to him from whom they have received it as the gift of God 2. To let nothing be wanting for the nourishing and for the strengthening of it by the Application of former experiences of Gods goodness also to be careful that they wound not not weaken their Faith by running themselves into those streights and exâ—gâ—ncies which they have not a clear and special call unto either upon a civil or religious account but I must pass by those things because my time is already passed by and conclude with one Use of Exhortation or rather of invitation to those which are yet out of Christ and oh that God would be pleased to put some word into my mouth which might beget in thee an earnest desire and panting after an interest in Jesus Christ the glorious object of our faith oh that I could hear some of you crying our with the poor Goaler what shall I do to be sav'd in the time of sickness who will not cry out what shall I do to be restored to my health the want of outward mercies are quickly felt but how few are sensible of their want in spirituals beware likewise that the Devil ensnare you into desparation by perswading tâ—ee that thou hast no faith and therefore art a reprobate for there is not a Saint on earth nor an Angel in Heaven to whom Gods final reprobation is revealed touching any particular person yet in this life who hath not sinned the sin against he Holy Ghost be not therefore by these wiles of Sathan discouraged from waiting on the Ordinances or make thee say I have no hope I have loved strangers and after them I will go but remember this that as great sinners as thou have attained to this Faith and are now in glory with the Lord but on the other hand let not presumption ceise your heart for of these two snares of the Devil I may justly say what was said of Saul and David in another case Saul hath slain his thousands and David his ten thousands so I may likewise say that dispair hath slain his thousands but presumption hath ten thousands oh my Friends take heed of presumptions prôcrastination in the great concerns of your pretious souls 't is the present time that God calls for 't is to day if you will hear his voyce harden not your heart Psal 95. acquaint now thy self with him and be at peace thereby good shall come unto thee Job 22.21 you that are in the prime strength and flower of your years forget not that momento to remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth Eccles 12.1 Agree with thine Adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him Mat. 5.25 Now is the accepâ—ed time and now is the day of salvation 2 Cor. 6.3 On poor soul whilst thou flatterest thy self with future Repentance thou wouldest do well to consider both the shortness and uncertainty of thy life thou mayst resolve to repent tomorrow and before tomorrow thou mayst be in Hell therefore poor soul I do beseech thee as if God did beseech thee by me slip no present opportunity of thy hearing the word preached where it is preached in the power and purity of it for there mayst thou expect the presence of God with it and his blessing upon it and though thou shouldest come there with the Devil of unbelief in thy heart thou knowest not but there God may cast him out and if it shall be thus with thee in thy waiting on Gods Ordinances that there shall be any stirrings on thy heart and the word feâ— home upon thee Take heed the pleasures or cares of the world do not choak it but follow home with serious meditation and beg of God to confirm it with his power and thou knowest not how soon God may be pleased to set it home with such power as may make thee cry out what shall I do to be saved and though the work may be somwhat strange to thy corrupt nature yet if God be pleased to undertake the work it shall prevail and then what reason hast thou poor soul to bless the Lord for his unspeakable mercy to thee-wards to bring thee from darkness unto light from the power of Sathan unto God and it will not be long e're thou shalt be for ever adoreing the riches of Gods free grace towards thee in Jesus Christ to whom with the Father the highest and ultimate object of our Faith and the holy spirit be all honour and glory and praise Amen FINIS ERRATA PAge 29. line 18. for he 'l suffer read he have suffered p. 48. l. â— 10. for make the ears thin and empty r. make thin the ears of thy holy Conversation p. 11. l. 4 5. are misplaced p. 111. l. 19. for living read loving l. 20. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l. 21. l. 21. for Lamasebachthani read Lama-gnazabtanie p. 13. l. 12. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l. 21. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
the death and suffering the active and passive obedience of Jesus Christ that was the meritorious cause thereof and therefore saith the Lord in Isaiah 53. when the Holy Ghost had been there spending a whole Chapter in setting forth the sufferings of Christ for poor sinners at length he comes to shew the comfortable and the sweet and glorious effects produced thereby in v. 12. Therefore will I devide him a Portion with the great and he shall divide the spoyl with the strong because he hath poured out his soul unto death Therefore will I divide him a Portion with the great what great is this Why 't is the great Devil that is so great in power that he leads Captive the greatest part of the World and he shall devide the spoyl with the strong which is the same mentioned before which is common with the Holy Ghost in the Old Testamenâ— to enjeminate expressions as if the Lord should have said because a poor man hath sinned therefore the Devil thinks for to have the Souls of all the Men and Women in the World but saith God I will divide him a Portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong as if the Lord should have said my Son shall have some Souls the Devil should not have all for there is some that I am resolved shall be the fruit of my Sons Travel as in the 11. v. of the 53 of Isa He shall see of the Travel of his Soul and shall be satisfied and Alegorical Metaphor taken from a Woman in Travel that though she hath a sharp Travel yet rejoyceth when a man is born into the world so though Christ did indure sore pangs in working out the salvation of his Elect yet he shall see of the Travel of his Soul I will divide him a Portion with the great Gods people are called his Portion as in Deut 32. v 9. The Lords Portion is his People Well saith God my Son shall have his Portion in Men and Women which the Devil doth think to bring to everlasting ruine and destruction well this is the second thing O my Friends that time and it ength would permit for the more clearing up of it is great truth to shew the glorious effects of the death and suffering of the Lord Jesus christ towards believers for the effects of his death doth extend it self to their adoption and comfort and consolation and happiness and glory hereafter all these benefits many more are the glorious effects of the death and suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ Then in the third place if every true believer shall be received into glory it may inform us how much we are ingaged to love the good spirit of God that doth seal up to our Souls our interest in Christ in whom alone 't is that we are brought to glory 't is the work of Gods spirit to show us our want of Christ and when he hath thus convinced us of our sins then 't is the work of this blessed spirit of God to bare up our Souls under the dreadful apprehensions of Gods wrath that is due to us for sin so 't is the work of the blessed Spirit of God to help the Soul to see that Christ dyed for Sinners and that he hath dyed for thee O Soul thou art a Believer 't is the holy spirit of God that doth comfort the Soul in trouble that doth settle the Soul in feaâ— that doth preserve the Soul in a persevering slate when it would be turned to the right hand or to the left O my Friends one may say of the Spirit of God as David did of the City of God glorious things are spoken of thee so I may say glorious things are spoken of thee O blessed Spirit of God and therefore as in Ephes 4. v. 30. Grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed up to the day of Redemption In the fourth place if it be so that every true Believer shall be saved then it may inform us of the falthood of those erronious Tennets which hold forth of a possibility of falling away from true faith Paul and Silas did net say to the Goaler if thou believest and continuest to believe thou shalt be saved but if thou believest thou shalt be saved once a believer and ever a believer My friends I hope you have not forgot how I did endeavour in twelve particulars to shew you from whence the believers perseverence doth arise and all the Armenian Tennets in the world shall never be able to strike at the Root of any of these twelve foundations of a Believers perseverance As first thou that art a Believer thou hast the eternal decree of God ingaged for thy perseverance 2 Tim. 2 chap. 18 19. v. Heb. 6.17 Thou hast likewise the Eternal love of God as another ground of thy perseverance Jer. 31. v. 3. I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with love and kindness have I drawn thee my Friends I wonder how men that pretend to have understanding should be blinded so by the God of this world to think that the same everlasting love that did ingage God to set his love on us should ever be turned into hatred so as to leave us to our wills and so to perish for ever likewise the wisdom of God is engaged herein Christ makes it a mark of foolish man that doth begin te build a house is not able to finish it thou that art a believing Soul thou art Gods spiritual building and if he should begin to build and should not finish it it would demonstrate great folly in the Divine Majesty which to affert would be no less then blasphemy God being the fountain of wisdom likewise the faithfulness of God is engaged in it 1 Thes 5.24 25. Faithful is he that hath called you who also will do it will do what you may read in the 23 v. And the very God of peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserv'd blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Till Christ shall come by judgment or by death that Soul in whom this good work is begun shall be carried on Phil 1. v. 6. He that hath begun a good work will finish it and we shewed likewise 't is clear from the new Covenant of grace that he hath entred into a new Covenant with the people and he hath therein engaged himself that he will put his fear into our hearts that we shall not depart from him Jer. 32.40 Likewise the power of God is ingaged herein to preserver every true believer from total falling away from God 2 Fet. 1.5 Who are kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation Likewise also the glory of the Son of God is engaged in it Christ is the foundation of this spiritual building he is the chief Corner Stone Now my Friends I pray mind it whensoever a house falls the foundation
is usually defective and the Corner stone will be sure to fall nay he is the top-stone too as you may see in Zachary Now Christ being all these in the spiritual superstructure it must be that Jesus Christ must fall himself whensoever a true believer doth finally sall off from God Again we shewed likewise it doth arise from the influence that the blessed Spirit of God hath on the hearts of those that are believers as in the 1 Joh. 2. v. 20. But you have an Unction from the Holy One and you know all things he had been shewing before what a sight of Antichrists and Apostates there were but saith he you have received an Unction from the Holy One you have that which they want they had only an outside profession but they wanted the inward teachings of the spirit as in the 26 and 27th ver Isa 59.19 You may there see how God doth keep a soul in a persevering frame So shall they fear the Name of the Lord from the West his glory from the Rising of the Sun when the enemy shall come in like a Flood the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a Standard against him The words are very emphatical whether they do point at the Devil or at the corruptions of our own hearts which are the greatest persecutors of the godly 't is a military expression taken from Souldiers when they lift up their Ensigns in defiance of their Enemies and as Christ saith upon this Rock have I built my Church that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it so saith the Spirit here when the Enemy breaks in like a Flood then shall the Spirit of the Lord lift up his Standard against them Isa 30. v. 21. You may see how the spirit doth proceed in hi work to keep the Soul in a persevering frame whensoever the poor Soul is ready to turn to the Right hand or to the Left then he doth whisper a sweet word in their ear this is the way walk in it and truly that is a notable word Isa 61. v. 8. And I will direct their work in truth 't is God by the influence of his spirit directing of our works in truth that doth keep us from falling away from God I hope my Friends these are enough to confirm this fourth truth that true believers cannot fall off from God Fifthly It may inform us of the vast difference that is between the state of true Believers and the state of Unbelievers for if you look in those Scriptures wk mentioned Mark 16. v. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned and so likewise in John 3. there you may see the difference set down He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life but the Wrath of God abideth on him The true believer is said to have everlasting life that is he hath the assurance of it sooner or later he hath it in this life in its incoation though not in its consummation I pray my Friends if you remember no more carry away this that if Heaven and Eternal life is not within you while you are in this world you shall never enter into Heavenly or Eternal life when you shall leave this world Now herein appears the vast difference that is between the state of a Believer and an Unbeliever as a believer hath the Heaven of Spiritual Light from God and the same spiritual love to God the same spiritual joy in God and the same spiritual Communion with God now in this life as they shall have in the life to come in respect of the nature and quality thereof though not in respect of the quantity so likewise a wicked man hath the same spirituâ—l darkness in his understanding and the same irregularality in his affection and the same contumacy in his will now as he will have in Hell in respect of the nature and quality thereof though not in respect of the degree and quantity now hellish Drunkards make themselves Drunk with Wine and strong bear and in Hell God will make them pledg the Devil at a full Cup of his wrath which being powered into the Cup of his Indignation will make them Drunk for ever and ever the Hellish Adulterer burns in his Lust here and God will make him burn in Hell for it hereafter As heavenly Saints love God and propound his glory as their ultimate end in all their duties so heillish Sinners hate God and propound their own glory as their ultimate end in duties as believers are daily more and more compleat in vertue so unbelievers are daily more and more repleat with Vice and thus we see the vast difference that is between believers and unbelievers in this life and look upon them at the hour of death and see what a vast difference there will be then between them as in Prov. 14.32 The wicked is driven away in his wickedness but the Righteous hath hope on his death and look upon them at the Resurrection and see what a vast difference there is between them as in Dan. 12. v. 2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the Earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt and look upon them at the denunciation of that dreadful sentence and see the vast difference that is between them as in Mat. 25.33 34. where the Righteous the believer is set on his right hand and the unbeliever on the left Then shall the King say to them on his right hand come ye blessed of my Father come poor soul thou hast called me to come to thee many a time in cuty then come thou now to me the world looked upon thee to be a cursed Creature but I pronounce thee blessed it may be whilst thou wert in the world the Foxes had a priviledg above thee they had holes to hide their heads in But now there is a Kingdom prepared for thee but now see what will become of unbelievers as in the 41. v. here is a dreadful sentence past against them Depart from me here is a separation from all joy and happiness you said to me in your life-time depart from 〈◊〉 for we desire not the knowledg of the wars now depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting fire there is the extremity of pain and torment thou wast one that did burn in thy lusts here and thou wast one that was inflamed with thy lusts or with wine and strong drink or with hatred against me now go into everlasting fire it was the Devil whose voice thou wouldest obey and whose work thou wouldest do and now thou shalt have enough of him now here you may see the vast difference between the state of all true believers and unbelievers Now believers thy shall cease from all their mourning and all their sorrow she ll be â—â—â—â—ed into joy then thou shalt have joy without
for the greatest Estate that a Wicked man hath in the world to saith the soul I would not and that is a sign that thou hast the witness in thee though the spirit of God hath not cleared it up so to thee as thou desiâ—est but be thankful to God for it and take heed thou dost not provoke the Lord to take away that little comfort thou hast Eighthly If thou art one that hath true faith thou mayest know it by this it doth so realize the glory that is to be reveaâ—ed to thy soul that it makes thee earnest in the prosecution of the means that God hath appointed in order to the attainment of glory this we shall make to appear by comparing two Scriptures together in the 11th of Hebrews you may see that Faith is the evidence of things not seen and the substance of things hoped for now if you do but look all along in this Chapter he comes to show what lorious effects Faith doth produce in those that it doth realize the glory that iâ— to come unto them he telleth us 't is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen that is not seen with an eye of eason Luk. 13.23 24. then said one to him Lord are there few that he saved now see Châ—ist doth not answer him according to his Question but doth propose to him an exhortation to stir him up to a weighty duty strive to enter in at the strate gate as if Christ had said what needest thou to trouble thy self whether many or few shall be saved if thou art one that strives like a man in an Agony for so it may be rendered to thrust in at the straight gate that will be an evidence unto thee that thou art one that shall be saved Friends how doth the hope of glory spur you on to duty doth thy Faith realize the things of another world to you that it makes you run in the paths of Gods commandments But if on the contrary if thou dost pretend to have Faith and yet notwithstanding go on in a formal lazy profession of Religion 't is a sign thou never had the things of another world realized to thee such as are our evidences for the attainment of future good such will be our endeavours in the means whereby we are to attain it if thou hast a well-grounded hope for salvation in the world to come it will make thee earnest in thy endeavours for the attainment of it In the next place another sign of true Faith is this if thou art a true believer then thy faith doth enable thee to overcome the world this we may see in the 12 Rev. and there appeared a great wonder in Heaven a Woman â—loathed with the Sun and the Moon under her feet By the Women we understand the whole Church of God and every perticular member thereof and by the Moon we understand the World And as the Moon is very unstable in her morâ—ons and always increasing and decreasing so there is no certainty at all in Creature injoyments And the Sun is never eclipsed but when the Moon comes between us and the Sun and so my Friends the Moon this wo ld is that which doth make an interposition between God and his people how doth the joys of this world eat out the comforts which we should have enjoyed My Friends 't is a hard thing to keep the world under our feet for 't is a round thing and I will tell you how true believers do come to get the world under their Feet You that have once injoyed the glorious beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining into your souls the pittiful things of this Wo ld would seem as nothing Now my Friends see how it is with you which is greater in your eye the Sun or the Moon which if it were put to your choyce would you take to live in the midst of prosperity without God or in the midst of adversity with God Again in the next place try thy Faith by thy Repentance I know there is much dispute concerning this some hold that Faith is wrought before Repentance and some on the contrary but truly my Friends I am of neither of their judgments for my judgment is that all graces are wrought in the soul at one and the same â—ime though Repentance is made manifest in the soul before Faith Mark 1.15 Repent you and believe the Gospel Friends what Repentance have you got I thank God say you I have Repented long agoe though I cannot talk as some can and make so many words I cannot commit any sin but my heart smites me for it Oh my Friends there is many sorts of Repentance that a sinner may have and yet may go without a true Repentance there is an over-lay and slight repentance and such a repentance had Ahab and then there is dispairing repentance and such a repentance bad Judas but for this Evangelical repentance 't is such a grace that few attain to it not scarce one among twenty and without this Evangelical repentance there is no true grace in the soul and I shall endeavour to show that Faith and Repentance is wrought together for repentance without faith will end in desparation and faith without repentance will end in presumption In the last place if thou art one that hath indeed true faith thou art made willing to suffer whatsoever God should be pleased to inflict on thee this saith the Apostle where he speaks there concerning persecution Phil. 2.29 For unto you 't is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake this true Faith it makes the soul willâ—ng to suffer for God whatsoever the wicked adversaries of the people of God shall be pleased to lay on them O saiâ—h the soul shall I be unwilling to indure a little suffering for his sake that was exposed to such suffering for me O saith the soul shall not I be willing to suffer a little affliction from God whether poverty wants or sickness or the like seeing the Lord Jesus Christ was contented for my sake to a be man of sorrow and acquainted with grief for to suffer both hunger and thurst and shall not we be willing to suffer for God whatsoever he is pleased to call us to seeing he hath pleased to do so much for us as he hath done And so much for this Use of Examination I should have proceeded to a Use of Consolation on to true believers for this Doctrine affoards a spring of comfort unto such which I should only hint at first by way of privation showing from what they are delivered econdly by way of provision what unexpressable unconceivable glory God hath laid up in store for them which I would have willingly inlarged upon There was likewise on my spirit a Use of Exhortation in which I would have moved those who have been participaters of this pretâ—ous Faith 1. To be thankful for it