be discovered by constancy in Obedience under all Tryals Blessed is the Man that endures Temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him The Law required unsinning Obedience as the condition of Life the Gospel accepts of Sincerity but if that be wanting there is no Promise that gives right to the Reward Now Sincerity implies such an entire Love of God as makes a Person submit to all Duties commanded in his Law and all Trials appointed by his Providence A high Example we have of this in Abraham when he was commanded to offer up his only Son Isaac and by his own Hands for a burnt Offering This was to kill a double Sacrifice at one blow for the Life of Abraham was bound up in Isaac he lived in him more dearly than in himself all his Joy all his Posterity by Sarah had dyed in Isaac What resentments what resistance of Nature did he suffer yet presently he addrest himself to perform his Duty Who ever saw a more glorious Victory over all the tender and powerful Passions of human Nature O unexampled Obedience being an Original without any Precedent to imitate and without a Copy to succeed it After this clear infallible Testimony of his Sincerity the Angel declar'd from Heaven Now I know that thou fearest God seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son thine only Son from me And 't is said concerning the Followers of the Lamb that they loved not their Lives unto the Death The Love of Christ that animated them in all their Sufferings was sweeter than Life and stronger than Death Indeed there was a wonderful difference in the Behaviour of the Martyrs under Sufferings but in all the same Persevering Grace was evident though working variously Some in the most beautiful Flower of their Age encounter'd Fire and Sword Tormentors and Torments with that sensible Joy with those Songs of Praise to Christ as if they saw the Heavens open with St. Stephen and their Saviour ready to receive and crown them But many others as Chrysostom testifies went to the Tribunals to the Theatres to Death with many Appearances of Fear Upon hearing the wild Beasts roar they were struck with horrour at the sight of the Executioners and the Instruments of Torment they were pale and trembling The Flesh seem'd to cry out O let this Cup pass from me yet weak and faint it followed the Spirit that corrected the natural desire with not my will but thine be done As the Moon in Eclipse though obscure yet goes on in a regular course as when 't is full of Light by the reflection of the Sun So those desolate Martyrs though as it were forsaken and deprived of the bright Beams of Comfort yet persever'd in their Profession of the Truth When one word to renounce Christianity would have saved them no Torments could force it from them but they patiently endured all Now in these the Combate of Nature was visible and the admirable Power of Grace They first overcame their own Fears the reluctancy of the carnal part their Affections to what ever is desireable in the World which is the noblest Victory and then the Cruelty of their Persecutors In them was verified the Testimony of the Spirit Here is the patience of the Saints Here are they that keep the Command of God and the Faith of Jesus But how many appear faithful while their Faith is not to be shewed by difficult Works and proved by Sufferings The Seed that fell on the stony Ground sprang up as hopeful as the Seed in the good Ground at first but when Tribulation came it wither'd away wanting the Root of Sincerity And that which was sown among Thorns was choakt by the Cares and Pleasures of the World Some Lust in the Heart interweaves with the Affections and causes Apostacy How many from glorious Beginnings have made a lamentable End not only Mercenaries in Religion whose Zeal is a foraign Complexion not springing from an inward Principle of Life and Health relinquish even the profession of Godliness when their gain ceases but some who have thought themselves sincere yet in times of danger their resolutions like sick Feathers dropt away As the foolish Builder that computed not the charges of his designed Work began to raise a magnificent Structure but unable to finish it laid the Foundation in his own Shame They repented their choice of Heaven when they saw what it must cost them and would save the World with the loss of their Souls Others that began in the Spirit and with raised Affections set out in the ways of Godliness yet by the allurements of sensual Lusts and Temptations and therefore with greater Guilt leave their first Love and end in the Flesh. They fall from high Professions but received by soft Pleasures feel not the fall These were never sincere and never had a right to Heaven They took up sudden Resolutions not grounded in serious and deep Thoughts and for a Flash were hot and active but with great levity return to their former Lusts. The Apostle tells us of such it had been better for them they had not known the way of Righteousness than to turn back and voluntarily to forsake it 'T is observed that boiling Water taken off from the Fire congeals more strongly than that which was never heated because the subtile parts being evaporated by the Fire the more terrestrial parts remaining are more capable of Cold. So those who have felt the power of the Word in their Affections and afterwards lose that holy heat become more harden'd in their Sins God justly withdraws his Grace and the evil Spirit that was expell'd for a time returns with seven worse and aggravates his Tyranny To conclude Since the certainty of Salvation is conditional if we persevere in a holy State let us beware of a corrupt Confidence and a vicious Dejection of Spirit the trusting in our selves or distrusting God To prevent the trusting in our selves Consider 1. The most excellent Creatures are by the instability of Nature liable to defection subject to a corruptive change Of this the fallen Angels are a dreadful Example who of their own motion untempted sinned in Heaven 2. The danger is greater of falling away when they are urged and solicited by a violent or grateful Temptation Thus our first Parents fell and lost more Grace in an Hour then can be recovered by their Posterity in all Ages to the end of the World 3. When there is supervenient Corruption in the Creature that inclines them with earnest propensity to forbidden Things and takes Flame from every Spark the danger is extream Like a besieged City that is in great hazard of taking by Assaults from without and Conspiracies from within Let us therefore be very watchful over our Hearts and Senses and keep as much as is possible at a safe distance from Temptations And be very diligent in the use of all holy means to
Christians the convictions of a future State are not so clear and strong as to govern their Hearts and Lives How many of eminent intellectual Faculties are stupid as to their great Interest and spend themselves about Trifles and are equally tractable to Eternal Ruine as the Ox to the Slaughter He that is destitute of the illuminating Grace of the Spirit is blind and cannot see afar off Now by the Analogy between the corporal and the intellectual Faculties we may understand in some measure how the Mind is illuminated by the Spirit of God For as to the act of Seeing two things are requisite 1. External Light in the Air without which the Colours Figures and Beauties of Objects are not visible to the sharpest Eye but lie obscur'd under impenitrable Darkness 2. Internal Light in the Eye in which the visive Power consists if this be extinguish'd the clearest Light of Heaven is of no use for the discovery of Things Thus the Understanding is enabled to see Spiritual Things 1. By the revelation of the Object in this respect Life and Immortality are brought to Light by the Gospel Till that bright discovery was made of Eternal Blessedness it was above the desires and hopes of sinful Man Coelum homo nec optare poterat ex ignorantia nec sperare ex propriae miseriae conscientia 2. By the inward inlightning from the Spirit of Wisdom that removes the Ignorance Prejudice and Inadvertency of the Mind which as Scales darkned its Sight and disposes it to perceive the verity and excellency of spiritual and future Things though not with comprehensive evidence yet with that assurance that no doubtfulness or suspence remains concerning them 'T is observable that Faith is exprest in Scripture by Prudence Wisdom and Knowledg whereby a Man knows the grounds and motives of his Judgment and Actions And Sin is called Folly For as when the understanding Faculty either from the indisposedness of the Organs as in Idiots or from the disorder of Fancy by the inflammation of the Humours as in distracted Persons cannot weigh and compare and therefore makes a perverse judgment of things so the carnal Mind by not due measuring and pondering judges falsly of Spiritual Things If something no bigger than the Hand were put before the Eye it would intercept the Sight of the Heavens and he that not considering the properties of things near and distant should conclude that piece to be bigger than the Heavens were justly reputed a Fool. And the Folly of carnal Men is more gross who prefer things present to Sense before what is future and of everlasting consequence to the Soul But there are some actions which if done by a Natural would be counted Folly yet being done by those who in the reputation of the World are Wise are esteemed Prudent but they are the most deplorable Folly Now as the restoring the Laesum principium the broken Mind to its sound State whereby 't is able to consider discern and conclude of things according to their Nature such is the action of God's Spirit upon the corrupt Mind clarifying and enlightning it so that it receives full conviction by the clearest marks of divine Authority shining in the Gospel of the Truth of all the great and precious Promises therein contained and causing it by a steddy application of the Thoughts to see the vast difference between what is Temporal and Eternal how despicably light all the Vanities of this World are found when put in the Ballance against the infinite inestimable Happiness of the next In short the renewed Mind knows Spiritual Things according to their Nature and Qualities believes esteems and determins that they are of Eternal moment and absolutely necessary for the Happiness of Man And as when the natural Faculty of seeing is perish'd 't is irreparable by human Skill and without a Miracle can never be restored so the intellectual Faculty when darkned by sinful Lusts without the renewing power of the Spirit can never know Spiritual Things as they ought to be known Therefore as the blind Men in the Gospel who dispair'd of help from the Physicians hearing of the miraculous Power of Christ importunately begg'd his healing Mercy so let us pray to the Light and Saviour of the World but in a more noble and higher Sense Lord that we may receive our sight Let us with the most zealous Affections call upon the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Glory that he would give unto us the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledg of him the Eyes of our understanding being inlightned that we may know what is the hope of his Calling and what the Riches of the Glory of his Inheritance in the Saints 2. The efficacious Influence of the Holy Spirit is requisite to change the Will that with a free and full consent it may desire and prosecute the Spiritual Eternal Good Without this the conviction of the Mind is not powerful enough to convert the Soul from the love of the World to choose Heaven There may be an inlightned Conscience without a renewed Heart Though the Judgment assents that God is the Supream Good yet till the Heart be circumcised the sensuality of the Affections taken away divine Love that directs the Life to God as our blessed End can never possess it Suppose that Men had a sensible and strong assurance of the Eternal State hereafter if all those who lived godly in a visible manner ascended with Elias to Heaven and if all who continued in their Sins visibly descended into Hell as Corah and his Company were swallowed up alive by the Earth before the Israelites if Men could hear the joyful Exultations of the Saints above their high Praises of God and hear the desperate Crys and deep Complaints of the Damned if one according to the desire of the rich Man were sent from Hell and with his Fiery Tongue should preach a Sermon of those Torments not describing them at a distance but by a sensible demonstration in himself yet this alone were not sufficient to draw off their Hearts from the deceitful Happiness of this World and fasten them on the perfect and Eternal Happiness in the next Indeed they could not then indulge their Lusts so securely but they would be Strangers to the Life of God such an inveterate alienation of Heart is in Men from real Holiness Till the sanctifying Spirit by a directive persuasive Light that represents the Truth and Goodness of Spiritual Things transforms the Soul and makes it Spiritual in its Valuations and Affections 't is inwardly averse from Grace and Glory The Lord direct our Hearts into the Love of God and into the patient waiting for Christ when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that believe FINIS * Beatitudo est bonorum omnium complexio secretis omnibus malis Cicer. †Quicquid illis congesseris non finis erit cupiditatum sed gradus Sen. ‖ Nullum
fruitful in Plants and Flowers but its riches are in Mines of precious Metals the veins of Marble hidden in its bosom True Grace appears in sensible Actions but its Glory is Within The sincerity of Aims the purity of Affections the impresses of the Spirit on the Heart the interiour beauties of Holiness are only seen by God Besides such is the humility of eminent Saints that the more they abound in spiritual treasures the less they show As the Heavenly Bodies when in nearest conjunction with the Sun and fullest of light make the least appearance to our sight But all their Excellencies shall then be in view The Glory of God shall be revealed in them And how attractive is the Divine Likeness to an holy Eye How will it ravish the Saints to behold an immortal Loveliness shining in one another Their Love is mutual and reflexive proportionable to the cause of it An equal constant Flame is preserv'd by pure Materials Every one is perfectly amiable and perfectly enamour'd with all Now can we frame a fuller conception of Happiness than such a State of Love wherein whatever is pleasant in Friendship is in perfection and whatever is distastful by Mens folly and weakness is abolished The Psalmist breaks out in a Rapture Behold how good and pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in Vnity Love is the Beauty and Strength of Societies the Pleasure of Life How excellent is the Joy of the Blessed when the Prayer of Christ shall be accomplished that they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us God is absolutely One in his glorious Nature and Will and therefore unalterably Happy And their inviolable Union in Love is a Ray of the Essential Unity between the sacred Persons There are no Divisions of Heart and Tongues as in this Babel but the most perfect and sweetest Concord an Eternal Agreement in Tempers and Inclinations There are no envious Comparisons for Love that affectively transforms one into another causes the Glory of every Saint to redound to the Joy of all Every one takes his share in the Felicity of all and adds to it Such is the power of that Celestial Fire wherein they all burn that it melts and mixes Souls in such an entire Union that by Complacence and an intimate Joy the Blessedness of all is as it were proper to every one as if every one were plac'd in the Hearts of all and all in the Heart of every one If in the Church of the first-born Christians in the earthly Jerusalem the Band of Charity was so strict that 't is said the Multitude of Believers were of one Heart and one Soul How much more intimate and inseparable is the Union of the Saints in Jerusalem above where every one loves another as himself 'T is recorded of Alexander that entring with Hephestion his Favourite into the Pavilion of Darius his Mother then his Priour she bowed to the Favourite as having a greater appearance of Majesty thinking him to be Alexander but advised of her Error she humbly begg'd his Pardon To whom the generous King replied You did not err Mother this is also Alexander Such was their Affection that whoever was taken of them the other was taken in him the less ascending in the greater without degrading the greater in the less This is a Copy of the holy Love of the Blessed but with the same difference as between the Description of a Star with a Coal and its Beauty in its proper Aspect And where all is Love all is Delight O how do they enjoy and triumph in the Happiness of one another With what an unimaginable Tenderness do they embrace What Reciprocations of Endearments are between them O their ravishing Conversation and sweet Entercourse for their Presence together in Heaven is not a silent Show In the Transfiguration Moses and Elias talk't with Christ. With what excellent discourses do they entertain one another If David felt such inward Pleasure from the sence of God's favours that he could not restrain the expression of it but invites the Saints Come and hear all ye that fear the Lord and I will tell you what he has done for my Soul Certainly in Heaven the blessed with overflowing affections recount the Divine Benefits the admirable Methods whereby the Life of Grace was begun preserv'd and carried on in the midst of Temptations the continual Succession of Mercies in the time of their Hopes and the Consummation of all in the time of their Enjoyment How joyfully do they concur in their thanksgivings to God for the goodness of Creation in making them reasonable Creatures capable to know love and enjoy Him when they might have been of the lowest Order in the wholesphere of Beings for his compassionate care and providence over them in this World But especially for his sovereign and singular Mercy in electing them to be vessels of honour for his powerful Grace in rescuing them from the cruel and ignominious bondage of Sin for his most free Love that justified them from all their guilt by the Death of his only Son and glorified them with himself They are never weary in this delightful exercise but continually bless him for his Mercy that endures for ever We may judg by the Saints here when they are in a fit disposition to praise God what fervours they feel in their united Praises of him in Heaven The Psalmist in an Extasie calls to all the parts of the World to joyn with him The Lord reigns let the Heavens rejoyce and the Earth be glad let the Sea roar let the Fields be joyful and all that dwell therein He desires that Nature should be elevated above it self that the dead parts be inspir'd with Life the insensible feel Motions of Joy and those that want a Voice break forth in praises to adorn the Divine Triumph With what Life and Alacrity will the Saints in their blessed Communion celebrate the Object of their Love and Praises The Seraphims about the Throne cryed to one another to express their Zeal and Joy in celebrating his Eternal Purity and Power and the Glory of his Goodness O the unspeakable Pleasure of this Concert when every Soul is harmonious and contributes his part to the full Musick of Heaven O could we hear but some Eccho of those Songs wherewith the Heaven of Heavens resounds some remains of those Voices wherewith the Saints above triumph in the Praises in the solemn Adoration of the King of Spirits how would it inflame our desires to be joyn'd with them Blessed are those that are in thy House they always praise thee 2. The fulness of Joy in Heaven is undecaying for the causes of it are always equal And those are the Beatifick Object reveal'd and the uninterrupted Contemplation of it Whilst we are here below the Sun of Righteousness as to our perception and sence has ascensions and declinations accesses and recesses And our Earth
a discerning Eye saw reason enough to part with all that he might gain the Pearl of Price the Grace and Glory of the Kingdom of Heaven The Apostle declares his resolute contempt of the concurrence of all the Prerogatives either the Law or the World could afford him that he might have an Interest in Christ the Reconciler and Restorer of Man to the Favour and Fellowship of God But what things were gain to me those I counted loss for Christ yea doubtless I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the Knowledg of Jesus Christ my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I might win Christ. The glorious Gospel is the brightest and most pleasant Light that ever shone upon the World a revelation of the deepest Wisdom and most admirable Love wherein the combination of God's holy and wonderful Counsels for our Salvation is unfolded and accordingly St. Paul with the greatest Life of Affection sets forth his value of it and by full and most vilifying Expressions rejects all things in comparison of it 2. The Sincerity of the Heavenly Choice is discovered by a zealous observance of the means requisite in order to it Inanimate things incline to rest in their Centre the rational intend and pursue it The blessed End when valued and respected according to its worth excites and directs the Affections and Endeavours in that order and measure as is proportionable to its Excellency and the difficulties of obtaining it There may be a naked estimation and some desires of Eternal Happiness simply considered yet the Will remain incompleat and undetermined in its choice for the End in conjunction with the Means is propounded to us and the carnal Man will not consent to the Means He dislikes the Holiness of Religion and will rather forfeit Heaven than submit to such strict terms Though with Balaam in a fit of Devotion he says O that I might die the death of the Righteous and that my last end might be like his yet from Indulgence to his sensual Inclinations he will not live as the righteous All his wishes of true Happiness are soon strangled by the predominant love of some Vanity 'T is said of the Israelites they despised the pleasant Land not absolutely in it self for it was the Glory of all Lands abounding with things for the support and delight of Man but considering its distance a Wilderness waste and wild interposing and the Enemies to be encountred they did not think it worthy of undergoing such hazards and difficulties The Land of Canaan was a Type of Heaven both with respect to its pleasantness and the manner of the Israelites obtaining it Their Title to it was derived from the rich Bounty of God therefore 't is called the Land of Promise but it was to be possest by Conquest Thus the Celestial Canaan is the pure gift of God but the actual enjoyment of it is obtained by victorious resistance against the Enemies of our Salvation And carnal Men despise this pleasant Land the Promise being inseparably joined with Precepts of Duty and Obedience from which they are averse But he that chooses sincerely is joyful and vigorous in the use of means for acquiring his most desired good Ardent Affections like Elijah's Chariot of Fire ravish the Soul above this sensible World to the place where God dwells in Glory Zeal animates his endeavours as the Motion of the Heart diffuses the Spirits into the Arteries to convey Life to all parts of the Body One thing saith the inflamed Psalmist have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my Life to behold the Beauty of the Lord and to enquire into his Temple The sensual Man is ranging abroad for satisfaction and shoots all the Game that crosses his Eye but the Soul that has a discovering light and feeling heat of the Divine Beauty unites all its desires in God and with affection to an extasy longs for the enjoyment of him and the endeavours are in some proportion to the desires Our Saviour tells us That from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force Some previous rays of the Sun of Righteousness appeared in his Ministry and produc'd such a holy ardency in those Converts that with all resolution diligence and earnestness they sought to be partakers of the Blessedness revealed Lazy Desires easy Prosecutions sluggish Attempts discover that the Heart is not througly engaged for the spiritual Eternal Good When the End is truly designed it will give Law to the Actions This is visible in Men who are wholly led by Sense how sagacious how sollicitous are they to accomplish their Ends and base Designs They try all ways either by fine Dissimulation or toilsome Industry to obtain their Desires No time is too much in their gainful Affairs or voluptuous Enjoyments They transform the Night to lengthen out the Day for their Profit they vail the Day to lengthen out the Night for their Ease and Pleasure But alas Heaven is only regarded by the By as if the intellectual Soul were only given to dwell with the Body on Earth the place of its Banishment and direct Affairs here below and not to lead in the way to Heaven the place of its Nativity and prepare for another World The work of Salvation is followed with that remiss degree of Affection as if it were a slight matter whether performed or neglected These Persons carry their Conviction in their Bosoms for they are ardent and active to obtain inferior and infinitely less concerning Ends but with that cold application mind the superior nobler End of Man that it is wholly frustrate which plainly shews it was never seriously intended by them 3. The sincerity of our Heavenly choice declares it self in the temper and frame of our Hearts with respect to all temporal things in this World For our main and happy End being established that it consists not in secular Riches and Honours and the Pleasures of Sense but in the clear vision of God the blessedness of the Spirit it follows that all present things are in our use so far good or evil and to be desired or not as they are profitable or prejudicial to our obtaining Salvation as they conduct or divert us from Heaven A wise Christian looks on temporal things not through the Glass of disordered Passions that are impetuous and impatient for what is grateful to them but with reference to his future Happiness He considers the train of Temptations that attend an exalted condition and desires such a portion of these things as may redound to the Glory of the Giver and be improved for his own Salvation This Purity of Affections our Saviour teaches us For in his divine form of Prayer the true directory of our desires are set down in an admirable order all
sound and perfect Health that being the End of his Art He that seeks for Honour or Riches is not content with a mediocrity of Success but drives on his Affairs to the full period of his Desires An ardent Lover of Learning with a noble jealousy strives to excel others in Knowledg In short no Man designs and longs for a thing as his Happiness but will use all diligence to gain the present and full Possession of it Therefore it cannot be imagined that any Person sincerely propounds the injoyment of Heaven as his End but Love will make him fervent and industrious to be as Heavenly as is possible here He will strive by blessed and glorious Gradations to ascend to the perfection of his aims and desires to be holy as God is holy in all manner of Conversation to be pure as Christ is pure We have an admirable instance of this in St Paul who declares Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before I press toward the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus His Progress was great yet that did not make him slack in the prosecution of his End He laboured to attain the President of our Saviour to feel the Power of his Death and Life to apprehend Christ intirely and perfectly as Christ had apprehended him He was very diligent to improve the Divine Image in his Heart and Life From hence we may discover the vanity of their Hopes that are of luke-warm Affections in Religion the abhorr'd character of Laodicea who esteem it a prudent Principle as convenient for their carnal ease and interest not to be earnest in following Holiness Vices in mediocrity are tolerable with them only the excess is condemned They content themselves with a mediocrity in Religion and are presumptuous and secure as the Church that said I am rich and have need of nothing They boast as if they had found out the temperate Region between the burning Line and the frozen Pole They account all that is above their degrees in Religion to be furious or indiscreet Zeal and all below to be dead cold Profaneness They censure those for Hypocrisy or unnecessary Strictness who are visibly better and stand upon proud comparisons with those who are visibly worse And thus set off themselves by taxing others But how easily do Men deceive and damn themselves Can we have too much of Heaven upon the Earth Can we become too like God when a perfect conformity to him is our Duty and Felicity Indeed Moral Vertue consists in a Mediocrity not of the habitual Quality but of the Affections and Actions between the vicious extremities Fortitude consists in the mean between Cowardise and rash Boldness but how much the more confirm'd the couragious Habit is so much the more a Man excells in that Virtue Liberality consists between an indiscreet Profuseness and sordid Avarice Patience between a soft Delicacy and stupid Insensibility Thus Philosophic Virtue glories in its Beauty as pure and intire between two vicious Deformities And the Religion of many is Paganism drest up in a Christian Fashion But this mediocrity only belongs to inferiour Vertues that respect things of created limited goodness and is determined according to the worth of their Nature But divine Graces respect an object supreamly Good and their perfection consists in their most excellent degrees and the most intense Affections and Operations that are leading to it Faith in its Obedience Hope in its Assurance Love in its Ardour can never exceed When the Object is Infinite a mediocrity is vicious Humility can never descend too low nor Love ascend too high for reflecting upon our natural and moral Imperfections that we were raised from nothing that we are defiled and debased with Sin we cannot have too low thoughts of our selves And since God the Soveraign Being infinite in Perfections and infinitely amiable is the Object no bounds or measure must be set to our Affections but with all our united Powers all the Heart and with all the Soul and with all the Mind and with all the Strength we must love him and please him and endeavour to be beloved of him There are others will acknowledg their defects and tell you they do not pretend to eminent Sanctity to the Graces of the Apostles and Martyrs nor aspire to their degrees in Glory they are content with a lower place in Heaven and less strict Religion is sufficient for their purpose This deceit is strengthned by Popery that enervates and dissolves many of our Saviour's Precepts by teaching they are not Laws obliging all Christans to Obedience that will attain to eternal Life but Counsels of Perfection if they are not done 't is no Sin and the performance of them meritoriously intitles to a richer Crown And though Men by impure Indulgencies please their sensual Affections yet by tasting Purgatory in the way they may come to Heaven on easier terms than a universal respect to God's Commands and an equal care to observe them But Death will confute all these feeble wretched Pretences for though the Saints above shine with an unequal brightness as the Stars differ in Glory yet none are there but Saints And those who do not mourn under their Imperfections and unfeinedly desire and endeavour to be better were never really good The sloathful Servant that did not waste but neglect to improve his Talent was cast into outer darkness There are different degrees of punishments in Hell but the least miserable there are miserable for ever In short 't is a perfect contradiction a Prodigy for any Man to think he is sincere in his Choice and prepar'd in his Affections for the pure glorious Felicity in Heaven that does not labour to cleanse himself from all pollutions of Flesh and Spirit and to perfect Holiness in the fear of God CHAP. V. The Choice of Heaven must be early The Pretences of Mens delaying Repentance The infinite danger of it Secondly THe choice of Eternal Felicity must be early in the prime of our days The rule of our Duty and Reason binds us to remember our Creatour in our Youth to pay to him the first fruits of our Time and Strength When we are surrounded with inticing Objects and the Sense are entire and most capable to enjoy them when the electing Powers are it their vigour then 't is just we should live to God obey him as our Law-giver and prefer the fruition of him in Heaven the reward of Obedience before as the pleasures of Vanity 'T is very honourable and pleasing to God to give the Heart to him when the Flesh and the World strongly solicit to withdraw it 'T is a high endearment of the Soâ— to him when his excellencies are prevalent in the Esteem and Affections above all the charms of the Creatures And 't is an unspeakable satisfaction to the Spirit of a
an Imposthume a Flux of Rhume stopping Respiration kills the Body without any presaging signs of Death As if the Roof and all the Chambers should fall within the House whiles the Walls are standing And how many unforseen Accidents and therefore inevitable put a sudden period to Life Is it not then the truest Wisdom to be early in our work for Heaven when the season is certainly short and uncertainly continued and the omission is irreparable Therefore the Gospel represents the coming of our Judg under different images of surprisal of a Thief that by the favour of the Night breaks into the House of a Master that returns from abroad unexpected to call his Servants to an account Of a Bridegroom that makes his Nuptial entrance at an unthought of hour when the wise and foolish Virgins were asleep Conscience was slumbred in the Good and stupified in the Bad to keep us always vigilant and prepared for that hour that is the end of Time and beginning of Eternity 2. Suppose Life be continued yet Sinners can have no rational hopes that they shall sincerely repent For 1. Saving Repentance is the Gift of God And is it likely that those who have been insensible of the loud and earnest calls of the Word that have been inflexible to the gracious methods of Providence leading them to repentance should at last obtain converting Grace The gales of the Spirit are very transient and blow where he pleases and can it be expected that those who have wilfully and often resisted his pure Motions should by an exuberant Favour receive afterwards more powerful Grace to overrule their stubborn Wills and make them obedient Our Saviour tells us To him that hath shall be given but to him that neglects the improving spiritual Treasures that which he hath shall be taken away There are special seasons of Grace as the passing of Christ in the way where the blind men sate which neglected are irrecoverably lost God has threatned that his Spirit shall not always strive with rebellious Sinners and then their state is remediless This may be the case of many even in this Life who are insensible of their Misery As Consumptive Persons decline by degrees lose their Appetite Colour and Strength till at last they are hopeless so the withdrawings of the Spirit are gradual his motions are not so frequent nor strong and upon the continued provocations of Sinners finally leaves them under that most fearful doom He that is filthy let him be filthy still He that is unrighteous let him be unrighteous still and thus punishes them on this side Hell as he does the damned by giving them over to Sin Nothing therefore is more dangerous than the usual excuses for the delays of Repentance 'T is written as with a Sun beam that God will graciously pardon repenting Sinners but 't is no where promised that he will give repentance to those who securely break his Laws upon a corrupt confidence they will repent at last 'T is a bloody adventure to indulge their carnal Affections as if they had infallible assurance the word of God confirm'd by his Oath that they should not dye in an impenitent state 2. Supposing the Holy Spirit be not totally withdrawn yet by every days continuance in an evil course the Heart is more hardened against the impressions of Grace and more incapable of returning to God 'T is therefore the subtilty of the old Serpent to make the entrance of Sin easy for he knows that after sometime it will plead a right by prescription and with difficulty be ejected Custom is a second Nature and has a mighty power either in that which is good or evil Can the Aethiopian change his Skin can the Leopard change his spots then may you who are accustomed to do evil do good If Sin in its infancy can make such resistance that the Spirit of Grace is foil'd in his Motions to rescue the Soul from its bondage how much more when 't is grown into a confirm'd habit Therefore the Apostle urges so emphatically to day while it is called to day hear the voice of God lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of Sin 3. How uncertain is it whether God will accept the Addresses of such at last We are commanded to seek the Lord while he maybe found and to call upon him while he is near The limitation implies if the season be neglected he will hide his Face for ever Now in cases of great moment and hazard what diligence what caution should be used 1. How derogatory is it to his Majesty to offer to him the dregs of our Age the reliques of a licentious careless Life spent in the works of Vanity Is this to give Glory to God Contempt provokes Superiors as much as actual Injuries And how vilifying is it of his excellent Greatness that Men lavishly wast the best of their time upon their Lusts and the World and when through weakness of Age or the violence of a Disease they can no more relish the pleasures of Sin then only to seek his favour and presume upon it as if he could not be happy without them and it were his interest to receive them If ye offer the blind for a Sacrifice is it not evil and if ye offer the lame and the sick is it not evil Offer it now to thy Governour will he be pleased with thee to accept thy Person saith the Lord of Hosts 2. Consider what Sincerity or moral Value is in Religion that meerly proceeds from bitter constraint 'T is a rule in Law falsum est eam peperisse cui mortuae Filius extractus est 'T is not a natural Birth when the Child is extracted from the dead Mother 'T is not Genuine Piety that is only extorted by the Rack whilst the Heart full of aversion and reluctancy does not truly consent Pure Religion flows uncompell'd from love to God 'T is the Dreggs that come forth with pressing 'T is observed of the Israelites that when God slew them they sought him and returned and enquired early after God But 't is added Nevertheless they did flatter him with their Mouths and they lied to him with their Tongues for their Hearts were not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant When Sinners are plunged in deep distress when the shadow of Death sits upon their Eye-lids they may with plentiful effusions of Prayers and Tears desire God to receive them to Heaven not to serve him there not to enjoy the Divine Presence but as a Sanctuary from revenging Justice as a Refuge from Hell And will such Desires prevail what swells the Confidence of Sinners but unworthy Notions of God as if a forc'd and formal Expression to him were sufficient to reconcile his offended Majesty 3. There is nothing renders Men more unworthy of Mercy than continuance in Sin upon presumption of an easy Pardon at last This is the most common deceitful Principle upon which they build their Hopes
as their Actions that bear the image of their Minds clearly manifest They think that God is so gracious such a lover of Souls so easy to be entreated that upon their dying Prayer Lord remember me in thy Kingdom the answer will be To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Now this presumptuous Indulgence gives the deepest grain to their Sins and makes them more uncapable of Pardon Chrysostome observes that Judas was encouraged to betray his Master presuming on his Lenity Goodness and Benignity which Consideration intolerably aggravated his Treason and confounded his Hopes There is a dreadful threatning against those who reject the invitations of Grace in their Prosperity and when the righteous Judg comes to Sentence and Execution are earnest Suppliants for Mercy Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out my Hands and no Man regarded But ye have set at naught all my Counsel and would none of my Reproof I will also laugh at your Calamity and mock when your fear comes when your fear comes as a Desolation and your destruction as a Whirlwind when distress and anguish come upon you then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seek me early but shall not find me for they hated knowledg and did not choose the fear of the Lord. A doleful case beyond all possible expression when the sinful Creature forsaken of all Comforts below addresses to Heaven for Relief and meets with Derision and Fury Scorn and Indignation The foolish Virgins careless to prepare for the Bridegrooms coming in vain at last discovered their want of Oil in vain sollicited the wise Virgins for a supply in vain knockt at the door crying Lord Lord open unto us the answer was severe and peremptory I know you not and they were for ever excluded from Spiritual Joys 3. I will add further how incongruous it is to delay the solemn work of Reconciliation with God till the time of Sickness This is an affair wherein our transcendent interest is concern'd and should be perform'd in our most calm and sensible condition when we are most capable of reflecting upon our ways and making an exact trial of our selves and returning to God by a holy Change of our Lives Now that the time of Sickness is not a convenient season for this Work is sadly evident For some Diseases are stupifying and all the Powers of the Spirit are benummed in a dull Captivity so that the sick Man only perceives with his animal Faculties Some Diseases are tormenting and cause a great disorder in the Soul and wholly distract the Thoughts from considering his spiritual State When the Storm is at the highest and the Pilot so sick that he can give no Directions the Ship is left to the fury of the Winds and escapes by Maracle When there is a Tempest in the humours of the Body and the Soul by sympathy is so discomposed that it cannot apply it self seriously to prepare for the Divine Tribunal what danger of being lost and passing from a short Agony to everlasting Pains Besides suppose the Sickness more tolerable yet how unfit is a Person weak and languishing when Sence and Conscience are both afflicted to encounter with the cruel Enemy of Souls All that truly seek Peace with God must expect fierce Anger and War from Satan therefore 't is a point of necessary Wisdom while we are possest of Health and Strength to be in a heavenly preparation against his Assaults 4. Consider how uncomfortable it is to delay Repentance till Age and Sickness when the Fruits of it are not so evident and acceptable In evil days and the approaches of Death 't is very hard to discover the sincerity of the Heart whether Repentance proceed from holy Principles whether the sorrow then exprest be Godly for Sin or meerly natural for Punishment whether the good resolutions be the effects of a permanent Fidelity or of violent Fear that will vanish the cause being removed When the invitations to Sin cease there may remain a secret undiscerned love to it in the Heart which is the centre of Corruption and root of Apostacy The Snake that seemed dead in the cold revived by the Fire The inordinate Affection that seemed mortified when the sensitive Faculties were disabled for carnal Enjoyments may have inward Life and will soon be active and vigorous in the presence of Temptations And that a Death-bed Repentance is usually deceitful appears from hence that not one of a thousand who recover from dangerous Diseases are faithful in performance of their most sacred Vows to God How many having a Sentence of Death in themselves and under the terrours of the Lord have exprest the greatest detestation of their Lusts and resolved as they thought sincerely that if God would spare them to reform their ways to become new refined Creatures exemplary in all holy Conversation yet the danger being over their heats of devotion expire as they revive and their lusts recover strength with their Bodies and having been supprest only by fear are more fierce in their return Their Hearts were as Marbles that in rainy Weather seems dissolved into Water but 't is only from the moisture of the Air and remain as hard as ever All their promises of Reformation are ineffective as violent and void Now if these Persons had died before this visible trial and discovery they had past into another World with the reputation of true Penitents deceiving others with their Prayers and Tears and liberal Promises the outward signs of Repentance and deceived themselves by the inward workings of an alarm'd Conscience Therefore Ministers ought to be very circumspect in applying the Promises of Mercy to Persons in such a state for an errour in that kind has fearful Consequences A little opiate Divinity may quiet the Mind for a time but the virtue of it will be soon spent and the Presumer perishes for ever But suppose a dying Person with true Tears and unfeined persevering Affections returns to God can he have a comfortable assurance of his Sincerity Indeed the Searcher and Judg of Hearts will accept him but how doubtful and wavering are his Hopes what anxious Fears are in his Breast lest he builds upon a sandy Foundation And how dreadful is it to appear before the Tribunal of God and expect an uncertain Sentence But Sinners still please themselves in this That God has effectually called some at the last hour and they may find the same favour with others To this I answer 1. 'T is true we have some rare admirable instances of God's Mercy and Grace the dying Thief and some others which shew 't is possible with God to abolish the most vicious confirmed habits in a short time and by a swift Conversion to prepare a Sinner for Heaven But these Examples are not to be drawn into Consequence for the encouragement of any in their Sins A Prince will not indure that his free Favours should be made a
Image of our suffering Redeemer that we may be crowned with his Glory How many Christians esteemed themselves honoured in the Disgrace and blessed in the Injuries they suffered for Christ and with an invincible Patience and astonishing Joy endured the most cruel Persecutions though yet the human Nature in them was as tender and sensible of Pains as in others but the natural aversion and repugnance to suffering was overruled by the determination of the rational Will upon the account of their Duty and the Reward attending it They gave a most convincing sensible Testimony how much more valuable Heaven is than this present World willingly exposing themselves to all Evil here and rejoycing in hope of a glorious issue In short the Reward of Obedience is a triumphal Crown and where there is no Victory there can be no Triumph and where no Combate no Victory and where no Enemy no Combate Therefore we are commanded to fight against our internal Enemies our corrupt Affections to kill the Lusts of the Flesh and to encounter and overcome by Humility and meek Submissions the cruelty of malicious Enemies without us in a direct order of obtaining the Crown of Life And a Believer that has Heaven in taste and expectation will easily renounce the most pleasant and willingly endure the sharpest Temptations for the blessed Reward of his Obedience CHAP. XII The Gospel threatens Hell to all that prefer the Pleasures of Sin before Heaven How congruous and powerful a Motive this is to work on carnal Men. The Misery of an everlasting Hell represented 4. COnsider if Men choose the Pleasures of Sin that are but for a season before Heaven that infinitely exceeds this World then an everlasting Hell shall be their Portion There is no middle State in the next World no tolerable mediocrity but two contrary States yet alike in this that the Happiness and Misery are equally Infinite and Eternal And by the most wise righteous Will of God there is an inseparable connexion between the Choice and Actions of Men here and their future Condition for ever The equity of this cannot be denied without renouncing the Light of Reason For when by a Chain of Consequences sinful Pleasures are linked with eternal Punishments threatned in the Divine Law he that will enjoy those forbidden Pleasures binds himself to suffer all the pains annexed to them And 't is just that those who err without Excuse should repent without Remedy Now the threatning of eternal Punishment is the most proper Argument to work on carnal secure Sinners 1. Because they are more capable to conceive of the Torments of Hell than the Joys of Heaven Storms and Darkness are more easily drawn by a Pencil than a calm bright Day Fire and Brimstone are very painful to Sense and the imagination strongly represents its vehemence in tormenting the Body and what an evil the uncessant remorse of the guilty Conscience will be hereafter is in part understood by the secret accusations and twinges of self-condemning Sinners here but they are absolutely Strangers to the Joys of the Holy Ghost the Delights of the Soul in the Contemplation and Love of God the peace and contentment of Conseience in his Favour They cannot without Experience know how good the Lord is no more than see a taste To discourse to them of the Spiritual Pleasures that flow from the divine Presence of the Happiness of the Saints that are before the Throne of God and serve him Day and Night in his Temple is to speak with the Tongue of an Angel unintelligible things Their Affections and Minds and Language are confined to sensible things The natural Man receives not the things of the Spirits of God for they are foolishness to him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned There may be in a carnal Person a conception of Heaven as a Refuge from Miseries and some smothering confused thoughts of its Felicity as the Idea of Light and Colours in one Blind from his Birth but only the pure in Heart can see God as in the perfect Vision of Glory in Heaven so in the imperfect reflection of it in the Gospel 2. Carnal Men are more disposed to be wrought upon by representing the Torments of Hell than the Joys of Heaven For we cannot love but what is known nor enjoy but what is loved And as the purification of the Heart from vicious Affections is the best means to clear the Mind so the illustration of the Mind is very influential to warn the Heart The true conception of Heaven in its amiable Excellencies would convey such a sweetness as to change Hatred it self into Love and of this only prepared Souls are capable But those who are sunk into Sense are without relish of spiritual Felicity and are either allured or terrified only with that is pleasant or painful to Sense 'T is recorded as the unparallel'd Folly of Nero that when he was ready to cut his own Throat to avoid the fury of the Multitude he broke forth into great expressions of Sorrow what an excellent Artist he died 'T was not the loss of the Roman Empire that so much troubled him as that so much skill in Musick died with him He valued himself more as a Fidler than an Emperor Thus carnal Men with a folly infinitely more prodigious when Death is near are not so much affected with the loss of the Crown of Glory and the Kingdom of Heaven as with their leaving the present World and its Vanities This makes Death intolerably bitter Till the Love of God inflames and purifies the Heart the fruition of his Glory is not esteemed nor desired A Seraphim sent from the Presence of God with a flaming Coal from the Altar toucht the Lips of the Holy Prophet and his Heart was presently melted into a compliance with the Divine Will But if a Rebel Angel that burns with another Fire than of Divine Love were dispatcht from Hell with a Coal from that Altar where so many Victims are offered to divine Justice as there are damned Souls and touch'd obdurate unreformed Sinners that they might have a lively sence what it is to burn for ever this were the most congruous and effectual way to reclaim them Like stubborn Metals they are only made pliant by the Fire Indeed the fear of Hell though raised to the highest degrees is not sufficient to convert a Sinner thorowly to God For that Religion that is the meer effect of Fear will be according to the nature of its Principle with resistance and trouble wavering and inconstant when the violence of the fear is lessen'd Whereas that which is from the inclination of Love and the hope of a desired Good is fully voluntary and persevering As a Scholar that applies himself to Learning by the constraint of Fear his Study is uneasy and whilst he is reading his Fancy transports him to other things and when his task is finisht he presently runs to Play But a Lover of
future State where the Misery is extream and nothing remains to allay it that the Damned should be in love with the unhappy good of simple being and not choose an absolute extinction if it might be If any one should be so foolish to think that custom will render that State more tolerable he may find a terrible confutation of his vain Fancy Indeed continuance under light Evils may arm the Mind with patience to bear them but in great extremities it makes the Evil more ponderous and intolerable He that is tortured with the Stone or on the Rack the longer the Torture continues the less able he is to sustain it In short as the Joy of Heaven is infinitely more ravishing that the Blessed are without fear of losing it so the Misery of Hell is proportionably tormenting that the Damned are absolutely destitute of hopes of a release O 't is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God who lives for ever and can punish for ever Now the serious Consideration of this Misery is the most proper and powerful means to awaken indulgent Sinners and make them resolved to cut off the right hand and pluck out the right Eye to part with the dearest Lusts rather than be exposed to it According to the judgment of Sense would any one in his Wits choose the enjoyment of the most intense and exquisite Pleasures for a Year and afterwards be content to burn in a Fornace for a Day much less to enjoy them for a Day and to burn for a Year what stupid Beasts are they who for momentary Delights incur the Fiery and Eternal Indignation of God Do we provoke the Lord to Jealousy are we stronger than he Try but the Finger with the Flame of a Candle or touch but a hot Coal you will soon discover your weakness But alas how hardly are Men induc't to exercise their Minds on this terrible Object He thinks least of Hell who has most reason to consider it so unwilling is the carnal Heart to have represented to it the evil to come Yet this is the first Motive that compels Sinners to change their course and turn from Sin to Holiness from the Creatures to God The Joys of Heaven being Spiritual and Divine as was before observed have no attractive influence upon their Affections would never convert and reform any but the torment of Fire being most evident and vehement to Sense is strongly represented by the Imagination and affects carnal Men. How many abound with vicious obstinate habits that by solemn and believing thoughts of the unquenchable Fire have felt the Miracle upon the three Children in the Fornace renewed in themselves their strong Cords burnt asunder and all their Powers restored to the freedom of Duty the blessed liberty of Obedience The Truth is if God had not formed Hell for the Punishment of Sin and only prepared the Celestial Kingdom for the Reward of Holiness the blessed Angels would be the sole Possessors of it and Heaven would be as empty of human Souls as 't is full of Glory so foolishly and violently is the corrupt nature of Man drawn by what is pleasing to Sense though with the certain loss of the most precious and eternal good things in the Divine Treasury But the belief that within a little time nothing will remain of their sinful Pleasures but the never dying Worm and ever living Flames makes them considerative of their imminent danger and as it were by necessity to seek the Kingdom of Heaven as a secondary Object to escape from Hell As the vertue of the Load-stone when encompast and arm'd with Iron is increast and draws a far greater weight than when 't is single thus the attractives of Heaven are more powerful to move our obdurate Hearts when enforc'd from the terrors of Hell In this respect the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom of the active and best Wisdom that directs us in the way to Blessedness CHAP. XIII The last Direction Earnest Prayer to God to inlighten our Minds to believe the Eternal World and effectually turn our Wills to desire and prosecute the Blessedness to come HAving a discovery so clear and certain in the Holy Scriptures of the everlasting recompences in the next World of the Kingdom of Heaven prepared by God to shew his excellent Glory to his faithful Servants where Love and Peace and Joy dwell for ever and of the infernal Prison where despair and Rage and Sorrow and whatever is signified under the terrible allusions of Fire and Brimstone are ordained by Divine Justice for the Wicked it might be justly hoped that all Men would by a holy violence take Heaven and by the swiftest Motion flee from the Wrath to come The instinct of Nature and the light of Reason excite them to secure their most precious Interest Can there be an Expectation Desire or Capacity in Man of enjoying a Blessedness beyond what is Infinite and Eternal And can there be any Evil so formidable as Everlasting Misery Now both these Objects are set before Men and propounded to their Choice And we are infallibly assured from God himself that all who are sincere and constant in their Choice and Pursuit shall obtain Heaven and that none shall be cast into Hell but those who choose it and therefore most worthily suffer it But O astonishment if with a serious Eye we regard the course of Mens Actions 't is visible that incomparably the greatest number of Christians in Profession love Death and hate Eternal Life Not that 't is possible for the reasonable Creature to do this directly with an explicit aim but virtually and by interpretation They intend Happiness but choose Misery For he that voluntarily breaks the Law of God chooses the known Penalty of its Violation He that prefers this perishing World before Heaven rejects it in the most contumelious manner And such is the depravation of Man since his Fall the Mind being diverted by vain Thoughts and the Heart prepossessed with sensual Desires that till the Spirit of his Mind be renewed and his original Affections to the Supream Good be revived and restored by Divine Grace he is regardless of it and only applies himself to what is pleasing to Sense Therefore a most necessary Duty incumbent upon us is by humble and fervent Prayer to address our selves to God for his Spirit to enlighten our Minds that we may believe the reality and greatness of the Eternal Reward and to reform our Wills that we may feel its attractive Force Both these acts of the Spirit are requisite that the Love of God as our chief Felicity may be the regent Principle of our Hearts and Lives 1. For this end the Holy Spirit convinces Men thorowly of the reality and greatness of an invisible Happiness Indeed the Heathens saw something of this as it were in a Dream they had some transient Glances and volatile Wishes concerning it but miserably weak and ineffectual And in the most of