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
Judas when he pleadeth for the poor yet alas God knew the bottom of the business but I say they making such a profession now when they fall asleep it is as much to the dishonour of God as if a real Saint do fall asleep as now for instance suppose two one wise one foolish they fall into some giddy opinion of the times O let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall or else both grow worldly covetous griping or vain indeed cast off the ways of Gods worship the great Apostacy of our times Now I say this is alike dishonourable to God but it is not alike dangerous for the one he sleepeth and his sleep proveth the sleep of death as the foolish Virgins did for though they were roused with the Cry Conscience was a waked it may be yet their hearts were never roused up out of their sleep they were dead-hearted from the beginning and so they remained they never did arise from the dead that Christ might give them life the one when he waketh hath neither oyl nor Lamp neither reality nor profession the other hath both though the Lamp want triming there is not that lively expression of Christ in their Conversations as should be and therefore the light needeth snuffing the one hath the root under ground but the other neither root nor branches so that you see there is a difference between the sleeping of the Child of God and the son of Satan the wise and the foolish Virgins The third Vse of the Doctrine may be this If so be the people of God may thus sleep Then brethren It may be a warning word to us all to take heed of it to avoid it if it fall upon us I mean the people of God it will prove bitterness in the latter end Do you believe this that you are lyable as well as others to sleep that you have the seed within you have those Lusts such foul hearts which with their steam are in danger to benight you every morning every day do you believe this and do you believe it is a part of folly the folly of the wise Virgins to sleep what need more to be said to you concerning these things will not you avoid that which you judge evil But because we have to do with poor sleepy Creatures whose souls it may be are roady to drop asleep even when they are hearing this let me a little sot it on the Lord make the impression by his own spirit and bore your ears seal instruction to all our hearts 1. Then consider brethren that if once we fall asleep we lose our discerning between good and evil in a great measure the Saints that are of experience they have their fenses exercised to discern between good and evil you may happily wake in your sleep but your eyes are shut brethren and it is a wonder of mercy if you do not dash your selves to pieces upon this rock of offence or that rock of offence this stone of stumbling c. as men in their sleep sometimes will get up and climb indeed to the top of the house and are they not in great danger of breaking their necks would you not pitty such a man O such is the Condition of a Child of God that hath a sleepy soul a soul in a deep sleep thou wilt be ready to judge evil good and good evil Jonah his soul was asleep that sin of his laid him asleep though a good man and do you not know how sadly he missed it I do well to be angry yea even to the death what could Gain almost have said worse then he did in this fit A man in a sleep cannot discern light from darkness neither of tasts nor smels all is one to him when once Peter was asleep he could deny and forswear the Lord-Jesus David in a sleep he cannot discern between the chance of war and down-right murther between shewing kindness to his faithful servant one of his worthies in Israel and making his Neighbour drunk a sad Condition Asa in such a time when he was asleep as appears clearly a little before his saith was lively and he could relie upon God for the ruin of the Ethiopians Lybians yet now he relies upon Benhadad King of Syria to help-him against the King of Israel even Basha he was asleep sure that forsakes God to relie upon an enemy and takes such an evil Course to wish him to break his Covenant Then the Lord sent Hanani the Prophet telling him plainly he had done very foolishly he would not bear it he would not be roused out of his sleep brought to repentance Claps the Prophet in Prison oppresseth the people O what will a man stick at brethren when he cannot discern between good and evil where the senses are closed what will not a blind man run upon and yet a good man also and this leads to a second 2. When a man is once asleep alas brethren the passages between head and heart they are obstructed that nothing almost that he heareth will awake him So David when he was asleep you see how sadly he carryed it he went to the Ordinances questionless in the house of God from time to time or likely he did so and yet he lay in that condition for all that alas the word of God sunk not with him at all you know you may call upon a sleepy person that is fast many times again and again and and he answers not or if it move him a little or stir him alas he understands it not he heareth a sound which troubles him but he understands it not and so returneth to his rest again this is the very case of a poor soul asleep you hear indeed but as if you heard not as a man that hath his mind taken up with another thing he heareth but he heedeth not so a poor soul asleep goeth from Ordinance to Ordinance from Sermon to to Sermon and heareth but the word sticks in the ear it reacheth not the heart ordinarily and is not this sad brethren Who would willingly be in this Condition that knoweth what it is to have a fellowship with God heart-Communion with God in his Ordinances 3. Another Motive may be this The poor service God is like to have from us then when we are asleep some indeed he may have but it will be so poor as if none at all what kind of service will that man do his Master that is ready to drop asleep every step he goeth as David what service did he do the Lord while he lay in that deep sleep alas his mouth was stopped he was not able to shew forth the praise of God until he had opened it And the reason is plain because the graces of the Spirit though they be within us it may be there is the root of the matter there are the habits yet we cannot exercise them A man asleep hath life and he breatheth but what Acts can he
rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience he rules there setteth up his throne there service to such a Master cannot be a freedom but a bondage a cruel one A Master that delights now naturally in nothing but mischief though it be but to swine yet he would do mischief much more then to poor sinners and therefore he is said to lead captive poor creatures at his pleasure to take them alive and indeed it is the Devil that binds the pinching yoak upon us his loins are laid upon the back of a poor sinner and his being the Tyrant doth help the former prosopopeia whereby bondage is ascribed to foâ— Zech. 1. 15. the heathen helped forward c. Not as if sin would not work and keep the creature in subjection or were a dead Law of it self and must have a Prince a King to put it into act no no if there were no Devil to aggravate our bondage we should find the rage of lust very great and their commands very peremptory but yet however he is not idle he stirreth up and endeavoureth to enrage our lusts more and more the Devil stirred up David to number the people Why alas David had that pride and fleshly confidence in him that was ready enough to provoke him to it but the Devil helped it forward his concurrence with sin maketh it the more powerful as the Spirit of the Lord acting our graces so doth the Devil also though with some difference act our corruption was it not the Devil that filled Ananias and Saphira their hearts he had filled them as his throne and so had laid the commands of sin of their lust of their carnal fears that they were over-born by them and so he entred into Judas after the sop he came to our Saviour and he found nothing in him and yet he would vex him with his temptations notwithstanding but alas for us he can come within us he hath matter enough to work upon and he can come within us to the very fancy and there secretly work now the Saints they are delivered from this Con. which is a part of the bondage also he rules no more in them for they are not the children of disobedience our Saviour saw when the Gospel went forth to be preached Satan falling like lightening from heaven he came down with a witness was dethroned cast out the strong man armed holds all in quiet possession that is to say Satan holds the heart of poor sinners quietly while he hath his armour their ignorance and this carnal reasonings and corrupt affections and stubborn wills while these are his he is safe enough but now let the Lord Jesus come and take away the armour change the heart of a poor creature and then alas he is spoyled of all therefore he is said to spoil principalities powers to make an open shew of them So that he hath led captive taking captivity actively or passively actively he hath led him that did lead his people captive now captive himself or else passively those were led captive by Satan now the Lord Jesus hath captivated them to himself brought them under his own dominion Satan cannot now any more challenge them as his own nor rule over them as his slaves and this is another piece of this liberty to go forth of the paw of this Lyon the jaws of this rouring Lyon that goeth about seeking whom he may devour Secondly another part of this bondage is the guilt of sin which is an obnoxiousness to the wrath and displeasure of God whether the creature â—eeth it or seeth it not he is under condemnation his guilt is the Obligation which bindeth him over to answer it at the great day of Jesus Christ as you see offenders are bound over to answer it at the Assizes or Sessions this is guilts work in respect of the soul now we look upon a guilty person that is bound over as a prisoner if he go under bayl he is under a bondage by reason of this guilt So it is here the Law of God is that which shuts up a sinner as it is in that place of the Apostle so that we are as I may say in prison and a man under guilt whether he sleep or whether he wake he is a guilty person and under bondage specially if it proceed so far as to a condemnation as it is in this case every unbeliever is condemned already in the Court of Scripture for God doth mannage in this liberty concernments of our souls by a Law by a Law he acquitteth or condemneth and so unbelievers are under this bondage also from this now every child of God is set free there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus their guilt is done away their surety hath satisfied justice hath paid the debt laid down the price and therefore all being cleared the poor creature is set free from that part of his bondage Is not this an unspeakable freedom to have all the guilt of our sins that ever we commtited taken away but this is but the second Thirdly another Con 〈…〉 is this the darkness which from sin ariseth and is as I may say chains upon the soul and no small part of this bondage Dungeons you know are usually dark places and therefore darkness is put for the prison sometimes as a Synonyma to bring out the prisoners out of prison in that place of Isaiah and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house and so again that thou maist say to the prisoners go forth and to them that are in darkness shew your selves The darkness you know imprisoned them in Egypt no man stirred out of his place none went forth nor came in by reason of the darkness and so the night imprisoneth men shutteth up their works and employments night cometh when no man can work which is the night of darkness by removing the Gospel or else the night of death Now when the Sun of righteousness ariseth upon a soul he shall go forth of this darkness or prison Here it will be enquired what is meant by this darkness which is a part of this bondage First by darkness I mean a state of ignorance gross darkness covereth the earth saith the Prophet ye were sometimes darkness but now are ye light in the Lord that is to say so dark as that nothing but the abstract would suffice to set forth their condition Now truly ignorance may well be lookt upon as a bondage for it is the very beginning the principal of all our bondage and therefore when the Lord speaks of delivering a poor sinner from the power of sin he saith who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son mind you from the power of darkness darkness is the power of Satan he is the Prince of the power of darkness as some render that place were it
so humble Abigail and from Bâ—az so humble Ruth and shall not this love of Jesus Christ infinitely greater then all humble such poor filthy creatures upon whom he hath set his love Thirdly Let us hence take notice then of the many precious priviledges of the Saints We live much below them because we study them not keep not the relish of them upon our hearts I mean endeavour not so to do the Lord give us hearts now lifted up to him First then As many as by believing are espoused to Jesus Christ they are one with him in the nearest union Surely it is not for nothing that the H. Ghost delights so to set forth the believers relation to Christ by this of a spouse to a husband you know that this is the nearest union among men of one person to another Kindred are near a man his children his brethren they are usually called their bone and their flesh as the men of Judah spake to David we are thy flesh and thy bone but this is aâ— a greater distance but now in Marriage two persons that were strangers one to another never saw the face one of another within a little while by this Ordinance of God are brought to such a nearness as that Father and Mother and Children if they had any before yet they are not so near to them they shall leave Father and Mother and be joyned to their Husband here this union is the stranger by how much greater the distance between the persons were and how much the closer the union is now it is made the distance was great whether we respect the dignity of the person there was no proportion a King and a Beggar are but a shadow and a dark one too to set forth this a King and a worm to take it and lay it in his bosom is nothing to this but chiefly in respect of enmity of mind alas that such as we are at the deadliest feud haters of God and of Christ not only strangers but enemies through evil works that those should be brought so near to Christ as to be made one with him this is something indeed An impotent and weak enemy that could do nothing against him not so much as move any longer then he upheld us and yet we should be look't upon indeed a potent enemy happily in policie may be concerned to such an union but a weak enemy rather would be trampled under foot But then the nearness of the union man and wife are one flesh saith the Apostle but he that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit The union of soul and body is nearer then of man and wife if too bodies could be acted by one and the same soul this were a near union indeed Why the Lord Jesus and the saints are one and the same Spirit whereby they are knit together in love this is a near union indeed Is this a light thing a small thing to be made so near the Lord of life and glory even the Children of Israel a people near to him who is like them that have Christ so near them of that are so near him Secondly There is a sweet Communion and Fellowship ariseth upon this a blessed imparting now of all his fulness to such a soul all that is Christ's is now yours his righteousness yours therefore the Holy City the name of it is called the Lord our righteousness Now his honour is yours where he is King you are Queen as in the old custom with the Romanes they used to say where you are Caius I am Caia saith the woman where you are Lord I am Lady be the poor Creature never so contemptible yet marrying with a noble person it dignifieth her with a rich person it enricheth her because she hath an interest in all But beloved that though this be matter enough to insist upon if I could enlarge things for fear of being too tedious There is fellowship-Communion between the Lord Jesus and the soul that others know nothing what it meaneth the Lord Jesus is more open hearted to them his secrets are with them they are the hidden Manna and they again are most free to power out their souls to Jesus Christ into his bosom to power them out like water as he will hide nothing from Abraham so Abraham will hide nothing from him such a confidence hath the poor Believing soul that he speaks boldly freely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with speaking all so the original word properly imports that which none else in the world shall know they will make known to Jesus Christ they can be more free with him then any other And not only because he already knoweth the heart as I conceive but out of a sweet confidence they have in him and experience of his bowels yerning over poor souls in such a Condition so that if he knew not all that was in their hearts they would out of this freedom open it to him Yea the Lord Jesus he dyed our death and grieves our griefs and we rise his resurrection and rejoyce in his rejoycings he partaketh with us yea indeed bears the heavier end and all indeed of our miseries and we partake of his joys the oyl of gladness we are anointed with But this is the second Thirdly another is the cohabitation of Christ with his people I will dwell with them and I will walk in them when the new Jerusalem comes down from heaven the Church of the Jews shall come in then he will especially dwell in them then the Tabernacle of God is with men but now saith the Apostle that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith though he be absent indeed in some respect at the right hand of his father absent in body yet he is present in spirit as the Apostle saith of himself as he would have us to be in Heaven have our hearts there and so to dwell there to have our conversations there our love there and where the heart is there the man is Animus non est ubi animat sed ub i amat well we then dwell with him and he dwels with us with him will I dwell saith the Lord. It is a Marriage duty to dwell one with another and if a believer have an unbelieving yoke-fellow if he or she will live with the believer they must not put them away they must not depart from them so it is here the Lord Jesus dwels with his people and this is no small priviledge to the Husband the Bridegroom at hand alway ready to pity and compassionate us in our sufferings within or without But this the third Fourthly he nourisheth and cherisheth them No man hates his own flesh saith the Apostle but he nourisheth it and cherisheth it as you have it there in Nathan's parable one poor Ewe Lamb and he laid it in his bosom and it did eat of his bread and drink of his cup by which are meant all manner of supplies
deep hypocrisie that is in mens hearts or if they had do I think they were to use it but serve Gods holy ends in following Christ his example who suffered a Devil though a white one he was indeed in the likenes of an Angel of light yet he did suffer him in his family until it broke out into scandal There is much in this one reason 1. What deep hypocrisie may lurk in the hearts of men under a plausible profession so that men can suspect nothing many times as you see Ananias and Saphira Simon Magus and others Judas carried it so cunningly and seemed so zealous and full of charity O why was this waste c. when the Spirit of Christ went with his spirit and saw his fetches and deep ends he said it because he had the bag and was a thief the more he had to row in the more bold he might make with it and it would the less be mist but his paint was so exact and so near the life that the Disciples took him to be as real as themselves any of them rather suspecting themselves then him his heart was too deep for them to fathom Because 2. They had not such an infallible spirit given nor have any of the Churches now such a spirit given whereby to know the secrets of mens heart nor do I find that the Apostles had such a spirit given them now and then indeed they had some secret things and actions revealed to them but not that incommunicable property of God to search the heart I the Lord search the heart and try the reins Peter indeed had that private action and falshood of Ananias revealed to him and from thence he concluded Sathan had filled his heart in that he lyed against the Holy ghost but what is this to the searching of the heart and this that was revealed was but for an act now and then in Acts 10. He knew not that there were men sent for him from Cornelius until the Spirit of God told him and revealed it to him so that he had not that knowledge which he had of secret things not made known in an ordinary way by sense he had it not habitually but by several acts Or if they had such a spirit which none can prove they did not act by it in admitting persons for then such as those would never have been admitted Yea 3. If the Church had such a spirit it is very likely she were not to act by it in admission For our Saviour himself though he knew whom he â—ad chosen and knew from the beginning who should betray him yet he did admit him that he knew would prove a Devil and therefore he acted therein according to his humanity and to leave us a pattern that though we may suspect happily such or such a person and not savour them according to that discerning which God hath given us of the spirits of men yet if not scandalous not to reject them making such a profession of Christ as according to charity and Scripture-rules we ought to hope well of And methinks there is somewhat in that Parable of the tares though while in the blade they were scarce discernable from the wheat yet it seemeth by the Parable that now they were come to such a growth as they did discern them therefore came with that Question whether they should pluck them up and yet he would not have if so they were not thorns and thistles and such as would altogether choak the Corn though they might hinder it if only Hypocrites though discovered if they can be discovered without prophaness and scandal they are not to be pluckt up from among the good Corn and hence it is that there are good and bad in the visible Church though the bad seem to be good all are Virgins but all are not wise virgins For the Application of this We may hence take notice of the great indulgence of God and the largeness of his grace and the riches of his patience and long-suffering to poor Creatures in that he takes many as his own within the verge and comprehension of this his Covenant that never really partake of the saving benefits of the Covenant So you know it was with Israel though they were as the sand of the sea yet a remnant should be saved All are not Israel that are of Israel that is true and yet they are of Israel though they be not Israel that is as true Now that the Lord should admit of such to be of Israel that never were nor are like to be Israel this is largeness of bounty Alas how many wild Olives are graffed in among the branches which remain and partake of the fatness of the Olive the priviledges and ordinances and gifts of God bestowed on his Church for edification and yet shall be cast out as branches broken off dryed and withered shall be taken away as barren and unprofitable and burn for ever if thou continue not in this goodness thou shalt be cut off It is not the manner of men to plant such in their vine yards as they know will bring forth nothing but leaves no fruits but sowr the grapes of Sodom and yet this the manner of God to such as shall be cast out into utter darkness yet should be admitted to be the children of the kingdom 2. That he owneth many as separated to himself in such a way before they come to own him and though they dwell under his shadow and shine and in droppings and dew of heaven yet a long time bring forth nothing do nothing but abuse his grace and this riches of his goodness and yet at last notwithstanding all he should go on to separate them to a nearer holiness to himself seize upon their hearts put another principle and seed into them whereby they should be fruitful for the time to come Ordinary experience teacheth us this how many years many a poor formal Professor hath walkt under the means of grace and passed for a Saint and yet hath been in the gall of bitterness but the Lord out of his infinit mercy and rich grace hath healed him afterward It is no question it is the case of some that that very grace which they have so long hypocritically pretended to and abused was that at last which seized upon them Why but you will say this is no priviledge nor mercy to be members of Christ his visible Church if we therein enjoy not Christ and for our Children to be owned as those separated to Christ and yet though Children of the kingdom and be cast out for none are like to sink so low into hell as those which are cast out of the kingdom such as so often abuse mercies and Gospel-grace tendered to them I answer It is true the name of the Lord our God is great and fearful as in that place of Deuteronomy And the nearer a people have been drawn to Christ within the
The people of God which are wise to salvation as well as foolish formal professors are lyable to slumber and sleep the best men and women are lyable to it That the Saints may fall into slumbering and sleeping when they had most need to be awake as you see in this case Happily I may handle them distinctly if I see it may not be too tedious For the first that the best of the Saints such as are wise to salvation yet may slumber and sleep I think there needeth not much to be said by way of confirmation you see this is plainly the heart of the Parable we have in hand or else I know not what it is Jonah you know he was fast asleep in the side of the ship it was bodily sleep indeed but it was an effect of this spiritual sleep that was upon him his graces were now sleeping his fear of God against whom he had sinned in running away from him and his self-denyal these were asleep and made him so secure that though they were in a storm he feared it not as a drunkard that sleepeth upon the top of a Mast in greatest danger and seeth it not nor so much as dreameth of it and it is thought by some also that Zachary that good Prophet who had so many visions from the Lord that he was drowsie and sleepy notwithstanding more then was meet his mind as well as his body but there shall be no question made of the Disciples they were the best of men then alive they were first chosen out of the world the world is a wilderness they were as a garden inclosed therefore the best considered in respect of others and yet you find how often our Saviour endeavours to stir them up to watchfulness What I say to you I say to all watch watch and pray And how much in these chapters surely it argues they were lyable to sleep they were prone to it else that lesson would not have rung so much in their ears Or would David have come over so often with that quicken me O Lord according to thy word quicken me according to thy word but that he found himself going napping and nodding But if we will go to the Christian of Christians the flower in the garden inclosed there were three Disciples that were favourites it seemeth that the Lord Jesus took with him as witnesses of his transfiguration before and now to his passion and Agony yet notwithstanding these favourites when they should watch with Christ they fall asleep their souls were asleep in a great part and therefore their bodies also were asleep However our Saviour saith the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak the spirit is in part weak and unwilling else if perfect it would have kept them awake there is a willingness and unwillingness and for an act the unwillingness may prevail against the willingness as in this case Peter should be carryed whether he would not and yet sure he would there his willingness prevailed but I will not stand any longer onely note you here brethren one thing farther is this that they fell asleep the second time and the third time after they had been reproved for it again and again and that sharply that they had nothing to say they knew not what to say saith the Evangelist and yet they fell to it again if these were so apt to fall asleep sure then much more such poor weaklings as we are in comparison of them Well then if any one further enquire What this slumbring and sleeping is By slumber and sleep I understand brethren the unbending the bow of our souls as sleep is a cessation of the animal actions of a living creature by the obstructon of the animal spirits by the abundance of vapours ordinarily there are some other cases but this is not so much for our purpose Slumbring is when there is a little shorter failing or cessation of the actions of a living creature when the senses are binding as I may say but they break through it and so awaken the person doth there is a double principle in man in every child of God I mean there is a corrupt and regenerate part there is flesh and spirit as you have it in that of our Saviour the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh this flesh this corrupt part we may not unfitly brethren resemble to the vapours that continually arise from the stomach toward the head And the Spirit to the Nerves the instruments of action the graces of the spirit are the nerves of the spirit indeed and by some of them as by the nerves the continual supplies of grace and fulness of Christ the head where the fulness of the animal spirits are is communicated to all the parts to the strengthening of all graces that is to say by our faith Now this being so I take it then a man slumbers and sleeps When his corrupt part doth either with a less or a thicker steam of lusts seize upon as I may say and hinder the graces of the spirit from doing their work from acting specially that grace of faith which indeed doth derive from the head Jesus Christ the spirits lively influences therefore not unfitly is corruption compared to wet moorish places a moorish â—ennish heart that is full of such corruption or a body full of such humors you know is much more sleepy then another Well then to bring it to an issue when sin so fully prevails over us as to damp the graces of the spirit either for a shorter time it being quickly dispelled there is a slumbring or for a longer time there is a sleeping aliquando bonus dormit at Homerus So that brethren when ever we are called to act any grace of the spirit and we do it not though it be but for an act that is as I may say a slumbring though you may quickly recover your selves If it be for more acts or continue any time it is a sleep Thomas his faith was asleep he would not believe his unbelief prevailed much seized upon his faith bound it as I may say and so ignorance and blindness prevailing over the understanding But for faith methinks that is plain When the son of man cometh whether it be to that general day or any particular day of avenging his people shall be find faith upon the earth faith in act to believe this alas people will be asleep their faith surprized and so for love which is another grace it is prophesied of the latter times the love of many shall wax cold the Church of Ephâ—sus had lost her first love she was fallen asleep this is the active grace faith works by it now this action ceased as in a man asleep his members languish and hang down and are not fit for any action so their love waxed cold And so when instead of a holy
a Mariner near his port rowleth up his sails or as a piece of cloth rowled up one turn more and we are turned into the grave What then It remaineth that they that buy be as if they possessed not and they that have inheritances by Lot also be as if they enjoyed them not they that have wives as if they had none for the fashion of this world the Scheme the Mathematick figure of this world passeth away Was it not this which cast Solomon into such a sleep He offended by women though the wisest King So Mat. 24. 37. They eat they they drank 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as some observe It is a word used most properly of beasts living sensually in the delights of the slesh they feed themselves without fear as the Apostle Jude hath it out of measure and so in time there is a season for all things c. make not provision for the slesh c. O that there were more sobriety brethren and moderation among us appearing among us there would not be so much sleeping 6. Take heed of any sin unrepented of of continuing in it for surely that will damp the soul and cast it into a sleepe as you see in the cafe of Jonas David the brethren of Joseph O specially of such sins as stupifie and seal and harden sins of a high hand and against light against mercy with a high hand these are dangerous 7. Be often stirring up your selves as the Apostle speaks to Timothy stir up the grace of God that is in thee the gift in thee as fire under the ashes A man that is drousie had need to shake himself as Sampson did Ah brethren there is a carnal mind in us all which is death it deadens all that is good within us And except we do often stir up our selves labour to keep upon our hearts some quickning Considerations to press them home to hold them to the soul we shall do what we can we shall sleep or at least slumber And beg with David O quicken me according to thy word Alas life is his and all quickning and renewing grace is his therefore we should lye much before him for this mercy if we would not sleep indeed So much for this Use The next Vse of the Doctrine shall be an awakening word It may be brethren many of us that have this word alas are asleep and had need to be shaken and O that the Lord would even do it for us Alas It is not our word will do it it dyeth in the Ear and goeth no further as a bullet whose force is spent dyeth reacheth not the mark except the Lord add an Almighty force to it it will do nothing But I shall endeavour alittle this work by offering some considerations to you You that lye upon your beds 1. Remember in the first place that if Jesus Christ come while you are in this sleep you will be found unready what do you think that a sleeping will put your hearts into frame to meet the Lord Jesus with Surely no One of these two things will befal you either your works will be quite undone you will have your grace to get when you should enter into glory or never Or else if you have it not to get you will not have it in its brightness and lustre as Ornaments upon you ready to open to him to enter with him either your Lamps will be out or else they will be to trim when you should enter O that the Lord would inforce this Argument and his own exhortation Luke 12. 35. Stand ready therefore with your loyns girded and your Lamps burning wayting for his coming that you may be ready Do you think this can be comfortable to you 2. Do but consider seriously what danger we are in when we sleep when we give sleep to our eys and settle our selves to it when we strive not against it First The Philistims will be upon us as they were upon poor Sampson If Satan and our hearts can but sing us asleep then the Philistims are upon us as they were upon him and at last you see how sadly they destroyed him you see what danger Saul was in when he was asleep David might have taken his life from him And Sisera by a poor woman perished when asleep And so Ishboshâ—th when asleep Surely brethren the devil never lulls us asleep believe it but he hath some desperate design upon us which he cannot do when we are awake What danger were the Disciples in when they were sleeping when they should have prayed they were just entring upon the pikes and they were asleep and see what fearful work there was they were all scattered from him and Peter how fearfully he denyed him Could Satan think you ever have brought Lot to that wickedness if he had not been fast in a deep sleep It was strange sleepiness in him to drink so much of the wine Excess overthrew him Surely brethren if ever there were an hour of temptation this is one If it might be tolerable at any other time yet not at this for hell is broke loose the devil is come down and hath great wrath because his time is short O how he hunts after poor souls and who are so like to be drowned as poor creatures asleep Secondly Then God usually doth for sake a soul if he fall asleep As you see in the Canticles her beloved was gone he wayted upon her a great while she would not awake when she got up he was gone O what a sad case was Saul in When God had forsaken him answered him not by Vrim or Thummim and the Philistims were upon him it made him out of his wits almost Ah dear friends If the Lord being provoked by our unkindness giving our selves to sleep do let loose sin this or that lust upon us to worry us And himself depart and stand and see what the latter end will be this will be sad thou cryest to him he will not hear but is as one asleep to thee because thou wast as one asleep to him O what will you do in this day Thirdly Then he is least able to act grace when he hath most need of it because the spirit is withdrawn from him Jesus Christ is departed from him he cannot resist a sleeping he hath no strength A weak woman may drive a nayl through the Temples of a most valiant General then O what advantage hath Satan against us and sin against us The least temptation then 〈◊〉 too hard for us we have no strength to resist come what will come we are naked to receive the thrust And but that the Lord stays the hand of Satan that it shall not reach the heart how quickly would he give such sleeping souls their deadly wound 3 Consider yet further how we put the Lord Jesus to it to prick us and stir us up lest we should lye sleeping and sleep the sleep of death They say the Eagle will
heart and see could he do so for his child though a Mother may take down much bitterness for her child yet would she be content to open a vein to bleed to death to redeem its life when ready to perish I know David in his passion said Would God I had dyed for thee but if Absalom had been alive and in cold bood he had been put to it I question though his affections were strong to his Son but they would have been as strong to himself Self is a mans nearest friend but now the Lord Jesus you see did it for his poor sinful people yea for strangers for enemies Brethren consider of it If any of us were Physitians here is a poor wounded creature lies in the way as the poor man in the Gospel fell among thieves left wounded and half-dead which of us now could find in our hearts to open our own veins and be emptied of all our blood and liâ—e that such a poor wretch might be supplied now this the Lord Jesus doth for such Sinners as we are Brethren if there must be pouncing and pricking he endures it lancing he endures it contusion he endures it For he was wounded for our transgressions bruised for our iniquites the chastisement of our peace was upon him and through his stripes we are healed his stripes are not the bodily buffetings his crown of thorns and such things were nothing in comparison no it is the lashing of his spirit the wounding of his soul the travel of his soul the agonies wrestlings with his Fathers displeasure to an agony when God laid on him so heavily that he was ready to faint and sink and his soul almost fetched at every blow O dear Saviour that ever the cure of such sinfull dust and ashes should cost thee so dear and we so little prize it But 2. That which he prescribes to us though there be some bitterness in it yet no more then must needs it may be a sprinkling from the top of the cup of trembling which may put us into a fear and trembling so much as he seeth needfull to imbitter sin to us it is true if love were perfect here below while graces are imperfect and our ingenuity perfect the looking upon a crucified Christ for us would be the greatest imbittering of sin to us in the world but we are very dull an 〈…〉 ow of heart and therefore a little taste we must our selves that we may gather from thence what the Lord Jesus indured for us we that never felt what a wounded Spirit meant and what the clouding of the face of God from us meant though we may hear of the sufferings of Christ we are not able to be sensible of them and so not to prize that love as strong as death but when a poor creature hath had a drop or two of scalding wrath fall upon his conscience a lash or two though gently upon his spirit that maketh him roar in the disquietness of his â—oul O thinketh he then if a drop or two be so full of terror and amazement what then was the whole Cup what was the dregs how should I have born that if my blessed Saviour had not taken it off for me That which did so parch him who was the Green Tree that he said he thirsted surely would have consumed the dry If he were as a Bottle dryed in the smoak it would have consumed us to ashes If it made Him sweat in such a manner it would have altogether dissolved our frame that we should have perished for ever O if a little wrath when God hideth his face be such a Hell in many souls What a Hell then had Jesus Christ in his soul when wrath was poured out to the utmost for he was not spared a jot And then to make us out of love with sin wherein doth lie the very heart of the core and of the cure surely such are the bowels of God in Christ that as he delighteth not in the death of a sinner so neither doth he delight in bringing the creature to life through so much bitterness and grief if any other means would so effectually work us out of love with sin as this for the Wise God surely would take the most effectual course it is all needfull else he would never do it Why but you will say that hatred of sin is never kindly except the love to Jesus Christ be the ground of it ye that love the Lord hate evil this takes the ingenuous spirit off from Omissions and Commissions It is true but yet consider brethren wherefore do we love Him but because he loved us when his love is revealed and manifested this warmeth melteth the heart indeareth the soul to him until the Lord Jesus be pleased to open and unfold his bowels of love to a sinner he will never love him now whereby should we estimate the love of Jesus Christ to poor sinners but by the unsearchably rich 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he paid for them O the price of every drop of that blessed blood that run trickling down to the earth especially if it be considered by what means it was squeezed out of him this setteth a rate upon his love it is not love in word but in deed and in truth if nothing else will be a price to redeem them but his blood it shall go he is not dear of it to the last drop yea not to part with it by opening a vein but to have it extract out of the veins by the pores of his body O by the unspeakable weight of wrath upon his Spirit Now how can we judge of this except we have had a little taste of it our selves when we are put into a little sweat in our own wrestlings with the displeasure of God O then we see what our Saviour indured for us If a man would set the highest estimate upon love among men this should be the rate of it would they willingly have the face of God in Christ hidden from them for a year or two for the dearest friend they have in the world you that have felt what this lashing of your Spirit is that your breath was even gone at every blow and you were ready to perish and you had fainted except you had believed some secret undiscerned support Tell me would you redeem the life yea the souls of your dearest friends that you had in this world by lying under a wounded Spirit having a Hell kindled in your souls that should burn all your days I cannot tell I know dear Friends will do much one for another O saith one I could lay my hands under their feet to do them good O I could redeem their lives with my own Would God I had died for thee and haply because he saw he was in such a sad condition for his soul but David wouldst thou have been content to roar all thy days in the disquietness of thy soul to have his waves and billows to
of God of a lesser nature those with which the spirit is lashed are most sore and therefore the soul might be in danger to depart to iniquity to return to sin again how soon did Israel resolve of making them a Captain to return again Nâ—h 9. 17 If the Prodigal return in such distress to his Father and he should keep him hungring and languishing when he hath not so much as husks to eat surely this were the way to put him upon it to return again to riotous courses the peace of God keepeth them with God c. Sixthly Again because the spirit would fail which he hath made if he did not in due season break the yoak set them at liberty as a tender Father will not lose his child for want of the rod no more will the Father of spirits for want of â—â—shing our spirits yet on the other hand a tender-hearted Father will much less lose him by over-doing of it as he will not spare him indulge him to death so neither will he whip him to death hang â—rons and fetters upon him until they eat into his soul and consume him O no when the Father seeth the spirit of the child to fall and he beginneth to swoon under his rod under the yoak of fear which hath torment be it what it will be then he letteth the rod fall out of his hand fals a kissing of the child to revive him again we must preserve the spirits and maintain nature in Physick and if purgations have wrought the patient off his strength there must be a restoring with Cordials 1 Cor. 10. 13. he will not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able c. he will not suffer his people to perish and sink and go away in prison and bondage and therefore he causeth them to go forth and doth arise upon them to that end For the Application of the point there are several uses to be made of it First then take notice from hence what a grievous bondage the service of sin is this is the principal part of the bondage and all the rest are but the product of sin sin is pregnant it hath the seeds of all those terrors fears sorrows slavishness deadness straitness and all the rest in its womb but it self is the chief and therefore we are said to be sold under sin and sin is said to have dominion over us so many lusts Brethren in strength so many pairs of fetters there are about our legs and how then is it likely that a sinner should run the waies of Gods Commandments but I hope by what hath been said already it will be granted that a condition of sin is a condition of bondage only a little to aggravate this consideration to you and all little enough I doubt to startle sinners who are in this condition First consider it is the basest most sordid thing that can be you know a servile condition is mean and base in comparison of liberty and freedom take it at the best but to serve the basest of men who would not abhor this what spirit would stoop to be a drudge to a Master to rake Channels and cleanse Jakes who would not abhor this Brethren this is nothing to sin to the slavery of sin as it was the greatest honour in the world to be a servant a son of God Moses the servant of the Lord David my servant As you know servants do much bear themselves up upon the honour of their Masters So it is the basest servitude in the world to be in bondage to a lust for a man to sell himself into the hands of sin and Satan for a moments pleasure of sin this is base It is brutish for a man to subject his understanding and will to the passions of his lust dishonourable base passions for beasts are led by their appetites Secondly As it is base drudgery so secondly the poor sinner hath so many lusts and so contrary to serve and satisfie that he must needs be distracted between them one commands him this way and the other commands him that way as now for a man to serve his pride and covetousness or his luxury and covetousness these are contrary and distract and distort the mind and hurry him hither and thither he can enjoy no peace in his own spirit at all you shall see a man that will spend at no aim when he is in company and none seemeth to set less by the world then he at such a time but afterward when he recollects himself then he must run and drudge and hurry himself and all his family and drive faster then they are able to bear and all to make up that which he hath consumed upon his lusts is not this a miserable bondage to be under such contrary lusts Thirdly Yea consider that these lusts are most insatiable in drinking up a mans time and spirits and strength and will never leave a man while he hath any thing to lay out upon them more So you know the Prodigal spent all that ever he had upon his lusts all his patrimony his time and strength and spirits and all and so the wanton doth upon his Dalilah and thou mourn at the last saith the wise man when thy life and thy body is consumed and say how have I hated instruction and my heart despised reproof except it have all the precious workings of the soul it is not satisfied it must have all the thoughts be in them all though God be in none of them all that precious water must drive this mill as for covetousness now how is the soul under the power of that lust as I may say hanged up like a meteor in the air as the Evangelist hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be not hanged up as meteors in the â—ir as I may say between heaven and earth and be not careful â—aith our Saviour be not divided distracted in your cares O â—hat they shall eat and what they shall drink how they shall accomplish this and that design what a drudge is any man that is under the power of this lust he doth nothing but root in the world in other servitude if that a servant were maimed or dismembered lost an eye yea or but a tooth they must be let go for their eye-sake or for the tooth-sake but here sin doth nothing but wound the soul breaks a man consumeth him soul and body and yet will not let him go sin doth put a mans eyes out that so it may have the more full compleat command over the poor creature and stops the ears and strikes out the teeth and distasteth the pallate so that any thing of God hath no more relish then a chip to a soul maketh the poor creature lame for any lust harboured in the soul maketh a man go with an uneven pace and halt he cannot go uprightly and so it weakens the hands and maketh feeble knees and indeed like a woolf
the service of his people and alas that our reward may be the more abundant our Crowns of grace may be the more weighty so that there is not a step from the very Cradle to the Crown of glory but all is grace and growing until it be swallowed up of that fulness Secondly He is honoured indeed so much the more Brethren by our growth fortes oreantur fortibus O when his people come to that strength to bear the Cross of Jesus Christ to deny themselves to hate their lives for his sake which the Disciples at all times were not ripe for how doth this honour the Lord Jesus O what Spirit is that whereby they are acted that even their enemies themselves have been confounded with the consideration of it and so when they are strong in faith giving glory to God a man weak in faith a child a babe that staggers at every difficulty is questioning upon every occasion whether God be with them as Israel because they had no water O said they is God among us because there was no water now this is not to his honour to have children live in a family together eat and drink of the best and yet to be alway children weaklings as I may say consumpsit this is a dishonour to their Father and Mother so it is in this case what is more choice Brethren then the bread from heaven this wine and milk which is to be had in Jesus Christ which Believers live upon and yet if they be weaklings how doth it dishonour Jesus Christ his flesh is meat indeed and his blood drink indeed but if we come not on with it it will be hard to perswade men so but where they see us go from strength to strength that we can do singular things for Christ in prosperity in affliction which others cannot do O they will be ready to say surely that which these men feed upon is rare and excellent diet indeed Now Brethren alas this glory is nothing to God it is only that he may be acknowledged among men in the way of his grace which addeth nothing to him but to poor creatures it doth yet it is all he requireth and he is jealous of it indeed Now for infants truly Brethren though they act little among men specially while properly infants that cannot speak for him thence they have their names Infants there may be little appearance yet the very consideration of this that the Lord should infuse grace yea such rich grace as you heard into them me thinks should take us up sometimes with more admiration then we are taken up with it for I say no man dare deny but that they may have grace and some of them have grace and all of them that die in infancy for ought we know have Now how admirable is it but God hath made it visible in some extraordinary cases as in John is it stupendious that the like babe should leap in the womb for joy at the hearing of the report of Jesus more then the most of Believers likely would have done upon a bare report Beside how many instances of little children wrought upon even as soon as they can speak I say that can make it appear in an admirable manner and to call God Father at very tender years yea know him to be their God and they his and that they shall have a Kingdom prepared for them me thinks these things are enough to convince us there is no such necessity of years Brethren And then is it not the more admirable is not Christ more to be admired Again it is much for the comfort of his people and truly this the Lord hath much in his eye next to his own glory which indeed is much magnified by the comfortable walking of his people the more then a man groweth up in the knowledge of the things freely given of God by the Spirit of Christ the more comfortably he walks such are an ornament to their profession an encouragement and invitation of others to enter upon the same waies when they see the faces of the Saints that shine to be anointed with the oyl of gladness and the Kingdom of God in them to consist in righteousness and joy and peace this encourageth others that otherwise would be disheartened Now I say the Lord is very tender of his peoples comfort do but observe it and you shall find Brethren the blood and Spirit of the Lord Jesus to run through all the veins of the Scripture and all for the consolation of the Saints these things I write to you that your joy might be full and that through consolation of the Scripture we might have hope else why are there so many promises so often repeated again and again how many promises of remission of sins set forth in various expressions every way to affect and meet with every mans condition but that his design is the comfort of his people and wherefore are the examples of the Saints proposed to us their falls their restoring again but for our comfort and hope surely this is the design Brethren and therefore surely he will carry on his people in the knowledge and understanding of them the closing with them else the work is done but imperfectly for what though the righteousness of God be revealed in the Gospel from faith to faith except there be an eye opened and as the light groweth clearer so the eye groweth stronger and clearer to behold it it will be little matter of comfort to the people of God what is a man the better as to comfort to have rich means and knoweth nothing of it at all and then to grow in grace in all the graces of the Spirit Brethren this doth wonderfully help to the comfort of the Saints What is the complaint of the most of men O they cannot lâ—ft up their heads they cannot carry a cheerful heart why O they think they are hypocrites they are not right with God or they are in unbelief they cannot believe in Jesus Christ they cannot do this or that or they cannot see that there is any thing right in them Why Brethren it will not satisfie a tender heart except he see and discover somewhat in himself of Gods working now when it is small as a Mustard-seed as a Cypress-seed it is scarce discernable but as it groweth from strength to strength at last he cometh to see it when sincerity of hâ—art doth more ordinarily and strongly prevail against the sly and subtile insinuations of sin upon the heart O then the soul can see that his heart is right with God and so for faith when it is strong and acts strongly upon the Lord Jesus the soul doth even feel that it doth believe and so an end is brought to all those sad complaints let men of corrupt minds say what they will Brethren the appearances of grace in the soul is a notable evidence of our being cloathed with the righteousness of
dost thou grow in that is thy communication much more seasoned and savoury is it all savoury tending to minister grace to the hearers heretofore thou hadst it may be scarce a thought of God in a day now he is the object of the workings of thy soul the thoughts of him are pleasant to thee this is an high condition it argues thou hast grown thou art in a growing condtition but this is not all Brethren Secondly Is that more fruit you bring forth better then it was before is it more mellow then formerly or if thou bring forth no more in number is it more in weight for God takes not our services by number but by weight and it is a sottishness of the poor blind Papists to think that God is pleased with their much speaking with pattering over so many Avy Maries and Pater Nosters or principles of the Doctrine of Christ I wish our practises be not too like theirs It may be heretofore thou couldest not enlarge thy self in prayer and now thou canst and thou thinkest thou art much grown it may be in bulk but not in goodness are thy prayers now more the breathings of the Spirit of Christ within thee and less of thine own Spirit O how much strange fire mingled with our sacrifices and strange incense strange zeal even our own passions instead of a zeal for God! Now Brethren is our zeal and fire more pure coming down from heaven even from the Spirit of Jesus Christ warming our hearts Look to this do we find that we grow more spiritual in duties in prayer do we act our faith more strongly wrestle with God in spirit more then in words children are apt to be taken with bables and pictures and flowers in the corn and we wâ—th sweet and quaint expressions but now have we learned to worship him more in spirit and in truth to know that the great work of our duties lie in the frame of our hearts toward God in prayer in preaching in hearing of the Word It is childishness Brethren for one never to be well or to place so much in it to be alway upon the lap and dandled do we find that now we would rather be made serviceable to him and do it with more pure hearts more pure ends not for our selves but for his glory we ask not gifts parts grace to spend it upon our lusts as heretofore not â—or our own peace that we might take our ends but that we might be fitter instruments in his hands for his glory not for our own praise and honour among men O look to this I tell you there is nothing sticks closer to us then this now doth this sowrness crabbidness of our fruits wear away by degrees is it better with us in these respects then before this is a sign of growth indeed I will add but one more and that shall be this Dost thou â—ind that thou growest by the opposition thou meetest with in the work of grace either from without or from within or any way whatsoever First I say from opposition without grace will grow and gather strength and this either from men or from the Lood from men when they oppose the way of God wherein we walk we must look to it that we grow so much the stronger for that is the nature of grace Brethren as when Paul preached the faith which once he had destroyed and the people were amazed saith the Text and they spake of him as a changling is not this he that wasted them that called upon his name in Jerusalem but Saul waxed so much the stronger and confounded the Jews that dwelled at Damaseus proving that this was the Christ As the fire they say is hotter by antiperistasis in coldest weather the Palm-trees they grow like as you heard in the proof that raiseth it self up under a weight of opposition Well look to this Brethren I do not mean an Ish 〈…〉 elitish spirit that is against every one and every mans hand against it and that a man should out of a cross crooked disposition do any thing or vex and gall persons that oppose them but grace will then be stirred up as the fire by the wind that bloweth it this way and that way it is in vain to blow it out to offer it for it increaseth the flame there is no resisting that Spirit whereby the Saints a 〈…〉 ted look to it is it thus with us or do we find that opposition from men doth cool us discourage us dishearten us so that we dare not own the Lord Jesus and his truth and way Truly it is to be feared it is not right with us Secondly From the Lord there is some opposition sometimes he wrestleth with us Jacobs wrestling with God implyeth some opposition of God as I may say he wrestled with him let me go saith he this stirreth him up so much the more earnestly to lay hold upon him when the Lord would take his leave of him and you see the poor man in the Gospel when he was rebuked for crying after Jesus Christ he cryed so much the more earnestly and so our Saviour when he was in that great agony or striving under the displeasure of his Father saith the Text he prayed so much the more earnestly So the Lord doth sometimes hang back or hide his face that he might draw out more and more his peoples hearts toward him as a Fisher draweth away his bait to make the fish follow it the more eagerly Well consider this now do we thus grow even by opposition if the Lord say to us we are dogs not fit for childrens bread can we conclude the worst against our selves and yet gather upon him for the crums at the least But then there is opposition from our selves from within and that is from the rebelling of our lusts they rise and swell and many times over-bear us we are foiled do we grow by this this may seem somewhat strange that the acting of sin should tend to the encreasing of grace for that we must know that it is not proper for every act of sin properly doth strengthen the habits of sin and the stronger sin is in the soul the weaker grace is like to be as the more the water cools the less heat there is remaining in it but it is by accident as water cast upon a coal-fire at present it seemeth to put it out but afterward it burns so much the hotter and fiercer So grace takes occasion hereby to stir up it self so much the more to set it self so much the more in opposition to it it maketh a child of God so much the more humble so much the more watchful and full of prayer if it be right with them and neither sin nor Satan gets by this at all So if Peter be tost in that sieve of vanity that temptation and fall O how it humbles him and how afterward it fetcheth him off his own bottom how valiant he
saith he to them that sought for him if ye seek me let these go as yet they were not grown to that stedfastness but now what if the Lord should for holy ends give Satan liberty to sift thee to the very bran and thy faith be weak O what sad work will there be then in thy soul therefore our Saviour prayed that Peters faith should not fail him but yet you see how near it was and what it cost him and so except we be grown in wisdom and understanding we shall be ignorant of his devices and he will take us alive at his pleasure because we know not where he will have us nor what his methods of deceiving are that there we might watch And so for crosses it is not a child can bear the cross specially if great some little affliction they may bear as you see our Saviour did train up his Disciples to it by degrees at first only they threatned them and charged them not to preach in that name of Jesus Christ then afterwards when by that experience of the power of God with them they were somewhat grown then they were scourged and imprisoned and as strength grew so afflictions grew we are not able to suffer much for Christ while our faith is weak our love is small our patience inconsiderable therefore we must labour to grow in every grace of the Spirit Fifthly Because the stronger our graces are the more discernable they will be this was hinted before in the arguments of the point and this will put an end to many sad complaints that a child of God maketh concerning himself when his grace becometh more visible not only to others but to himself by reason of the greatness of it and the Spirit of God shining upon it to discover it O how comfortable may such an one walk Sixthly Consider the end of all the Ministry and Ordinances God hath given it is for our growth as in that place therefore he gave some Apostles some Evangelists same Pastors for the edifying of the body of Christ now hath the Lord been at all this pains rising up early and sending messengers upon messengers one after another and pouring out the gifts of the Spirit to befit them for that work and all to build us up and yet we are children and dwarfs What a shame is this to us and what a grief is this to God and is not this the way to make him repent of the good he hath done unto us and to withdraw them Seventhly A very hypocrite Brethren may grow in some things and therefore we had need look to it to go beyond them in our growth an hypocrite may grow in parts and gifts may learn to pray and preach most plausibly may make long prayers with those hypocrites though they grow not inwardly at all therefore take heed of sticking here or because thou growest more civilly escapest the pollutions of the world and yet alas art the same in disposition a swine in nature yea there may be a growing in assent to the truth such a saith as the Devils have which maketh them tremble and some kind of affection too as Herod had but by how much we see there is danger of being deceived by so much the more narrowly we had need to look to it that we grow there where there is no deceit grow in the spiritualness of service and duty in that of self-denyal humility and saving-faith and love Eighthly Wicked men grow worse and worse and why should not we grow better and better Shall Satans Kingdom so increase and grow strong and shall not the Kingdom of Jesus Christ grow stronger also how much the more need had we to stir up our selves in this respect considering how many grow worse and worse Ninthly The stronger we grow in the habits of grace the more easie will our acting of grace be to us we come off so hard with a duty as with prayer or the like what is the reason but because we are so weak in the Grace of prayer so unacquainted with it O how a man delights to do the things which he is befitted for and habituated to O how quickly are some mens spirits up in duty like tinder to the fire of the Spirit or like the spirits of wine or oyl quickly fired therefore God would have the fat offered up it would quickly take fire and when our services come off with delight and cheerfulness then the Lord is pleased with it so you see They rejoyced they were counted worthy to suffer for the Name of Christ and yet a little before were so weak that they all forsook him what a difference is here and so they rejoiced that God had given them such a willing heart to lay out themselves upon the Temple to build an House to the Name of God when a mans love and mercy is weak what he giveth it cometh hardly from him like drops of blood as we say but afterward he can freely willingly emptie his purse for Christs sake this is one way Brethren to make the Commands of God not so grievous to us as they seem to be until we be thus grown Again We must grow to our pitch before we can enter into the kingdom Mat. 18. 3 c. Therefore upon all these considerations let us be exhorted to make it our business to improve to grow to wax stronger and stronger day by day But thus much for the Motives For Helps that will be the next enquiry what we should do to grow in Grace since it is so necessary a work lying upon us all And I might speak distinctly First To the Grace which is inherent in us wherein our holiness consisteth and Secondly That wherein our comfort consisteth even the knowledge of our relative state to God But the main thing is that holiness those several Graces of the Spirit each whereof shining with its own lustre and yet by the symmetry and conjunction with the rest make up the perfect beauty of Holiness First then in general If thou wouldst grow indeed and art in good earnest in this matter thou must exercise Grace if thou wouldst grow what a rich treasury is that of the Mind above that of a mans Cheâ—t the more he useth of the one the more he hath the more he useth of the other the less he hath How did the Talent increase but with the using that is signified by putting them out to the Changers and so the Talent or Pound gained five Talents or ten therefore it is observed by so me that the Scripture in commanding or requiring any Grace of us doth directly and immediately command the Acts and the Habits obliquely as the Fountain to the Stream So Baxter saith The way to get away our indisposedness to Prayer saith Luther is to pray it away exercise that Grace according to the ability given and thou shalt find it grow it is much to be preferred before an idle complaining a diligent soul
that is up and doing thou findest thy Faith is weak it may be thou canst scarce call it any thing but unbelief labour to act it put it forth often the nature of it lies in the souls sincere willingness to take Jesus Christ to have him for a Saviour and Lord to save from iniquites as well as from the condemnation of sin now though weakly put forth the acts of willing Jesus Christ as he hath offered himself and thou shalt find it will grow often be rowling thy self and thy burthen poor burthened soul upon the Lord Jesus cast thy self upon him and thou shalt find as much rest in it for the present so also an increase of faith and a feeling also that thou dost believe after a time And so for other things alas is there a day that goeth over our heads but there is use for Faith it is the very life of a Christian The life I now live I live by the Faith of the Son of God and therefore as much need of the exercise of it daily as of any vital acts whatsoever and you shall find you have occasions for it either some temptations from your own hearts some corruptions stirring and disquieting your peace or some scourgings from without some buffetings of Satan some deadness and security growing upon you daily O there is daily need of acting Faith as there is to eat and drink therefore Israel their Manna was their daily food and if they were daily stung they must daily look up to the Serpent and which of us is not though you have a Lamp lighted Brethren There was enery morning daily a triming of the Lamps of the Sanctuary and pouring oyl into them afresh you know they will not continue but go out in obscure darkness except there be a feeding of them with oyl this we may do and this we ought to do and indeed a man that exerciseth not his Grace is as if he had none neither hath the strength nor the comfort of his Grace for Habits are for Acts and then Acts strengthen the Habits again The Learned Aristotle said A wise man differed nothing from a fool if he exercised not his wisdom and saith the Wiseman Even a fool when he holds his peace is counted wise the Act is that chiefly commanded and that chiefly rewarded of God the exercising of Grace and that whereby it groweth which is the main thing here I mind Hath not every day its evil sufficient to it now if faith â—e not upon the wing what a condition is that soul in therefore exercise it use legs and have legs And so for love put it forth exercise it toward the Lord Jesus daily and toward his people that is the way to grow Brethren how do benummed limbs that have no feeling nor strength gather strength but by rubbing and chasing and exercising of them though a mans legs be so benummed falling for a step or two he can scarce set them to the ground yet use them a little and they will come to themselves again If Merchants money lie still it is a dead thing it increaseth not but they must turn it up and down and return it use it and exercise their trade with it and it groweth And truly I am perswaded it is the great reason we are many of us so weak as we are we lie complaining and making sad moan before the Lord of our weakness and yet are careless in the exercise of the Grace wherein we pretend we would grow The desire of the slothful killeth him for his hands refuse to labour we may mourn our selves away off our legs and spend our days in lamentable complainings and shall never be the better except we put forth into act what we have already received if we be not faithful in trading with a little will he give us more action and motion increase heat if you see a poor creature lie starving ready to perish for want of fire his legs are stiff cannot hardly move them is that the way to help him no up to the fire up and exercise your limbs rub them chafe them if you would get heat and agility into them Secondly See to it that we exercise one as well as another for there is such a sweet harmony and dependency of the Graces one upon another that they do one strengthen another the acts of our Graces do as I may say co-operate and sweetly conspire to the promoting one of another that is to say of the acts and these acts then strengthen the habits As for instance you see in an Arch one stone strengthens another take away one of them and all the rest are ready to fall upon your head and therefore the Apostle exhorts so earnestly That they should add to Faith Temperance c. not as if they could add one habit to another for they are infused together but the acts are to be added one to another For if ye do these things saith the Apostle then ye shall not be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ yea you shall never fall yea you shall have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom The strength of a building you know lies not in the strength of one piece but in the due compacting of it and joyning part to his part if there be never so strong beams if the other parts be weak the rafters the wall-plates or such considerable pieces and not well joyned together the building is weak and will easily fall therefore if you would be strong and grow indeed look that we exercise all the Graces of the Spirit we have already received not only Faith nor only Love nor only Humility nor only Self-denial but all labour to act them all and Temperance and Heavenly-mindedness c. and you shall find that as each Grace doth grow by the exercising of it self so by the exercising of them all they will have a mutual influence each upon the other to strengthen one another the act of Faith will strengthen the acting of love and that will strengthen faith again and so for the rest Thirdly If you would grow in Grace You must be much in prayer for a man of much Prayer is a man of much Grace and therefore the Prophet puts them both together He will pour out the Spirit of Grace and Supplication And so the Apostle Jude But you Beloved building up your selves in your most holy Faith praying in the Holy Ghost and there is the like reason for building up our selves in any other Grace praying by the Spirit of God is the way you see to grow in Grace there is very great reason that Prayer should be a great means of increasing Grace First Because in Prayer there is the greatest exercising of Grace of all Grace usually of any other service we do to God there our repentance is exercised for you alwaies find the Saints in drawing nigh to God David and Ezra and
do which may advantage himself or others how can a man pray when he cannot act his faith nor act his love nor his zeal and fervency of Spirit but all are a sleep Ah what weak service hath the Lord from many of us upon this account 4. Another Consideration shall be this the unseasonableness of the thing Every thing is beautified by the season and if it be out of season it is uncomely It is not a walking honestly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 honestly or comely to sleep now brethren it is enough for â—inners that are of the night that never â—aw the day-star appear nor the Sun of righteousness arise upon them for them to lie sleeping now it is something suitable for they that sleep saith the Apostle sleep in the night and they that are drunk are drunk in the night the night was for sleep naturally and therefore man goeth forth to labour and to his work until the evening So in spirituals it is most unsuitable to sleep in the day-time brethren if you believe you are of the day and not of the night as the Apostle saith We count him a Drone a Lusk or Lurden that shall sleep in the day-time It was David his fault to be upon the bed in the day-time And so likely Isâ—bosheth except the Custom of the place being hot might excuse it Well then hath the Lord in in finite riches of grace brought thee out of the dark night made it day with thee when it is night with many families and poor souls about thee and wilt thou make it â—ight by sleeping it is unseasonable it is enough for them that are in darkness to sleep Again 2. Consider It is the time wherein you are called upon to act for God and for your own souls It is not only the day but the time for work It is our harvest brethren wherein should lay up not for many years as the fool in the Gospel said but for eternity treasure up grace for eternity lay up a good foundation for the time to come O how richly laden are some of the Saints over others are that have made a profession of Christ as long as they live what is the reason why they have slept while they should have gathered he that gathereth in Summer is a wise son but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame there the one is opposed to the other that soul will cloth himself with shame and Confusion one day that sleepeth in harvest in the time of labour wherefore doth the Bridegroom tarry but to give you space to repent to work out your salvation in and instead of working shall we sleep out this time and will it be Comfortable in the end will it be comfortable if instead of labouring in the vineyard we sleep all the heat of the day what account shall we make when we come to receive the recompence 3. Yet more unseasonable it is also If you consider that usually the time of this falling asleep is after a good while converse and walking with God then men fall a napping the wise virgins they had their oyl and their Lamps burning it is true they had provided for the main and it is likely went forth to meet him but in the way the nearer they came to their journeys end for there must be some good competent time sure before they would conclude that the Bridegroom tarried and then they lay aside all and fall asleep Remember that of the Apostle knowing the season saith he that now it is high time for you to awake for now is your salvation nearer then when you believed Now is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to awake out of sleep now is salvation nearer What is the meaning of this the meaning is now is the most unseasonable time of all other for you to be asleep now you should press hard forward now just at your journies end as a Traveller or a man in a race holds up his head all the way and maketh speed and when he is near the journies end and should lay hold upon the goal that then he should sit down and sleep this is unseasonable and utterly unsafe if he expect to obtain by his running Ah brethren sure you would obtain else why did you run if you expected not a reward Now may I not say with the Apostle you did many of you run well but who hindred you how came it to pass you dropt asleep or are you inclining to it O take heed it is not safe at the end of your race the night is past the day is come or the night the time of this ignorance for our life is compared to the vision of God in heaven may well be compared to a night and that to day well this day is at hand it is nearer then when you began to believe for that is the meaning of that Phrase as such a King reigned that is to say began to raign ordinarily in Scripture Well then it is utterly unseasonable therefore let me beg of you brethren and the Lord prevail with our hearts to take heed of it Fifthly Another Consideration shal be this that while you lay your selves to sleco you lose God and Christ you lose their presence when the soul open to Jesus Christ he cometh in and the father and Holy Spirit with him and they bring their dainties with them and abundantly refresh the soul with his love which is better then wine and as long as the soul doth give him entertainment and followeth to improve its Communion with him he will sâ—ay but truly brethren if we sleep he will not then tarry but he takes his leave and leaveth us sleeping and alas before we are aware we have lost him and know not where to find him It was Sampsons case alas his strength was in the presence of God with him when he departed he was as as another man he lies down upon Dalilahs lap and then he fals asleep and at last he was robbed of his strength God was departed from him he he had many forewarnings but he was bewitched with a Lust it did so imprison his reason that he could not see what he was to do at last he wist not that God was departed from him he went thinking to shake himself as at other times but alas his strength was gone Ah brethren if a man have a Dalilah it is sive to one but sooner or later it will lull him asleep and if it can but get him asleep it is easie to get away the Lords presence from him and he know it not untill afterward Sixtly Another Argument shal be not only that not only when we fall asleep we not only lose the Lord Jesus and the presence of his Spirit but we then shall keep him out also the senses are locke up A Servant fast asleep when his Master cometh home he may knock long enough before he open to him why alas