dangerous and damnable When Hezekiah heard the blasphemies of Rabshekah it is said He rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the House of the Lord and said This is a day of trouble and of rebuke and of blasphemy If an Assyrian Blasphemer was so great a troubler what troublers are Nominal Christians thus abusing their Profession and the God they pretend to serve But alas Professors miscarriages as to errours Not mourning for them How little have we been affected with the Floud cast out of the Serpents mouth after the Woman Though the Trumpet hath sounded Woe Woe Woe to the Inhabitants of the Earth because of Spiritual Plagnes We have been puffed up and have not mourned We have spoken laughingly of those sins We have not considered this Judgement as coming from the Lord as a token of his wrath in giving up so many of our Country-men to strong delusious to believe lyes We have shewed little Zeal for Gods glory that hath been blemished by these detestable things Neither have we pittied the many that have followed these pernicious ways How little have we mourned for them though the Apostle saith their damnation slumbereth not How few means have we used for their reducement Not using mouns to reduce the erroneous hardly put up a Prayer for them not admonished them but let them alone to perish in their delusions Not so much as requested an able Minister to have recourse to these poor deluded Souls in order to the turning of them from the Idols of their own brains How little have we endeavoured to strengthen our selves Not preparing Antidotes against the Infection to prepare Antidotes against this Infection We have not studied the Scriptures that we might warn the unruly and resist gain-sayers and be established in the present Truths but though we have seen so many ship-wrack their Faith and Consciences yet we have been high-minded and have not feared Have we not been guilty of not expressing our dislike of the wayes of Hereticks as we should Not disliking them We have not shunn'd them as we ought To maintain a Party to strengthen a Faction how have we too much countenanced them their fellowship hath not been enough avoided How little have we regarded those Apostolical injunctions Now I besiech you Brethren mark them Rom. 16.17 18. which cause divisions and offences contrary to the Doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them for they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple 2 Thes 3.14 And if any man obey not our word note that man and have no company with him that he may be ashamed We have shunn'd the house where one with the Plague-fore dwells Prov. 19.27 but we have not with-drawn from them that cause to erre from the words of Knowledge What shall I say Nor contending for the Faith We have not so heartily and vigorously contended for the Faith which was once and but once delivered to the Saints as we ought The Lord humble us for our luke-warmness We have cryed up Moderation and counted him an Hagio mastix that hath appeared against the abominations of the Head Sure we have not been valiant for the Truth upon the Earth Jer. 9.3 We have not sparkled so much the more in an holy Zeal because others have perverted the right wayes of the Lord. Because Fools have not been answered Prov. 26.4 5. they have grown Wise in their own conceit We have been afraid to meddle with some because they have unreasonably shrowded themselves under the name of Saints Gal. 2.11 but Paul with-stood Peter to the face when Truth was like to suffer I do not in all this go about to justifie undue rigours God knows how for base respects interests names of our own we have been too severe against some things of less moment some circumstances of Church Government c. too much zeal about mint and anice we have been too imposing of what lies dark and obscure in the book of God and this while the Enemies tares have been suffered to grow and the Fundamentals of our Religion have been at least endangered But that which hath been Englands Sin is too much permitting and countenancing of damnable Doctrines What shall I say When God hath said Who is on my side who We have hardly answered for our selves We have been doubtfull in the Faith wavering and reeling not quite on nor quite off but staggering and tottering Our Religion hath been rather Opinion than Faith so that we have stood looking on as Neuters whilst Hereticks have made Merchandise of Souls with fained words 2 Pet. 2.3 The great Truths of God have lyen loose upon our hearts they have not been fastned by the Master of the Assemblies as nails in a sure place and having little experience of what we profess to know hence luke warmness followeth on course or blind zeal for our Ancestours Religion O how by reason of the great defection amongst us hath the way of Truth been evil spoken of 2 Pet. 2.2 The common Enemy fastneth all upon Religion They will not distinguish between Truth and Errour yea between Truth and Heresie and never would put a difference between the Orthodox and the Heterodox but if any one that had been called a Christian fell into any damnable Errours or Practises all Christians suffered thereby which forced the Primitive Fathers to Penne Remonstrances Confessions of Faith and Apologies that they might clear Christ and his Church from being Mother or Nurse to such a cursed Progency And though some amongst us have by Confessions of Faith and otherwise born witness against Errours yet doubtless our Consciences will tell us that we have not by Fastings Prayers Studies and all Endeavours improved all our time and Spirits for the suppresssing and drying up the floud of the Serpent the Soul-destroying floud as we should but if we have had any Acrimony of Spirit we have let it forth upon them that have crost us about Modes of Government rather than against them who have shaken the Foundations of our Religion When I consider the multitudes of Sects that have been and are still amongst us I wonder not that the Gospel hath had a miscarrying Womb and dry Breasts In all times Christianity hath suffered hereby Zozomen saith that many would have followed Christ Noscio quod dogma eligam quod praeferam but they were discouraged by the divers Doctrines amongst his followers Chrysosteme professeth that an Heathen told him He would become a Christian but he knew not to what party of them to joyn there are so many opinions and contentions among Christians When the multitude of Christians were one-soul'd Act. 2.32 33. then Fear and Aw and Reverence upon all the people But now that one saith I am of Paul c. Now Religion is had in derision
but O! how is the world mistaken in many of them Thou hast not called upon me Isa 41.21 23. O Jacob Though Jacob was a People sever'd into a Church-State with an aim at Gods praise yet Jacob pray'd not This was grievous unto God Do not many Professours clearly evidence that they are prayerless Souls by their disobedience to the Preceptive their impatience under the Providential Will of God By their distrust of the All-sufficiency and Faithfulness of God Zeph. 3.2 She obeyed not the voice she received not correction she trusted not in the Lord she drew not near to her God By their entring into so many Temptations Matth. 26.41 Jer. 10.21 Watch and Pray lest you enter into Temptation By their being deceived and labouring to deceive others in the things of God The Pastours are become bruitish and have not sought the Lord. By their Back-slidings Zeph. 1.6 Considerations against this sin Psa 10.4 Joh. 21.15 and Apostasies And them that are turned back from the Lord and those that have not sought the Lord. Doth not this sin speak out high contempt of God That God is not entertained so much as in a thought He will not seek God God is not in all his thoughts That the thoughts of God are blasphemous What profit should we have if we pray unto him Yea Doth not this sin speak out the hearts denial of God What saith the Psalmist Psa 53.1 4. The Fool hath said in his heart there is no God he calls not upon God To live without Prayer is to be dead while alive for it is to live without God Jer. 10.25 The Families that know not God and that call not on his Name are the same What Will ye not do so much as Pray unto God What can you do less for God than by this homage to own him for your Maker Or less for your own Souls than to beg their lives of him whose hand of Justice is lift up against them Their Souls and theirs only shall live Psa 69.32 that seek the Lord. No Malefactours dye more unlamented than those that when cast will not beg for their lives How many also are there Restraining Prayer that have cast off Prayer How many have restrained Prayer And that both when they have thought they have prayed themselves out of affliction they have had no more to say to God Job 15.4 till under affliction again and when they have for some time prayed for deliverance to no purpose This evil is of the Lord why should I wait any longer This is worse than not to pray at all Not to pray at all notes only the neglect of duty but to cast off Prayer a distaste of duty But I shall be more particular Though Prayer be the only Key Neglecting Eâ—aculatary Prayer to unlock the Store-houses and Treasuries of all Blessings yet how little hath this Key been used I shall wave publick and private and only instance in secret Prayer and that both sudden and composed and solemn How few Professours have made conscience of Ejaculatory Prayer How seldome have we darted up our Souls to Heaven upon sudden emergent occasions in some short desires As when we are hearing Lord set home this Word upon my heart When in Prayer our hearts are melting c. Lord suffer not my heart any more to be hardened from thy fear When we are about our worldly employments Lord keep my heart with thy self c. Are not some of us wholly unacquainted with this kind of Praying Not such a Dart saith one to be found in all their Quiver They know not how in the midst of their worldly businesses and company yea in the midst of their solemn religious duties in hearing reading conferring praying c. to send their thoughts to give God a visit though a short one in a desire or two to speak at least one or two heart-words unto him Have not most Professours too much contented themselves with their solemn Visits of God but between their solemn Duties have scarce ever conversed with God What account shall we be able to give of our thoughts the first-born of our Souls from morning to evening Is not this the highest improvement of them to send them in embasies unto Heaven and by them to converse with God Do not the best of us find strangeness apt to grow between God and our Souls between our set Duties And may we not impute that strangeness to our omission of these more â—â—ansient and occasional talkings with God How many precious things in Christian conference in Sermons in our solemn joynt Prayers are lost for want of present liâ—ting up our hearts to God for his presence therein and blessing thereupon How many blessed motions or the Holy Spirit suggested to us in our particular Callings are quench'd for want of these short sallyes of our Souls to Heaven for more grace that these sparks may be kept alive yea blown into a flame Neglect of this kind of Prayer is no small provocation it grieves God there is much unkindness in it that God should be so gracious as to let his door stand wide open at all times and that he should assure us of welcome when ever we come to him and yet that we should not be so kind as to step in to visit him with a desire hour after hour and that though we may thus visit him and not neglect but rather further any business we have in hand and without being uncivil to any company in which we are He cannot but take this udkindly How few Professours have made conscience of closet-Prayer Neglecting closet Prayer Though Christ takes it for granted that his Disciples will thus pray and hath annexed a sweet promise to the due performance of this duty When thou prayest enter into thy Closet Mat. 6.6 and when thou hast shut thy door pray to thy Father which is in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly Retire thy self get thee a place set thy self a time wherein thou mayest vacare Deo be at leisure to make it thy business to pray to God c. Yet how is this duty wholly omitted by some and too too seldom performed by others Satan prevails with some otherwise honest Souls to put off this duty from time to time by telling them either that they will but play the hypocrites therein or that the time is not convenient by reason either of some bodily or of some soul distempers or that this and the other worldly business must of necessity be dispatch'd at such a time c. O how little do such love the Lord that are afraid to talk too secretly or too often in secret with him But alas how many omit closet-Prayer altogether Some content themselves with praying with others either in the Church or in the Family How can such look upon themselves as Saints whatever Profession they make What a Saint and yet
to pity them Drones are to be beaten out of the Hive and starved in Winter It is the Workman that is worthy of meat in Christs account Mat. 10.10 Idleness hath brought much evil upon you and bred many in you it begets many diseases in the body but many more in the Soul Psal 91.11 it exempts a man from the protection of Angels and it exposeth to Gods wrath it brought ruine upon Sodom and the Cities round about Jude v. 7. and they are set forth for an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire 2. In their general callings How are we guilty of abundance of Idleness in our general callings And above all Idleness Spiritual sloth is most dangerous I find some with unwearied diligence labouring to enlarge their Possessions and to raise their Posterity they rise early and sit up late and eat the bread of carefulness but all is for the Body they do little or nothing for their precious Souls and for Eternity Christ and Heaven stand by and few regard them Few work out their Salvation with fear and trembling Some will not be at so much pains for their Souls as to perform the common outward Duties of Religion They will goe to the Market or to be merry with Friends many a mile but if a Lecture he but a few paces from their thresholds they count it intollerable to wet their â—â—et to expose themselves to the air Well Well God hath eased you of this labour But if men are for some easie parts of Religion yet how few are for the difficult parts thereof They cannot endure to watch their hearts to sanctifie the Lords day so strictly as not to think their own thoughts nor speak their own words nor do their own deeds How many Professours have so long given way to their lazy distempers have lain so long upon the Bed of sloth that when we press them to any painful and laborious Duties they think it excuse enough to say We have put off our Coat and loth we are to put it on We have given way to sloth so long that we hate to take pains for Christ and for Eternity Hence Self-examination Meditation Watchfulness against the first risings of sin Mortification of inward heart-sins c. these works are totally laid by and the longer we neglect them the more ado there is to perswade us to take them up We are like truant-Boyes who hate their Book after a long vacation All we have to uphold our selves with is this that the Spirit is willing when God knows the contrary We are willing to be rich and therefore take pains So we would in Spiritual things too if we were so desirous of them If we were willing to enjoy Christ in our Closets would we be even asleep there upon our knees If we were willing to know the way to Glory would we not take so much pains as to goe to the Shepheards tents and ask for the good old way O! O! It will cut you to the heart when you come to Hell-gate that you mist of Heaven for not enquiring the way thither and that you took more pains to be rich and to damn your Souls than to save them Had that time been spent in Prayer holy Conference and in Self-arraignments which was wasted in the Bed Shop Fields unnecessarily you might have had an eternal rest whereas Hell will be as intollerable to all so especially to them who have stood idle all the day long CHAP. XXIV Their Unmercifulness THE Fourth Sin of Sodom was this Professors unmercifulness Ezek. 16.49 Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy That is they were unmerciful and inhumane And are not some Professours even in England very hard-hearted and cruel I have oft thought and said That Our late Civil Wars have had too great influence upon us to make us cruel If there be among you a poor man of one of thy Brethren within any of thy Gates Deut. 15.7 8. in thy Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee thou shalt not harden thy heart nor shut thine hand from thy poor Brother but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need Luke 14.13 in that which he wanteth O! The poor we have alwayes with us But When we make a Feast do we call the poor Who invites the Guests that Christ hath bid for our Tables When I consider how rare Bowells of mercy and kindness are Col. 3.11 it makes me fear and I have Scripture-grounds for my fear that few are the Elect of God O hard-hearted Professours Hear ye the Word of the Lord Jam. 2.13 He shall have judgement without mercy that hath shewed no mercy He shall have all judgement pure judgement without any mixtures of mercy unmixed wrath shall be his portion Christ is so resolved to punish the Unmerciful that he will over-look any sinner rather than him yea for the greater honour of the Justice of God Mat. 25.41 42 c. Mat. 9.36 The Lord seems to begin and end the great Assizes with the Arraignment and Sentencing of the Unmerciful man How few compassionate Professours are there The proper vital act of Mercy is Compassion How few resent the miseries of others as if they were their own Luke 10.33 How few set themselves to do good to those who are miserable Such what-ever they pretend are indeed unmerciful for Mercy is an active and a communicative thing How few are merciful to others Souls How few pity and set themselves to help sinning Souls but more of this under another Head How few are merciful to the Bodies of others How many are there that will not spare of their superfluities to cloth Christs naked shoulders or to fill his hungry belly Men lay out more to adorn a Cup-board or the walls of their houses than ever they gave to Jesus Christ and his Servants all their dayes Men can feed their Birds their Catts their Doggs their Swine but the Sucklings and Lambs of Jesus Christ perish for want Christ tells you what kindness you shew to his Spouse Matth. 25.40 his Friends his Children he counts as done unto himself and believe it all the scornes and neglects you have cast on either his Ambassadors or poor Saints he will remember another day Go to thy Closet and carry this with thee who so stoppeth his ear at the cry of the poor he also shall cry himself Prov. 21.13 but shall not be heard If you give to whom is it Is it not only to the poor of your own party But hath not the Lord charged you to give to every man that asketh Luke 6.30 Gal. 6.10 Hath he excepted any but idlers Are not you to doe good to all though especially to the Houshold of faith And among them should not your greatest charity have been set forth on them who are become poor not by vile courses but by Gods
in thy gold or in a golden calf thou art guilty of Idolatry Col. 3.5 of having other Gods besides the true God and so dost as highly offend the true God and God usually gives up such men unto spiritual judgements Rom. 1.21.24 It makes me fear you have not tasted of the upper springs because the puddle of the World is still sweet to your taste Luke 5.39 No man saith Christ having drunk old wine straightway desireth new for he saith the old is better If you had tasted of the joy peace mercy and comforts of Christ your earthly comforts would be disrelished Gal. 6.14 If you did glory in the Cross of Christ the World would be crucified to you and you unto the World The sweetness of Christ would drown all Creature-sweetness But alass Psa 84.10 To which of us is one day in Gods Courts better than a thousand else-where Austin said If one drop of the joyes of Heaven might fall into Hell it would drown all the bitterness of Hell So would it drown all bitterness in the Soul and all the sweetness in the World Worldly comforts would be too course too slat too low to recreate your hearts Did ye but know the honey and milk of Canaan ye would not so much mind the Onyons of Egypt Mat. 6.24 No man can serve two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will cleave to the one and despise the other ye cannot serve God and Mammon O! What a surpassing indignity is this to Christ Si terram amas terraâ—es Aug. to set him below the foot-stool to value thirty Pieces of Silver before him to preferr Earth before Heaven present things before future that the love of God the recompence of reward shall not lye nearer the heart than the treasures of Egypt O! What a miserable life dost thou live This Sin brings an Hell with it thou art the Devil's Martyr 1 Tim. â— 9 They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and burtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition Thou enjoyest neither God nor the World Thy only happiness is a fancy And this is thy great misery that thou still desirest that which will never satisfie thy desires The more thou hast of the World the more thou wantest the more thou drinkest the more thou thirstest a Dropser is upon thee Semper avarus eget Hor. Hebr. 13.5 Prov. 23 5. ch 8.21 Eccles 5.1 and thou knowest it not Discontent is alwayes the Companion of Covetousness Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have Why wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not Grace and Godliness is substance Why with Esop's Dogg wilt thou let goe the substance for a shadow The things of the World are fancies the things of God realities What good is there to the Owners of riches saving the beholding them with their eyes Do not you all this while bear false witness against God Do not you proclaim to the World that God is not enough to answer to fill your desires and that therefore you goe out after the Creature Is it nothing to you to call God who is all-sufficient who is a fountain of living Water a barren Wilderness Be astonished O ye Heavens at this and be horribly afraid Jer. 2.12 13 31. be ye very desolate saith the Lord for my people have committed two evills's they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters and hewed them out cisternes broken cisternes that can hold no water O Generation see ye the Word of the Lord Have I been a Wilderness unto Israel a Land of Darkness Wherefore say my people We are Lords we will come no more unto thee Hereby you break the conjugal Relation God looks on you as Adulterers and Adulteresses James 4.4 Prov. 5.19 and will judge you accordingly God expects that his breasts should satisfie you and that you be alwayes ravished with his love and dare you tell the World that your God hath deceived you and that you were mistaken in your choice of God and therefore after other Lovers you will goe No wonder that for the iniquity of our covetousness Isa 57.17 God be wroth and smite us We are greedy of more but what have we done with our former talents Account we must for one Mat. 25.5 for two for ten talents the more we have the greater still will be our account There is a reckoning day at hand O that our moderation were known to all men Phil. 4.5 because the Lord is at hand If thou art not sincere I am as sure as this Book is in thy hand thou wilt curse the time that ever thou hadst an Estate and wilt wish thou hadst been a Beggar for then thou hadst not so much to answer for before God It is certain though some doubt it that thou shalt carry none of thy estate away with thee 1 Tim. 6.7 nothing is to be carried away save guilt to Hell in case of mis-improvement of an Estate yea if you have not rendred unto God according to what you have received 2 Chron. 32.25 the heaping up of wealth is but the charging of thy account thou must account how thou hast disbursed to a farthing I will suppose thou hast by neglects of thy general Calling and by rising up early and sitting up late gained an Estate thou mayest put all thy gain in thine eyes and never see the worse What will thy Estate advantage thee when the Arrows of the Lord enter into thy Soul What will the World advantage thee when the Gout Feaver burning Pestilence c. are upon thee What hast thou got only that which may stand with Gods eternal hatred Never count thy gains till thou hast got that which is inconsistent with Gods wrath What hast thou got above that which God throweth unto the Doggs Shew me Childrens bread or never boast of thy gains Did you ever find any Child of God worse for afflictions but have you not found many worse for their thrivings in the World Jeshurun waxed fat Deut. 32.15 and kicked Whilst you have Bonds and Bills upon others do not you run into arrears unto God And how will you discharge those Suits which God will commence against you When you lye a dying will ye not wish that your time your strength your spirits had been powred forth upon better things than those of this life That you had traded for Grace and Glory rather than for the Gold of Ophir for a little gilt Clay O ye great Projectours for the World I do even fore-see the troubles and horrours the doubts and fears the anguish and amazements of your Souls which your unâ—â—â—â—â—â—ties as to your future estate will put 〈…〉 into in your dying Rooms How 〈…〉 take up such language as this Fool that I was to cumber my self about many things
one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions What sighs Not mourning enough for the want of them sorrows tears c. hath the removal of your Ministers cost you Cannot you rub it out very quietly If you lose your Jewels Estates Names Friends Children c. we can read the sorrows of your hearts in your countenances you are almost angry with God when a goard is smitten O! what sinkings of heart are there among Professours what cares fears griefs not only to the sadning of their hearts but altering of their countenances when the world vanisheth And yet no aking hearts no dejected countenances for the glory 's departing for Gods shutting up house and departure I am confident it hath not broke one nights rest to many who yet will think themselves wronged if they be not placed in the highest form of Profession What time hast thou set apart to humble thy Soul for all thy abuses of the Gospel and Ministry thereof Not Fasting under this Judgment If a Child be sick time must be set apart to humble thee before God this is your duty but the other should not have been neglected Thou may'st subsist better without Children than without these Spiritual Fathers a Gospel Ministry is a greater Jewell than many Sons and Daughters Thy having sinned away the food of thy Soul should have put thee in Sackcloth and upon Fasting with mourning long ago All Israel lamented after the Ark But are not you as merry and sensual at your tables as ever Yea are not you secretly glad at the removal of your Ministers yea secretly being glad for their removal Ministers and Ministry saith Shepheard are bills of charges to a Congregation and too costly Inhabitants among them 2. Not justifying God in their removal Have you justified God in the removal of them God as a wise and provident Master gave you glorious lights to do his work by but you have plaid away your time is it any wonder that he hath put out your Tapers and Candles Have you confest the righteousness of God herein that he will not be at cost to find you Candle light to play by Hath this been thy hearts acknowledgment God gave me these lights that I might work for him by them and because I did not but wrought the works of darkness therefore he hath most justly left me in darkness and in the shadows of death 2 Thes 2.10 11 because I received not the truth in the love thereof I took it into mine head but not into mine heart God may justly send me strong delusions that I should believe a lye Vide Pareuâ—â— in Act. 5.36 It is the observation of Pareus upon many of the Jews being seduced that it was just with God that they should believe impostours because they would not give credit to Jesus Christ O! God may make short work with us in his Judiciary proceedings When God hath departed upon repulse he hath left a dismall curse behind hind him I say unto you that none of these men which were bidden shall tast of my Supper If the meat be on the table yet it is just with God that I shall never tast of it for I have controuled the Spirit again and again twenty thirty fourty years have I vexed the good Spirit of the Lord and therefore he may swear in his wrath that I shall never enter into his rest If some shall never tast that have neglected one Call woe is me who have neglected thousands Take words and say because I have not obeyed the voice of thy Servants Job 36.12 't is righteous that I perish by the Sword and dye without knowledge 3. Not blessing God for former opportunitles How little have you blest and do you bless God that once you did enjoy a Gospel Ministry and such a Gospel Ministry How seldome are such words as these Blessed be they and blessed be their Counsels and blessed be the Lord that sent them out to meet me in former dayes and for so many dayes months and years together found in your mouths It is a sign that your disesteems of the Gospel and Ministry do still abide whilst you cannot find in your hearts to thank God for enjoying so choice a blessing for so many years together 4. Not crying for their return What cries have you sent up to Heaven for the return of your Ministers Dare you thus imprecate Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I forget to pray for Zions welfare in this particular Had the Ministry of the Gospel been counted a glorious blessing you would have sent strong cryes to Heaven for the return of it Had you believed that they came to treat with your Souls about your peace with God and that God hath appointed this as the great means to bring your Souls to himself you would not have parted with your Ministers so easily being as little moved as at the withering and throwing to the dunghill of a formerly flourishing Nose gay of Flowers and you would have wrestled with the Lord for the return of these glorious Lights of Heaven How can you chuse but feat the Lord hath no more Souls to convert in that place from which the Gospel is removed Jesus Christ prayed Isa 49.8 compared with 2 Cor. 6.2 that the Gospel might be sent to the Gentiles In an acceptable time have I heard thee O! How should you have prayed for the fruit of Christs prayer Have you back'd prayer with prayer Have you doubled your Prayers for the return of your Fathers Have they not begotten you Judg. 9.17 Should they not be unto you as Fathers Will not Idolatrous Micah else condemn you 5. Not preparing for such a mercy How little do you set your selves in a posture for the return of the Gospel and the Ministers of it Until you have humbled your Souls as low as the dust for your unprofitableness pride sensuality earthliness dis-esteems and neglects of the Gospel for your abuse of the talents of Gold that you hid or wasted can you imagine that God will intrust you with more talents Alas few put themselves in a readiness few prepare to meet God as formerly they have met him in the solemn Assemblies Verily God is gone and returned unto his place Hos 5.13 till you acknowledge your offences your Gospel-sins and seek his face But if ye seek him not early how can ye hope for the bringing back the Captivity that the glory and strength will return 6 Being niggardly even now toward them How little do ye now lay out for the refreshing and feeding of your poor Ministers now that their necessities are so growing you cannot now excuse your niggardliness with this they have a competency Alas most of them and their many little ones are in great straights and exigencies and what still straightned in your bowels Is not the Proverb made good Out of sight out of
who have lost your Virgin affections to Christ who have gone a whoring from your God who are covetous to a wonder and over run with carking cares and sinful despondencies who break out daily into scandalous passions who by divisions envies animosities over-reachings perjuries and hypocrisie have made Religion vile Know from Christ's mouth Mat. 18.6 it had been better for you that a Milstone had been hang'd about your necks and that you had been drowned long agoe in the depth of the Sea than to live so offensively towards men as you have done Jer. 34.16 because hereby the Name of God is polluted It had been better you had never known the wayes of God 1 Pet. 2.20 21. than after Profession and Knowledge to depart and to be as Doggs and Swine If you had never profess'd Gods Name you had never polluted it but God will reckon with you about it I am bold to say that a Drunkard Adulterer Robber c. doth not so provoke the Lord to wrath as a Professour may even by an impatient discontented word and for this compare two Scriptures In the former there is unbelief and quarrelling with God face to face as it were and yet God pass'd that by Numb 11.21 22. with Numb 20.10 and Deut. 32.51 it being in secret with a short check Is the Lords hand waxed short But in the other place Because ye believed not c. to sanctifie me in the eyes of the Children of Israel c. therefore ye shall dye in the Wilderness and never set foot on the Land of Promise One scandalous Professour doth more hurt and more stain Religion than hundreds of Drunkards and therefore their Hell shall be the standard to that of all other sinners Atrocius sub nominis Christi Professione peccat Salvian Mat. 24.51 Appoint him his portion with Hypocrites Thousands in Hell will curse the day wherein they saw your looseness on Earth for thereby they have blasphemed Christ as a Friend of Publicans and Sinners and as if he countenanced you secretly in your Lusts though for state and form he hath spoken great things against such courses in his Word O! how frequently have you made boasts of God Rom. 2.23 24. and the Law but by breaking of it ye have caused his Name to be evil spoken of When you should have been leading others to Heaven you have by your example lead them to Hell How deep shall their Hell be who are plunged thither with their own and other-mens sins also Though God should give you repentance and pardons yet how oft will your Souls bleed to consider how many you have compell'd by your example to sin and blaspheme who are actually in the chains of darkness Gal. 2.14 or hastning thither in a full career O that you would no longer be like the body of Amasa to cause others to stand still or go back from the wayes of Holyness O thou scandalous Professour What account must thou pass with God shortly before perhaps thou hast turned thine eye to the next page Will not the blood of multitudes who perish by thy means be required at thy hands One sin may become many millions of offences as the Numbers may be that shall hear of it No wonder that men are emboldned to sin that the Adulterer cares not for the Curtains of the Night nor the Drunkard for the shadows of the Evening no wonder that the Swearer can spit the Name of God so impudently out of his mouth these have been incouraged by thy revolts backslidings careless and seldome duties and violent earthly seekings O! if you would consider you bore the Ark of the Lord you were entrusted with his honour but you have let it fall yea cast it in the dirt O! tremble at what the God of Heaven hath made a standing decree upon this occasion 1 Sam. 2.30 them that honour me I will honour and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed And though it somewhat comforts me that God will wipe off whatsoever can be cast on him yet know to your sorrow you shall not so easily discharge your selves of the Plagues that are ready to be powred out upon you God expected that you should have been Kings and Priests to him Rev. 1.6 Jo. 3.35 you should have been burning and shining lights you should have been like Innes which have their Signes on both sides you were of the King guard you should have had the Arms of the Crown on your Breasts and on your Backs so that if any had viewed you had met you or had followed you they might have known you for Gods Servants by the stamp and cognisance of Heaven upon you But you have rather been like those Pictures that if you look on one side you may see an Angels face but on the other the Devils O my Soul how canst thou write of these speak or think on them without weeping O Reader retreat retreat quickly to thy Chamber and spend some considerable time to reflect on thy scandalous Words and Actions and how much the Name of God hath thereby been blasphemed and thousands endangered to stumble and fall through thy occasion How many that should have â—een as Shields to ward off those blows of reproach that would fall on God and Religion have proved Swords in the hands of the wicked wherewith the Name of God is wounded and whereby multitudes are in danger of perishing yea and the poor reall Christians are even ashamed to look up and to shew their faces and profession to the world because there have been such Spots in their communion Jude v. 12. such unclean scabbed and unsavoury Sheep that have walked among them CHAP. XXXVIII Their sinning against Knowledge and impenitently notwithstanding all means to bring them to Repentance for their Sins 3ly Against much light YOur Sins are yet further accented by being committed not only against such means of Knowledge but against much Knowledge got thereby You have had the most powerfull Ministry under the whole Heavens And believe it sirs if you had not heard him that spake from Heaven to you If Christ had not come Joh. 15.22 you had had no sin comparatively But now you have no Cloak for your sin You have sinned against more light than the rest of the World You know that covetousness is a sin Isa 57.17 Isa 45.5 Tit. 3.2 and that for the iniquity thereof God hath been wrath and yet you seek great things for your selves still you know that you are to speak evil of no man and yet you bespatter every man almost to set off your selves by staining and blotting of others reputations Isa 58.5 Luk. 12.47 Ezek. 21.10 you know God abhors them that for a day only hang down their heads like bull-rushes and yet this hath been your manner from the beginning of your Profession you know your Masters will you know you should not make mirth when the Lord is angry
that it would please God to make my words as an Hammer Motives to let our hearts be broken for and from our Sins to break the Rocks O that I may be thus usefull to your Souls O that somewhat at last may be hinted that may through the blessing of Goâ— break your hearts for and from sin that may promote your Repentance for your own and your othermens sins And indeed unless your hearts be broken for sin they will never be broken from sin But the more bitterness of Spirit you are in for sin the more probability there is you will not return unto sin When men have furfetted upon a Dish and are greatly afflicted and pained by it the more unlikely they are to return again unto that Dish That is certain saith Mr. Burroughs either a mans sin will make an end of his mourning or his mouâ—ning will make an end of his sin Yea if your hearts be not broken for other mens sins they are not kindly broken for your own sins You will never put it out of all doubt that your sorrow is right and genuine unless you mourn for others as well as your own sins for it will alwayes be objected that if Sin as Sin were your Burden if Sin as dishonouring God as wounding Christ as grieving the Spirit then other mens sins being reslexions on the Authority and Will of the great God Father Son and Spirit should have some considerable weight upon your Souls The truth is others sins become thine if thou knowest them and mournest not for them O then In what a case are all the hardned jolly Professours who can make a sport of Drunkeness Uncleanness Superstition Perjury c. in others Consider therefore by the Help of this Glass others sins as well as thine own to help on thy brokeness of heart for and from sin Psal 119.158 Behold with David the transgressour and be grieved because they keep not Gods word Let your Souls with Lot be vexed there are greater sins found among Professours in England than were in Sodom Let thy Soul be as his was as in Hell as upon the Rack How can you evidence that you are translated from death to life because you love the Brethren whilst you are not troubled to see them wounding and damning their souls by their sins you are grieved to see any Friends of yours in great hazards and dangers by the Sword by Sickness by Fire but the Souls of your Friends are in the greatest danger yet you lament not the sight of these deplorable spectacles God forbid that any of you should have grounds of hope to gain Liberties and outward Privileges by others provocations whilst all their sins become yours whilst you are not humbled for them But to lay before you some Considerations that may set home by the Spirit draw water out of the Flint 1. God is greatly incensed Should not your hearts be broken for and from sin seeing sin hath so incensed God against the Land of your Nativity Can you retire from the World and seriously consider the Prints of Gods displeasure against poor England and yet remain impenitent Is it nothing to you that God hath for many years been withdrawing from his Sanctuary in England O! Your Ministers have had miscarrying Wombs and dry Breasts Though they rose early and sate up late were much in watchings and in labours for the Conversion and Edification of Souls yet how seldome have any been under the Pangs of the New Birth How seldome were any pricked at the heart How seldome have any cryed out What shall we do to be saved And for others concerning whom we hoped better things How have they shed their Leaf How have they pined and withered away as to Practical Godliness How have they lost that Seriousness that Heavenlyness that Power of Godliness which before they seemed to have had Your Ministers saw this and lamented it they acquainted you with it invited you to remember from whence you are fall'n to repent and do your first works But yet You returned not unto the Lord. Should not this pierce your very hearts Is it nothing to you that not only your selves but so many Professours in England should lose their faithful and painful Ministers Is it nothing to you for God to call home by Death and otherwise so many of his Embassadours whom you have grieved whom you have despised and affronted and who have been more burthened with your Pride Earthliness Divisions Sensuality c. than they are with their present Poverty and Dishonours under which they lye What doth it portend save War and Hostility when Embassadours are called home And may not you fear that the wrath of God is and will be against you till there be no remedy They mocked the Messengers of God 2 Chron. 36.16 and despised his Words and misused his Prophets untill the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy If God will treat with you no more believe it he will fight with you And O! O! O! Who will set the Bryars and Thornes against him He will goe through them he will consume them in his wrath Is it nothing to you that there is yet such a Spirit of Division in the Land O! What heats and heart-burnings what animosities and jealousies are there so that a Brother cannot trust a Brother Is it nothing to you that God hath been so long contending with the Land by the Sword and by the Pestilence and so lately by Fire Is it nothing to you that God permitted that dreadful Fire in London to break forth about Three of the Clock on a Lords Day morning Did he not thereby cause his Sabbath in a manner to cease in London Did not he make his holy Day of Rest a Day of labour and disquiet Did not he hereby as it were anticipate his Peoples conventions to expiate him and so drew them as it were off from the Remedy that his hands being loosened he might punish 2 Chron. 7.12 Deut. 9.14 Jer. 2.2 and not be prevailed with to pardon May we not say with Jeremiah even upon this account The Lord hath swallowed up all the Habitations of Jacob and hath not pittied he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong Holds of the Daughter of Judah he hath brought them down to the ground Is it nothing that at the same time God should send forth such a boysterous Wind to fann and blow up the Fire East West South and North God therein executing the Judgement threatned against Elam Jer. 49.36 of bringing the four Winds from the four Quarters of Heaven c. If the punishment of one Element saith a late Writer be dreadful as the Water was to the old World and the Air is in Pestilential Infections and the Earth was when it opened its mouth to swallow up Corah and his company how dreadful is Gods punishing a Land or Person with double and treble Judgements in one
A GOSPEL-GLASSE Representing the MISCARRIAGES OF English Professors BOTH In their Personal and Relative Capacities for which God is contending with them by the Sword Plague c. and since the writing of the greatest part of the following Treatise for the Press by the dreadful Fire in London OR A CALL FROM HEAVEN To SINNERS and SAINTS By Repentance and Reformation to prepare to meet God Levit. 19.17 Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thine heart Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer Sin upon him Jer. 2.35 Yet thou sayest Because I am innocent surely his anger shall turn from me Behold I will plead with thee because thou sayest I have not sinned LONDON Printed in the Year MDCLXVII THE Authors PREFACE WHEN it is a day of darkness and of gloominess a day of clouds and of thick darkness then saith the Prophet Blow ye the Trumpet in Zion Joel 2.1 2. and found an Alarum in my holy Mountain Let all the Inhabitants of the Land tremble Lam. 2.1 How hath the Lord covered the Daughter of Zion with a Cloud in his anger and cast down from Heaven unto the Earth the beauty of Israel and remembred not his Foot-stool in the day of his anger He hath violently taken away his Tabernacle as if it were of a Garden V. 6 he hath destroyed the Places of the Assembly The Lord hath caused the solemn Feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion and hath despised in the indignation of his anger his Priests V. 7 Yea the Lord hath cast off his Altar he hath abhorred his Sanctuary the Law is no more her Prophet also find no Vision from the Lord. O that now mine eyes could fail with tears V. 9 and my bowels were more troubled within me O that my Liver were poured upon the Earth for the destruction of the Daughter of my People V. 11 because the Children and the Sucklings swoon in the streets of the City We see not our Signes there is no more any Prophet Psal 74.9 neither is there among us any that knoweth How Long. When we 2 Sam. 6.1 2. like David were restoring the Ark of God I mean the presence of Christ in his Worship and Ordinances what Stumblings of the Oxen have we seen What miserable Disappointments have we met with And what sad breaches have there been made How hath God stopt our way and branded our Enterprises with wonderful remarks of his sore displeasure Hear therefore the word of the Lord Hos 4.1 ye Children of Israel for the Lord hath a Controversie with the Inhabitants of the Land We poor Ministers have pleaded with you till we can plead no more the Lord hath bid us stand by whilest he himself takes up the Controverste O is it not a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Hebr. 10.31 Are you not sensible what Arrows God hath begun to shoot amongst us How many thousands Psal 58.9 Isa 5.25 and ten thousands hath he taken away as with a whirlwind by the Pestilence For all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still How hath God shaken our Heavens Hag. 2.6 and our Earth the Sea as well as dry Land How doth he contend still by the Sword And how much precious blood hath the Earth and Sea drunk up For all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still O! Come Psal 46.8 Behold the works of the Lord what desolations he hath made in the Earth Every Providence of God especially his more notable Acts hath a reason written upon it could mans eye read it When the Church complained that God was as a stranger in the Land Jer. 14.8 10. and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night The Lord replyes to them Thus have they loved to wander c. The Controversie began on their side they may see their Sin in the Punishment as in a Glass Do they winder I grow strange to them The estrangement began on their part Nothing appears more our instant Duty than to enter a serious scrutiny What have we done Wherein have we offended Lam. 3.40 41 44. Let us search and try our wayes saith the afflicted Church of Judah upon this very occasion of the Lords covering himself with a Cloud that their Prayers could not pass through and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the Heavens O! Hag. 1.5.7 Consider your wayes The Lord doubled it Your iniquities have seperated between you and your God Isa 59.2 and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear I find men will easily subscribe to this that Sin is the procuring cause of all misery but I find an aptness to transferr the guilt from one to another from one party to another and though people do even sell themselves to work wickedness yet so predominant is Self-love that it sees no spots in it self Ahab is not the troubler of Israel but Elijah Nay a good man Aaron excuseth himself Exod. 32.22 and layes the blame on others The Sin is theirs not mine Men have a natural desire to justifie themselves and their desire is so strong that they care not whom they bespatter or burden so they may but ease and acquit themselves And indeed Sin is such an ugly Monster that no man will own it if he can choose but had rather lay this Child of Darkness at any mans door yea at Gods than Father it himself My Design in this Enterprize is to obviate this Distemper and to bring you all of you to own your iniquity that you may say resolve upon it that you will confess your iniquity Psal 32.5 that so God may forgive the iniquity of your sin My Place and Duty as a Minister though wholly unworthy of that Relation to God and you binds me to cause Jerusalem to know her abominations Ezek. 16.2 and therefore I have descended to Particulars that if it be the will of God I might hit the humour 1 Kings 8.38 and shew to every man the plague of his own heart The Lord knoweth I take no pleasure to rake in these Dunghills I dread the ill uses that the Sons of Belial may make of this Enterprize I expect various Censures from them who should be otherwise minâ—ed but my record is on high that the great Design of this Publication is to reduce Professours to a more aweful humble serious Repentance towards God and singular Conversation before men I thank God for the freedome that a Reverend Brother hath taken with the ejected Ministers Vox clamantis in Deserto and I must profess that since the perusal of that most seasonable Piâ—ce I have had no quiet in my Conscience till I entred upon this Labour Though my bodily Distempers pleaded loud for my silence though I was
Conscience though I hazard the displeasure of great men thereby Numb 24.10 So did that Sorcerer though Balaks anger was kindled against Balaam and he smote his hands together 18. I have some sights of another World and I desire to spend an eternity with the Saints So had Balaam Numb 23.10 and did not he desire so much Let me dye the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his 19. When I think of the day of Judgement I am affected with it whereas before I was sottish and secure So was Felix As he Paul reasoned of Righteousness Acts 24.25 Temperance and Judgement to come Felix trembled 20. I am an Orthodox Protestant so thou mayst be a Teacher too thou mayst not only know Gods will and approve the things that are more excellent Rom. 2.18 19 20 24. being instructed out of the Law but confident that thou thy self art a guide of the blind a light of them which are in darkness an Instructer of the foolish a Teacher of babes which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the Law and yet fall short of Christ and of Heaven yea the name of God may be blasphemed among the Gentiles through thee 21. I am free from the scandaious evils of the times So were they in Peter They had escaped the pollutions of the world 2 Pet. 2.20 22. yea and that through the knowledge of Christ which is more than the moral Heathens ever had and yet were dogs and swine still 22. I live inoffensively none can lay any thing to my charge But was not Paul whilst Christless Phil. 3.6 touching the Righteousness which is in the Law blameless At the same time he was Persecuting the Church of God 23. I have obeyed the Commandements of God for a long time I am not like a Mushrom soon up and soon vanishing I am a constant Servant to the Commandements of God So was the young man in the Gospel Matth. 19.20 he said unto Christ All these things I have kept from my youth up what lack I yet 24. I have inlargements in duties and satisfie not my self with ordinary duties Matth. 23.14 Luk. 18.12 but make Conscience of extraordinary duties I fast and that oft And did not the Pharisees make long Prayer and fast off I fast twice in the week 25. I have joyes in Ordinances the word of the Lord is sweet and precious I know the time when it was not so But did not Hered hear the word of God gladly Did he not see an excellency in John Mar. 6.20 Had he not his Virtues and Graces in great esteem Had he not a Reverend behaviour towards him Did not he observe him and care to please him He heard him and that gladly He was much delighted in John's Preaching 26. Nay but I go farther for I stirr up others to frequent Sermons So did the Elders of Israel Ezek. 33.30 Come I pray you and hear what is the word that comes forth from the Lord c. 27. I obey as well as hear I hear in order to practise And was not Herod conformable to John's Doctrine though John Preached not placentia Mar. 6.20 he was a rough Preacher a burning as well as a shining light yet the Text tells us â—e did many things 28. Matth. 7.28.13.54 Mar. 1.22.11.18 When I hear the word I am strangely taken with it So were the people when they heard Christ they were astonished at his Doctrine 29. Many a time under a Sermon my knees and heart ake So it was with Felix As he reasoned of Righteousness Temperance c. Felix trembled 30. But I Pray and Pray oft as well as hear and therefore is it not well It may be ill enough if thou hast no better evidence When you make many Prayers when you multiply Prayer when you add Prayer to Prayer yet I will not hear Isa 1.15 31. There was a time when I felt sin no more than a dead man feels a mountain upon him but now it is heavy 't is burthensome And was it not so to Cain And Cain said unto the Lord my punishment or mine iniquity is greater than I can bear Was it not so to Judas Mat. 25.8 10. when he repented himself and restor'd the thirty pieces of silver saying I have sinned in that I have betrayed the Innocent blood and went and hanged himself 32. I have desires after grace and am willing to be at cost for it So the foolish Virgins And the foolish being awakened out of their security in their form of Godliness said unto the wise give us of your Oyl Matth. 25.8 10 yea they went to buy They were willing to be at cost for the power of Godliness 33. I associate only with Gods people yea with the purest and holiest So did the foolish Virgins they associated not only with Virgins but with the wise Virgins Matth. 25.1 Both wise and foolish went out together to meet the Bridegroom 34. I consult Ministers for my Soul and have high attainments But wherein dost thou go beyond those of whom it is said Isa 58.2 They seek me daily and delight to know my wayes as a Nation that did Righteousness and forsook not the Ordinance of their God they ask of me the Ordinances of Justice they take delight in approaching to God Wherein dost thou go beyond those in the Hebrews Hebr. 6.4 5. who were once inlightened and had tasted of the Heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy-Ghost Hebr. 6.9 and had tasted the good word of God and the Powers of the world to come If thou hast not better things than these thou hast not savingly closed with Jesus Christ for as yet thou hast nothing that accompanieth Salvation from which Salvation cannot be seperated O! I cannot but pitty these poor hearts these Almost-Christians Almost Christians and Almost Saved I may say they are not farr from the Kingdome of God and yet in a sense they are farther than any others Our greatest difficulty hath been to undeceive these to unchrist these I mean to take off these figleaves with which they have covered themselves that they may come to Christ for clothing and so prevent the appearing of their nakedness O! It is hard tough work to perswade a proud Pharisee that all his Righteousness will not steed him that he must fling away all that he must have something else to shew for Heaven and Glory O! How have men fled in our faces when we have told them that yet they have nothing that is essential to a Christian as a Christian or which makes a Christian a Christian no more than a picture hath of the essence of a man You may imagine a man that hath bestown 20 or 30 years in building how loath is he to pull down all again Though he fears the foundation is but on the Sands he will rather venture than begin all
the chiefest among ten thousand his head is as the most fine gold his locks are bushy black as a Raven his eyes are as the eyes of Doves by the Rivers of waters washed with milk and fitly set his cheeks are as a bed of spices as sweet flowers his lipps like Lillies dropping sweet smelling myrrhe his hands are like gold Rings set with the Berill his belly is as bright Ivory overlaid with Saphires his legs are as Pillars of Marble set upon sockets of sine gold his countenance is as Lebanon excellent as the Cedars his mouth is most sweet yea he is altogether lovely This is my Beloved c. I 'le praise thee with uprightness Psal 119.7 164. Septies i. e. Saepissime Psal 148. I 'le praise thee seven times a day Yea David thought seven times a day too little and therefore he call'd in all the Creatures of Heaven and Earth Air and Sea to praise God the Dragons in the deep must not be silent True Lovers praise God as much as they can they exalt God to the utmost of their power and then from a sense that God is above all their praise they would have every thing that hath breath to praise the Lord yea and inanimates too for to joyn in the Quire Doth Praise wait for God 11. Did you love God Not loving all of God and Christ Jo. 13.34 35. 1 Jo. 4.19 you would love every thing of God Do you love his Omnipresence his Justice his Holiness True love to Christ sticks not barely in the Person of Christ but reacheth to all that have an Union with him Do we love Christ mystical as well as personal Are we of Catholick Spirits The Apostle is peremptory and brandeth them all as Liars that pretend to love God and Christ and do not love Saints 12. Not thirsting after nearer Communion True Lovers of God thirst after nearer Commuion with God My Soul followeth hard after thee The Soul still encroacheth upon God Let me see thy Glory saith Moses though he saw more than Mortals were commonly permitted to behold yet Semper avarus eget Much would have more Psal 42.1 2. As the Hart panteth after the Water-brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God my Soul thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before God A true Lover of God is under an holy impatience till he ceaseth to see darkly in a glass He would fain see with open face O! saith such a Soul the distance between Christ and me is too great O! I cannot but groan earnestly when I consider I am absent from the Lord whilst present in the body Lord saith Austin I will dye that I may enjoy thee I will not live but I will dye I desire to dye that I may see Christ and refuse to live that I may live with Christ The broken Rings Contracts and Espousals content not the true Lover but he longs for the Marriage day Here are Clouds that oft pass 'twixt God and my Soul O that I were above them Here if I see and enjoy the fear of losing so sweet a sight abates the comfort of fruition but then welcome an eternal day that shall never have a night 13. Being weary of his Commands If you loved God his Commandements would not be grievous to you Love cannot be easily poised Love hath a kind of Almightiness in it so that heavy burdens are made light 1 Jo. 5.3 and almost impossible things become feasible But of how many things do we say Mal. 1.13 What a weariness is it How are you haled by Governours by Conscience and by the terrours of the Law unto Duties How like Slaves chain'd to Gallies you must work though sore against your wills Did you love God you would count nothing tedious Hebr. 12.1 save dulness in his service Sin would only be the Weight O the burden of Formality Pride c But O the pleasures of the wayes of God! His yoak is easie his burden light 14. Did you love God Not fearing how it goes with Gods affairs 1 Sam. 4.13 you would be jealous lest it should goe ill with Gods affairs The loving Mother trembleth lest the Child should suffer when she is off from it But alas how few Elies are there whose hearts tremble beause of the Ark Do you really fear lest Formality should eat out the Power of Godliness lest Traditions should make void the Commandements of God lest your Trades should spoyl your Communion with God You may easily imagine Considerations tending to humble us for want of Love to God the want of Love to God must needs be a great Provocation O to pretend love and yet Judas-like betray Christ with a kisse to say Hail Master and yet preferr a base Lust before him What an indignity is it to the Husband that the Wife loves the Slave before him The World should be your Slave but it hath got the heart the bosome and Christ must stand without doors till his locks are wet Cant. 5. O that God should stoop so low as to love you as to make you the birth of his everlasting counsels of love that he should carry you long in the womb of his eternal purpose This goodly Fabrick of Heaven and Earth had not been erected but as a Stage whereon he would shew his love to you And did he not in the fulness of time purchase you by the blood of his First-born yea of his only begotten Son and for this very end that he might gain your love as well as reveal his own love And yet that your love should not be like an Eccho which returneth what it receiveth Sure you should cast back Gods beams of love upon himself This is all he expects My Son give me thine heart All the command he layes upon you Mat. 22 36 37. is in one word To Love him God might have commanded our Children to be sacrificed to pass through the Fire O! what a favour is it to love the Lord That God will honour us so farr as to suffer us to love him And yet we love any thing any sordid base Lust rather than God We would count it a favour if a Prince would give us a privy Key to come to him when we please Here is more honour we may have recourse to the bosom of God when we will God would have us to love him with all the heart with all the soul The Lord would not lose one grain of our love O that we should deny him that which he with reverence be it spoken and thought on is so fond of Deut. 10.12 And now Israel what doth the Lord require of thee but to love him and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy Soul God requires not now Cattle upon a thousand Hills or Rivers of Oyle Only Love me Love me Love me heartily constantly chiefly and yet we deny him our
which was appointed to strengthen their Remembrance of past Mercies Hath not God told us that he hath formed us for his praise And what yet backward thereunto We can never love God to an height whilst we forget his loving Kindnesses I wonder not that many complain of their decayes of Love to God whilst they forget his wonders of Grace and Love to their Souls Even Publicans will love those of whom they are beloved And did we oftner recount the Mercies of God they would work endearments betwixt God and our Souls Did we consider what a wonder it is that God should draw us out of nothing that he who stoops to behold the things of Heaven should put his singer to our workmanship that he should curiously work us as Needle-work in the dark Vaults of Nature and that when we were fuller of sin than the Toad of poyson that yet he should feed a Toad and cloath a Cockatrice the Fire of Love to God would burn within our breasts How is God provoked by this sin God took it ill at the hands of the Israelites that they remembred not his hand Psal 78.42 nor the day in which he delivered them How much more do we grieve the Lord who remember not the goodness and salvations of the Lord in Canaan yea in Zion Our Saviour was grieved that his Disciples remembred not the five Loaves Mat. 16.8 9 10. and the seven Loaves and how many Baskets they took up Innumerable greater favours hath God shewed to us and yet we forget them How have we forgot the God that bridled Natures proud waves and said Hitherto ye shall goe and no farther When we were ripe for Judgement then Mercy stept in and yet how slow to give thanks Hardly one of tea blesseth God for cleansing Mercy as they ought Were there not ten cleansed but where are the nine This makes me fear People have not had a deep sense of the misery and stains of Nature for that their Saviour is no more thanked Did not the Lord force thee by an over-powering work of Grace upon thy Soul at first Conversion to be willing to be made happy Did not he compel thee to come into the Feast Was it not God that brought thee to such a Parish to such a Minister and to such a Text And did not he by his Almighty power enable thee to believe and apply Was it not he that broke thine heart when as hard as a nethermost Mill-stone and made it soft malleable and pliant to his will and pleasure And what forget the wonders of the Lord in the deep This vexeth the Lord to the heart Did not he cause the Walls of Jerâ—co to fall as by the voice of Rams-hornes by weak inconsiderable means Did not he alienate thine heart from Lusts that were dearer to thee than thine eyes Did not he present the face of Christ as lovely to thy Soul who before was despised aend rejected And hath not Christ fed thee with fresh supplyes of free Grace that have watered thy Soul every moment so that you have been kept through his mighty power How many doubts hath Christ answered and how many scruples hath he by his Holy Spirit satisfied thee in And yet O wretched heart how unthankfull hast thou been Thou hast forgot all his benefits A man would think it were impossible that every unpleasing Providence should make us so forgetful of all the mighty Works that have been done within doors upon our Souls How just is it with God to plague us for this our unkindness unto him Isa 17.10 11. Because thou hast forgotten c. therefore the harvest shall be an heâ—â— In the beginning all succeeded well saith Vatablus upon the place according to our desire In the day the Plant grew and in the morning the Seed flourished but because of unthankfulness extreme misery followed Wonder not that the Showres are with-held that the Lord causeth the Sun to set on the Prophets at Noon day that the Manna falls not before your doors that the hidden Mannah Ingrato quod donatur deperditur Sen. and white Stone are denied you you have been unthankfull you have not taken care for the fragments that nothing be lost Gods Mercies have been lost upon you Or Waters were become Wines our Gleanings were better than the Worlds Vintage God dealt with us as Sons But now if he draws in his hand and make his Garden as a desolate Wilderness for this sin who can say unto God What dost thou Must not all of us put our mouths in the dust Did not we sit under our own Vines Had we not our solemn Assemblies Did not we goe in troops to the house of the Lord Was not Holiness in credit Did not the mix'd multitude joyn with us and desired to be numbred amongst us because God was with us Did not fear come upon all the People And had not the Churches rest Did we fear the shaking of the Spear Might we not have been as holy as we pleased Had not we as much liberty as we desired But O then how unthankfull were we How troubled were we that every Mordecai did not bow that every one would not be of our mind and dance after our Pipe God knows what a Controversie there is with the Land for the Unthankfulness of them that dwelt therein O how glad would ye be of one of the dayes of the Son of man of your old Privileges and Spiritual Liberties Because ye have not served God with joy and praise in dayes of plenty therefore it is but a righteous thing that you serve in scarcity and famine of Bread of the Word of the Lord. CHAP. XIII Their neglect of Prayer especially of secret Prayer 6ly NEglect of Prayer is another part of Ungodliness Professors neglect of Prayer too common even among Professours Request and Thanksgiving are saith one like the double motion of the Lungs by which they suck in and breath out the air again In the Petitionary part of Prayer we desire either the bestowing of some good thing or the preventing or removing of some evil from our selves or the inflicting of some evil on Gods implacable Enemies And in the Gratulatory part of Prayer we return the praise of glory of what we have received from God unto God Though the Thanksgiving part of Prayer be most yet the Petitionary part of Prayer is too much neglected It is Ungodliness to goe about any Business or Journey to fix our Abode to use any Creature Food or Physick without asking Gods leave and blessing in Prayer Yea it is a branch of Atheism this Brat of irreligion is laid at the door of Atheism by the Psalmist Is it not a Lamentation Psa 14.1 3 4. and should it not be for a Lamentation that so many Professours should be guilty of such Ungodlineâ—â— Are there not many that never prayed in all their lives Never Praying Professours are looked upon by the world as Praying people
12.8 Hab. 2.1 For this I besought the Lord thrice and yet no answer O! when shall we resolve with Habbakkus to stand upon our watch and look and see what he will say to us The neglect of this hath bred so many Formalists in our Congregations After we have put our Prayers into Gods hands we never mind them more We would be angry with Beggars if they begg'd an almes and away presently as careless of answers The sincerity of thy heart would be more evidenced Not blessing God for answers if thou didst consider what returns thou hast that thou mayst bless God for them and improve them for God and in case of denials 1 Sam. 1.15 to be of a troubled Spirit as Hannah was for that her Prayer for a Child was so long denied What mournings hast thou for that thy Pride Not mourning for denials Worldliness Unbelief hardness of Heart c. are not yet pardoned and subdued Poor creature thou continuest in the road of Duty but observest not whether God hears thee or not Saul went beyond thee 1 Sam. 28.6 He observed and was troubled that God answered him not by Urim nor yet by Prophets Have not we by carelesness by returning to our vomits and mires intercepted our own Prayers Have not we torn our own Petitions Tearing their own Petitions Isa 59.1 2. and snatch'd them out of Gods hands Behold the Lords hand is not shortned that it cannot save neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear but your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear How seldome have we took Bernards advice in his gloss upon Not joyning endeavours Oremus Laboremus Jo. 8.21 Ezek. 39.23 Let us lift up our hearts with our hands that is saith he let us pray and endeavour We love to employ God to subdue our sins c. But we sit idle we hate taking pains we are not co-workers with God I may say unto you as Christ I goe away and ye shall seek me and shall die in your sins The Heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity because they trespassed against me therefore hid I my face from them Then shall they cry unto the Lord Mic. 3.4 but he will not hear them he will even hide his face from them at that time as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings Prayer is a Key to open Heaven to Believers but it may be so managed as to open Hell to thee CHAP. XV. Their slighting the written Word of God especially in not reading and meditating on it as they ought 8ly Professours despifing Gods written Word SLighting of the written word of God is another piece of ungodliness which English Professours have been very guilty of There is not a surer sign of despising any person than the setting light by what he saith unto us for according to the honour we give unto the Speaker the words spoken will be of weight with us But alas how hath the Bible Gods written word been undervalued by us How little have we credited Gods written word Evidenced in their not crediting it And yet it is natural for us to believe whatsoever is said by one of whose truth we are confident Have not Scripture-affirmations been doubted of by us How little hath our knowledge of them been attended with building a Christian life upon them as a foundation Have we believed that Scripture commands come from God and are most just and fit for him to lay upon us Hath this belief brought forth obedience Have we believed that Scripture-threats are Gods-threats and will therefore be performed to every impenitent Sinner And hath this belief kept us from sin or promoted repentance Have Scripture promises been believed to be Gods-promises and that therefore all the absolute ones shall certainly be performed to the Elect and all the conditional ones to those that perform the conditions And hath this belief stirr'd us up and help'd us to perform the conditions God hath magnified his Word above ell his Name but so have not we Psal 138.2 Not honouring it above Gods other Names We are apt to be afraid at the appearances of the great God in his extraordinary works in the World but who trembleth at the appearances of God in the Scriptures And yet God appears more in the glory of his Majesty therein than in all his other works whether of Creation or of common Providence Mat. 5.8 God maketh more account of his written Word than of Heaven and Earth he had rather lose Heaven and Earth than one jota or tittle of his Word Accounted it a small matter to swerve from it But have not we accounted it no great matter to swerve a little from the written Word of God Yea have not we made a light matter of leaving undone what is therein required and of doing what is therein forbidden Were the Scriptures high in our esteems did we look upon Gods testimonies as wonderfull things our very Souls would be in keeping them Psal 119.129 Thy testimonies are wonderfull therefore doth my Soul keep them Have not we accounted them fools that have preferr'd the Word before whatsoever hath been near and dear unto them in this World Accounting tender Consciences more nice than wise Rev. 6.9 Have not we accounted them more nice than wise who have been slain for the Word who have lost Name Liberty Livelihood Friends Relations yea Life it self and endured all Torments and Tortures rather than they would offend the written Word of God in any one thing either by omission or commission God hath written to us the great things of his Law or word but have they not been accounted a strange thing Accounting it a strange thing Hos 8.12 a thing that we should have got little good if we had obeyed them and little hurt by disobeying them Have not we used the Word as a stranger only for our own ends to serve our own turns as we have had advantage thereby Have not we made the Word a stalking horse for our own carnal designs Making the Word a stalking-horse Have not we pretended very great Zeal for the Word when all the while we have been Zealous for self either our own opinions and perswasions or our own honour and greatness or our own livelihood Have not we like boat-men looked one way and rowed another cryed the Word of the Lord but meant the other thing Have not even Scripture Doctrines eb'd and flowed upon politick considerations How seldome have we discoursed with others Seripturally Not talking of it Deut. 6.7 The Scholar is upon every occasion discoursing of those Notions which he prizeth but hath not our speech bewrayed our low esteems of the Word Have not we been willingly and contentedly ignorant of Scripture-discoveries Willingly ignorant of it Job 21.14 So is not
in this Divine Garden but it is the Meditater the Christian-Bee that gathers the honey out of them though it be the duty by which the Soul digesteth truths and draweth forth their strength for its nourishment and refreshment yea the duty by which all other duties are improved yet how much is this duty neglected by all sorts of Professours because though it be the delightfullest task to the Spirit yet it is the most tedious to the Flesh that ever men on earth were imployed in Have not many been long Professours At all and yet if they would tell all the truth they will confess they never spent one hour together in mediating on the most weighty Scripture-truths on God on Mans Estate by Creation Degeneration Regeneration Glorification on Christ on the Vanity of the Creature on the Beauty of Holiness on Death on Judgement on Heaven and Hell Meditation saith Mr. Baxter in his Saints rest is confest to be a duty by all but by constant neglect denyed by most and I know not by what fatal customary security it comes to pass that men that are very tender Conscienced toward most other duties yet do as easily overslip this as if they knew it not to be a duty at all they that are presently troubled in mind if they omit a Sermon a Fast a Prayer in publick or private yet were never troubled that they have omitted Meditation perhaps all their life time unto this very day How few have mannaged this duty aright Aright Hath not that which we call Meditation been Study only Hath not some controversial point or some nice speculation been the matter of our Meditation Hereby we evidence that we have not so great spiritual hunger after Righteousness as we should Hungry men saith one do not use to stand and pick bones when they have meat enough to eat Hath not our end in meditating been only the increasing of our knowledge and not the improving of our knowledge Have not we begun this work without God When we were going about to Meditate have not we neglected Prayer for help from Heaven to go through with the work though without God we can neither know resolve upon nor perform what is good for from him yea from his own good pleasure comes both the will and the deed Have not we idled away our meditating seasons If we have sequestred our selves from worldly businesses and company for meditation at any time have not we idled away that time by suffering our thoughts to gad and wander up and down to no purpose to be sure not to fetch in considerations for the stamping holy impressions upon our hearts and lives Have not we in meditating been without a due sense of Gods presence May not we cry out Gen. 28.16 surely the Lord was in such and such a place where I have been meditating and I knew it not i. e. I considered it not Hath not the work of our understandings in this business been to retain and not to convey truth into the heart Have our understandings represented what should work holy affections and resolutions aright Have they presented things good of a Divine and Heavenly nature as God Christ Heaven c. in their prime and beauty Have they presented things in their nature simply evil as Sin Gods wrath Hell at their worst Have not we left off meditating before we attained the end of Meditation before holy affections and resolutions are wrought Have not we rush'd out of this duty as well as rush'd into it Have not we gone from this work as a bird out of the snare with joy and speed Have not we ended as well as begun this work without God not praying to God for strength to perform what we have been inabled by grace to resolve upon for God and for pardon of what hath been amiss in the duty O! when will English Professours be prevailed with to make conscience of this duty of duties I once more intreat thee to use Mr. Baxters words as thou art a man that maketh conscience of a revealed duty and that darest not wilfully resist the Spirit as thou valuest the high delights of a Saint and the Soul-ravishing exercise of Heavenly Contemplation and as thou art faithfull to the peace and prosperity of thine own Soul that thou speedily and diligently set upon this great duty O! Considerations against flighting Gods written Word what a mighty blessing is it to have such a book wherein are written by God himself the great counsels of his will concerning mans Eternal Salvation What a sin is it then to have low mean yea vile and base thoughts of it Is not our slighting of the Word of the Lord the cause of all the wickedness in our hearts and lives Whence are all our omissions and commissions but because we make a light matter of sinning against the Scriptures Certainly this great provocation hath a great hand in our miseries and threatneth utter ruine to us Prov. 13.13 Isa 5.24 Who so despiseth the Word shall be destroyed Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble and the flame consumeth the chaff so their root shall be rottenness and their blosome shall go up as dust because they have cast away the Law of the Lord of Hosts and despised the Word of the Holy one of Israel CHAP. XVI Their miscarriages about the Promises 9ly Professors miscarriages about the Promises MUch Ungodliness is also evidenced in Professors miscarriages about the Promises of the Ward the promises being the great promoters of godliness in the world not only as arguments to induce it by shewing how God will reward it but likewise as principles of godliness or the chief instrument whereby God makes Souls partakers of the Divine nature 1. Not believing their truth How little do we believe the truth of the Promises How little do we believe that the Spirit of God and glory rests on them that suffer for Christ and his Gospel and that as tribulations do abound for Christ so shall consolations by him or that we shall have an hundred fold advantage by any loss we sustain for Christ and his concernments All that fear of man all that cowardise all those tremblings of heart that are upon Professors this day all that enmity against the Cross of Christ which appears on the faces and hearts of men are clear demonstrations how little the promises for the bearing up under suffering for the deliverance out of suffering or rewarding of suffering for Christ are believed We cannot set the Promises against all Crosses 2. Not prizing them enough How low are our esteems of the Promises of God of the great and faithful God in comparison of what they are concerning the Promises of honest and sufficient men I appeal to thee if a King should promise thee a thousand pound per annum whether it would not more rejoyce thine heart than the Promises of eternal Life which God hath made unto thee do With how
hasten the birth and spoyl the conception The Prophet of old complains of some Isa 35.4 Isa 28.16 that they were of an hasty heart whereas He that believeth maketh not hast God deferrs to put an edge on our desires a value on what is promised and to exercise our Faith The Word that is gone forth out of the mouth of the God of truth should quiet but it doth not Isa 60.22 Psa 102.13 I the Lord will hasten it in its time The Lord will arise and have mercy upon Zion when the time to favour her yea when the set time is come And is not Gods time the best 9. Abusing Promises How have many abused rather than applyed Promises How many dogs take the Children's bread How many Hypocrites tast of the forbidden fruit Lay hold on that which doth not belong unto them When they read those sweet delicious promises of the pardon of Sin of the love of God of the freeness of grace of the glory to come they count them as theirs whereas they are but Usurpers they set their mark on anothers goods they are thieves and robbers for they are strangers to the Promises How many abuse the mercy of God in the Promises so that even the Promises become an occasion of stumbling whilst they continue in sin in hopes of pardons through the Promises We are not led by the sweetness of the Promise to Repentance but rather harden our hearts presuming of pardons on course from the God of grace Gluttons surfet soonest upon the greatest dainties thus many venture to continue to sin that grace may abound hence Repentance is put off because men hope God will abundantly pardon when ever the wicked forsakes his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts The Promises are not made a Sanctuary unto which men fly from sin but as a Sanctuary to protect them in their sinfull courses God is mercifull slow to wrath he will abundantly pardon c. therefore c. Do not we overlook all the threatnings and terrible denunciations of God against our sins and wholly pitch on the comfortable Promises of the Gospel Do not we eye Promises and yet hate Commands Do not we mind Temporal Promises with the neglect of Spiritual and therein disparage God by setting a deeper value on Earth than on Heaven on our back and bellies than on God Do not we eye the Promises that speak of mercy but pass over those that lead to duty View with pleasure pardoning Promises but neglect the Promises of sprinkling us with clean water and that Sin shall not have Dominion over us We like it that God will be our God but we love not to be Gods people under his command and at his dispose How do we eye the absolute Promises but neglect the conditional We take hold of Promises of deliverance when under any misery but we forget the condition If my people shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their evil wayes c. little is that minded by us which the Prophet speaks At what instant I shall speak concerning a Nation Jer. 18.9 10. and concerning a Kingdome to build and to plant it if it do evil in my sight that it obey not my voyce then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them We love we like Promised mercies and every one is looked upon as an unbelieving Thomas that doubts of the mercy but we overlook the preparatory duties of Fasting Praying Repenting and Reforming our hearts and wayes c. Hence men dote almost on the Promises of grace but secretly hate the Promises to grace because they find no gracious qualifications in themselves they love to hear of Gods readiness to pardon but they are loth to hear that they must come to Christ for Repentance and then for Remission they would fain have the penny but they cannot endure labour God hath linked his Promises and our seeking together Ezek. 36.37 Thus saith the Lord God I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them But how many of us do either altogether neglect or slothfully go about to perform the condition of the Promise Are not some of us altogether strangers to faith the condition of the whole covenant of grace know not what an heart purifying faith means We never gave our selves unto the Lord yet run away with the Promises of forgiveness though ignorant of the Mediatour betwixt God and sinfull creatures though full of pride and high concerts of our own Righteousness though we live in an open disesteem of the Gospel of Christ though we cannot but find an incompliance of heart with subjection to Christ yet we boast Abraham is our Father the blessing of Abraham is come upon us the Promises are ours How do the Promises of God make some slothfull in the use of appointed means How formal in duties are we May it not be said of us Deest aliquid intus as of the Image there is somewhat wanting withinâ— Are not we silly doves without heart Are not we only bolstred up with the Promises O! these pillows under our heads make us slumbring Virgins All is well God is mercifull c. but we do not sweat and get our living by labour we strive not to enter in at the straight gate c. We look for the blessed hope but we live not soberly I know saith God the thoughts that I think towards you thoughts of peace Jer. 29.11 12. but not of an evil to give you an expected end but be sure that ye call upon me and goe and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you 10. Nicely applying them How nice and curious are some in applying of Promises They forsooth take no pleasure in any Promises but such as they think no hand touched before their own They neglect the plain clear open rich Promises of the Gospel and if any be more abstruse and hard to be found out by an ordinary eye they are greedily suck'd in They are only or mainly for mystical Promises Such think they are delighted with the goodness of the Promise whereas they are only pleased with the newness of it or with their own invention and that they can see farther into a Mill-stone than another I have known some of these and I have seen what is become of them their pride and affectation hath led them also from the plain paths of holiness 11. How many will not close with a Promise such is their folly till the thing promised be found within them Not applying them till they have what they should apply them for Because their hearts are so corrupt therefore they will not apply the Promises of subduing iniquity and of purifying the heart whereas there is no way to get their corrupt hearts cleansed but by laying hold on such Promises and the longer they keep off the Promise the worse it will be with them
There is no other way but by this Ark to escape drowning and the longer they wander in this Wilderness the more hard it will be at last to enter into Canaan the longer they keep off from the promise the more corrupt will their hearts grow and the more corrupt they grow the work of the heart-purifying-faith will be the more difficult 12. Eyeing Providences more than Promises How many of us eye Providences more than Promises and make the Providences rather than the Promises of God the Ground of their Faith One saith well The Star-light of one single Promise is of more use to Christians than a Constellation of many Providences both to assure them in their wayes and to support them under any difficulties 13. Do not we pretend to eye the Promises using indirect means for getting what is promised and yet use indirect means to bring our devices to pass We have pretended to live the Life of Faith but God knows what shifts men have had and wicked at least questionable courses men have taken how much evil hath been done that good may come Have not we to help Gods Promises to bring forth turned out of Gods way resisted Dignities offered Violence to known Laws wronged Conscience forgot all Obligations upon us Not looking that they attain their ends in our Souls 2 Pet. 1.4 1 Jo. 3.3 regarded nothing that stood in our way of compassing our designes 14. How little do we exmaine the Fruits of Gods Promises in our own Souls The exceeding great and precious Promises are given that we might be partakers of the Divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust that we might purifie our selves even as God is pure But do we look for these ends to be attained by the Promises in our Souls Do we look not only for a Change from Looseness to Civility but a through Sanctification in Body Mind and Spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 Alas which of us can say Having these Promises we do cleanse our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit and are perfecting holiness in the fear of God CHAP. XVII Their Abuse of Providence 10ly Professors Abuse of Providence ABuse of Providence is another branch of Ungodliness too much spreading among Professours God is to be honoured not only as the chiefest Good and as the supream Truth and Authority but as the first Cause that giveth Beeing to all things and therefore ordereth and disposeth of all things as he pleaseth having absolute Dominion over all events But O! how is God dishonoured by abusing his Providence The blind World are not only guilty who do not acknowledge God at the other end of Causes as swaying all things by his Wisdome and Power but set up an Idol called Chance but even Professours eminent Professours are herein very guilty 1. Evidenced in their non-observing it How seldome do we observe Gods Providence The Finger of God is in all the Creatures not only We but all Creatures live move and have their beeing from God and in God The whole course of Nature moves as it is turned by the hand of God and directed by his counsel It is not with the work of God as with the Artificers Clock which put into a frame and hang'd with weights will goe though the Artificer be off from it but though God set all the Creatures in frame yet the motion of every wheel depends on God There is not a drop of rain falls till God utter his voice Jer. 10.13 and cause the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth Yet how is God not minded We see not his footsteps We may say in this He passeth this way and that and we see him not Our eyes are held to secondary Causes We look when the Wind or Moon will change but we are so short-sighted that we reach not God How seldome do we consider that though Gods Providence doth deliver up his choicest Friends into the hands of his and their Enemies yet doth it not deliver them up unto their will they cannot do what they please but only what pleaseth God Such of Gods own are still engraven on the palmes of his hands though turned over into the hands of the Ungodly they are Gods Favourites still though the wicked say Persecute them and take them for God hath forsaken them How little do we mind that our times are in Gods hands and that as Satan is in a Chain so are his Instruments We fear Men more than God O! when shall we hear that Word of God Say not a confederacy to all them to whom this people shall say a confederacy Isa 8.12 13 14. neither fear ye their fear nor be afraid Sanctifie the Lord of Hosts himself and let him be your fear and let him be your dread And he shall be for a Sanctuary c. 2. Not being affected therewith How little are we affected with the continual course of Providence though it guards and keeps us every moment The Stars in their courses would fight against us the Sea would swallow us up and break in as a devourer the Beasts of the Field would arm against us if God did not check them and bound them yea one man would eat up another were it not for the Lord who sets bounds to the rage of all the Creatures It is the eye of jealousie that is still wakeful for us it is the Lord that puts the hook into the nose and the bridle in the lips of the Senacheribs of the World and yet how little are our hearts affected how little are they comforted and born up how little do they cleave unto the Lord On the contrary But distrusting â—t How distrustful are we of Gods Providence in a time of seen dangers though we are wonderfully delivered from invisible ones every day Who can number the legions of Devils so many deliverances hast thou by Gods Providence every moment and yet how diffident and doubtful are we upon all new imminent outward dangers How little do we believe that God will bring in good to us by such Providences as are ungrateful to Sense to Flesh and Blood Though nothing is more usual than for God to take away some comforts and lay in better comforts to take away an Abel and make it up in Seth to deprive Noah of the comforts of the whole World for a while and then to wash it from its filthiness and to deliver him the possession of it with manifest proofs of his singular distinguishing care of him and his Family whilst all the rest of the Creatures perished in the waters to deprive Mary and Martha of their Brother Lazarus and to return him from the dead unto them with great advantage to deprive Job of his Children and Estate to make his last dayes better than his first Job 1.3 compared with Ch. 42.10 12. and to give him twice as much as he had before for seven thousand Sheep
he had fourteen thousand before he had three thousand Camels afterwards six thousand before five hundred Asses then one thousand yet how little can we trust Providence in such cases How hardly were the Disciples perswaded that the absence of their Lord and Master Jesus Christ should be supplyed in the Spirit And yet saith Christ Nevertheless I tell you the truth â—fo 16.7 it is expedient for you that I goe away for if I goe not away the Comforter will not come unto you but if I depart I will send him to you Christ in his Spirit dwelling in our hearts is better than Christ in Flesh dwelling in our houses When the unclean Spirit departs from a man Mat. 12.43 and returns again he brings seven Spirits worse than himself and the latter end of that man is worse than his beginning but when Christ withdrew from Earth to Heaven he brings seven consolations better than at first in the powring forth of the Comforter and the end of such in whom the Spirit supplies the want of Christs bodily presence is better than the beginning Why cryest thou for thine affliction thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity Jer. 30.15 16 17. c. Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured c. for I will restore health unto thee and I will heal thee of thy wounds saith the Lord because they called thee an outcast c. Nothing more usual with God than to make the loss of one comfort the means of enjoying another with advantage yea with the advantage of the hundred fold But alas most fear they shall be losers by Christ and for Christ God doth as Marriners row one way and look another he brings most of his great ends about by looking quite aside from what he hath a special intent to bring to pass the Lord seldome proceeds in a direct way to his ends i. e. in a right way to our apprehensions in such a way as we would have him go in but he leads us about Psa 107.7 as he did Israel and yet that was the right way indeed though the means seem to oppose the end yet he works to the praise of his Name he can write right by a crooked pen and bring honey out of the Carkas of the Lion make use of strange instruments break down Jerichos walls by the sounds of Ramshorns But O! how little do we trust Providence when the means are not probable to effect our expected end Zech. 14.7 Hebr. 11.12 Who believes there shall be light in the Evening And that Sarah shall have a posterity as the Stars in the Firmament for multitude and as the sand on the Sea shore which is innumerable when she was old had been barren so long and her Lord old also Who will think that the Sun and the Stars shall bow to Joseph when he lies in the Pit or is in the Dungeon of the Heathen King How slow to believe were the Disciples when Christ is dead and buried Luk. 24.21 25. and lies three dayes in the Grave We thought this should have been he that should have delivered Israel How little doth the Worm Jacob Jacob when reduced as low as the earth when creeping into holes for security when as contemptible as a worm that no man scruples to tread upon when so easily to be destroyed as a worm believe Isa 41.15 16.17 that yet the Worm Jacob shall thresh the mountains and fan them and the wind shall carry them away Alas how unseemly is the behaviour of many if Providence thwarts them in taking away a Child an Husband an Estate how discouraged and cast down are we as if God in his Providence had pulled down that which he could never build again or rooted up that which he could never plant again O! how few believe that if God pull down their brick-houses that he will build them again of hewn-stones and that if he consume their Fir-trees he will build again with Cedars Do not many afflicted Christians think it impossible for their sorrow to be turned into joy Whence is all our dejectedness under Cross-Providences Hence dejectedness under Cross-Providences but from our not believing that all things are disposed by the wife and gracious Providence of God We believe not enough that the Eyes of our loving Father run to and fro throughout the Earth to shew himself Marvellous for our help in a time of need and danger David was thus overtaken till he school'd himself into a better frame with Why art thou cast down O my Soul Psa 42.5 and why art thou disquieted in me Hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance Few can say God is our refuge and strength Psa 46.1 2. a very present help in trouble Therefore will we not fear though the Earth be removed and though the Mountains be carried into the midst of the Sea Few believe that if the Lord be pleased to lay a great burden upon their shoulders he will give great strength to bear it and if he gives but little strength he will surely proportion the burden to it Whence are all our uproars of Spirit and disquietness of heart but from our not trusting upon Providence When God is working desolation did we see it his work we would be still David was so when strangely provoked by Shimei's insolency and railings God hath bid Shimei curse Abisha was not so much concerned in the affront as David but he sees not God in the lips of Shimei and therefore his Spirit is inflamed All the boylings of Revenge that are in the hearts of men one ' gainst another may be Boyling of revenge attributed to mans blindness and injudicious view of things they see not the wicked to be Gods Sword to let out their corruption they do not believe that God intends to pursue gracious designs by such instruments Joseph was easily conquered and perswaded to forgive the unkindness yea the cruelty of his Brethren in making Merchandize of him to the Ishmalites he could say Gen. 45.8.50.20 It was not you that sent me hither but God c. As for you ye thought evil against me but God meant it unto good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive He insinuates to them that they had no cause to fear his revenging himself on them for that he could easily pardon that offence of theirs out of which God hath drawn so much good to his people and so much glory to his own Name How silent would we be yea how full of praises if by an eye of faith we did see the end of God in all his Providences that they lead to holyness Before I was afflicted I went astray Psa 119.67 75. Hebr. 12.10 but now I keep thy Word I know O Lord that thy judgements are right and that thou hast afflicted me in faithfulness He for
must enter into the Kingdome of Heaven I wonder not at this when I consider that the Servant is not above the Master Isa 53.3 4. When Christ was a man of sorrows they did judge him smitten of God How ready also are we to say this is a just Judgement of God upon such a suffering Professour for Yea we censure our selves for Hypocrites when God crosseth us in some earthly comforts and designs If a Child dies c. then we question the root of the matter whether there be a spark of grace 5. Making Providence an hinderance to depending on God The more Providence hath favoured us have not we the less roled our selves on the Covenant of grace Hath not God had the less of our dependance and faith Have not the promises lain more neglected so that God hath been even necessitated to draw in his hand of bounty that like the Widdow when destitute we may trust to him The Cisterns leak apace that the Fountain may be in greater request 6. Being discomenced with Providence How discontented are we to this day with Gods Providential administrations toward us How do we prescribe to God Some would be richer than they are others more honourable Some covet to be above others We have bad memories or else we cannot but remember how ill some of us improved our talients of power and honour when we had them Is it reasonable that God should be charged for an hard Master for not entrusting ten talents in our hands when we have been so unfaithfull to our former allotments Jesurun-like we waxed fat and never were more beast-like than when we were in the greenest pastures God would be charg'd even with indiscretion if he should commit ten talents again to thee till thou art humbled for thy former unfaithfulness 7. How do we take Gods work out of his hand Taking Gods work out of his hands How carefull are we in many things though we should be carefull in nothing Though we cannot add one Cubit to our Stature by all our cares yet what sollicitudes eat into our hearts and cut them in twain We should serve Providence in the use of means but should have nothing to do with the issues and events of the means we use but leave them to God That which is not under our Power should not be under our Care Eccles 9.11 All things are ordered by the deliberate Counsel of God I returned and saw under the Sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong neither yet bread to the wise nor yet riches to men of understanding nor yet favour to men of skill but time and chance happeneth to them all 8. Distasting Religion because of adversity How do rotten-hearted Hypocrites distast God grow careless of serving God yea fall into an abhorrence of Religion because of Gods frowning upon his people in Providential dispensations Hence innumerable sorts of these hollow-hearted Professours desert their former Profession when the Wind and Tide of Preferment is against them they will not hazard their outward comforts for all the Promises of the Gospel whilst they see how little Providence favours the Saints as to the comforts of this life and that Providence suits not their desires they rage and swell and are ready to cry out like that wretched King 2 Kings 6.33 This evil is of the Lord wherefore should I wait on the Lord any longer Now Farewell to God Farewell to Profession if when the Children ask bread he gives them stones Farewell to such a Father 9. Neglecting Providence and shifting for themselves How commonly do men neglect the Providence of God and betake themselves to their own shifts to extricate themselves from their miseries Is man wiser than God And yet men hope rather to help themselves by their own wits wiles and endeavours than by leaning to the Providence of God Such there were in Jeremiahs time God had told them that he had brought them into straights on purpose to engage them to repent of their sins and to turn to the Lord Thus saith the Lord behold I frame evil against you Jer. 18.11 and devise a device against you return ye now every one from his evil way and make your wayes and doings good But they loved not humbling work v. 12. And they said there is no hope but we will walk after our own devices and we will every one do the imagination of his own evil heart They had devices of their own such as God approved not And have not we some of us had such Hath there not been devising how to sow discords between superious and inferiours betwixt Magistrate and people v. 15. Hath their not been stumbling in our wayes from the ancient paths in a way not cast up in an untrodden way O! how have men run to extraordinary courses to deliver themselves out of their miseries For this God may make our land desolate and a perpetual hissing or derision v. 16. v. 17. he may justly scatter us as with an East wind before the Enemy and shew us the back and not the face in the day of our ealamity 10. Being partial in viewing Providence Have not we been partial in viewing the Providences of God Have not we taken some one Providence and fixed our eye upon it so long till our hearts have been ever overwhelmed with sorrow But we have not viewed the Providences of God in their contexture nor in their relation to gracious ends for our good some take more notice of smiling Providences than of frowning of what in Providence makes for them and their courses than of what makes against them but others take more notice of frowning Providences than of smiling of what makes against them than of what makes for them In this we have shewn our selves fools for who is wise shall understand these things Hos 14.9 These words are restrictive Who That is few or none are such and then there is an earnest wish or desire of the Prophet O that men were wise to understand these things the wayes of the Lord are right though men think them not so CHAP. XVIII Their Hypocrisie 11ly Professors Hypocrisy HYpocrisie is another piece of Ungodliness which like leaven hath diffused it self through the whole body of Professors It is the greatest ungodliness that can be to rob the Lord of his dominion over the Conscience and therefore Hypocrisie is called Blasphemy Rev. 2.9 I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews and are not God is not honoured unless he be acknowledged as the supream Authority not only over the life but the heart and therefore his Authority is never more undetermined than by a meer form of godliness 2 Tim. 3.5 Hypocrites are clouds without rain wells without water trees without fruit though not without leaves Yea to use Christs similitude they are garnished tombs they appear to be one thing
ends and how lumpish and heavy are our hearts in the beginning of a Sabbath much more than upon any other day Doth not this prove the day to be no way pleasing to us And how chearfull are some of us when the Sabbath is ended The heart is not so well pleased all the day as then yea do not some cheat and delude themselves hereby as if they had joy in the Lord and had received comfort from the Word and other Ordinances whereas they are glad that the yoak of Ordinances the burden of the Word of the Lord and the burden of the day of the Lord is taking off their Shoulders Being hindred from profaning it only by external motives How many are there who would profane Gods Sabbaths and wholy neglect the Ordinances of them were it not for the Laws of men and the eyes of their Relations How quieted are some when they have attended the publick service Satisfied with worshipping God publickly and do they betwixt and after those solemn duties refrain their lips from worldly talk from impertinencies from such discourse as bears no proportion with the holiness of the day When works of Necessity and Charity happen out beyond our expectation or forecast Glad to be hindred from works of piety are we at all troubled at them Do not we rather rejoyce because we have thereby a dispensation to withdraw from the immediate worship of God And how many neglect to do all their works on the six dayes Exod. 20.9 though the Lord so expresly chargeth them so to do that they may have a pretence of necessity to do much servile work on the Sabbath How common is it to dress meat on the Sabbath more than on any other day when there is not the least pretence of weakness c. Hereby not only Servants but the whole house are too much in labour and destraction and hindred if not from the solemn Assemblies yet from Family and Closet worship How do many gossip complement Eating too much on the Sabbath and feast away abroad the day of the Lord or else eat to an excess at home and thereby make themselves fitter for a bed than to wait on the Sanctuary to hear Christs voice to meditate on his love and to feed in his pleasant pastures How carefull are we to keep our selves Stealing Gods time and ours from pilfering from our Neighbour but not from stealing from God his time yea are not some Governours so ungodly unmercifull that they will allow their people no time but the Sabbath to recreate themselves from their labours If they need recreation you have more time than God hath reserved sure you should not steal from God to pleasure them In the discharge of the works of mercy to Man and Beast Not performing duties of mercy aright Do not we respect more our own commodity than the will of God than the dispensation of God and the creatures necessities Are these works of mercy attended with such spiritual meditations as they do afford us if our hearts were holy How few bless God for giving them one day Not blessing of God for the Sabbath wherein they may lighten their hearts of all worldly cares and throw off all griefs and secular cumbers and may seek for relief and comfort in their God Perhaps the Master observes a day unto the Lord Careless whether those under them observe the Sabbath but how careless is he that his Sons and Daughters and all within his gate honour the day of the Lord Do not many Professing Governours of Families let them sleep away the Sabbath that they may be the fitter for their drudgeries the following week O! when will Governours be as diligent that their Servants and Houshold serve the Lord as that they serve themselves You have been carefull that your work were done on the week but careless whether Gods work were done by them on the Sabbath careless whether your Servants profited by the Sabbath yea or no When will Gods glory and the good of your peoples Souls be nearer to you than your worldly advantages You ask your Servants what work they have done for you every day and call them to frequent accounts for your gains-sake and what never reckon with them about their Spiritual Soul-work O! how little is the love of God shed abroad in your hearts How justly may God be angry with us till he hath consumed us for our desiling the day of the Lord It was Gods express Law Exod. 31.14 that every one that desileth it should surely be put to death When the people were weary of the Sabbath when they said Amos 8.5 v. 7. When will the new Moon be gone that we may sell corn and the Sabbath that we may set forth wheat c. v. 7. The Lord swore by the excellency of Jacob Surely I will never forget any of their works v. 8. Shall not the land tremble for this and every one mourn that dwelleth therein and it shall rise up wholly as a floud and it shall be cast out and drowned as by the floud of Egypt v. 9. And it shall come to pass in that day saith the Lord God that I will cause the Sun to go down at Noon and I will darken the Earth in the clear day v. 10 And I will turn your Feasts into mourning and all your Songs into lamentation c. v. 11. Behold the dayes come saith the Lord God that I will send a Famine in the land not a Famine of Bread nor a thirst for Water but of hearing the Word of the Lord. v. 12. And they shall wander from Sea to Sea and from the North even to the East they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord and shall not find it CHAP. XX. Their miscarriages about Heart-examination THe more that the Lord of Heaven chargeth us with a Duty Professors miscarriages about Self-examination the more inexcusable are our neglects of it There are few things more commanded us than to try and examine our hearts and lives 2 Cor. 13.5 Examine your selves c. Prove your selves c. We are apt to be strangers to our selves to cheat our selves with vain presumptuous hopes to rest in notions therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Examine your selves take an experimental knowledge of your selves We are apt to prove others and censure them therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prove your own selves begin at home try your state try your actions bring the mettal to the touchstone see whether it be sound or counterfeit try your Faith whether it be temporary or saving prove your Repentance whether it be through or superficial examine your Love whether it be sincere or hypocritical and your Obedience whether it be universal or partial Deut. 4.39 Know therefore and consider it in thine heart make a return or answer to thine heart Commune with thine own heart
Psa 4.4 1 Cor. 11.28 Lam. 3.40 Their omitting the Duty altogether hold intelligence with it Let a man examine himself Let us search and try our wayes But yet notwithstanding these Injunctions 1. How many are there that never set about this Duty They will Pray c. but will not be perswaded to look inward They are as great strangers to their own as to others hearts They are at no pains to try in what state they are They will not try Nor examining their Estates whether they are new-born or not whether sanctified or not whether a saving change hath past upon them or not They will not compare themselves with the Characters which are given by Ministers and Books to see whether they be in the gall of bitterness or not in the bond of iniquity or not They never examine what Justification and justifying and saving Faith be and whether they are justified and shall be saved like Gallio Little caring for these things They examine which way they may be greater in the World how to add to the heap how to load themselves with thick clay how to escape the wrath of man how to prolong their dayes but not how to prepare for Eternity and how to make sure of Heaven You ask one another what news from Navies from Armies from Court from Country but when did you spend one hour to ask your hearts this serious question O my Soul what will become of thee when thou leavest this earthly Tabernacle We travel any where but where we should We are better read in any Book than in the sealed Book of our own hearts We are not at all for a personal treaty with our own Consciences We are too much prying into other mens hearts but our eyes turn not inward We know not how it is with our Souls and what will become of them and we have no mind to know such matters As we commune not with our hearts about our States Nor Actions so we do not commune with them about our Actions neither before nor after the doing of them Before we act we do not advise with our Consciences whether what we be about to do be lawful or unlawful and if lawful whether expedient or inexpedient After we have acted whether our actions be good or evil How many are contented so the matter be good but examine not themselves about the manner principles ends and motives Though the Children of Israel knew by the Word of the Lord and from Abraham their Father that Canaan was a Land flowing with milk and honey yet they sent Spies and searched it and thereby were confirmed If men had never so much confidence of the goodness of their Prayers c. yet for Confirmation-sake they should send down Spies into their hearts to see the Clusters of their Zeal and Affections the utmost of the goodness of them But alas how many wholly neglect this necessary and possible Duty If all were like these God might take up his old complaint No man cryed out Jerem. 8.6 What have I done Or O my heart What hath God done for thee 2. The backwardness of the best hereunto How backward are a more refined sort of Professours to a compliance with this Duty How oft have your Ministers invited you beseeched you to hold intelligence with your own hearts and yet cannot prevail How backward are the best to keep a strict eye upon their little house within to see what is done within those doors We are apter to study others lives yea hearts than our own If the best knew how much work lies within doors they would not be so much abroad as they are 3. If we do examine our hearts Not making use of the Word as the Rule yet not by the Word of the Lord. God would have us to try and prove our selves then there must be some measuring Line some Standard some Rule to try our selves by but herein we are hugely defective We try our selves by some sudden pangs or by the good opinion of others concerning us or by the lives of others we being in an Hospital where every one almost is lame and defective or by some other easie Rule that we our selves frame unto our selves and so miserably cheat our selves O! how loth are we that the light of Gods Word should be let down into the dark Cells of our hearts for want whereof there is much dust unobserved and not swept away How loth to try states or actions by the Scripture though thereby they must be tryed at the last day He is a good Text-man that compares Scripture with Scripture and he is a good Christian that compares the Scripture and his own heart together that credits his own heart only when it hath the consent of the Prophets and Apostles making them Umpires in the decision of all his Soul-controversies Have recourse to the Light that shines in a dark place 2 Pet. 1.19 But alas Who obeys this form of wholesome words 4. Being superficial therein How overly and superficial are many in the examining themselves by the Word How few do examine their State or their Actions fully Though our hearts be very great Impostours Jer. 17.9 deceitful above all things great Supplanters full of guile though there be thousands and thousands of Lusts that lye hid in our hearts and Deceits like the Sands on the Sea-shore yet how carelesly do we set upon this work We take no pains in it 5. Being too seldome in it How seldome are we in this work Some deferr it till a Sacrament and then perhaps the house is searched for the leaven whereas we should keep a petty Sessions in our hearts every day and do what we can to know the bottom of the projects devices workings of our heats When going to Prayer we should examine our selves whether we have clean hands and pure hearts whether we are double-minded James 4.8 if so there is no drawing nigh to God And when we come off from the Duty we should conferr with our hearts what enlargements quicknings meltings humblings we had in the Duty what promises what threats were applyed by the Spirit whether we saw the face of our Beloved or not When going to a Sermon we should examine in what posture we are to meet with God what Oyl we want that we may be supplyed When going to our Beds we should examine our hearts how the day hath been spent what sins were committed what Duties and how discharged what temptations were resisted what mercies received and what growth and increase of grace we have obtained When going to Visit this Duty should be taken up before and after Before thus Wherein may I honour the Lord my God in such company what are their wants that I may endeavour to supply them what are their temptations and discouragements that I may labour to support them what are their graces and best attainments that I may profit by them After thus O my
heart What good didst thou do or receive in that company wa st thou eyes to the blind feet to the lame didst thou labour to bring thy Friends nearer to Jesus Christ or hast thou more estranged and prejudiced them from and against the way of truth O my heart Didst thou take heed to thy wayes that thou didst not sin with thy tongue Didst thou keep thy mouth as with a bridle When going into the Shop or Field yet with Isaack thou art to meditate there and conferr with God and thy heart thus O my heart for whom dost thou labour for Self or for God whose Servant wilt thou be to day the Worlds or Christs O my heart How many snares are there in the World what a dirty place â—is the World and how great is thy danger if God prevent not by special grace O my Soul What need hast thou of Almighty power to keep thee that thou mayest retain thy sweetness in salt waters But alas How seldome do we reflect on our words or silence on our speaking or hearing on our behaviour abroad or at home When do we consider what our affections were most set upon in such and such a place in such an hour and what our demeanour God-ward and toward our Neighbour was We do not believe Bernard who tells us If we would examine our selves as oft as we need Bern. in Cant. we must do it alwayes And Chrysostomes paraphrase and counsel on Psalm 4. is of as little credit with us Let this account be kept every day have a little Book in thy Conscience and write therein thy daily transgressions and when thou layest thee down on thy Bed bring forth thy Book and take an account of thy sinnes 6. Crowing weary of the work before they have brought things to an issue Do not we grow weary of this work before it be brought to any considerable Issue We flagg before we come to the up-shot Still some were learning and never came to the knowledge of the truth And so some pretend at least to be alwayes trying but they hold not fast They try their hearts as some did truths till they be wholly sceptical as ignorant whether converted or no as ever They know not more this year than they did seven years since but hang betwixt Heaven and Hell in a dubious state for want of skill or pains to decide this matter We are not resolute and peremptory enough to have an account of our Souls yea such an one as that we may have boldness in the presence of Christ When David thought on God and was troubled Psa 77.3 6. he never gives over his heart till he ended this controversie He communed with his heart and made a diligent search We should commune till we know whether we be natural or spiritual and accordingly be humbled greatly or greatly rejoyce in God our Saviour But alas This Age is strangely dull and sluggish those Duties that will cost expence of spirits and call for the labour of the mind we wholly omit or do them very negligently Reader Could I but prevail with thee to set in good earnest upon Occasional Meditation and Heart-Examination and Solemn Meditation and Self-Tryal I should bless the Lord as long as I breath for this enterprise of mine The searcher of hearts knoweth that I took Pen in hand on this design to labour with thee in order to inside Duties that thou might'st not be contented with a Form of Godliness and rest in the external part of Religion that more work might be done within doors in Closets and Hearts O that you would reform Not pass on to another Chapter till you have engaged your slippery incconstant hearts to attend on this necessary Duty Take a few Considerations to impell you 1. Motives to this great duty Heathens else will rise up in judgment against us The very Heathen will rise up in judgement to condemn you if you neglect this duty A Roman Philosopher every night before he slept would examine himself thus Quod malum hodie sanesti c. What sin hast thou opposed wherein art thou bettered Cato also would daily at evening call to mind what ever he had seen read or done that day I use saith Senica every evening to plead my cause with my self when the candle is gone and all silent I review all that I have said or done in the day I hide nothing from mine own scrutiny I pass by nothing Pithagoras gave also this severe rule to his Scholars that they should no night suffer sleep to seize their senses till they had three times recalled the accidents and passages of the day what evil have I committed what good have I omitted Except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees saith Christ may not I say of the Heathen how can you hope for Salvation O! how hath thine heart cheated thee with vain confidences How hast thou cryed the Temple of the Lord I have Abraham to my Father whilst moral Heathens have been better acquainted with their hearts than thou art Yea Sensitive creatures will else shame us 2. The very sensitive creatures may shame thee into the practise of this duty Go thou sluggard to all the souls of Heaven Do they not sit in the Sun and view themselves look inward to themselves turn every feather to set it at rights Do they not look over their feathers and pick out and throw away that which is bad and set others in their places when misplaced Nay 3. We shall else be self-condemned You your selves will be judges of your selves You take the glass and what is amiss in the hair in the face in the body you rectifie by it and what no observation to be made of the faces of your Souls O! take the word of God and make use of this glass which now is in thine hand doth it discover no spots no neglects no failings O! view thy self and humble thy self reflect on thy self and conserr with thy self till thou art ashamed till thou abhorrest and loathest thy self before the Lord. 4. You have a sure sign of hypocrisie on you The neglect of this duty a sign of hypocrisie whilst this duty lies neglected for all the upright have been very carefull to commune with their hearts to search their hearts to make diligent search lest any lust should be covered as Rachel covered her Idols or as Saul was hid in the stuff Nothing is more desired by a sincere Soul than to be throughly searched examine me O Lord Psa 26.2 as Artificers do whether their gold be weight or no and prove me as Artificers do their silver in the fire try my reins and my heart the most inward motions of my Soul search me more deeply and throughly than the world can do Unfound hearts have one Dalilah they have one house of Rimmon that they cannot endure to be examined and found out they are loath to search too
farr lest they should see what they are unwilling to see and so be put upon judgeing and condemning themselves for that which they love beyond an Eye or an Hand 5. The sad consequences of the neglect of this duty O the sad consequences of the neglect of this duty By this neglect your hearts will become careless for that they are not call'd to an account as Servants and Factors are wont when their Masters neglect to examine them Hereby Sins will grow bolder with you and the more easily beset you for that you examine not wherein their strength lies and which way they oftnest prevail over you Hereby the work of Repentance will be obstructed for that innumerable Sins which you are daily guilty of will pass away unobserved with those circumstances attending them which make them of the greater magnitude Hereby your uncertainties about your spiritual estate will remain it may be converted it may be not it may be a Son of God it may be not but a Child of Hell it may be a Believer it may be an Enemy to God and â—â—e of Gods curse Hence will follow great dejectedness under every Providence of God no condition will please you whilst doubting and staggering you will be apt to fear whether your food be in mercy your dayes in mercy your liberty yea the Gospel in mercy to you you will sink under adversity for you cannot say the Lord is my portion you know not whether God will be your strong Tower Fortress c. you cannot manage any duty well whilst this lies neglected Mica 6.8 How can you walk before God with an humble heart when you know not what your hearts are How can you serve him with an upright heart whilst a stranger to this duty The very Heathens knew how necessary this was to all their duties and therefore discreetly caused to be writ over the Temple at Delphos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Know thy self Miserable are the disappointments that will attend English Professours unless they fall into a compliance with this duty you will dye deluded like the foolish Virgins you will not know your undone condition till it be too late you lie deceived in matters of the greatest and highest concernment you are cheated hitherto in things of eternity you are vexed when deceived by a Friend when supplanted by a Neighbour O! how will it pierce your Souls to be cheated by your selves When we would exclaim against a Knave we say he will cozen his Father the nearer the Relation the more sordid the Cheat O! but here is one that lies in thy bosome and thou and it go to cheat each other continually Let no man deceive himself 1 Cor. 3.18 it seems we are apt to do so But O! how great will your confusion be when this deceit shall be manifested when you shall see your selves frustrated of all your hopes and the glory your hearts promised you How will you be confounded when you shall say we looked for Heaven but behold Hell we looked for Salvation but behold Destruction we looked to be made perfectly Happy but O how our hearts have cheated us we must be damned we thought we had as good hearts as any as true Faith as sound Repentance as cordial love to God as any of our Neighbours as any Precisians of the Countrey we fools counted their life madness c. O! what daggers and swords will these frustrations be to you 6. We and our hearts shall not alwayes be strangers If you be loth to see how it is with you now how will you be able to behold what shall be seen at the day of Judgement Though you now will not know your hearts though you are so stately as not to speak with them or loth to examine the dirty Corners yet God is coming with his Fan the books must be opened and every page of thy heart will be unfolded for God will bring to light every hidden work of dishonesty God will pluck off the rough garment which thou wearest to deceive thy inward parts which are very wickedness shall be made manifest and then thou shalt be speech-less as if thou hadst a muzle put upon thy mouth as the word signifieth Well seeing murder will out as we say the secrets of the Soul must be brought forth is it not better by judging our selves by a severe tryall and sentence on our selves to prevent the wofullness of the last day Judged we must and shall be is it not then thy wisdome to judge thy self here in thy Closet that thou mayst be judged by God with a judgement of Absolution and not of Condemnation Is it nothing to have all thy unrepented and unforgiven sins published on the house-top made known to all the World Ezek. 22.14 at the great day How will thine heart endure then when the Lord shall come to deal with thee You will not see but you shall see Isa 26.11 You will not retire the World lyes in your hearts Business comes in and takes up all your time and spirits God is about to strip you to ease you of your Callings you shall come naked to the Barr of God you shall have no Family business to distract you a fair tryal there shall be but a sad one for thee Your sins shall find you out Numb 32.23 You have had many Calls once more I call upon you in the Name of Christ to examine your hearts by the words of this Book which you have or shall read And be sure of it If you will not nor try your selves by the Word God will try you by his Works Thus saith the Lord Jer. 9.7 I will melt them and try them But how will God melt them and try them Shall I not visit them for these things saith the Lord v. 9. Shall not my Soul be avenged on such a Nation as this For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing v. 10. and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation because they are burnt up so that none can pass through them neither can men hear the voice of the Cattel both the Fowl of the Heavens and the Beasts are fled they are gone And I will make Jerusalem heaps v. 11. and a Den of Dragons and I will make the Cities of Judah desolate without an Inhabitant CHAP. XXI Their Pride BEhold Professors Pride Ezek. 16.49 Evidenced in Irreverence in addresses to God Gen. 18.27 This was the iniquity of thy Sister Sodom Pride c. And is not this Devillish Sin become our National Sin 1. With what a bold and impudent face have we come and appeared before God Who hath sensibly exprest himself in Abraham's words Behold now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord which am but dust and ashes Instead of a reverential fear of God our behaviour hath been stout against God and we have not trembled in his presence no not whilst we have been terribly
9. Accounting Gods Judgements greater than their Deserts Do not we think God hath punished us above our Deserts Do not we hence cry out more of our smart and pain than we do of our sins and provocations Were we humble we would bless the Lord that he hath restrained his rough wind in the day of his East wind We would wonder that it is so well with us that we are not in a worse condition We would cry out Lam. 3.40 It is of the Lords mercy that we are not consumed Wherefore doth a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sins How loth are we to confess our iniquities have deserved all that we suffer and a great deal more and therefore to humble our selves for our sins How do we endeavour to hide our sins from God Man and our selves 10. Admiring what they suppose they have How apt are we to admire our selves for supposed Excellencies For supposed Beauty Parts Reason Wit and Understanding yea and for supposed Grace Man saith one is a proud piece of flesh and a small matter will make him shew his pride and spread his plumes 11. Boasting of what Good they have and do How apt are we to boast of any Good we do Of our Valour in the Field of our Discourses in such and such Company how wisely we discharged such a Service how well we behaved our selves in such an Action Come see my Zeal for the Lord. Look to your hearts you will find them unduly transported as with the thoughts of your gifts and graces so with what you do through the gift of grace Our very Graces are often an occasion of boasting 'T is a rare thing to see a man rich in gifts 1 Cor. 8.1 Puffed up with any thing of theirs and poor in spirit Even knowledge puffeth up 12. Doth not any thing of ours swell us Are not some puff'd up with their fine Clothes new Attires Ribbons Dressings yea with their very Spots Their Feathers their Hair the excrements of Beasts and Men make them flye high Are not some puff'd up with their Birth Hence they boast that they have the Blood of Kings and Nobles running in their Veins or else that they are of the Stock of Abraham descended from Parents eminent for Piety though they have sadly degenerated from their lives and walks How many are swell'd with their Estates That they have Shops full Houses full and Baggs full puffeth them up Whilst all the treasure is shewed how glad is the heart Even Hezekiah was glad to shew the Embassadours the house of his precious things Isa 39. â— How are others puffed up with the smiles and respects of great men And yet how soon may the Sun be over-cast Then they are no more heeded than the Dial is when the Sun is in a Cloud How doth the bodily strength and perfections of others swell them though every moment they are going down into the dust What is your life It is even a vapour James 4.14 that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away How are others swell'd with their Church-priviledges The Temple of the Lord Ezek. 7.4 the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord are we These are lying words not to be trusted in Others with their revelations and high enjoyments 3 Cor. 12.7 Paul was in danger of being exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations therefore was given to him a thorn in the flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet him lest he should be exalted above measure Rom. 12.3 Gal. 6.3 How few have heeded that of the Apostle Let no man think of himself more highly than he ought to think and that If a man think himself to be something when he is nothing he deceiveth himself How have we been puff'd up with our Reformation Ministers Churches Professours Preferring them before others at home and abroad 13. How little suspicion have we of our selves Not suspecting themselves Of our baseness and sinfullness the deceits and treachery of our own hearts With how much confidence do we thrust our selves into wicked mens company and fear not to be leavened with them How little do we suspect that we shall fall from the grace we have or seem to have We are high minded and therefore fear not We do not suspect that there are worse abominations within than yet are discovered How do we pretend to bless God that our hearts are good We fear not the worst of our selves If others be overcome with uncleanness passion c. we are confident we shall never so dishonour God 14. Fuming at plain dealing Do not we fret and fume when any go about to discover the vileness within I have heard of some Ladies that have hated the glass that gave them a true sight of their spots Psa 141.5 and deformities Humble David loved them best who most convincingly reproved him for what was amiss in him 15. Not being able to deny themselves in any lawfull content Being troubled that any Rule besides themselves We must be pleased we must have our sports and the utmost of our liberty though GOd and man suffer by it never so much we cannot stoop to deny our selves some lawfull contentments though God be to be honoured thereby 16. How have we been troubled that any save our selves have Ruled and been in Authority Few have learnt the Humility of Jothams Olive-tree Fig-tree and Vine The Bramble thinks himself worthy to be in the highest place O! what fightings what sidings what Plots to get higher Haman was never contented till every knee bowed not so much as one Mordecai must be excused If men would but speak out they think they are fitter for Magistrates and Ministers than those that are employed so that whereas the humble man thinks every one better than himself they on the contrary think themselves the only men 1 Pet. 2.13 Do not we account it below us to to submit to every Ordinance of man though for the Lords sake And when we cannot do what we are commanded who suffers meekly and not in anger against the highest Powers Do not we suffer in proud wrath Prov. 21.24 And glad to be commended by others though they discommend themselves 17. How glad are we if others take notice of our actions And how are we pleased if they commend us for them and yet we would not have them think so We will discommend our own Prayers for deadness straitness and our selves for want of parts c. on purpose to draw forth others praise How few are unwilling that others should have good thoughts of them in reference to themselves How few are troubled at the praises of their friends more than at flashes of lightning cast into their faces 18. How do we rejoyce when others cry us up yea to be cryed up undeservedly even when we know it is unjustly when we know how hollow-hearted
low-spirited and selfish we are Are not we exceedingly pleased at the flowers that are spread upon our dead Corps Though the praises be not due to us yet how do we drink them in as the Hart doth water 19. How Magisterial have we been Being Dictatours to others What great Dictatours to others as if all were bound to dance after us We will not abate at all but every poor Mordecai must do obeysance to our opinion 20. How are we guilty of despising Despising others yea scorning those that are as we think below us in Birth in Estate in Power in Parts and Gifts yea in graces Isa 58.9 How do we evidence our slighting of them in our looks in our words in our gestures and behaviours Pride saith one is a bad Mother of many bad Children these three especially boasting of our selves contending with and despising of others Job 35.6 How unlike are we herein unto God Behold God is mighty i. e. most mighty most great the positive is put for the superlative degree and yet he despiseth not any i. e. any of those who have no might no greatness yea how do we herein reproach our Maker God saith one made every man an object of respect or pity 't is Pride that makes any the objects of contempt Prov. 17.5 and in them their Maker Who so mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker 21. unwilling to confess their faults unto others How few will confess their faults unto others Perhaps they will reform but hate it to the death to go and acknowledge their trespasses to others whom 't is clear and proved they have trespassed against How many have you injured by tale-bearing backbiting c. Must not God work a miracle to perswade us to make reistitution to go to the parties wronged and confess the wrong there and then to go from house to house to vindicate and clear the party there where before we had wickedly stained and aspersed him This makes me cry out Lord who shall be saved Lord many are called but few are chosen 22. Reproving haughtily Isa 3.5 When we go about that too too much neglected duty of fraternal correption how loftily do we manage it How do our words yea looks and gestures evidence our haughtiness The Child behaveth himself proudly against the Ancient Vindicating themselvs maliciously 23. What a stirr what a noise do we make to vindicate our selves when aspersed and calumniated Whereas the humble Soul would never stirr to clear himself as knowing how much guilt and sin there is within were it not for the honour of God and the edification of the Lords people which may be hindred if prejudices and unjust reproaches be not removed Alas most men study revenges and like the Grave are unsatiable in their malicious vindications 24. Being bloudily minded toward their dissenting Brethren How bitter have we been against dissenting Brethren Would we not have cast them out of the Land if we might have had our wills Did not we talk of shipping away all that would not submit to our way of worship Did not we count them who were divided in circumstances and ceremonies from us like Dogs and Pagans unfit to subsist among us No wonder if for these things God make us a shame and a derision a Proverb and a by-word to all the Nations round about us O! our Pride testifies to our faces we are guilty of what brought down fire on Sodom This is the sin that God setteth himself in battel-array against Jam. 4.6 so the word for resisting in that Scripture God resisteth the proud signifieth 'T is that which makes God abhor us and our offerings Prov. 16.5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. Believe it Gods eyes are upon the haughty that he may bring them down and he watcheth his opportunity to do it Psa 38.6 The Lord knoweth the proud afar off When God meets with a spectacle that he cannot endure to look upon he turns from it whilst it is afarr off What shall I say Pride is the first of those seven things Prov. 6.17 which are an abomination to the Lord. And no wonder that God so loatheth it whilst it crosseth the great design of God in the Gospel which is to humble the mountains 1 Cor. 1.29 31. that no flesh should glory in his presence but that he that glorieth should glory only in the Lord. CHAP. XXII Their Intemperance in Eating THough Pride was the first spark that blow'd up the glory of Sodom Professors Fulness of Bread yet there was also Fulness of Bread that made the flame the greater Behold This was the iniquity of thy Sister Sodom Ezek. 16.49 Pride Fulness of Bread c. Their Pride was evidenced in their Fulness of Bread as the Cause in its Effect The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth to be temperate is as one well observes applyed frequently to the Mind in opposition to Pride because Sobriety proceeds from an humble sense that nothing is ours but all that we have is Gods and all Intemperance is commonly the issue of a proud Spirit which makes men look on themselves as Owners and all Creatures as their proper Goods which are perfectly at their disposal Hence the Crown of Pride Isa 28.1 3. and the Drunkards of Ephraim are both names for the same persons And is not our Pride evidenced in our Fulness of Bread Sodoms intemperance in eating not to insist on intemperance in drinking was very great but I fear Englands hath exceeded Sodoms I will not say all your labour is for the mouth Eccles 6.7 as Solomon complains and yet the appetite is not filled but this I say that some live to eat some sacrifice all to the belly to some the belly is a God Few can displease their appetite like prophane Esau they part from their heritage from the blessing of the first-born for a mess of pottage for a little pleasure to the taste How will we deny our selves in respect of Life when we cannot deny our selves in respect of a little Meat As Heaven and God are low very low with them that cannot deny themselves in a little Iudian-Smoke in a Pipe in a cup of Liquor but will be immoderate in these though thereby they hazard the displeasure of God So are they very low with us if we cannot deny our selves in our Morsels All our ruine came in at this door that Adam ventured the displeasure of God to eat a little pleasant Fruit. A man would think Evidenced in their much eating that the wounds we received by the mouth should make us check our appetite all our dayes 1. How have we been guilty of eating too much A little would content Nature which hath therefore given us a little Mouth and Stomach to teach us saith an Ancient Moderation How have our hearts been overcharged with surfetting whilst wicked men with
such and such Rates Boasting of selling too dear though their Consciences must needs suggest to them that they have over-sold them and therein have declined the rules of moderation and righteousness When you have selled too dear Loth to make Restitution and so cheated your Brother though Conscience in times of sickness and danger begins to contend with you about it yet how loth are you to make restitution for the wrong you have offered How unlike are you to them in Nehemiah Then said they We will restore them and will require nothing of them Nehem. 5.12 13. so will we do as thou sayest If a Nehemiah should say So God shake out every man from his house and from his labour that performeth not this promise even thus be he shaken out and emptied you would hardly say Amen and praise the Lord. When men buy a Commodity As to Buyers crying out 't is naught how apt are they to discommend it to bring down the price to say It is naught when all the while they know it is offered on easie terms How do Buyers take the Advantage of the Seller's Ignorance of the worth of his own Goods There is a cursed Proverb amongst English-men but in too great request That a man may not only sell as dear but buy as cheap as he can Few like Austin that bought a Book at an unskilful Stationer's hands for an inconsiderable price and afterwards gave the value of it Prov. 20.17 Bread of deceit is sweet to a man but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel How often do Buyers even as Sellers often say they will not Saying They will give no more and yet do they cannot take a penny less for such a Commodity so answer that they will not give a farthing more for what they have cheapened and yet all the while intend to come up to the Seller's price How common is it Falling at the day of payment for men to take up Wares and to promise payment at such a day and yet fail Yea how do they promise though they know they shall not be able to be as good as their word It were better for thee to begg thy bread than thus to steal from thy Neighbour Thou art ashamed to begg as he of old thou shouldst be ashamed much more to do worse viz. to defraud thy Neighbour Prov. 21.6 The getting of treasures by alying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death It is a thing very frequent tossed to and fro but it is a vanity and they that use it are Felones deâ—se they do but seek death and destruction by it How few are there As to Buyers and Sellers both that in their buring and selling give a proof of their loving their Neighbours as themselves their Neighbours goods and welfare as their own O! 1 Pet. 1.15 When will ye be holy in all manner of conversation Holy in your Trades as well as in your Church-Assemblies Holy in the Shop and in allâ—secular employments So holy as to abide with God in your Calling When will ye trade for God rather than for Self When will ye labour with your hands Eph. 4.28 that ye may be able to give and not only to receive When will ye trade in fear and be in the fear of the Lord all the day and that lest your Shop should prove your bane and whilst seeking after the Mammon of this life ye lose the true Substance Is this thy Prayer before thou enterest upon thy Calling O that it were Lord help me to trade for thee whilst for my self and for the good of my Neighbours Soul Body Goods as well as for my own How few With reference to the King Stealing Customes among all the several sorts of Traders render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's Hierome long since hath told you That Caesar is not Proper but Appellative All the Emperours were called Caesars from Julius Caesar Confiderations against it How can you quiet your Consciences to steal Custome as many of you do What is it save the Law that gives you right to all you have And by the Law so much of your Goods is the King 's it is alienated from you to his Crown and Revenue How dare you cheat him Should you think it hard measure to pay so great a tribute Have you forgot what Christ who came under the Law dâ—d Mat. 17.24 25 26 27. Though tribute was exacted of him when the Children were free yet he would work a Miracle rather than give offence in denying to pay the Fine that was imposed on him Why do ye not take the safest course if it be a disputable matter To be sure you will not give offence to God to the King to your Conscience by paying Customes but you may to all by defrauding Do you herein as you would be dealt with If you were the Head would you have the inferiour Members impoverish the Head If you were the Political Father would you have your Children cheat you Do not you by bribes and otherwise tempt the King's Officers to be false to their trust and to damn their Souls by perjury and treachery Lastly Consider that self-love and self-interest are prevalent as to make you to favour and enrich your selves so also to bribe your minds and judgements and to enslave them to your base passions O! Consider how apt is every one unequally to favour himself and to suck in any corrupt and absurd reasonings whereby he may greaten himself though by the ruine of others If you say as they of the Silver-shrines This brings in our gain We cannot subsist without stealing Customes How else can we live A Father will tell you Indigna vox Christiano c. It ill becomes a Christians mouth to ask How shall I live Not one that Christ call'd to forsake Trades and Professions did ever answer him I must not give over my gain They only reformed or relinquished their Trades when Christ call'd them Till you can relinquish unlawful gains you are none of Christs Disciples Those in the Acts that burnt their unlawful Books to the loss of thousands Acts 19.20 shewed themselves true Converts so mightily grew the Word and prevailed O! When Tyre shall be converted her trading and dealings shall be sacred Isa 23.18 Her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord. Here give me leave to add the Sin of Lyeing Their Lying too too common among all sorts of Traders as well as others And truly this Sin comes not improperly under the Head of Injustice V. Patrick's Epitome of Mans Duty P. 45 46. Justice even when it is not taken most largely so it is taken for all Religion comprehends our whole duty to our Neighbour as to matters of right Thus by vertue of the fifth Commandement to do justly is to give our Parents their due honour whether they be
Natural Civil or Spiritual In respect of the sixth it is to preserve the Life of our Neighbour and to have a care that we injure him not in his beeing In reference to the seventh it is to preserve his just Relations and not touch them or cause the violation of their faith to to him in reference to the eighth it is to preserve his estate and not meddle with his goods the 9th requires that we preserve his good name and not defame him nor do any prejudice to his credit no more than we would to his estate and by vertue of the tenth we are to moderate our very desires so as not to envy him that which is his nor to long to have it in our possession To be sure there is righteousness to be look'd after in words and expressions as well as in deeds and actions But alas How doth the sin of lying abound among us And no wonder when Perjury is so common a sinne for this God hath a controversie with the Land Hos 4.1 2. Is there not need to take heed every one of his Neighbour and not to trust in any Brother Jer. 9.4 5. will not every one deceive his Neighbour and not speak the truth Have not they taught their tongue to speak lies If you are not couzeninglyers or false-witness-lyers yet are you not reviling-lyers Do you not upon every petty difference speak of one another ye care not what do ye not spread lying defamations Jer. 20.10 I heard the defaming of many report say they and we will report Is not the fawning-lyer common among us Their words are the words of Jacob but their hands are the hands of Esau Psal 55.21 The words of their mouths are smoother than butter but warr is in their hearts their words are softer than oyl yet are they drawn swords their is no faithfulness in their mouth their throat is an open sepulcher Upon this occasion give me leave to use David's Prayer Help Lord for the godly man ceaseth Psal 12.1 2. for the faithful fail from among the Children of men Why wherein consists their ungodliness they speak vanity every one with his Neighbour with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak Is there not also many a Newes-telling lyer among us They believe in their Consciences that it is false Hos 7.3 what they relate and yet to promote an interest for to make hearts glad with lyes they will spread that which is false How many officious-lyers have we who tell lyes for some good end as they think The highest end is Gods glory but will ye speak wickedly for God Job 13.7 and talk deceitfully for him The Vulgar reads the Text Numquid Deus indiget vestro mendacio It contains a truth though not the sense of the place What! hath God need of your lye It is a dishonour to God to be thus help'd And if we must not speak evil that good may come to God sure then we may not whatever the Roman Doctours teach us speak evil that good may come to our selves How can you think you are Gods Children Considerations against Lying Isa 63.8 God engageth himself for his people that surely they will not lye surely they are my people children that will not lye Austin long agoe gave his judgement concerning lying that a man must not tell a lye to save the whole world if it were saith he to save thy Father or thy Mother out of Hell if possibly it could be thou must not tell a lye or if it were to save a Kingdom from destruction And yet to gain a little mirth or to gain a penny or to prevent the frowns of a Superiour how do some teach their tongues to lye Not considering Prov. 6.17 that among the seven things that are an abomination to the Lord lying is one yea as one observes he repeats lying twice though under several names Rev. 21.8 Tit. 1.2 that all lyers shall have their portion in the burning lake that herein they are like unto the Devil who is the Father of lyes and most unlike unto God Eph. 4.25 who cannot lye O then put away lying and speak the truth away with mental reservations and Jesuitical aequivocations Let thy tongue be the faithful interpreter of thy heart Be faithful in your promises and engagements be not yea and nay Remember Cicero the Heathen's saying None but the most villanous will deceive him who had been safe if he had not trusted CHAP. XXVI Their Covetousness IF there be so much unrighteousness Professon Covetousness no wonder that there is also much covetousness that must not be forgot when we remember the evil of our ways Covetousness is the seed of all unrighteousness 1 Tim. 6.10 V. Wells on Mich. 6.8 P. 18. Mat. 21.38 the râ—ot of all evil It was Jezabels covetousness that made her unjustly deprive Naboth of his Vineyard This is the heir come let us kill him and seize on his inheritance Flectere si nequeo Superos acheronta movebo If I cannot prevail with Heaven I will to Hell for an Estate is the voice of covetousness yea which is more sadly to be considered this is that which will put men not only upon injustice to others but to God himself it will make them offer violence to Religion to Divine honour and whatever is sacred in the world all these shall be prostituted to serve the ends of covetousness That man will stick at no abuse of God whose God is his gain How notorious was that of one of the holy fathers of Rome a Pope O quantas divitias peperit haec fabula Christi O how gainfull unto us hath been the fable of Christ And is not covetousness and earthly mindedness an Epidemical sinne Eccles 6.2 Solomon calls it an evil disease 'T is called by one Aurugo the yellow jaundise which makes the sick person look yellow all over This is the Grave which never saith Prov. 30.15 it is â—â—â—gh but like Solomons Horse-leech it cries give give O! what boundless appetites have many who can neither use what they have nor put a period to what they desire as in the Sea one wave riseth above another so here every desire of having is out-gone by a new desire of getting Are not your great cares for riches Evidenced in several particulars Do not your thoughts thus run out O! how shall I thrive more in the world get more estate custome but not O! how shall I get the favour of God the pardon of my sins and victory over my lusts how anxious and sollicitous are you every day for the world but how flat in your coming to have the Image of God renewed How dejected are you when you miss of a good bargain or when you meet with some loss by Sea or Land But how little troubled if you lose an opportunity of communion with the Lord How joyous are you when a little of
attended these whereby they have sallen in that esteem which once they had above you There is no Envy in God Disliking their own enjoyments and his holy Angels they rejoyce at our advancement and at the glory of the humane Nature that it is so exalted above theirs but unhappy we that cannot see any excellency in another but we dislike our own enjoyments and are more vexed at the welfare of our Neighbours than we would be at our own calamities The Beasts do not envy one another Considerations to withdraw the heart from Envy Gal. 5.20 but Men do yea the Devils envy not one another some Professours are herein worse than Devils No wonder if there have been hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions and heresies whilst envyings have abounded amongst us You know the miserable effect of Envy in the first man that was born of a woman through Envy Cain hated Prov. 27.4 and then kill'd his Brother Abel Wrath is cruel and Anger outragious but who is able to stand before Envy This is so filthy so shameful a sin that few will own it Observe the confessions of men in Prayer and Conference and you will hardly find a Professour acknowledge Envy The malignity of this sin appears in that it strikes directly at the Providence of God who disposeth of the inequality of mens conditions according to his soveraignty and wisdome It hath a tacit accusation of God for raising up some so high and laying others so low It is deeply unsatisfied with Gods bounty to the Children of men that he gives so liberally to some whereas he is not bound to any Whilst others complain against God for making the World no better the envious man is troubled that he hath done so well for some of his Creatures Gal. 5.19 20 21. No wonder the Apostle reckoneth Envy among the gross sins of Murder Uncleanness Idolatry Witchcraft c. and concludes Heaven is no place for such They which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdome of God This is a sin so damnable and so ugly making you so much like the Devil that it is high time you watch against it mourn for it and seek its ruine O! When shall we hear the Exhortation Let us not be desirous of vain-glory provoking one another envying one another When shall we in honour preferr one another When shall we like Barnabas Acts 11.23 When we see the grace of God rejoyce When shall Ministers reprove the Joshuahs that are envying for their sakes in Moses words I would to God all the people of the Lord did prophesie When shall we like John the Baptist be contented to decrease so that Christ may increase and to be laid by if others more able may be substituted to do Gods work When shall we rejoyce if God useth others to convert by them more than by us and with famous Mr. Dod I would to God saith he that I were the worst Minister in England his meaning was that all should excel him in gifts and graces We pretend to evidences of our conversion from our love to the Saints but let us hear what the effects of true love are 1 Cor. 13.4 5. Love seeketh not her own love envieth not love is not puffed up As love is the fulfilling of the Law so envy is the dissolution of it O! when shall we instead of envying our Brother bless God for him If he hath more than we have more strength parts riches honours graces c. the account he must pass with God is the greater let us pity him rather than envy him Believe it God is wiser than we are and if his distributions are various we have as many talents as we can well improve Let us look to our own duty in the places wherein God hath set us and pray for them that have ten tallents more than we have that they may serve the Lord ten times more than we can O that thine eye might affect thine heart that thine eye should be evil because Gods is good CHAP. XXVIII The sins of Family-Governours Professours miscarriages in their Families As Governours Not commanding their houshold to serve God Gen. 18.19 1. HOw guilty are such of you as have families to govern of not commanding your houshold to serve God Of how few can God say as he did of Abraham by way of approbation I know him that he will command his children and his houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to justice and judgement that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him By your Authority you should command them to subject their hearts wills and consciences to the will and pleasure of Jehovah but alas how many of you have been careless in this your Children and Servants yea Wives must know your Authority upon worldly accounts you command them imperiously enough to fullfill your will and pleasure to serve you but how Gallio-like are you little caring whether they obey the Lord 2. Being Zealous against disobedience to themselves not to God How much passion have you discovered when Children and Servants yea and Wives too submit not to your will and pleasure But when do they see so much Zeal against their neglects of Gods work as they find in you when they neglect your secular commands These passions are of a scandalous nature and may make your inferiours to believe that you value more your Authority than Gods the having your own will to be obeyed than that Gods requiries should be observed 3. Not caring for the Souls of their Families How many Professing-Governours are there that shew great care for the bodies of their Families but not for their Souls Meat and drink and clothes or money to buy them they shall have but none or little instruction How little do you Chatechise your Families Not Chatechising them Heb. 6.1 Prov. 22.6 How seldome do you ask them any questions concerning the first Principles of the Doctrine of Christ If you do Chatechise your Children as you ought in obedience to those Divine commands Train up a Child in the way wherein he should go Bring up your Children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephes 6.4 Yet how few of you do Chatechise the rest of your houshold your Servants and Wives Heb. 6.1 though they be but Babes in Religion Children in Understanding and this Milk is appointed for Children in Understanding as well as Age Neither doth the work of Chatechising them belong only unto Ministers to them indeed it doth belong as such as watch for their Souls but unto you Heb. 13.17 for it belongs to all that have the charge of Souls and you are charged not only with your Children's but with your Servant's and with your Wives Souls Whatever any of you may fancy there never comes a Wife a Child or Servant into any of your Families but with this warrant from the great
affect your hearts as it ought Some there were but very few would say Brown Bread and the Gospel is a Feast Few like the Christians at Constantinople cryed out Better the Sun not shine than Chrysostome be silenced You could bless God for Health Estate c. but not for these great Luminaries of Glory who were appointed to conduct and guide you unto the Heavenly Jerusalem 4. Not praying for 〈◊〉 How little did you Pray for them How little have you prayed for gifts and abilities to goe through their whole work for preservation for them and for a sanctified use of all Gods dispensations toward them How little did you deprecate the stopping of their mouths and supplicate that their mouths might be kept open Eph. 6.19 and that utterance might be given unto them that they might open their mouths boldly to make known the Mystery of the Gospel Have not they oft begg'd your Prayers in the words of Paul I beseech you Rom. 15.30 31. Brethren for the Lord Jesus Christs sake and for the love of the Spirit that ye strive together with me in your Prayers to God for me that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea in England and yet have not you neglected to call upon God for their deliverance How can you tell but their mouths had still been opened had not you neglected Prayer Mat. 7.7 8. Hath not Christ promised Knock and it shall be opened unto you To him that knocketh it shall be opened 5. Making Excuses for not hearing them Have not you made sorry Excuses for not hearing them How little have you believed that Word He that heareth you heareth me And by consequence that not-hearing of them was not-hearing of Christ himself What slight excuses have been deemed sufficient to keep you from the Shepheards Tents The Apostle would have us Swift to hear James 1.19 Swiftness notes diligence in taking the first occasion but how have you to complement with a Friend to indulge to the flesh for fear of a little rain for fear of wetting your feet for fear of losing a six-penny yea a penny-Customer declined several opportunities of attending the Embassadours God sent you For these things the wrath of God is breaking out upon you the day is come or coming Amos 8.12 Cant. 5.3 6. Their miscarriages before in and after hearing Before Hearing without antecedent meditation when ye shall wander from Mountain to Hill from Sea to Sea and seâ—k bread and find none This very excuse the fear of defiling her feet would not serve the Spouse 6. How did you miscarry both before and in and after hearing How slender was your preparation to attend upon these Deputies of Christ How little did you meditate on the Word you were to receive at their lips Did you thus consider The Gospel that I am about to hear wil be the savour of life unto life or of death unto death I shall be nearer Heaven or Hell by this Sermon I am going to If the Gospel be alwayes hid I am a lost Soul and shall perish is my Soul hungry This is the bread of Heaven Is my Soul thirsty this is the water of life this is the milk whereby I must grow up unto eternal life this messenger of Heaven will be for the fall as well as the rising of many in Israel If he be not instrumental for my Salvation he will be for my Damnation Isa 55.10 11. As the rain cometh and watereth the Earth and returneth not thither c. So shall Gods Word that goeth forth out of this Ministers mouth not return unto him voyd How little did you consider the excellency and necessity of the Word that you were to partake of What â—reasure was afforded you in an earthen vessel That the Truths and Doctrines that your Ministers taught you were of as much worth as your Souls as Heaven as Salvation How little did you pour out your Souls in Prayer unto God before you went to hear your Prayer Ministersâ— Eâ—â—her 〈◊〉 your Ministers that God would open their mouths to speak the word truly sincerely powerfully and seasonably and suitabty to your condition or for your own Souls that God would open your hearts to enteâ—tain the word so as to profit by it that you might not have open ears and shut hearts that you might not have ears Prov. 20.12 and yet hear not as knowing that the hearing ear and seeing eye the Lord hath made even both of them How careless were you to purge your Souls before you came to hear the word Putting off the shooe Moses before he was to hear God speaking put off his shooe to intimate that you should put off your carnal and earthly affections before you come to hear Gods word But have not you rush'd out of your worldly employments to many a Sermon How careless were you to lay apart all filthiness Jam. 1.21 and superfluity of naughtiness that you might receive with neekness the engrafted word Eccles 5.1 which is able to save your Souls If you have not come without habitual have you not neglected actual preparation When you have been actually under the Ministry Have not you heard irreverently In hearing irreverently without awfull apprehensions of Gods Majesty and presence Have you said of the place where any Minister of Christ hath preached unto you as Jacob of Bethel how dreadfull is this place Have you in your hearing Sermons set your selves in the presence of God Acts 10.33 as Cornelius did when Peter was preaching unto him The King of Moab will rise up in judgement to condemn the irreverence of many of our Professours when Ehud told him Judg. 3.20 I have a message to the from God the King arose from his Throne and bowed himself Have not you evidenced your irreverence in hearing carelesly Carlesly dully drowsily sleepily c. Have not you lent a more attentive ear to a Tale to a Fable to a Romance to a Ballad to a Stage-Play of several hours length than to a Sermon of an kour Have not you come to Church as to an Apothecaries Shop for a recipe to sleep Hath not the Gospel come unto you in word only and not in power When the Minister threatened you from the Lord could you say My slesh trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy righteous judgements How many months and years did Gods Servants threaten you with a Famine of hearing the Word of the Lord but did this Judgement fright you and humble you whilst it lay in the cloud of the threaâ—ning as the least appearances of an outward Famine have awakened you When your Ministers came with the tydings of Peace to you were their feet beautiful May not your Ministers complain of you as Christ of the Jewes John 8. â—â— My Word takes no place in you So careless have you been of any thing that hath been spoken
to you by them though in the Name of the Lord. When your Ministers declaimed against your sins did you so mind what they delivered as to be any whit troubled Zech. 7.11 12. Did you not harden your hearts as an adamant Were you not so farr from being troubled for your sins that it was your only trouble you could not commit them without controul Were you not even troubled with admonitions and counsels commands and threatnings that crost you in your sins Can you say Acts 17.11 that you Received the Word with all readiness of mind Have not you heard heartlesly Heartlesly without a real sense of your want of the Word and without an appetite to it Had you such vehement desires after the treasure your Ministers were bringing you as covetous men have after the treasures of the Earth Could you ever with David say Psal 119.20 My Soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgements at all times Have not you heard unbelievingly unbelievingly Not crediting your Ministers Doctrine and not applying it to but shifting it off from your selve Have not their Sermons been therefore unprofitable to your Souls Heb. 4.2 because not mix'd with Faith Can you say that you received their Word 1 Thes 2.13 as the Word of God That you applyed it to your Souls as that which concern'd you May not we say with grief of Soul as our Lord hath said already John 5.37 You have not heard his voice at any time When you heard the Word which is Gods Word did you hear God himself speaking his own Word unto your hearts Have you not been cautioned by the Lord Jesus Christ and by his Ministers with a Take heed how you hear Luke 18.18 Carpingly And yet how oft have you heard the Ministers of Christ carpingly Not with a willingness to be judged by the Word but to judge it and the Preacher for it Have not you let slip the most material passages of the Sermon and pitch'd upon the weaknesses or impertinencies of the Minister How oft have you when you could not blame the subject matter found fault with the method and the manner of delivery and over-look'd that wherein your Souls were especially concerned Have not you heard Non-obediently Non-obediently Have not you been untractable and unteachable Have you not heard proudly and not humbly With hard hearts and not with hearts of flesh ready to receive the impression of the Word and willing to be moulded and fashioned according to it When could you say to any of Gods Ministers as Cornelius to Peter We are all here present to hear all that is commanded of God When wast thou of such an yielding Spirit Acts 9.6 Job 34.32 as Saul was of Lord What wilt thou have me to do His ear and heart was open to every command So was Job's That which I see not teach thou me Have not you had your Exceptions If Ministers have enjoyn'd you to pray in your Families perhaps you heard them therein but if they enjoyned from the Lord the same Legislatour that you pray in your Closets that you examine your selves that you fill your hands with both the Tables they could not be heard one reserve at least Whereas the right hearer cries out Lord What wilt thou have me to do I will do any thing Lord actively or passively to get Hill out of my Soul now and to keep my Soul out of Hell hereafter After hearing the Embassadours of Heaven After Not examining what they have heard how faulty have you been In not examining what you have heard by the written Word The Bereans consulted with the Oracles of God brought the Doctrines they heard to the measuring Line of the Sanctuary but so have not you They say a man will tell money after his Father but you have been too careless to tell over the Doctrines you have heard How many were there to whom the reputation and worth of the Teacher was sufficient proof of his Doctrine receiving all that was stamp'd with his tongue Mat. 23.9 Jude v. 16. Have not you called such and such a Minister Your Father on Earth in the same sense in which Christ forbids it Have not you had the Persons of men in admiration and that for advantage No wonder that Errours have abounded Men that through an over-esteem of the Minister take all upon trust or through sloth will not examine Doctrines are like to be deceived May not Christ check you Not remembring it Mar. 8.18 rather than the Disciples with Why do you not remember Have not you heard the Word and instantly forgot it Hath not the Word gone in at one ear and out at another Have not you let slip the Word Jam. 1.25 The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is metaphorical taken from a Sieve or leaking Vessel when the liquor runs out as fast as it is put in Heb. 2.1 Have not you hereby been ever learning but not come to the knowledge of the truth Your Memories should be like the Ark wherein the Pot of Mannah was kept but alas When you heard the Word then came the wicked One Mat. 13.19 and catched away what was sowen in your hearts and was not the Word and the labours of Christs Ministers fallen so low that you were contented at least little troubled thus to be pillaged of this heavenly treasure Have not you neglected Meditation upon the Word you have heard Not meditating on it It was one special way whereby in time of the Law the clean Beasts were known from the unclean chewing the end Levit. 11.3 Luke 11.25 But how few ruminate upon what they have heard and received They do not with Mary keep the sayings and ponder them in their hearts Blessed are they that hear the Word and keep it How few retire into their Closets and reflect on the usefulness of the Word for the nourishment of their graces for the destruction of their sins How few consider whether they have met with God in the Sermon yea or no You should have gathered up the words of Christs Minister as Christ said of the fragments so as none should be lost or as the Gold-smith looks after the very dust of gold but as soon as Conscience was quieted did you ever think more of the Word How few have gone from the Church to the Closet Not praying over it there to pour out their Souls for a blessing upon what they heard From the Pulpit to the Trade is bad but from the Pulpit to the Ale-house that 's abominable but all are not clear herein O! If when your sin was discovered you had gone into your chambers and begg'd humiliation for it and victory over it and if when neglected duty was prest in publick you had retired and prayed to God to incline your hearts to keep Gods statutes would it not have been better with you than now it is Have not you
Physician is sent for both Lawyers and Physicians houses and rooms are full of Clyents and Attendants but men are contented to clear up their own titles to Heaven and glory and to heal themselves of their sin sicknesses a plain argument that they thought the Ministry but useless and that they could make a shift to live without Ministers Thou hast had Prescriptions for thy Souls recovery and health for these many years and yet perhaps hast not given one farthing to thy Soul-Physicians If a Physician write a few lines purses are opened if a Lawyer plead a quarter of an hour yea if he plead not at all but only give his advise you think he deserves a fee but the Ministers work is so low in thy esteems that he might have starved if all were as niggardly as thou hast been Let this be considered and lamented Your Ministers have been under a temptation to withhold the pressing of this duty upon you for that many lay in wait to discredit them as if they preached for nire and sought yours rather than you but let me be your Remembrancer this day We cannot say of you as Paul of the Galathians that you received us as Angels of God yea as Jesus Christ and that you would have pluckt out your eyes for us Alas what did you for us more than the constraints o◠the Law compell'd you to And how many wishes had you that all the Laws for Tithes had been abrogated upon pretence that Ministers should have had a better maintenance by a voluntary contribution But do not we know that the great sticklers for this have been most close-fisted to the Ministers Giving nothing to them for their maintenance Have not some of them refused to give one penny to the Ministers whom they waited on for years together I wonder how you could in your reading the Scriptures if you have indeed read them so long overlook 1 Cor. 9.7 who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges who planteth a Vineyard and eateth not the fruit thereof or who feedeth a flock and eateth not of the milk of the flock Say I these things as a man v. 8. or saith not the Law the same also v. 9. For it is written in the Law of Moses thou shalt not muzle the mouth of the Oxe that treadeth out the Corn. Doth God take eare for Oxen Or saith he it altogether for our sakes For our sakes no doubt v. 10. this is written that he that ploweth should plow in hope and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope v. 11. If we have sowen unto you spiritual things is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things v. 12. If others be partakers of this power over you are not we rather Nevertheless we have not used this power but suffer all things lest we should hinder the Gospel of Christ v. 13. Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the Temple And they which wait at the Altar are partakers with the Altar v. 14. Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel That you may be the better convinced of the neglect of your duty see the Apostle claimes it as his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Power his Right and lawful Authority to receive maintenance from the Corinthians And indeed Christ hath impowered his Ministers and they may demand it without any just imputation of covetousness and self-seeking as the Labourer may his hire The Apostle had power to forbear working i. e. at his Trade He implyes that the Ministry would be the saddest employment because of the laboriousness of it if Ministers should not live of their Ministry Be sides Ministers give people gold for brass Again They who ministred about the holy things lived of the things of the Temple yea and plentifully too for they had the Tenth and yet were scarce the Sixtieth part of the People for the number of the People without the Levites amounted to a thousand thousands and three hundred thousands and the Levites numbred from the Infant to the old man were found but two and tweenty thousands But alas Though the Apostle be so peremptory here and else-where Gal. 6.6 Let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things And the Wise-man Prov. 3.9 Honour the Lord with thy substance and with the first-fruits of all thy increase Yet I may renew an old complaint Many have dealt by their Ministers as Carriers do by their Horses they lay heavy burdens upon them and then hang Bells about their necks hard work and good words they shall have but easie commons and slight wages as if they were of the Camelion-kind and could live by the air But if you have parted with any thing to the Minister hath it not been as Almes Or else giving only in charity not in justice as an almes not as due not as Dues not as Right Have not you excused your selves from giving what was due from you with The Minister needs it not He hath a fair Estate or at least a competency Yea but what saith the Apostle Have ye not reaped our spiritual things and should not we your carnals Have ye not been instructed Why then did ye not communicate to your Ministers in all good things Hath not the Lord expresly alienated a proportion of Goods for the Ministers labour How dare you live in the Sin of Sacrilege Is it not Sacrilege for you to detain from God what is due to him You are in the snare Prov. 20.25 for you have devoured that which is holy Suppose a man should work for thee all the day long would it be an excuse for thy detaining his dues from him to say The man hath a competency yea he is rich he is richer than I am my Children want it more than he doth he hath little or no charge O! saith the Lord The Labourer is worthy of his hire Wouldst thou not say so in that mans case O! Live up to the Light of Nature or throw up thy Profession It is no less than a wonder to see how little honesty there is among men yea among Professours To defraud a Minister is hardly counted a sin The rise of this is the great contempt of the Ministry A Sin that God is now reckoning with you for The Lord God of your Fathers sent to you by his Messengers 2 Chron. 36.15 16 17. rising up betimes and sending because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place but you mocked the Messengers of God and despised his words and misused his Prophets May it not be added Untill the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy For this Sin God brought upon the Israelites the King of the Chaldees who slew their young men with the
our rising up early and sitting up late our spending our strength our lungs our spirits yea and our estates among you you have requited us evil for good even to the spoyling of our Souls Acts 7.51 52. Ye stiffe-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears ye do alwayes resist the Holy-Ghost as your Fathers did so do ye Which of the Prophets have not your Fathers persecuted c. Have not you in your hypocrisie made outcries against others for silencing your Ministers for taking away the bread out of yours and your Childrens mouths and for removing them from their stations and dwellings But may not I profess in the name of all my Fellow-Sufferers that your misimprovements your inconstancies your pride and earthliness have been and are our chiefest burdens a greater pressure to us than any burdens that lye upon our names bodies or estates I cannot but think of a passage of holy Mr. Shepheard The Jews saith he did long for Christ and when he came they Crucified him and you would have Ministers and you had them and though you did not immediately cast them out of their places yet you so wearied their Spirits and grieved the Spirit in them that you made them glad to bury themselves and leave their places you had Prophets and their teâ—â—s and their sorrows too yea and their blâ—â—d too and O! what a light matter was it teâ—â—s you to break their very hearts How little did you obey them that ruled over you Hebr. 13.17 and submitted your selves that they might give their account with joy and not with grief How little did you believe that that is unprofitable for you Have not you made nothing of it for your Ministers to lose their labour to put them upon crying out I have laboured in vain Isa 49.45 Yea how have you grieved their very Souls with reproaches Some who have pretended affection to them yet have had their reproachfull Names of Priest Parson Vicar c. Though God hath put a Crown of honour upon them by making them his Ambassadours yet how have some impudent Professours blasted them with their stinking breath and prosane scoffs Ambassadours are inviolable by the Laws of Nations The Lord saith one hath set a better mark on them than Cain had and given them a better pasport touch not mine anointed and do my Prophets no harm yet you have made a light matter of vexing their very Souls When you could have nothing else against your Minister have not you been censuring him for his manner of speaking 2 Cor. 10.10 His Letters say they are weighty and powerfull but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible Lastly And being weary of them Have not your Ministers been so troublesome to you in your sins in your formality worldliness lukewarmness c. that you were even weary of them Have not you been as weary of them as the Children of Israel of Angels food as weary as weak somachs are of feeding on one dish Your Ministers urged flesh-displeasing and self-denying duties they would not suffer you to sin quietly and were not you therefore burthened with them they would not stand and comply with your carnal ends and sinfull interests and did not your hearts therefore cry out away with them Have not you been like the Gadarenes more willing to part with your Ministers than with your swinish lusts Rom. 1.28 Because you did not like to retain God in your knowledge 't is no wonder if God give up many of you to a reprobate mind Hath not the Gospel been too costly too chargeable to some of you and too irksome requiring too much pains taking to others of you O! when you Remember your crying iniquities for which God is chiefly contending with you forget not this dreadfull sinne of being weary of Gods Ambassadours of being weary of speaking with God and of hearing God speak unto your Souls CHAP. XXXIII Their misearriages with reference to the Ministers of Christ Professours miscarriages toward their Ministers since their removal Not finding the want of them Not esteeming the loss great enough since their removal 1. H How many of you do not find them wanting This will be evident by the following Queries Have you indeed accounted that none in the world want help like your selves upon this very account Do you look upon your selves as litting in darkness yea in the region and shadow of death under a worse Plague than the Egyptian-darkness that was a darkness wherein men lived but do you look on this as a darkness of death Do you account a Throne without the Gospel but the Devils Dungeon Wealth without the Gospel fuell for Hell Advancement without the Gospel but a going high to have the greater fall Do you look upon your selves as under a worse famine than that of bread Cannot you your selves make up this great loss cannot you set other things in the breach Do not some of you set good books in the room of your Ministers Going about to make it up by good books I confess saith a Reverend Man Reading hath its use but the voice hath a secret force upon the Soul it hath a Ministerial efficacy by which the Authority and Soveraign efficacy of the Spirit is conveyed I pray God the fruitfullness of the Press may not beget a dis-esteem and contempt of the great Ordinance of the Minister already you have been told already that Luther had rather his books should be burnt than the Scriptures suffer a dishonour and neglect by perusing his papers Do not some of you set your own parts and gifts in their room Their own parts and gifts Do not some of you think that you have so profited by their Ministry that you have no further need to attend upon any Ministers of Christ May not such doubt whether their experience of the power and efficacy of the Ministry hath been true seeing true experience thereof sweetneth the Ministry unto Souls raiseth up their esteems of it and engageth them to a further and more chearfull attendance upon it A true tast will sharpen the Souls appetite the true Christian gets a Stomach by eating as the new born babe by sucking 1 Pet. 2.2 3. As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby if so be that ye have found that the Lord is gracious Do not some of you go about to make up your selves by attending on Christ's companions in the sense of Solomon And Christ's companions Cant. 1.7 by going to Wells without water by sucking empty breasts whence you can draw nothing but wind or blood what is this but seeking the living among the dead expecting gracious showers from Clouds without rain making up the want of bread with stones if not poyson O! why do not you say Tell me O thou whom my Soul loveth where thou feedest where thou makest thy Flocks to rest at Noon for why should I be as
what truth of grace can there be in them that are willfully blind and for carnal respects doe thus sin against their own Conscience Thus do both sides grosly and dangerously erre and sin against their Brethren 1 Cor. 8.12 And when ye sin so against the Brethren ye sin against Christ For the experience of all times and of this present age proveth evidently that there be of both sides that fear God unfeignedly and in the whole tenour and course of whose conversation the life and power of true godliness doth manifestly appear And if thou do not see this who-ever thou art that art most bitter and violent of either side then art thou certainly thy self most willfully blind And I do assure thee in the Name of the Lord and by good warrant out of his Word that if thou canst not unfeignedly love every one that truly feareth the Lord whether he conform or not conform If thou canst not bewail and strive against these hard conceits thou hast been wont to entertain against such thou canst have no comfort at all in thine own estate before God Thus far he that was in his time Englands best Preacher And is the matter any whit amended now O! How have Professors spoken all manner of evil against those that have differ'd from them in circumstances Have not they publikely railed one at another What filthy Names have they given one another Schismaticks Rebels Dividers Peace-breakers enemies to the State c. even as bid as the Heathens gave the Christians Have not we been so eager against such that all the peoples time hath been swallowed up in invectives of one party against another Have not we been cooled and blunted and lost our zeal in matters of greatest moment by letting out our zeal against the supposed errours of our Brethren 3. Backbiting them Levit. 19.16 Deutr. 27.24 Rom. 1.29 30. Prov. 10.12 If we have not been guilty of Un-sainting them yet how little have we heeded the commands of God against back-biting Thou shalt not go up and down as a Tale-bearer among the people Cursed be he that smiteth his Neighbour secretly When the Apostle would set forth the great abominations of the Gentiles he saith they were whisperers and back-biters Were there love it would cover all sins Whom we love we are wont to commend and praise but instead of this how do we speak against those that differ from us behind their backs though we speak fair to their faces O abominable Hypocrisier Have not some commended an action to the face of the man and presently in another place and company censured the same whom we love we would have others to love but by back biting we seek to draw off others also from their duty Herein O! how do we serve the Devil who is the great mediatour of differences I have oft thought upon the Artificial kind of Back-biting in Bernards time When they slander Videas praemitti alta suspiria Doleo vehementer de co grande damnum c. Bern. in Cant. Serm. 24. they will fetch deep sighs as if they were much grieved that others should be so and so guilty yea they will say I am exceedingly sorry for such an one that he should commit so hainous a crime when perhaps it was all the while but a base lying report Besides they will charge the Tale-hearer with the greatest secresy when they will take liberty to asperse as far as they have opportunity they tell the fault only to a Friend that will tell no body but Folks of it But why may not he have forfeited the gift of keeping Counsel as well as thy self Why shouldst thou think that the Hearer will conceal when thou the Teller canst not And if thou hast a mind the Brothers infirmities should be hid why dost no◠thou hide them Or why dost thou disclose them to one whom thou suspectest to be no way friendly to the infamed person If a man of a different perswasion live so humbly that we are forced to commend them yet we will surely bring in one Calumny or other that shall blot the person and weaken all our encomiums of him when we have been forced to speak of others good actions how commonly do we lay in a But something or other to abate the esteem that is due it were well done if the ends were right if from good principles if not done in hypocrisie c. and by these insinuations we restrain others from loving proportionably to the merit of the person This is Doeg-like he told the truth but he insinuated as if David had an evil intention and the Priests were in the Confederacy Or we add we should like him well if he were not thus and thus but he is a leaper c. proud covetous c. At feasts if not in more solemn meetings what liberty have we taken to speak against our Brethren When Dionisius feared Plato would revile him in the Academy among his Companions God forbid said Plate that there should be such scarcity of matter to talk of in the Academy that they should talk of thee Believe it we had spent our time better to warm one anothers hearts with the love of Christ than to exasperate and inflame the Spirits of each other against our Brethren What saith Plutarch another Heathen You have matter enough at home and within to busie your selves about 4. Hearkning to backbiters How easily have we entertained a report and credited it against Brethren of different perswasions The love of Mothers makes them incredulous as to any charges laid against their Children Prov. 25.23 but how seldome have we driven away a back-biting tongue with an angry countenance how have we been Tale-hearers how have we encouraged the Backbiter to open his pack how have we received all the defamations he would bring us how have we credited reports upon heresay without any examination Qui statuit aliquid parte inaudita altera Aequum licet stà tuerit haud aequum fuerit Sen. Trag. Prov. 14.15 Psal 101.5 how apt are we to censure and judge before he which is the Accused have the Accuser face to face This was the Romans Law I wish it were the Christians Some of you learnt long ago that it is injustice to determine without hearing both parties Have we loved our Neighbours Name and Credit as our own May we not conclude that God will measure to us as we have to our Brethren Is it our wisdome to believe every word Would not David cut off those whom we embrace We pretend we are not the first reporters but are not we glad the report is spread beyond recall are not we glad that others good names are stoln away and do not we harbour the stolngoods When others set our Neighbours Names on Fire do not we look on and gladly warm our selves by it and cry Aha! So would we have it But when do we go to the defamed Neighbour to hear what Apologie he
to scatter and disperse those fogs and mists which over-cloud their Souls you should be eyes to the blind but you are not you should be of a merciful Spirit to all Souls more especially to the Souls of all Saints most especially to the Souls of those Saints to whom you are peculiarly related but you are not Exod. 23.5 1 Thes 5.14 1 Cor. 12.7 Mal. 3.16 In the old Law God took care of Asses if they lay under a burthen Israel was to help them Doth God take care for beasts and will not ye for men for Saints for the redeemed of the Lord God requires of you that you comfort the feeble minded The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withall Christ expects his own with increase They that feared the Lord spake often one to another to comfort one another with the promises of God made to his people against the flourishing of the wicked and overflowing of ungodliness and the Lord hearkned and heard it and a book of Remembrance was written before him c. the Lord book't that good service Nihil de Scripturis nihil de salute Animarum agitur sed nugae risus verba proferuntur inventum he pur it upon record But though the Lord hearknetâ— and hears yet he seldom finds us so employed our neglects are sealed up in his bag I pray God we may lay it to heart repent and reform Bernards complaint may justly be revived Not a word of the Scriptures nothing of the Salvation of the Soul but trisles and to yes laughter and words as light as the wind eat up the time I know there have been too many Uzza's amongst us who have had an itching desire to be fingring of the Ark thinking of themselves more highly than they ought to think and like the ambitious Sons of Levi taking too much upon them whereby the Ministry hath suffered much contempt The Lord forgive these daring Phaetons who have set the world in a slame hereby But let not us run from one extreme into another Let us give to the Ministry their due Jude v. 20. and yet not neglect to build up our selves in our most holy faith Mutual duties should be exercised between Christian and Christian The Apostle is express for it in the places already quoted I shall adde one more Col. 3.16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another O! if God would be with me so far as to make me an instrument to prevail with you to go and visit one another and stir up one another that knowing the terours of the Lord you may perswade men O! bewail thy unserviceableness thy private spiritedness thy want of love and bowels to others especially now when the Ministerial help fails to such a degree and when there is so great an Apostasie Sure then is no time wherein Christian-fellowship is more called for and wherein it may be more profitable than at this time But alas How are the wise as well as the foolish Virgins asleep generally secure without action no way usefull to each other no more than they are who are fast asleep in their beds of rest O! how few are there like Jonathan and David how few enter into a brotherly promise to exhort one another to call one another to account to tell one another their fears to know of one another their growth in Religion We are proud and loath to have our nakedness appear yea some of us have few stories to tell of Gods goodness and bounty to our Souls and we hate a discovery how low earthly vain backsliding we are Hence reserved to each other But God will bring forth the hidden works of dishonesty 3. Not admonishing or not aright How is Fraternal correption neglected or spoyl'd in the managing Some totally neglect reproving their Brethren Gallio-like they little care for these things they are little concern'd whether God be honoured or dishonoured Others delay admonition Either neglecting it altogether or delaying it The Flesh is backward to this self-denying work and so the many weighty circumstances which should bring the Offendor to Repentance are forgot The Offendor is also hardned in his Sin He thinks by thy silence thou art altogether like unto him so he judgeth of Gods silence these things hast thou done and I kept silence Psa 50.21 thou thoughtest I was altogether such an one as thy self so he judgeth of thy silence It 's much easier to fetch out a spot of inck from a cloth the day it is stained than afterwards Sin like a Mole will quickly bury it self and the longer let alone the harder it is to dig it up The longer a disease is let alone the harder cured Cronical diseases are seldome a credit to the Physitian Besides if you neglect the Reproof this day or hour perhaps by the next he will commit the same Sin again for either he knows it not to be a sin or in case he knows it yet every new act doth strengthen the habit of sin It is the nature of sin to blind the Mind to stupifie the Conscience and to harden the heart Exhort therefore one another dayly Heb. 3.13 while it is called to day lest any of you be hardned through the deceitfulness of sin If the finner add sin to sin put that to your account for neglecting the Ordinance of God for his reducement If he loseth the favour of God and neglects hereupon all private communion with the Lord put that to thy account If at length he becomes impudent in sin so that like a Bedlam he feels not the pricks of sharp admonition put all this to your account because you have delayed to cure to heal to save the Soul of your Brother A timely reproof might have saved a Soul and covered a multitude of sins Besides have you time at your command that you with Faelix will do your duty at a more convenient season May'st not thou dye or the Offendor dye and both in sin thou in the sin of Omission and he in the sin of Commission unrepented of before the day comes wherein thou art resolved to tell him roundly of his fault Why art not thou trembling with fear of blood-guiltiness Is Soul-murther no sin with thee Or have you the Holy-Ghost at command Without the Holy Spirits a sistances and concourse your labour will be in vain you will get a blot by reproving the delinquent will flye in your face hate you for telling the truth he will add sin unto sin and perhaps put you into a flame too and must the Holy-Ghost dance attendance on you If you observe his hour you must go presently whilst the wound is fresh and bleeding but if you neglect his call it is a question whether your hour will be Gods Others miscarry in reproving Some reprove Or miscarrying in it not reproving privately Matth. 18.15 Prov. 10.12 Si solus nosti
you cannot so exhort as Ministers c. But have you not been told that God can work by small means as well as by great and that by things that are not God can confound the wisdome of the flesh and bring to naught the things that are Is not this like the pretence of not being eloquent Do you not know have you not heard that the issue and event depends on the blessng of the Lord rather than on the work it self Is it not all one to the Lord to wound by a short as by a long sword Cannot God bless a few words in thy mouth as he did in Christs and the Apostles Can'st not thou say follow Christ and may not presently a Matthew a Publican leave his sinfull courses and embrace the Christian faith Can'st thou not say Repent and Believe that your sins may be blotted out and may not God concur with thee as he did of old times Is the Lords hand shortned that it cannot help If Israel be not gathered yet thy reward is with the Lord if thine heart were upright and could testifie that night and day thou hast not ceased to warn to rebuke and counsel Certainly your memories are not so bad but you must remember the weight of sin and of the wrath of God you have seen the wonders of the Lord in the deeps you that have escaped to shoar can tell of the Rocks and Shelves and Storms which you have been delivered from and will you set other Shipwrack their Souls rather than hold out your light unto them 〈…〉 may avoyd their ruines What shall I say to humble you There is more 〈◊〉 in Hell than you can afford Blush blush and be ashamed to have less zeal love and pitty to perishing Souls than Dives in Hell had he would have his Brethren saved from the Valley of Hinnom Your silence will make others think that Hell is a tollerable place that sin is not so evil and bitter a thing that to lye under Gods wrath is not so great a misery whilst you are so slow and backward to warn your Friends and Acquaintance that they slee from these and take Sanctuary in the true City of Refuge the Lord Jesus Christ O! If you know the worth of a Soul pitty the multitude with whom the day is not broke whose forlorn Souls are under a continual Massacre from the bloudy Butcher of Hell Besmear your Souls no longer with the guilt of their bloud Let them not starve for want of bread whilst you have to give them I shall bless God for ever and ever if this your negligence of the Souls of those whom you may account without may be cordially bewailed and you for the future double your diligence for their conversion Ministers cannot convert without the Concourse of Omnipotency neither can you Though Satan and thy own lazy heart hath told thee thou art unfit to set upon this work yet better do it meanly than wholy omit it God like Parents on earth loves to see his Children lift at those duties which are too hard for them and then he steps in and is a Co-worker with them What God did by illiterate Fishermen by Priscilla he can do by thee The Lord pardon thy former unmercifulness to the Souls of men But if thou continue careless and cruel if thou wilt not by Prayers for them and counsels to them seek their reducement as sure as thou art reading the voyce of thy Brothers blood is crying against thee from the earth By your example before if not since Profession you have been the cause of the destruction of Souls of how many who can tell And as Jeroboam made Israel to sin many years after he was rotten in his grave so your sin your wicked examples may propagate the trade of sin from generation to generation until Christ shall come to Judgement Tremble tremble at the thoughts of it if thou hast not the heart of a Beast in thee O! how many Souls are crying in Hell against thee cursing the day they knew thee or their Ancestours knew thee for that by thee they learned to sin the more and were strengthned in their wickedness by thy tongue and by thy life And now are not you bound to do your utmost to make restitution to labour to save them that be alive Is it not reasonable that you should labour to win Souls to Gods as you have to the Devils service and to have many blessing God in the Heavens for you that ever they were in the company of such an active zealous Christian who by word and life was instrumental to bring them to the knowledge of themselves and of their God And is it not a glorious work to hold forth such Light to the World that they seeing your good works may glorifie God and you may be Propagators of Zeal and Holiness from Generation to Generation till Christ shall appear to judge the World and to reward you for all the services you have done to his Name O! how welcome shall that man be to Heaven and Christ who hath fed the Souls and clothed the Souls and visited the Souls which he hath purchased with his own precious blood Christ will own thee for his Benefactour CHAP. XXXVII The Dis-ingenuity and Scandalousness of their Miscarriages WHen God had given the Prophet Ezekiel a large Catalogue of Judah's Abominations The wickedness of the former miscarriages Ezek. 8.9 V. 6 13 15. he then shew'd him the Wickedness of their Abominations He said unto me Goe in and Behold the wicked Abominations they do here He commanded him once and again and again to turn him yet again and he should see greater Abominations I cannot indeed promise thee that thou shalt now see greater Abominations than those already mentioned All that I shall now do shall be to represent the former Miscarriages in their crimson dye and scarlet colour And The First Thing I shall mention Commitred against so good and kind a God Eph. 4.30 as making your Sins Professours out of measure sinful is your Dis-ingenuity in so sinning against God O! You have sinned against a gracious God You have grieved the good Spirit of God whereby some amongst you have been sealed to the day of Redemption I am bold to say that one godly man's sinning against light and mercy doth more break the heart of God than the bruitish Sins of a Pagan Kingdom Ezek. 6.9 I am broken saith God with your whorish heart which hath departed from me c. And ye shall loath your selves for your evils which ye have committed in your abominations Amos 2.13 God hath been press'd down with your sins as the Cart with sheaves till he hath even Creak'd under the weight God expected more from the Treet planted in Zion than from the wild ones in the Wilderness Luke 13.9 Grief and Burthen springs much from unexpected Unkindnesses I looked for Fruit and there was none How were David's and Saul's Sins aggravated from
of hard hearts We are too much like Gideons dry fleece and like the Mountains of Gilboa or rather like Jonah fast asleep though the Winds blow the Seas roar and make a noyse and we are ready to be dash'd every hour against the Rocks I confess Israel was an hard hearted people but yet they mourned Psa 137.1 they cryed with a voyce they wept when they remembred Zion So have not we The Rod of old was the only engine by which Moses was to work all his miracles on the Rock on the Aegyptians on the more obdurate Israel But the Rock Pharaoh and Israel were sooner sensible of the Rod than we have been How do we evacuate and reproach frustrate and defame all Gods Methods and pronounce to all the world that God hath miscarried in his design upon us God hath not yet heard Ephraim bemoaning himself Jer. 31.18 It is true God hath chastised us but we have not been as sensible as the Bullock nor so soon tamed we have not been mended under the Rod nor edified by the dolefull Lectures that God hath read us Therefore thus saith the Lord God Woe to the bloody City Ezek 24.9.10 11 12 13. I will even make the pile for fire great Heap on wood kindle the fire consume the flesh and spice it well and let the bones be burnt Then set it empty upon the coals thereof that the brass of it may be hot and may burn and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it that the scum of it may be consumed She hath wearied her self with lyes and her great scum wene not forth out of her her scum shall be in the fire In thy filthiness is lewdness because I have purged thee and thou wast not purged thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee Jerusalem shall be burnt and why In thy filthiness is lewdness thou art obstinate hardned in wickedness Obstinacy in Sin is worse than the Sin it self Jerusalem had Prophets Ordinances Sabbaths Sacrifices Mercies Judgements by which God would have purged her but she was not purgged She did not humble herself for her sins the scum went not off Therefore thus saith the Lord God Woe to the bloody City Ezek. 24.6 to the pot whose scum is therein and whose scum is not gone out of it bring it out piece by piece let no lot fall on it Thou hast stricken them but they have not grieved Jer 5.3 thou hast consumed them but they have refused to receive correction they have made their faces harder than a rock they have refused to return This is a Nation Jer. 7.28 that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God nor receiveth correction How many years hath the word of the Lord come to yâ—â— Jer. 4.4 that you should circumcise your selves to the Lord and take away the fore-skin of your hearts ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem lest my fury come forth like Fire and burn that none can quench it because of the evil of your doings And hath not the Lord cut off in his fierce anger the horn of Israel and burned against us like a flaming fire Lam. 2.3 4. which devoureth round about He hath poured out his fury like Fire And yet how few behold the desolations that he hath made How many look on this Judgement as chance But consider not the hand of the Lord that is gone out against us Do not some say in the pride and stoutness of their hearts Isa 9.10 Isa 26.9 the Bricks are fall'n down but we will build with hewn stones the Sycamores arâ— cut down but we will change them into Cedarâ— When judgement is executed and Gods hand is lifted up men should fear and learn righteousness But if you will still go on in wickedness God will reckon with you for despising him and his judgements I doubt not but thousands and ten thousands are sensensible of poverty coming in upon them and theirs as an armed man irrisistably But I fear we are too insensible that it is the Lords controversie with us How soon was the Pestilential Judgement forgot Were not men as vile Drunkards Sensualists Sabbath-breakers Oppressors and Unclean since the dreadfull Plague as before and others as proud and formal since the Plague as before That Arrow shot so remarkably from Heaven was soon forgot And now that the fury of the Lord hath been upon the City and therein upon the whole Land in the late shower of Fire I am afraid that even this Dispensation will be forgotten at least not improved as it ought to be Many and many a time have I feared Isa 29.10 that the Lord hath powred upon us the spirit of a deep sleep and that the Judgement on Ariel is descended on us Like men in a deep sleep we are not able to with-stand the Judgement and like such we have been insensible who hath wounded us or why we are wounded We have not considered the deserving Cause Pride Carelessness Intemperance Idleness c. and what way to heal our selves and extricate our selves out of our miseries Like a wild Bull in a net Isa 51.20 that can hamper and entangle it self more and more but takes no course to wind its self out of its misery Who searcheth for the Achan that hath troubled our Israel Who sits down and justifieth God Who condemneth himself for Pride for contempt of the Gospel for Luxury for Idleness for Covetousness and prophaning Gods Sabbaths The Lord humble us Jer. 6.29 for the Bellows are burnt the Lead is consumed and yet the Founder melteth in vain The Lord took it ill from the men of Judah when they were not turned by the signes he gave them by Ezekiel When he was to take a Tile Ezek. 4.1 2 5 11 12. and pourtray Jerusalem upon it and lay siege against it c. When he was to lye upon his left side 390. dayes When he was to drink Water by measure and to bake his Cakes with the dung of man When he was to take a Rasor and shave his head and beard and to burn a third part with sire Ezek. 5.1 2 3. and to smite a third part with a knife and a third part to scatter in the wind and to bind up a few hairs in his skirts and to take of them again and to cast them into the midst of the fire When by these and such like signes they were not awakened out of their security when they reformed not when they feared not the wrath and judgement of God but said It is not near Ezek. 11.3 23. Let us build houses Then the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the City and stood upon the Mountain which is on the East side of the City And when the glory departed then Thus saith the Lord of the Inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the Land of Israel They
shall eat their Bread with carefulness Ezek. 12.19 20. and drink their Water with astonishment c. And the Cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste Therefore thus saith the Lord God As the Vine-tree among the Trees of the Forrest which I have given to the fire for fuel so will I give the Inhabitants of Jerusalem Ezek. 15.6 7. And I will set my face against them and they shall goe out from one fire and another fire shall devour them Such ruines were to attend them that Ezekiel though the Messenger of them yet must sigh Ezek. 21.5 12. with the breaking of his loynes and with bitterness yea he must cry and howl and smite upon his thigh You may easily imagine if God were so angry with Judah for their insensibleness of his wrath when it hung in the cloud of threatnings and Types How much more will he be provoked to fury if we lay not to heart those fearfull signs and tokens of his wrath now that the cloud is dissolved into the Pestilence Sword and Fire Is 16.11 O that my bowells may sound like an Harp for England O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears Jer. 9.1.11 that I might weep day and night O that for the mountains I could take up a weeping and wailing because they are burnt up because Jerusalem is made heaps because Gods fury went out like Fire and burned that none could quench it because of the evil of their doings O ye Sons of men Jer. 21.12 Ezek. 24.2 write you the name of the day even of the same day the God of Heaven set himself against Jerusalem this same day How oft did we profane that day by gluttony exâ—essive feastings gossipings within dores by unnecessary walks and sports without dores How did we cry when will the Sabbath be gone Amos 8.5 8 9. that we may attend our callings Shall not the Land tremble for this and every one mourn that dwelleth therein Your Sun is gone down at Noon-day God hath turned your Feasts into mourning and all your Songs into Lamentation How dare you now make mirth What Now drink Wine in Bowls The Lord take away the heart of stone and give us hearts of flesh The Lord powr out a spirit of mourning upon all the Land that we may lay to heart the wonderfull effects of Gods sore displeasure Wo to them that are at ease and are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph Shall not the Isles shake at the sound of thy fall Amos 6.1.6 Shall not the Princes of the Sea come down from their Thrones and lay away their Robes and put off their broidered garments and cloth themselves with trembling Ezek. 36.15 16 17 18. and sit upon the ground and be astonished at thee and take up a lamentation for thee and say how art thou destroyed thou that wast inhabited by Seafairing men the renowned City which was strong in the Soa She and her Inhabitants Now let the Isles tremble in the day of thy fall Come behold the works of the Lord Psal 46.8 what desolations he hath made in the earth Desolations by the Sword Desolations by the Pestilence and desolations by Fire Some smart that others may Fear Now all these things happen for examples and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the World are come 1 Cor. 10.11 God means not only to punish but to teach and not only the present generation but all generations to the end of the World O the much precious blood that the Sword hath devoured How many thousands hath the Pestilence swept away And now one of the most flourishing Cities of the Christian World famous for the Gospel famous for frequence of Traffick in a few days lyes buried in Ashes or Rubbish If we have any bowells of pity let us weep with them that weep let us commiserate the grievous sufferings of multitudes of Men Women and Children It is certainly now a time to weep Eccles 3.4 Jer. 7.28 and not to laugh And must our Jeremiah's complain of England This is a Nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God nor receiveth correction If some amongst us are sensible of the heat of the Fire and other plagues yet we mourn not Isa 28.21 we do not habitually mourn for those sins and provocations which have moved God to do this work this strange work upon us and against us Possibly some cry and howl for the Goods and Houses that are consumed by Fire and for their Friends whom the Sword and Pestilence have devoured But how few are mourning in secret for their contempt of Christ and his Gospel for controlling and checking the Spirit of God for their spending away so much time and strength to get a little money and neglecting to give all diligence to make their calling and election sure you have mourned for your silver shrines but not for the pride carelesness and covetousness of your hearts you fear poverty and reproach will be your portion but why do you not fear what will be the issue of the hardness of your hearts Hear ye the Word of the Lord They are not humbled unto this day Jer. 44.10 11. Jer. 23.39 40.29.17 18. neither have they feared nor walked in my Law therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel Behold I will set my face against you for evil and to cut off all Judah I even I will utterly forget you and I will forsake you and the City that I gave you c. and will bring an everlasting reproach upon you c. And if you will not after all this turn unto the Lord read your doom I will make them like vile figs that cannot be eaten they are so evil c. I here publish my fears to all the World I am afraid that our view of the desolations that God hath wrought are too short and transient and that some want humanity in their being insensible of the plagues and miseries of their Brethren and more want the spirit of mourning for their own and other mens sins Nay are there none of the Race of Ammon left Ezek. 25.3 6 7. Prov. 17 5. Luk. 13 2 3 4 5. Ezek. 25.8 9. Psal 137.7 Ezek. 12.13 14. who say Aha against Gods Sanctuary when it was profaned and against the Land of Israel when it was desolate at least rejoyced in heart Behold God will stretch out his hand upon such a people He that is glad at calaâ—â—ities shall not be unpunished The Tower of Silo fell to lead others to repentance If any will scoff and blaspheme as the Moabites by saying the House of Judah is like unto all the Heathen who have not suffered more nor so much as they God knows how to open the side of Moab and to let in the Sword and ruine upon their strongest Cities And if the Children of Edom who were long ago for
from Genesis to the Revelation and what ever filthiness waâ— found in Men or Kingdoms may be founâ— upon our skirts and shall not we hang up our harps refuse to be comforted shall not we lye down prostrate before God and pour out water before the Lord and weep till we can weep no more Tremble O my heart under all these provocations And let your hearts be as the leaves of a treee that is shaken by the Whirlwind What so many hellish lusts to swarm in thy heart What guilty of so many millions of iniquities against the God of Heaven and yet thou secure light vain and frothy I profess if I did not know what a stone I have within I should wonder all the day long how it is possible we can stand under so much guilt without shreiks cryes and lamentations I should wonder how you eat and drink and sleep how you can laugh or sing whilst God is so provoked Can I think that man lives who is not moved by the weight of a mountain on his back Professour thou hast that which is heavier than Mountains of lead upon thy Soul and yet thou hardly feelest it Thou dost not groan under that which drew not only tears of water but of blood yea clots of blood from the eyes and veins of Jesus Christ I wonder how you continue your claims to Christ how you can call God Father Christ Redeemer whilst you have so little love to him and whilst you were never pricked at the heart for all the injuries that you and others have done him Whom you love you are troubled for if he be injured by your selves or others But where is your Soul-trouble for your own and other mens sins Are not many as sensual as ever as great servants to the flesh as ever Have you not your Feasts and Entertainments as formerly Though it be a day Isa 22.12 13 14. wherein the Lord calls to weeping and mourning to baldness and girding with sackcloth yet behold joy and gladness slaying Oxen and killing Sheep eating flesh and drinking wine And hath not the Lord sent you a word that may make your knees to tremble Is not the hand-writing plain It was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of Hosts Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till you dye saith the Lord God of Hosts O! Fall down amazed fill thy Spirit with horrour away into thy Closet though thou art in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity yet pray to the Lord if perhaps the thoughts of thy heart and the wickedness and prophaness of thy life and particularly thy unseasonable mirth and fleshly indulgencies may be forgiven How can you trade with so much guilt upon you You have had your pleas for your covetousness and inordinate affections to the World that God bids you provide for your own But what think'st thou of thy Soul Is that no part of thine own Is that no piece of thy charge O! Provide for thy Soul Thy Soul cannot be safe whilst stained with so many thousand impurities which were never mourned over to this day O! Let sorrow enter into the very inwards of thy heart and let the insupportable pressures of sin sink thy very Soul Zech. 12.10 Mourn as the tender Mother for her only Son be in bitterness so as thou canst not relish those things which thou hast hitherto followed with so much eagerness Let the loathsomeness of thy sins be continually before thine eyes as thy standing dish So it was with Repenting David Psa 51.3 Lam. 5.16 Lam. 1.1 2 3 4 9 13 21. My sin is ever before me So it was with the Church Woe to us we have sinned It is true they were under fearful Plagues How doth the City sit solitary that was full of people How is she become a Widow She that was great among the Nations and Princess among the Provinces how is she become tributary Among all her Lovers she hath none to comfort her all her Friends have dealt treacherously with her c. She dwelleth among the Heathen she findeth no rest all her Persecutours overtook her between the straits The wayes to Zion mourn c. She came down wonderfully and she had no Comforter c. The Enemy hath magnified himself c. From above hath he sent fire into my bones and it prevaileth against them c. All mine Enemies have heard of my trouble they are glad that thou hast done it Lam. 2.3 15 16. The Lord hath burned against Jacob like a flaming fire which devoureth round about c. All they that pass by clap their hands at thee they hiss and wagg the head at the Daughter of Jerusalem saying Is this the City that men call the Perfection of Beauty Lam. 4.6 11 16. the Joy of the whole Earth All thine Enemies have opened their mouth against thee they hiss and gnash the teeth and say We have swallowed her up Certainly this is the day we looked for We have found We have seen it The punishment of the iniquity of the Daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom that was overthrown as in a moment and no hand stayed on her The Lord hath accomplished his fury he hath powred out his fierce anger and hath kindled a fire in Zion and it hath devoured the foundations thereof The anger of the Lord hath divided them c. Lam. 5.2 8 10 11. Our Inheritance is turned to Strangers our Houses to Aliens Our Necks are under Persecution We labour and have no rest Servants have ruled over us there is none to deliver us out of their hand Our skin was black like an Oven because of the terrible Famine They ravished the Women in Zion and the Maids in the Cities of Judah But yet they mind not their misery so much as their sin Woe unto us for we have sinned In order to the promoting of this godly sorrow I do importune thee with the highest fervency I can that thou seperate some extraordinary time to humble thy self by Fasting and Prayer that God would give thee Repentance for thine own and thine other mens sins Perhaps to this day thou hast never observed one in order to the getting of a broken heart O that I could now prevail with thee for this is the means that God hath blest again and again On such dayes God hath softned many an heart and cast out the Devil of security and hardness which could not be cast out in ordinary times of waiting upon God Let thy main request on that day be for a deep consideration of all thy sins with all their several aggravations and a deep humiliation for them O! I beseech you if you have any love to Christ to the credit of Religion to your perishing Souls break through all businesses and impediments and retire your selves and fall down at the footstool of God more solemnly than ever you did If you are by the consideration
of your provocations humbled in the very dust be sure to keep Conscience tender Let not your convictions dye strike again and again smite on the thigh again and again whilst the Iron is hot This fire may be kept alive by bringing new fuel to it Labour exquisitely to afflict your Souls that you should be so foolish so vile as under Christs Livery to commit so great and so hideous abominations Take words and say O the Light that I have abused O the means of Grace that I have slighted O the little service that I have done to Christ O the many dis-services Let these things cut and grave and afflict and humble thy Soul exceedingly from morning to evening and from evening to morning till God be pacified towards thee beware lest the motions of a lazy heart cause thee to desist sooner A patient that hath had a long disease must continue in the use of the prescriptions till the ill humour be purged away 4. Indignation Let your sorrow be accompanied with detestation See all your sins and loath them and your selves too This is promised they shall loath their ways and doings which are not good O! how much sin have we confessed which yet we have secretly hug'd in our hearts Labour to have your hearts rise against your pride hypocrifie c. Hate sin not only for Hell but as Hell yea hate your selves for your sins yea hate your selves that you can hate your sins no more O that my hatred of my Lusts might be greater than ever my love was unto them I wish from my Soul Professors were more apprehensive of Gods Judgements that are upon them and the Nation for their sins I wish many of us were come up to the frames of the hard-hearted Jews and expressed so much tenderness as they did when Gods hand was heavy upon them their sins also were an heavy burden Hos 7.14 In their affliction they sought God early they mourned and humbled themselves very much though with the removal of their trouble their sorrows wore away However be not satisfied with this sorrow but labour for such sorrow as David had when he was wounded in his heart for sin though Nathan told him his sin was forgiven yet he continued his sorrows for his great transgressions Labour I beseech you for tears of hatred and indignation be greatly displeased with your selves because you have so foolishly and wretchedly dishonoured God and ventured your eternal undoing and if yet thine eyes be not like the Fish-ponds of Heshbon for thy sins take words and sament before God thine hardness of heart that thou shouldst so grievously offend and provoke God so good so gracious a God and that notwithstanding thine heart should remain unbroken 5. Supplication Let there be added hearty cries to God for pardon of all these and all other abominations Who forgives him that scorns to sue for Remission Here is your work in this day the Devil and a false heart will put you upon other work but this is your present work Cant. 1.6 They made me the keeper of the Vineyards but mine own Vineyard I have not kept But O! do not leave the work that God sets you about I know it is your duty to provide for the bodies of your Children but consider the danger of thy Soul what guilt thou art under and give the Lord no rest till he hath blotted out all thy sin and art assured that he will remember it no more Relieve not thy self with the general bounty of God or with the free grace and rich mercy of God whilst thou neglectest to cry to God for grace and mercy He will be sought unto by the house of Israel Prize thy condition that thou art alive to pray thou mightst have been in Hell there to howl for ever and ever Seek the Lord whilst he may be found Seek in time before it be too late And if thou doubtest whether thou hast an interest in Christ and the promises because of thy hideous transgressions yet remember the gracious words that tell once from the mouth of Christ to the Samaritan John 4.10 If thou didst know the gift of God thou wouldst have asked and he would have given thee living water Though thou art unworthy of Childrens bread and hast deserved to be cast forth among the dogs yet thou hast to do with a bountifull and mercifull Lord and therefore be not cast down so as to be discouraged from waiting on the Lord. It was ill said of him why should I wait on the Lord any longer There is no hope I would have thee take better words into thy mouth and say Lord I am unworthy to be the object of thy mercy unworthy to live worthy to be denyed because thou didst call and I did not hear therefore if I call thou mayst justly turn me off in thy fury thou mightest answer me by terrible things in righteousness But deal not with me according to my deservings O! make me the great instance of the power of thy grace let thy mercy in pardoning be great exceeding great O God! Do not delay the suing out thy pardon Without delay away quickly to the Throne of Grace Remember Faelix put off his work till some other time There is danger in delays lest your sense of sin and sorrow for it vanish and decay blow up the first sparks of grace lest they go out and dye again take the first advantages of the grace of God Hast thou an inclination to humble thy self to pray to seek Gods face improve it quickly lest the wrath of God who is nighly provoked already against thee break form upon thee and there be no remedy Do not you know that you have lost the sense of the love of God But have you also lost all sense of Gods wrath Do not you wonder you escape that you are yet alive that you are not free among the dead incorporated with the Hypocrites and damned crew Will you dare you go on in your hardness of heart Will you treasure up wrath against the day of wrath O! God forbid Lay by the world thy false friend thy treacherous Joab that hath smitten to the earth with its kisses and its smiles Here is a business on which thy life the life of thy precious Soul depends Prepare to meet thy God wrath is gone out from the Lord howl weep cry it may be you shall be hid is the day of the Lords wrath it may be your sins shall be forgiven Though the law be a looking-glass to shew you your spots the Baver under the law was made of looking-glosses yet it cannot cleanse you it is the Gospel alone that pardons Away ye wandring Sheep to the great Shepheard of your Souls Hebr. 13.20 great he is in affection and love to his flock he hath laid down his life for you he hath purchased you with his own bloud Nathans parable of the Ewe-Lamb is most true of Christ and
What vengeance is that like to prove which hath Gods Armies of Fire and Wind united Is it nothing that the Fire burned at some time contrary to the Wind and as it were in opposition to it and was then as uncheckable as when it had the Winds raising and chasing it Is it nothing that in the drought of the season and the want of water God seem'd to hinder the application of Remora's to both Wind and Fire Was not therein the Judgement executed upon England in its heart which God threatned against the Chaldeans a drought is upon her Waters and they shall be dryed up Jer. 50.38 for it is a Land of graven Images and they are madd upon their Idols Is it nothing that the rational and probable anticipations of the constagrating progresses of the Fire which might have been were hid from the eyes of those whose interest it would have been to have improved them Did not God at that time take courage from the mighty and wisdome from the wise Is it nothing that London the great Bulwark of the Reformed Religion against the assaults and batteries of Popery and Prophaness is in a great measure destroyed But above all Is it nothing that generally there is so little sense of any of these Judgements The Wine of Astomshment is given us to drink and we reel to and fro like Drunkards But alas 2 Chron. 7.14 Who humbleth himself and prayes and seeks Gods face and turns from his wicked wayes that God may heal our Land 2. The sins of any one of us may be the Incendiâ— aries Should not your hearts be broken for and from your sins seeing the sins of any one of you in particular may have been the great Incendiary This is certain God hath for the delinquency of one man yea for one sin brought Plagues upon many If any thing will move thine heart this will but nothing will without Gods concurse The Lord fasten this nayl the Lord fix this upon thy Soul and let it be as Frontlets between â—â—ine eyes day and night When Achan was guilty of one sin and that a secret one when he had stoln a wedge of Gold when he had impropriated it to his own use which God had destined to another he troubled the whole Church of God the Armies of Israel fell before the men of Ai the generation of Gods curse yea Joshua their Prince became dejected and his communion with God was thereby for a while broken And the Lord said unto Joshua get thee up Josh 7.10 11 12 c. 22.20 wherefore lyest thou on thy face Did not Achan the Son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing and wrath fell on all the Congregation of Israel And that man perished not alone in his iniquity The iniquity of Peor though committed long agoe yet raised a cloud of wrath which was ready to empty it self upon the whole Church of God for it many years after Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us Josh 22.17 from which we are not cleansed to this day although there was a Plague in the Congregation of the Lord The Gibeonites who had craftily secured their Lives by an exchange for their Liberties got an Oath from Saul and almost 500. years after when this Covenant was broken in the slaying of many of them and Saul was dead the flourishing Church of God suffered three years Famine for this Perjury Then there was a Famine in the dayes of David 2 Sam. 21.1 three years year after year and David enquired of the Lord And the Lord answered It is for Saul and for his bloody house because he slew the Gibeonites Manasseh sinn'd and that cost the Liberties and Lives of many good as well as bad Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great anger 2 Kings 23.26 wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah because of all the Provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withall Pharaoh refused to give liberty to Gods Church to worship their God and this brought unparallel'd Judgements and Plagues upon the whole Land of Egypt Amalecks abuse of Gods people was not forgotten for an hundred years but God took up an everlasting quarrel with them till he had rooten them out of the Earth Thus saith the Lord of Hosts 1 Sam. 15.2 I remember that which Amaleck did to Israel how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt Yea the Sins of one good man have brought down Plagues upon many David whether out of curiosity or vain-glory or confidence in an arm of flesh would needs number the people a little sin in comparison of what we are guilty of yet it cost the lives of 70000. by the Pestilence So the Lord sent a Pestilence upon Israel c. 2 Sam. 24.15 and there dyed of the people from Dan even to Beersheâ—a seventy thousand men Solomon was a good Prince and yet by his sins he brought miserable confusions on the most considerable part of the Church of Israel by that great revolt which it occasioned Wherefore the Lord said to Solomon 1 Kings 11.11 For as much as this is done of thee and thou hast not kept my Covenant and my Sâ—atutes which I have commanded thee I will surely rend the Kingdom from thee and will give it to thy Servant Eli a good man and a good Magistrate yet because too indulgent to his Children a Vice common but seldome considered and bewailed what a fearful Plague brought he upon his Posterity as well as himself And the Lord said unto Samuel Behold I will do a thing in Israel 1 Sam 3.11 12 13 14. at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his House When I begin I will also make an end for I have told him that I will judge his House for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth because his Sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not And therefore I have sworn unto the House of Eli that the iniquity of Elies House shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever Luk. 11.50 51. Mat. 23.35 36. The blood of all the Prophets saith Christ which was shed from the Foundation of the World shall be required of this Generation from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the Altar and the Temple Verily I say unto you it shall be required of this Generation And yet who holds up his hand to Gods Barr and cryes Guilty Guilty Who saith as David when the Angel forraged among the People 2 Sam. 24.17 Let thy hand be against me for these sheep What have they done We are quick-sighted enough yea too much to espye and aggravate the sins of others We expect fearful Plagues for others Adulteries Drunkennesses Swearing and Blaspheming But the Lord hearkeneth when we will