others oppositions within and without Now where there is a principle of Grace when under opposition it will seek so much the more importunately after Christ The Disciples discouraged the poor woman of Canaan saying Send her away a great discouragement but she cryed the more Opposition meeting with Grace doth but prove like cold water upon good coales make them burn the brighter Usually at thy first looking out after Christ opposition will meet thee but then let such opposition send you to Christ 2. Reason why morning Seekers shall be certain finders because they are diligent Seekers and the Promise runs unto diligent seeking He that comes unto God Heb. 11.6 must believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of such as diligently seek him It is not the slothful Seeker that shall be the certain finder no no the desire of the sluggard kills him 1. Morning Seekers are diligent Seekers now they see the worth of what they seek none can seek diligently but such O now they seek the Lord Jesus in the sense of the worth of him When we know the worth of that we seek we will seek diligently Ask these Seekers what Christ is worth and they will tell you ten thousand worlds he is the pearl of price chiefest of ten thousands 2. Morning Seekers are diligent seekers because now they are convinced of the worth of their Souls for the good of which they seek Persons will never seek diligently until they come to see the preciousness of their immortal souls Can a man be too diligent in the business of his Soul Did ever you hear of any repented them of their diligence in working out of their salvation with fear and trembling when they came to die Have you ever known any who have cryed out what a fool was I to pray so much to live so holily to take up so much of my time about my immortal soul Ask a poor Soul why it is so diligent at first seeking Christ and it will tell you I never saw the worth of my Soul before I am now seeking out for my Soul and if I do not find I am a lost undone Soul to all Eternity 3. Morning Seekers are diligent Seekers because they now know the evil dayes are coming upon them Eccl. 12.1 in which they will be unfit to seek him dayes of sickness dayes of affliction it may be temptations and tryals they seek while it is to day because when night comes there will be no seeking 4. They know there is a day in which he will not be found Isa 99.6 Seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is nigh O sayes the morning Seeker the time is coming when it will be too late the gate of Mercy will be shut the bridge of Mercy drawn and the Soul is afraid of delaying and dallying upon that account 5. Morning Seekers are diligent Seekers because they are convinced now of the great need of Christ O now they see and say they are undone and lost for ever if they miss of the Lord Jesus What makes persons diligent in seeking but when they see a need of what they seek Do not they need a Christ that see they are undone to all Eternity if they have not a Christ 3. Reason why morning Seekers will be certain finders the Promise runs to them what plainer than this word in my Text They shall find me They that seek shall find He never said to the Seed of Jacob seek ye my face in vain And he is faithful that hath promised Let this encourage you that you are under a Promise Application Is it so that morning Seekers shall be sure and certain finders Then it is a word of Inquiry Why or what should be the reason so many poor morning Seekers are complaining they find not him whom their Souls love as the Spouse did I sought him but I found him not And so many poor Souls are complaining I sought Christ so long but I know not that I have found him to this day 1. Reason why Jesus Christ is not at present found of morning Seekers he will exercise their Graces by it he had a design upon the Spouse to exercise her Grace by withdrawing from her 1. Sayes Christ I will try whether this poor Soul love me or no Love is a waiting Grace whether this poor Soul can wait and enquire Saw you him whom my Soul loves 2. Christ by this tryes their faith faith will continue seeking though at present it doth not find Isa 8.17 I wait upon the Lord who hides his face from the house of Jacob. 2. The Lord Jesus is not found at present of morning Seekers to draw out their Souls in longings after him The more a poor seeker of Christ seems to be denied the more is his Soul enflamed with ardent desires Thus did Christ with the Spouse when he had withdrawn himself the watchmen smote her took away her veil from her Yet her Spirit was raised the more after Christ to enquire after him Thus often it is with morning Seekers after Christ 3. The Lord Jesus is not at present found of morning Seekers because he will let the Soul see it is only his free Grace that must be adored and admired in finding Christ Morning Seekers would be sacrificing else to their nets and dosing incense to their own drags and stroaking self upon the head and saying this is my praying this is my mourning this is my being early up in the morning O now he will have the Soul know that it is of the riches of his Grace that he is found of those that seek him 4. Jesus Christ is not found at present of morning Seekers because he will try whether their hearts be upright with himself Many poor Souls begin to seek Christ but it is but for a time temporary seekers and afterwards they are offended with one thing or other then they draw back that is a note of a rotten heart I dare say thou wert never right at heart Christ-ward that turnest off and lookest back upon some offence taken against Christ I doubt there be many hypocritical Seekers it is no wonder if such be not finders 5. Jesus Christ is not at present found of morning Seekers because they are many times too legal in their seeking him I mean they seek him too much in a way of works as Israel of old did Now he would acquaint poor Souls with the way of faith to seek him in a way of believing this is the only way of seeking Christ 2. Word of Inquiry If that morning Seekers shall be certain finders of Christ then how comes it to pass that so many of them after a while give over turn their backs on the way of God and apostatize from that they once profest O how many young ones who have begun in the Spirit and yet have ended in the flesh as we might judge 1. Many young Seekers have turned off
an easie yoke by giving them to see a difference betwixt this yoke and the yoke of Satan And now sayes the poor Soul the yoke of Satan would have prest me down to Hell I should have drawn my self damned in the Devils yoke and O now how heavy do I feel it My sins are gone over my head as a burden yea as too heavy a burden for me to bear O now when a poor sinner compares yokes and burdens O how easie doth Christ's yoke become 4. The Lord Jesus Christ doth encourage young Seekers by giving them hearts to wait upon him and sweetly and secretly renewing their strength in waiting on him While there is a waiting Spirit there is encouragement this was the great encouragement of Jacob's Soul a wrestling frame was kept up in him Where-ever a Soul continues a waiter and wrestler there is hope it will come off conquerour therefore we read of that blessed Promise Isa 40.30 31. The youths shall faint and the young men shall utterly fall but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength strength comes in upon your waiting You young waiters he will not let you wait upon him for nothing if your hands wax weak he will strengthen them there shall be a secret invisible strength sent in that shall still keep you waiting O but may Souls say we shall be weary after a while for all this O no poor Souls you shall run and not be weary walk and not faint a poor young runner shall hold on and hold out That word in the Psalms is of the like comfort Psal 27. ult to waiters Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and he shall strengthen thy heart I say wait on the Lord. O but sayes the poor Soul I am discouraged I know not what to do I shall sink under them wait on the Lord and what then the Lord will strengthen thee in waiting against all thy temptations both within and without the Lord is good to them that wait for him and thou shalt find it so 5. The Lord doth encourage the souls of young Seekers by giving them tastes of his love for many times at first conversion he gives more of it than he doth afterwards this is to encourage Souls and draw them on more to love him and seek him and follow after him When the Prodigal came newly home at his first return O how he treated him Bring forth the best robe and put it on him and a ring on his hand and shooes on his feet If the Lord should not give young Seekers some sweet tastes of his love they would be discouraged in seeking after him But now they that taste how good and gracious the Lord is they come unto him 6. The Lord Jesus doth encourage the Souls of young Seekers by passing by and pardoning their infirmities in their approaches to him and graciously accepting and owning what is his There is something of Gods and something of their own in every duty and a great deal of their own to a little of Christs a great deal of dross to a little silver a great deal of water to a little wine and O sayes the poor young Seeker I am discouraged will the Lord accept of such an offering as this If thou shouldst offer this to thy Governour would he accept of it O poor Soul see what he sayes I have eaten my honey with my honey comb not only the honey but the comb because of the dross he doth not refuse all he knows how to separate the comb from the dross the infirmities of a duty from any thing of the spirit in a duty he will pick out what is his own and pardon what is thine 7. The Lord Jesus doth encourage the Souls of young Seekers by helping them to believe the precious Promises made to them There are not more precious Promises made to any sort of sinners or sort of people than to young Seekers after Christ. Is not this a precious Promise in the Text Of all persons you shall not be disappointed you shall seek and find â—â—â— 40.11 He shall carry the Lambs in his bosome and gather them with his arm and shall gently lead them that are with young O what a Soul-reviving-Promise is this are not Lambs weak creatures but in his bosome shall they get both warmth and strength The old Proverb shall not hold in this case The weakest go by the walls if they cannot go he can carry them and not carry them on his back but in his bosome which is the easiest carriage and the safest carriage O what a sweet shepherd is this that nourishes his Lambs in his bosome And is not that also a rich and glorious Promise A bruised Reed shall he not break nor shall he quench the smoaking flax until he bring judgement unto victory O poor Soul can there be greater encouragements than in this Promise What is a weaker thing than a bruised Reed what is a poorer thing than smoaking flax soon extinguished soon trodden out but the Lord will make weak ones strong weak Grace shall be victorious Grace thou art a poor weak worm it may be the Lord chooses things that are not to confound things that are 8. The Lord encourages such as are young Seekers of him by watering the buddings of his own Grace in their Souls Grace is so tender a plant that it will live in no soyle where it is not well watered it cannot be in any soyle but it must be watered He takes notice of the buddings of the Pomegranate or the opening of it When a poor soul begins first in its openings to desire after Jesus Christ in its faith in its love to Christ O then these are watered with precious quickning influences from above which makes them spring up and grow apace he breaths upon his young plants Blow O south mind that the spices may flow out these breathings are influences from the Spirit 1. Reason why the Lord Jesus Christ doth encourage young Seekers because in their first setting out to seek Christ they meet with most temptations O now when Satan is like to lose his prey how doth this greedy Lion roar when he sees he is like to be disappointed how doth he follow the Soul with wrath and rage Now the greater the rage of Satan is against poor Souls the more bowels hath Christ yearning towards them as it is his great office to succour those that are tempted When Christ was born in Jerusalem there was a great uproar O poor Soul thou wondrest what is the matter there is an uproar a tumult in thy own Spirit a combate within and thou begin'st to be restless in Spirit look'st up to God in this condition O what if Christ be forming in thy soul There are two things make Satan bestir himself against morning Seekers 1. It is his envy he is the envious one he envies the good and happiness of every poor Soul therefore he pursues thee
his heart so that he breaks out thus the Godly shall pray unto thee in such a time in an especial time Luk. 19.41 42. O Jerusalem hadst thou known in this thy day It was an especial time in which they might have found the Lord he so sweetly offering himself to them in the Gospel Solomon tells us Eccl. 8.5 6. A wise mans heart discerneth time and judgment because to every purpose there is a time and judgment therefore the misery of man is great upon him So in this case there is a time an especial time to put your Spiritual purposes into execution to seek the Lord Jesus in Therefore that was good Counsel Job 22.20 21. Now acquaint thy self with God and be at peace and thereby good shall come upon thee Now seek the Lord. There are some especial Nows that we should all improve and lay hold on 2 Cor. 6.2 Now is the acceptable time now is the day of salvation c. I passed by thee and saw thee in thy blood and then it was a time of love c. The great question will be what are these especial times in which Christ is willing to be found 1. When he offers himself in the tenders of the Gospel O Jerusalem hadst thou known in this thy day It was a peculiar time in which the Lord Jesus was preached to them Now Christ is willing to be found of you What is the Gospel but Christ seeking out his Sheep his voice calling in his Sheep Christ following poor sinners with invitations and entreaties that they would return unto him and live We read of the Shepherd seeking out his sheep Would Christ offer himself but that it is an especial time of love O poor Souls take heed as you reject these offers 1. These offers of Christ are a fruit of his blood if he had not died he never had been tendred to you and for you to refuse these offers is for you to reject his purchase nay for you to tread his blood under-foot and account the blood of the Covenant an unclean thing And O how must this needs provoke the Lord as is said in the parable of the Supper when they all had refused the Lord was angry and resolved that none of them should taste of his Supper 2. These offers are offers of life and salvation O then take heed of rejecting them You will not come to me that you may have life Now is an especial time you may have life If a poor condemned Malefactor should but have his life offered him O how would he be transported with joy And this is the case of every poor sinner out of Christ he is under a sentence of condemnation and Christ comes and offers them their lives O then as we value the lives of our precious Souls let us not reject the offers of Christ 3. The offers of Christ are unasked unsought for by us therefore it is now an especial finding time Thou poor sinner dost not come forth and ask a Christ and cry for Christ and lament after Christ O no but Christ came out to offer himself to thy poor Soul when thou lay dying and perishing in thy blood then he said unto thee unasked Live 4. The offers of Christ are not only of his Grace but of himself He offers not only what he hath but what he is to thy Soul But my people would have none of me He that hath the Son hath life There must be an union with the Son a closing with the person of Christ as well as with the promise of Christ Now this is more than to offer Grace yea than to offer Heaven to poor sinners Therefore it is we read of the marriage of the Kings Son and shall we despise such a match as this God forbid 5. Surely this is a finding time in an especial manner he offers with entreaties and invitations to accept He doth not make an offer and away as careless whether poor sinners accept or no but he follows his offers with arguments if by any means he might prevail with poor Souls before it be too late 6. He offers all he hath O will neither his person nor his benefits take with the Souls of poor sinners All he hath may be yours If he have pardoning mercy it is yours if he have sanctifying mercy it is yours if he have comforting mercy it is yours He interests you in all his fulness upon your closure with him He bestows upon you a large joynture upon your marriage with him All is yours Then certainly this is an especial finding time 2. The second especial finding time is when the Spirit breaths upon sinners in their attendances upon God We read of a certain season in which the Angel came down and moved the waters There are some certain seasons that the Spirit of God doth breath more freely upon poor sinners than at other times and these times we are to make an especial improvement of The Spirit of God it is said came upon Sampson by times Certain briezes if you will give me leave to call them so that come from Heaven at certain times The wind blows where it listeth O but poor Souls be sure you lose not these winds when they stand fair for Heaven do not let them slip lose not a gale for Eternity for they are especial finding times 1. These gales once gone and they are irrecoverable There is no buying a wind for Heaven if you would give all the world for it one fair gale lost and thy poor Soul may lye wind-bound unto thy very dying day 2. These gales once gone and your hearts harden Sinners hearts harden as the gales of the spirit of God are abused and so suspended And O what a sad case will it be for a poor Sinner to lye upon a death-bed crying out this heart of mine as very a stone as it is as hard as it is now once was breathed upon by the Spirit to close with Christ but I sinned all those precious breathings from my Soul and so by degrees hardned for Hell apace 3. These winds will not alwayes blow upon you the wind will not alwayes stands here Say so when under the Spirits breathings The wind will not alwayes hold thus fair for Heaven it will not alwayes blow in this quarter My Spirit shall not alwayes strive with man You must not think of having a trade-wind for Heaven 4. These gales must you give an account for Why did not you move with such a fair wind when you had it This question one day will be asked your precious Souls O what answer will you give in that day Did not my Spirit strive with you but you resisted it and vexed it and quenched it Every motion you ever had and slighted will come in as an evidence against you another day 5. These gales once gone will fill your Souls with horrour that you have lost them that you were in so fair a way for closing with
how many Souls have lived and died without the tenders of Christ How many that never heard of a Christ as they said We have not so much as heard of an Holy Ghost How many that sit in darkness and the shadow of death How many parts of the world that are the dark places of the earth full of the habitations of Cruelty You do not hear such Sermons in India as you do in England you do not hear Christ so preached and tendred at Guiny at Jamaica Suppose those poor Indians and Natives that you converse with there should know what you have heard of Christ here and what you have professed of Christ here they would certainly seeing no more of Christianity no more of likeness to Christ among you certainly they would say this Christ is an Impostor and this Christianity a cheat a delusion to gull the world withal Therefore upon this account it is that a woe was denounced against Chorazin and Bethsaida If I had never spoken unto you sayes Christ you had not had sin O Sirs if Christ had never been preached to you never been tendred to you never beseeched you never wooed you you had been under less guilt but now your sin remains and how can you escape who have neglected so great salvation You may think to escape you may think you have some back door to creep out at but alas how can you escape as Christ said to the Pharisees the damnation of Hell 6. These times of Christs being willing to be found will not last alwayes O what stronger reason to observe them My Spirit shall not alwayes strive with man You think poor Sinners that I will alwayes wait on you alwayes wooe you alwayes beseech you O no poor Sinners times are coming on that my Bowels will be shut up in displeasure against you my Bridge of Mercy shall be drawn and my Gate of Mercy shall be shut and then what will you do O poor Sinners what standing will there be without in that day what crying Lord Lord open unto us Do you think to have a trade-wind to heaven do you think the wind will alwayes blow fair in your voyage for Eternity The time is coming that the Lord Jesus as it is said of those Angels will keep the winds in his hands Rev. 7.1 and not suffer them to blow on a poor Soul That was good Counsel of our dear Lord work while it is day the night comes wherein no man can work Your day will not alwayes continue the night comes May it not be said by many poor Sinners Woe unto us our day goeth away And alas poor Sinners the night is no time for working in 7. Reason There are no Christ finding times beyond this life No Christ-finding times in the Grave whither we are all going That is excellent counsel Pecl. 9.10 what thou findest to do do it with all thy might Now is the doing time this present time is only the doing time and the reason is very cogent for there is no work in the Grave whither we go then it is past time to work for Heaven to work for an interest in Christ O that word is a sad word it is past time As the Tree falls so it lies to all Eternity there is no turning of it on the other side O then poor Souls had need look to it and make sure when they fall they fall right that they fall Heaven-ward When you die then all the tenders of Christ cease 8. Reason Because it is not long that Christ will call that Christ will offer himself to be found of you The Mart-dayes for your poor Souls will not long continue the shadows of the evening are stretched upon us the Sun of the Gospel declines apace Time is short Gospel-time is short life-time is short liberty is short God is cutting us short O now how should we observe the finding times of Christ It is said 2 Kings 10. â—â— the Lord began to cut Israel short but now the Lord hath been cutting England short a great while cutting us short of Trading of Liberties of Priviledges and all that we may observe the times of Christ in which he is willing to be found The Angel within a little time will swear Time shall be no more Application Is it so that Sinners should observe these times of Christ 1. It doth inform us of the great stupidity and senselesness that is upon the Souls of poor Sinners naturally They go on in the neglects of Christ untill the Lord Jesus meet them and stop them They do not consider Nay it was the complaint of the Lord against his own people that they were worse than brutes Isa 1.3 4. The Oxe knows his owner and the Ass his masters crib and yet my people do not know they do not consider O the bruitishness of our hearts The Turtle and the Crane observe the time of their coming c. The Psalmist cautions us be not as the Horse and as the Mule that want understanding O may not every poor Sinner when God comes to convince at first the Soul say Surely I am more brutish than any man 2. It informs us that it is not the having times of Christs offering himself but it is the observing of these times that we are especially to look after It is indeed a great Mercy to have them but it is a greater to observe them We may say in this case as in that who is wise will observe these things and the prudent shall know them There are many poor Souls who are now in Hell that have lived under the Calls of Christ under the offers of Christ. What say you to Chorazin and Bethsaida You may hear Christ forty years together preached nay you may profess Christ nay you may follow Christ for loaves many years and after all this be Cast-awayes nay a man may preach Christ and at last be a Cast away 3. It informs us that the Spirit of God doth not alwayes breath alike and strive alike The Spirit of the Lord came upon Sampson by times and the Angel came down at a certain season The wind of the Spirit blows by gusts many times upon poor Souls it blows where it listeth and it blows when it listeth It may be not in that Ordinance thou expectedst most but in that Ordinance thou expectedst least Or ever I was aware my Soul made me sayes a poor Creature like the chariot of Aminadab There is a set time to favour Zion So there is a set time for the Spirit of God both to convince and comfort the poor Soul 4. It informs us that in every poor Sinners miscarriage to all Eternity there is room to justifie God We must not think to lay it at Gods door as too many would do but we must lay it at our own doors Hos 13.9 O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self Perditio tua ex te will be the Motto written upon Sinners backs in Hell Will not