne Christ among them they said this is the heire come let us kill him when Christ came to preach the word they did professely labour to slay the Lord Iesus and in the end they did so this is the stone which the builders refused saith the Scripture the stone was Christ they refused Christ and would not build upon him so that thus I reason he that is enemy to the Lord Iesus will never of himselfe come unto him and beleeve in him but all are enemies to the Lord Iesus by nature therefore they will not come unto him and beleeve in him Secondly every man by nature runneth from God and therefore will not come to God Pro. 1.30 there sayth the text they would none of my counsell they desvised my reproofe nay Ier. 2.5 the text saith they are farre from God there saith the text what iniquity have your fathers found in me that they are gone farre from me now if a wicked man hates the word of God and goes post haste in the waies of wickednesse and runnes farre from God hee is like never to come at him unlesse God draw him by a holy kind of violence hee goeth from God and therefore of himselfe will never come to God First Vse The first use is an use of examination is it so that drawing is before comming and that God worketh upon the soule to pluck it from sinne before it will depend upon the Lord Iesus then hereby examine your soules whether you ever went to the Lord Iesus or no and you shall know by this ground that will never â—ayle you namely observe how the Lord hath wrought upon your soules in this kind have the cords of truth convinced you have the cords of mercy perswaded you have the cords of conscience terrified you have these cords prevailed with you if you never found this then know you never set foot forward to salvation dost thou thinke to come to Christ without drawing no no I speake this for two ends to check the folly of some men and reproove the madnesse of other it checks the idle dreame and sottish conceit of those that think they may have Christ at halfe an houres warning that they can cast themselves upon the Lord Iesus when they list they make it a matter of nothing to beleeve in Christ if they can but have a little time upon their death-beds to consider of their sinnes and repent for them then they will rest upon Christ and cast a good heart upon Christ in this case this is a common and an ordinarie delusion but people are deceived that are of this opinion what you come unto the Lord Iesus and fling your hearts upon him without drawing it is all one as if wee should conceive some great tree some mighty oake to pluck it selfe up by the rootes from the place where it groweth and transplant it selfe in another place if this be unconceivable the other is as impossible a tree cannot be plucked up from ground without a great deale of digging and cutting so it is with thy soule thou art rooted into sinne loving of them and living in them and continuing in them and therefore there must be digging and hewing and breaking and cutting off that proud sturdy heart of thine before that day come it will cost thee hot water the Lord must come down from heaven the master of the vineyard must come down and hew downe those trees and cut you off from the rebellions of Adam before you can be implanted into Christ never think of comming to God before you have beene drawne by God besides as this checks the folly of those men so it overthrowes the maddnesse of some men that content themselves because they never were in this condition they were never drawne they count this a matter of comfort they were never no changlings this horrour of conscience they never saw it and they blesse the Lord that they never saw that day oh poore fooles is this the credit you have and the comfort you take that you were never humbled and drawne unto God it is as though a prodigall child should blesse himselfe that his father loved him because his father never cared for him but cast him off you would thinke that that man were quite voyd of all reason and understanding that would blesse himselfe because of this condition if thou never hadst thy eyes opened nor thy conscience awakened thy soule never loosened from corruptions I tell thee it is the sorest argument in the world against thee hee that walketh is his evill waies and is not troubled and disquieted take heed of it for the Lord Iesus sake it is one of the heaviest arguments against thee for the Lord saith to Ierusalem I will not punish your daughters for committing of adultery mark that as if he had said commit adultery if thou wilt and take up thy course if thou wilt I will not plague thee here but I will punish thee for all hereafter and it is observable Hos 4.17 Ephraim is joyned to Idols let him alone as who should say let him take up his own way walk in the imaginations of his heart and let him not be disturbed it is a sore suspicion that God never purposeth to worke upon thee when hee letteth thee lie in ungodly courses without any contradiction thou art proud and thou mayest be so thou art a drunkard and thou mayest continue so still thy conscience gives thee way it never troubles thee when God never terrifieth thee and draweth thee it is an argument that God never meaneth to offer any more good unto thee and dost thou content thy selfe in the greatest curse that ever befell any man under the Sunne you would thinke it were a madde frantick thing if a man were in a deep pitt where
hee could not help himselfe but must needs perish if he should glory in this case and say I am here in this pitt and if I get not out I shall perish yet this is my comfort no body lookes after me no body will vouchsafe to helpe me this is thy condition thou art funke downe into thy sinnes and let downe into the bottom of hell thou stickest there and art like to perish there and yet for all this thou gloriest and boastest and sayst the Lord will not open my eyes the Lord will not draw the Lord will not perswade me and work upon me and therefore thou art like to continue there and bee confounded there is this thy glory it is the greatest curse that ever befell any man and therefore if there bee any whose eyes God hath opened hath the Lord let in the cord of conscience into thy soule and let in the flashes of hell fire and brought thee almost to dispaire then blessed be the name of God thou art drawing goe home be comforted thou goest in the right way be not disquieted in this condition the Lord is now drawing of thee hee will anon bring thee to himselfe Second Vse Secondly it is a word of direction if there must bee drawing before there can bee comming then what are we to be advised of but this to blesse God for his worke when wee see it in our selves or others wheresoever your see this worke wrought in your selves or those that belong unto you blesse God for that mercy it is a good ground that God intendeth good to a man when hee beginneth the right way and observe this to check that conceit and overthrow that cursed opinion it is the ordinary practise of carnâ—ll men in the world if any that belong to them bee awakened and humbled they count it the heaviest curse that ever befell them the greatest crosse that ever came to their houses the wife the childe is undone they complaine the wife is so holy and the servants so devout that if there be any spare time they then goe to reading and praying I wonder whither they will go next I trow I tell thee whither they will goe next they are going now to Christ and the next journey they take they will goe to heaven this is the worst newes and art not thou ashamed to complaine of this if there be any soule present that is guilty of this crime take notice of it art thou content thy wife should take up her loose adulterous courses and go to the devill and not take up a good course and goe to the Lord Iesus Christ when God is working upon men hee is drawing of them to himselfe that they may go to the Lord Iesus and receive mercy from the Lord Iesus and therefore I beseech the Lord to shew men this sottish conceit and reforme the same when thou seest God worke upon a poore soule then blesse God for the same is thy wife that was an Adulteresse before now humbled doth she now see her sinnes then goe into a corner and blesse God for the same and say I have had an untoward wife but now the Lord blessed bee his Name hath humbled her I had a loose servant that was given to drunkennesse prophannesse but now the Lord hath opened his eyes and awakened his conscience and humbled his soule and is drawing of him to himselfe why blesse God for this his glorious comfort bee comforted herein and incouraged hereby and blesse God for the same FINIS The Table IOHN 6.44 No man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him Doctrine I. THat every man in his naturall condition is fastened and setled in the state of sinne and corruption Page 3. This appeareth in the dominion that sinne and Sathan hath over the soule p. 4. And secondly in the amity that the soule hath to sinne p. 6 Vse I. Instruction to inâ—orme our mindes of the woefull servitude and daily slavery that all men are in by nature p. 7 Vse II. It is a word of Exhortation to all the Saints of God to pittie poore naturall creatures p. 11 Doctrine II. The Lord by a holy kinde of violence doth plucke the hearts of sinners from sinne unto himselfe p. 18 What is meant here by drawing vid. p. 20 The meanes whereby God drawes the heart of a poore sinner unto himselfe are foure Meanes I. The Lord letteth in a light into the minde of a poore sinner and discovereth unto him that he is in a wrong way p. 26 Meanes II. The Lord doth draw poore sinners unto himselfe with the cord of his mercy p. 30 This cable rope of Gods mercy is made up of foure Cords The first Cord is this The Lord reveales himselfe to be ready to receive poore sinners p. 31 The second Cord is this The Lord doth call and command sinners for to come p. 32 The third Cord is this The Lord intreates and beseecheth poore sinners to come to receive mercy p. 34 The fourth Cord is this The Lord doth wait and stay in long patience and suffring to see if at any time a sinner will turne unto him p. 38 Meanes III. The Lord draweth poore sinners unto himselfe by the iron cords of conscience p. 40 These iron cords of conscience have three maine hâ—â—kes to pull sinners to the Lord that is there are three great workes of conscience which God useth to worke upon men to draw them from sinne to himselfe p. 41. The first Hooke of conscience is this Conscience is a warner to the soule and admonisheth it of sinne and to come from sinne upon paine of damnation p. 41 The second Hooke is this Conscience accuseth the creature before God and witnesseth against him p. 47 The third Hooke is this Conscience at the last condemnes the soule p. 13 Meanes IV. The Lord draweth poore sinners unto himselfe by the Cord of his Spirit p. 61 The Reasons why the Lord doth thus draw a sinner from sinne to himselfe are three p. 62. Reason I. Because the strong man must first be cast out p. 63 Reason II. Because of that naturall union betweene the soule and corruption p. 64 Reason III. Becaus of that soveraigne kinde of power that sinne hath over the soule and prevaileth within the soule p. 67. Vse I. It is a ground of Instruction to teach all people to admire the inconceiveable goodnesse of the Lord to poore miserable damned creatures p. 70 Vse II. It is a word of terrour to discover the woefull estate of all those that doe set themselves against the worke of preparation p. 74 Vse III. It is a use of comfort and consâ—lation to all poore soules that are oppressed with their sinnes p. 95 Vse IV. It is a use of Exhortation to all Gods people to endeavour to pluche others from sinne this is the course God takes p. 103 Vse V. Of Examination to trie your selves how you have beene drawne to God p. 114 FINIS