Mercy think how you can possibly escape the Wrath of the lamb Trust not to the secresie of dens to the mercy of mountains to the might of rocks these will all be as deaf to your cry as you are to the cry of the Lord. Now you have a rock before you which will then be a rerefuge put you into the clefts of this rock and the indignation shall pass over you stay out at your utmost peril Wretched souls how is it that t is so hard to perswade you in to Christ How is it that the clifts of this rock have so long opened to you yea that the rock hath followed you and cryed after you put in hither and you shall be safe and yet so few have been perswaded in Lord how few how many still stand without and it may be are mocking at the fears of them that are gotten in Sinner how canst thou think without a trembling heart of being found out of Christ in that great day of his wrath O fear fear and beware fear and hide hide thy self in Christ and then thy great fear will be over There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Rom. 8.1 But how may we hide our selves in Christ I answer 1. Cry unto him to take you in 2. Consent to him while he offers to take you in 1. Cry unto him to take you in to sprinkle you with his bloud which alone will save you from his wrath say but with a better heart and in a better sence than they did in the words of those Jews Math. 27.25 His blood be upon us and our children There 's a double sence in which these words may be spoken 1. The guilt of his blood be upon us 2. The attonement of his blood be upon us T was in the first sence that those wicked Jews imprecated his blood be upon us let the guilt of his blood be upon us let our own souls answer for the fact of putting him to death Beware sinners that that precious blood be not thus found upon you Impenitent sinners the guilt of Christs blood is upon them they are his betrayers and murtherers and by their impenitence in sin they allow the deeds of those wicked ones that crucifyed him What 's said of Apostates Heb. 6.6 is chargable upon all impenitent sinners They crucifie the Son of God afresh for 1. It was sin that did crucifie Christ both as the meritorious cause and as the instrumental cause t was the sin of the Jews that set them on work 2. There is such malignity in sin that if it were able would fetch Christ out of heaven again and put him to death again 3 Impenitent sinners stand with this weapon in their hand to do their worst towards the repeating this wicked fact 4. There is in the crucifying of Christ a putting him to death and a putting him to shame the former they would do and the latter they do once and once again What a shame was it that his crucifiers cast upon him in crying out not this man but Barrabbas Impenitent sinners do the like in turning from Christ to thy sin thou also sayest not Jesus but Barrabbas these murtherers for me not Christ but my lusts and wickedness and though there be not such a word in thy mouth yet this is the cry of thy fact the guilt of his blood be upon me Sinners your going on in your sins is a kind of doing that wicked act of crucifying Christ once and once again Every oath that you swear every lye that you tell every scoffe that you cast out against Christ and his ways is your crucifying him afresh This is the voice of your sins crucifie him crucifie him on with his mocking robes and crown again spit at him and buffet him again scourge him again up with him to the crosse and nail him and pierce him again Every sinner is bringing in more thornes and more nailes and more vinegar and gall and more spears to thrust him thorough Here take my thornes saith one take my nailes saith another take my spunge and my spear saith another and strike to the heart And the cry of this your fact is the guilt of his blood be upon us Tremble O impenitents did you ever think that there there had been so much in your impenitence as this But 2. There is the Attonement of Christs blood and in this sence t is I exhort you to cry his blood by upon me let that blood of sprinkling which speaks better things than the blood of Abel as it is peace and a propitiation for sinners so let it be upon me Beg of Christ to take you in and make you partakers of the merit of his blood of the vertue of his blood whereby your iniquities may be pardoned and purged away that when they are sought for they may not be found Go sinner go unto Jesus lift up thine eyes lift up thy voice stand crying at his door Lord open to me Lord take me in among thy pardoned ones let the blood of the lamb be sprinkled upon me 2. Consent to Christ whilest he offers to take you in you may know what 's to be done to get in to Christ by considering over that special mark which I have already given you to prove your being in Christ T is your consent that will prove you to be in Christ and the same which will be your evidence will give you entrance in him Sinners give your consent to Christ get your hearts to approve of him to be will satisfied that t is safe venturing upon him that he is a sure refuge that both can and will hide you from the wrath to come Accept of Christ If you be satisfied that t is safe venturing with him make your adventure embarque with this faithful Pilot and with him trust your selves Dedicate and give your selves to him as his right and property and be sure he will hide his own Speak unto him this hour here I am Lord no longer mine own I here pass away and make over my self unto thee for ever take me as thine own for thine I am resolv'd to be take me for thine own and take care of me as thine own I am thine save me Give him the right and give him the present possession of you rise up this day ye servants of the Lord and go and serve him What wilt thou have me to do Lord how wilt thou have me to live speak Lord I 'le henceforth know no other voice but thine this world shall be no longer heard against the voice of Christ this flesh shall be no longer heard against the voice of Christ depart usurpers I am neither mine own nor yours what have I any longer to do with you I am Christs and him only will I serve and through the help of the Lord I will go from this place bound in the spirit and resolved in mine heart to be governed guided and employed by him alone This is the
weakness of our sight is helped out by Faith Faith helps us to see with God's Eyes it looks on all things as God looks on them The Lord hath told us what he sees in Sin what a Snare it is what a Serpent it is what a Plague it is and what a Womb it is big with all manner of Miseries and Mischiefs which it's bringing forth upon us God's Mouth is Eyes to Faith by Faith we understand that it is even as it hath been told us of the Lord. Faith helps us to a present view of Sin and to a foresight of all that is behind of all those Floods that this Serpent is casting out of his Mouth to devour the Soul that Woe and that Wrath it's bringing upon Sinners both here and hereafter Future Evils that depend not necessarily on certain Causes are no otherwise clearly to be discerned but by the Eye of Faith And from this Faith this Fear arises as the Apostle 2 Cor. 4.13 We have believed and therefore have we spoken so may it also be said We have believed and therefore fear Heb. 11.7 By Faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet was moved with Fear Sinner art thou yet secure is the Evil of Sin yet unseen by thee and thereupon is it but a light thing to thee Canst thou make a mock of Sin Canst thou make a sport of Sin canst thou take thy rest in Sin and make a Tush at that Wrath that Sin is bringing upon thee Believe God What is it that the Lord hath spoken of it God sayes It is an evil and bitter thing Jer. 2.19 A Root bearing Gall and Wormwood Deut. 29.18 Like that Star which fell from Heaven Rev. 8.11 whose Name was Wormwood and which turned the Waters into Wormwood of which Men died because they were so bitter God says It is an heavy thing which hath brought the whole Creation into Bondage under which it groaneth and travelleth in pain Rom. 8.22 God sayes The Soul that sinneth shall die Ezek. 18.20 Though the Devil sayes He shall not die though Mens hearts say It is a matter of nothing and because it is a common thing count it but a very small thing and can flout at others Fears Yet God sayes They are Fools that make a mock of Sin Prov. 14 19. And God sayes thus not only concerning some particular Sins the most notorious and those of the deepest die Murthers Adulteries Blasphemies the World will say the same of these He that doth such things is worthy of death But God speaks it of Sin in Specie the whole kind of it little or great the least sinful words even vain words the least sinful thoughts yea even of Sin in semine the inward brood and spawn of Sin that lies in the heart the evil dispositions and inclinations of the Soul which have not broken forth into Act the word is general Rom. 6.23 The wages of Sin is Death Believe God believe and tremble 3. There is Love in it This Fear hath love lying in the bottom of it from whence it arises both the love of God and goodness and that natural and innocent self-love which God hath planted in us and it is not our Sin but our Duty to maintain There is a Fear concerning which the Apostle saith 1 John 4.18 Perfect Love casteth out Fear but of this it may be said sincere Love worketh Fear Fear is Love's Servant whose Office it is to preserve what and whom we love from being offended hurt or lost He that loves will fear to lose or grieve what and whom he loves Dost thou love God thou wilt fear how thou displease or offend God Dost thou love thy Soul thou wilt fear to lose it As in good things temporal Dost thou love thy Friend thou wilt fear to disoblige him Dost thou love thine Estate or thy Name or thy Health thou wilt fear what-ever may prejudice thee in them So in good things Spiritual our Love will set our Fear to be a guard about them It cannot be but where there 's Love and an hazard of losing what we love there will be Fear Sinners are without Fear about the Matters of God and of their Souls Tell them of losing God they fear it not Why so Why if they do they love not God so well but they can spare him well enough Tell them of the danger of displeasing and offending God It moves them not they bear him no such good will as to fear to grieve him An upright and honest Heart and a good Conscience they have no such regard to it as thence to be withdrawn from any course that may hinder or deprive them of it 'T is to little purpose to reason thus with them Take heed of Sin 't will rob thee of thy God 't will defile thy Conscience 't will disgrace thy Profession 't will break thy Peace This hath little weight with them nor ever will till they have more love for Spiritual Things 'T will hardly move them to tell them your Souls will be lost farewel to all your hopes of everlasting Life if you take not heed of Sin they love their Lusts better than their Souls They love this World they love their Money and their Ease and their Carnal Liberty and hereby it appears they do they are afraid of whatever may prejudice them in these things In times of Persecution for Righteousness-sake they Fear Religion as the Devil they Fear Holiness more than Hell they dare not be Godly for fear their Righteousness should be their ruine Our Love sets all our Affections on work What we love if it be absent we desire it if it be possible to be had we hope for it if we have it we joy if we lose it we grieve if we be in danger of losing it we Fear Friend Thou sayest thou lovest God thy Soul a good Conscience what and in such daily danger of losing all and yet art not afraid Thou sayest thou lovest not the World thou hast an Estate in the World and art eagerly hunting after more and wilt make any shift thou canst to secure and increase it but yet thou hopest thou dost not set thy heart upon it But why then art thou so often in Fears Thou art afraid of Christ afraid of Conscience thou dar'st not be an open Disciple a bold Professor because thou knowest not what it may cost thee and dost thou yet say thou lovest not the World Thy fear Man of what thou thinkest will prejudice thy worldly Interest this Fear is a sign thou lovest The Saints Fear Sin yea and all temptations to it Why so O 't is because they love their God and their Souls 4. There is in it an aversation from evil both from Sin and all the Fruits of Sin The three former Particulars are the causes of this Fear but this is in the Nature of it The Understanding discovers sin 1. To be an Evil a corruptive Evil that will defile and pollute
the Soul a destructive Evil that will undoe and destroy it 2. To be an evil hardly to be escaped It sees the Soul to be in danger of it every day and every hour Evil as Evil is not the Object of Fear but Evil that we are in danger of Evil as Evil is the Object of Hatred not so of Fear there 's no Fear of Sin in Heaven because there 's no danger of it To hear of the Plague or Sword or Famine or Earthquakes or Fire in the Indies or any other remote parts of the World this doth not move Fear it 's far enough off us we are in no danger of it But when the Plague is in the Town when the next House is on Fire then we are startled 3. To be an Evil not to be endured an intolerable Evil Hereupon the Heart shrinks back from it and is in pain till it can be secured against it 5. There is foresight in it Fear is of future Evil apprehended to be coming on Prov. 22.3 A prudent Man foreseeth the Evil. This prudent Man is the very same with this fearing Man as appears by the next words and hideth himself 't is Fear that makes Men hide A bold Sinner is blind and cannot see afar off 2 Pet. 1.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pur-blind that can see things very near but through the weakness of his Eyes cannot see at a distance he is but short-sighted Sinners are Men for the present and they look not to what comes after But sayes the Apostle 2 Cor. 4.18 We look on the things that are not seen as on the Good things so on the Evil not seen He that Fears God sees what 's out of sight to the blear-ey'd World He sees Evils in the beginning of them he sees Midnight in the Evening he sees the Winter in the Autumn He sees Evils in the causes of them he sees the Storms in the Cloud the Birth in the Conception James 1.15 Lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth Sin and Sin when it is finished bringeth forth Death What is there in a Thought What is there in a Lust or an evil Motion Who would fright himself with Fancies saith the Pur-blind World I but what will this Thought or this Lust bring forth Who knows saith the Fearing Soul what a numerous Brood may spring forth out of this pregnant Womb Lust when it hath conceived brings forth Sin any Sin the worst that can be imagined multitudes of Sins all manner of Iniquities Lust will bring forth Sin and what will Sin bring forth Why Sin when it is finished bringeth forth Death A prudent Man foreseeth all this sees Sin 's last in its first its Fruits in its Root he sees the product and issues of things that do appear the burning down of the House in the first Spark that kindles in the Thatch in the entrance of the Thief in at the Door he sees all the rifling and bloodshed that afterwards follows Sinner how is it that thou art so secure Friend what seest thou Some it may be will answer as the Prophet's Servant when he first went up to Carmel 1 Kin. 18.43 I see nothing Others will answer as he did at his last going up I see a Cloud but it 's but a little one no bigger than a Man's hand But the Prophet saw a great Rain in that little Cloud Sinner thou that yet seest nothing nothing to trouble thee nothing to make thee afraid look again and again even unto seven times Dost thou yet see a Cloud rising do not say it is a little one take heed if thy foresight do not thy sense will quickly tell thee what a Storm there is in it Christian how is it that thou art so secure where be thine eyes art thou blind also Dost thou not see the Spark in the Thatch Dost thou not see the Thief at the Door Hast thou a Treasure within hast thou a God a Conscience a Soul hast thou Grace hast thou Peace hast thou Hope And dost thou not see the Thief breaking in and the Fire breaking out that Lust that is in thine Heart and the Temptations that are at the Door ready to steal away or burn up every good thing thou hast How is it that there is no Cry heard within thee Fire Fire Thieves Thieves Look to thy self save thy self O my Soul from the mischiefs and miseries that are coming upon thee We may give a Judgment of what Sin is bringing forth by observing what it hath brought forth Fear will conclude that what hath been may be It 's like to be my case which hath been the case of others What hath Sin done upon the World How hath it filled them with all Vnrighteousness Fornication Covetousness Wickedness Maliciousness Envy Murder Debate Deceit Malignity c. Rom. 1.29 What Fools and Bruits and Stocks hath it made them fit for nothing but to be Fuel for the Eternal Fire And what hath it done even upon Christians or the Professors of Christianity How low hath it held many of them so low that they can hardly tell whether they are alive or dead and those that have seem'd to be gotten up a little higher how often hath it pull'd them down again even to Death's Door Some Professors it hath slain out-right The Christianity they seem'd to have is dead and buried O Friends when you see what Sin and the Temptations thereof have done to others is it not to be feared what it may do to you May I not say to you as Peter did to Saphira if you look not the more carefully to it Acts 5.19 The Feet of those that have buried thy Husband are at the Door to carry thee out The same Sins the same Temptations that have slain your Friends and buried them behold their feet are at the Door waiting for your Souls also Open your eyes a little and look who there are round about you Behold the Pleasures of Sin waiting for you behold the Gains of Unrighteousness waiting behold your Carnal Friends and Sinful Companions behold the Persecutions and Scoffs and Scorns the Bonds and Imprisonments that are waiting at the Door and what wait they for but to carry out your Souls also dead to those that you have seen slain before you Hast thou seen what hath become of others and dost not therein foresee what may become of thee and canst thou yet be secure Christians you are Men of like Passions and subject to the same Temptations with other Men there 's the same Pride the same Lust after the World the same love of Carnal Pleasures the same fears of Fleshly Sufferings rooted in your Natures And do you not feel these Evil Roots sometimes budding these Fires kindling And have you not often suffered loss by them Yet you hope you have a little Faith some Love to Christ some Hope towards God some Conscience of Sin some Affection for Things Above let Lust alone a-while venture on upon Temptations a-while and O what leanness of