or speak for you Christ is a mediator to those only that are under a covenant of grace now what canst thou say for thy self oh man why thou shouldst not be condemned and damned in hell for ever for thy drunkennesse adultery sabbath-breaking prophanenesse swearing lying and thy ungodly practises thou canst have nothing to plead for thy selfe but must needs be cast out into hell fire irrecoverably but now a godly man that is under the covenant of grace he can say Lord here is Christ my mediatour that pleads with thee for the pardon of all my sins and for the obtaining of heaven and happinesse and glory for me through his obedience and merits but thou that art under the covenant of works thou canst not say I have Christ to plead for me and to be an Advocate with the Father to beg for pardon of sin and life and salvation for thee thou canst not say so for without the covenant of grace there is no Mediator Christ is the Mediator onely of the new covenant therefore what sad condition art thou in seeing as verily as thou standest here now so thou must one day stand before Gods tribunall to answer and be judged for every thing thou hast done in thy body whether it be good or evill and then thou wilt have no body to plead for thee but must inevitably be cast into everlasting burnings 4. Being out of the covenant of grace this is your misery God will in exactnesse and rigour of justice proceed against you for your sins without any mixture of mercy at all Beloved God hath no mercy without his covenant but in the covenant of grace he is a God gracious and mercifull slow to anger and of great kindnesse abundant in mercy and truth pardoning iniquity transgressions and sins but he is cloathed with justice and rigour to all that are without this covenant As it is in courts of judicature in point of life and death the Judge will take no notice whether the man be a sorrowfull man or no the Law is not to shew mercy but to punish the offence the Law does not enquire whether the man be penitent and sorry for what he hath done but whether the fact be done or no if it be he must dye for it there is no remedy just so it is here God doth not enquire under a covenant of works whether you are sorrowfull for breaking of his Law but he enquires whether you have broken it or no and if you have he will condemn thee and cast thee into hell fire and then the poor soul cryes out Oh Lord be mercifull to me this once it shall be a warning to me I will never sin against thee nor displease thee more but will from henceforth walk more humbly and holily and circumspectly before thee and yet all this that thou hast promised if thou wert able to perform it will not avail thee for God will hear none out of Christ and out of the covenant of grace 5. A man out of the covenant of grace he hath no true and speciall title to any of the blessings of God here in this world Gods blessings go along with his covenant and therefore it is very observable that in that chapter where God does promise the blessings of the covenant of grace in that very chapter he promiseth the blessings of this life as you may see in the 36. of Ezek. sayes God there I will powre clean water upon you and you shall be clean yea from all your filthinesses and from all your Idols will I cleanse you a new heart will I also give you and a new spirit will I put within you and will take away the stony heart from you and will give you a heart of flesh and will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my judgements and doe them and you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers and you shall be my people and I will be your God all these are the meroies of the covenant of grace now mark the next words saith God I will call for corn and will incerease it and lay no famine upon you but I will multiply the fruit of the trees and the increase of the field and so in the 10 11 ver of that chap. And I will multiply men upon you and the cities shall be inhabited and the wastes shall be builded and I will multiply upon man and beast and they shall increase and bring fruit and I will do better to you then at your beginnings and ye shall know that I am the Lord Here the Lord entails earthly blessings to the covenant of grace intimating that all that are under the covenant of grace they have a title not only to all spirituall but to temporal blessings likewise but no wicked man out of the covenant of grace hath any true title to any outward blessings they that are of the faithfull are blessed with faithfull Abraham and enjoy outward blessings as a blessing but wicked men it is true they have something allowed them but it it as to prisoners in a prison they have something to keep them alive untill their execution and so wicked men they have prison allowances till the execution day 6. Your misery that are strangers to the covenant of grace lies in this God will not give acceptance to any of your services though you may doe as much for the matter of them as any godly man doth nay thou mayst hear more Sermons and say more prayers and perform more duties then a godly man does and yet not be accepted when the others shall as you may see in Gen. 4. 4 5. Cain and Abel they both of them brought sacrifices to God one of his flock and the other of his grounds and the Apostle speaking of this sayes that by faith Abel offered a more excellent offering then Cain it was not more excellent in regard of the matter of it for in all probability and likelihood Cains sacrifice was of more value then Abels for his was but a few young lambs the firstlings of his flock but Cains was of the first fruits of his ground and yet Abels sacrifice was accepted and the others rejected because Abel was a godly man under the Covenant of Grace by which God did accept of what he did though it were lesse then Cains and so Solomon The sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord but the prayer of the upright is his delight a sacrifice you know is a great deal more costly then a prayer for that costs a man nothing but his breath when the other will cost a great deal of money and yet a costly sacrifice is hated by God coming from a wicked man when a pennilesse prayer coming from a godly man is accepted so that under a covenant of grace though you do less for the matter of the duty then wicked men doe
your sins to remembrance with a great deal of grief and sorrow and bitternesse of spirit and therefore when young gallants wil boast of their sins and tel how often they have been drunk and have made others to be so and how often they have plaid the whoremaster and have drawn others to do so this is a most Diabolical remembrance 2. You must not cal your former sins to remembrance with stupidity of heart neither Beloved there are many men can remember what lewd courses they have taken and what wicked lives they have lived how often they have been drunk and unclean and the like and yet are never troubled at the remembrance of it their hearts do not smite them with remorse and sorrow but are like a rock the sense of sin never troubles them this is no way of calling sin to remembrance with a blockish and stupid heart this is not thanks worthy but it must be done with a broken and a bleeding and a contrite heart And 3. Take in this caution too it must not be done with despondency of minde neither There are many converted ones that do cal their sins to remembrance but it makes them discouraged and unwilling to come to Christ it makes them think that they have no interest in the covenant of grace but this should not be the true effect that the consideration of your former sinfulnesse should produce should be your laying your souls low and making them humble and the more sensible of that indispensable need you have of Christ of going unto him for salvation and comfort These are the Cautions necessary to be premised I come now to give you the Reasons of the point why it is the will of God that people in a converted estate should often cal to minde the sin and misery they were in before conversion and Reas 1 1. God will have it so because by so doing you will be provoked the more highly to magnifie and admire the greatnesse and riches of Gods grace to you there are none in the World greater admirers of Gods grace and mercy then those that are most studious of their own sin and misery thou wilt never solemnly and throughly magnifie Gods mercy till thou art plunged into a deep sensiblenesse of thine own misery till the Lord hath brought thee to see in what a miserable and deplorable condition thou wert in before conversion thou wilt then admire and magnifie the riches of Gods free grace in bringing thee out of that condition into the estate of grace as in 1 Tim. 1. 13. the Apostle Paul when he would magnifie the free grace of God to him saith he I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious and yet through the abundance of Gods free grace and mercy I have obtained mercy the consideration of his former sinfulnesse did elevate and scrue up his heart to make him admire the free grace of God to his soul that man can never prize liberty as he should do that never was in prison But Reas 2 2. Another reason why God wil have it so is because this will be as a spur to quicken and engage men to be more eminent in grace after their conversion when a man doth frequently and seriously consider how bad and sinful he was before conversion it cannot but provoke him now to be more humble and holy after his conversion It is very observable in Paul that all those sins and wickednesses he was guilty of before conversion he did most of all strive against and labour to excell in the contrary graces after conversion as first before conversion he did labour to hale others to prison for worshipping of Christ but after his conversion he did labour to draw others to Christ Act. 26. 10 11. Many of the Saints did I shut up in prison and gave my voice against them and punished them oft in every City and I was exceeding mad against them and banished them into other Cities and now you shall see that after conversion Paul did labour to outvie in grace that evil course he was in before as before conversion he did imprison those that did belong to Christ so after conversion he was shut up himself in prison for the cause of Christ before conversion he gave his voice against the people of God but after conversion he did pray to God for them before conversion he did punish them often but afterward he did preach to them often before conversion he did compell men to blaspheme Christ but after conversion he was very earnest to perswade people to beleive in Christ he was exceeding mad against them before conversion but afterward hee was so exceeding zealous for the people of God that every one thought hee had been mad and lastly before conversion he did persecute Saints to strange Cities but afterwards he did go preaching of the Gospel to strange Cities Oh my Beloved let Pauls pattern be your task cal to minde your sin and wickednesse in your unconverted condition but so that it may provoke you that now you are converted you may labour to abound in grace as formerly you have abounded in sin Reas 3 3. Another reason why God will have us call to minde the sin and misery we were in before conversion is because this will be a means to kindle a great deal of pity and compassion in our souls towards those that remain yet unconverted this the Apostle exhorts us to in Tit. 3. 2 3. Speak evill of no man sayes he be no brawler but gentle Shewing all meeknesse unto all men for we our selves also were sometime foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hatefull and hating one another as if the Apostle should have said I Paul and thou Titus we were sinful as wel as they and did serve divers lusts as wel as they once let us therefore be pitiful and merciful and compassionate towards them this consideration wil greatly provoke us to commiserate poor sinful souls the great reason why we pity them no more then we do is because we do not cal to mind our own sinfulnesse and what we were before conversion Reas 4 4. Another reason may be this because the consideration of our former misery will greatly abate pride in the hearts of converted men this will be a great means to abate and keep under pride and advance humility in the hearts of Gods people Beloved a good man naturally is apt to be proud we are not proud of our sins but of our graces pride is apt to grow in the best mans heart and therefore God would have us sometime look back upon what we were in our unconverted estate that so that might abate the pride of our spirits you have an excellent place for this in Ezek. 16. 3 4 5. compared with the last verse of that chapter Sayes God there to Jerusalem Thy Birth and thy Nativity is of the land of Canaan thy Father was an Amorite
you free then are you free indeed intimating that if you have an interest in Christ to free you from the slavery of sin and Satan you are slaves indeed this bondage and slavery likewise consists in three particulars 1 they are slaves to sin 2 to the Devill and 3 to the Law 1 Every Christlesse man he is a slave to sin in Joh. 8. 34. sayes Christ there Verily I say unto you whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin and in 2 Pet. 2. 19. While they promise them liberty the themselves are servants of corruption for of whom a man is overcome of the same he is brought in bondage Every man by nature is a slave to his lusts and a slave to sin and to the creatures God made man Lord over all the creatures but man hath made himself servant to all the creatures 2 He is not only in bondage and slavery to sin but to the devill too as in 2 Tim. 2. the two last verses sayes the Apostle in meeknesse instructing those that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the Devill who are taken captive by him at his will 3 He is in bondage to the Law that is he does nothing in obedience to the Law and this is the great misery of a man without Christ he is bound to keep the whole Law of God there is a very strange expression in Rev. 18. 13. Saint John tels there that all those that did worship the Beast shall cry woe and alas for Babylon is fallen and shall cry for the slaves and souls of men all wicked men are slaves to Antichrist to sin and to the Law and this is the great misery of an unregenerate man 3 Thou art not only a base and a bond man but a beggerly man too without Jesus Christ for all the treasures of grace and mercy are hid and locked up in Christ as in a common Magazine or Storehouse Col. 2. 3. In him are hid all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge if you are out of Christ you have nothing as Rev. 4. 17. Thou sayest thou art rich and increast in goods and hast need of nothing and knowest not that thou art poor and wretched and miserable and blind and naked you will grant that he is a poor and beggerly man that wants these four things meat for his belly cloathes for his back money for his purse and a house to put his head in why in all these respects every man that is out of Christ is a beggerly man 1 A beggerly man is one that hath no meat to put in his belly and all you that have no interest in Jesus Christ are beggerly in this regard because you do not feed upon that bread of life nor drink of that water of life the Lord Christ whose flesh is meat indeed and whose bloud is drink indeed without which your soules will starve for hunger 2 You will say he is a poor man that hath no cloathes to put on his back thus every man out of Christ is not only poor but naked Rev. 3. 17. Thou knewest not that thou wer 't poor and miserable and blinde and naked that man that is not cloathed with the long Robes of Cerists righteousnesse he is a naked man and exposed to the wrath and vengeance of Almighty God those men have only a cloak to cover their sinfull nakednesse and shame that are cloathed with the robes of Christs righteousnesse It is said of Jacob that he obtained the blessing from his Father by being clad in the garments of his eldest brother and so are we only blessed by God our Father as we are cloathed with the robes of our elder brother Jesus Christ 3. That man is a beggerly man that hath no money in his purse why so though your purses be full of Gold yet if your hearts be not full of Grace you are very beggerly men Luk 16. 11. Grace is only the true riches all the durable riches are bound up in Christ 4. And lastly he is a beggerly man that hath not a house to put his head in that is destitute of a house to lodge in and a bed to lie on why so thou that hast no interest in Christ when thy dayes are expired and death comes thou knowest not what to do nor whither to go thou canst not say with the godly man that when death takes thee hence thou shalt be received into everlasting habitations you cannot say 〈◊〉 Christ is gone before to prepare a place for thee in heaven So that in these four particulars you see that a Christlesse man is a very beggerly man having neither food for his body nor cloathes for his back nor money in his purse nor a house to put his head in unlesse it be in a dungeon of darknesse with Devils and damned spirits 4. Another property of a man without Christ is that he is a blinde man Rev. 3. 17. and knewest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blinde and naked and hence it is that wicked men during their unregeneracy are called darknesse in Ephes 5. 8. You were sometime darknesse but now are you like in the Lord walk as children of the light So light is come into the world and yet men love larknesse rather then light because their deeds are evil Jesus Christ is to the soul that which the son is to the earth take away the Sun from the earth and it is nothing but a dungeon of darknesse so take away Christ from the Soul and it is nothing but a dungeon of the Devill though there be a Christ in the world yet if the heart be shut and Jesus Christ be not in thee thou art in a state of darknesse and blindenesse 5 Every man without Christ is a deformed man as you may read in Ezek. 16. 3 4 5 6 8 11 and 14. verses Thus saith the Lord God thy Nativity is in the land of Canaan thy Father was an Amorite c. and in the 6. vers When I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood I said unto thee when thou wast in thy bloud Live yea I said unto thee when thou wast in thy bloud Live when a poor childe lies weltring it its bloud not swadled nor washed nor looked after what a sad condition is it in and thus were you sayes God but then read on in the 7. verse I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the Field and thou hast encreased and waxen great c. and so again in the 14. verse Thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty for it was perfect through my comlinesse that I had put upon thee saith the Lord Intimating that before Christ looks upon a soul he lies weltring in his own bloud and not able to help himself but when he
commit great and gross sins if you labor to resist them and strive against them 2. Thou committest small sinnes with more security and lesse penitency then great sins when a man commits a great and scandalous sin he is sensible of what he hath done and layes it to heart and is ashamed of it and must repent of it or else it will be a shame to him all his life long but he can venture upon a small sin never be troubled at it nor grieved for it he can cōmit a smal sin with a great deal of security impenitency so that hereby they do the soul more wrong then great sins 3. You are apt to run into small sinnes with more frequency then you commit great sins for they are so open to the reproof of the Word and so obvious to the eyes of all men that you cannot find opportunities to commit them so often whereas small sins you commit again and again and one day after another and a thousand times in one day and yet never take notice of them and therefore this may convince you that your exemption from great sins can be no sufficient ground to build your hopes for heaven upon 4. You that build your hopes for heaven upon this ground because your sins are none of the greatest let me tell you that the smallest sins that ever you committed in all your life time without repentance on thy part and satisfaction on Christs part will forever keep thy soul out of heaven if you repent peradventure you shall be pardoned the smallest sins cannot be forgiven without the bloud of Christ to wash them away for without the shedding of bloud there is no remission and thus I have shewed the insufficiency and deceitfulnesse of the first prop that wicked men do build their hopes for heaven upon we come now to the second 2. But sayes a wicked man I have heard and read of those that have committed far greater and more crying sins then ever I have been guilty of and yet they hoped for heaven and are gone to heaven and therefore why should not I hope for heaven as well as they I read of David that committed Adultery and of Noahs drunkennesse and Pauls persecuting Christ and Peters denying of him and divers others and yet these men are gone to heaven and why may not I as well as they Concerning this plea of wicked men I shall give you these three things by way of answer 1. You that make this a ground for your hope you do pervert the end for which God hath recorded the examples of his servants in Scripture for God did not record them there to be a provocation to thee to goe on presumptuously in sinning against him but meerly to be a restraint and caveat to keep thee from falling into the same sins which they did if Noah and Lot and David and Peter c. such holy and excellent men as these had their failings and did commit great and grosse sins oh then let me take heed lest I am overtaken and fall into the same sins this is the use that we should make of the failings of other man as in 1 Cor. 10. 11. All things are written for our example to admonish us upon whom the ends of the world are come and in 1 Tim. 1. 16. sayes the Apostle Iobtained mercy that I might be an example to all that should hereafter beleeve in Jesus Christ. 2. You that make the sins of other men that have obtained mercy to be a ground to build your hopes of heaven upon let me ask you this Question you that do fall into the same sins with Noah or David or Peter do you repent with them too it is true Noah did fall once into the sin of drunkenness but yet the Scripture records this of him that he was an upright man in his generation and so David though he did once defile his bed yet afterwards he repented of it and made his couch to swim with tears for it so Peter after he had denyed Christ he went out and wept bitterly for it but I say what is all this to thee that doest make a trade of sin and fall into grosse sins every day time after time and yet never mourn and grieve for them as David did for his sin nor weep bitterly for them with Peter what plea can this be for thee to encourage thee to hope for heaven 3. Know this further that a godly man may fall into the same sins that others fall into for the matter of them but not for the manner now it is the manner of falling into sin and not the matter of it that dams a man it is true Noah did fall into the sin of drunkennesse but I shall distinguish Noah from any wicked drunkard in the world and that in these five particular considerations as 1. Noah was drunk but it was before he did know that wine would make him drunk and if you read the story you shall finde that there was never any wine drunk till that time for Noah did then begin to be a husbandman and did plant a Vineyard but now there is never a one of you but doe very well know that wine and strong beer and the like will intoxicate you and yet you will not refrain from excesse in drinking there is a great deal of difference between you and Noah 2. Noah was drunk but he did not proclaim his drunkennesse but the text sayes he went into his tent and slept he was ashamed of what he had done but now you proclaim your sin and swear and stare and commit many other sins in your drunkennesse 3. It is true Noah was drunk but you never read that he was drunk any more then once but you are drunk again and again one day after another 4. Though he did once fall into this sin yet for the ordinary course and practise of his life he was an upright man in his Generation whereas it may be your ordinary and frequent practise is drunkennesse 5. Noah was an aged man and in this regard his age might call for more wine and strong liquor to chear up his spirits then young people do want so that all these considerations do little mitigate and allay Noahs fault though it be not wholly excusable An so likewise David he committed the sin of adultery he wallowed in an unclean bed but yet his sin likewise may admit of some extenuation and excuse as 1. David when he came up to the house top he little dream't to have seen a naked woman there which was a very great temptation to him but it may be some of you do seek occasion and contrive and plot how you may commit such a sin 2. David did fall into this sinne neither but once you shall commonly finde that godly men fall into great sins but once they take warning by the first transgression and seldome fall into the same sinne again but now it may be
of darknesse where infernall spirits are reserved in chains of darknesse to the judgement of the great day Which way soever a Christlesse man looks there are nothing but miseries accompany him if he looks outward there the creatures are against him if he looks inward there is a galled and accusing conscience ready to accuse him if he looke above him there is an angry God against him if he look below him there is the Devill ready to receive him a Christlesse man is in a most sad and dolefull condition as I might exemplifie by this familiar similitude Suppose a man were falling into a great and dark dungeon wherein there were nothing but Toads and Serpents and all manner of venemous beasts and as he were falling in should catch hold of a twig of a tree that might grow over the mouth of the dungeon and then suppose a lean beast should come and begin to gnaw and bite off that twig what a miserable case will that poor man be in why just so it is with thee oh Christlesse man thy life in this twig and death is the lean beast that is biting off this twig of life and then thou failest down into a dungeon of darknesse there is nothing but the twig of life between thee and hell 5. If you look before you there is nothing but misery likewise approaching thee and these are the snares and temptations the Devill layes in thy way to ensnare thee and intice thee to sin there is not a step thou treadest nor any company thou goest into but the Devill layes a trap to ensnare thee 6. If you look behinde you there is nothing but a huge heap of past sins unrepented of unsatisfied for and unpardoned that are able to sink thee into the bottomelesse pit of hell how then canst thou think of thy past sins but with a sad heart how dreadfull is it to consider how many thousands of sins thou hast been guilty of and yet never hast been humbled for them nor never shed one penitentiall tear for them the guilt of the least of them being enough to plunge thee into hell for ever 7. Look on thy right hand and there are all the blessings of God all thy fullnesse and prosperity thy riches and great estate are all made a curse to thee God gives a wicked man riches for his hurt Eccles 5. 13. Prosperity shall kill the soul of the wicked Oh Christlesse man thy riches and prosperity are all instruments and means to further thy everlasting ruin and destruction 8. Look on thy left hand and there are all the miseries and afflictions and sufferings and reproaches and diseases and sad accidents that you meet with as so many forerunners of those unutterable and untolerable and unsupportable sufferings which a Christlesse man shall undergoe to all eternity Oh then unhappy man that thou art that hast not an interest in Jesus Christ without thee and within thee above thee and below thee before thee and behinde thee on thy right hand and on thy left there are nothing but miseries accompanie thee on every side Thus much for the first positive part of the misery of a Christlesse man it is a very sad point that I am now upon and therefore I shall sweeten all in the close with two or three words of consolation But 2 Beloved follow me now Thou that art a Christlesse man or woman thy misery in the positive part of it lies in this there wil be nothing in the world so dismal and intolerable to thy soul as the apprehensions of a God without Jesus Christ God that is an amiable and desireable and an universall good in Christ yet out of Christ this great God that is so good and rich in mercy and free in grace is cloathed with red and Scarlet you that are out of Christ cannot look upon God but with dreadfull apprehensions of him you cannot look upon God as a God of mercy to pardon you but as an angry Judge ready to condemn you not as a friend that seeks your welfare but as an enemy that sets himself in battel array against you to ruin you you cannot look upon him as the Rock of Ages in the clifts whereof you may finde safety but as a burdensome stone the weight whereof will beat you down and grinde you to powder you cannot look upon God as a Refiners fire to purge away your drosse but as a consuming fire and everlasting burning to consume you to ashes these these are the awakening and soul-affrightning apprehensions which every poor soul that hath not an interest in Christ must see the apprehensions of God will be very dreadfull to you 3. Your misery in the positive part of it lies in this that all the creatures and blessings you injoy in the world are acurse to you for all blessings are given in and through Christ there is no blessing given thee as a blessing nor no mercy as a mercy if Christ which is the mercy of all mercies be not given to thee and here I shall shew you your misery in this particular under these five heads 1. To have an estate is a blessing of God but yet all the estate and revenues and substance which you have gotten by the labour of your hands and the sweat of your brows are all accursed to you if you have not an interest in Jesus Christ as in Deut. 28. 17 18. Cursed shalt thou be in the City and cursed shalt thou be in the field cursed shalt thou be in thy basket and in thy store cursed shalt thou be in the fruit of thy body and of thy land in the encrease of thy kine and in the flocks of thy sheep cursed shalt thou be when thou goest forth and cursed when thou comest in and so in Job 20. 15. He shall swallow down riches but he shall vomit them up again and in Eccles 5. 13 sayes Solomon There is a sore evill which I have seen under the Sun namely riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt 2. You are cursed in your house likewise as in Job 28. 15. The terrours of God shall dwell in the taberuacles of the wicked and brimstone shall be scattered throughout his habitation and so in that place I quoted before Deut. 28. 19. 3. He is cursed in his name as in Prov. 16. 7. The name of the wicked shall not 4. He is cursed in his calling as in Prov. 21. 4. The ploughing of the wicked is sin and in Deut. 28. 20. The Lord shall send upon thee cursing vexation and rebuke in all thou settest thy hand unto for to doe 5. He is cursed not only in his estate in his house in his Land in his calling but in his eating and drinking too you have a strange expression for this in Job 20. 23. When he is about to fil his belly God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him and shall rain it upon him when he is eating so in Psal 38. 30 31.
among the heathen for thy beauty for it was perfect through my comelinesse that I had put upon thee saith the Lord God if we have not the comelinesse of Christ put upon us we are not comely you have a pretty passage in Luk. 2. 32. Christ is there called the glory of the children of Israel Christ is the glory of the children of Israel that doe beleive in him there is no glory but a body full of sores and botches in all those that are out of Christ And thus now Beloved I have done with the Doctrinall part of this point that every man during the state of his unregeneracy is without any actuall interest in Christ we come now to the application and here I might say to you as a learned Author was wont to say when he had been handling any terrible subject and treating upon Doctrines of terrour he would alwayes say in the close Oh godly man this belongs not to thee so may I say to you thou godly soul this appertains not to thee the misery and sad condition of a man out of Christ belongs not to thee thou doest not now hear the sentence which shall be passed upon thee but thou dost now hear the misery that thou art freed from and redeemed from Use The Use that I shall make of this shall be by way of consolation and the Lord uphold and comfort the hearts of all you that can lay a just claim to Jesus Christ 1. Happy Oh thrice happy are you that ever you were born that have an interest in Jesus Christ for though God be cloathed with majesty great and terrible in himself yet you can look upon him under apprehensions of love and mercy peace goodnesse tendernesse and kindnesse you are to look upon God not as an angry Judge to condemn you but as a Father of mercy to comfort you not as an adversary in battell array against you but as a friend reconciled to you not as a burdensome stone that may grind you to powder but as the rock of Ages in the clifts whereof you may finde safety you are to look upon God not as a consuming fire to burn you but as a refiners fire to purge away your drosse and sin and corruption it is Christs bloud only that quencheth the fire of Gods anger So that now you may look upon God under all these apprehensions of love and mercy peace pardon and reconciliation c. if you have an interest in Jesus Christ 2. Happy yea thrice happy are you in having an interest in Christ for though you have nothing here in the world yet you have all things you have all things in having an interest in Christ that hath all things you may say as Paul said of himself 2 Cor. 6. 10. As having nothing and yet possessing all things though thou wantest many things here below yet if thou hast an interest in Christ thou hast all things It may be thou mayest eat of the bread of affliction and drink of the water of adversity yet happy art thou if withall thou canst but drink draughts of Christs bloud if Christ bids thee eat of his body and drink of his bloud as in Cant. 5. 8. Eat oh friends drink yea drink abundantly oh my beloved Happy are you that are cloathed with the long white robes of Christs righteousnesse though you have nothing here below yet you have all things in having Christ that hath all things 1 Cor. 3. 22. All is yours and you are Christ Object Object But here some may object and say how can this be how can it be said that a beleever hath all things when many times he hath the least of the things of this world Answ Answ I answer a beleever may be said to have all things these four ways 1. He hath all things equivalently 2. All things conditionally 3. All things finally And 4. All things inheritively 1. A beleever hath all things equivalently that is in having Christ he hath as good as if he had all things he hath that which is of more worth then if hee had all the World that man is not accounted a rich man that hath much lumber and houshold-stuffe in his house but he that hath many Jewels in his cabinet why now Christ hee is the pearle of great price the jewel of all jewels in having Christ you have all things in regard you have that which is more worth then all things 2. A beleever hath all things conditionally if such a thing bee for thy good that thou desirest thou shalt have it bee it what it will be as in Psal 84. 11. The Lord will give grace and glory and no good thing will hee withhold from those that live uprightly hee hath all things conditionally 3. A beleever hath every thing finally that is the Lord intended that every creature that he made might be for his use the sun moon and stars and all the other creatures were made for them nay and all the Angels in heaven were made to be ministring spirits to the heirs of salvation 4. All things are a beleevers inheritively by way of right and inheritance though he may not have all things in possession yet he hath all things by way of reversion hee hath a right and claim to every thing Psal 37. 11. The meek shal inherit the earth But now it may be I speak to many a poore godly man or woman and tell them all is theirs when it may be they have not a penny to buy bread to put in their bellies why yet beloved let me tell you though you have nothing yet you have Christ that is worth all things though you want other things yet you doe not want Christ Beloved you may want outward blessings and yet not want Jesus Christ you may want food to put in your mouthes and yet not want the bread of life the Lord Jesus Christ to feed upon you may want clothes to cover your nakedness and yet not want the long robes of Christs righteousnesse to cover your sinfull nakednesse you may want friends to comfort help and relieve you and yet not want Christ to be your friend There is some thing yet behind by way of Consolation but I must defer that till another opportunity SERMON V. EPHES. 2. 12. That at that time yee were without Christ WE come now to lay down some other things by way of comfort to those that have an interest in Christ and oh that you that are Citizens of Heaven would read over your large Charter of Mercies that is sealed to you in the bloud of Christ read over those many benefits and comforts that you have by Christ that none in the world enjoy but you onely that have an interest in him I shall reduce all that I have to say concerning this particular under these 7 heads you that lay an undoubted claim to Christ you may lay claim to this sevenfold benefit by him 1. You that have an interest
in his darknesse you should bee wrapt in the winding sheet of Christs righteousnesse there is no shrowd like to that come thus to the grave and the grave shall have no power over you But to leave the Metaphor this must be your great work and care Christians to reflect upon these things in the serious applications and discourses of faith the infinite mercy of God the abundant merit of Christ and the sufficiency of his righteousnesse for your acceptance with God 2 Doe not onely act faith but strive after assurance of Gods love to your souls Old Simeon said Luk. 2. 29 30. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation now let me depart in peace he held the Messiah not onely in his Arms but in his heart and then he could comfortably dismisse his soul now let me dye said Jacob when he had seen Joseph he can never dye too soon as for himself his owne comfort and profit that hath seen Jesus his death is not untimely and immature by what stroke soever he be cut off whereas otherwise if you live an hundred yeares you dye too soon if you dye before you have gotten an interest in Christ the sinner of an hundred years shall be accursed old sinners that are left to be eaten out by their own rust are chimneys long foul and come at last to be fired 3 Mortifie corruptions sin must dye ere wee dye he dyeth well whose sinnes are dead before him either sin must dye or the sinner as the Prophet said in another case I say in this thy life must goe for its life you will find those sins mortall that are not mortified what should an unmortified man doe with heaven there are no sports nor carnall pleasures there those blessed mansions seem to him but dark shades and melancholy retirements the Apostle hath an expression Col 1. 12. He hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light we are first made meet for heaven before we enter into it we are weaned from the world before we leave it when men hang upon the world as long as they can and when they can hang no longer think then to make use of God the Lord will refuse them with disdain Go to the Gods which you have chosen let the world now help you and save you in short a mortified man is prepared and ready he doth but wait for winde and tide and falleth like a shock of corn in season 4 An holy life and conversation men live as if they never thought to dye and then dye as if they never thought to live the best way to dye well is to live well they that are not ashamed to live are not afraid to die Balaam desired to dye the death of the righteous but would not take pains to live a godly life every man cannot say Thanks be to God that giveth us victory through Jesus Christ you can not dye in Christ unlesse you live in him and in the power of his life advance towards heaven oh labour to exercise your selves in these things that you may be in a constant preparation you never enter into the combate of death but once 't is impossible to mend oversights either we are slain or saved eternally Now if you doe what I have here exhorted you to you may wait till your change come and when it cometh your last hour will prove your best Use 3 3. It serveth to presse Gods children to improve the comforts of Christs victory doe not let it goe out of your hands 1 Improve it for your friends that are departed in the Lord our weeping puts some disparagement upon Christs conquest why should wee weep in the day of their preferment in the day of their solemn espousals to Jesus Christ In the primitive times at Funerals they were wont to sing Psalmes of thanksgiving we should bring them as champions to the grave as those that have passed the pikes and finished their course and kept the faith and have conquered the world and sin and death and danger Chrysostome in one of his homilies on the Hebrews speaketh of the ancient rites at funerals of their Hymnes and Psalmes and Praises haec omnia sunt laetantium saith he All these signifie joy and wilt thou weep and sing a Psalme of praise and triumph at the same time I confesse 't is said Act. 8. 2. That devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him 't is our losse when the Church is bereaved of such excellent persons there is cause of sorrow but there should be a mixture we should not mourn as those without hope 1 Thes 4. 13. as Christians must not rejoice without sorrow so they must not be sorry without some mixture of joy let us declare that we hope for a resurrection that we expect to meet our friends again in heaven and when wee weep let it be like rain when the Sun shineth there should be somewhat of joy in our countenances as well as tears in our eyes 2. Improve it for your selves and that 1 In life time that in your resolutions you may bee willing to dye many times we are like Lot in Sodome or like the Israelites in Egypt we could wish for Canaan but are loath to goe out of Egypt this argueth little faith Can we beleeve there is a heaven so excellent and glorious and yet shun it can we hope for such an incorruptible inheritance and yet be afraid of it that we shall enter upon it too soon what Prince would live uncrowned what heir would whine when hee is called to come and take the inheritance what thoughts have we of eternall life do we count it a priviledge or a misery and a burden And again it argueth little love can we pretend to love Christ and be shie of his company he should be unwilling to dye that is unwilling to goe to Christ And again it argueth little judgement and consideration Wherein is this life valuable the world is nothing else but a place of banishment here is nothing but groaning all the creatures join in consort with the heirs of promise Rom. 8. 23. What do you see in the world or in the present life to make you in love with it are you not weary of misery and sin the longer thou livest thou sinnest the more certainly thou hast provoked God long enough already 't is high time to breath after a better estate and thou hast had taste enough of the worlds misery and deceit and of the frailties and weaknesses of the body a longer life would be but a longer sicknesse what 's the matter that we are so loath to let goe our hold of present things if it be not want of faith or want of love to Christ or too much love of the world certainly it must be fear of death what a baseness lowness of spirit is this to fear an enemy so often vanquished by Christ and his Saints