excellency in the Gospel and the knowledge of God thereby Now we see a Glorious beauty in Holiness and in the the ways of God before we counted them Fools that made much ado about Religion To know how they might walk and please God But now I see they were wiser then we Now we can prize a Crucified Christ and an interest in him above the world and all that is in it as Paul did Phil. 3. 7 8 9. 2. Note A second Note If we have imbraced the Call of God in the Gospel our affections are set upon other Objects then they were before for before the world either in the pleasures of it or the riches of it or the honour of it carried away our joy our delight our desire our love but now we can rejoyce in Gods word above all Ps 119 162. I rejoyce in thy word as he that findeth great spoyl This is more to be desired by a Gracious soul then much fine Gold and is sweeter then Honey and the Honey Comb. Psal 19. 10. Now the desire is after the knowledge of God and Christ which before was after earthly things which carries the soul out to the use of such means as tends to the attaining thereof as praying reading hearing conversing and though others may do the same thing yet not to the same end they do it to grow thereby 1 Pet. 2. 2. To wit That they may grow in grace and the knowlede of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Their love is now set on God and the ways of God and the People of God which before were dispised But I do but hint those things which will be found in those that have imbraced the Call 3. Note Again When Souls have imbraced the Call they can never more after that sin with full consent of the will If any Evil be committed it is by means of the Law of the Members that doth rebel against the Law of the Mind which causes a continual VVar between the flesh and the Spirit which carries the Soul to God to cry out for help against this Rebel this Law in the Members as David in Psal 19. 12 13. It will be the great care of such Souls to keep their Garment undefiled Râ—v 3. 4. He that hath this hope purifieth himself even as he is pure Joh. 3. 3. Let us carefully and faithfully prove our selves by these things and by what else the Lord may help us in that we may not miscarry in this matter that is of such wonderful concernment as relates to our eternal weal or woe our eternal life or eternal death for a little time will bring to the gates of Eternity and time will be no more Then it will be too late for foolish Virgins to cry Lord open to us Now is the time for us to hear that our Souls may live Isa 55. 3. But suppose we have all this while neglected to hear and have had our excuses as the bidden Guest had Let me admire the patience of God that has spared us so long while we have provok'd him by delaying to hear O doubtless he might have said long ago They shall not tast of my Supper But seeing it is no worse but that the Lord is still sending after us let us take heed of delays lest we come to the Gate of Mercy when it is shut and must never more be opened 3. Vse A Third use therefore that we may and ought to make use of this Parable is to perswade and exhort poor Souls to come at in the Call 1. Motive And for Motives consider that Eternity of weal or woe depends upon the well or ill spending of a little time Exod. 11. 3. If the Tree falleth towards the South or towards the North in the place where it falleth there it shall be A little moment let slipt may lose Heaven and happiness and plunge us under the unsupportable Vengeance of an infinite God Oh While it is called to day harden not your hearts so long till God sware in his Wrath you shall not enter into his Rest. Heb. 3. 11 15. After the Lord had Sworn in his wrath they should not enter it was then too late to attempt it as appears Numb 14. 42. 43 44 45 Let us not say we have bought a Farm bought Oxen or Married a Wife but come at the first invitation lest the door be shut and you stand and knock to no purpose Prov. 1. 24 25 26 27 28. It will be a dreadful thing for the great God to laugh at poor Souls in their misery surely that will increase their misery If one were in great distress and should see one that had power to help that would only look upon him but not pity him nor yield any relief to him it would be very grievous to him But if he should stand and mock at him it would be much more grievous To hear such a one say Nay you are served well enough I called upon you to avoid the danger but you slited my Advice though I profer'd to save you out of it yea I pray'd you and intreated you to let me help you out of this horrible Pit but ye refused Psal 40. 2. No intreaty would serve therefore if you can now save your self do I 'le have nothing to do with you This will greatly increase their woe even so and much more will be the aggravations of their torment who shall have the Lord speak so to them as Prov. 1. 20 22 23 24. O that poor Souls would not let slip the day of Grace My spirit shall not always strive with Man for that he also is flesh Gen. 6. 3. Shall God in pity say as he did to Ispael of old Deut. 32. 29. O that they were Wise that they would consider this that they would remember their latter end And shall we not regard it it will be sad with those Souls that shall make light of the Call till God will send no more after them but shall send to those that will come and for ever exclude those bidden ones and they forced to cry out as they in Jeremy Jer. 8. 20. The Harvest is past and the Summer is ended and we are not saved 2 Motive To come at the Call of God is because we are every day further off from God then other we are like a Ship under Sayl driven by fierce Winds it cannot stand still but is in perpetual motion toward some Port or other and is every hour nearer to the place whither they are bound so long as the Wind is for them Those that are bound for Hell as all Men and VVomen in the VVorld are before Conversion they get nearer and nearer Hell every day and they run a very swift Courage the Devil trims the Sails and raiseth the wind of temptation and makes good the Proverb They must needs go that the Devil drives But he perswades them they were bound for Heaven that blessed Country that Abraham sought after for the Devil
in this is like those Men that are called Spirits that flatters Children with fair words and fine toyes to go with them till they have got them out of the reach of all relief and then and not till then they will let them see they are certainly Slaves past all Recovery Oh be not such Children as to be flatter'd with worldly toyes out of the hope of Heavenly joyes and so suffer your selves to be carried into endless woes For remember till you tack about you are nearer Hell every day and so consequently further off from God and Christ and Glory O â—emember whither you are going and turn again before it be too late Let not Christ say of you as of the Jews Ye will not come to me that you might have life John 5. 40. O that poor men and women would take Counsel of Wisdom crying after them Prov. 1. 20 21 22 23 24. Turn as my Reproof I will pour out my Spirit unto you I will make known my words unto you O harken before it be too late hear that your Souls may live Isa 55. 3. Let not Satan get you one step nearer Hell before you turn 3. Motive Those Souls that delay to return and come in upon the invitation will make their work more hard and difficult if ever they do reform First Because the longer they go on in sin the more hardned they will be in sin Heb. 3. 13. But exhort one another daily while it is called to day viz. While the day of Grace and opportunity last lest any of you be hardned by the deceitfulness of sin Sin is deceitful and the Devil is deceitful and mans heart is deceitful and these three agree in one Jer. 17. 9. Even to deceive poor Souls with the Golden Baits of worldly injoyments till Repentance be hid from their Eyes And so their Oyl be to seek when the Bride-groom comes and the door be shut Secondly It will be difficult to return after long delays because Custome is as it were a second nature Jer. 13. 25. Can the Ethiopian change his Skin or the Leopard his Spots then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil We know Old Ulcers are hardly hardly Clensed and Cured when an ease and speedy Cure may be made of a Green Wound Poyson when it is first taken may be expel'd but by continuance in the body till it have insected the Vitals the Cure will be very difficult and hazardous 3 ly The longer we go on in sin the more difficult will be our return because one sin draws on another and so we shall have more sins to repent of and the more work we have to do the more discouragement will be as to the undertaking of it Repentance is of necessity and seeing it is so it will be easier to repent of sin betime It is a kind of madness for a man to go on in a Trade that he knows he must repent that ever he medled with it and must throw it off or else it will utterly undo him every one will say The sooner the better Better to be rid of such an Imployment that a man loses by every day we lose by sin every day and treasure up wrath against the day of wrath If a fire kindle upon our House the way to quench it is not to add more fuel to it Now Sin sets Soul and Body on fire And the breath of the Lord as a stream of Brimstone doth kindle it Isa 30. 33. The Devil knows what he does in perswading Souls to delay their coming in at the first Call he knows that the work of returning will be more difficult If a Nail be but entred it may be easier pull'd out then if by continual knocking it is driven up to the head To add sin to sin is as to add to a burden to make it to be carried the more easily This is like what is said Deut. 29. 19. When the Curse of God is pronounced against sin and one say I shall have peace though I walk in the imaginations of my own heart to add Drunkerness to Thirst See what the Lord saith ver 20. The Lord will not spare him but his anger and his Jealousie shall smoak against him and all the Curses that are Written in this Book shall lye upon him O then take heed of delays for the work will be more difficult to morrow then it is to day O then while it is called to day harden not thy heart 4. Motive Come in quickly for else thou may'st not have so much time to serve the Lord as thou hast spent in serving the Devil who is thy deadly Enemy who intends nothing but thy eternal Ruine 5. Motive Consider thou hast run a great hazard all this while the Lord might have cut asunder the thred of thy life before now and thou mightest have dropt into Hell from whence there is no Redemption and wilt thou venture still if once he strike he will strike home 6. Motive Consider what thou losest by delays First Thou losest the presence of God the Communion of Saints the comfort of the Holy Spirit which although the wicked men count the Godly fools and think they live a mopish uncomfortable life yet is their joy as the joy of Harvest and as those that find a great spoil Isa 9. 3. see 1 Joh. 1. 4. Psal 16. 11. see 1 Pet. 1. 8. So that by delaying to come at the first although at last thou do come yet thou art a great loser in regard of that early joy which thou mightest have had by comming in sooner For the Lord doth not call upon thee to come and make thy condition worse than before It is a madness to think that the Devils service is more comfortable then Gods Secondly Thou losest the advantage of becomming famous in grace and holiness if a man be in a thriving way yet if he fall into it but a little before he dye he is not like to be very Rich. Oh therefore hearken to the Call betime that so thou may'st be rich in Grace rich in good Works and then thou shalt have a rich Reward in the Kingdom of Glory Thirdly By delayes thou may'st lose all and come as the Foolish Virgins did Mat. 25. When the Door was shut and as those Mat. 7. 22. That Prophesied in the Name of Christ and cast out Devils in his Name anâ— yet cannot be admitted When once the Master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the Door Luk. 13. 25. It will be then no boot 〈◊〉 knock and this is a loss indeed to lose the favour of God the love of Christ the fellowship of the Holy Spirit the Communion of all the blessed Angels and Saints thou losest Heaven and happiness and all the Glory and Felicity which was tendered to thee in the invitation But that is not all but those that lose God gain the Devil those that lose Heaven gain Hell which gain is a dreadful loss
as will more fully appear by setting forth some of the properties of Heaven and Hell and setting the one against the other 1. As first In Heaven there is God the Father Son and Holy Spirit in Hell is the Devil and all his Angels 2. In Heaven there is an innumerable Company of Glorified Saints and Angels in Hell there is an innumerable Company of wicked damn'd Spirits 3. In Heaven there is nothing but Joy and Singing in Hell is nothing but weeping and wailing 4. In Heaven there is Glorious Light that no Mortal Eye can approach unto in Hell there is outer Darkness Mat. 22. 13. Blackness of Darkness of Darkness for ever Jude 3. Oh what a disparity is here between these two the Darkness of Egypt was but a Figure of this Black Darkness And as it is very comfortable to behold the Light so it is very dreadful to be deprived of all Light to be alone in the Dark is frightful especially if it be outer Darkness but ten thousand times better to be quite alone then to be in the midst of innumerable Devils and frightful damn'd Spirits 5. In Heaven is whatever may delight both Soul and Body but in Hell there is whatever may add to misery and torment of soul and body 1. As first There is fire into which they shall be cast that have their portion there 2. And as it is Fire which in it self is dreadful even so it is the worst fire viz. Brimstone and Fire even as God when he would pour out his wrath upon Sodom who suffer the Vengeance of Eternal Fire Jude 7. It was with Brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven Gen. 19. 24. And it is hard to indure the stink of Brimstone and fire though we feel not the burning of it But some may say it is not material Fire to which one make answer and says Then it is worse because that the Figure is not answerable to the substance So that at the best it is Fire and Brimstone Oh how dreadful will it be to endure it When I have had the Smoak of Brimstone ascend into my Nostrils it hath been terrible though but for a moment And when I have stood by a flaming Oven I have thought Oh how dreadful would it be to be alive in that flame though but for a very little space 3. This fire is dark fire the comfortable property of Light is taken from it for in Hell there must be nothing that can yield any comfort 4. Again It is such fire that will not consume the matter that is laid into it but the fire and the Fuel to wit Devils and wicked men must remain and abide in that fire together 5. And therefore this Fire is Eternal Jude 7. Everlasting Mat. 25. 41. And this makes it dreadful indeed All the miseries of this life will quickly end they are but light and momentary 2 Cor. 4 17. But these shall never end and this doth compleat the misery of the Damn'd There will be no end of their misery no ease in their misery no mitigation of their misery no delivering out of their nor relief in their misery No end as is said before and as one saith If the Damn'd did know that he should suffer no more thousands of years then there be Sands in the Sea or no more Millions of Ages then there be Sands in the Sea it would much comfort him but alas it is ever still Another Writes thus suppose the whole Globe of the Earth were a Mountain of Sand and fill'd up with Sand to the Imperial Heavens and a Wren should come once in an hundred years and fetch away the tenth part of a Grain of this Sand if when all this Sand was fetcht away the Damn'd might come out of Hell it would be some comfort to them But still it is as before it is for ever still Oh what an amazing consideration is this and yet how few lay it to heart Now considering these things is it not folly and madness to reject or but neglect to come to the Marriage upon the first Call of the Lords Servants that are sent to invite thee How shall they escape that neglect so great Salvation All must come to the Wedding or go to the Dungeon Where the Worm never dyes nor the Fire goes not out Consider there is no ease as there is no end if one did know certainly that he must indure the pain but of an aking Tooth without any ease for the space of one whole Year Oh! how grievous would the very thoughts of it be How long doth one night seem to one in misery What shall we say to Eternity when not any one Member shall be in pain but the whole Man Soul and Body shall be in pain in torment not only for a Night or a Year but for ever in which there is no intermission no hope no relief no not a drop of water for ever to cool a flaming Tongue all hope of help being cut off for ever Lay all these Motives together to which many might be added for a speedy comming in and then tell me whether even reason it self will not conclude it is best to hear that your Souls may live Isa 55. 3. Will a Months living in pleasure in pride in the eager persute of Riches make amends for the loss of the Glory mentioned before and for undergoing of wrath and vengeance in Hell fire Man being in honour abideth not Psal 49. 12. Yet in ver 11 it is said Their inward thoughts is their houses shall continue for ever and they call their Lands after their own Names vâ—r 13. This then is their folly Indeed it is egredious folly to lose Heaven for a little Earth Heavenly treasure for Earthly pleasure for a Barley Corn to lose the Pearl of great price Alas All flesh is Grass and all the Glory of Man as the flowers of the Grass the Grass withereth and the Flower fadeth away How oft do we see the Flower wither before the Sithe come to cut down the Grass How oft do we see the Glory of Man issue before he leave the World And yet what a little little time do they abide in the World The Sithe comes and Mows down this Grass speedily I my self have seen in some Families two and in some three Generations pass away few attaining to Moses account of threescore years and ten as Psal 90 10. But if they do it quickly comes about and it will be our great Mercy If the Lord so teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to Wisdom Quest What is to be done Answ The first step is to see our selves utterly lost First By natural defilement Secondly By actual sin by which we have made our selves more vile in the sight of God then the vilest of the Creatures upon Earth Those in the Acts never cryed out What shall we do till they were prickt at their hearts and they were not prickt at their