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A41649 A word to sinners, and a word to saints The former tending to the awakening the consciences of secure sinners, unto a lively sense and apprehension of the dreadfull condition they are in, so long as they live in their natural and unregenerate estate. The latter tending to the directing and perswading of the godly and regenerate unto several singular duties. As also a word to housholders stirring them up to the good old way of serving God in and with their families, from Joshuah's resolution, Josh. 24. 15. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Set forth especially for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of St. Sepulchres Parish, London by Tho. Gouge, late pastor thereof. Gouge, Thomas, 1605-1681. 1668 (1668) Wing G1371; ESTC R222576 207,485 324

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the Wise man The house of the wicked shall be overturned but the Tabernacle of the upright shall flourish And therefore the Psalmist pronounceth them blessed who thus fear the Lord saying Blessed is he that feareth the Lord and walketh in his wayes for thou shalt eat the labour of thine hand happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee How then can such expect a blessing from God either upon themselves or upon their relations or upon their pains and endeavours who do not set up God and his Worship in their houses seeing it is that whereby Gods blessing is entailed 2. Those Children and Servants who are religiously educated and principled are likeliest to prove comforts to their Parents and Masters What a comfort must it needs be to thee who art a Master of a Family to see thy houshold through the blessing of God on thy care and pains to be walking Heaven-ward Yea when thou comest to lye upon thy death-bed Oh what a comfort will it then be unto thee that thou hast good ground to believe that thy Children are Gods Children and the Servants of Jesus Christ thou maist then with stronger confidence commend them unto Gods Fatherly care and protection and with greater assurance expect Gods blessing upon them after thy death 3. There is no such means to make your Children loving and dutiful unto you and your servants faithfull in the discharge of their duty as to instruct them in the principles of Religion and to plant the fear of God in their hearts In which respect Solomon saith A godly Son maketh a glad Father viz. by his dutiful and respectfull carriage towards him And that servant who shall find true grace either first wrought or further increased in him by his Masters means will endeavour with the utmost of his power to do him what faithfull service he can in way of thankfulness So that if Parents and Masters of Families respect either that charge God hath laid upon them whereof they are to give an account to him at the great day or that good and benefit which themselves may reap thereby they will see good and just ground to be diligent and constant in the discharge of holy duties with their Family R. V. Another reason may be taken from the manifold mischiefs which usually follow and accompany the neglect of family duties 1. From hence come all Domestick brawls and contentions hence it is that the house is divided against it self Husband against Wife and Wife against Husband Master against Servant and Servant against Master Parent against Child and Child against Parent which would be prevented were the Lord better known and more duly worshipped amongst them For where God is served with perfect purity there is perfect peace But where God is not served there is no peace but jarrs and contentions strife and debate which giveth great advantage unto Satan the arch-enemy of mankind who like a roaring Lyon walketh about continually seeking whom he may devour 2. From hence it is that Magistrates are enforced to execute the penalties of the Laws upon so many namely because they are not Religiously educated but suffered to have their wills in their youth Which appeareth from the sad complaints of many malefactors at the place of Execution against their Parents and Masters for their careless omission of their duty towards them saying if they had had any care or conscience of our education if they had corrected and restrained us betimes from our wicked courses we had never come to this dogs-death and shamefull end 3. From hence it is that so many Families are so dissolute and prophane abounding with all manner of sin and wickedness as lying swearing Sabbath-breaking drinking whoring and the like as if there were a seminary of little Devils an houshold of fiends And truly when Families leave God in not doing the good they should God leaves Families to do the evil they should not So that sin hath there free place where Gods service hath no place And sins of commission do usually follow sins of omission it being ordinary with God to punish one sin with another to punish the neglect of duty with the committing of sin by leaving men so to themselves that they break forth into the committing of great and hainous sins A general complaint there is in these dayes of the undutifulness and disobedience of Children of the negligence and unfaithfulness of Servants yea and of the loose lewd lives of both in many Families whereof if we would search the true ground and cause we shall find it rather in the superiours than in the inferiours For howsoever inferiours cannot be excused yet questionless the fault is chiefly in superiours and Governours because they are careless and negligent in the discharge of their duty towards them not praying with them nor Catechising and instructing them as they should For where religious duties are shut out of any Family there usually the door is set wide open to looseness and profaneness 4. The neglect of Religious duti●s in thy Family will make thee guilty of Murther even of Soul-murther which is the greatest of all For whereas the Souls as well as the bodies of thy Children and Servants are committed to thy care and charge if any of them should perish through thy default thou art deeply guilty of their eternal death and damnation and their blood will be required at thy hands As Iacob was accountable to Laban for the ●oss of every Lamb or Sheep at his hand was it required So is every Master of a Family accountable to God for every soul under his roof If any of them perish through his default God will require it at his hands God will require the blood of thy Child the blood of thy Servants at thy hands one day If therefore you will be free from the blood of your Children train them up in the fear and nurture of the Lord pray for them and with them Catechize them c. The Point being confirmed by Scripture and Reason come we now to the Uses thereof CHAP. III. The Vse of Reproof of those Masters who make no Conscience of Family-duties Use 1. SEeing it is a Duty incumbent upon Parents and Masters of Families to be carefull that not only themselves but also all under their charge even their whole Family do faithfully serve the Lord then they are greatly to be reproved who are neither carefull to serve God themselves neither take they any care of their Family but as there is no fear of God in their hearts so neither is there any fear of God in their Families Yea instead of Gods service there is all manner of wickedness and prophaneness so that their houses are as so many filthy cages of unclean birds so many styes of all manner of abominations Of whose houses we may say what Solomon said of the Harlots house 'T is the way to Hell that is the high and ready way unto eternal
A WORD to SINNERS And a WORD to SAINTS The Former tending to the awakening the Consciences of secure Sinners unto a lively sense and apprehension of the dreadfull condition they are in so long as they live in their Natural and Unregenerate Estate The Latter tending to the directing and perswading of the Godly and Regenerate unto several singular Duties As also a Word to Housholders stirring them up to the good old way of serving God in and with their Families from Ioshuah's resolution Josh. 24.15 As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Set forth especially for the Use and Benefit of the Inhabitants of St. Sepulchres Parish London By Tho. Gouge Late Pastor thereof LONDON Printed for George Sawbridge living on Clerkenwell-Green 1668. To my dearly beloved Friends the Inhabitants of St. Sepulchres Parish London Beloved Friends TO further the salvation of mens souls as it is a most excellent work so it ought to be the study and endeavour both of every Christian in his place and calling and especially of the Ministers of the Gospel whose office and function calls upon them more importunately to labour therein Now since Regeneration is absolutely necessary to Salvation and that there can be no entrance into the new Ierusalem without a new birth I have according to that ability which the Lord hath given me set forth in this small Treatise the nature and necessity of Regeneration together with the Means on your part to be performed for the better attaining thereunto Most of these truths have been Preached in your hearing and now they are presented to your sight that thereby you may be put in remembrance of them and more thorowly affected with them Though I cease to be your Minister yet I shall not cease to do what in me lyeth to further your eternal happiness It was my hearty desire of your everlasting welfare that first put me upon Preaching on this Subject and the like desire hath ingaged me to present the same to your view Herein have I set before you Heaven and Hell Happiness and Misery Oh that you would be so wise as to choose Heaven rather than Hell Happiness rather than Misery That I should adventure these Notes into the World is not out of any conceit that there is any thing extraordinary in them being Conscious to my self of much Weakness but meerly out of that strong affection I bear to your souls welfare For my hearts desire for you is that you may be saved And will the Lord but bless this small Treatise to the Regeneration or Edification of any of your Souls I have the end of all my pains and cost Avoiding all affectation of Words I have used plainness of speech it being alwayes my chief design in the whole course of my Ministry to affect the Hearts and Consciences of my Hearers rather than to tickle their Ears and please their Phansie That I may not detain you longer I shall close this Epistle with three requests unto you 1. That you kindly accept of this small Book which treats on a subject so necessary to your everlasting happiness 2. That you would be pleased as to peruse it your selves so to take some time to read it to your Families If you cannot find leisure on the week dayes than to read some part thereof on each Lords day till you have read it through 3. That you would not lock it up in your closets but suffer it to lye in your houses where your Children and Servants may peruse it as they find opportunity Who knoweth how successfull and fruitful this plain Treatise may prove if the Lord shall be pleased to accompany it with his blessing That the Lord therefore would so bless these my poor and weak endeavours that such as are yet in their natural state may be converted that Converts may be improved and built up in that grace wherein they stand is the unfeigned desire and hearty Prayer of Your Servant in the Work of the Gospel who hath been and still is desirous of your Spiritual welfare Tho. Gouge THE CONTENTS THE Exposition of the first verse Page 1. The Observation thence raised The greatest of sinners are oftentimes received to mercy 3. The Exposition of the second verse 4. The Observation thence raised True faith may be exceeding weak ibid. The Exposition of the third verse wherein Christ declareth to Nicodemus the Necessity of Regeneration 7. The Observations thence raised 1. Christ is ready to entertain those that in truth and uprightness seek unto him though their weakness and infirmities be many 8. 2. Regeneration is necessary to Salvation 15. For the Explication of which point is shewed 1. The Nature of Regeneration what it is 16. 2. The Parts of Regeneration 19. 1. Mortification ib. 2. Vivification 20. 3. The causes which concurr to the work of Regeneration which are four 21. 1. The Efficient 2. The Material 3. The Formal 4. The Final 22. The Reasons proving Regeneration necessary to Salvation 23. Vse of Exhortation 1. To the Vnregenerate 2. To the Regenerate 28. 1. To the Vnregenerate that they earnestly desire and industriously labour after a saving change in the use of all means God hath sanctified thereunto ib. Quickning Motives thereunto drawn 1. From the Excellency of Regeneration 29. 2. From the Vtility of Regeneration 30. 3. From the Necessity of Regeneration 31. The Means to be performed for the better attaining thereunto brought to two heads 1. The Embracing some truths 2. The Practising some duties The Truths to be Embraced are these 1. That every man in his state of unregeneracy is in a miserable estate and dreadfull condition 33. 2. That there is hope of mercy for the greatest sinners ib. The miseries of the Unregenerate in this life 34. 1. They are Servants to their Lusts. ib. 2. They are slaves to the Devil 35. 3. They are under the curse of God which continually hangeth over their heads 36. 4. They are under the guilt of all their sins 37. 5. They are lyable to all sorts of Iudgements viz. Temporal Spiritual and Eternal 38. The miserable condition of the Vnregenerate at their deaths in several particulars 39. The dreadful estate of the Vnregenerate after their deaths in several particulars 47. Of the particular Iudgement that immediately followeth after death 48. Of the General Iudgement at the end of the World 49. The Person who shall be the Iudge 51. The Manner of Christs coming to Iudgement which will be As in great Glory and Majesty 53. So in great terrour to the wicked and impenitent 54. The Order of Christs proceeding in Iudgement 56. The dolefull condition of the Vngenerate after the Day of Iudgement which in general is most cursed 72. That Cursed estate is manifest 1. By privation of all felicity ib. 2. By subjection to all misery 73. Which misery is set out I. By sundry resemblances as 1. Darkness yea outer Darkness 76. 2. Torment which is the extremity of pain 77. 3. Fire
in this World it is not so evidently discerned Because God in Wisdom oft suffereth the wicked to prosper yea and to domineer over the Righteous Here the best men are ofttimes the worst used and most wronged Here the true Prophets of God are fed with bread and water in their Caves whilest the false Prophets of Baal fared plentifully at Iezabels Table Here Dives sits in his Palace cloathed richly faring sumptuously every day whilest Lazarus lyeth at his gate naked and hungry But then God will reader to every one according to his deeds When as Heaven and everlasting happiness shall be the lott of the righteous So hell and eternal horrour shall be the portion of the unrighteous Thus you see there will be a day of Judgement Oh how terrible will this day of Judgement be unto the unregenerate and wicked To them it will be a day of wrath a day of trouble and distress a day of darkness and gloominess Then shall the drunkard drink deepest of the cup of Gods wrath the fornicator and adulterer who burned with the fire of lust burn in the fire of Hell Then shall the glutton who gave himself up to the satisfying of his greedy appetite be pinched with hunger and parched with thirst not having a drop of water to cool his flaming tongue Then shall the worldling and covetous wretch feel his loads of ill-gotten goods sinking and drowning him in perdition and destruction pressing him down to the bottom of the infernal lake Ah sinner How doth it concern thee to retire into some secret place and there seriously to ponder on this day of judgement Ask thine heart this question Is it certain there will be a day of judgement or no If it be certain Oh then why do I not prepare for it by breaking off my sins and making my peace with God before that day come upon me why do I not labour for an interest in Christ by whom alone I can be freed from eternal death and condemnation why do I not now give all diligence to make my Calling and Election sure Oh sinner reason thus with thy self thou knowest not of what advantage a few such serious thoughts may be to thy soul. When Paul Preached to the Athenians he urged them to repent and turn from their sins from this very ground and reason Because the Lord had appointed a day in which he will judge the World in righteousness Oh repent therefore and turn ye from your wicked wayes for why will ye dye and perish eternally in your sins Seek unto the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is nigh Christ now stands knocking at the door of thine heart by the Ministers of his Word the motions of his Spirit and checks of thine own Conscience Oh give him speedy and willing entertainment The time will come when thou wilt knock with the foolish Virgins and shalt not be heard and repent with Iudas and not be accepted For the Lord will have his day when thine is past and a day of Iudgement for thy punishment that didst slight and reject the day of mercy for thine amendment II. For the Person who shall be the Iudge It is Christ that shall be Iudge who shall in a visible shape both judge and pronounce sentence upon all men as the sentence of absolution on the elect so the sentence of condemnation on the wicked Indeed judging the World being a work ad extra which is terminated upon or respects the creature it is common to the whole Trinity So that neither the Father nor the Holy Ghost are excluded but yet it is in Scripture more especially appropriated to the Son And that partly as a recompence of his humiliation and partly because the proceedings of the judgement being visible it seemed convenient that the Iudge himself should be conspicuous And therefore Christ in his humane nature shall judge the World and denounce the doom of condemnation against the wicked ones yet shall he do all as Immanuel God and man Oh how terrible will the sight of Jesus Christ as Iudge be unto all carnal and impenitent wretches who when they shall see him sitting upon the Throne whose gracious invitations they have slighted whose Ministers and Ambassadours they have wronged and contemned whose ordinances they have neglected and whom they have often crucified by their sins how then will their hearts be appalled with dread and terrour entreating the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. A poor believer on that day seeing Christ sitting upon the Throne may with comfort say Loe yonder is he who dyed to save me who shed his blood for my redemption and rose again for my justification and is now come to judge both the quick and the dead But thou who dyest in thy sins canst not but with much anguish of Spirit in that day cry out and say Loe yonder is he who came from Heaven to save poor lost sinners and who did Sabbath after Sabbath even all my life long by his Ministers wooe and b●seech me to abandon my lusts and to receive him as my Lord and Saviour to yield subjection unto him and his laws and to rest upon him alone for life and salvation who now would have received me into eternal bliss and happiness But I miserable wretch that I was did slight his woings and beseechings turning a deaf ear to the calls of his grace and preferred my lusts and corruptions b●fore the Lord and his salvation yea and all my life long opposed his Kingdom and government as quite contrary to my carnal heart and sensual pleasures wherein I took much content and delight This is the Iudge who now sits on life and death and from whom I must now receive my se●tence And oh what a fearfull sentence must I expect from such a wronged cont●m●ed c●raged righteous Iudge What will he award me whether will he se●d me Oh my sins my sins have cloathed his soul with fury against me O my soul what Talents of wrath and vengeance will this righteous provoked Iudge lay upon thee how will he bind thee in chains of darkness and setters of eternal fire Oh therefore that we were so wise as now in this our day and time of grace so to renounce bo●h our own wickedness and righteousness as to joyn our selves to our Lord resigning up our souls to the government of his holy laws adventuring and relying upon the merit of his blood resolving to follow him in holiness that hereby we may make him sure to us against that terrible day III. For the Manner of Christs coming to Iudgement it will be as in great glory so in great terrour to the wicked and impenitent 1. Christ will come in great glory a●d Majesty even in the glory of the Father This is the most glorious work that Christ