love with eternal ruine V. Impediment V. Danger of losing their unlawful gain It 's a thing not unusual for men to thrive by sin and to prosper by iniquity to grow rich by oppression and to advance in wealth by unlawful callings to get money by pleasing other men in their lusts and to procure a livelihood by injustice and complying with the Vices of the Age we live in The Devil must have some rewards to bestow else his Kingdom would soon expire and though his rewards as well as temptations are deceitful yet rewards they are and being present and visible and consequently apt to make the deeper impressions they invite more strongly and caress men into desire and appetite Men many times would not venture on sin but that they believe it is the way to gain and the known road to advantage and emolument And as sin is judged to be the way to profit so they look upon 't as the onely means to preserve what they have got and acquired If Absolom had not had a Kingdom in his eye he would hardly have dared to rebel and Viper-like to prey upon the bowels that did feed and nourish him Demas sees how plentifully the Heathen Priests did live what credit what honour what wealth and glory they enjoy'd and that makes him forsake Christianity and embrace their wayes It was gain made Demetrius so zealous for the worship of Diana and the Masters of that Damsel that had a familiar spirit so earnest for telling of fortunes and unlawful divinations And we know who they were that told the Prophet Jeremy As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth to burn incense unto the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink-offerings unto her for then we had plenty of victuals and were well and saw no evil But since we left off to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink-offerings unto her we have wanted all things and have been consum'd by the Sword and by the Famine Jer. 44.16 17 18. And indeed this principle that a sinful life is the only profitable life doth so spread and infect the hearts of men that most are afraid to sit down and consider their ways for fear Consideration should make them weary of a sinful life and consequently make them quit and cashier the gain and profit they do reap by it Profit is the great Goddess the world adores and to preserve that men employ their strength and friends and make use of all opportunities to secure it it 's that which they are truly jealous of and which is as dear to them as their lives and which makes them climb rocks and clamber mountains and fight their way through all impediments that would oppose and cross it Touch that and you touch the apple of their eye and whatever cause they are zealous for though other reasons may be pretended yet profit and interest commonly is the true cause that inflames their passions and makes their spirits fervent and they seldom matter whether it be by lawful or unlawful ways that they have made their fortunes so they be but made and advanc'd to such a pitch they 'll be sure to protect what they have purchas'd and it is not an easie matter shall snatch it out of their clutches Consideration that unruly faculty would create ill thoughts of such gain in their minds and therefore as men that are loth to meet their Creditors and when they see them afar off turn out of the way that they may have no occasion to speak to them so the generality of men do carefully shun Consideration as an unhappy Remembrancer that will put them in mind of things they do not desire to hear and touch the sore they would not have handled or medled withall and search into those wounds they would not have healed up or come under the hand of a Physitian I do but think what a world of Religious men we should have how men would flock to Christ from all corners what a number of pious Souls would appear in all places if we could assure them that a serious life will for certain furnish them with an estate answerable to their luxurious appetite and I am apt to believe were men confident and could they trust to it that they should get an estate of 9 or 10000 l. per annum by frequent reading praying meditating and obedience to Christs commands the greatest part would make a hard shift to consider how to leave their sins and vices and apply themselves to reformation we should hear no more of the excuses they now make that they have no time or that their condition is such that they cannot serve God as they should The impossibilities they now pretend would all vanish and they that now rack and torment and tire themselves for a little profit upon prospect of so considerable an advantage would turn their pains and labour another way and become very devout worshippers of the Holy Jesus and find no such trouble in a circumspect life as now they do Should Christ appear in a visible shape from Heaven to the Swearer or Drunkard or Fornicator or Adulterer or Covetous or any other of the sinful Herd with vast glittering Treasures in his hand nay could we the Ministers of the Gospel secure such a Loâ—dship such a Principality such a Kingdom such an Empire to any of these sinners upon condition they would part with their Vices sure it would be a mighty Temptation to them to shake hands with their darling impieties for I see they sell their Souls to the Devil for 2 3 or 400 l. many times and I am so charitable as to think they would save them for a far more considerable sum It 's like some would be so brutish so swinish so sottish and yet but very few neither that would rather starve than leave their sins dwell rather in a Hogs-stie than renounce wallowing in the mire of their follies and live upon bread and water rather than deny their lustful desires and stoop to the meanest lowest and most sordid condition in the world rather than bow to the noble commands of Christ Jesus but one might engage safely for the generality of sinners profit and riches being the great loadstone that makes men willing to do any thing I see how if a Prince or other great person men depend or hope for something from dislike such a sin they are guilty of they can forbear it and comply with their Princes will and devotion I see how a person of quality can frown all his family into seriousness and the most vicious servant he hath for fear of losing his Masters favour and the good place he hath under him will find a way for profits sake to subdue his inclinations and take leave of a sinful pleasure since it is so that
our sins Hab. 2.15 and all because these will help Consideration throughly to weigh a sinners spiritual condition and to lay it in the balances together as Job expresses himself Job 6.2 Nay of that Necessity doth the Holy Ghost make this Consideration that it seems God such a Lover he is of the happiness of Mankind is not at ease without it He is forc'd as it were to take humane passions upon him to express his displeasure against the neglect of this sovereign medicine He seems disconsolate if men slight this balm this water of life this eye-falve He calls to Heaven and Earth to mourn with him because his people will not consider what they are a doing and whither they are going and what will become of them Es. 1.3 He seems griev'd and dejected because they consider not the operations of his hands and what noble Beings he hath given them how he hath made them but a little lower than the Angels crown'd them with glory and honour and infus'd Souls into them capable of living for ever under the beatifical vision and presence of Almighty God Es. 5.12 He seems to droop and he that is eternally happy in himself takes on as if his happiness his joy his satisfaction were interrupted because men consider not that he remembers all their impieties that he sits on the Battlements of Heaven and beholds all that there is not any creature that is not manifest in his sight and that all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom they have to do Hos. 7.2 Indeed God is resolved to deal with us as with rational Creatures not as with Brutes and Engines as with free Agents not as with Machines and works of mens hands and that 's the reason why he is so earnest for this Duty Without all peradventure God could force men into seriousness and he that commanded light out of darkness might take the sinner up in his arms and carry him even against his will into that banquetting house the banner whereof is Love and might set mens Souls as the Workman doth his Clock that they should not fail of running the Race which is set before them But then what would our reason signifie why should he make us capable of being wrought upon by arguments and moral persuasions why hath he given us faculties to discourse pro and con of things and to argue and debate the case with our selves why hath he given us a rule to try our actions by and power to judge what is good and what is evil what can be said for the one and what can be pleaded for the other which Arguments are stronger and which are weaker which are ponderous and which are of no value If God doth do nothing in vain what can we imagine that this power of Consideration is given for He that makes a curious Vessel of gold doth not intend it for a Trough or Washing Tub. He that enamels a Ring doth not intend to throw it upon a Dunghil He that builds a house doth not intend it for a habitation of Owls and Ravens and Birds of prey He that plants a rich and kindly Fruit Tree doth not intend it for Timber in a Hogs-stie He that makes a rich Carpet doth not intend it for Dish-clouts And shall I think God more imprudent than man Shall I imagine that God hath less foresight with him than dust and ashes Shall he plant in me an ability and power of Consideration and intend it for no higher use than to teach and instruct me how to rake a little dung together how to feed a poor corruptible body for the grave and how to wallow with the Swine in the mire He that can have such low thoughts of God deserves to be banish'd from all humane society and to dwell with Beasts of the Wilderness God could not bestow this power on me in vain and if not in vain it ought most certainly to be employ'd on things of the greatest concernment And what things are there of greater concernment than turning from the power of Satan unto God and laying up treasures there where the Moth cannot corrupt and where Thieves cannot break through and steal Nay why should God assure the sinner that his impenitence shall be punish'd with everlasting destruction but that he would have him make use of his reason and consider the truth and importance of this threatning the uncertainty of his own life and how sin will certainly harden him if he doth not turn with all speed and how soon ruine and destruction may seize on him and how dear his pleasures may cost him and how fearful it will be to fall into the hands of an angry God whose patience hath been abused whose words have been scorn'd whose thunderbolts have been laught at and whose compassion hath been lookt upon only as a shift or trick to ensnare men into rigorous severity Lord God! I am not bereft of my reason when I hear the Supreme Governor of Heaven and Earth threaten me when I hear him who sits on the circle of the Earth denounce wrath and indignation against me I have a tongue in my head and can enquire of men wiser than my self whether this be really the threatning of God or no and whether the great Creator when he threatens thus be in good earnest or no I have eyes to read whether there be a mistake in such Comminations or no I have reason to argue and comprehend what Arguments are solid and weighty and what are frivolous and impertinent whether the reasons for my turning from my evil wayes be stronger than those which would dissuade me from it I have reason to ponder how many thousands have with shifts and excuses and delayes been the cause of their own ruine and I have power to reflect how that if I am guilty of the same folly I shall shortly be wrapt up in the same calamity with them and what poor what inconsiderable comfort it will be to find those men companions in eternal misery and calamity that have been formerly companions to me in sin and offending God I have reason and power seriously to debate whether there be a future judgment or no and with very little trouble may satisfie my self that things are so as the Gospel represents them and that there is no jesting with edg'd tools I have power to reflect that if there were no more but a possibility of eternal torments if we could strain the Notion no higher than to a may be it would become a wise man to prepare for the worst and to endeavor to be on the sure side of the hedge And having reason to consider all this power to weigh and ponder all this and so to ponder it that my understanding thus possess'd may prevail with my will and affections to resolve for contempt of sin and of the world I must necessarily conclude that God expects I should proceed and come to that spiritual life this way And let no
Christ hath made it It 's that which Heaven is entailed on and without which Men if they dare take the word of that Jesus whom they do believe to be the Son of God can look for nothing else but everlasting destruction Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 18.3 are the express words of him who came from Heaven to reveal his Fathers Will words which do not only import the absolute necessity but represent the nature and manner of true Conversion And if the words added by way of Explication be thorowly weigh'd it will appear to any rational man that that laborious Conversion which the Ministers of the Gospel press and recommend is no other but what Christ requires in order to salvation for what can be the meaning of this phrase becoming as little children but that men must learn to be children in malice 1 Cor. 14.20 pull down their passions watch over their inordinate affections overcome themselves and harbor no grudge no hatred no revengeful thoughts in their hearts against those that have offended them and like new born Babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 i. e. with all humility and alacrity submit themselves to be guided and ruled and govern'd by the precepts and injunctions of Christ in the Gospel without disputing or contradicting his commands though levell'd against flesh and blood as much as children leave themselves to the guidance and direction of their Nurses and have neither strength nor will nor malice to oppose the will or order of those that do lead them Not that Christ forbids examining either the Divinity or reasonableness of his Doctrines and Injunctions No God is not afraid to have his Will tried and examin'd by right reason for as it is the effect of the highest reason so it must needs be most agreeable to reason it being impossible that truth can be inconsistent with truth and therefore Christ doth so little discourage men from trying the Divinity of his Sayings and Commands by the rule of right reason that in several places he bids the Pharisees and whoever were his Adversaries to judge impartially of the Arguments he gave for the divine original of his doctrine And without all peradventure this liberty every man hath to examine and satisfie himself whether the injunctions of Christ and his Apostles were things that dropt from heaven or no. But then where men are convinc'd or have sufficient reason to be convinc'd that these Precepts are the peremptory Will of God concerning their salvation as any person who is not a Changeling or meer Natural may find upon due examination and inquiry if he will there God expects most justly that all pretences and excuses and carnal reasonings should fall and the Soul submit readily to the yoke of Christ and resign its will to Christs Will though it cannot for the present comprehend the true reason of some commands and suffer itself to be acted and guided by these Laws without contradiction or opposition or tergiversation denying and renouncing every apprehension or suggestion that would sollicit or tempt it to start aside from sincere obedience and all discourses that would dash or impede its willingness and readiness to embrace them And indeed this is all we mean by true Conversion viz. ceasing to obey the dictates of the World the Flesh and the Devil and endeavouring seriously to live up to the precepts of the Gospel without asking our lusts or vain desires whether they are willing to it or no a sincere resolution to get from under the yoke of sin and to make the Lord Jesus who bought us with his own blood our Supreme Ruler and Governor And since there can be no Government without Laws and we never heard of any other Laws Christ gave but what we have in the Gospel we cannot and dare not but conclude that to live up to these Laws of the Gospel is true Conversion And indeed the primitive Christians took no person to be converted that did not make these Laws the great Rule of his Life and shew'd by his Actions that he priz'd and esteem'd and valu'd these Laws above all the Orders and Decrees and Constitutions of the greatest Monarchs When we do entreat and admonish men to be converted what do we do but persuade them to mortifie their members which are upon the earth Fornication Uncleanness inordinate Affection evil Concupiscence and Covetousness which is Idolatry and to put off Anger Wrath Malice Blasphemy and filthy Communication of their Mouths and to put on Bowels of Mercy Kindness Humbleness of Mind Meekness Long-suffering so as to forbear one another and forgive one another To let the Word of Christ dwell in them richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing with grace in their hearts unto the Lord and whatever they do in word or deed to do it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ giving thanks unto God and the Father through him To be poor in spirit to be meek to hunger and thirst after righteousness to purifie their hearts to follow peace with all men as much as in them lies To be patient under Slanders Reproaches and Persecutions To live in a sense of future Joyes and of an everlasting Recompence To avoid all apparent occasions of Evil even things that are harmless in themselves if they provoke or tempt to Sin To avoid Swearing in their ordinary Discourses and Communications to love their Enemies to do good to them that hate them to pray for them which persecute them and despitefully use them To give Alms without any sinister ends to pray without affectation of vain Applause or laying any stress upon the length of their prayers To fast without ostentation to lay up their treasure in Heaven to trust Gods Providence in their respective Callings and Conditions to love him better than the World to use the World as if they used it not to seek first Gods Kingdom and his Righteousness Not to judge rashly but to forsake their greater sins before they find fault with the lesser transgressions of their Neighbors To walk in the strait way and take pains for Heaven To avoid Hypocrisie and to manifest their Profession by their Lives both to hear and to do what they hear and to bring forth Fruits mete for Repentance and to let their Light so shine before Men that they may see their good Works and glorifie their Father which is in Heaven To be faithful unto Death and to hold out to the End and to suffer for the testimony of Jesus if God think fit to call them to it and to do good though they have no prospect of a present Recompence To feed the Hungry and cloath the Naked and visit the Sick and to hope and to believe that they shall be rewarded at the Resurrection of the Just. These are the
mind his Trade but lies in Ale-houses and Taverns must you necessarily make him your pattern Because such a man disregards the favor of his Friends that are both able and willing to assist him is that an argument that you must learn his wayes Because such a one lets his Garden run to Weeds must you therefore fill yours with Bryars and Thorns Because such a one imbezles his Estate must you therefore spend yours in riotous living And will you storm the gates of Hell because others are so desperate as to do it Will you howl with Devils because others delight in that Musick Will you scorn the offers of salvation because others will not be drawn by cords of Love Will you run the hazard of losing the light of Gods countenance for ever because others know not how to prize it O my Soul be not thou tempted by these weak Arguments follow not a multitude to do evil Let not the way that leads to destruction invite thee because many there be that find it Company whatever refreshment it may be in Chains or Prisons here can afford but little consolation in eternal flames Company there will rather increase Mens Sorrows and Society heighten their Woes and Torments in that one will not be able to help the other and the shreeks of him that was seduced into sin will but aggravate the groans and anguish of the Seducer when he must remember that he was that Devil that drag'd the other into endless tortures Strive strive O my Soul to walk in the strait way Let not the small number of Travellers fright thee it 's the likelier way to Heaven because the great the mighty the wise men of this world will not stoop to this narrow Gate for Gods wayes are not our wayes nor are his thoughts as our thoughts what the world admires he despises and what sensual Men make light of he crowns with glory and splendor and immortality so thou canst but be saved no matter how small the number is of those that arrive to happiness As small as it is to these belongs the promise Fear not thou little Flock for it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom of Heaven Luke 12.32 XI Impediment XI Neglect of consulting with the Ministers of the Gospel about this necessary work It was Gods command of old The Priests lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the Law at his mouth for he is the Messenger of the Lord of Hosts Mat. 2.7 How mean soever the Age we live in thinks of this Function of Men as if they were needless Members of a Commonwealth yet there was never any Nation so barbarous bur after they were Civiliz'd into Societies and Government judged these Men most useful and most necessary for the preservation of their Commonwealth for Kingdom And indeed the great eternal God ever since he hath vouchsafed to plant a Church in the world hath been pleas'd to make it one great character and mark of his favor and bounty to Her to give Her Teachers and Prophets and Evangelists And the Commission he hath granted these Men the Titles and the Honours he hath confer'd on them and Love and Reverence he hath commanded all Men to express towards them evidently declare That they are Ambassadors of the great King of Heaven which in Christs stead beseech men to be reconciled unto God and that he that receives the Word they deliver from the mouth of God receives him that sent them In these Gospel-dayes it 's true there is shed abroad a larger measure of Gods Spirit than was formerly known under the Jewish Oeconomy and men under the New Covenant are promis'd to be taught of the Lord. They shall not teach every man his Neighbor and every man his Brother saying Know the Lord for all shall know me from the least to the greatest Hebr. 8.11 yet that doth not make this function of men needless but enforces rather the absolute and indispensable necessity of their office and authority For besides that this promise doth eminently relate to the Primitive Christians who were made partakers of the miraculous effusion of the Holy Ghost and had their knowledge and learning from above thereby to fit them the better for the propagation of a new Religion if we suppose that the Prophecy must extend to all that profess themselves Christians the meaning of it can be no more but this that God will use a more gentle way in converting men under the Gospel and in that Conversion or inclining their hearts to his commands give such lively representations of the reasonableness of them and so convince them of their agreeableness to the Law of nature or the Law written in their hearts that they shall not need to be put in mind by their Neighbors of their justice and equity and spirituality But then this gracious promise doth not exclude but presupposes still the means of Conversion of which the Ministry of the Word is not the least and if the Ministry of the Word be intended as a standing Ordinance in order to those kindly operations of Gods Spirit in the heart of those that shall be converted and God be peremptorily resolv'd by the preaching of the Word to work on the Souls of men none hath reason to find fault with the contrivance of the Almighty but rather to admire his wisdom and goodness that shines through this dispensation not to mention that as God under the Gospel obliges men to greater knowledge than formerly so it 's fit there should be men eminent for knowledge and piety to instruct others and who like Candles set on a Candlestick may light the rest and by the Vrim and Thummim of their doctrine and purity lead them and encourage them to prepare for Heaven And if notwithstanding the prodigious gifts of the Holy Ghost poured out in the primitive Times upon all flesh God thought it necessary to give Apostles and Teachers and Pastors when the illapses of the Spirit could teach men what their Pastors were to teach them how much more necessary may we think must the Ministry be now when those extraordinary gifts have ceas'd and the generality of men are sunk into monstrous ignorance inconsiderateness and stupidity Indeed these are the men whom God hath plac'd in the Church to direct others in the way to salvation these are the men with whom the ignorant are to consult what they must do to be happy for ever And as upon a wrong information given by the Teacher God is resolv'd to require the seduced parties blood at his hand so no man that hath a tongue in his head to enquire can with any justice excuse himself from enquiring of these men what it is that the Lord his God requires of him And were this method follow'd in the case before us and did men seriously demand of them which way to compass an effectual Consideration of their Soul-concerns here they might be inform'd and instructed and undeceiv'd in the
Great ones ye Nobles ye Mighty Men and consider your ways Consider whether that voluptuous life you lead is like that life which that Saviour in whom you pretend to believe doth prescribe in his Gospel Consider whether you are not obliged to practice all those Vertues and Duties that the meaner sort perform and whether in framing to your selves a new way to Heaven a way different from what the word of God doth represent you are like to be happy in those Castles of Air you build and like to arrive to that Glory which you wish for and hope to be receiv'd into Consider what your pride and sensuality will at last conclude in and whether you will dare to brave it at the great Tribunal as now you doe on Earth where you have no body to controul you Ye that are Magistrates whom providence hath placed over others to execute justice and to shew a good example Consider your ways Consider how heavy your connivance at the most notorious sins Sins that offer to pluck even God out of his Throne will lye upon your Consciences one day Consider what hurt you do how many Souls you ruine by your debauch'd and luxurious lives Consider whether you can satisfy God as easily as you can do Man and whether that injustice that oppression that covetousness that lewdness you make nothing of now are not sins weighty enough to bear you down into the Burning Lake Ye Learned Men whether Ministers or others who see and know more than the Vulgar do Consider your ways Consider whether that great Knowledge you have will not procure ye double stripes if you improve it not into a higher degree of seriousness than common people use Consider what a ridiculous thing you make Religion if being perswaded and convinced of the rationality of it you doe not express the power of it in your conversations Consider whether building Heaven with your voices and Hell with your behaviour and deportment will not bring down upon you the severest Plagues that are written in the Book of God! Ye that are hearers of the Word and frequent the Temple of the Lord to be taught his Statutes and his Ordinances Consider your ways Consider whether so many entreatings warnings reproofs and admonitions in season and out of season which you take no notice of will not be brought in one day as evidences to justify your everlasting condemnation Consider how God is like to resent your barrenness and unfruitfulness under the richest means of Grace under the droppings of his fatness Consider how justly God may punish your not digesting and applying his Commands and Precepts to your selves with hardness and blindness of heart and whether this judgement be not more frequent than the world is aware of and whether you do not participate of that judgement Hear this all ye that carry rational Angelical Souls in your Breasts Consider your ways Consider what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and loose his own Soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul Sirs you stand upon the brink of a bottomless pit who but a man whose brains are crack'd would not look about himself the least push or thrust sends you thither who would not take some pains to get into a Harbor the Ship is ready to be cast away the Masts are split it 's leaking on every side who would not lay hold of a Plank to save himself from drowning If you know not what to do with that power of Consideration God hath given you marvel not if God takes it away and since you will not bethink your selves how to be freed from sin and misery protests in his anger that you shall not be able to make use of that power any more in order to obtain Eternal life since you will not take up that sword of the Spirit to cut the cords of Sin and Disobedience no wonder if God blunts and dulls the edge of it that it shall be of no use to you when you would employ it O Christians there is no jesting with a merciful God where the greatest mercy is scorn'd and rejected what can ye expect but the severest judgements Be wise therefore before the black Decree be irreversibly Signed and Sealed against you you 'll bless the hour and the day which bears the Date of your entire and sincere agreement to Gods Will in this particular and when you shall find by blessed experience that this serious consideration of your ways is the Gate to Paradise you 'll admire the Bounty Wisdom and Goodness of God that moved your hearts to embrace the motion and you will not be able to forbear breaking out into singing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb Blessing Honour and Glory be unto him that sits upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever CHAP. VIII Of Retirement and Prayer the two great helps to consideration Retirement proved to be necessary to make Consideration of our Spiritual State more quick and lively Prayer calls in the assistance of Gods Spirit and renders the work effectual A Form of Prayer to be used upon this occasion I Will charitably suppose that the preceding exhortation may have made some impression upon my Reader and made him in some measure willing to think more of his Soul and of the danger it is in and of his Eternal State than formerly he used to do and therefore to shew him how this consideration must be managed that it may in truth conquer and subdue his inordinate affections and make them subject to the best of Masters I shall lay down some necessary helps to Consideration and these are to mention no more Retirement and Prayer I. Retirement Though I readily grant and do commend it too that Men as they are walking with others or travelling or going abroad about their necessary occasions or standing in their Shops or other rooms where company goes in and out may think that the course they have taken hitherto is not safe and therefore it 's high time to change and alter it yet seeing those thoughts are too much diverted by sensual objects and apt to goe no farther than the mind or understanding and reach no deeper than speculation it must necessarily follow that Retirement is requisite to make it reach the affections and to spread it as far as the Life and Conversation By Retirement I do not mean absconding or hiding ones self in a corner in the Countrey or in a Wilderness but retiring in our own Houses Let the place we live in be never so populous to be sure we have Chambers to be private in and as the rich may make their best room a Desart for this work so the poorest may convert any corner in their Houses into a place for this Exercise it s not the neatness of a Closet that cleanses the Soul from filthiness nor the curiosity and convenience of a Withdrawing room that fits the heart for him that
pull'd out betimes How shall I be crown'd if I strive not How shall I strive if I have no temptation I cannot strive without an enemy and without striving there can be no victory the Workman doth not pull the Gold out of the fire till sufficiently refined and shall I murmur that God lets the Fiery Trials continue upon me when it is certain that my Gold is not yet fit to be receiv'd into the Sanctuary I am full of dangers but my greatest danger is security Men fear and quake and tremble if they are in the midst of an hundred enemies I have all the Devils in Hell against me and a whole Army of Lusts bent to ruine me and am not afraid And when there is nothing can rouze me from my security but affliction ought not I to kiss the rod In the greatest troubles I may be assured that God loves me and that it is not his Anger but his Love that follows me with chastisements and why should I fret under the yoak especially when fretting and strugling to shake it off before Gods time doth but make my neck more sore and the yoak far more uneasy I brought the cause of suffering with me into the world which is sin and how can I expect I shall be freed from suffering till I am freed from sin God might have placed me in Heaven immediately upon my coming into the world without any of these outward troubles he could as easily produce Bread out of the Earth as he doth the Ears of Corn but that man may sweat and labour and relish his bread the better he causes only the Ears of Corn to spring and of them Bread must be made so by labour and suffering God leads me unto Glory that I may the better relish his bounty and liberality and my rest may be the sweeter after my toil and tempests here Affliction I know cannot hurt me for my Saviour hath been my taster there can be no bitterness in these herbs when my God hath season'd them Why should I love God less than dogs do their Masters These poor brutes are beaten and struck and chid and pelted with stones and yet the more they are beaten the more they love their owners and cringe and bow and humble themselves before them shall I be worse than a beast and shall I carry a rational Soul in my Breast and kick against those pricks which God hath set to guard me from Eternal Flames All my sorrows and bitterness will shortly be poured out into an ocean of sweetness and how little of it shall I perceive then it will then be all lost in a Sea of Glory and I shall forget that I was poor and wretched and naked and miserable when I shall be Eternally enriched with God bounty enamoured with his perfection decked with his Majestick Robes comforted with his Consolation delighted with his love enriched by his wisdom and satisfied with his beauty in whose Presence there is fulness of joy and pleasure at his right hand for evermore These are some descants upon that Picture of Retirement with such consolations can he that retires refresh himself while the man that wearies himself with the vanities of this world finds no solid peace and when he comes to dye must look back upon his former life with horror and anxiety But II. Another great help to Consideration is Prayer this is the Ambassador that must goe to Heaven and fetch the assistance of Gods Spirit from thence Consideration shews me my danger and my happiness but it 's the Spirit of God must blow upon my affections that they may actually shun the one and reach after the other and this Spirit must be had by Prayer not by Lip-labour not by Prayer unto which the heart is a stranger and knows not what the tongue means in making such a noise but by Prayer which expresses the real desires of the heart by Prayer that flows from a deep sense of the absolute necessity of the grace of God and hath Fire and Flames enough to bear it up into Heaven For if you which are evil can give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him saith Christ Luc. 11.13 and what kind of asking this is appears from the parable immediately preceding for which of you saith Christ v. 5. shall have a friend and shall goe to him at midnight and say unto him Friend lend me three loaves for a friend of mine in his journey is come unto me and I have nothing to set before him and he from within shall answer and say Trouble me not for the door is now shut and my children are with me in bed I cannot rise and give thee I say unto you though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs And then it follows immediately Ask and it shall be given you i. e. Ask for Gods Holy Spirit with the same importunity with the same fervency and earnestness that this man did the Loaves follow God with incessant cryes resolve not to be denied and it shall most certainly be given you The truth is importunate and fervent Prayer shews a man is in good earnest and that he doth not come to God out of formality or meerly to satisfy the motions of a fearful Conscience but that a great sense of the goodness and mercy of God and of his Spiritual wants and necessities puts him upon Prayer and such Prayers God cannot despise because he hath promised to hear them and of this the Evangelist gives us a very illustrious example in the woman of Canaan crying unto Christ Lord help me the answer is rough It is not meet to take the Childrens bread and give it unto dogs yet this doth not terrify her she doubles her cryes and seems to catch our Saviour in his own words Truth Lord yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters Table and now God can hold no longer but from his mouth drops the joyful word O Woman great is thy Faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt Matth. 15.25 26 27. Prayer sanctifies Consideration and where the Soul begs hard of God that God would set home the reflexions she hath had and work her into a willingness to close with his Will that he would increase that light which Consideration hath given her give that light fire too to warm as well as cleer her and drive and force those Convictions Consideration hath afforded her into a serious conversion terrify her so with that sight of sin which Consideration hath darted into her that she may remain no longer in the suburbs of Hell but come out of Sodom and so allure her with that beauty of Holiness which Consideration hath let her have a view of that she may not be able to resist the splendor but submit to the power