in the flesh or a greedy wen devours all the strength and yet will by no means let the poor sinner go free Fourthly It is a growing bondage the longer a man continueth in it the faster he is held with the snares and bonds of his sins in the transgression of an evil man there is a snare saith Solomon and every act of sinning doth fasten the snare so much the more upon the soul with bands of iron and brass yea of adamant the longer they are in this dark and filthy dungeon the deeper they sink into the mire and clay where there is no standing the heart groweth more hard through the deceitfuluess of sin O the cup of delights is a bewitching cup and the more a man drinketh of it the more he may every drop of oyl you cast upon the flame maketh it the harder to be quenched every act of sinning doth strengthen the habit as in all other cases and dispose a man so much the more strongly incline him to the same sin again and so there is so much the more ado to get the heart off from these lusts there is many a poor sinner among us I believe can speak by experience what a miserable bondage it is and what a growing bondage it is the further a man goeth in it he goeth still further into the prison binds the yoak upon his neck so much the harder and closer insomuch that a gray-headed-sinner you shall seldom see recovered out of the snare of the Devil though sometimes we may This the fourth Fifthly it is so durable a bondage that it abides in part even where a soul is brought under the command of another principle it doth continue in a great part in many a gracious heart as in this place of the Apostle I am carnal and sold under sin he saith not he was but he is carnal that is to say in part as those in that first to the Corinthians are you not carnal that is to say hath not the flesh a great sway with you when you are so divided and full of strife and emulation and one for Paul and another for Apollo c. and therefore the Apostle did walk heavily under the sense of the chains which were upon him not altogether shakt off O wretched man who shall deliver me I am carried captive by a Law in my members to the Law of sin O strange that in the Apostle so sanctified so mortified a creature yet the Law in his members should have such a strength as this is to carry him captive though the spirit do lust against the flesh yet the flesh doth lust against the spirit so that they cannot do the things they would they are under bondage in part though notunder the reign of sin yet it usurpeth and tyranizeth and laies its commands upon a poor believing soul as if he were altogether his own sin will not let go its hold altogether but if it lose the Cittadel the Tower the chief Fort the Will yet it will lurk in some of the out-works still if it lose the heart it will hold by the heel still and hang about us that we cannot walk at liberty in the waies of his Commandments Sixthly The reward to the service and bondage of sin what is it but bondage upon bondage you have heard how many sad Concomitants there are of this bondage of sin doth it not subject to the curse to the wrath of God it is not only an unprofitable service what fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed that is to say what good had ye by them ye are now ashamed of them that is the reward as you see in the case of Adam it laid him open and naked before the Lord both without covering for the shame and without defence against his displeasure now he wanted somewhat in stead of his innocency to skreen him from the everlasting burnings or the presence of God who is a consuming fire yea the wages of these things is death whose end is destruction saith the Apostle whose glory is in their shame whose God is their belly who mind earthly things a man will hardly believe this that the savouring of earthly things is so dangerous a service being so pleasing as it is to men alas you little think what you do you have heard some of you how many evils do attend it you little know what wounds you get a wound and dishonour shall he get and his reproach shall not be wiped away this is nothing to the wound of the conscience O what pains sinners are at to store up gun-powder at last to blow up their comforts and their souls and all would you not think it a sad servitude where a master should delight in nothing but the cruel wounding and goring of a mans self this is nothing indeed to the service of sin you will one day find sinners the truth of this whether you will believe it now or no that sin is big with terrours and fears and amazement that sin doth nothing but wound the soul the conscience though you feel it not for the present many and many that have been as sensless as many of us are that yet at last mourned and said O how is my flesh and my body consumed O what a wretch was I to serve sin to lay out my self for sin that now hath nothing but woe and misery nothing but racks and woundings to reward me with O what a reward is it Brethren to pass fro m the chains of your sins here to those everlasting chains of darkness Se venthly and lastly it is inextricable as to our selves we cannot open the prison doors nor loosen our fetters the cords of our sins wherewith we are held and bound over as I may say to Judgement O I know the poor creature specially when his eyes are open to see what a condition he is in will be making many an attempt sometimes to break prison sometimes to loose his bonds but it will not be O what resolutions and vows you shall have many a sinner make specially after a passion in their spirits when their eyes are a little open O they will never return to their folly any more and it is the next thing they do O the bands of our own making are too slender to pull a poor creature out of the mire and clay they all break even as a thread of Tow when it cometh to the fire and there the poor soul sticks no nor is it the prayers nor tears of our own that can do it for you shall see and haply some of us know it by experience though it be wonderful to see a man pray and sin and weep and sin mourn and sin go on in the same course of sinning a long time some of our souls I believe know this we pray and are not willing to be delivered as Aug. did and so mourn upon the sight of the grievousness of a
ever is required I will give if I must take flesh an infinite condescention I will do it as if a Prince should say if I must be cloathed with rags yea with clods yea with worms I will rather then I will go without such a poor worm to be my spouse If I must part with my dearest blood and extend it to the last drop I will Ask me any Dowry yea if I must give my self for them who am God and equal with thee as well as afterward man I will do it my kingdom for them my glory for them my blood for them O brethren the Lord Jesus is worth a hundred thousand worlds well he will buy us he hath done it at a dear rate Indeed David bought Michal at a dear rate by the death of the Philistims and afterward two hundred foreskins of the Philistins it pleased him well what is this brethren If David must have parted with his life for her have been so much debased as to have lived a poor despised contemptible life for her a hâ—wer of wood or drawer of water or ground at a Mill or to have been as Job continually a man of sorrows and upon the dunghil this had been somewhat but nothing to this of Jesus Christ Satan was there spouse bought at so low a rate as the Church of Christ was I have read of some that must not marry a woman until they had killed an enemy and other until they had killed or overcome their Corrivals and happily this might be hard But the Lord Jesus he must grapple with his Corrival the Law the former Husband as the Apostle cals it as it is the strength of sin and slay that and take away the Curse break the commanding power the streaming power of the Law before he could take us to be his And so he must grapple with principalities and powers and spoyl them and lead captivity captive scatter him in his temptations break him in his policies undermine him in his depths and methods over-power him in his malice he must destroy all these enemies Yea more then all this the wrath of his father that was against us and against which there was no standing he must interpose and screen us from it and O! How it scorched him though he quenched it As the Passeover was roasted in the fire so the Lord Jesus our Passeover was even roasted alive in the displeasure of his Father 3. Then he cometh a wooing for when all this is done brethren we are unwilling it may be to have him are well contented to continue with our former Husband to be yet under the Law and the commanding power of sin and see no such beauty in him as to desire him nor any such freedom and comfort in being one with him as to desire that Yea if we be convinced a little of this yet happily our wills or hearts are not towards him and therefore he is fain to wâ—o us when all is done himself came in the days of his flesh and what was his work before his suffering but to wooe poor creatures to accept of him How did he wooe the woman of Samaria If thou hadst known saith he the Gift of God thou wouldst have asked him insinuating there was more in him then she yet saw as appeared when he told her her sins what they had been How often would I have gathered thee Jerusalem Jerusalem saith he O I have been ready to spread my Skirts over you but you would not Sometimes intreating sometimes lamenting their condition sometimes displeased at the hardness of their hearts It is much for a King to come a wooing himself a great King They use to send as David to Abigail Abraham to Rebecca but here he cometh himself a long journey from Heaven to Earth and contented to take on him the form of a servant that we might not be dazled with his glory and no pains doth he refuse How did he go up and down on foot until he was weary Blessed Saviour he was weary at the well there by Samaria and all was that he might everywhere wooe and intreat poor creatures to accept of him And 2 not onely by himself but by his Messengers now he is in his glory now he sends by his Messengers to this end You see Abraham his servant went to take a wife for Isaac and David his servants went to Abigail So brethren do the Messengers of Jesus Christ his paranymphs or pronubi They speak now a good word for Jesus Christ so the Apostle I have espoused you saith he to one Husband Such are friends of the Bridegoom as John was that did what he could to bring the people to Jesus Christ even the people of the Jews and would fain have had all the people to close with him But 4. In this espousal to Jesus Christ we are to consider several things what is done 1. By the spirit he is indeed the great wooer He is sent forth to convince of righteousness and of sin the burthen of the work lyes upon the Spirit and happy it is for us that it doth so for how fruitless would our endeavours be to you else brethren we might spend our selves and be spent and when all is done complain We have spent our strength in vain for Israel is not gathered How sad for you How uncomfortable for us No no the great perswader is the Spirit he cometh and he openeth the eyes and then the poor soul seeth O he is aere alieno obrutuâ— so deep indebted to the Justice of God that whatever he can do or suffer to pay it eternity is little enough to pay it in O now for a Husband now how happy a creature should I be if some that were able to bear the debt would discharge it would take it up for her He then insinuates somewhat further and convinceth of Righteousness that there is enough in Christ if we owed a thousand Talents more O then that I had it saith the poor soul O he is willing he is willing saith the Spirit therefore he is Preached to every creature Thus if this Arm of the Lord were not revealed our report of Christ would never be believed But what then do the Ministers do Yea their word the word of Faith which they preach it is the vehiculum Spiritus It is that wherein the Spirit breatheth It is the spirit brethren ordinarily in the Law which convinceth of sin or the Gospel preached legally as the great aggravation of mens sins and it is the spirit in the Gospel preached Evangelically as that which holds forth a ransom a propitiation for sinners whereby the Spirit convinceth of righteousness Where as in a glass the Spirit of Christ doth hold out The beauty excellency love and loveliness of the Lord Jesus which is most transcendent and ravishing to the soul that seeth it but a little more particularly then 1. The Spirit by their word ordinarily not excluding other
tenderly and freely ministred to a yoke-fellow as afterward by the opening of the parable it appears well now thus doth the Lord Jesus dwell with us as many as believe he cherisheth us and nourisheth us 1. He lay's his people in his bosom The Church is said to lay him between her breasts which only is an expression of her love to him not for that he needed any cherishing from thence as David did from Abishai when he was old he must have a young virgin to keep warmth in him This is the case here if we had not such cherishing from Jesus Christ alas brethren we should quickly be benummed and frozen and stiff and unfit for any service he calls us to where should the spouse in her fainting swouning fits lye but in her Husbands bosome this the Prophet setteth forth in another simile of a shepheard the Lambs that are feeble and are not able to go or drive the pace of others he puts them in his bosom saith the Text thence they may gather heat and so the Chicken from the wings of the Hen there is warmth and cherishing so the son of righteousness when they are spread over a soul there is healing and strength in them 2. But then they eat of his bread and drank of his cup when he was upon Earth you know he did eat and drink with his Disciples he desired to eat that Passover with them O blessed are they that eat bread with him at his Table in his Kingdom he speaks of drinking wine new with them that which is a refreshing to them is a refreshing to him as I may say what is the satisfaction of a soul brethren but when he eats the flesh of Christ and drinketh his blood when he feeds upon those real dainties and what is the satisfaction of Christ but to see this He shall see his Seed and be satisfied to see his mercy and his bowels the precious fruits of his death and resurrection made over to a soul to see them living by Faith upon them and eating and drinking abundantly to their souls satisfaction this is the satisfaction of the soul of the Lord Jesus also well he nourisheth them it is the Saints priviledge a man will not feed strangers continually at his Table nor enemies but when once this relation is made up this is the result O what filling is to the hungry and thirsty soul they shall be satisfied Fifthly which should have been before this he will purify his Church his spouse the more Communion he hath with her the more pure she is what is humbling in other Marriages is advancement in this blessed Marriage It is said that the virgins which were to come to King Ahashur were to purify themselves before they came to him much ado there was to purify them with oyl of Myrrh which they say was to make the skin smooth to clear the beauty to free them from Wrinckles and to keep it from decaying The sweet Odours were to make them delightful in their savour to make them lovely to the eye of a man so curious they were but the case is otherwise here Alas he is fain to put his comeliness upon us else we should not have beauty at all that he should desire us as you have it in Ezek. 16. And therefore the Apostle to the Ephesians he gave himself for his Church that he might purify it Though we were nasty sluttish lothsom creatures before the Lord Jesus will not have us continue so but wash us in that fountain opened for sin and uncleanness that Jordan with us to wash away our Leprosy And therefore he himself came by water as well as by blood Alas what should the Lord Jesus do with us bretbren if we should retain our swinish disposition to wallow in the myre and then think to come and lye down in his bosom No he cannot away with this he must wash away this disposition and hath done it for all that are his that now they shall no more delight in sin but if they miscarry now it shall be their grief as well as it is his he purifieth his people A sad word to such as yet mallow in their uncleanness a sign they have nothing to do with Christ An encouragement to poor Creatures who labour under the lothsomeness of their corruptions he gave himself that he might purifie to himself a Church he can do it he will do it his blood doth lye in pawn he will not lose the price of his blood nor shall his people lose such mercies as this which cost the heart-blood whatever they go without they shall not go without this Sixthly He will make them fruitful Marriage-communion is a fruitful communion This is the general complaint of the people of God of their barren hearts and empty lives but he will make them fruitful he will not have a barren spouse whether we speak collectively or distributively of the Church of Christ Collectively Jerusalem which is above is the mother of us all a way that is barren and God doth not own with bringing in souls to Jesus Christ hath cause to fear whethether in such a constitution they be the Church of Christ yea or no It is true the Gentiles before they were marryed had no children and the Jews that were the marryed wife when God was casting her off grew very barren but now more are children of the unmarryed then of the marryed woman saith the Lord. But it is clearer to us to speak distributively he will make us fruitful When a man is marryed to the Law which is the strength of sin as the Apostle calls it O how fruitful is he in works of darkness and shall not Jesus Christ be as vigorous and fruitful a husband as the Law can be and sin can be Let Sarahs womb be as dead as it may yet he can make her fruitful Let a mans heart be as dead to good works as you can imagine he can renew strength again as he did Abrahams and Sarahs If he speak the word a green tree is withered if he speak the word a barren tree is fruitful the Apostle his expression we are dead to the Law saith he and so free from our former husband that we might be marryed to another even to Jesus Christ that you might bring forth fruit unto God see what riches of fruitfulness or seeds of it are in the womb of that one Text God is able to make all grace abound towards you that ye alway having all-sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work minde you here is good works and abounding in them that is more yea in every good work good works of all kinds and abounding in them all And whence cometh this he is able to make grace abound towards you though if you had but a Cistern you might be drawn dry or the stream yet there is a fountain which continually overfloweth he is able to make grace abound
Pass-over but they made nothing of the greatest moral pollution that could be of falsly accusing the most innocent person and prosecuting him to the death this they made nothing of and so they scrupled not to give thirtie pieces of Silver as a price for Jesus Christ that they might bring him to death but when they had done they would not cast it into the Treasury The Papists they make much ado it is a grievous offence to violate one of their fasting daies enjoyned by the Pope but to murther Christian Princes under the notion of Hereticks they make nothing of that this is the condition of many a poor creature Mint Annice and Cummin they must tythe these externals and ceremonials a Gnat they strain at but a Camel they can swallow 3. Another thing in their obedience is this an hypocrite he can be contented to take up the easie part of Christianity ordinarily but not the difficult that which is more inward and laborious they can come to heaâ— the word to confer with the people of God to receive c. But the inward part the great duty of self-examination alas they are strangers to it that high duty of spiritual contemplation that of keeping their hearts with all diligence because out of it are the issues of life this they are strangers to they cannot down with these things to forgive injuries from their brethren this is a hard duty to love their enemies yea to love them that think meanly of them despise them as well as those that think more highly of them this is no easie duty here the hypocrite will give others leave to take up this part ordinarily truly Brethren Search and see is it not so with some of us 4. Another consideration is this An hypocrite maketh not Jesus Christ his last end he doth all for self-ends Who do seem to be more Religious then the great Questionists of the times usually yet the Apostle tels us if they consent not to the wholsom words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Doctrine which is according to godliness he is proud knowing nothing doting about Questions and strife of words whereof cometh envy strife railings evil su 〈…〉 isin 〈…〉 and perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth supposing that gain is godliness there is the root of all this Brethren of all this zeal and contention supposing that gain is godliness was not this the argument whereby the Devil would have proved Job an hypocrite if thou touch all he hath he will curse thee doth he serve thee for nought he hath self-ends in it O surely brethren if our hearts condemn us and tell us We work for our penny in the Vineyard of the Lord we serve for our penny it is not right it may be we may pretend the glory of God and may seem to take a right aim for God and for Christ but like a deceitful bow we turn aside and have somewhat else in our eye that setteth the wheels awork when the glory of Christ will not O this is gross hypocrisie So those in Mat. 7. they prophesied in the name of Christ but not for his name but for themselves and though a child of God may be pestered with such thoughts creeping in upon him yet he suffers them not to lodge with him but whippeth them and giveth them their pass he mourns under them prayeth for pardon of them and healing and subduing of them 5. Another thing is touching the conflict which the soul may have with sin How may we know whether that be right or no An hypocrite may have some regret doubtless in sinning until he hath hardened his conscience so by custom that he is past feeling Do but mind these two things 1. Where the quarrel lies where the battle is fought Is it between the understanding the judgement or the conscience convinced and the will or is it between the will and the will the affections and the affections the former may be in an hypocrite the other is not Peter had this conflict between his will and will he should be carried whether he would not that is to say to be martyred Why then if he were altogether unwilling how could he be a Martyr No he was willing and yet unwilling there is a lusting of the Spirit and a lusting of the flesh it is not for nothing that the Holy-Ghost expresseth it in those terms he doth not say the spirit judgeth one thing and the flesh lusteth after another but there is lusting on both sides the flesh against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and those two are contraries and they are in the will and affections and therefore as contraries they must needs fight until one be subdued the Apostle saith with his mind he served the Law of God and with his flesh the Law of sin but mind there is not meant the understanding as distinct from the will as sometimes it is understood but it is understood of the regenerate part set in opposition to the corrupt part in the soul and the one fighting against the other so that the things we would do we cannot do many times Consider then Is it thus with thee carnal affection carryeth thee out this way but thou hast not only a judgement to the contrary but thy affections and will carryeth thee to the contrary and thou art not alway overcome but ordinarily prevailest O this is a sign of an upright heart 2. Consider in this conflict also another thing Whether you â—e not treacherous alway holding on the side of sin So an hypocrite will be he hath some regret against sin its true but yet he favours it and would willingly excuse for it palliate and plead for it and O how glad such a man is when he hath but any Scripture that will seem to make for it that he may have but liberty for his lust as a covetous man O how he is more then ordinarily pleased with those Scriptures which seem to make for it and such a man holds in with sin and will not come to the light but hates it is willingly ignorant of some things libenter ignorantur ut liberius peccent Is it thus with us brethren believe it if it be we have cause to fear all is not right with us we are unsound at the heart and though we may go far yet the end will be rottenness Again lastly See to it whether we love anything else more then Christ If House or Land or Father or Mother or nearest relations or life it self more then Christ we are hyporcites sure and this is a thing will not be so easily known specially by such as with â—eter denyed him being ashamed of him it may be upon a slight account O happy is he that can afterwards say as Peter Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest I love thee though I dealt so unkindly and unfaithfully with
born witness to it in our dayes wherein there hath been so much leading into captivity and so much complaining in our Land So Satan he hath overcome us in our first Parents we were overcome and ever since he holds fast his hold he had of us and though he let Sinners enjoy a little chain sometimes so that they are ready to think they are at liberty yet alas he takes them alive at his pleasure you see a beast of prey sometimes so sportful as to play with the prey and let it go a little it runs and thinketh it is free but alas all this while it is under the command of the beast of prey as Pharoah would let Israel go so they would not go far he fetcheth them in when he pleaseth Secondly There is also a Bondage by Sale as you know Joseph was sold into Egypt for a servant and nothing more ordinary then selling and buying of servants he is bought with thy money saith God to Abraham Gen. 17. 12. 13. distinguishing of servants he must needs be circumcised whereby it appears they had a more absolute power over them then they had over other Servants bought of any stranger which is not of thy seed thy bond-men and thy bond-maids shall be of the Heathen not of thy brethren Of them shall ye buy bond-men and bond-maids Levit. 25. 44. These were to be even as a Possession to them ver 25. and their power was so absolute over them that though they smote them with the hand or a rod so that they died if they continued a day or two before they must not be punished for it for they were their money which was somewhat an hard bondage to them truly brethren thus it is We are sold under sin as the Apostle saith speaking of himself who was not altogether freed from this bondage he was sold under sin being carnal that is to say in part as in that first of the Corinâ—hians They are called carnal that were as Babes in Christ so far as sin prevailed so far the bondage did appear he was sold in the first transgression Now there is another selling whereby a man doth sell himself to commit wickedness as you know Ahab did Paul did not now sell himself but was under the former sale and in such a bondage he could by no means altogether free himself from he could not shake off his chains and weights that did hang upon him by reason of this bondage but now Sinners they sell themselves Such as Ahab Hast thou found me O mine enemy saith he to Elijah I have found thee because thou hast sold thy self to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord and so the Israelites are said to sell themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord making their Sons and Daughters pass through fire c. Now by this Sale the Sinner passeth himself over into the power of him that buyeth him yet more and more fully Quod venditur transit in potestate ementis The Devil knew the meanest of his the price he pays a little pleasure of sin a little profit he cares not how often there be a bargain between him and the soul of a Sinner a man that for a little pelf will venture and hazard his soul he shall have it or else it shall cost the Devil a fall I speak not of Witches selling themselves to Satan for the accomplishment of some lust to satisfie some discontent but of every lew and wicked Sinner he little knoweth what he doth that goeth on in a course of Sin every new transgression and satisfaction to the flesh is a new price as I may say laid down in your hands for your souls to become slaves to the Devil O how many times hath he bought many of us and have we sold our selves to do evil in the sight of the Lord the ambitious man for the satisfaction of his lust sels himself to commit wickedness as the covetous you see in Ahab to have his desire would not stick to murther to suborn witnesses to swear falsly the ambitious person would not care to swim through a Sea of blood to the Throne they are slaves to the worst of Tyrants a lust it would make a man tremble to read the fearful things that are done upon this account specially by the Ottomans the great Turk who rivits himself in the Imperial Throne with the bones of his murthered brethren as one expresseth it O how dear a rate do men give who sell their precious souls for a spurt of pleasure for the pleasures of sin for a season they are not alway in season neither or a little profit of sin a little unjust gain they pay not twenty nor an hundred years purchase but if the Lord do not intervene with the purchase of the blood of Jesus Christ they pay eternity for it and when they have so sold their souls to commit wickedness what can they give or what would they give in exchange for their souls again a world full of honours and pleasures and profits then alas would be nothing to part with if they might but have them redeemed when it is too late this is another way whereby sinners come into bondage Thirdly By brith also there is a bondage as you know the children of them who were taken captives were captives they were sold themselves that were sold and with them their children therefore such servants as the Israelites bought with money how many so ever they did beget in their families they were all servants and bond-men so Abraham had so many servants trained born in his own house 318. I had servants born in mine house saith Solomon The Israelites indeed if they did sell themselves through poverty or became servants they did continue until the year of jubilee but must not be ruled over with rigor as they might rule over strangers nor must be kept as bond-men for ever but the strangers they might buy of them and leave them as a possession for ever to their children that is to say both them and their children they might buy and so sell them again and leave them to their children and therefore all born in such a condition were bond-servants so we find in that place when our Saviour told them they should be free indeed if the Son made them free why said they We are Abrahams seed and never were in bondage by birth we are free not as the seed of the Canaanites who were bond-men and they never were in bondage to any they were not sold as servants poor blind creatures could see no further then a civil bondage or liberty Now truly Brethren thus we are all of us bond-men and women by birth being all strangers from the Common-wealth of Israel and Covenant of promises as the Apostle speaks they are the children of the promise only that are free We are all the children of wrath by nature not a mothers child
of us free-born if any by nature should have been free-born surely the seed of Abrahâ—m according to the flesh but our Saviour tells them their liberty was but imaginary if the Son did make them free they should be free indeed this is the third Fourthly by tenure and usurpation there is a bondage also as we see it in the case of Israel in Egypt they were bond-men in Egypt and they made them serve a hard bondage it is called the house of bondage they made them serve with rigour so saith the text in all manner of service the design of the King being to weary them out by degrees and yet to advantage himself by their service while they were wearying out this was their wise dealing with them lest they should be too hard for them and truly of this nature is the bondage wherein the people of God themselves are in part though the Devil have no title to them the price being paid for them to the justice of the Father yet he as a tyrannical â—aylor loath to let them go and therefore he loads them with chains laies heavy temptations upon them and sin rageth to lose its servant and therefore tyrannizeth and the Law in the members carryeth captive to the Law of sin and this is one great grief to the poor child of God that though sin do not raign in their mortal bodies yet it tyrannizeth over them and with a strong hand many times holds them down so as that they are not able to stir hand nor foot but more of this afterwards Now for the parts of this bondage with which the parts of that liberty or freedom we are to speak of will run parallel We shall devide this bondage into these two general parts it is either to sin or else to the black concomitants which are very many we shall particularize some of them and thereby our liberty will the more plainly appear First then for sin it is clear we are in bondage to sin either totally or in part all of us by nature altogether in bondage for we are sold under sin and though it be true that sin is only a privation of good and disposition to evil and so properly cannot be said to rule over us yet by a prosopopeia we are said to be in bondage to it therefore we are said to be sold under sin sold under it and therefore in Scripture it is that sin is called an old man corrupt according to deceitful lusts and this old man it is that hath the poor sinner under his power and ruleth him with subtilty O they are deceitful lusts â—he counsels of sin the fetches and tricks and devices depths and methods of a sinful heart who knoweth Brethren he carryeth it so slily that many think themselves at liberty as free-men as any the world hath yea so free as to promise to others liberty and yet themselves in the mean time are the servants of sin and not only so but theâ—â— are Laws of sin which carry a strength with them and the poor creature under them must obey them and these Laws are nothing else but the wills of the flesh as the Apostle calls them an arbitray government here beginneth and takes it rise Hoc volo sic jubeo c. saith the imperious person If a sinner begin to question what reason there is in such an act he is prompted to sin bloweth out the candle hoc volo c. let my will be a reason I will have it so So many lusts so many wills and is it not a bondage to be under these Ye were saith the Apostle the servants of sin but now ye have obeyed from the heart the form of Doctrine delivered unto you and so in several other places whosoever committeth sin saith our Saviour is the servant of sin You talk of being Abrahams seed and never being in bondage this is nothing to my purpose I speak of a bondage to sin and he that commits it is the servant of it he that works it industriously is a drudge to his lusts as alas how many of us are and he that curiously works it is an Artist O with what art can some mon lye and cheat and cozen and play the hypocrites these are the servants of sin O when one fulfills the lusts of the flesh and of the mind maketh provision for the flesh to satisfie the lusts thereof This man is a servant of sin the lusts of the flesh the lust of the eye the pride of life the love of profits the love of pleasures and the love of pride when men give themselves up to satisfie these study their lusts how to fulfill them this is a bondage under sin with a witness Now blessed be the Lord the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath delivered us as many as believe from this bondage so the Apostle breaks out pathetically Thanks be to God that ye were the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart the form of Doctrine delivered unto you now saith he being made free from sin ye became the servants of righteousness and this is set forth by our death to sin ye are dead saith the Apostle to the Col. and your life is hid with Christ in God now death puts an end to all bondage 〈◊〉 as Job speaking of it the small and great are there in the grave and the servant is free from his Master A woman saith the Apostle speaking of sin of the Law with respect to sin as afterward we shall speak somewhat she is bound to her husband as long as he liveth but if he be dead then she is free So it is in this case death breaks all the iron yoaks and brazen gates therefore saith the Apostle he that is dead is freed from sin not as the vulgar and some read is justified as if our justification and sanctification were confounded for here the Apostle is speaking of our Sanctification or the death of sin crucifying the old man of being buried with Christ in body and so dead to sin now saith he he that is dead is free from sin the Con. is comprehended in the Antecedent he is freed actually from sin Sin shall not have dominion over you saith the Apostle no iniquity shall have dominion over you Thus believers are freed from sin whereas before we were under a cruel bondage you that have experience of this liberty what it is to be freed from your former lusts which you served foolish and hurtful lusts the Lord teach you to prize it But secondly now for the Con. of this bondage to sin there are many and very dreadful which every poor sinner is under which are also as parts of this bondage First then hence it is that we are in bondage unto Satan that we are under his power that we are in bondage by nature to him as the Jaylor it is clear the Spirit that now
people Fifthly There is another part of bondage under a slavish obedience that is to say such an obedience to the Law of God as nothing but a slavish fear is the principle of it and truly this puts on men to do many things they know it is written Cursed is he that continueth not in every thing that is written in the book of the Law to do it Now this sticks with the poor soul God requireth me to love him with all my heart with all my soul with all my strength and if I do not I am cursed therefore now he buckles a little to it as far as such terrors will carry him but alas he is not able to do it like a slave that doth his task while his Master stands over him with a rod or because he is sure to be beaten if he do it not not out of any love to the Master nor to his service at all what a grievous bondage is this Let but any Apprentice that hath a hard Master whom he serveth meerly out of fear as the Egyptians did their task because if they did them not they must be beaten and this maketh the yoke very heavy and uneasie also it pincheth exceedingly Now when the Lord Jesus cometh to a soul he breaks this yoke the Law genders to bondage the curse of it hath the very seeds of bondage in it Now I say when the Lord Jesus cometh ariseth upon a soul letteth him see that he hath undertaken for him not only the curse of the Law being made a curse but hath set his love upon him hath paid all the debt will take him to be his son no more as a servant O now when the soul beginneth to be sensible his condition is changed that he is a Son and now hath not a cruel hard Master to serve but a Father that will pity and spare where he falleth short of his duty let him do his best this doth much facilitate the work maketh the yoke easie and the burden light his Commandments are no more so grievous to the soul as they were before Now the Law of Christ is a perfect Law of Liberty to him before it was a Law gendring bondage for alas before it was only preached to the ear and that under the penalty of such a curse now it is written in the heart now there is an eccho in the soul resounding Thy will Lord will I do when he speaks any thing as the Law of love was upon the heart of Christ in the work of our Redemption now his Law is in our hearts and therefore we delight to do his will in some measure I delight in the Law of God after the inward man as the Apostle saith as a Servant it may be for a while under his Master hardly used yet afterward he changeth his manner of dealing with him offers him great immunities it may be to be of a Servant Son in Law to the King O now the Servant will be bored he will now become a willing servant and not be dragged to obedience by terrors and fears any more but willingly yieldeth up his members weapons of righteousness to holiness now the service is hearty and free his people shall be a willing people in the day of his power O saith the Apostle Ye were the servants of sin but now thanks be to God ye have from the heart obeyed the form of doctrine delivered to you from the heart that is to say out of love it cannot else well be from the heart for whom we dread with a slavish fear we hate and while the soul looks upon God as such a Judge as a cruel Master and his Law a cruel bloody Law nothing but blood and ruine to them that come not up unto it there is a hatred of God it is impossible to love him or his service and then the service such a man doth it is not from the heart a man may serve sin and yet do some service to God out of a slavish fear as most unbelievers do therefore they pray and therefore they read and therefore they do many things and yet serve sin but they never obey from the heart until this work be done the Law of love be written in their souls now you shall go forth you shall obey no more out of fear but out of love this is a Fifth Sixthly From the terrors and fears before a mans conversion which usually seize upon the creature in order to it for truly before the Lord hath to do with our hearts we are so dead asleep with the opium of sin that there must be somewhat to rouse us to awaken us usually there is a spirit of bondage which works fear and dread and terror in the soul that is to say when the Spirit of Christ breathing in the Commandment maketh sin appear to be sin exceeding sinfull and opens some of the terrors which sin doth breed in it witnesseth to the poor creature that he is in a state of condemnation that there is no way but one with him O now the soul beginneth to be amazed and startled and knoweth not what to do this runs him to the heart he had many afflictions and troubles in the flesh before never any came so near as this and no marvel because the Spirit of Jesus Christ hath wounded him at the very heart Brethren the Law of God is as I may say an Habeas Corpus or rather Animam apprehends or claps up a soul as I may say puts him in prison and therefore the Apostle useth that expression mind you the Scripture hath concluded all under sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath shut us up together all concluded under one prison in one dungeon that the promise which is of Faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe but before Faith came we were kept under the Law I pray you minde it we were kept as in a Garrison as the Learned interpret it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being shut up together unto the Faith which should afterward be revealed it is just as it is with a Prince he proclaimeth Pardon to all his Rebellious Subjects but withall he sendeth out his Messengers his Pursuivants to apprehend throw in prison keep under Bolts and Shakles as many of them as he can apprehend this is not contrary to his mercy nor proclamation of Pardon but in order to it subordinate to it that so his Pardon offered might be accepted they might sue for it So it is here the Law doth thus shut up a soul as I may say as when there is an High-way open for a man to walk in but he will go another way there it is hedged up at last he is so hedged in he cannot tell which way in the world to get out again O then if he could but finde the open way he would go in it So it is in this case the Lord maketh
with us at all but then when we do actually thus pollute our selves he takes occasion to depart to leave us to those evils and to fill us with our own back-slidings Thirdly Take heed of sinning against conviction against light this is dangerous indeed you may come to be shut up in darkness for this to be bound in affliction and iron to endure sad things upon your spirits for if the Spirit of Christ who convinceth you this or that is a sin be so far slighted as you heed it not what if he then forbear and is it not righteous he should forbear to shine upon your graces that you should see any thing that is ought in you So that you shall walk in darkness and see no light will not this be a paying of you home in your own coyn David could not be ignorant what his sin was before he committed it and yet you see he ventured upon it and what it cost him Fourthly Take heed of deliberate sinning when a man hath time of consideration of his sin to argue the case pro and con as we use to say and doth revolve with himself O this is sinful if I do it I rebell against God I do what in me lies to undo my self O but saith lust man it shall be satisfied God is merciful there is time enough to repent or it will easily be healed afterward Now upon such deliberations as this if a man will sin there is much of the will in it and so much the more wicked and therefore now the spirit must needs be grieved what can such a poor creature expect but to be brought under bondage as you see it in David his plotting and contriving the death of Vriah these sins in cold blood when a man is not under the sudden violent heat of a temptation and yet will sin O this grieves him much if a pot be on the fire and the scum rise we throw it out we expect it would rise but if no fire be under and yet a scum arise O this is so loathsom it is not to be endured Fifthly Take heed of Ranker and Malice of grudgings of heart one against another as the Apostle saith grudge not one against another prejudices heart-burnings grudgings upon injuries real or conceived and imagined O this grieveth the Spirit who is a Spirit of pure love and will have them that look to enjoy him to be a people of love to cover much bear and forbear and forgive in love for love will cover a multitude of offences Sixthly Take heed then of pride of being lifted up for the Spirit of Christ is a Spirit of humility O he loveth to dwell in the lowly spirit if we be lifted up we rob him of his honour to arrogate that to our selves which he hath been working for us to think we are something of our own of our selves he will let us know to our sorrow that we have nothing in our hearts but darkness and bondage and sin and that all was from him Seventhly Take heed of unthankfulness for what he hath done for us when the Spirit of the Lord Jesus shall be at all this pains with us contest with the quarrellings and disputings of our own hearts against our own peace and comfort and answer all our objections and still our complaints and seal up love upon our hearts remove our trembling and fears dispell our darkness cleanse our loathsom hearts in a great measure of those lusts that did so much prevail against us and we shall forget this now and not return to him the praise but either to grow into carnal security and when we have rest from that which galled us with the nine leapers go our waies never mind whence we received it or else so much pore upon the remainder of our sins as not to exalt that grace whereby we are in so great a part delivered O this grieveth him and therefore he may justly let us step back again or let loose upon us again those lusts that we were delivered from their strength and never prized the mercy that we learn to admire that grace much more might be added but this shall suffice The next use of the point shall be for satisfaction to some doubts since we are delivered and set free from the Law as you have heard from that It may be thought First that the Law was an evil that it is such a priviledge of the Saints to be delivered from it Secondly It may be doubted how far we are set free from it and therefore I will speak a little to each of them for the first First the Apostle meeteth with it or rather prevents it for seeing that carnal reason would be so ingenuous as to find out that cavil among others against the Doctrine of faith and of freedom from the bondage under the Law as the strength of sin specially What shall I say then saith the Apostle is the Law sin that we are said to be delivered from it and that sin hath its strength from it and so deliverance from sin is a deliverance from the Law as the strength of it Or is the Law death since sin by this means doth work death No saith the Apostle the Law is holy just and good the Law giveth no occasion to sin but sin takes occasion sin will not endure to be contradicted it sucks poyson out of that holy and good Law of God meeting with opposition it swells and rageth so that indeed it is sin that is the evil the Law is holy and good O but the Law it works wrath and works death and can this then be good and how can it be such a mercy to be delivered from it is it a favour to be put into golden fetters supposing the Law to be good and holy yet since it is as we may say ginns and fetters and bolts though of gold to hold the poor soul in to keep him in and up as in a prison is this so good then To this I answer It is true by the Law is the knowlege of sin I had not known lust except the Law had said thou shalt not covet whether in the last command or in each command now I will not dispute but the first motions thoughts risings and bubblings of corruption I had not known them to be sin but that the Law hath said thou shalt not covet Why but was that then that was good made death to me saith the Apostle You must know the Apostle speaks here of a death which is the receiving as I may say the sentence of condemnation in his own spirit by conviction for this is all his knowledge of sin that sin by the commandment might appear to be exceeding sinful this is the dying there mentioned sin revived and I dyed which is in order to liberty to make the poor creature see his necessity of Jesus Christ that so he might make out after him to make a pardon welcome therefore he casts poor sinners
in the Gospel inculcate this upon the Disciples fear not him that can kill the body but fear him that killeth soul and body And so if ye live after the flesh ye shall dye but if by the Spirit ye mortifie the deeds of the flesh ye shall live these threatnings surely would not have been written to Believers except they were to make some use of them to be as an awe upon their spirits to keep them from sinning to be a quickning to their souls Now on the other hand it is true that there ought not to be in us such a fear as to distract us to drive us from to weaken our Spirits to disable us from duty to cloud and drown all our delight in his waies to blot out our apprehensions of his loveliness and compassion and bowels so as to beget hard thoughts in our hearts of God which will produce hatred of him such a fear ought not to be in us and though there may be a spice of it sometimes even in the best when they are not themselves yet this is not the prevailing principle in the soul but an holy fear of offending him which ariseth from a mixture of love towards him and holy reverence and awe of him and of his Majesty and Greatness and truly Brethren this is no enemy to spiritual liberty But I must not dwell so long upon things But secondly the main thing that I know most troubles a gracious heart is that he finds himself so much under the power of sin O I find not this freedom this liberty you speak of I am a wretch then under the power of my corruptions O the sad complaints to Christians to men continually from some poor disconsolate souls and to speak a little for their consolation if the Lord breath in it First Brethren you must know this that as sin hath had a time of settling and rooting there will be a time of unsettling it thou art of yesterday it may be and dost thou think to be so free the first day as they that have many years been wresting and fighting and praying and fasting and mourning and believing down their lusts This is a great mistake it is infinite mercy that thou hast thy hands let loose and thy feet out of the mire and clay and that thou art set upon a Rock that thou hast now a standing and liberty to fight thou must not expect a liberty from fighting and conflicting with sin while thou art in the flesh mind you the Apostles two or three verses of the same Epistle to the Romans he saith the Law of the Spirit of life the powerful working of the Spirit of life hath set him free from the Law of sin and death and yet a few verses before O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sin and death thou groanest under the burthen whereby it appears thou art delivered in a great part thou art willing to be freed and when the will is disintangled the man is free in a great part Secondly Brethren know this for your comfort that your labour is not in vain striving against sin fighting with it you are sure to overcome though sin lie hard upon you you shall overcome it First the Lord he is able to break all the bonds if he will deliver Peter out of prison what shall hinder his chains shall fall from his hands the Iron-gates shall open of their own accord before him nothing shall be able to hold them It was somewhat hard for Israel to believe that they should be delivered out of Egypt and somewhat a strange Message of Moses at the first even as one should be sent to the great Turk to tell him the God of the Christians commands him to let them go but God tells him and them that he is that he is I am hath sent me the great God who is being it self and from himself he is what he is he is able to destroy the Egyptians dost thou believe this that he can subdue thine iniquities thy strong impetuous violent lusts Secondly then he will do it he heard Israel groaning under bondage and came down to deliver them he remembered his Covenant it was his faithfulness Brethren that brought him out the self-same day the Lord delivered them and the Lord will keep time to a day with thee that groanest under this bondage if thou werâ— but humbled if it had done its work upon thee for that and such like ends he would not suffer sin to prevail upon thee any longer for he letteth not lusts loose upon a soul to woorry it but to humble it make it out of love with sin to drive it to himself to make it for ever cleave closer to him now there is promise upon promise for this you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free he speaks this to his Disciples who did already know it in part know himself the truth the way and the life and the truth in opposition to shadows grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and it shall make you free how many promises are there as in the text therefore surely he will do it Now what an encouragement it is to fight when we are sure to overcome yea to endure hardship in this conflict But thirdly consider it is the very office of Jesus Christ the work which he received of his Father is to destroy the works of the Devil to destroy strong holds to lead captivity captive therefore he came into the world if it had not been for such poor creatures as are under bondage there had been no need of Christ he came to give himself a ransom for many and to preach deliverance to them and the opening of the prison to them that are bound you have heard already and therefore he was annointed of his Father and received the Spirit that he might set open the prison doors Now poor burthened souls if any such whose body ofsin and death presseth them down sore and they walk heavily goâ— to him spread your condition before him put him in mind wherefore he came into the world to set open the prison to loose the prisoners and thou hast an infirmity and haply been bound with it many years beseech him to exercise his Office towards thy poor soul the Lord loveth to hear his people earnest and importunate to plead it thus with him but if thou canst not yet be sure he will do the work which his Father hath given him to do and what is that but to set at liberty such prisoners as thou art that groan under the burthen and bondage of their lusts Fourthly Consider how pittiful a heart he bears to his people labouring under corruption when we are weak it may be sometimes the spirits of a poor creature are spent in labour in other services and he thinketh he should be as lively then as at another time but it is not likly so to be
Chapter then to love and walking in love not in heart only but it must be expressed actually as Jesus Christ expressed his love to us in giving up himself for us then he dehorts them from several vices as fornication uncleanness covetousness filthiness foolish speaking and jesting which are not convenient yea these are things will exclude from the Kingdom of heaven Let no man deceive you with vain words as if there were no such danger in such a loose walking those are vain words believe it saith the Apostle For these things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience therefore it is no light matter I deal with you about therefore the Apostle concludeth be not therefore partakers with them partake not of the sins of the children of disobedience lest you taste of the wrath which cometh upon their heads for these their iniquities The Apostle goeth on to back this his Admonition that they be not drawn away with the error of the wicked with many arguments As because now their condition was changed they were men of other principles no marvel if heretofore while they were darkness they walked as children of darkness and did work and had fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but now they were children of the light and therefore must walk as they were and they were fruits of the Spirit now they must bring forth they were goodness righteousness and truth besides it is the part of godly men and good children to approve themselves to God and submit to him in all things besides the works of darkness are unfruitful and shameful it is a shame to speak of the things they do in secret they were such in themselves and they will at last be revealed to the confusion of the authors of them to all which he addeth a testimony from Scripture that God doth generally every where call upon men to arise from their sleep and death in sin and he is ready to enlighten them he speaks no more but what the Scripture of old did speak some difficulty is in this Verse but it is beside our purpose Now the words of the Text are as I may say a Repetition and re-inforcing the general Proposition That the Saints ought to have their conversation adorned with every vertue or grace and the fruits of them and to keep themselves pure and innocent and free from the corruption of the world From all the former Arguments he laies down by way of Inference and Conclusion this charge in v. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therefore because so and so as you have heard See to it That you walk circumspectly the Argument inforcing it is in the following words not as fools but as wise It is a part of great wisdom to walk circumspectly And from the general in the 16. verse the Apostle descends to a particular and special piece of this circumspect walking and a notable evidence of this wisdom and that is the redeeming the time and backeth this with a strong argument because the days are evil Without any further stay in the Porch let us now enter the House and view some of the rooms of it there are many things note-worthy in the words the first that I shall take up at this time is this It is a duty Christians are strictly charged with to walk circumspectly Here it will be requisite to enquire what is meant by this Circumspect walking and then Secondly to make it good that it is a duty so strictly charged upon the Saints and Thirdly why it is so and then Fourthly Apply it For the first What it is to walk Cirrumspectly Here we have the Maâ—ter and the Manner of a Christians conversation the Matter that is expressed by a Walking which indeed doth comprehend all the actions of a Christian life in conformity to the Law and Will of Jesus Christ which is the Way nothing more ordinary then to express a Christian course by a walking and sometimes by a running in a race but by a walking here it is expressed and indeed this doth include all a mans actions his spiritual actions towards the Lord they are a part of this walking their praying meditating hearing receiving conferring living by faith all these are his spiritual actions Secondly A mans civil conversation also cometh under this walking for the Rule and Will of Christ hath an influence over that to bound it and limit it There is no calling which is lawfull but a man may therein abide with God if it be never so mean and this is another part of the walking while men are diligently imployed in their particular Callings out of obedience to his holy command they are in their way and walking to heaven as well as when they are in the spiritual part of the walk and so much the more while they have spiritual hearts in this walk ever and anon taking a turn in heaven and having their civil conversation in heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Apostle saith Thirdly even mens natural actions are a part of this way also of the Matter of this walking as eating drinking sleeping c. when they are used with moderation and an end to befit us only for our spiritual and civil conversations when men eat and drink for strength and not for lust for drunkenness and eat in due season as to whet when the Sythe is dull so that even these actions are a part of the walk also and that it is to be taken in this latitude will appear if we consider the particulars the Apostle presseth them too here as parts of that walking Now to walk you know speaks a motion it is opposed to standing or lying or sitting still the whole world lieth in wickedness and moveth not hand nor foot they have their grave-cloaths upon them are bound hand and foot and are melting away in their lusts and therefore they walk not towards heaven there is a sitting in the seat of the scornful when men have taken up their rest in sin and are at the height that they scorn the Travellers Zion-wards with their faces thither indeed there is a contrary walking to this walking in the counsel of the ungodly in the way of sinners a walking with sinners hand in hand having fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but that motion is from other principles even the flesh and this from the Spirit and by other rules the custome of this world to which they are conformed the examples of sinners the commands of their tyranical lusts and for other ends both of the Walk and the Walker in it the Walk the end of those ways is death there is a way which seemeth right to a man but the end thereof are the ways of death and the end of the Walker is to chear his heart and to satisfie his lusts but this walk we speak of is a contrary motion to that of the world 2. There is a terminus à quo from
that have the name of Christians and yet altogether neglect the honest and harmless conversation among men and are altogether taken up with some small duties of Worship and shews of Religion as the Proverb hath it Angels in the Church and Devils in the House Devils in their Callings such were the Idolatrous Iews the Prophets with one voyce do testifie against them for this thy cried The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord are these c. but considered not that they made this Temple of the Lord a Den of Thieves a Sanctuary to defend them a cover and cloak for their wickedness and so the Prophet again This people draw near me with their mouths honour me with their lips but are far from me and the conversation also which answers more to their hearts then to their lips it is the very counterpane of their hearts usually 〈◊〉 this an exact circumspect walking do you think thus to impose upon the holy one of Israel doth not he regard think you what your dealings are between man man and how you carry it in your Families in your Shops as well as in the publike altogether this is very reproof worthy our Saviour thought it so and all the Prophets thought it so and O that he would speak this to every carnal Gospellers heart this day Again secondly There are others that are all for morality and honesty of conversation they give every one their own they are not injurious they are no extortioners with the Pharisee they are no drunkards but for the worship of God they know nothing what it meaneth to worship in Spirit and truth this is not an exact walking with God these things you should do and not leave the other undone else you follow not God fully indeed there is many a Moralist that is rather an Atheist then a Christian but I will not stand upon this Pour out thy c. Again thirdly There are a sort that neither fear God not reverence man and yet will not indure but to be called Christians for the worship of God if they come at it in the publike there are their bodies but their hearts are gone they come to see and be seen to mind faces and fashions and so sin and trifle away the Ordinances of God in their houses nothing but hellishness all their words full of deceit and poyson their accents are oaths it is all the emphasis and grace they think of their speech their lives what are they but rottenness and fraud and pride and over-reaching they have no regard to right or wrong good report or evil report all actions are alike to them being past feeling and under a reprobate sence they cannot judge of good or evil but call evil good and good evil Is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to walk uprightly exactly Ah surely brethren if it be exactness it is of the devils coyning when men teach their tongues to speak falsly as in Shops many do and make nothing of it and teach their hands to work deceit and wickedness this is to walk exactly with the devil to walk as other Gentiles do whose hearts the God of this world doth mightily work to their own destruction the Lord rebuke this power of sin where ever it is Again It may serve to reprove another sort and those are they who are so far from walking circumspectly or exactly that there is nothing more the object of their scorn and contempt then this it is the drunkards song as David was and so preciseness and strictness of walking is ordinary the world cannot bear the burning and shining conversations of some of the Saints they are so cuttingly reproved by them that with those Heathens they curse the Sun that by its shining doth scorch them It is no new thing the seed of the Serpent did alway persecute the seed of the Woman and he that was born after the flesh persecuteth him that was born after the Spirit even so it is now saith the Apostle and so it is now may we say Ismael mocked Isaac and is it not so still or if it be not so bold a sin as formerly it is because the times not sinners hearts are changed they malign them still watch for their halting report say they and we will report it well remember this you that are scorners at strictness and circumspect and exact walking with God you are set down in in the scorners chair the Lord be mercifull to you for few that arrive to that pitch and take up their rest in sin that are therein setled are brought on to Christ you are the Ring leaders in the way which leads to destruction this is another The next Use then shall be a word of Exhortation to us all If it be a duty so much lying upon us then to buckle our selves to it to walk exactly O see to it I charge you all and the Lord lay the charge upon mine own soul as you will ever lift up your faces without spot and with comfort at the day of your summons and appearing before the Judgement seat so walk circumspectly I know none of our hearts but they do or may accuse us of much unevenness in our walking do you know it brethren and will you dare to continue in it I may not descend to particulars but do not your hearts smite you for looseness of spirit towards God hanging back often neglecting shuffling and cutting with God putting him off with any thing and is not this a cursed thing to do Gods work negligently to bring a female when he have a male doth not your hearts smite you for this you do not take heed to your ways lest you sin with your tongues there is much falshood therein lightness and foolishness if not poyson and destruction there nor to your feet they make haste to vanity you shun not occasions of sin as you would an infected person or family O surely if it were not so an importunate duty the Apostle would not so charge it upon Christians that make Christianity their business to walk so exactly but a little to move us to it I will add some few Considerations and then some words â—f Direction which you may look upon as an Appendix of this Use or else as a distinct Application of this Point First Motive Consider that the way wherein you walk is all overspred with snares and nets to trap you and that your ways 1. To trap you in sin 2. To trap you for sin First To trap you in sin had not the Bird need to he wary and heedfull and make good use of her sences to discover where she may light without danger when every place is full of Limetwigs is there an hook under every fair baite and had not the fish need to take heed how she biteth or nibleth lest she be taken this is the case there is a truth and a great one in it there is nothing we
day put on your Ornaments and make ready for his appearing for while your hearts are out of order your Spirits out of frame you are not fit to meet the Lord Jesus and therefore you will hang back but so much of this Exhortation The last Application will be a word of comfort to such as through grace have yielded up themselves to the Lord Jesus or are desirous or do so to be espoused to him according to the several conditions of such creatures there may from hence be a various and strong consolation administred from this Doctrine First Then alas you will say withal your souls you close with Jesus Christ there is nothing you more gladly undertake but you know he is a righteous God most just and most pure of eys and therefore he will surely be displeased with you and you shall have little comsort yea you do finde that your fruitlesness of walking doth provoke him and therefore you are afraid sooner or later he will cast you off before you come to enter with him into the marriage O I shall one day fall by the hand of this Pride of this uncleanness of this lust or the other For Answer to this remember 1. That the Lord when he doth betroth he betretheth forevâ—r and he doth it in faithfulness so that if the saithfulness of Jesus Christ could fail who hath espoused thee thou mightest miscarry Men indeed after espousals if they discover any deformity which they knew not before may be apt to change their minds yea sometimes where there is no cause at all but their own fickleness and changableness but there is no variableness nor shadow of turning with him hath he spoken it and will he not perform it I will never leave thee saith he to Jacob until I have performed all the good which I have spoken concerning thee But a little more fully to open it 1. I say by way of Concession he may sometimes be angry with his spouse or at least withdraw himself properly he is not angry at all nor subject to any passion but he may behold that in his people for which he may sometimes put them to a little grief and make them believe that he will cast them off as you have it in many of the Psalms he may frown and hide his face from his people but as on their part every withdrawing from him is not a breach of the marriage-Covenant so neither is every withdrawing of his refreshing presence a breach of his Covenant yet when he doth so withdraw brethren alas his heart works towards his people as to Ephraim I do earnestly remember him still he may give his people sharp words sometimes which will be a cutting to the souls that are deeply in love with him but they go to his own heart as well as they do to theirs here is the difference brethren between our withdrawings from him and his withdrawings from us that are his people our hearts are many times gone in a great part to sit loose from him though not altogether for the Church when she slept her heart waked but now with him it is otherwise his heart is never gone in the least from his people onely he may speak sometimes a bitter word to them but all this while his heart is full of sweetness and love to them this is one 2. Remember this also as a pillar of the former that he hath builded and founded this espousal and union between him and his people so sure as that it can never be shaken upon the freeness of his grace and therefore it cannot be moved Upon his full knowledge of what we would be indeed if the Lord Jesus had not known what fruitless froward creatures we would prove how unthankful how unkind it had been something for a poor doubting soul to have fed his fears with but he knew long before brethren and if he had seen that he had not had bowels enough to swallow up all our unworthiness he would never have made love to us for he is God and his work is perfect he would never have begun except he had been able to lay the top-stone Again the satisfaction of the Justice of God is to the full this is that which amazeth and alrighteth many a poor soul they forget themselves and look upon their failings as those which expose them to divine vindicative justice which is a great mistake for that was once fully satisfyed in Jesus Christ and he is well pleased in him with all that can bring him in their arms if we can but come to God with Jesus Christ in our arms he hath no more to say to us all is made even in Christ there was never such a declaration of the Justice of God as in giving his own son to be a ransom a sacrifice once for all and the Apostle saith it was to declare the righteousness of God therefore he was given to be a propitiation for the remission of sins there God appeared righteous indeed that the flames of hell must kindle upon his son yea and burn to the lowermost hell in a sort that he might be satisfyed that justice might for ever lye still and be silenced as to his people it is more that Christ suffered then if thou and ten thousand such as we are should suffer to eternity we could never have paid the utmost farthing which he paid to the uttermost else he could not have saved us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 besides we should have been long paying that we payd he at once payd all and therefore this Marriage is so founded brethren upon this satisfaction of Jesus Christ that it cannot be shaken Yea 3. As to that of afflicting his people and frowning upon them he is not forward to it he is not strict to mark what is done amiss to take notice of every slip and failing if he were we should never have comfortable moment no he is rather strict to mark what is good in us what beauty there is in us if there be but one beauty or fair place in the midst of many spots his eye and his heart is rather upon that as some observe in that of Sarah there is but one good word in her speech calling Abraham Lord all the rest savours of unbelief and yet the Holy Ghost takes notice of that So Rahab Jos 2. 4 5. Heb. 11. 31. Alas what miserable mangled Services do we offer up to our own eys there is not any thing desirable that is ought Well if there be but one sigh one groan in sincerity he is more ready to take notice of that then of all your failings and therefore is not forward to put his spouse and people to grief O he is full of kindness and tenderness to us Yea 4. It is observable that he is said to rejoyce over his people continually as a Bridegroom over a Bride not onely his heart is constant to them but it is constant in the same
takes encouragement to lay the reins upon the neck to run to all maner of excess the very same you repeated by Luke therefore it shall suffice to name that I will add but one Scripture-more which happily may be of more use then any of these to some perceiving judgements for happily you will say this is but a bribed judgement of some wicked persons bribed and blinded by their Lusts indeed there is not such a delay which indeed is a great part true for the delay is for the most part to be measured by our weakness and shortness as afterward will appear yet somewhat there is of a delay and that you shall find in the Apostle to the Thessalonians Let no man deceive you by any means be not quickly removed or shaken in mind or troubled whether by Spirit or by Word or by Letter as from us as the day of Christ is at hand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but there must first come a falling away c. which is fulfilled in the great Antichrist the Pope who sits in the Temple of God as God c. Yet the other Apostle saith the Judge standeth at the door 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Grudge not one at another complain not one of another for the Judge is near at hand ready to judge you all for it So sin lyeth at the door that is to say to be near at hand It is no contradiction to that that the day of the Lord is not at hand for that is the day wherein he hath appointed wherein he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance to all men in that he raised him up from the dead If this judging which is near is a temporal Chastisement he would lay upon them as if when children are envying one another quarrelling and grudging one at another accusing one another and falling out one should move them to forbear and by this Argument take heed your Father is at door with a rod in his hand and he will judge you all So he judgth the people that they might not be condemned with the world I thought good to speak thus far lest that seeming contradiction might trouble any so much for the proof The second thing will be to open the terms and First What is meant by coming the coming of Christ This will open the particle of time in the first verse then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened c. the same Key will open both To omit then any other opinion of it I understand it either of the coming of Christ to a particular soul which is no sooner separated from the body but cometh to judgement Now Christ may be said to come he cometh to put the sickle to such as are ripe for it he cometh to gather into his barn if they be wheat or else to burn them up with unquenchable fire Or else 2. And rather of the day of Judgement that great day and appearing of our Jesus Christ who is our life when his people shall appear with him in glory which day will find many alive who shall then be changed before they enter in with him and which day will find doubtless many in deep security and formality to have their work to do And for those that are then dead and shall be raised up it will find them in that state wherein they lay down in the dust either of faith or unbelief and accordingly either they shall be shut out or admitted to the Marriage And methinks this doom of our Saviour I know you not which is parallel to that Mat. 7. 23. Depart from me you workers of iniquity I know you not which surely doth agree to none except it be at the day of death or the day of judgement for any other time I will not trouble you with any thing about And so much for this first 2. Now for the delaying What is Jesus Christ more backward then the Church to this union that they go forth to meet him and seem forward and he delays his coming for what will make more hast then love will it not bring him upon Eagles wings yea riding upon the clouds and wings of the wind and how are we to understand this of his delay of his coming or what is he an idol-Christ that is taken up in a journey or any other business as to forget his spouse and neglect her to come speedily to make up the match to bring her into his Fathers house this were indeed agreeable to a poor finite forgetful Creature but not to Jesus Christ Yea more then this Is he not said to come quickly in divers places and how stands that with the delay of his coming See that place in Luke in the Parable of the unjust judge overcome with the widows importunity though he neither cared for God nor regarded man yet because of her importunity he would avenge her of her adversary how much more God who is love it self and tender of his people as the apple of his eye who is most just and most faithful and who doth indeed fear the wrath of his adversary after the manner of men being tender of his people and of his own name lest he should reproach his name and that reproach with ruin fall upon his people and besides all this being importuned by them as the souls under the Altar crying continually how long Lord holy and true wilt thou not avenge our blood upon the inhabitants of the Earth why saith the Text shall not God avenge his own Children which cry day and night to him though he bear long with them that is to say with their enemie I tell you he will avenge them speedily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speedily in a trice a moment by and by according to that of the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quantulumcunque how little soever as little as may be and he will not tarry How hang these things together For the clearing of this it is necessary to say something And first I will shew you in what respect he is not said to delay or it is denied that he doth delay his coming but it is short and quickly and then 2. In what respect he is said to delay his coming and then come to the argumentss 2. Then he is not said to delay his coming in respect of his own eternity wherein all the differences of time are swallowed up and appear not at all there is no time long or short in eternity there is not prius or posterius there and therefore the Apostle in this argument speaks in this wise know saith he to them that were ready to mock because it was so long before the promise of his coming was fulfilled for the glorious liberty of the Sons of God from under their iron yokes put upon them by their persecutors why saith he God is not slack as some count slackness or
a carelesness in us for if he came more speedily what is the language Let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall dye whether he be a swift witness against men or whether he tarry all is one if he do not speedily execute the Sentence which is past upon men evil doers their hearts are fully set in them to do wickedly and if he do threaten to come speedily and avenge himself upon them let us eat and drink for to morrow c. forgetting the after-clap that after death cometh judgement do not then pretend brethren this for your selves and lay the fault upon God as Adam did and all the sons of Adam are ready to do Say not then If God had threatened as he did Niniveh Yet forty days and Niniveh shall be overthrown yet forty days and thou shalt come to judgement sinner thou wouldst have repented as well as they did no but as Abraham speaks to the rich man in the parable if they will not believe Moses and the Prophets they will not believe though one rose from the dead So in this case if thou wilt not repent and believe though the coming of Christ do tarry a while I will be bold to say thou wouldst not repent if thou shouldest know that within forty days or forty hours thy soul should be taken from thee the fool in the Gospel when he thought he had many years before him and goods laid up for them he nourished his heart as in a day of slaughter and when it was told him that this night his soul should be taken from him do you think the fool had so much wisdom to repent we read it not nor do I see any cause to think it A second sort which are to be reproved or convinced of sin are such as mock at the coming of Christ It is a prophecy of the last days in the last days there shall come scoffers walking after their own lusts saying where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were since the beginning of the world That these are the last days if we had no o her Argument the impudence of many now adays denyinng resur ection and judgement and any such things as these are are too clear a proof of it Observe Where is the promise of his coming a promise to the people of Christ for he cometh to give them the Crown of righteousness having fought their fight and finished their course c. but a threatning to the sinners of the world as that the seed of the woman shall break the Serpents head Well you tell us of a glorious appearing of Christ but where is it we see no alteration all things continue as they were there is no sign of such a coming O what wretched Athiesm is in the heart brethren that because the hand of God doth not presently seize upon us therefore we make a mock at it thinking there is no such thing O this unbelief is the ground of all departing from God do not your actions proclaim this that you expect not his coming you rather make a mock at it you make so light a matter of sin of the most horrid sins Yea some that seem not to Question his coming though I think that is the ground of it their secret unbelief that there will be any such or no they do even provoke the Lord and pluck him out of his place they challenge the God of heaven that say Let him make speed and hasten his work that we may see it and let the counsel of the holy one draw nigh and come that we may know it that we may feel it for we fear it not this is the language of the men that declare their sin like Sodom heed it not stout-hearted sinners that set God at defyance bid him do his worst they will abide all that cometh rather then they will part with their lusts wherein they walk as the Apostle hath it they would fain see who shall controul them who should cut their Cart-ropes and Cords of vanity wherewith they draw iniquity and toyl and tear themselves like horses in the drudgery of sin Well I will speak a word or two to all these it is a terrible one indeed the Lord give us trembling hearts at it First However long it seems to stay it will come before thou art ready for it and for all this gallantry of spirit that sinners cloath themselvs with the stoutest-hearted sinner that heareth this word when that cometh shall quake and tremble What cared Belshazzar for the God of Israel he thought it was nothing to carouse in the vessels of the Sanctuary but you see with two or three words writing what an Agony it wrought him into Amos 5. 18. You desire the day of the Lord poor creatures you do not know the day of the Lord is darkness and not light your hearts will dye within you like stones when it cometh upon you Observe it brethren usually those that are the most stout-hearted in setting the Lord at defiance are most dejected when it cometh I will the Atheist say if this were true that this day would ever come it were something but we see no appearance of it Why Brethren are you such Atheists I hope there is none such here but will own the Scriptures to be the word of the living God and how often have you it there written he hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world by Jesus Christ and God is not slack as men count slackness as some count it as if he would never come believe it believe it Sinners your judgement lingers not and your damnation slumbereth not but travels as fast as you do and it will meet you one day and seize upon you O if God should send such a hand to write upon the wall of the Taverns where men are carouzing c. mene mene thou art weighed c. this night shall thy soul c. Deut. 5. 5. He that believeth not these things is an Atheist indeed worse then the Devil himself who believeth and trembleth James 2. 19. But me thinks reason it self should evince it and teach us that the first Principle of all things made himself the end of all things He that is first must also be the last and therefore such as would not serve that end and honour God here he will honour himself upon them he must needs be righteous and give every one according to his works Now Sinners do not receive according to their works many times here but they are lively and grow old and are mighty in power their seed are established before them c As it is in that place of Job their houses are safe from fear neither is the rod of God upon them they have no changes and therefore they fear not God they spend their days in wealth and in a moment go down to the grave
righteousness and holiness made over to you imputed unto you as an Inner and Outward Garment or Cloathing I have hope of you you would not prove Foolish Virgins and that you are not so careless as not to regard whether you be found to have grace yea or no If there be any such let me tell such a man his Condition is next to desperate the Lord smite such sinners hearts but if you do not care there will come a time when you will care and every vein in your hearts will ake when you shall find alas you have trifled away your time your day you had to get grace in and now you have none Do you think brethren to go to heaven without grace must there be a wedding garment to his Supper here and must not there much more be a wedding Garment upon them that come into that nearest Fellowship with the Lord Jesus for ever Do poor sinners eat and drink judgement to themselves if they come without grace to the Supper O brethren do you think he will endure you to enter if you have not grace to sit with him at his Table to eternity No believe it Sinners shall not stand in the Congregation of the upright O that the Lord would perswade you How far are many of us from the Apostles temper he counted all things dung and dross not worthy his thoughts in comparison of being found in Christ and do not we count these things dung and dross in comparison of the world if it were not so surely men would lay out some of their care some of their thoughts some of their time for the getting Christ and grace 2. We must labour also to have our graces to get and keep our graces in act in a lively frame our hearts flaming towards the Lord continually the wise Virgins they slept and while they slept they could not watch now they had grace in their hearts but they kept it not in use in exercise as they should have done and therefore they underwent much inconvenience as you have heard and therefore our Saviour exhorts us to watch to take diligent heed that we run not the like hazard with them no more than with the foolish virgins Therefore labour to get your graces lively how should we think with our selves often when we find a listless fâ—ame growing upon us O what would my Condition be if the Lord Jesus should come this day to my poor soul Labour to keep your faith lively your Love lively so your humility and self-abasing that you may exalt him But alas you will say how can we do this we are poor imperfect creatures and therefore can we be alway acting our graces is it likely we should keep them alway in act that is enough for Angels and glorified Saints to do who are therefore called watchers I answer to this It is true it is not required we should always be acting of grace for then we should be able to do nothing else then we should neither sleep nor follow the works of some of our callings which require the intention of the mind as well as the labour of the hand therefore that is not the meaning nor indeed were we able to do it our spirits would fail us But how then Why We must be acting our graces when we are called to act them when ever is a time Mephibosheth eats bread continually at Davids table not that he did nothing else but eat without any intermission but at meal-times he did eat continually Note brethren we should see to it that upon all occasions we act our graces upon every temptation wherewith we are assaulted we should act our faith upon every tryal our patience upon every manifestation of himself to us to act our love and humility and thank-fulness But specially in our drawings nigh to him then see to it that we have our graces in act which alas how sar short do we fall of as in our daily performances prayers publike secret So meditating reading hearing receiving the Lords Supper if we would have them bright we must exercise them at these times how should we now renew our repentance in washing our hands in innocency as clean as if washed in innocency it self and so compass the Altar of God How should we as Jacob his family besides putting away their Idols change their garments also we should labour to get cloathed with another Spirit another frame then ordinary when we come before him upon these occasions It is said concerning the Steward which specially concerneth the Ministers of Christ Blessed is that servant whom his Master shall sind so doing giving every one their portion in due season A slothful servant is a wicked servant our Saviour saith he that receiveth grace in vain improveth it not stirreth not up himself to lay hold upon Christ upon special occasions such as are on foot upon such a day as this oporteâ— Episcopum concionari saith one eminent in his time The Lord hath given his Spirit to all believing people they have the habits of grace and he giveth it them as a stock to trade with as principles to act for him in their places O blessed is that servant whom his Lord shall find so doing he saith not whom his Lord â—hall find with grace in his heart but so doing acting his grace Ah blessed souls whom he shall find praying keeping up those duties in a lively manner whom he shall find receiving the sealing Ordinances and with a wedding Garment upon him a lively frame of spirit fit for it You have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in you if you be his and will you let such a precious principle lie idle it is given to mortifie to sanctifie O blessed soul that shall be found so doing even by the Spirit to mortifie the deeds of the Flesh surely brethren nothing will keep us more awake then action will if we be found sleeping it will not be comfortable to us therefore look to the acting of your graces I beseech you Again Labour to love his appearing so as that we may wait for it for indeed if we love it not we shall be apt to put the thoughts of it far from us labour either to love it or fear it according to thy Condition if thy Calling and Election be made sure if thou knowest the things freely given thee of God then be ashamed that any thing in the world should lie so near thee as not to desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ renew these desires day by day nothing but the greater glory of God should make us willing to be here indeed action for Christ and his honour is of a high nature and ought to have great weight with us as the Apostle hath it but yet methinks the burthen of sins should make us groan for it methinks if we have an eye upon the recompence of reward the joy that is set before thee that full enjoyment
loiâ—â—r nor stay in what he had received but pressed hard forward toward the mark of the priâ—e of the high calling he that aimeth short even at so much as will serve his turn and compass his design when he hath done that there is an end But I aâ—m at perfection saith the Apostle and so should we if we would keep our Lamps alive never rest 8. Be much in prayer pray hard for the supplies of his Spirit he hath promised them if we ask importunity will prevail if we be Strangers much more if Children it is the spirit that keepeth all alive and therefore pray for more and more of this Spirit of Jesus Christ See how Moses followeth the Lord with request upon request when he had been in the Mount and seen him face to face one would think this was enough to have stopped his mouth for a great while no sooner was he come down but he is praying for the guidance of that good Spirit O Lord shew me the way where in thou wouldst have us to go well God grants him this this satisfieth him not but he must have Gods presence with him an Angel would not serve his turn but his presence he must have and when this was granted this would not serve his turn neither but then O Lord shew me thy glory Prayer is the richest trading for heaven Build up your selves praying in the holy Ghost Ah it is the prayer of faith that fetcheâ—h in rich supplies from the Lord continually 9. Take heed of grieving this good Spirit then when we have his presence by any willing transgression this grieveth him our unthankfulness and slighting of him minding the world grieve him not for if he depart be sure our Lamps will be but in a sad taking 10. Then every day we must be trimming the Lamps of the Sanctuary were drest or trimmed every day he made them well as the Original word signifieth they were disordered burning every night there was somewhat wanting oyl and raising the week likely and removal of dross from them which they might contract he drest them and made them ready every morning the morality implied in this Type surely is this that we should daily dress up our Lamps they will need it every day renew our repentance renew our resolutions our walking clos 〈…〉 r with God to love him c. daily endeavour to draw nearer to him neglect your Lamps but a week or so and see what fearful work there will be Again such then as can say with Moses they have lived thus long and their sight fails not nor their strength c. They have great cause to bless the Lord. But though a Child of God is thus apt to decline his profession thus apt to grow dim his Lamp to want trimming yet it never goeth altogether out And what use should we make of this 1. It reproveth that opinion of falling away utterly from justifying and renewing grace the condition of all believers is here set down by the state of the wise virgins their Lamps indeed did decay and suffer an impairing but not altogether dye No this spring of grace once sprung in the heart springs up to eternal life though some interruptions there may be did he pray that Peters faith should not fail him and did he not pray for all believers indeed his faith did as near fail him as ever mans did but yet it revived again and so David and others 2. Yet do not abuse this Doctrine of grace as our hearts are exceeding apt to do If we cannot fall away utterly then if once Be sure we have the root of the matter in us if once we have Oyl in our vessels it will never be altogether spent our Lamps will never be blown out This is dangerous and next to desperate and therefore the Apostle in a like case with a kind of abhorrency at the thought of such a thing speaks thus shall we continue in sin that grace may abound God forbid because he hath made us partakers of the sure mercies of David that will never fail shall we therefore neglect our worthy walking of them it argues a very ungodly frame of heart where this is to be found We should the rather be encouraged our hands strengthened to work out our salvation with so much the more earnestness were it not a very unchild-like and wretched frame of heart for a child to say Well I know my fathers heart towards me let me do what I will he will not cast me out of doors his inheritance is sure he may haply be mistaken and prove himself a Bastard and not a Son And so it is here Gods Children have all of them such child-like dispositions in them as they will hardly dare to make such an use of such a rich treasury of grace Or if they do they are like to smart for it 3. A word of strong Consolation to many a poor drooping soul If once thou have but grace in thy heart the oyl in thy Vessel it is never lost again though in its own nature it be loseable Thou art afraid some temptation or another from Satan the world or thy own heart will blow it out some blast or other will wither thee O thou shalt never be able to keep thy Lamp burning in the midst of so many contrary winds of lust and corruption but though thou canst not keep it alive the Lord can do it and he will do it Indeed while the Virgins slept for any care they took of their Lamp it might have gone out but the Lord kept it burning though it were but low and needed dressing Be of good courage then poor drooping foul and he shall strengthen thy heart didst thou ever know of any that had this oyl in their vessels that had the real work of grace upon them that did quite extinguish and dye surely thou didst not If the Lord do but seal it up to thee that thou art one of the wise Virgins believe it for thy everlasting comfort thy Lamp shall never be put out in obscure darkness 4. What shall we render to the Lord for this unspeakable grace towards us how hath he lifted up our condition above innocency it self in Adam he was made liable to fall away and the Lord did not engage himself to keep him we are made now in the second Adam in a surer Condition we have a better tenure in Jesus Christ which is the root of our stedfastness and standing because he liveth we shall live If Jesus Christ could die any more then might the Saints that are in him dye again altogether when once they are implanted into him O he liveth for ever and that Spirit of Christ which liveth and dwelleth in his people it never dyeth and faileth and he hath made it the very tenure of his Covenant he will put his fear into their hearts that they shall never depart from him We it may be that
the heart of a sinner that was little worth before becometh a golden Vial full of odours it s concocted then the spices flow forth in the garden inclosed Seventhly the Sun dispels the mists and fogs which are unwholsom would poison the air yea and thick clouds which would muffle up the Sun from us we know this by daily experience So doth the Lord Jesus Brethren all the mists fogs and clouds of sin he dispels them for his name sake he blots out the transgressions of his people as a cloud It s the very heat Brethren of the love of Jesus Christ that consumeth as I may say melts away those clouds that they intercept not our communion and fellowship with him O! there is not a day but the streamings of our filthy hearts would gather into a thick cloud and cover his face from us were it not that the warm beams of his love did continually dispell them and scatter them we should never enjoy the light of his countenance an hour together if it were not for this and for his names sake he doth it And so the cloud of sorrow let the diseases of the people of God be what they will never so great and black clouds they are compassed about with their day is a day of gloominess and thick darkness how come these to be dispelled is it not the Sun of righteousness breaking forth on poor sinners that doth it one sight of Christ as reconciled to him puts an end unto all Eighthly the Sun is the cause of the sweet intercourse between the earth and the clouds and the clouds and the earth for its the Sun that exhales the vapours from the earth and draweth them up into the middle region of the air and there with the cold of the air its condensed into a cloud and hangs until it be dissolved and render it self to the earth again to make it fruitful and so the dew is in like manner begotten only is not far lifted up above the earth and with the cold of the night is congealed into little drops and so sweetly distills So the Lord Jesus he draweth out the hearts the affections of his people in prayers sweet breathings after himself and these prayers come down again sometimes on the same soul sometimes on another place they fall but abundance of sweetness and blessing and mercy is poured out by this means on poor creatures whereby they become fruitful Ninthly The Lord Jesus may be compared to the Sun for that the Sun Giant-like rejoyceth to run his race and who can turn him back alas all the clouds that gather about the Sun that to our apprehensions might haply seem to threaten a blotting of it out a clogging of it they are all below it It s true prayer once did hold him in his course and it looks like a word of command Sun stand thou still and so prayer may do much with Jesus Christ but not hinder him in his course riding on in his triumphant charriot conquering and to conquer enlightning poor dark places and people Before we come to the other we will a little apply this to our selves First then Brethren if the Lord Jesus be a Sun then they that have this Sun risen on them they are children of the day if the Sun be up it must needs be day and is not the Sun up Brethren among us is not the Lord Jesus gone forth as a Gyant to run his race among us we now have a day of Grace among us and how long or how short it may be I know not Brethren it seemeth to be declining in some respects and the shadows of the evening growing low O that we would be perswaded and stirred up to do the work of our day in this our day our great work which is to work out our salvation with fear and trembling I doubt if the Sun should set and the night come on you wherein no man can work you should have this work yet to do many of you especially brethren you into whose hearts the Lord Jesus this Sun of righteousness hath shone O how should you walk as children of the day not in surfetting and drunkenness I mean not with meat and fire only but with any creature-comforts and delights on this side Christ away then with all the works of darkness all practices which did suit better with the times of ignorance and blindness and now walk as becometh the light and the day that the Sun may not be ashamed to behold you Secondly Such as the Lord Jesus then hath not risen on they are yet in darkness children of the night and walk at uncertainties know not whither they go Alas many a poor soul thinketh he is as sure to go to heaven as he is to die when he is in the very rode to hell only some go in the broad trodden path open prophane impudent sinners some steal thither behind the hedge they are going to hell but in a closure walk hidden from others and from themselves Many night-Birds there are among us children of the night indeed though in one respect many of us may be said to be children of the day because Jesus Christ in the dispensation of the Gospel is held forth unto us as they are said to be the children of the Kingdom yet in respect of the inward revealing of Christ in the heart I doubt many of us are strangers to it though we fly about in the light yet we are but Owls and Bats darkness agreeth better with us our souls are full of darkness our works are nothing else but works of darkness How sad a consideration is this Brethren that in the midst of light we should be children of darkness 〈◊〉 noon-day when the Gospel is at the heighth and Christ the Sun as it were at the meridian we should be stumbling and groping as at midnight not knowing whither we go Then thirdly As there is this difference of persons where Christ cometh from them where he cometh not so it is in families and people Brethren what a sad people and family is that where they are all in Egyptian darkness Jesus Christ is not risen unto any soul among them they know him not experimentally but they are all in blindness Alas none can help another the Israelites and Egyptians though they dealed among one another in one family there was light in the other there was nothing but gross darkness that might be felt O who would live in such a family who would not haste out of such a condition you would think that a sad conditioned house that the light of the Sun and warmth of the Sun never entreth into of all places you would not live in it this is is nothing brethren to the total absence of Christ where neither Husband nor Wife nor Fellow-servant nor Children none of them have had the Lord Jesus shining into their hearts Gross darkness shall cover the earth saith the
springing in and trembling and the three thousand in Acts 2. To such as these the Promise may be applyable That Christ will arise on them with healing in his wings though I know not that it s to be taken in any equal latitude with this fear for there may be such a conviction and fear and yet haply never any healing for them 3. Such as fear the Lord and his Goodness as the Prophet hath iâ— Such as fear his Name though he himself be in Heaven and they cannot see him face to face as Moses did they seek not 〈…〉 t sâ—gns of his presence though they see him but darkly and through a glass though they see him not being invisible â—et by his 〈◊〉 they know him and the greatest part of his name is Mercy as you have it in Exodus and his name speaks his nature the Lord the Lord God gracious and merciful long-suffering c. O! such as these they shall have the Sun of righteousness arise on them if they have but little yet they shall have more Some they have had else they could not be fearing him in such a manner as this is for this indeed is a part of the Covenant of grace made good to them already that he will put his fear into their hearts and this here is nothing else but the displaying of the same Covenant of grace to his people Alas many times the people of God that fear his name are under cloudings sometimes in respect of temptation to sin they are sore pestered with them Sometime the prevailing of sin over them to the darkning and disquieting of their souls Sometime they are in darkness and see no light and yet fear the name of the Lord. Now to such as these the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings But secondly what is meant by the Sun of righteousness That Christ the Covenant is meant I told you before but for a reason of this title why a Sun you have heard at large But the Sun of righteousness why so called is a further question and for answer to this let me speak a few words First One reason may be because of his perfection there should nothing be wanting in him he should have all perfections which were just and fit for such a Mediator to have and so some think there is a Hebraism in the words the Sun of righteousness the righteous Sun the absolutely perfect Sun and this is a truth in this Sun there was no spot no wrinkle no darkness no deficiency of glory of light of heat of influences of pains in wheeling about his Church continually for their supply and refreshing but this is not all Secondly Because in him the righteousness of God was eminently conspicuous therefore he may be called the Sun of righteousness Some imperfect footsteps of righteousness there are in the creature of holiness and conformity to God some lineaments of his Image but very naked they want their filling up and garnishing with colours and will do while we are in the body and there are so many blots and blurs and stains that it scarce appears many times witness the choicest examples of the Saints as 〈◊〉 Moses if you look on him at the water of Meriâ—ah you would scarce have thought him so meek a man and so David in the matter of Vriah and his dealing with Mephibosheth These were shadows cast on the beauty of Christ in them that it was not so conspicuous the glass is dimmed and defiled and so not so transparent but now the Lord Jesus is a pure glass of divine attributes and perfections and therefore of this righteousness here spoken of And secondly conspicuous in him was the vindictive righteousness of God it is true his justice is manifested in calling sinners to an account as he did the Angels the Sodomites the old world and us in our times his dealings do speak him to be a just God but never any so much as his dealing with Christ though a Son and equal with him in all essential glory yet if he will be surety for poor sinners he must as it were for a time vail his glory with raggs of flesh because the children partake of the same and though the Son of his incomprehensible love yet if he will so appear under the sins of his people he shall find them like a poisoned garment inflamed with wrath he must drink up the cup to the bottom though he were amazed at it and compassed about with fear surrounded with fear as the Evangelist hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though it cost him a bloody sweat put him into an agony A strong potion Brethren that casts the Lord of Life and Glory into such a sweat as this though it lay him under reproach and shame cloud Gods face from him cost him the very blood of his heart and all the joy of his soul for a time though he put up strong cries and tears God will not be intreated to let the cup pass from him not spare him at all O! here the Justice of God is conspicuous in him Brethren never was there such a pattern of righteousness in God as this that he would not spare sin though in his dearest Son of his love O then shall sons by adoption think to make bold with sin and not smart for it in some measure Take heed you watchless careless walkers before God O! what shall become of poor sinners then that are never the better for all this whose sins shall be charged on their own account Did it amaze the Lord Jesus With what hearts do you think sinners you shall be able to look an angry God in the face when his flaming indignation shall stream forth on your souls to all eternity O! think on it sinners and tremble but this by the by Thirdly He may be called the Sun of righteousness as I conceive as he is the fulfilling of all the promises that were made of him The Lord made many promises as the seed of the woman shall break the serpents-head and that in Abraham in his seed all the Nations of the earth should be blessed and that a Virgin should conceive and bear a son whose name should be Immannuel God with us signifying the union of natures in his person Now if Christ had not come according to the promise where had been the truth of God his righteousness and therefore saith the Apostle it was to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God when all the Fathers had believed in him to come and to be revealed they dyed in faith not having received the promises that is not having seen Christ come in the flesh for the accomplishment of their redemption though afar off they beheld them and embraced them Abraham saw his day and was glad Now what had become of the faith of all these grounded on the faithfulness of
God who had promised they without us saith the Apostle were not made perfect though through forbearance as it were their sins were passed over yet they would have returned on them again if Christ had not come according to the promise and therefore herein now Christ may be said to be the Sun of righteousness but this concerneth most his first appearing in the flesh though for these ends and purposes for which he doth arise unto every poor believing soul Now therefore he is the Sun of righteousness in this respect also as well by his arising on any soul that stands in need of him now as by arising on them then for if God should fail in any of them which he hath given to Christ where were his righteousness This is the third Fourthly Another consideration wherefore he may be called the Sun of righteousness is this because he is the meritorious cause of our justification in the sight of God therefore he is called the Lord our righteousness he was set forth saith the Apostle for a propitiation through faith in his blood called the righteousness of God as he accepteth of the satisfaction of Christ as God in Christ paid the price of it even the blood of God as he imputeth it to us or for Christs sake doth not impute our sins on us Enter not into Judgement saith the Psalmist with thy servant for in thy sight shall no flesh be justified not by the works of the Law but by the blood of Jesus in this respect he is called a Sun of righteousness Fifthly in that he doth by his influences on the hearts of his people work on them a similitude a likeness to himself to his Father and so beget an inherent righteousness putting inward principles and seeds into their hearts from whence flow all manner of holy conversation in this also he is the Sun of righteousness the Apostle is clear in this he is made of God to us wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption which sanctification is sometimes called in Scripture righteousness So he hath chosen us in him to the adoption of Sons that we might be holy and unblamable that by him we might be brought to such a state and condition by beholding him by lying in his beams with our faces towards him with open face Now all shadows and ceremonies and vails such as in the Legal administration of the Covenant of grace were on him being taken away we are changed into his Image from glory to glory In all these respects he may be called the Sun of righteousness and thus much for the second thing The third then What is meant by the arising of this Sun of righteousness on them if we understand it with respect to the people of God of those times that feared his name then it cannot be understood Brethren as if that Christ had never shined on them for how come they then to fear the Lord if he had not yet owned them as his people in Covenant but it must be understood thus that they should behold him in a more glorious manner arising they that should live to see the day Many waited for the consolation of Israel as Zach. and Simeon and many others who could not have done it if they had had no influence from Christ on their hearts therefore we must say that even among the Jews yea and before many of them had a dawning of light had some glimmerings of Christ he did shine through all the darkness and shadows of the Ceremonies Christ was held forth in them all but only as the beauty of the picturre is in the shadow But now we have the very image of the things saith the Apostle So that this rising on them Brethren may be as the rising of the Sun to some height rather then his first appearing for I find that in the Gospel of Matthew so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendered When the Sun is risen it withereth that is when it s up and at an height then it withereth So now though before they had the dawning I say some scattering beams fore-running the glory of the Sun yet now they should have it in greatest glory for he came that his people might have light and might have it more abundantly But now to us Brethren on whom he hath shone so long he may be said to rise as he breaks through any clouds of darkness on us as the Martyr at the stake cryed out Son of God shine on me he meant that he should shew him the light of his countenance break in on the heart with more light and warmth whereby he might be armed against that tertible death he was to encounter with and the Sun in the Firmament broke out in a glorious manner through the thick clouds as an Emblem if not an earnest of the other and a visible evidence or testimony to the standers by that it should be so So that now I conceive when on any poor soul in his first agonies the throws that he hath to bring forth the child Jesus his troubles of heart for sin and thick darkness on him the Lord Jesus breaks forth on the soul with a glorious discovery of his love yea with an hint of his love its arising on him and so as the increase of the glory of his people Israel the glory of his people Israel is called his arising on them so where the Lord doth in a more eminent manner appear to his people either after desertion in respect of comfort and peace or after desertion in respect of holiness there he may be said to arise on them And thus much for the third The fourth thing is what is meant by the wings of this Sun of righteousness this is so much the more difficult by how much the more Metaphors it is cloathed with one on another For first the natural Sun is said to have wings And secondly then this Sun of righteousness being compared to the natural Sun is also said to have wings that we may therefore a little unfold it let us first see what are the wings of the Sun the natural Sun and for that we must know it is Metaphorical the raies the beams of the Sun are said to be the wings of the Sun we read of the wings of the morning wherewith the Psalmist would flie away to the ends of the earth what is that but the dawnings of the day the eye-lids of the morning as Job calls it the first breakin gs of light when the Sun peepeth above the Horizon the raies and streamings of light scattered before the appearing os the Sun the Sun is as it were the eye of heaven governing and viewing the earth and the dawning of the day is as it were the eye-lids opening before the eye do appear when it awakeneth So Caryl and Mercer they are called the wings of the Sun as is conceived for several reasons First because as wings
in Winter the earth seemeth to be languishing and all things withered and dead when the Sun returneth how doth it heal it To it s here Beloved it is the Word and Spirit that opens the earth moistens the earth sweetly refresheth it calls forth the fruits thereof The fruits of the Spirit they are called as the fruits of the earth are called the precious fruits put forth by the Sun and by the Moon which shines by a derived influence from the Sun how precious are the fruits of the Spirit Brethren love meekness joy in the Holy-Ghost humility self-denyal these are the precious fruits put forth by the Sun the Lord Jesus by his Word and Spirit beating upon our barren hearts indeed he maketh the barren Wilderness to become a garden of God Again he healeth he reviveth the spirits which languish and are ready to go out as the poor Birds that in the Winter are hard put to it and some lye you hardly know where as if they were dead or dying when the Sun returneth how doth it refresh and revive their little spirits that were left before The night brings a heaviness and burthen along with it to the body but the morning when the Sun ariseth how doth it enliven and lighten Oh! so it s in this case many a poor soul can say by experience that when darkness hath been long on them they have no light no comfort no refreshing no breathing of the Spirit to their apprehensions in his Ordinances on their hearts O how have hands hanged down and their knees feeble and knock one against another for feebleness and that which was within them was ready to dye But now no sooner hath the Lord Jesus the Sun of righteousness looked on them but they have had their ankle-bones strengthened the joy of the Lord is their strength as Neh. 8. but I intend not here much to expatiate only these two or three things First then the first thing in this healing which is brought under the wings of the Sun of righteousness is pardon for our sins who forgiveth all-thy iniquities and healeth all-thy diseases these are exegetical one of another or may so be looked on Sin Brethren cuts off a creature from God and so maketh a wound which now is healed and made up when they are pardoned Make the heart of this people fat and let their ears be heavy their eyes closed lest at any time they should see with their eyes or hear with their ears or understand with their hearts lest they should be converted and I should heal them which Mark reads thus lest they should be converted and their sins be forgiven them So then forgiveness and healing are all one and its one thing surely included in that of the Prophet Hosea I will heal their back-slidings I will love them freely the justification freely by his grace as the Apostle calls it Poor sinner thou that ever knewest what sin was what a wound it was to thy soul knewest that thy pardon is a healing to thee So then this arising with healing in his wings is by his Spirit in his Word he conveyeth the blood of Jesus Christ the merit thereof maketh it over to the poor soul that believeth to the doing away of all the guilt So as a Sun of righteousness properly he healeth and this is the first Secondly He taketh away also the anguish and trouble that did arise from sin to the soul as when a wound is healed you know the anguish and smart is taken away though while it is healing it may be when searched and tented there will be smart and sore yet afterward it s taken away by degrees I know some of you have felt and haply some at present may feel the grief of your wounds O! how they will throb and beat and burn and smart sometimes broken bones are nothing to a broken heart nor the broken flesh any thing to a broken bone the Lord heals the broken in heart he bindeth up their wounds I have seen his waies and will heal him saith the Lord he speaks to the condition of a poor disconsolate soul under the wrath of God He was wrath and smote him yea he hid him and was wrath O how this troubles a poor soul he cannot but have his heart full of darkness and terrour and trouble that hath the face of God hidden from him well saith the Lord though he did walk frowardly before me gave me not my ends in smiting him yet I will heal him and wherein doth this healing consist Alas in restoring joy and comfort to him the poor soul now was over-whelmed with sorrow his heart now was ready to sink and fail within him and lest it should so do he will heal him and how is this but by his Word and Spirit therein which is the comforting Spitit he will create the fruit of the lips peace peace to him Here is a healing indeed the healing of broken hearts and broken bones it s the work that the Father sent the Lord Jesus for into the world in an especial manner that he annointed him for poured out the Spirit upon him annointed him with the oyl of gladness above his fellows that he might speak in due season that he might bind up the broken spirits Now the Lord Jesus Brethren our dear Saviour he delighteth to do this will and work of his Father O! he loveth to be doing with broken hearts And O that we had some work for the Lord Jesus this day he is among us now to see if there be any heart in this condition that he may heal us it s his delight to do it Well this is a second he hath his cordials as well as his purgatives his lenitives as well as his corrosives Thirdly he cometh with healing under his wings as to take away the anguish so also to purge away the filth of it to heal the running putrifying sore that it may not run and defile and pollute all that a man taketh in hand How much more saith the Apostle shall the blood of Christ purge our consciences from dead works that we may serve the living God With corrosives he eats down the proud flesh and the dead flesh he dryeth up the bloody issues then the person was healed when she touched Christ but the hem of his garment This is that which troubles many a heart more then the guilt of their sins and indeed the returning and recoyling of sin on them again and again occasioneth the questioning of their peace and comfort that they have had O how one cryeth out of this sin and another of that sin and walks heavily and sadly Well the Lord Jesus he will arise with healing under his wings for all these distempers Fourthly and lastly another healing is the taking away his anger manifested in outward calamities or diseases in a people or person I will heal their back-slidings and love them freely for mine anger is
turned away either to turn away the affliction or at least the anger which is the sting the inflamation of any affliction whatsoever if it be but an itch a scab if it be fired with the anger of God it shall be enough to consume and destroy the Lord challengeth it as a priviledge See now that I even I am he and there is no God with me I kill and I make alive I wound and I heal I wound their comforts wound their peace lay them a gasping a dying art thou not he that kelled'st Rah and wounded the Dragon So Job he maketh sore and bindeth up he woundeth and his hands make whole Come say they let us return to the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will bind us up after two daies will he revive us and the third day we shall live in his sight Healing upon the returning of poor sinners is a choice mercy indeed and all from him their returning in order to healing and the healing unto returning Behold I will bring it health and cure I will cure them and return to them abundance of peace after be had threatened to destroy them in his anger by the Caldeans So then it may be Beloved that the trouble of spirit thou hast had for sin God hath laid his hand on thy family on thy person and all little enough to bring down the pride of thy heart and to take away the iniquity of thy covetousness and wean thee from the creature Well he will return if thou return to him he will return he will heal thee or at least take away the anger that inflameth the Visitation which is a kind of healing Brethren though we are kept under it But thus much for these particulars touching healing You see then what it is that is held forth in this Doctrine That Jesus Christ will arise unto them that fear his name with healing under his wings that is to say by his Word and Spirit and other Ordinances conveigh to them pardon and cleansing and peace and comfort and freedom from calamities or the evil of them and I hope it is sufficiently proved by the several particulars there have been many Scriptures produced to prove it in each particular therefore we will not any longer insist on that part but come to the Application which will be divers First we may take notice Brethren hence what a comprehensive evil sin is for if we speak of healing which is the main thing in this Doctrine it must needs lead us being a relative to some distemper or other that is to be healed whether it be a disease or whether it be a wound or both for diseases many times are caused by wounds that its a disease a wound might easily be proved in the first place as by that of the Prophet The whole head is sick and the whole heart faint from the Crown of the head to the sole of the foot nothing but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores O! how loathsom are these sores do we not read of the plague of the heart a hard heart the stone in the heart in that place of Ezekiel where he speaks of his people under the notion of a flock to be fed and guided the diseased have ye not strengthened neither have ye healed that which was sick neither have you bound up that which was brokon diseased and sick I might here by an enumeration of particulars shew that every sin almost according to Scripture analogy is a disease To begin with the head Brethren is not blindness a disease and is not ignorance a blindness of the mind whereby we are alienated from the life of God Dear friends consider it how many among us poor creatures are groping at noon-day the light that is in them is darkness and O how great is that darkness and is there not also a self-conceipt and pride whereby we think of our selves above what we ought and from hence it is that we grow more in the head than in other parts a dangerous disease there is much knowledge among many of us but little heat little warmth on the heart little holy walking according unto it Obstructions between the head and the heart is none of the least diseases among us Is there not corruption of Judgement and is it not a dangerous disease if we had never thought so before our times would have taught us this the leprosie in the head a man of unsound principles is leprous and one of the worst kinds also O what a vertigo hath taken many they run round until they be giddy and fall and break themselves Beloved there are strong carnal reasonings in our heads whereby almost we will make any thing good that we would have forward we shall make it seem reasonable that we may cum rations insanire Go from the head to the heart and see is there not a stone there and that is none of the least diseases is there not a plague there O what hardness of heart and what stubborness and what frowardness of heart there is we might instance in many Brethren are there not eyes full of adultry like fleams grown over them which do blind are there not pearls in the eyes when the world is dear to us what is our covetousness else and what is envy but a blood-shotten eye which proceedeth from a heart full of vexing and is not lust a feavour yea an ulcer on the liver or a dart thrust through it and what is rotten communication which men make no more of and vain and foolish discoursing but the rottenness of a grave but the rottenness of lungs breathing forth continually O how some mens tongues are set on fire of hell can utter nothing but blasphemies and oaths at every word But we might be endless if we should go to particulars How many of us have a dead palsie past feeling commit all uncleanness with greediness saith the Apostle Sinners you little think what you are doing while you are going on in a way of sin as alas are not many of you this day in this condition you are either contracting or strengthening the diseases of your souls making fresh wounds in your consciences Ah! how lamentable were his condition that were wounded head and heart full of sores putrifying that the very sight of him and savour of his wounds were enough to make all others ubhor him yea he is so far from seeking remedy he wounds himself more and more maketh them deeper and deeper increaseth his diseases he careth not how much he inflameth them this is the condition of every poor sinner you see O! what sad creatures are we that have so many sicknesses on us and each of them deadly and how much more many then together and if we feel nothing at all he that is in the most deadly palsie or lethargie feels nothing at all would be let alone cannot endure to
it When we were without strength Christ died for the ungodly and while we were yet Sinners Christ dyed for us they are convertible terms a sick man a lame man a wounded man we cannot expect they should walk or work or run in a race it utterly unbefits us for any thing that is good this is a sad evil that is in sin as a disease or wound Thirdly There is filthiness and deformity in sin also O what a sight it were to see a poor creature full of running sores from head to foot all running and rotting what filthiness is here and and deformity So when a poor soul hath a lust a sore running and never ceasing how sad a condition is this Brethren how strangely will a fit of sickness change a person that the rarest piece of beauty in the world quickly becometh a gastly sight every part contracting its deformity from the sickness all withered and shrivelled joynts loosed the eye dead and dull the face thin the knees feeble the hand trembling and what not Brethren if the Lord open our eyes to behold in the glass of the word the deformities of sin and filthiness as we may see the lothsomness and ugliness of a disease we should for ever be haters of it but I will say no more to this head That sin is a disease a wound Vse 2. May be then to put us on to be more serious in viewing our selves in the glass of the Word the Law of God that we may see what creatures we are and loth our selves our wounds are so many that we are all one wound and all one disease there is no sound part in us how pale and lean do our souls sometimes look with envy at others how are we swelled with pride how great and unweildy are our bellies with this O how do some of our bellies cleave to the very dust we are bowed down as the woman in the Gospel O how lamely do we walk in the ways of God halting between two have a double object and one foot in the wayes of God and another in the way of sin alas how many wounds have many of us that we never searched to this day if we did but know them it would pluck down our feathers the proudest of us and for some of us we have great need of this admonition because alas until we see our selves wounded see our deformities we shall never care for healing for having his comeliness put upon us no nor can the people of God put a rate upon the mercy nor the rich exceeding rich Grace of God in Christ whereby they are healed except they have before their eyes the many wounds and running sores they are healed of When Paul saw that he was the chief of the Sinners then he advanceth the free Grace of God that it had abounded yea superabounded which a soul cannot admire the Lord for except he see and behold how sin hath abounded O then let us be all perswaded to this duty to eye our selves more often more seriously in the glass of the Law of liberty the Law of Christ and therein see how often how grievously we offend him see what deformities are upon us that it may be admired how the Lord can love such as we are and Sinners that are yet in sin that they may be willing to accept of pardon and deliverance in and through Christ for truly we are not any of us willing until we be reduced to extremity then the Marriner or Merchant will cast out his goods when there is necessity for it but not before Therefore let all of us be perswaded to this duty in the second place Thirdly Let us be instructed in this truth that healing is not in us I am the Lord that healeth thee saith God to Israel and therefore the Lord promiseth the Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings which were needless if healing were in our selves some creatures if wounded healing is in themselves as some fish are said if wounded to heal themselves with their own slime a Dog licks himself with his tongue Brethren sins are not such wounds as will heal themselves of their own accord neither as if a man have a slight cut it may be he heedeth it not it heals of it self believe it the least sin the least wound thou makest in thy conscience in thy soul it will not heal it self nor will a lust heal it self and wear away of its own accord as some diseases will though no physick be administred It is a deadly disease it seizeth upon the vitals and then you know it is a matter of great difficulty and skill to cure it no nor can a man cure himself if he could to what end did the Lord Jesus undergo all why he was smitten for our transgressâ—â—ns if we could have been healed by any strength of our own no we were without strength when Christ dyed for us as the Apostle bath it and as to other things so to this great work did the Lord do any thing in vain much less then would he do the greatest thing that ever be wrought in vain alas who can pardon sins but he who can bind up the broken in spirit but he who was sent into the world for this very end who can pour wine and oyl into the wounds but the good Samaritan who can give rest for the anguish of the wounds but he we cannot heal our selves if the very marrow of our bones were distilled into continual tears and all our moysture it would not make a balm to cure a wound of sin nor a cordial to support in one swooning fit there are many considerations wherefore we cannot do it and therefore the Lord in pity and bowels toward us sent us his Son to be our Physitian because we poor sick creatures need the Physitian which we should not if we could heal our selves our wound is incurable and refuseth to be healed by us First alas We know not our diseases our distempers you know a disease is half cured if curable when it is known in the cause if a Physitian mistake the disease and mis-applications according to his mistake quite contrary to the disease this is the ruin of the Patient such Physitians are of no value and such should we all be and are For we cannot know our sins nor the plague of the heart who knows his errors if we discover one lust that it breaks out in such a manner that it cannot be hid yet there is ten for one that we never saw and how can we then heal them now the Lord Jesus seeth our hearts through and through and knoweth all the malig 〈…〉 y and poysonous humours that lye there and therefore knoweth how to purge them out we know them not Secondly We have no desire to have them healed at all we 〈…〉 w not what healing means being not sensible naturally of our distempers and sores that are
not that sinners are blind-folded do you think they would be led by Satan into so many horrid things O if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory Father forgive them they know not what they do Alas the Panther hideth his head when he allureth the beasts the sweetness of his smell or beauty of his skin only the Drag is said to flie from him Isid li. 12. 2. See Mead upon Revel p. 2. p. 52. Alas they see not the head which is ready to affright them and devour them and not only is it the ground of this bondage but of all the rest how cometh it to pass that poor souls are plunged into such desperate gulfs of despairing and such breaking bondage in that kind but because they are held in ignorance they do not come to know the Father and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent he keepeth them in ignorance of the promises the sweet and precious promises of Jesus Christ O dear friends it is impossible were it not for our ignorance of that love of God in Jesus Christ and that riches exceeding riches of grace that is in him and his thoughts that are above our thoughts that there should be so many cloudings such fearful plunges as many poor souls are put unto yea many times even after they are once delivered from them why now I say when the Lord Jesus cometh ariseth upon a soul as the Sun of righteousness he dispels this ignorance discovers sin in its own colours and indeed worse it cannot be set forth in therefore the Apostle saith that sin might appear to be sin and then he opens the treasuries of the Promises of the Covenant of Grace to let a poor sinner see there is enough for him there though his sins be great yet mercy is transcendantly greater if he have mountains to be covered the Lord hath a sea to swallow them up if multitudes of sin there is multitude of mercies there is love which will cover a multitude and so by discovering himself thus and our selves to our selves he by degrees setteth the creature at Liberty from those fearfull apprehensions of God and from that delight in sin which formerly he had taken so that now no longer will he serve it But a little more plainly take a Scripture or two for it in that of Isaiah To proclaim liberty to the captives the opening of the prison to them that are bound the opening of the prison some read it so and so do our Translators though it is acknowledged by the learned among us that the latter is no where else used in this sense for the prison nor for the prey as some others use it and therefore some do take the word to be but one and render it omâ—imâ—do apertionem so that the doubling of the Letters here are Emphatical and by way of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though then Manaph here remaineth as a difficulty for words so doubled use not to be so joyned together so that some would have it here nothing else but a very large opening of their eyes and say that it is used most properly if not constantly of the opening of the eyes and surely this is the way of Gods delivering his Captives and agreeable to the text here the Sun arising in the morning opens the eyes setteth the senses at liberty from that prison of darkness they were in in the night and elsewhere it is manifest in that of Luke 4. 18. To preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blinde and again the Psalmist The Lord looseth the Prisoners he openeth the eyes of the blinde therefore Paul was sent to open the eyes of the blinde and turn them from the power of Satan to God and from darkness to light for we must know that this bondage is of the soul the faculties thereof and chiefly the will Now the Lord when he cometh to deliver us dealeth with us as with men and therefore first opens the eyes of the mind and draweth us with the cords of a man with arguments over-powring our reason and then with the cords of love sweetly thereby inclining our hearts and bowing our wills and then the poor creature comeeth forth out of this bondage before we see we are in prison or see the loathsomness of it the darkness of it we are in love with it and will not go forth But Secondly This darkness comprehendeth another and that is Error or rather this ariseth from the other and therefore we shall speak to it apart Ye err not knowing the Scripture nor the power of God he saith not ye err not knowing immediate Revelations but not knowing the Scripture for there the light is in the Lanthorn if we will behold it now this error of what kind it will be it is a snare of the Devil and therefore it is a bondage The Apostle there speaks of Heretical Doctrine held by such as do perversly oppose themselves against the Ministers of Jesus Christ who hold out the truth as it is in Jesus He sheweth how Timothy is to carry himself to them in meekness instructing them that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledgement of the truth Repentance is a turning from sin to God and to the contrary Grace or Vertue and that is the acknowledgement of the truth therefore their sin was some corruption of the truth and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him at his will out of the snare of the devil a sad snare it is if the devil can but get so far within a man as to dazle his eyes to blinde them he may lead them whither he will if he can but corrupt their judgement especially in fundamentals or practicals then they are his own they are fast enough he carryeth them captive takes them alive even at his pleasure Now our liberty from this part of bondage also is by the arising of the Sun of righteousness upon us the Spirit maketh us free as he is a spirit leading his people into the truth not only the notion but the practise of it also we have an anointing whereby we know all things saith the Apostle speaking of Antichrist it is needleâ—s for me to speak to you of him you have an anointing will teach you to avoid thâ—se his errors O happy is that soul that hath such a Guide such a Leader to lead him forth out of prison even as the Angel went before Peter else between sleep and wake hope and fear he might haply have mist his way So the Lord Jesus cometh and giveth his Spirit and bids the soul go forth alas whether should they go they know not the way as Thomas said why saith he â—ollow me I will lead you as he in his word hath therein revealed himself and maketh it out by his Spirit to his
this terror and this bondage a means to their inlargement Ah blessed Prison that is only to make poor creatures willing to be at liberty well now this the Lord Jesus when he cometh and revealeth himself to a soul he brings him out of these labyrinths of fears and terrors letteth the poor creature see that himself is the way and the only way he hath undertaken the work for his people only if they will believe though they have no strength in them to do any thing nor to extricate themselves from the difficulties they find themselves in by reason they cannot fulfil the Law yet he is the mighty one upon whom help is laid and withal letteth them understand how his bowels do yern over them and how his heart is open ready to inlarge them and so perswadeth them to close with him and then they go forth when faith cometh so Christ is the end of the Law and the â—aw a School-Master to bring us to Christ But that is but the Sixth Seventhly Another part of this bondage is those after-claps of fears and terrours that after Christ hath been revealed to and in a soul may befall the creature alas you find it so they may be clapt up afterward in the pit of noise the horrible pit and be in the deeps and in darkness and like Jeremiahs dungeon sink in the mire where there is no standing they feel no bottom of their misery their fears are overwhelming or like Jonahs Whales belly they are in the belly of hell and all the waves and billows of God go over them O this is sore bondage however it be true that the Spirit of God is never any more a spirit of bondage to them to witness to them they are children of wrath afterward yet he doth not say but they may have bondage again and all fear hath torment and is bondage to the Spirit it doth fetter it and shut up and contract the spirits exceedingly Now I say the darkness of a mans own heart which doth naturally gender fear and Satan to help and the frowns of Gods displeasure for the present though he do not witness any more that a man is a child of eternal wrath and displeasure these may bring the poor creature into sad perplexities Well yet the Spirit of the Lord Jesus when he cometh brings also liberty with him from this bondage David will tel you so and Heman will tell you so do but consider what conditions they were in how came they to be delivered O lift up the light of thy countena nce upon me Son of God arise upon me shine upon my soul and then I shall be healed O restore to me the joy of thy salvation make me to hear joy and gladness c. Well the Promise doth extend even to this bondage also and to this may we refer the next I will speak of it distinctly Eightly There is another Bondage and that is the fears of death and judgement whereby many a poor creature is kept in Bondage all the days of their lives as the Apostle saith in that to the Hebrews to which I will speak a few words He came saith the Text and took part of flesh and blood that through death be might destroy him that hath the power of death that is to say the Devil and deliver them that through fear of death were all their life-time subject to Bondage Brethren death it self is a terrible thing the Simplex could say but hardly could he tell the reason of it for them that have no fear of God before their eyes but have put out the eye of reason and live like Beasts giving up themselves to commit wickedness with greediness though while they can keep off the apprehensions of death they may go on merrily but when that seizeth upon them it marrs their mirth it maketh a change in their faces and they are not now truly death is not so terrible in it self considered but that the stoutness of a mans spirit specially where there is no other consideration of it he may overcome it and live above the fears of it as the Heathens some of them did but now a man that knoweth indeed what death is not only a dissolution of the union between the soul and body taking down this mouldring Tabernacle but a Serpent with a sting it is where sin and guilt lies upon the soul it is the beginning of sorrows the arrest of the soul to judgement to come to receive its doom for all its bloody evils he hath been guilty of The wordling is not willing to give up his soul O he knoweth he can never answer for his wasting of his spirits and spending his time to lay up treasure here and in the mean time neglecting his soul and Jesus Christ and tenders of Grace he knoweth this well enough and therefore he will not yield up his Spirit they shall take it from him as it is in the Parable This night shall thy soul be taken from thee and so for any other sin and now I say this maketh death terrible and by reason of these fears of death men that have any sight or sense of their condition they are in Bondage all their lives long yea even the people of God themselves are in some measure under this bondage and according to the measure of the discovery of Christ to them and the power of faith in them is this fear and this bondage broken and the Lord Jesus came for this end to deliver them alas before his coming the Saints may be specially meant here who had indeed the knowledge of Christ to be crucified for Sinners and beheld him crucified though darkly in the sacrifices c. and in the promise from the foundation of the world but yet notwithstanding they had not that confidence usually but there was more room for doubtings and fears because they died still without the accomplishing of that promise now though such as had an extraordinary measure of faith and a prophetical spirit might see this clearly and so it might raise them much what above this bondage yet ordinarily I believe it was not so that they had such clear conviction of the freeness of grace and the abundance and riches of it in Jesus Christ and therefore it did not so fâ—lly quiet their Spirits in respect of fears of death and judgement they did not so clearly see the sting pluckt out therefore the Apostle saith those Sacrifices though they did hold out Christ could not make the comers thereunto perfect and therefore they were often repeated But now the Lord Jesus he hath by once offering for ever perfected compleated their salvation and therefore you shall find that the Apostle and others do so triumph over death and the grave and sin as we hardly find any before the coming of Christ and it must needs be so because now the Spirit which is the liberty of the Saints was poured out in a
revealing himself in the soul as the Apostle speaks it pleased the Father to reveal his son in me by which means that darkness and terrour is taken away in great measure Christ is all in all the bondage you heard before it is either sin or the sad effects of sin the revelation of Christ answerably is either for holiness or else by joy and comfort wherein he meeteth with both the other the guilt the bondage he takes away to that end himself was made sin that knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him it is the power of Satan him he overcame yet the power of sin that is broken also sin shall not have dominion over you c. If it be terrours fears whatsoever our blessed Saviour where he maketh himself manifest to a soul is enough to take away all but this you have in effect had before therefore no more of it here he adopts us all Joh. 8. 36. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was used in some Cities in Greece as Grot. noteth Secondly another Argument shall be this that they might serve him therefore they shall go forth while a man is under bondage he is at the command of such as he is in bondage unto and therefore cannot serve another Master whatsoever this specially respecteth that part of the bondage which concerneth sin and Satan when Satan had filled Ananias heart could he obey the will of Christ No no more could Ahab that had sold himself to commit wickedness it is impossible for a man to be a slave of sin and a servant of Christ at the same time I speak not what a man may do for an act or two but a man that doth work sin labour it hammer it in his brain forge it there art it and pollish it and with great dexterity for such a man to serve Christ ye cannot serve God and Mammon saith our Saviour mentioning one lust they are contrary one to another When a man doth wickedness with both hands earnestly there is never a hand left for Christ's service that is compleat service indeed when it is from the heart as seemeth by that opposition thanks be to God that ye were the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart the form of Doctrine So that the heart is the main thing if that be gone after sin we cannot serve the Lord Jesus heartily and then for the carkass the lip the eye the tongue he matters it not therefore first the Marriage-yoak must be broken between the soul and sin before they can be married to another even to the Lord Christ to serve him ye are become dead to the Law that ye might be married to another when ye were the servants of sin ye were free from righteousness mind you if under the command of sin you are free from righteousness it hath no commanding power over you at all and if a man be under the commanding power of Christ there sin hath not the command of him we must be dead to sin and so free from sin as the Apostle saith he that is dead is free from sin or else we cannot be alive to God to serve him Brethren I know that every man would be thought a servant of Christ and we look upon him as the off-scouring of the world and not worthy to live among men that would not serve the Lord poor creatures while we are under the command of sin it cannot be when a man yieldeth his members instruments of unrighteousness to unholiness and yet pretends to be a servant of Christ What is this but a mockery but be not deceived God is not mocked would you not take this to be a mockery if one come and tells you O Sir I will be your servant if you will give me this or that reward but you must give me leave to do all the service I can to your enemy you shall have the name of my service but your enemy shall have the reality of it is not this a mockery Thirdly That their services may be more chearful therefore he setteth them free from their bondage and this respecteth that part of bondage which concerneth the Concomitants even sorrow and fears and terrours and the like the Lord doth not love to have his people follow him whining he loveth a cheerful giver and a cheerful doer of his will it is much for his honour that his servants should lift up their heads for what would we say to see a poor servant go discouraged and as if scarce worth the earth he goes upon amazed with fears with sorrows sure such a servant hath a hard Master that he hath so little joy of his life therefore the Lord Jesus maketh his people go forth out of the horrible pit setteth them free from all their fears and terrours that they may with a cheerful and a large heart serve him here is love indeed that the Lord doth so sweeten his yoak and his service as that his people shall delight in it therefore saith he that we might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness all the daies of our lives Fourthly that their services to him may be more strong then otherwise they would a man under bonds brought down with bard bondage cannot do the service which another man can but the joy of the Lord is the strength of his people as in that of Neh. 8. 10. therefore he doth enlarge their hearts that they may run the waies of his commandments takes off the fetters for this very end a poor child of God under terrours and fears or under the prevailing of a lust have as I may say their hands manacled they cannot fight their feet are fettered they cannot walk much less run Fifthly Yet one more and that is lest a poor soul held under bondage too long should put forth his hands to sin this respects specially the bondage of sorrows and fears which are ready to swallow up many a poor creature many times my spirit is over-whelmed within me saith the Psalmist 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like case the Lord will speak peace saith the Psalmist unto his people that they may not return to folly any more for if the Lord should lay his hand upon them continually pressing them they could not alway hold out but if they can find no pleasure in God nor in his waies they would be inclinable to return to their pleasures of sin as in that Psalm let not the rod of the wicked alway rest upon the lot of the righteous lest they put forth c. as you see the Psalmists heels were almost thrown up and himself upon his back his faith upon its back in this very respect O saith he if it be thus I must be plunged every morning alway in the net under the yoak of affliction in affliction and iron continually surely I have cleansed my self in vain and these rods are the rods
their loins but not see them to keep up an esteem among them if they had made themselves too common haply and too cheap it might have weakened their authority So it is in this case sin and Satan will not be seen haply in the business they know if it should appear to a sinner he is in bondage to them it were a dangerous step to dethrone him and devest him of his commanding power over a poor sinner for who if he did see himself thralled to so base and bloody an enemy as Satan is would endure it long and therefore he keepeth them in darkness from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God therefore it is the first work of grace to open the eyes as in the case of Paul who art thou Lord he knew not nor did he know his persecution was a sin he was so far from it as that he thought verily he ought to do many things against that way And truly so it is with many a poor soul they think they are as far from bondage in sin as he that is furthest whereas they are altogether in bondage A man in errour if of a lesser or greater moment he is in the snare of the Devil and yet he thinks himself free specially before admonition else fundamentals are written so clearly that after the first and second admonition if administred with such clearness and tenderness as it ought Dear friends I doubt there are some of us that it never came into our hearts seriously to consider scarce to suspect that we were in bondage do not your hearts bear witness to this truth believe it such are in the greatest bondage of all others ordinarily I know it is true that even from the child-hood under gracious education which the Lord hath promised a blessing to as one of his Ordinances with it may be instilled so insensibly as that a man may scarse ever know how it came to pass but yet that he is free he may know as the blind man said but I speak of sinners that it is too apparent alas if they did or could but search and try and ponder their waies that they are in the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity and yet think highly of themselves as Magus did that they are some body O this is a grievous deceit Thirdly There are some that because they part with some sin they think they are free it may be they were before drunkards or blasphemers now they are reformed and not guilty in this kind therefore they think they are free they have gone forth when alas they are held in the cords of another lust it may be run from one extreme to another reel from one pit to another and truly one chain upon the soul will hold it fast enough one foot in the snare holds it as well as if the whole body were restrained if Satan have but one cord about us he takes us alive at his pleasure Because that they pass one Gate in the Prison they think they are presently out no Brethren there are iron Gates and Bars yet to be opened there are more lusts yet to be shaked off before you can look upon your selves as free Sampson must have his Dalilah Herod his Herodias though he did many things Fourthly Some think they are free because it may be they forbear the outward acts of rebellion so be they can keep themselves unblamable and unreprovable of the world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they heed not what is within Brethren what is it the better to have the hand and the foot out of the snare and the heart be intangled a man may through fear slavish fear of God or else fear of men fear of shame or the like forbear to act and yet the heart love and like the sin well enough The Dog is not offended with his vomit though he bring it up he liketh it well enough it is only some pain at the stomack which he cannot brook So you may pluck away the iron from the Loadstone but it hath a lingering after it still and so Phaltiel when his Wife was taken from him he parted with her indeed because he durst not otherwise chuse for the dipleasure of the King would wax hot against him he might lose his liberty if not his life if he had refused but saith the Text He went mourning after her he did it with an unwilling heart So may a man part with sin the practice of it but yet his heart cleaveth to it still he may cast it away when the coal is fired but yet he could be content if the fire were out to put it into his bosom again Brethren Is it thus with us we dare not let down sin haply swallow it for fear it prove bitterin the belly but yet we will roul it under the tongue as a sweet morsel surely this is not to go forth to be set free from this bondage therefore do not mistake your selves it may be thou dost not gripe and oppress in bargain dealing hardly or over-reach but thy teeth water at it thou couldst digest it well enough thou durst thou dislikest it not because it is sin and displeasing to the Lord thou art not yet free Fifthly Some think they are free because loose Libertines promise them liberty when themselves are the servants of sin Truly Brethren if ever hell were broke loose now is the time the Devil never enjoyed more chain then now specially as an Angel of light it is come to that pass now adays that men think they are never free until they have broken the bands of Christ and cast away his cords from them until they have broken the yoke of Christ from off their necks sons of Belial that will not endure to he yoked though never so easie O these Ordinances and Duties and Services they are a bondage they are poor and beggerly rudiments to which they will not any more be in bondage they will not any more be Priest-rid den as they call it and as for Sabbaths and Prayers and Hearing and Reading and Meditating these are poor empty things and a burthen it is to bear them they are weary and snuff at it as in Malachy It is true they are empty to them that have not communion with Christ in them Else as David saith in the like case The soul may there be filled with marrow and fatness But now mind what saith the Apostle When themselves are the servants of sin I do observe it and it is worth the noting in the example of such as would not have their necks under the yoke of Christ his Ordinances but live above them have the yoke upon them usually they are persons under the command of their lusts and are these likely persons to teach men the way to liberty surely no. Sixthly Some think they are freed and delivered if they do but attain that knowledge which the Apostle speaks of in the
must needs perish God will not be merciful to them Isa 27. He hath a controversie because there is no knowledge of God in the Land Hos 4. and where no vision is the people perish they perish for want of knowledge which cometh by vision and yet it is not knowledge alone will stand them instead the Devils are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that for their knowledge and yet are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for their malice thou mayst have enough then to light thy Lamp and yet have no Oyl in thy vessel remember this Secondly A Hypocrite may have not only knowledge but his affections may be stirred also he may be warmed in the Lamp before it be extinguished there was heat as well as light Some have light without heat such are meer notions others have heat without knowledge and this is not good so far but the Hypocrite he may have light and he may have heat and affection also and yet be a foolish Virgin when all is done Let me speak a little to some affections among many others which they may have As 1. They may have sorrow for sin being convinced of it and what it exposeth them unto How doth Darius when he had signed the Decree against Daniel and his kingdom lay at stake his people would rebel if he executed not the Decree he laboured to deliver him he was sorry for what he had done and he could not rest nor sleep that night and early in the morning cometh with a lamentable tone to him O Daniel servant of the living God art thou yet alive There may be a spirit of bondage to fear or witnessing to a man that he is in a condemned state which is not succeeded with a Spirit of Adoption Sinners you may have your Consciences so galled sometimes with the Law that you cannot rest but cry out of sin O sin sin what a bitter thing is sin yea so far may this sorrow prevail that it may make you vomit up your sweet morsel make you make restitution with Judas God may so fire the Coal you cannot hold it in your bosom any longer the fire of Gods wrath upon Judas even melted his pieces they were too hot for him to hold and yet but a Judas still And I tell you brethren this is much a strong effect of those troubles 2. There may be some desires and seemingly earnest desires after things really good and which bring to salvation as those there in that place of John were they not much affected when they cried out Lord evermore give us of this bread As very a wretch as Balaam was yet he had his wishings and wouldings O that I might die the death of the righteous c. O how beautiful are his Tabernacles c. he seemeth to be taken with them or desires to enjoy that communion and fellowship with them in their Ordinances how beautiful are they And the young man in the Gospel had he not good desires and is it not said our Saviour loved him for that good that was in him though not with that special love of pitty to save him that we read of his desires carried him out far and yet never reach heaven I doubt not brethren but many of us this day have sometimes some good desires and you would have it go well with your souls you may cry out sometimes with the multitude O Lord evermore give us this bread you would be loath to part with the Ordinance of Christ it is good but all this may be in you and yet you may be hypocrites foolish Virgins O that you could lay it to heart 3. There may be also some hope we read often in Job of the hope of the Hypocrite he hath certainly an hope for heaven else he would never be at so much pains as many a Hypocrite is at as you shall hear afterward would the foolish Virgins think you have done so much as they did if they had not had a hope when hope expireth all endeavour giveth up the ghost with it 4. There may be also a joy and delight in holy things as those that kindled a fire of their own in that place of Isaiah saith the Text They walk in the sparks of their own fire that is to say they delight themselves in it And surely brethren the Galathians when they would have pluckt out their eyes for the Apostle they had no ordinary rapture upon them and yet alas how did they apostatize some of them And is is not sad to see in our days many that the Ministers of Jesus Christ whom he hath made instruments of God to their souls they have been as dear to them as their eyes and what is it come to with many of them are they not come to cast off all what shall we think brethren of such in such cases According to the hope so is the joy if the hope be sound so is the joy if the hope be false so is the joy which springs from it the Lord hinders it not haply doth not damp and overcast the soul and O how Satan endeavours to water such a plant as that is for what more available to lay a soul asleep then this he hath joy in holy things this is an high attainment indeed they take delight in approaching to God And we read in Heb. 6. that such as fall away may have a taste of the joy of the world to come such a temporary faith the light of it doth convince and shew us things worth the rejoycing in and then a false hope of a title to them when it is no such matter it will raise the spirit to rejoyce Well this is no ordinary pitch of affections and yet but a Hypocrite the stony ground received the word with joy and they rejoyced in John Baptists light for a season Thou art unto them as one that hath a pleasant voice c. 5. There may not onely be those affections and others but the fervor of them a mans affections may seem to be boyled up to a great height Zeal for God seemeth to be much this is Jehu his case how hot and zealous was he for God and so Judas seemed very zealous of good works when he would have had the box of oyntment spilled Ananias and Saphira seemed to have more heat of love then others to sell their possessions to be with the forwardest and yet you see what became of them and so may we brethren Not but that zeal is exceedingly to be commended and lukewarmness is the most loathsom temper to the Lord he will spue such a man out of his mouth yet there may be this fire which is not of Gods kindling The false Apostles did zealously affect those Christians to whom the Apostle writeth they seemed to be men of more then ordinary love and warm affections to their souls but yet they were but false Apostles they did it enviously to work the Apostle
out of their hearts so to hinder this work among them Well remember this such as are more forward then others are there may be heat as well as light and yet but foolish Virgins but hypocrites when all is done Thirdly An hypocrite he may be careful in avoiding much sin not only in an imperfect will which is overcome by an interest such as Herod and Darius had who were wretches though not so properly hypocrites but an hypocrite may go as far as they surely they may forgo their Idolatry and gross wickedness as Simon Magus left his Sorceries and these virgins therefore they are called virgins though foolish virgins likely though I will not build much upon it but yet we see the unclean spirit may go out of a man for a time and yet enter again he may forsake his gross pollutions and yet return to that folly again wallowing in them as the swine and the dog in that second of Peter there is an escaping the pollutions of the world and yet notwithstanding a returning to them again he that stole stealeth no more I was a drunkard may some one say but now I thank the Lord I am none I was a filthy wretch but now I am filthy no more this is very far and yet all this may be but hypocrisie a profession and no more in the end we may appear to be foolish Virgins Fourthly An hypocrite may have conflict within himself concerning sins that others can take no notice of and this is more then the former there may be an inward regretion and re 〈…〉 ctanâ—y against our secret evils the Conscience being inlightened and di 〈…〉 ng â—hose vain thoughts should be abandoned this pride of heart is loathsom against God it quarrels with the Affections and Will if it be a sin a man would keep and so there is a busle in the soul and many of us may mistake our selves and think it is the lusting of the flesh against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh in us when it proveth nothing so Fifthly They may also do much many duties services be much in action not Napkin up their Talent but act and act much as the foolish virgins you see they went as far as the wise for ought appears step for step Did not Judas act as well as the rest following Christ up and down going forth to preach the Gospel as well as the rest did not Jehu act in an high manner for God Come and see my zeal for God he did much more then many would do And did not Joash reform much in Jehoiadahâ— time he was zealous for the Temple of the Lord and blamed 〈◊〉 Priests they were not so forward as himself was and yet what 〈…〉 d he at the last have we not fearful examples in our own times how many diligent Christians as they seemed to be and yet alas how went they out yea truly I will say one thing more sometimes there may be a doing very great self-denying actions Was not that a self-denying action of Rehoboam and far greater then this of Jehu he had an Army ready to fight with Israel when they revolted 180000 fighting men and yet when the word of the Lord came and told him it was of God and bid him cease he obeys though a kingdom lay at the stake and he was in so fair a posture for it and yet he is but a Rehoboam still and one that forsook the Law of his God when he was strengthened though before he made much of the servants of the Lord. Sixthly An hypocrite may have the assisting inlarging presence of God with him in his service They had preached in the name of Christ his presence had been with them also and yet you see they are cast out It is said of Saul that he had another spirit given him from that day forward a spirit to gift him for the government and when God had rejected him and his service the spirit departed from him and an evil spirit vexed him he had a more then ordinary presence of God with him and yet but a Saul a wretch many a Minister that preacheth your souls to heaven and salvation may perish himself he may have great gifts given and much of Christ his presence with him in the exercises of them and yet perish for all this As the Nurse though for the present eats dainty fare not for her own sake but the sake of the great mans child whom she nurseth So may it be with us the Lord prevent us with his loving kindness And you that are Christians God may give you a gift of Prayer a gift in conferring you may be eminent therein God may assist you much therein It is for his peoples sakes that he will build up thereby refresh thereby your selves may perish notwithstanding O brethren Is not this faâ— that an hypocrite may go Seventhly He may hold out very long and yet in the end prove but an hypocrite and this is the saddest of all the rest and this you see plainly here in the Text the foolish Virgins had well nigh gone to the end when the Cry came they were found with the wise indeed in a sleeping condition but they were as forward as they for externals had not their Lamps gone out it is strange to 〈…〉 der that Judas should be such a rotten creature at the heart and yet should follow him so far many of his Disciples were quickly offended at him and went backward and never walked with him again but Judas went far it may be we may think the better of our selves for our continuance so long in the ways of God it is good if it be right in the root so that it hold oâ—t to the end Hypocrites may hold until they come as I may say within the sight of heaven or the pâ—ice of the Goal and then they tyre and give up Joash how long did he continue following God it was a long passion considering it was not a new nature in it that was the principle a torrent without a Spring to feed it to run very long indeed and so it may be with many a poor soul do but consider under this head two things 1. They may continue and weather out a persecution endure the storm and yet perish in a calm may have indured persecution for Christ his sake for his name and cause and yet alas fall short as for instance the third sort of ground it was not scorched with the Sun when it was up but continued and yet alas brought not forth fruit to perfection for the Thorns choaked it he not only withers like the Bull-Rush before other hearts but sometimes like a tree he continueth and abideth the heat of the Sun Job 8. 17. And that Alexander that indured so much for the Apostle hazarded his life for him Act. 19. 32. is thought by some to be that Alexander which did him much evil of which he complains
use of indifferent things they scruple not any thing as clean or unclean in meats or clothes or days make no difference at all and hereupon they make account they are free whereas this may stand with a bondage unto sin notwithstanding O how may such men in the very use of this part of their liberty enslave themselves to sin to their lusts it is but a pretence many times their liberty is they wil use the creatures liberally and without scruplicity and nicety will nor suffer their consciences to be coy or tickle in such smal things wherein they have a liberâ—y whereas the very truth is they have no command of their Lusts nor Appetites and then liberty is the cloak of it they are so impotent they cannot forbear meat or drinks or such such rich apparel as is a question whether it become them or no they are brought under the power of these things and yet liberty is the pretence Surely brethren this is not to be free neither so much for this second Use whereby we may perceive how many of us that it may be think we were â—ree are yet in bondage to this day these mis-conceits of freedom set us not free a Prisoner dreams his chains are fallen off and he walks up and down at liberty but when he awakes alas his bonds are upon him still Seventhly No nor yet is every one that doth endeavour to fulfill the Law of God yet set free there is many a diligent soul very industrious and laborious it may be and as they think for heaven that would put the most of us to shame in this point and yet all this while alas they are working in their fetters in their bonds yea they do twist and work bonds they are held in the cords of their own services stick there and never go further these are not free neither it is not Moses any more then Abraham that can make free it must be the Son must do it yea truly for my own part I take it that these poor souls that are under the Law as a Covenant of life are in the most dangerous condition for alas they are in love with their bondage and so much the more because they take it for freedom A man is in love with his Fetters because they are gold he maketh account they will buy his freedom when he pleaseth when any offers to take them away what would you have me to part with my gold O no And so many a poor creature is in love with a Sepulchre full of rottenness and dead mens bones because it is painted and garnished how hard a matter is it to perswade many a Justitiary among us that he is in such a bondage and stands in need of this great power of Christ to make them free c. Well then do we move as heartless Christians do like Watches with outward motion come duties from us like fire from a Flint alas do we what we do by constraint or of a willing mind are we a free people is love our constraint as the Apostle 2 Cor. 5. c. 3. Vse Shall be then to take notice what an incomparable benefit the Gospel is that brings such glad tidings unto poor souls in bondage in prison Brethren do but imagine how welcom tidings it would be to a company of poor Gally slaves to tell them your Prince hath laid down your ransom for you and hath sent to proclaim Liberty to you if you will go forth O how their hearts would leap within them for joy they could hardly believe it at first but would be like them that dreamed there in the Psalms but when they come to themselves surely they would rejoyce more in it then if they had found great spoils you have heard it is the Gospel preached whereby this Liberty is held out yea and conveyed for the truth shall make you free and now to a man that is in love with the prison and not willing to come out the tenderings of Liberty is not so much but he that is weary of the nastiness of the Prison of the weight of his chains he whose spirit is overwhelmed with the pre-apprehensions of his condemnation and it may be never expected to come out of his prison except to be led to Sentence or to the Execution now for Liberty to be proclaimed to such and freely too O what a benefit is here Brethren if it were not for this Gospel of glorious Liberty what were the world but a prison a dungeon full of poor miserable Caitiffs shut up under sin to the revelation of the righteous judgement of God at the great Day it were better for us to die assoon as we are born were it not for this Gospel What miserable comforts were our Riches our Honours our Friends and Relations were it not for this Gospel A man in prison liable to condemnation under Bolts and Shakels tell him of wearing soft rayment or Royal dainties faring deliciously every day alas it goeth not down with him he is a prisoner in bondage nothing can be pleasing to him it deadens his heart his rellish to all things else liberty would be a sweet welcom message to him Brethren this is the tidings of the Gospel 4. Vse See here and admire the riches of this Grace of the Gospel in Jesus Christ that he should proclaim Liberty to the Captives notwithstanding their wilfulness in throwing themselves into these chains their willingness to continue in them and unwillingness to go forth to go out of them notwithstanding their being worn out as I may say and spent in this bondage so that they can very little be serviceable to him For the first of the aggravations of the bondage which tends to heighten the freedom and deliverance from it that we wilfully plunged our selves into it if a man be taken captive by the Turk against his will we pitty him much but if he wilfully throw himself upon them this takes away much of the compassion yet this is our case did not Adam sell us in the first transgression in which respect we are all to this day sold under sin yea more then so alas what sinner is there almost that liveth to any years but he sells himself with prophane Esau sells his soul and his hope of heaven and all for a Mess of pottage for a little moments satisfaction to his lusts Nay do we not all subscribe to that act of selling us under sin when we so willingly imbrace our chains In so much that some do even wear their chains as their ornaments glorying in their shame that is to say making their boast of their wickedness And that yet notwithstanding when no eye pittied poor sinners in this condition they themselves were so far from pittying themselves that they were pleased with the prison all men in the like condition with themselves cannot pity them the Saints alas want bowels to such as willingly are in bondage that yet