6.6 All the night make I my bed to swim with my tears presently the Sun of righteousness will appear and he will dry away your tears and shine upon you with everlasting light Certainly thus is it with every regenerate man he loves and hates and hopes and fears and joyes and sorrows and all these passions are renewed in him To give instance in one David for all the regenerate his love appears Psal Psal 119.47.130.22.62 5. 119.47 My delight shall be in thy commandments which I have loved his hatred appears Psal 130.22 I hate thy enemies with a perfect hatred His hope appears Psal 62.5 My soul wait thou onely upon God for my expectation is from him 119 120.119.16.162 His fear appears Psal 119.120 His Judgments are terrible I tremble and quake His joy appears Psal 119.16 Thy Testimonies are my delight I rejoyce in them as one that findeth great spoils 119.136 His sorrow appears Psal 119.136 Mine eyes gush out with rivers of water Here is Love and Hatred and Hope and Fear and Joy and Sorrow and all are set upon their right spiritual objects You see now a pourtraiture of the new man which should be the case of all men my text saith indefinitely A man implying every man and every part of man every man should be regenerated every part of man should be renewed and whereas man consists on two parts the body and soul all the members of his body the Heart the Eye the Ear the Tongue in especial all the powers of his soul the Vnderstanding the Will the Memory the Conscience the Affections in general all must be renewed and the whole man born again And yet beloved I mean not so Vse as that a man renewed is never overcome with sin I know there is in him a continual fight betwixt the flesh and the spirit each of which striveth to make his part strong against the other and sometimes Amalek prevails and sometimes Israel prevails sometimes his heart falls a lusting his eyes a wandring his ears a tickling his tongue a cursing sometimes his understanding errs his will rebells his memory fails his conscience sleeps and his affections turn the stream after sensual objects but that which differs him from the unregenerate man if he sin it is with a gracious reluctation he resists it to the uttermost of his abilities and if at last he commit sin through the violence of tentation subduing the infirmity of the flesh he is presently abashed and then begins he to set repentance a work in all the parts and powers of his body and soul then begins his conscience to trouble him within and will never be at quiet until the cistern of his heart being overcharged hath caused his eyes the flood-gates with moist sinful humors to overflow the cheeks with tears of contrition and thus he is washed justified sanctified and restored to his former integrity again 1 Cor. 6.9 Examine then your selves you that desire heaven at your ends would you inherit the Kingdom would you live with Angels would you save your souls examine and try whether your bodies and souls be sanctified throughout and if you have no sense or feeling of the new birth for 't is a mystery to the unregenerate then never look to see in that state the kingdom of God but if you perceive the working of saving grace effectually in you and you cannot but perceive it if you have it if you feel the power of godliness first seizing the heart and after dispersing it self over all the parts and powers of body and soul or yet more in particular if your hearts be softned by the Spirit if your eyes wait upon God if your ears listen to his word if your tongues shew forth his praise if your understanding attain to saving knowledge if your wills conform to the will of God if your memories be stored with heavenly doctrine if your consciences be tender and sensible of the least sin whatsoever if you love that which is good if you hate that which is evil if you hope for the blessings above if you fear him that can destroy both body and soul in a word if you joy in goodness if you sorrow for sin then are you born again Happy man in this case that ever he was born and thus every man must be or he cannot be happy Except a man every man every part of man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Thus far of the subject man we come now to the act or deed to be done he must be born again Be born again THe children are brought to the birth and lest the saying be true of us there is no strength to bring forth I shall now by Gods assistance proceed to the birth it self 2 King 19.3 Here we have the maner of it and we may observe a double maner First of the words containing the new birth Secondly of the new birth contained in the words The maner of the words apears in the original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 two words and either of them hath its diverse reading 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Valla would rather have to be genitus begotten Except a man be begotten Others usually say natus born Except a man be born And as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some would have to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 above or from heaven Except a man be born from above Others usually 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 again Except a man be born again Chrysostome cites both these and of each reading we shall gather something for our own instruction Except a man be regenerated Erasm annot in loc or begotten saith Valla As man that is born of a woman is begotten of a man so he that is born again Doct. must have a begetting too and therefore sometimes it is called renascentia a new birth and sometimes regeneratio a new begetting or regeneration If you ask of whom is the new man begotten Saint Iames tells you Jam. 1.18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth Iam. 1.18 The former words note the impulsive cause these latter the instrument it was God that begat us and with the seed of the word First God begat us and so are we called Gods sons born not of blood Iohn 1.13 nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God John 1.13 Regeneration is the work of God and because it is a work external it is therefore communicable to each Person in the Trinity Ye are sanctified saith the Apostle in the name of the Lord Jesus 1 Cor. 6.11 and by the spirit of our God 1 Cor. 6.11 The Father Son and Holy Ghost all sanctifie all work the same work but as in the Godhead there is but one Essence and yet three maners of being of the same one Essence so in Gods outward operations all the Persons work rem eandem one thing but all work
Since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear neither hath the eye seen O God besides thee what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him Isaiah 64.4 Isa 64.4 Waiting patiently saith a Modern for the Lords coming to comfort us either in temporal or spiritual distresses is a right pleasing and acceptable duty and service unto God which he is wont to crown with multiplyed and overflowing refreshings when he comes To this end saith the Prophet They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint Isa 40.31 Isa 40.31 Nay and should a man dye saith my Author in this state of waiting if his heart in the mean time sincerely hate all sin heartily thirst for the mercy of God in Christ and resolve truly upon new universal obedience for the time to come he shall certainly be saved because the holy Ghost saith Blessed are all they that wait for him Isa 30.18 Isa 30.18 Or if this will not satisfie his desire let his desire quicken and set on work with extraordinary fervency the spirit of prayer let him have recourse again and again unto the promises of Scripture towards the poor heavy-laden penitent souls and when the time is come if it will come which God hath appointed then shall he feel this joy unspeakable the joy of the Holy Ghost and this is the head the height the top the highest step in this kingdom of grace the kingdom of God Or secondly if by the kingdom of God is meant the kingdom of glory see then what a priviledge waits on the new man no sooner shall his breath and body be divorced but his soul mounted on the wings of Angels shall straight be carried above the starry firmament there shall it inherit the kingdom Luke 12.32 Luke 12.32 Matth. 7.21 Acts 14.22 an heavenly kingdom Matth. 7.21 the kingdom of God Act. 14.22 and truly called so for 't is a kingdom of Gods own making beautifying and blessing a kingdom beseeming the glorious residence of the King of kings a kingdom creating all Kings that but inhabit in it But here my discourse must give way to your meditations I cannot speak this priviledge therefore conclude with Austin Augustin Anima quae amat ascendat frequenter currat per plateas caelestis Jerusalem visitando Patriarchas salutando Prophetas admirando exercitus Mount your meditations on the wings of faith and behold in Heaven those states of wonder Patriarchs shining Prophets praising Saints admiring hands clapping harps warbling hearts dancing the exercise a song the ditty Alleluiah the quiristers Saints the consorts Angels c. See more of this in my last things In this fountain of pleasure let the new-born Christian bathe his soul for his it is and he it is onely that shall see it injoy it Except the man born again no man shall ever see the kingdom of God Thus far of the priviledges of the new birth there waits on it the eye of faith and righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost in a word the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory And now beloved say Vse what would you do to obtain these priviledges should any hand reach you a Crown for the pains to take it should any but cast at your feet a bag of gold and you might make it your own for the stooping would you not for so great a reward do so little a service Matth. 11.30 and what is Gods service but perfect freedom the yoke is easie the burthen is light but the reward is grace glory endless felicity Bestir then your selves and if ever you mean to see the kingdom of God endeavor to run through this new birth and to lead a better life then heretofore you have done Thus whilest the Minister speaks Christ comes with power and therefore he speaks and perswades I conclude with my speeth to thee whosoever thou art into whose hands this Book is fallen the truth is the work is weak and answerable in that kinde to the Author of it many and many a stitch in my side many a pull at my heart many a gripe in my stomack besides the pangs of my soul endeavoring to practice what I have writ have I suffered and felt since I first begun it and yet the comfort I have received my self in this one necessary thing hath made me contrary to the desires of my best friends to run through this short work by taking a longer time as my continual disease would now and then suffer me If when I am gone thou reapest any spiritual good by this my surviving pains it is next to Gods glory all my desire Yet I live but to save thy soul I care not how soon I might dye yea on that condition I could be willing if God so pleased the lines that thou readest were writ with the warmest blood in my heart willing said I yea I could be willing and glad as little blood as I have in my body to let it run and run for thy spiritual good to the very last drop in my veins I say no more consider what I have said Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God An appendix containing a more particular Method for the man not yet born again to have his part in the second birth CHAP. I. The occasion and method of this Treatise SOme there are who hearing the new birth or first repentance to be so necessary to salvation but never feeling in themselves any such change or conversion have therefore desired further helps though naturally thou art blinde and wretched and miserable and poor and naked yet the Lord hath not left thee without means and helps to this purpose he hath set up his ordinances not that man of himself can dispose himself unto grace but that the Spirit of Christ in the use of the ordinances without any habitual or sanctifying grace in mans heart can dispose of man to the reception of habitual or sanctifying grace True it is I advised them in the former Treatise to be frequent in prayer and in hearing of the word But so we have done say they and yet we feel no conversion it may be so for not always the doing of them but perseverance in them through Christ obtains the blessing desired And yet if they will out of hand settle themselves to the work It is the Lord that saith Break up the fallow ground Jer. 4.3 i. seek to the Lord to break them for thee Be in the use of the means and the Lord may come in and break thy heart I shall for their further satisfaction give them a more particular Method and without a Text taken take my self more liberty to put them in the way Two things I suppose necessary for them that would have part in the new birth 1.
woful are you considering this bar in heavens door to keep out the unregenerate Except Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God Thus far of the Exception we now come to the Person that is a Nisi prius in the front Except This is the party that must prosecute the cause a man A man ANd this man is every man and every part of man It implyes all men for all are bound to it and all man for all the parts of his body and all the powers of his soul are to be renewed or he cannot be saved The word then is general whether we respect genera singulorum the kindes all men or singula generum the Individuums all man or all the parts of man body and soul We will first begin with the kindes Doct. 1 All men or all mankinde must be regenerated before they be saved not one of all the sons of Adam that shall ever go to heaven except he be born again may your contemplations guided by Gods word go into that Paradise above there walk the streets behold the towers view the subjects from the one end of heaven to another and whom finde you there Not one that lives and dyes in sin there is not in it nor shall enter into it any thing that defileth Rev. 21.27 neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lye Revel 21.27 yet if such repent them of their sins the gates shall not be shut against them all the Saints that now walk in the light of it were sinners but first they were purged by the Lamb and sanctified by the Spirit first they were regenerated and so they were saved You may object If all men that go to heaven must be new born what shall become of infants that dye ere they be born Can a man enter the second time into his mothers womb and be born said Nicodemus But can a man enter into the second birth in his mothers womb say you and be born again before he is once born I answer to be born again supposeth to be once born indeed therefore according to the letter our Savior speaketh of a man already born into the world that he must be born again But if we seek out the sense to be born again as our Savior interprets is to be born of water and of the Spirit and so may Infants not born into the world be born again Ierem. 1.5 Thus we read of Jeremy The word of the Lord came unto him saying Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee Jer. 1.5 And thus we read of John the Baptist the Angel of the Lord saying of him that He should be filled with the Holy Ghost Luk. 1.15 even from his mothers womb Luk. 1.15 By these examples we see what the Lord can do yea what he doth indeed although we know not how nor can it be observed by us You may yet object to be born again is saith our Savior to be born of water and of the Spirit now water is the outward Baptism and the Spirit is the inward grace thus * Quindecem patres proposuit Bellarminus Tomo secundo lib. 2. de effectu Sacramentorum cap. 3. Hook Eccles Polit. l. 5. sect 59. all Ancients have construed this text saith Hooker but children not born howsoever they are sanctified by the Spirit they cannot be baptized with water and therefore they cannot see the Kingdom of God I answer In cases of extremity or impossibility if actual Baptism be wanting vocal is enough and thus far some of our adversaries grant us Aquin. 3. part quaest 68. art 2. Though it be wanting indeed saith Aquinas yet Baptism in desire is sufficient to salvation And to this end he cites Austin saying Sanctification may be without Baptism and Baptism without Sanctification if Sanctification be though Baptism be not it avails to salvation but if Baptism be and Sanctification be not it avails nothing at all Our conclusion is this All men or all mankinde yong men and maidens old men and children Psal 148.12 all must be regenerated or they can never see the Kingdom of God Secondly Doct. 2 as all men so all man all the members of his body all the faculties of his soul Sanctification if saving must be perfect and entire though not in respect of degrees yet in respect of parts every part and power of body and soul must have its part of sanctification though no part his full perfection before the dissolution of our earthly tabernacles Hence say Divines there is a regeneration or sanctification it is all one inchoata and consummata inchoata begun in this life consummata perfected in that other and of this saith our Savior Matth. 19.28 Verily I say unto you Matth. 19.28 that ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel we speak not of this Regeneration but of that which brings to this for we must be regenerated here or have no part there with God in his glory And should we consider man in his parts every part must bear a part in this birth his body must be regenerated his soul must be renewed we will begin with the body As you have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity Rom. 6.19 even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness Rom. 6.19 As every member of the old man is full of sin so every member of the new born man is to be renewed by grace To instance in some of them The heart Matth. 15.19 that in the old man is full of evil thoughts murthers adulteries fornications thefts false witness blasphemies in the new man it is the member that must first be renewed here grace first seats it self and after is dispersed over all as in natural generation the heart is first framed so in spiritual regeneration the heart is first reformed Some call it the first mover of all mens actions for as the first mover carrieth all the sphaeres of heaven with it so doth the heart carry all the members of the body with it and therefore it is that the new man begins first with his heart for if that fountain be right all the streams of his desires purposes affections speeches actions conversations run sweet and clear and pleasant Again the eye that in the old man is the Broaker that goes between the heart and the object to make up the sinful bargain Matt. 6.23 2 Pet. 1.14 Iob. 31.1 that which our Savior calls an evil eye S. Peter an adulterous eye in the new man it must be exercised on other objects I made a covenant with mine eye saith Job why then should I think upon a maid I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills saith David from
God puts into the hearts of those who seek him in sincerity and truth never was Ahab more sick for a vineyard nor Sisera for milk nor Sampson for water when God was fain to open him a fountain in the jaw of an ass Iudg. 15 19. then is a truly humbled soul after Christ ever thirsting and longing that he may hide himself in his righteousness and bathe himself in that blood which his Savior shed for him I have read of a gracious woman who laboring in these pangs and longing after Christ Jesus cryed out I have born nine children with as great pain as other women and yet I would with all my heart bear them all over again yea bear them and bear them all the days of my life to be assured of my part in Christ Jesus One replying Doth not your heart desire and long after him Oh! said she I have an husband and children and many other comforts I would give them all and all the good I shall ever see in this world or in in the world to come to have my poor thirsty soul refresht with that precious blood of my Savior So eager and earnest is the heart of each man parched with the angry countenance of God after this blood of his I thirst I faint I languish I long saith he for one drop of mercy my spirit is melted in me into tears of blood my heart because of sin is so shaken and shivered my soul because of sorrow is so wasted and parched that my thirst is insatiable my bowels are hot within me my desire after Christ is extremely great and greedy Stay all these expressions are far short of those longings Rev. 2 17. no man knoweth them save he that receives them save he that is born again The seventh step is A relying on Christ no sooner he considers and remembers those many melting invitations of our Lord and Savior Iohn 7.31 Isaiah 55.1 Matth. 11.28 If any man thirst let him come unto me Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden with sin but resting himself on the impregnable truth of these blessed promises he throws himself into the merciful and meritorious arms of his crucified Lord. Come life come death come heaven come hell come what come will Rom. 8.35 38 39. here will he stick for ever Who saith Paul shall seperate us from the love of Christ Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword No I am perswaded not these nor more then these neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to seperate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Rom. 8.35 38 39. Thus it is with the man laboring in this birth what saith he doth Christ call the heavy laden why Lord I am heavy laden with a weight a mass of sin and if he may come that is called Lord I come I come and now I am come with thee will I build my tabernacle with thee will I rest for ever Nor is this any wonder experience tells us the hunted beast flyes unto his den the wounded man hyes unto the Surgeon and so the poor man broken and bruised with the weight of sin how should he otherwise but cast himself willingly into the sweet compassionate inviting armes and embracements of Christ whose promises run I will ease him I will refresh him You may see sometimes a little infant Matth. 11.28 upon apprehension and approach of some sudden danger how hastily he runs into his mothers arms even so a truly wounded soul pursued by the terrors of the Law and frighted with the angry countenance of Almighty God it flyes with speed into the bosom of its blessed Redeemer there it clings unto his blessed wounds there it rests upon his meritorious death there it grasps about his crucified body there it hides it self in the clefts of this Rock yea there it sticks with this full resolution that should all terrors all temptations all men all devils combine together to cast him into hell they should tear him rent him pull him hale him from the bleeding wounds and tender bowels of his heavenly Savior This was Jobs case who in the bitterest of his pangs could cry it out saying Though the Lord slay me yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 And I must tell you this * Vrisin parte secunda catech q. 6. Fides justificans non est tantum notitia sed etiam fiducia quatanquam medium applicamus nobis meritum Christi ac in eo acquiescimus Trelcat l. 2. institut Loquens de natura fidei justificantis apprehensio ejus 2 ex una cognitionis in intellectu altera fiduciae in voluntate utramque includit fides At noluit Bellar. fidem esse in voluntate affiance dependance adherence reliance or whatsoever else we call it upon the merits of Christ is the right justifying faith whither if a man once come there is but one degree more and he is then born again The last and highest step is Vniversal obedience to Christ No sooner hath he cast himself upon him but he takes him not onely as a Savior to redeem him from the miseries of sin but as an husband a Lord a King to serve him love him honor him and obey him Now will he take his yoke upon him now will he bear his cross and follow after him now will he enter into the narrow way now will he walk in the holy path now will he associate himself to that sect and brotherhood that is every where spoken against Act. 28.22 now will he oppose himself against all sin whatsoever now will he shake off his old companions brethren in iniquity now will he keep peace and a good conscience towards God and man now will he watch over his secret sins lustful thoughts occasions of evil now will he direct his words to the glorifying of God and to give grace to the hearers now will he conform all his actions to the soveraignty of grace now will he delight in the word the ways the Saints the services of God now will he never more turn again unto folly or to his trade of sin yea though Satan set upon him with baits and allurements to detain him in his bondage but by one darling-delight one minion-sin yet he resolves to answer him as Moses did Pharaoh There shall not so much as an hoof be left behinde for well he knows one breach in the City exposeth it to the enemy one leak in a ship will sink it in the sea one stab in the heart will speed a man to death one knot in a threed will stay the needles passage as well as five hundred and therefore he will sell all all that he hath even all his sins to the last filthy rag
of his minion-delight his bewitching-beloved-bosom-sin And now is the new man born amongst us will you view him Old things are passed away 1 Cor. 5.17 behold all things are become new 1 Cor. 5.17 His heart his eye his ear his tongue his understanding his will his memory his conscience his love his hatred his hope his fear his joy his sorrow will you any more his thoughts his words his actions his affections are all new this conversion is universal this change is a through change now is Christ formed in him now is he transformed into a new creature before he was in making a new man but now he is made new God the Father accepts him for his son God the Son stamps on him the Image of his Father but more immediately God the Holy Ghost hath thus moulded and fashioned him as I have let you see him and now he is born again which except a man be he shall not cannot see the kingdom of God Lo here those steps that raise up a man to the state of regeneration A sight of sin Sense of misery Sorrow for sin Seeking for comfort A sight of Christ Desire after Christ Relying on Christ Obedience to Christ one word more before we have done You see how God brings along the man whom he purposeth to make his Vse 1 and yet let no truly humbled sinner be discouraged if he observe not so distinctly the order of these steps and especially in that degree as you see we have related for if in substance and effect they have been wrought in them if he have them in truth though perhaps not in this degree I dare pronounce of him that he is surely born again It is one of our worthies hath said it that in our humiliations and other preparative dispositions we do not prescribe precisely just such a measure and quantity we do not determine peremptorily upon such or such a degree and height we leave that to the wisdom of our great Master in heaven the onely wise God who is a most free agent But sure we are a man must have so much and in that measure as throughly to humble him and then to bring him to his Savior he must be weary of all his sins and of Satans bondage wholly willing to pluck out his right eye and cut off his right hand I mean to part with his best-beloved bosom lusts to sell all and not to leave so much as an hoof behinde he must see his danger and so haste to the City of refuge he must be sensible of his spiritual misery that he may heartily thirst for merâ—y he must finde himself lost and cast away in himself that Christ may be all in all unto him and after must follow an hatred of all false and evil ways for the time to come a through-change of former courses company conversation and setting himself in the way and practice of sobriety honesty and holiness The sum is of every soul is required thus much first a truly penitent sight sense and hatred of all sin secondly a sincere and unsatiable thirst after Jesus Christ and righteousness both imputed and inherent thirdly an unfained and unreserved resolution of an universal new obedience for the time to come If any man hath had the experience of these affections and effects in his own soul whatsoever the measure be less or more he is safe enough and may go on comfortably in the holy path Now then let me advise thee whomsoever thou art that readest to enter into thine own soul Vse 2 and examine thine own state whether or no thou art yet born again Search and see whether as yet the spirit of bondage hath wrought its effects in thee that is to say whether thou hast been illightened convinced and terrified with a sensible apprehension and particular acknowledgement of thy wretched estate Search and see whether as yet the Spirit of adoption hath sealed thee for his own that is to say Whether after thy heart being broken thy spirit bruised thy soul humbled thy conscience wounded and awaked thou hast had a sight of Christ and hast thirsted after him and hast cast thy self on him and hast followed his ways and Commandments by an universal obedience If upon search thou canst say without self-deceit that so it is with thee then mayest thou bless God that ever thou wast born certainly I dare say it thou art born again But if thou hast not sense or feeling of these works if all I have spoken are very mysteries to thee what shall I say but if ever if ever thou meanest to see the kingdom of God strive struggle endeavor with thy might and main to become truly regenerate thus whilest the Minister speaks it is Christ that comes with power in the word Ezek. 18.31 32. thou mayest say perhaps it is not in thy power thou art onely a meer patient and Gods Spirit the agent and who can command the spirit of the Lord that bloweth where he listeth at his own will and pleasure I answer It is indeed the Spirit and not man that regenerates or sanctifies but I answer withal The doctrine of the Gospâ—l is the ministration of the Spirit and wheresoever that is preached as I preach it now to thee there is the holy Ghost present and thither he comes to regenerate nay I can say more there is a common work of illumination that makes way for regeneration and this common work puts a power into man of doing that which when he shall do the Spirit of God may nay will in the day of his power mightily work in him to his quickening and purging if then as yet thou feelest not this mighty work of God in thee and yet fain wouldst feel it and gladly dost desire it otherwise I confess it is in vain to speak follow me in these passages I shall lend thee two wings to bear thee two hands to lead thee to the foot of this ladder where if thou ascend these steps aforesaid I dare certainly pronounce of thee thou art the man born again The first wing is Prayer which first brings thee to Gods throne and there if thou hast thy request then to the new birth if I must acquaint thee how to pray Hos 14.2 Take with you words and turn to the Lord say unto him take away all iniquity and receive us graciously and then it follows I will heal their backsliding I will love them freely ver 4. Jerem. 30.18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoak turn thou me and I shall be turned The soul may object I may say thus and be no better But I answer say it though you be no better because God bids you say it Say it and say it again it may be he will come in when you say it Hosea 14.4 Pray that God would please to prepare thy heart to sanctifie thy affections to order thy
To get into it 2. To be delivered of it 1. The means to get into it is 1. Examination of themselves 2. Confession of their sins 3. Hearty prayer for the softning of their hearts By which three are procured the three first steps Sight of sin Sense of divine wrath Sorrow for sin 2. The means to be delivered of it is by application of the promises and these according to their several objects produce their several effects some A sight of Christ A desire after Christ A relying on Christ An obedience to Christ A comfort in Christ not onely sought for but obtained if the promises be rightly applyed CHAP. II. Sect. 1. The first means to get into the new birth THe means to get into the new birth is first Examination and the way to examine is to set before men that Chrystal glass of the Law for their light and rule To this purpose I have here annexed a Catalogue or Table to shew them their offences not that I can possibly ennumerate all sins but onely the kindes and if herein I come short yet consciences awaked may be occasioned hereby to bring into their thoughts those others not mentioned Now then whosoever thou art that beginn'st this blessed work examine thy self by this Catalogue but do it warily and truly and where thou find'st thy self guilty either note it in this book or transcribe it into some paper that so they may be ready for thine eye when thou comest to Confession Sect. 2. Sins against the first Commandment IN every Commandment we must observe both the duties required and sins forbidden for both these are implyed in every one of the Commandments if in the first thou art guilty thou must answer negatively if in the second thou must answer affirmatively now then to proceed It is the first Commandment Thou shalt have no other gods but me For the duties here required Say first Hast thou ever in minde will and affections took the true God in Christ to be thy God Secondly hast thou abounded in those graces by which thou shouldst cleave unto God as in the warmth of knowledge and love and fear and joy and trusting in God Thirdly hast thou observed Gods mercies and promises and works and judgements upon thee and by a particular application took special notice thereof Fourthly hast thou communicated with the godly and joyned thy self to Gods people and delighted chiefly in them Or for the sins here forbidden Say first hast thou not sometimes been guilty of blasphemy or idolatry or witchcraft or atheism or epicurism or heresie Secondly hast thou not been guilty of pride a sin flatly opposing God and first committed by devils Thirdly hast thou not had inward reasonings that there is no God or that he seeth not Psal 14.1 Esay 29.15 Iob 21.14 Ier. 17.5 or knoweth not or that there is no profit in his service Fourthly hast thou not failed to love God and fear God and to put thy whole trust in God Fifthly hast thou not trusted in man or feared man or loved the world and thereby alienated thy heart from God Sixthly hast thou not resorted to witches or in the first place to Physitians and not to the living God Seventhly hast thou not tempted God and in the matters of God been either cold or lukewarm or preposterously zealous Eighthly hast thou not a proneness to sin yea to rebel against God in thy whole man Ninthly hast thou not been careless to perform the inward duties of Gods worship in sincerity and truth if in these thou hast transgressed then hast thou broken this Commandment Thou shalt have no gods but me Sect. 3. Sins against the second Commandment IT is the second Commandment Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven image For the duties here required Say first hast thou ever worshipped the true God purely according to his will Secondly hast thou observed all those outward duties of his worship as prayer and vows and fasting and meditating and the rest Thirdly hast thou repaired to Gods house observed family duties received the Preachers of the Gospel Or for the sins here forbidden Say first Ier 9.14 hast thou not sometimes walked after the imaginations of thy own heart serving God out of custom or after the maner of thy fore-fathers by will-worship and superstitions Secondly hast thou not committed idol worship conceiving of God in thy minde or respecting him in thy sense in the likeness of a creature Exod 23.13 Thirdly hast thou not mentioned the names of other gods either by way of swearing or apology Fourthly hast thou not made an image to liken God to it Esay 40.18 or used any gesture of love and reverence to any such images Fifthly in a word hast thou not been careless to worship God Zach. 14.17 Psal 14.4 Math. 10.14 to call upon the Lord to receive Gods Ministers or to perform any other of the outward duties of Gods worship If in any of these thou hast transgressed then hast thou broken this Commandment Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven image Sect. 4. Sins against the third Commandment IT is the third Commandment Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain For the duties required Say first hast thou been ever a constant learner hearer and doer of Gods Word and Will Secondly hast thou prayed with perseverance understanding and power of the Spirit without doubting or wavering Thirdly hast thou come preparedly to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper and being come hast thou discerned the Lords body Fourthly hast thou used all the titles and properties and works and ordinances of the Lord with knowledge faith reverence joy and sincerity Or for the sins here forbidden Say first hast thou not sometimes in thy talk dishonored the titles attributes religion word people of God or any thing that hath in it the print of his holiness Secondly hast thou not sworn or forsworn or loved false oathes Thirdly Zach 8.17 hast thou not caused the name of religion or people of God to be evil thought of by thy ill course of life or by committing some gross sin Fourthly hast thou not rashly or unpreparedly or heedlesly read the Word heard Sermons received the Sacraments or performed any other part of the worship of God Fifthly hast thou not thought or spoken blasphemously or contemptuously of God or of any thing whatsoever pertaining to God If in any of these thou hast transgressed then hast thou broken this Commandment Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain Sect. 5. Sins against the fourth Commandment IT is the fourth Commandement Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day For the duties here required Say first hast thou according to the equity of this Commandment ever observed the Lords day and other days and times set apart for Gods service Secondly hast thou on those days rested from the servile works of sin and rested and relyed upon Christ for the remission
of sins and led an holy and religious life that so thou mayest enter into that rest of heaven Heb. 4.11 Thirdly hast thou always prepared thy heart before thou wentest into the house of the Lord by meditation of Gods Word and Works by examination and reformation of thy ways by prayer thanksgiving and holy resolution to carry thy self as in Gods presence and to hear and obey whatsoever thou shouldst learn out of the pure Word of God Fourthly hast thou repaired to Gods house in due time and stayed the whole time of Prayer reading preaching of the Word singing of Psalms receiving of the Sacraments Fifthly hast thou performed private religious offices upon the Lords day to wit In private prayer and thanksgiving in acknowledging thy offences to God in reconciling thy self to those thou hast offended or with whom thou art at variance in visiting the sick comforting the afflicted contributing to the necessity of the poor instructing thy Children and servants and the rest of thy family in the fear and nurture of the Lord Or for the sins here forbidden Say first hast thou not sometime spent the Lords day in idleness Ezek. 46.10 or in wordly business in vanities or in sin Secondly hast thou not omitted publique duties or comest in too late or wentest out too soon Nehem. 10.31 and 13.15 Thirdly hast thou not on those days sold wares carried burthens brought in sheaves or wrought in the harvest Fourthly hast thou not employed thy cattel or servants or children or any other though thou workest not thy self Fifthly hast thou not profaned the Lords day by needless works words or thoughts about thy calling or about thy recreation Sixthly have not the strict observance of the duties of that day been tedious unto thee saying in thine heart When will the day be gone Amos 8.5 If in any of these thou hast transgressed then hast thou broken this Commandment Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day Sect. 6. Sins against the fifth Commandment IT is the fifth Commandment Honor thy father and thy mother For the duties here required they are either in Family Common-weal Church First Ephes 5.25 1 Pet. 3.7 for the Family Say if thou art an husband 1. Hast thou ever loved thy wife and dealt with her according to knowledge giving honor to her as to the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life that your prayers were not hindred If thou art a wife Eph 5.22 24. 1 Pet. 3.4 2. Hast thou submitted to thine own husband as unto the Lord in every thing 3. Hast thou put on the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price If thou art a parent 4. Ephes 6.4 Hast thou brought up thy children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord 5. Hast thou corrected them yet not provoked them by immoderate correction 6. Hast thou provided for them in their callings 2 Tim. 5.8 Rom. 1.30 or outward estates If thou art a childe 7. Hast thou obeyed thy parents and received correction with submission and reverence 8. Heb. 12.9 Hast thou relieved them in their wants 9. Hast thou observed their instructions and covered their infirmities If thou art a master 10. Hast thou entertained Gods servants Prov. 15.15 Gen. 9.22 Col. 4.1 Tit. 2.9 10. and given unto thy servant that which is just and equal If thou art a servant 11. Hast thou been obedient to thy master according to the flesh with fear and trembling in singleness of heart as unto Christ Not answering again not purloyning but shewing all good fidelity Secondly for the Common-weal if thou art a Magistrate 12. Hast thou executed just laws 13. Hast thou reformed others abuses according to the power that is in thee If thou art a Subject 14. Hast thou obeyed the higher Powers in all just commands 15. Hast thou been subject unto them Rom. 13.5 not onely for wrath but also for conscience sake Thirdly for the Church If thou art a Minister 16. Hast thou taught in season and out of season 17. Hath thy light shined before men that they might see thy good works Matth. 5.16 Gal. 6.6 Heb 13 7 17 18. If thou art a hearer 18. Hast thou communicated to them that teach thee in all good things 19. Hast thou obeyed them and prayed for them and loved them and followed them considering the end of their conversation Or for the sins here forbidden And first for the Family Say if thou art an husband 1. Prov. 21.19 Hast thou not sometimes abused thy wife or smitten her or injured her in thought word or deed If thou art a wife 2. Hast thou not been wasteful or froward or idle If thou art a childe 3. Hast thou not despised thy fathers or mothers instructions Prov. 15.5 Prov. 30.17 and 20.20 4. Hast thou not mocked them or despised them or cursed them or smitten them or shamed them or grieved them If thou art a master 5. Hast thou not governed thy family negligently 6. Hast thou not with-held that which is just and equal in diet wages encouragement If thou art a servant 7. Hast thou not been idle and slothful 8. Hast thou not served grudgingly and not from the heart Secondly for the Common-weal If thou art a Magistrate 9. Hast thou not been as a Lyon or a Bear roaring and ranging over the poor people Prov. 28.15 Esa 10.1 10. Hast thou not decreed unrighteous decrees respecting the persons of the poor or honoring the persons of the mighty If thou art a Subject 11. Hast thou not reviled the Gods Levit. 19.15 Exod. 12.28 Rom. 13.1 7. or cursed the Ruler of thy people 12. Hast thou not disobeyed the higher Powers or not denied tribute or custom or honor or fear to whom they are due Thirdly for the Church if thou art a Minister 13. Hast thou not been prophane and wicked in thy life and conversation Ierem. 23.11 14. Hast thou not run before thou wast sent or being sent hast thou not been negligent in the gift that is in thee 1 Tim. 4.14 Ierem. 23.13 16. Hast thou not prophesied in Baal and caused Gods people to erre 17. Hast thou not committed simony or sought indirectly for the fleece not regarding respectively the flock 18. Hast thou not strengthened the hands of evil doers Ierem. 23.14 in preaching peace to wicked men 19. Hast thou not given heed to fables or to some unprofitable matter rather than to godly edifying 1 Tim. 1.4 which is in faith If thou art an hearer 20 Hast thou not resisted the Minister and the Word preached by him Gal. 6.6 Heb. 13.7 17 18. whatsoever thou art husband or wife or parent or childe or master or servant or Magistrate or Subject or Minister or hearer if in any of these thou hast transgressed then hast thou broke this Commandment Honor thy father and thy mother Sect.
these manifold sins O that by these sins I should break so holy a law provoke so good and great a Majesty What shall I do but remembring my evil ways Ezek. 36.31 even loath my self in my own sight yea abhor my self in dust and ashes for my iniquities and my abominations c. For conclusion thou mayst imitate the Publican who not daring to lift up his eyes smote his brest so do thou and sigh Luke 18.13 and say with him O God be merciful to me a sinner CHAP. IV. Sect. 1. The third means to get into the new birth AFter Confession which may well serve thee for another days work the next duty thou must labor for is to seek for true sorrow and mourning for thy sins Seek thou must and never leave seeking till thou feel thy heart melt within thee To this purpose reade some tracts of death of judgement of hell of Christs passion of the joys of heaven Last of all and I take it best of all resolve to set every day some time apart to beg it of the Lord When Daniel set himself to pray the Lord came in to him Dan. 9.3 When Peter had gone apart to pray and when Paul had prayed in the Temple then the Lord came in to them Act. 10.6 and 22.17 And why may not I bid thee pray as well as Peter bid Simon Magus yet being in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity Act. 8.22 23. and at the time appointed fall down on thy knees spread thy Catalogue confess accuse judge condemn thy self again which done beg beg of the Lord to give thee that soft heart he promised Ezek. 36.26 Ezek. 36.26 A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh Say then to thy self Is this the Lords promise O Lord perform it to my heart take away my stony heart give me an heart of flesh a new heart a new spirit c. here make thine own prayer be not careful of words onely let the words be the true voice of thy heart and the more to work softning thou mayest sob and sigh and beat thy brest above all thou must pray and call and cry with vehemency and fervency not to be uttered When thou hast done if the Lord do not yet hear thee pray again the next day and the next day yea put on this resolution that thou wilt never leave praying till the Lord hear thee in mercy till he make thee to feel thy heart melt within thee yea if it may be till thou seest thy * Ut hoc modo confring as capita draconum tuorum in aquis tears trickling down thy cheeks because of thy offences The Lord will perhaps hear thee at the first time or at the second time or if he do not persist thou thy suit is just and importunity will prevail yea I can say thy desire to sorrow being resolute it is a degree of godly sorrow it self and no doubt the Lord will increase it if thou begst hard a while Sect. 2. The first reason for this sorrow THis must be done first because without pangs no birth Quid sunt dolores parturientis nisi dolores poenitentis saith Saint Austin the pangs of a penitent man are as the pangs of a woman Aug. in Psal 48. Now as there can be no birth without pains of travel going before so neither true repentance without some terrors of the law and straits of conscience Rom. 8.15 Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear saith the Apostle to the Romans and what is that but to shew us they once did receive it when but in the very first preparation to conversion then it was that the Spirit of God in the law did so bear witness unto them of their bondage that it made them to fear And certainly thus it is with every man in his first conversion his contrition must be compungent and vehement bruising breaking renting the heart and feeling the throws as a woman laboring of childe before there can be a new birth or the new creature be brought forth Sect. 3. The second reason for this sorrow AGain without contrition no Christ therefore it was that God first opened the eyes of our first parents to make them see and be sensible of their sin and misery Gen. 3.7 15. Chrysost in c. 3 Matth. hom 11. Gen. 3.7 before he promised Christ vers 15. therefore it was that John Baptist saith Chrysostome first throughly frighted the mindes of his hearers with the terror of judgement and expectation of torment and with the name of an axe and their rejection and entertainment of other children and by doubling the punishment to wit of being hewn down and cast into the fire and when he had thus every way tamed and taken down their stubbornness then at length he makes mention of Christ Why then is Christ seasonably revealed saith Musculus when the hearts of men being soundly pierced by preaching repentance Musc in Mat. c. 3. Sect. Tunc accedit Iesus Calvin in Esay 61. are possessed with a desire of his gracious righteousness Or if you will hear Calvin To whom is Christ promised but to them alone who are humbled and confounded with the sense of their own sins Certainly the first thing that draws to Christ is to consider our miserable estate without him No man will come to Christ except he be hungry no man will take Christs yoke upon him till he come to know and feel the weight of Satans yoke to this end therefore must every man be broken with threats and scourges and lashes of conscience that so despairing of himself he may flye unto Christ Sect. 4. The third reason for this sorrow AGain Iam. 4.10 without hearty sorrow no spiritual comfort We must first be humbled before the Lord and then he will lift us up Christ indeed was anointed to preach good tidings but to whom to the poor to the broken-hearted to the captives to them that are bound Esay 61.11 to the bruised Esay 61.11 God pours not the oyl of his mercy save into a broken vessel God never comforts throughly save where he findes humiliation and repentance for sin Forbes on Revel c. 14. The word of God saith one hath three degrees of operation in the hearts of his chosen First it falleth to mens ears as the sound of many waters a mighty great and confused sound and which commonly bringeth neither terror nor joy but yet a wondring and acknowledgement of a strange force and more then humane power this is that effect which many felt hearing Christ when they were astonished at his doctrine as teaching with authority Mar. 1.22 27. Luke 4.32 Iohn 7.46 what maner doctrine is this never man spake like this man The next effect is the voice of thunder which bringeth
ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Or if invitation will not fit without proclamation hear him proclaim Joh. 7.37 Jesus stood and cryed saying If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink he that believeth on me out of his belly shall flow rivers of water Or least thou shouldest think thou must come to thy cost and bring somewhat in thy hand hear how he doubles and trebbles his cry to the contrary Isa 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price And yet lest thou say I am so far from bringing any thing in my hand that I bring a world of wickedness in my heart and my sins I fear will hinder my acceptation no saith he again Isa 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and this is thy desire thy case and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Or if all this will not do without a more solemn invitation see then how the Lord of heaven sends forth his Embassadors to move thee and entreat thee to come in 2 Cor. 5.20 Now then we are Embassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye reconciled unto God Or if he cannot woo thee lo he commands thee 1 Ioh. 3.23 And this is the Commandment that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ Or yet to drive thee to Christ he not onely commands but threatens Heb. 3.18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest but to them that believed not And what can he do more unto his Vineyard First to bid thee welcom he keeps open house secondly he invites thirdly he proclaims fourthly he calls thee sans-fee without money or moneyworth fifthly he apologizeth sixthly he sendeth seventhly he commandeth eighthly he threatneth Hear what mine Author concludes from these premises How cruel then is that man to his own wounded conscience who in his extreme spiritual thirst will not be drawn by this eight-fold merciful cord to drink his fill of the fountain of the water of life to cast himself with confidence and comfort into the arms of the Lord Iesus Yea how is it possible but that all or some of these should bring in every broken heart to believe and every one that is weary of his sins to relye upon the Lord of life for everlasting welfare Sect. 5. The promises procuring obedience to Christ ANd yet thou mayest say I have cast my self on Christ is this all I must do no there is yet another step he is not onely to be thy Savior but thy husband thou must love him and serve him and honor him and obey him thou must endeavor not onely for pardon of sin and salvation from hell but for purity new obedience ability to do or suffer any thing for Christ And to provoke thee to this duty consider of these texts Matth. 7.21 Not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven Matth. 11.29 Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall finde rest unto your souls Matth. 16.24 If any man will follow me let him take up his cross and follow me 2 Cor. 5.15 He dyed for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselvs but unto him which dyed for them 2 Cor. 5.17 If any man be in Christ let him be a new creature old things are passed behold all things are become new 1 Joh. 1.6 7. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lye and do not the truth But if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin 1 Joh. 2.5 6. He that keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected hereby know we that we are in him He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked 1 Joh. 3.6 9. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God 1 Joh. 3.24 He that keepeth his Commandments dwelleth in him and hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us 1 Joh. 5.18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth him not All these may invite thee to enter into the holy path and to fight under Christs banner against the world the flesh and the Devil unto thy lives end Sect. 6. The promises procuring comfort in Christ ONce more thou mayest say I have been truly humbled with the sense of sin and sense of misery and sorrow for sin yea I have seen and thirsted and relyed and purposed universal obedience to my Savior and yet no comfort comes it may be so but hast thou praised God for this work of wonder the new birth wrought in thee If so then is there another duty expected from thee right precious and pleasing unto God and that is waiting yet I could wish thee address thy self to these precious promises settle thy soul on them with fixed meditation and fervent prayer and where thou perceivest the condition of the promises to be by Gods grace formed in thee thou mayest safely assure thy soul of so much favor as is expresly contained in the promises Levit. 26.40 41 42 44. If they shall confess their iniquity If their uncircumcised hearts be humbled Then will I remember my Covenant that I might be their God I am the Lord the condition is to confess and be humbled and this if thou dost the Covenant is sure the Lord is thy God Job 33.27 28. If any say I have sinned and perverted that which is right and it profited me not he will deliver his soul from going into the pit and his life shall see the light The condition is If any say I have sinned if thy heart say thus in sincerity and truth the promise is sure God will deliver thy soul from hell and thou shalt see the light of heaven Psal 51.17 A broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise The condition is a broken and a contrite heart for sin and if thy heart be thus be sure God will not despise it Prov. 28.13 Whosoever confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy The condition is to confess and forsake sin and this if thou dost as sure as God is God thou shalt have mercy Isa 57.17 I dwell in the