2.18 He puts into their hands the Sheild of Faith which will quench all the fiery darts of the Devil Eph. 6.16 And he prays that that saith may not fail Luke 22.32 And hath ex abundanti for their strong consolation furnished them with a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The whole Armour of God and bids them be of good cheere he hath overcome And the Apostle being strong in the Lord and the power of his might triumphs before Victory with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 8.37 We shall overcom through him that loved us And this bondage we are saved from by this great Salvation 〈◊〉 â—â—ight here enumerate more particulars 〈…〉 Judgement and Hell for this great Salvation saves from the terrours of all these and is a shelter against these driving stormes which swell up a raging Sea of wrath to drown the whole world of the ungodly but these will come in seasonably among those which follow where we shall meet with them before we make a full dispatch of this Reason 4 To give you one generall that may be comprehensive of all particulars that we need to speak to It saves from all evills Now all evills have been well reduced into two rankes 1 Mala culpae Evills of sin 2 Mala paenae Evills of punishment 1. Salvation is from Sin yea and the best part of Salvation too 'T was this that gave unto Christ his saving name Mat. 1.21 Thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sinns Salvation from wrath which is done in Justification is quiddam exterius the work of Christ without us who dyed for our sinns and rose againe for our Justification who did undergoe the curse of the law in his passive obedience and fullfilled the righteousness of the law in his active obedience for the justification of sinners but Salvation from sin which is d ne in Sanctification is quiddam interius the work of Christ within us who workes all our workes in us as well as for us See that pithy and pertinent treatise upon that forecited Scripture Mat. 1.21 entituled Salvation from sin by Jesus Christ published not long since by a judicious and faithfull Brother of our Association Mr. George Hopkins of Evesham where you may read to satisfaction upon that profitable subject and save me the labour of enlarging upon it And as it is from sin so from all sin that lies within the reach of repentance There is a sin indeed which the Scripture hath excepted called the sin unto death and the sin against the Holy Ghost which is therefore impardonable because the sinner is impenitent and because that sin is alwayes twin'd with a totall and finall apostacy otherwise there is no sin so great but may be pardoned no sinner so great but may be saved First hear what testimony the old Testament gives unto the Salvation Covenant Moses is very large in dealing out the great pardons of the great God to great sinns Exod. 34.6 7. saying he pardoneth iniquity transgression and sin as if he alluded to the three degrees of comparison magna majora maxima peccata performing to the full what that Scripture promises Isay 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and turne unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon or according to the originall he will multiply to pardon The Prophet Ezekiel 36.25 dotr particularize I will pour clean water and ye shall be clean from your idols and from your filthyness will I clense you though your sinns were as great as idolatry against the first Table or uncleanness against the second and we can hardly think of greaâ—â—â— yet upon returne to God they may be pardoned and purged The Prophet Isay 1.18 goes yet further if further may be and makes mention of the pardon of Scarlet and Crimson sinns i. e. Sinns that are double dyed dyed in graine like those colours aggravated with the most notorious of circumstances as bloody as murther as Davids matter of Vriah or as black as Hell as Manasses witchcraft and familiarity with Evil spirits yet upon Gods termes they may be forgiven Secondly and because you shall have the evidence of this truth from the mouthes of the two witnesses the New Testament as well as Old peruse that place Mat. 12.31 That very verse that puts a barre to the Salvation of sinners against the Holy Ghost opens a wide doore of hope unto all besides All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men Know further that Salvation from sin to give you the dimensions of it is 1 Either from the Condemning power 2. Or from the Conmmanding power of sin and in respect of both it deserves the title of great Salvation 1 Believers are saved by Christ from the condemning power of sin Rom. 8.1 The Apostle layes it downe as a most certaine conclusion resulting by way of Argument from antecedent premises Now then there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus Iohn 3.16 They shall not perish Iohn 10.28 They shall never perish and Iohn 5.24 Shall not come into condemnation 2 And they are freed from the commanding power of sin Sin doth not reigne in their mortall bodies that they should obey it in the lust of it They have given their members servants to righteousness unto holiness and though they sometimes do the Evill which they would not yet they have sued out their divorce and can say with the Apostle their consciences bearing them witness It is no longer I but sin that dwelleth in me They have put themselves under the regency of Christ and put up that petition daily in his name Thy Kingdome come desiring that God and Christ by the holy spirit may bear rule in their hearts and not sin and Thy will be done wherein they desire to be made willing to be ruled by his will and not the lusts of the flesh and by this meanes though sin be not â—jâ—cted from its inherency yet it is dejected from its regency and they are neither servants nor slaves of sin 2 Salvation is from punishment à malis poenae as well as à malis culpae from wrath as well as sin and this so great Salvation that I fear too many do look upon it as the vna vnica salus that that comprehends the totality of Salvation but having said enough to undâ—ceive you in the antecedent branch of Salvation from sin it remaines that we discover this also to be a considerable part though not the totum integrale the All of this great Salvation As all of transgression is epitomiz'd and summed up in Scripture in the terme of sin so is all of wrath and punishment in this terme of death and therefore the Apostle briefly layes downe both Rom. 6.23 The wages of sin is death i e. All death is
worthy the glory which shal be revealed When we are inticed to sin let us sit down and count the cost it may cost our lives it may cost our precious Souls it may loose us Heaven and Salvation for eternity and when we are discouraged in the waies of God in laying out our selves to be wail our sins to treasure up grace to perform duty and not be weary of well doing to suffer patiently whatsoever can befall us for Christ's sake then let us sit down and count our gain It will make us live comfortably it will give us hope in death it will give us boldness in Judgement it will save us from hell it will advance us to Heaven To wind up all let me speak close to you as once Paul did to Agrippa as if he would offer violence to force his belief O Agrippa believest thou the Scriptures I know thou believest you that have read or heard these Lines do you believe these things I know you believe them they are so set out in the demonstration of the Spirit and in power that you cannot gain-say them and if you cannot contradict them will you not believe them 1. Do you believe Gospel-Salvation to be great Salvation The Angels believe it and admire it 1 Pet. 1.12 The Saints believe it and adore it Revel 5.11 13. The number of them that gave glory to God was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands and every creature in Heaven and earth and sea were heard to say Blessing Honour Glory and Power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lambe for ever and ever The Devils believe and envy it The damned believe it and the loss of it is that never-dying worm that renders them restless and whether you will now believe it or no the time is coming when you will believe and confess it with hearts as full of anguish as ever they can hold O believe it now and be happy for ever and the Lord help your unbelief and make you believers by the exceeding greatness of his Omnipotent Power and according to the working of his mighty power Oh that the King of Saints would command those everlasting doors of your understandings and wills to be opened to give entrance to the King of glory that you may imbrace and receive thankfully this great Salvation that you may live and dye upon the faithfulness and truth of that acceptable and accepted saying That Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners 2. Do you believe Gospel neglecting to be great sin Those that are truely inlightned touched with the fear of God do think so those that are under the convictions and compunctions of the Spirit of bondage for this sin do think so they are ready to depend and give up themselves as lost and utterly undone under the load of it this is still ready at hand to make up the sum totall of their confessions we have added to all our transgressions of thy law this Monster that we have resisted and slighted thy gracious Gospel Against thee thee have we sinned and done this evil O be mercifull to our sin to this of all sins for it is great The infinite mercy of God and merit of Christ and mighty Spirit of grace and adoption revealing offering and applying that mercy and merit as balsome to the wounded Spirit hath much ado to bear it up from sinking under so insupportable a burden Inlightned sinners will believe it at the last when they are under the arrest of death then they will be ready with Cain and Spira to fill all the ears about them with their despairing complaints then they could seek the blessing with tears as Esau did could be content to fill heaven and earth with their roarings if that would help them Believe it Sirs the Devil that tempts you to make light of this Salvation now and presents it as a Molehill will then turn the other end of the prospective and make it as bigg as a Mountain and perswade you it is greater than that it can be forgiven How much better were it that you should now believingly receive in this truth in the power of it that where sin hath abounded grace may super-abound and that you may in time leave and loath this sin before it be your everlasting undoing 3. Do you believe that Great Damnation remains for such as dye in this sin that the wrath of God abides on them here and a sorer punishment and more fiery indignation will abide on them if conversion prevent not world without end Those that are in hell already do believe it yea they know not how to evade the believing it They do curse those Mountebank Preachers that heal mens wound with oyly words that speak Placentia things that may please itching ears rather than things that may profit unbelieving hearts Yea they do charge it heavily upon their deceiv'd own deceitful hearts that when they heard the words of the Curse and threats of Damnation caused them to bless themselves in their cursed practises though they added drunkenness to thirst and Gospel-refusing to Law-transgressing till all curses written and unwritten came in tumbling upon them like mighty waters How much better were it for men to carry about with them a hell in their consciences than to be carryed captive by the Devils into this hell of torments How much easier were it for them to descend every day into hell by meditation than at their dying day to be doom'd unto hell by condemnation Pliny writes of the Lions whelps that he is at first much given to Sleeping but being once awakened scared with the hideous roaring of the old Lion sleeps ever after with his eyes open The application is to our present purpose very pertinent Those that set light by Salvation are much given to sleeping they hear in the Text Damnation thundred out against such sleepers like the roaring of a Lion Rampant I heartily wish that this use may be made of it that our consciences may be so throughly awakened to see our sin and danger and duty that we may alwaies sleep with the eye of conscience open and that we may resolve not to suffer our eyes to sleep nor our eye-lids to slumber nor the temples of our heads to take any rest till we have made this great sin our great Lamentation till we have great and grounded probability of escaping this great Damnation and till we have believed and prayed and lived our selves into some setled and imfalliable perswasions of our obtaining of this great Salvation All which the Lord give grace unto his chosen people effectually to perform for his great names sake for his beloved Sons sake for his gracious Spirits sake And the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all 2 Cor. 13.14 Amen Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end Amen FINIS
speechless they will not have one word to say for themselves why the sentence of damnation should not take hold upon them who have been such willfull refusers of that great Salvation that was offered to them upon such easy tearmes O worke out your Salvation while it is called to day the night is approaching in which none can worke Whatsoever is commanded you do it with your might for there is no knowledge nor wisedome nor invention in the grave whither you are going Perhaps your paines that you must take for it must be great and your sufferings that you must pass through may be great to but remember that it hath been declared and proved to be great Salvation which is to be your recompence and such as will more than recompence you for all that you can do or suffer for it As to the recompence of our doing the Apostle speakes modestly in speaking but negatively 1 Cor. 15. ult Be ye allwayes abundant in the worke of the Lord knowing that your labour shall not be in vaine in the Lord But when he speakes of the recompence of our sufferings a double superlative is little enough 2. Cor. 4.17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worketh for us a farr more exceeding and eternall weight of glory observe but the elegancy of the Apostles Antithesis in speaking diminutively of the sufferings and loftily of the glory which he opposes to them The one he calls 1. Afflictions 2. Light afflictions 3. Light affictions for a moment The other he calls 1. Glory 2. A weight of glory 3. A weight of glory for aeternity Compare 1. Glory with afflictions 2. A weight of glory with light afflictions 3. A weight of glory for aeternity with light afflictions for a moment The one will be ponderous beyond our imagination the other will seem lighter then vanity it selfe well might the Apostle say count that the afflictions of this present world are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us Rom. 8.18 Upon which an expositor of note excellently enlarges and saith non sunt condigni labores nec condignae passiones ad peccatumpraeteritum quod remittitur ad praesentis vitae gratiam quae immittitur ad futurae vitae gloriam quae promittitur All that we can do or suffer is nothing compared to the sin past which is remitted to the present grace which is bestowed nor to the future glory which is promised This was a meane thing that the Author of this Epistle amied at to incourage the Hebrews to suffer the spoiling of their goods joyfully and to take in good part all that might befall them and not to be offended at the Cross because this great Salvation would make them not only savers but imcomparable gainers I shall shut up this point with the same consideration O let us worke and watch and strive and walke circumspecctly let us pray and pray and give all dilligence and offer violence and be abundant in doing and suffering for let us assure our selves whatever men think of this Salvation now in that great day when the Lord Christ shall be made terrible to the refusers of it and glorious in them that beleive the most unbeleiving will be more than throughly convinc'd that the Salvation offered in the Gospel is GREAT SALVATION THE SECOND DOCTRINE Setting light by this great Salvation is great Sin THough we shall easily confesse all sins to be great yea the least to be objectively infinite because committed against an infinite God as we see David swallowed up of this deep Psal 51.4 against Thee Thee have I sinned c. And we shall as easily confesse that no sins are venial in the sense of Rome the Apostle Paul having declared that the wages of all sin is death Rom. 6.23 yet we cannot with the stoicks think all sins to be equal but more or less sinfull as they are circumstantiated that very expression of the sinfulness of sin had otherwise been a paradox which we find used in Scripture and in many of the writings of the learned and orthodox both modern and ancient and the Prophet had been guilty of an impropriety of speech in mentioning scarlet and crimson sins if some had not been of a deeper guilt than others and their sinfulness like those colours dyed in grain Now that this sin of gospel-refusing or setting light by this great Salvation is a sin with an high hand and a hard heart and a sin of that aggravated nature as to be out of measure sinfull is the point that is first to be illustrated and then to be proved by evidence and strength of reasons First for illustration thus The Scripture thunders out a most dreadfull curse against such as do the work of the Lord negligently Jer. 48.10 if the negligent hearers and doers do lie open to the curse of God what will become of those that are so grossly negligent that they neglect both the theory and practick the knowing and doing part and all that care so little for the gospel that they desire not to be acquainted with it that do as it were say to the Lord depart from us we care not to know thy waies nor to walk in thy paths The forementioned Scripture levels that curse against such as are negligent in the execution of Gods destroying work as the words immediately following do manifest Cursed is he that doth the work of the Lord negligently or deceitfully and cursed is he that keepeth back his sword from blood when God shall say to his sword go through a Land destroy all and save none and his executioners must close with it under pain of the Lords curse and fiercest indignation What shall become of such as will not close with his saving work when he shall say to his word go thorough a Land and open blind eyes and deaf ears and dead hearts that men may see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and be healed and when such as should proclaim these glad tidings shall be dumb and not declare it the hearers shall be deaf will not entertain it there must be blind leading the blind till all fall into the pit and the forna◠must be heat seven times hotter for the refusers of the Gospel than for the transgressors of the Law the fire of gods jealousie burning hottest about the Sanctuary and that judgement being most merciless which beginneth at the house of God read that confluence of threatnings Deut. 29.20 where God threatneth that all the curses that are written in his book shall fall upon such as bless themselves in a cursed estate and adde to that Deut. 28.61 where God threatens all the curses that are not written to the children of disobedience and yet that flaming place being a Gospel-threatning 2. Thes 1.7 8 9. is hotter and heavier than all The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven in
will let fly against the oversights of such overseers O you caterers for the Devil your houses should have been nurseries for the Church and they have been sties and kennels to breed up hel-hounds in you should have brought up your children in the fear and nurture and admonition of the Lord and done your indevour to make your servants Gods servants you should have read the word of God to them and talked of it with them at your down-lying and uprising you should have sought God early and late with them and for them and according to the Commandment should have preserved the Sabbath in your Families as well as observed it in your selves But there was nothing but Prayerlesness all the week and profaneness all the Sabbath when you hired us you gave us your carelesness for our earnest and now have brought upon your selves and us Damnation for our wages The neglected wife will say to the neglecting husband as Zipora once to Moses Thou hast been a bloody husband to me and the graceless child to the graceless father thou hast been a bloody Butcher to me and the unprofitable servant to the ungodly Master thou hast been a cruel Master to me God will say to careless Brethren The voice of your Brothers blood cries for vengeance and those that live here as neighbours and friends in their dull carnal way of neighbour-hood friendship will cry sin and shame upon one another as the greatest foes and most cruel enemies O the heart-burnings that hell-fire shall kindle the everlasting grudges that shall find Fomentations there 's the malice that burns and boyls in that fiery lake in the breasts of the damned 'T was not for nothing that Dives desired his brethren should be kept out of that place of torment one reason amongst the rest may be conceived to be this that their sins being augmented by his and they hardned in them by his society and example his torments at their coming to hell should receive an augmentation 2. As there is no joy in hell there is Greif with a witness yea with a thousand thousand witnesses Men count it their Solomon upon earth to have fellow-sufferers but this will be no palliation to the pangs of hell but augmentations rather especially by the sins of others which have been made ours by accessoriness Here they would not greive with godly sorrow but there they shall greive though with sorrow as far from godly sorrow as the heaven is from hell How many with worldly sorrow have grieved themselves to death taking up Rachells Lamentation perhaps for children or some other relation in the flesh mourning refusing to be comforted But this hellish sorrow doth far exceed it every pang of it is a heart-breaking sorrow we usually say were it not for hope the heart would break and all the mourning in hell is mourning without hope Ezekiel makes mention of a book written within and without with Lamentations and mournings and We and the Damned have no other book to read in If they look to their book without the book of Scriptures by that they stand condemned and according to that sentence is past upon them If they look to the book of conscience the book within that contains nothing but matter of mourning and everlasting Lamentation nothing but what will cause Weeping and howling and gnashing of teeth 3. As there is no hope in hell so there is fear horour in such superabundant measure that like a thousand Milstones or Mountains of lead they would sink the Soul to the bottom of that Sea of wrath were it not bottomless They shall be raging mad with fear and desperate horrour at the fearful sights that their eyes shall see and the fearful things that their ears shall hear They had no fear of God before their eyes while they lived in the flesh they could fear the face and frowns of man who was but Dust and Ashes but the dreadful everliving God that ought to be feared he was not feared we could never bring them to the beginning of wisdom the fear of the Lord with all that we could say or do though we have studyed to speak words that might cut like swords and have preacht them Sermons as keen as Razors Though we have improved all our wit and skill in handling that Sacrificing knife that pierces to the dividing asunder of the Soul and Spirit and Joynts and Marrow though we have in our severe denunciations of certain judgements spoken thunder claps and fire-brands and thrown heâ—l fire amongst them in many and many a Sermon yet they were so cross-grain'd and knotty that they were fearless in the midst of real fears though they could fear where no fear was but now the case is altered before they would not fear alwaies to purchase blessedness Pro. 28.14 and now they shall fear alwaies with Gods curse to boot now they shall fear vvith a vengeance and God shall set a marke upon them even Cain's marke a perpetual quaking not a horn in 's forehead as the Master of Fancy the Jewish Rabbies have some of them thought but a hornet in his conscience The curse that God threatned to the Rebellious children of disobedience Deut. 28.65 shal be inflicted upon them God shall give them a trembling heart They vvould not sanctifie the Lord in their hearts nor make him their fear and dread vvhen he vvould have undertaken to be for a Sanctuary against all other fear Isay 8.13 14. and therefore novv a confluence of all other fears shall flovv in upon them like the billovvs of the raging Sea which cannot rest one in the neck of another Here the very name of the Devil is like a Bug-bear to children if they have but thoughts of seeing him in their solitary vvalks especially vvhen they are in the dark they are ready to creep into corners to hide themselves If they do but dream of him how do their thoughts trouble them till they awake and if they see him indeed though he do not appear in the most formidable shape they are ready to fall dead or mad Oh what will they do when they shall be cast into the same prison with all the Devils in hell and they must continue shut up with them for ever What fear and trembling shall then come upon them what Tribulation and anguish shall fill their Souls to the very brim What horrour and desperation shall over-whelm the damned when the King of fears the death natural hath delivered them up unto the Second death when fear anguish is still coming upon them and they shall never know when Wrath is come upon them to the uttermost it shall all be so to the uttermost and all without end despairing Cain's Language differs now in the several readings one runs thus My punishment is greater than I can bear Gen. 4.13 the other thus Mine iniquity is greater than that it can be forgiven then both these shall be true of all the damned their Sins are