man tell me here that this is to make man independent from God and to assert that men may convert themselves and change their own hearts and give themselves that repentance and faith which the Scripture everywhere asserts to be the gift of God For Gods power and glory is so far from receiving any prejudice by this Doctrine that I know nothing can advance and promote it more than this way It 's confess'd that Conversion is the work of God but then he expects I should do my part and work according to the power he hath given me and improve the Talents he hath already bestow'd upon me and trade with them and make use of the faculties I have and exercise them as much as I can in order to a serious change of life and in the use of such means God will be found as we see in Cornelius Acts 10.4 And his holy Spirit shall come down and make the work effectual and bless those honest endeavors with grace and mercy and make the wheels go merrily which went but heavy before and turn that piety which proceeded from fear of Hell before into a sincere love to God and to the beauty of holiness and make that obedience universal which was but partial and by halves before and that 's a kindly Conversion To indulge our selves in laziness and idleness and weariness of Gods service upon pretence that we must wait Gods time and stay till God is pleased to work upon our hearts is no better than mocking of God For God who hath protested that he 'll cast out none that will but come to him and never left himself without witness and is engag'd by promise to be a rewarder to them that diligently seek him hath no where in his Word promis'd to work upon our hearts except we will use such means as he hath given us power to make use of in order to Conversion and he that lets the power God hath given him for this use lie dead doth but imbezle the gift of God and with that unprofitable servant layes up his pound in a Napkin and consequently can expect no other answer than was return'd to him Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee thou wicked servant thou knewest that I was an austere man taking up that I laid not down and reaping that I did not sowe Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury Therefore take from him the pound and give it to him that hath ten pounds And as for those mine enemies that would not that I should reign over them and it seems such are all those that will not improve those powers God hath given them especially this of Consideration in order to be reclaim'd from the errors of their wayes bring them hither and slay them before me Luke 19.22 28. And indeed he that can sit down and consider what losses may befall him what mischief may happen to him if he keeps company with a turbulent quarrelsome man and thereupon shuns his society will find in the last day that he might as well have sate down and consider'd what evil a sinful life would bring upon him His reason to be sure is capable of taking the one into Consideration as well as the other and he that believes he hath a Soul must be supposed able to think of dangers that may befall his Soul and since Consideration is that which represents all dangers in very lively colours and by that means affects and makes impressions upon the whole man there is no person but may safely expect Gods blessing upon such Considerations not upon the account of merit but because God hath most freely and most graciously promis'd his assistance where men shew their willingness to work in his Vineyard And that 's the reason why Conversion in Scripture is sometimes attributed to man and sometimes to the Father of lights from whom every good and perfect gift descends and why we read in the same Prophet Make your selves a new heart and a new spirit Ezek. 18.31 And I the Lord will give you a new heart and a new spirit will I put within you Ezek. 36.26 Because God expects the sinner should take his ways and preposterous actions and the danger which hangs over his head into serious Consideration represent the odiousness and disingenuity and unseasonableness of his sin to his mind and muse upon that endless happiness he may arrive to weigh the comforts and consolations he may enjoy on this side Heaven and God will encourage him gather the Lambs with his Arms and carry them in his bosome i. e. prosper those sincere endeavors and water them with the dew of his benediction till the byas of the Soul is chang'd and turned towards Heaven Consideration is the Bed where the incorruptible Seed is sown and on the ground thus prepared the Sun of Righteousness doth shine and by his warmth produces in the Soul all manner of pleasant fruits Cant. 7.13 Consideration like the Pool of Bethesda draws the great Angel of the Covenant down who stirs the Pool and gives it a healing virtue and immediately the blind receive their sight and the lame walk and the Lepers are cleansed and the dead are rais'd up Matth. 11.5 That God hath sometimes by miraculous means converted and turn'd men from their irreligiousness and contempt of holiness we do not deny but though these miracles might be the occasion of their Reformation it was still Consideration that digested these miraculous Providences and engaged these men to enquire what they meant and for what end they were sent and how they should escape if they neglected so great a salvation It was this made them argue that as these Calls were great and full of wonder so they challeng'd entertainment and submission answerable to so great a mercy It was this made them see the love of God and wonder whence it should be that God should overlook so many thousands and knock at their gates pass by Palaces and be content to take up his rest in their poor habitations It was this made them ponder that after such Admonitions and Exhortations from Heaven there was no standing still and that contempt of such extraordinary Providences must needs fall very heavy on the Soul one day and sink it into the nethermost Hell upon which Considerations and Expostulations they resolv'd to close with Christ and with the terms of the Gospel But all this will more fully appear if we can prove That without Consideration Conversion or Reformation of life cannot but be counterfeit Conversion being a change of the whole man and loving God better than the world or minding Heaven more than earth an immortal Soul more than a frail dying body there can nothing be imagin'd under God more likely to prevent our being deceiv'd with a form of godliness than Consideration That the Devil very ordinarily transforms himself into an Angel of light and imposes
a heart that hath any sense of Religion or Honesty nor do I see that people believe me any whit the more for swearing but I render my self ridiculous and make people think me dishonest unfaithful and treacherous who make so little conscience of what I say How can any man trust me that hears me abuse the best and deerest friend I have or what credit can any man give to me that sees me so treacherous to God to whom I owe all I have Can there be greater ingratitude in the World than I am guilty of by this sin the Air I breathe in the Earth I tread upon the Ground which nourishes me the Fire that warms me are all the Gift of God and is this the return I make to take his Name in vain that supports and maintains me Do I make nothing of God's threatenings How often doth he manifest his displeasure against this sin in his Word and can I think I am not concern'd in the commination what hope can I have that Christ's Bloud will save me when I swear it away and thrust it from me with both Arms how justly may God damn me that do so often wish for it and is there any thing in nature so barbarous to it self as I am in praying to God as it were to deliver me up into the clutches of the Devil No Devil would wish himself so ill as I do my own Soul and is there nothing in the inhumanity and horror of the sin to discourage and terrify me from it Did the Swearer but ruminate on these disswasive arguments how would it cool his courage but neglecting that he neglects his restorative and speaks as if he would be revenged on his Maker for giving him a Tongue How soon would the bladder of Pride break did the proud man but consider that he is Dust and what a wretched sinful creature he is and how much worse than other men and how much he forgets the Humiliation of the Son of God who being in the Form of God thought it no robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation becoming obedient to the death of the Cross how odious this lofty Spirit is in the sight of God how amiable Humility how God detests the one and embraces the other how pride keeps out the operations and influences of God's Spirit and how the Holy Ghost refuses to come and lodge in that Soul that swells with vain conceits of its own worth how pride keeps him a stranger to himself how it makes his neighbor hate him raises him enemies and makes him an object of contempt and scorn how all the gifts and blessings and priviledges he enjoyes are but the effects of God's charity how the stately Fabrick which his Soul doth animate must shortly return to the earth from which it was taken what condescension God uses towards him how God who commands Heaven and Earth becomes an humble suitor to his Creatures and instead of consuming courts them to yield to his requests and injunctions how noble and generous it is to imitate him who is eternally happy in himself how in the Grave all distinctions dye how unfit that person is to be a Christian that is a stranger to meekness and humility how those that have domineer'd in this World and trampled upon Men and have thought it their interest and glory to despise their equals and inferiors are now roaring in the burning Lake and how they would now be contented to be the poorest meanest and most contemptible creatures in the World provided that they might be but freed from that never-dying Worm that gnaws their Souls and how shortly this pride and haughtiness if not seriously and timely repented of will end in weeping and gnashing of Teeth Were but these things rightly and seriously ponder'd it would cause a very strange alteration in the lofty censorious Man's designes and resolutions but while these observables are passed by as things out of his element no marvel if he idolizes himself and like a Hedgehog wraps himself up in his own soft Down and turns the Prickles to all the world besides Let the Soul that 's careless of God's service and lukewarm neither hot nor cold but try it and reflect Lord And is this a service fit for him that is of purer Eyes than to behold iniquity Is this slovenly Devotion a sit Present for him who searches the Hearts and the Reins should my Servants serve me as I do God how ill should I resent it and dare I offer the blind and the lame to God which I would scorn to accept of from my Slaves and Vassals I would have my Prayers heard and answer'd but how can I hope they 'l pass for acceptable sacrifices in Heaven when they want the fire of the Sanctuary to give them Flame will God mind a Supplication in which I do not mind his Greatness Majesty and Holiness or can I think God is so fond of answering my requests that he matters not with what frame of Heart I approach his Throne when the Primitive Christians that certainly knew best what was to be done in order to Salvation as having converse with the Disciples and Apostles of our Lord when they consecrated that time when their spirits were most lively to pious exercises and look'd upon that Religion as dead that had not fervency for its ingredient shall I hope to come off at a cheaper Rate Is the King immortal invisible blessed for evermore to be put off with the chips and shavings of Devotion should not I give him the cream and marrow of my endeavours that hath greater power over me than my Master my Father or my Prince so great a God and so mean a Sacrifice so infinite a Majesty and so pittiful a Present How deliberate how circumspect am I in my addresses to my King and is not God a greater Prince than he what is my careless devotion but mocking of God and my drowzy Prayer what is it but playing with him at whose Presence the Mountains tremble Am not I afraid of vengeance or can I think God will suffer a wretch that lives upon his mercy and makes no better return go unpunished How justly may he deny me his Grace and assistance who do not seek it more earnestly How justly may he say Depart from me I know thee not who am so indifferent whether I enjoy the light of his countenance or no How justly may he refuse to be found by me who seek him as if his favour deserved no pains or trouble Strive as it were for your lives to enter in at the strait Gate saith the Great Redeemer of Man and is this taking the Kingdom of Heaven by force when I look upon it as a thing that may be had at any time upon a Lord have mercy upon me Is this wrestling and striving when I suffer any outward worldly concern though never so slight and trivial to take me off from minding the great concern of my
marvel if they fright men away from our Assemblies and bring darkness upon all the Land of Goshen The just indignation I have taken at the injuries our Church suffers from these scandalous men hath been partly the occasion of this Treatise For I see mens Cures lie within their own breasts and that so many are sick unto death and ready to perish the reason is because they will not reflect what unreasonable men they are nor represent to themselves the wrong they do to their own Souls by a lively Consideration as will evidently appear in the ensuing Discourse I confess divers accomplishments which render a Book acceptable to curious Palates such as are Rhetorick Elegancy of Stile Fancy Wit and quotations of Authors c. will be found wanting here but as I profess no skill that way so my design was not so much to fill mens heads with Notions as their hearts with Fire It was to engage the ignorant and careless to a substantial improvement of their reason and if what I have said can prevail with those that have lived like Beasts to recover themselves into men again I both undervalue the little Censures of supercilious men and content my self with that success We cannot all shine as stars of the first magnitude in the wide Firmament of the Church those that cannot must give such light as they are able to dispense I envy not our Eagles in Divinity that they see far more than I but thank God I see so much and while the greater Sages offer Gold and Myrrhe and Frankincense I am happy enough if I may be allow'd to bring Goats hair and Badgers skins towards the accomplishment of the Tabernacle A critical eye may spy faults in this Free-will offering and I do not wonder at it for my duller sight now I have done discovers more than I wish there were in 't But my discourse is fitted to my end Doing good is my intent if I succeed not it 's no more but what greater men have failed of Farewell The Contents of the Chapters contained in this Treatise CHAP. I. THE Nature of our Souls The Eternal State they are design'd for The Means God hath made use of to fit Men for Everlasting Bliss All these Means ineffectual without Consideration CHAP. II. Consideration no transitory view of spiritual things imports laying the Heart and Mind close unto spiritual Concerns resembles magnifying Glasses which discover things imperceptible by the naked eye The great Ingredients of it Self-Examinatian Expostulation and strong Resolution CHAP. III. The absolute necessity of Consideration in order to a serious life Gods frequent commands to that purpose Our Reason and the power of Consideration we are furnish'd or endu'd with prov'd to be given us for this end Without it Men have cause to suspect that their Reformation is counterfeit CHAP. IV. Of the various impediments and remora's of Consideration Men fancy greater difficulty in 't than there is indeed Are continually employ'd about sensual objects Loth to part with their sins Ignorant of the pleasure of Consideration Reflect upon the danger of lasing their unlawful gain Fear they shall fall into melancholy or go distracted with so much seriousness Are of opinion that Conversion in that sense the Scripture speaks of it is needless Mistake the nature of Consideration Are discouraged by evil company Neglect consulting with Ministers about this necessary work Delude themselves with the Notion of Christ's dying for the sins of the world CHAP. V. Of the various Mischiefs arising from Neglect of Consideration The want of it prov'd to be the Cause of most Sins Some Instances are given in Atheism Vnbelief Swearing Pride Carelesness in Gods-Service Lukewarmness Covetousness c. CHAP. VI. Of the various advantages of serious Consideation it 's that which makes a man master of all Christian Duties it helps a man to improve Sublunary Objects into Heavenly Contemplations It 's the greatest support under afflictions disposes a man to be a worthy Receiver of the Lords Supper Prepares him for an Angelical Life on Earth makes him prudent and discreet in Secular Affairs and Businesses CHAP. VII A pathetical Exhortation to men Who are yet strangers to a serious religious Life to consider their wayes the wilfulness of their neglect how dangerous it is how inexcusable they are how inhumane to God and their own Souls how reasonablel God's requests are and how justly God may turn that power of Consideration he hath given them into blindness and hardness of heart since they make so ill a use of it c. CHAP. VIII Of Retirement and Prayer the two great helps to Consideration Retirement proved to be necessary to make Consideration of our spiritual state more quick and lively Prayer call in the assistance of Gods Spirit and renders the work effectual A Form of Prayer to be used upon this occasion ERRATA PAge 39 l. 6. for harden r. charm p. 59. unseasonableness r. unreasonableness p. 108. l. 28. not r. no. p. 117. l. 15. immediately r. mediately p. 118. l. 14. tears r. teazes p. 127. l. 26. prepares r. prepare p. 148. l. 16. sleeping r. pleasing p. 195. l. 26. blown-balls r. blow-balls p. 198. l. 16. pass r. compass p. 200. l. 8. nearer r. meaner p. 207. l. 3. Love God r. How God p. 219. l 24. wherein r. who is p. 238. have perswaded r. have as well perswaded p. 293. l. 26. in r. is p. 310. l. 10. when r. where ibid. then r. there p. 337. l. r. saciety r. society p. 340. l. 26 Friends r. Fiends p. 372. l. 4. reasons r. reason p. 385. l. 25. Zachans r. Zachaeus p. 400. l. 12. delivered r. deliveredst Other literal faults and mlstoppings the Reader is desired to Correct as he reads CONSIDERATION THE Nature Usefulness and Necessity of it in order to a Serious Life CHAP. I. The Nature of our Souls The Eternal State they are design'd for The Means God hath made use of to fit Men for Everlasting Bliss All these Means ineffectual without Consideration THat we are design'd for Nobler Employments than Eating and Drinking and Sleeping and Playing and following our Trades and Businesses in this World a happiness which Beasts arrive to as well as we the great Souls which we carry in our Breasts do evidently demonstrate These being capable of knowing God of delighting in him and conversing with him for ever we may rationally suppose That those who suffer the Profits and Pleasures of this present World to engross their Affections go astray and Err from the great End of their Creation While the Atheist laughs at the immortality of his Soul and the Prophane selis his better part to the Devil the Religious who will prove the onely wise Man in the end and who hath none of those clouds and mists the other are troubled with before his eyes sees clearly what a Treasure the bountiful hand of Heaven hath bestow'd on him in shedding so excellent so angelical a Being into his
seriousness they formerly derided they then wish for when the Sentence is passing upon them Cut them down why do they cumber the ground The Pearl they might formerly have had at a reasonable price and would not they now would purchase with ten thousand worlds if they had them and cannot This it is to turn the grace of God into wantonness to play with the glorious message sent to them by the great Bridegroom of their Souls and to make light of invitations to the Supper of the Lamb O folly O madness O monstrous stupidity O my Soul come not thou into their secret unto their assembly mine honour be not thou united I 'll take warning by these sad examples Their Imprudence shall make me wise Their indiscretion shall make me take another course I see there are snares laid for my Soul I am beset with Temptations If I tremble at the main Ocean a shallow Puddle is offer'd me to drown my self in What should make the Devil so busie so earnest so industrious to draw my Soul away from the Fountain of living waters without all peradventure he fees what happiness it 's capable of even of a happiness which knows neither measure nor end He sees the inclinations and propensions it hath to take up with God alone and to divert the stream he dresses out sin in several garbs that if one will not tempt me another may But O my God sin shall insinuate into my favour no more it shall creep into my bosome no more I 'll avoid all familiarity with it I 'll hugg the Monster no more I 'll take it no longer for a harmless thing it shall be my Darling my Benjamin no more my eyes shall be no longer pleas'd with viewing of it my tongue shall commend and praise it no more I 'll open my door to the fatal Guest no more My faint oppositions shall be turn'd into stronger resistances I 'll call up my blood and courage to withstand its juggles I have resolv'd and my heart shall be carried out after this Idol no more It was resolution made the three Men Shadrach Meshech and Abednego adventure into a fiery Furnace It was resolution made St. Paul ready not to suffer only but to dye at Jerusalem for the Name of Jesus It was resolution made David's Worthies enter into the Camp of the Philistines and draw water out of the Well of Bethlehem It was resolution made Ignatius despise Fire and Sword and wild Beasts to procure the favour of him whom his Soul did love It was resolution made that Grecian Woman endure the Rack and when prompted by the Executioner to confess her Associates in the Treason bite her tongue to pieces that she might not be in a possibility of betraying her Partners in the Conspiracy It was resolution made Mutius stand still and unconcern'd while his right hand burn'd It was resolution made Empedocles sacrifice himself to the flames of Aetna It was resolution made Anaxarchus when his bones were crusht make sport with his torments and cry out Break break the Carcass of Anaxarchus but his mind you shall never break It was resolution made Regulus fling himself into the merciless Arms of his Enemies and suffer himself to be stung and prickt to death It was resolution made Job bear his losses and ulcers with invincible magnanimity and as he said play with the Worms that bred in his sores and as they were crawling out drive them back into the holes and pastures of his putrified flesh It was resolulution made David run through a Troop and leap over Walls Psal. 18.29 It was his resolution made these words drop from him I have sworn and will perform it that I will keep thy righteous judgments I will speak of thy testimonies before Kings and will not be asham'd and I will delight my self in thy Commandments my hands will I lift up unto thy precepts which I have lov'd and I will meditate in thy statutes Psal. 119.46.106 And why should not my resolution prompt me to the same generous enterprizes Why should other Men to purchase an immortal same resolve to lose their ease and lives and estates and all that 's dear and pleasing to them here below and I not resolve to lose my sins my lusts my pleasures to gain an everlasting inheritance My heart is ready my heart is ready A gracious God invites me a loving Saviour calls to me from his Cross wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well a holy sanctifying Spirit beckens me The great God that might laugh at my calamity and mock when my fear comes because he hath call'd and I refus'd because he so often stretched forth his hands unto me and I have not regarded This great this tender Father after all the wrongs and injuries and abuses and insolencies I have offer'd him is willing to receive me provided I 'll be faithful to him run no more after other Lovers and resign my self to be guided govern'd and directed by him And can I resist that Love Can I harden my heart against these Charms Can I refuse this kindness Spurn at this favor Slight this stupendious blessing And provoke him to swear in his wrath That I shall never enter into his rest No no I yield I render myself Captive I am convinc'd that Gods service is perfect freedom He that enters upon it is under the government of a lawful Prince his life is sweet and easie he feels no Tyranny no Oppression the King with everlasting kindness visits him and guides his feet into the wayes of peace gives his Angels charge to keep him in his going out and his coming in and will not suffer any of his bones to be broken He is with him in distress and when he weeps holds a bottle under to catch his tears Psal. 56.8 He binds up his wounds and is a wall of brass to him that mocks at the flashes of Hell and dashes all the fiery darts of the Devil Here men are free from flavish fear as being under the wings of a Father Here nothing but Love rules in their hearts which makes their yoke easie and their burthen light makes the strait gate pleasant and the narrow way full of delight and satisfaction Here peace of Conscience reigns and the Subjects of this Kingdom are acquainted with joy in the Holy Ghost Here men are freed from the curse of the Law and their minds are employ'd in the noblest contemplations Here they dwell in the secret place of the most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty Here I 'll fix here I 'll build Tabernacles for it 's good to be here Away with all suggestions that would make me unwilling or backward to this work Away with all thoughts that would discourage me Away with all imaginations that would possess me with misconstructions of the wayes of God Ye are all miserable comforters ye
mercies Hos. 2.19 False treacherous Man Is the world become his Master Is his servant become his Sovereign And is that which was intended for his footstool become his Throne whereon he braves all the messages of grace and pardon Shall so great a Soul be married to so mean a slave So great a Spirit join'd to so pitiful a vassal And shall that which was design'd for him to trample on and despise domineer and use him like a Prisoner put fetters about his feet and shackle his Soul that it may not return to that husband to whom it hath sworn fidelity and promised allegiance and subjection How art thou fallen from Heaven O Lucifer son of the morning and thou who hadst once power given thee to ascend into Heaven and without a metaphor to exalt thy Throne above the stars of God to ascend above the heights of the clouds and to be like unto the most High How art thou brought down to Hell to the sides of the Pit How art thou cut down to the ground How is thy pomp brought down to the grave Isa. 14.11 12 13. III. Impediment III. Vnwillingness to part with their sins This certainly is the greatest Impediment of Consideration and the chief cause of Mens neglecting this most useful work Their consciences or their hearts give them that Consideration will discover the deformity and odiousness of their vices and will put them upon forsaking their darling lusts they are afraid it will raise doubts and jealousies in their heads about their present condition disturb them in their slumber discompose them in their golden dreams drive them from their softs and ease and make their Candle burn dim and blew which for the present gives a very delightful shine and therefore they are loth to apply themselves to it I have heard of some rude and savage Indians who being decently cloathed by our Merchants for in their own Countrey it seems they knew no other ornaments but dung and guts of Beasts about their naked bodies and brought over into England with an intent to civilize them and make them instruments upon their return to teach their own Nation modesty and decency as they were walking about the streets of London and beholding the stately houses that adorn'd that goodly City they were observed to sigh and groan and to look very melancholy those that took notice of them charitably believ'd that their dejected looks were no other but characters of their mourning at their unhappy Countreymen who were strangers to such Edifices such Pomp such Glory such Plenty such Magnificence and Gallantry But being sent over into their own Countrey again they quickly betray'd the reason of their sighs and soon discovered that their melancholy was caused by their being delivered from their nastiness and beastly way of living For they were no sooner come to shore but they tore off their cloaths with indignation fell about the necks of their Countreymen with joy and betook themselves to their dung and guts again and in these ornaments they came triumphing to the English There cannot certainly be a fitter emblem of Sin where Men are enamor'd with it They delight in their Plague-sores rejoyce in their wounds and bruises wounds not bound up nor mollified with oyntment They are afraid of Plaisters and do so desire to be let alone in their misery that they are jealous of a Cure and dread a Physitian Their filth is so pleasing to them their itch so amiable that he that offers to free them from it attempts tearing of their bowels from them and that 's it makes them afraid of Consideration For indeed Consideration would anatomize their sin shew them the venome that 's spread through every part shew them who that God is who professes himself offended at it shew them that he who is provok'd by it is that God who breath'd into their Nostrils the breath of life and gives them the meat they eat the drink they drink and the cloaths they put on that hath the same power over them which the Potter hath over his Vessel and can create and destroy them at his pleasure that sits on the circle of the earth and before whom all Nations are as a drop of a Bucket and are counted as the small dust of the ballance before whom they are as nothing yea less than nothing and vanity from whom all their spiritual and temporal mercies do descend without whom they could not be one moment out of Hell who is their best their greatest and most constant Benefactor who lets his Sun shine upon them and his Rain drop down on their fields and pastures who sends his holy Angels to watch their steps and to keep them in their wayes who hears the Heavens for them and makes the Heavens hear the earth and the earth to hear the Corn the Wine and the Oyl and commands all these to relieve them who preserves them from danger prevents their being hurt and charges all the elements to spare them who keeps them by his Providence supports them by his Wisdom protects them by his Power and thinks nothing too good for them if they will but approve themselves obedient children and live like persons who are sensible of the obligations of the Highest Consideration would let them see that this God who could undo them wooes them to Repentance and that there is nothing in the world God hates more than sin and that this is it his Soul abhors being holiness it self and of infinite purity Consideration would let them see that their sin controlls the will and wisdom of that God who feeds them sets up Laws of its own making in opposition to those commands which the holy Angels dare not mention without trembling This would let them see the majesty and glory of that God whom they do affront a God who charges his Angels with folly and on whose brightness those blessed Ministers cannot look without covering their faces with their wings and crying out in amazement Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts Consideration would represent to them the various mercies and opportunities they do slight and how hard it will be for them to kick against the pricks this would shew them what resisting their own mercies means and what fighting against their own happiness imports how blessings slighted will turn to a curse and mercies abus'd will aggravate their gâ—ilt how stubbornness makes God weary of shewing mercy and how refusing to come in while the gates are open provokes the Master of the house to protest That the invited Guests shall neuer taste of his Supper how opportunities of being serious if neglected may be snatcht away and the Scepter of grace if look'd upon with contempt and scorn may never be stretcht forth again Consideration would let them see what grief their sins do cause in Heaven how they make the eternal God complain how loathsom how abominable they make them in the sight of God and how they treasure up unto the owners wrath against
milk and butter swimming in a Lordly dish enter into a Tent where they will certainly meet with a nail and hammer and yet are afraid of that which would assuredly prevent their being pierc'd and stricken through their temples Mourn over them lament their wretchedness grieve for them that will not grieve for themselves call for Rivers of Tears wish for a fountain of Water Behold sin hath blinded them Consideration would open their eyes but they love darkness better than light Sin doth expose them naked to the contempt and scorn of God and his holy Angels and they rejoyce under that weight Sin deprives them of the bread of life and their souls are ready to die for want of the hidden Manna and they laugh under their want and misery What Changelings doth sin make men Lord how it doth unman them how much below themselves doth it make them live unto God and his holy Angels they appear perfectly distracted as the poor Wretches in Bedlam seem to us only herein their wretchedness exceeds the others misery that they may be releas'd of their distractedness and will not the other if they would cannot the former deliration is voluntary the other forc'd the former hath malice in 't the other weakness only and whereas the latter challenges pity and compassion the former deserves nothing but wrath and indignation IV. Impediment IV. Ignorance of the pleasure of Consideration is another Impediment It 's ignorance of the price of Pearls that makes the Idiot slight them It 's ignorance of the worth of Diamonds that makes the Fool choose a Peble before them It 's ignorance of the satisfaction learning affords that makes the Peasant despise and laugh at it and we see very ordinarily how men tread and trample on those Plants which are the greatest restoratives because they know not the virtue of them and the same may justly be affirm'd of Consideration the reason why men meddle no more with it is because they are not acquainted with the pleasantness of the task There is certainly such a thing as pleasure of the mind and all delight consisteth not in sensual satisfaction We see with what pleasure men spend their time in the study of the Mathematicks the Professors of it could live and dye in those studies and desire no greater satisfaction on this side Heaven their minds are so pleas'd with that Harmony Symmetry Order Proportion they spie in things that they could dispense with the coarsest dyet so they might but have leave to enjoy that mental pleasure And indeed if knowledge be a pleasure if to be acquainted with our selves be satisfactory if to discover the impostures falshood designs and ambuscadoes of a dangerous enemy be delightful Consideration must needs be so for this gives us an insight into our hearts let 's us see what we are points at the Nets which are spread for us and manifests the temptations of the Devil which like Lime-twigs are design'd to catch us into death and ruine That the Devil or rather his Emissaries the evil spirits that are under his power and dominion are daily walking to and fro and observing our actions and designs and behaviour the company we converse withall the circumstances we are under our constitutions complexions and dispositions and seeking whom they may devour the Holy Ghost hath made so evident and our own experience does so clearly demonstrate that he that doubts of it must be a man that 's altogether guided by sense and takes notice of things no more than the Beasts that perish these evil spirits whenever they tempt they tempt with a design to hurt they try men to do mischief and provoke them to actions as may pull down the wrath of God upon their heads And as the instruments or engines they make use of in their temptations are various sometimes prosperity sometimes adversity sometimes our own corrupted hearts giving them advantage to spur us on to sin so the temptations vary according to the several degrees and conditions and tempers of men for it 's certain all men will not be dragged or seduced into Hell the same way and a temptation which will fit one will not fit another and a motion which one will contentedly swallow will not go down with another several constitutions must have several suggestions and according as men change the temptation changes and the Devil takes other measures David cannot be persuaded the same way that Saul is wrought upon and the arguments which prevail with the former are of no great force with the latter Paul is not tempted the same way that Judas nor Peter the same way that Herod The Drunkards temptations differ from those of the Abstemious and the Adulterers from the suggestions of him that 's dull and phlegmatick and hath not inclination to vices of that nature The melancholy man is oppress'd with imaginations different from those which the merry and jovial meets withall and we cannot suppose that the Prodigal is tormented with the same suggestions that the Covetous acts by 'T is true in the end all these Temptations agree the intended end being destruction and offending God but still they are of different kinds and complexions and how pleasant must it be to see through all these wiles and devices of the Devil a prospect which Consideration alone can afford There are many Temptations which seem to sollicit to good when indeed they provoke to evil as when a man who wallows in sin and uncleanness is prompted to trust to Gods mercy and to lay hold on the merits of Christ and to apply to himself the comforts of the Gospel The things he is tempted to are good in themselves but the design of the Temptation being to render the Sinner secure and presumptuous and careless of a serious life it cannot but be a pleasure to any man that 's sensible of his spiritual interest to discover the cheat and this discovery is made by Consideration of the nature design and tendency of the flattering motion Men are not only provoked to commission of Sin but too often to neglect of their duty towards God and toward man And he that is not tempted to Murther to Theft to Adultery to Fornication to contempt of his Parents to bearing False Witness against his Neighbour is yet enticed to Idleness to Flesh-pleasing to neglect of Prayer of Meditation of Charity of Faith of Hope of Confidence in God of Zeal of Fervency of speaking for Christ of vindicating his Honour when abus'd of improving his time to Gods glory and his own eternal good The young man rejoyces in his youth and lets his heart cheer him in the dayes of his youth and walks in the way of his heart and in the sight of his eyes hates gravity and seriousness and admits of such motions as these The precepts of the Gospel sure were not intended for me who have youth and blood and spirit to fit me for recreations I have heard young Saints make old Devils and
Christ hath made it It 's that which Heaven is entailed on and without which Men if they dare take the word of that Jesus whom they do believe to be the Son of God can look for nothing else but everlasting destruction Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 18.3 are the express words of him who came from Heaven to reveal his Fathers Will words which do not only import the absolute necessity but represent the nature and manner of true Conversion And if the words added by way of Explication be thorowly weigh'd it will appear to any rational man that that laborious Conversion which the Ministers of the Gospel press and recommend is no other but what Christ requires in order to salvation for what can be the meaning of this phrase becoming as little children but that men must learn to be children in malice 1 Cor. 14.20 pull down their passions watch over their inordinate affections overcome themselves and harbor no grudge no hatred no revengeful thoughts in their hearts against those that have offended them and like new born Babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 i. e. with all humility and alacrity submit themselves to be guided and ruled and govern'd by the precepts and injunctions of Christ in the Gospel without disputing or contradicting his commands though levell'd against flesh and blood as much as children leave themselves to the guidance and direction of their Nurses and have neither strength nor will nor malice to oppose the will or order of those that do lead them Not that Christ forbids examining either the Divinity or reasonableness of his Doctrines and Injunctions No God is not afraid to have his Will tried and examin'd by right reason for as it is the effect of the highest reason so it must needs be most agreeable to reason it being impossible that truth can be inconsistent with truth and therefore Christ doth so little discourage men from trying the Divinity of his Sayings and Commands by the rule of right reason that in several places he bids the Pharisees and whoever were his Adversaries to judge impartially of the Arguments he gave for the divine original of his doctrine And without all peradventure this liberty every man hath to examine and satisfie himself whether the injunctions of Christ and his Apostles were things that dropt from heaven or no. But then where men are convinc'd or have sufficient reason to be convinc'd that these Precepts are the peremptory Will of God concerning their salvation as any person who is not a Changeling or meer Natural may find upon due examination and inquiry if he will there God expects most justly that all pretences and excuses and carnal reasonings should fall and the Soul submit readily to the yoke of Christ and resign its will to Christs Will though it cannot for the present comprehend the true reason of some commands and suffer itself to be acted and guided by these Laws without contradiction or opposition or tergiversation denying and renouncing every apprehension or suggestion that would sollicit or tempt it to start aside from sincere obedience and all discourses that would dash or impede its willingness and readiness to embrace them And indeed this is all we mean by true Conversion viz. ceasing to obey the dictates of the World the Flesh and the Devil and endeavouring seriously to live up to the precepts of the Gospel without asking our lusts or vain desires whether they are willing to it or no a sincere resolution to get from under the yoke of sin and to make the Lord Jesus who bought us with his own blood our Supreme Ruler and Governor And since there can be no Government without Laws and we never heard of any other Laws Christ gave but what we have in the Gospel we cannot and dare not but conclude that to live up to these Laws of the Gospel is true Conversion And indeed the primitive Christians took no person to be converted that did not make these Laws the great Rule of his Life and shew'd by his Actions that he priz'd and esteem'd and valu'd these Laws above all the Orders and Decrees and Constitutions of the greatest Monarchs When we do entreat and admonish men to be converted what do we do but persuade them to mortifie their members which are upon the earth Fornication Uncleanness inordinate Affection evil Concupiscence and Covetousness which is Idolatry and to put off Anger Wrath Malice Blasphemy and filthy Communication of their Mouths and to put on Bowels of Mercy Kindness Humbleness of Mind Meekness Long-suffering so as to forbear one another and forgive one another To let the Word of Christ dwell in them richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing with grace in their hearts unto the Lord and whatever they do in word or deed to do it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ giving thanks unto God and the Father through him To be poor in spirit to be meek to hunger and thirst after righteousness to purifie their hearts to follow peace with all men as much as in them lies To be patient under Slanders Reproaches and Persecutions To live in a sense of future Joyes and of an everlasting Recompence To avoid all apparent occasions of Evil even things that are harmless in themselves if they provoke or tempt to Sin To avoid Swearing in their ordinary Discourses and Communications to love their Enemies to do good to them that hate them to pray for them which persecute them and despitefully use them To give Alms without any sinister ends to pray without affectation of vain Applause or laying any stress upon the length of their prayers To fast without ostentation to lay up their treasure in Heaven to trust Gods Providence in their respective Callings and Conditions to love him better than the World to use the World as if they used it not to seek first Gods Kingdom and his Righteousness Not to judge rashly but to forsake their greater sins before they find fault with the lesser transgressions of their Neighbors To walk in the strait way and take pains for Heaven To avoid Hypocrisie and to manifest their Profession by their Lives both to hear and to do what they hear and to bring forth Fruits mete for Repentance and to let their Light so shine before Men that they may see their good Works and glorifie their Father which is in Heaven To be faithful unto Death and to hold out to the End and to suffer for the testimony of Jesus if God think fit to call them to it and to do good though they have no prospect of a present Recompence To feed the Hungry and cloath the Naked and visit the Sick and to hope and to believe that they shall be rewarded at the Resurrection of the Just. These are the
errors of their wayes The truth is some are so civil as to send for us when the breath is going out of their body and give us leave to come and teach them what they must do to be sav'd when the Physitian gives them over and they ready to be summon'd to appear before the great Tribunal they are contented we should give them an Epitome of their Duties when they are past working in Gods Vineyard and furnish their minds with thoughts of Heaven and Eternity when their understandings are as weak as their bodies and their inward man as languid and feeble as their outward But there needs no great store of Arguments to convince any rational man That this is meer mocking of God and his Messengers It 's a sign they have a pitiful low esteem of another world who think Heaven worth no more than a feeble thought when they can serve the Devil and sin no longer It 's a sign they look upon eternal glory as some poor beggarly happiness who cannot vouchsafe it a serious look till their eyes grow dim and the Sun and the Moon and the Light and the Stars are darkned Eccl. 12.2 Would they but send for us or come to us while marrow is in their bones and blood brisk and lively in their veins their reason strong and their understanding in its full vigor and glory and advise with us about these everlasting things we would then tell them what eternal life means and how no man can be a man or be said to act with common prudence that doth not with all diligence make his Calling and Election sure we would then let them see how many thousands perish for want of thinking of Eternity We would let them see how miserable those mens condition must needs be who have their portion in this life who after this life must look for nothing else but everlasting chains of darkness We would prove to them that these are not things to be laught at but deserve their most serious contemplations and that the saving of a Soul is not so light a thing as they may imagine We would let them see that the pious Kings and Princes and Philosophers Confessors and Saints and Martyrs of old whose memories we adore were no Fools when they kept under their Bodies and brought them into subjection lest they should become Castawayes when they look'd upon all the losses and troubles and miseries that could befall them for Righteousness sake as things not worthy to be compared with the glory which ere long should be revealed in them when they did not count their own Lives dear for the Gospel of Christ and were ready to pass through the most daring flames to Heaven We would let them see that those men had brains and were men of wisdom and discretion as well as they and living so near the time of Christ and his Apostles could not possibly be ignorant of what was to be done in order to everlasting happiness and if they had not been very confident of the truth of Christs promises and known for certain that without strictness and contempt of the World and watching against Temptations there was no entring into their Masters joy they would never have striven so much to enter in at the strait gate as they did We would let them see how different mens thoughts are when they come to dye from those which they have while they enjoy strength and health and liberty and that a melancholy thought now and then concerning their sinful life is not repentance nor leaving such sins which would blemish their credit and reputation in the World doing whatsoever Christ commands them nor talking now and then of the vanity of the World using the World as if they used it not We would let them see what the Scripture means by working out their salvation with fear and with trembling and how dreadful that saying is If the righteous be scarcely saved where will the wicked and sinner appear We would let them see That the expressions the Holy Ghost uses concerning our Travelling to the Land of Promise imply very great care and industry and do plainly intimate that God will not part with his Heaven to men that do not think it worth seeking or being at any trouble about it We would let them see that if any thing in the World deserves their pains and care Heaven deserves it infinitely more as it is of infinitely greater consequence than the most boundless Empires or Principalities We would let them see that God is no respecter of persons and that as he hath fitted Religion for all mens capacities insomuch that though all cannot be wise or learned or great or rich yet all may obey him and keep themselves unspotted from the World so he will one day summon every man to give an account of his stewardship and bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or evil We would let them see that what satisfies men now will not give them any great content or satisfaction then and though now some sprinklings of Piety may lull them into good conceits of themselves and of their worth yet these like blown Balls will then be all upon the least touch shatter'd into Atoms By such discourses as these we might by degrees engage them to a serious Consideration of their spiritual Concerns and warm them into resolutions to lay by for some time their Farms and Oxen and ruminate on things which carry so much Terror and Majesty with them And indeed such things were they heard without prejudice they would in some measure confound and startle men in their courses and if they are not given over to a hard heart or to a reprobate mind rouze their spirits into nobler thoughts and contemplations But alas they shun our company except it be to talk of worldly affairs or to ask us about some nice Points of Divinity and are ashamed to make their condition known and to own themselves ignorant of the path that leads to glory They either excuse themselves with this that their Neighbors and their Friends will laugh at them for making Ministers their Oracles or plead that they know as much as the Man of God can teach them would God they did and that all the Lords People were Prophets But if they did is there not some difference between knowing these sacred Truths and having them set home upon the Conscience That shall stick in a familiar discourse which in reading we take no notice of and a word in private conference may drop from a holy man and may be spoke with that zeal and honesty as shall strike the Soul into a change or renovation of mind which perhaps many years study or a large stock of knowledge would not have effected so that if the question be ask'd Is there no balm in Gilead Is there no Physitian there Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recover'd We may truly say
their Souls for ever It 's very probable that God wherein all goodness all mercy and of infinite pity and hath made this world to serve man and endow'd him with a capacity of knowing and adoring God would not leave him destitute of such helps and means as might best promote his knowledge of him but find out a way to manifest himself to him especially when it 's evident that without some better directions than Nature gives men are so very apt to fall into errors and misapprehensions of his glory and majesty Whether this Book contain therefore the true Revelations which God hath been pleas'd to make to mankind is the question Upon examination I find That there is nothing in this Book either promised or threatned or commanded but what is Deo dignum fit for a God to promise and threaten and command Whatever is deliver'd here seems to be very agreeable to his Majesty and Sovereignty and Divine Nature The rewards as well as punishments are Godlike and the Duties pressed here are but the necessary consequents of his Goodness and Justice and Government and Supremacy which consequences because man by reason of his corruption was not able to deduce from the Notion of a God God thought fit to reveal and manifest to him by various Passages Histories Prophecies Parables Precepts and Conclusions Upon inquiry I perceive that the designs of this Book are at least very harmless its great aime being to make men good and just and honest and live like men of reason Whatever verity or truth the light of Nature or Reason dictates is here to be found and this Book is so far from contradicting or abolishing any thing of that nature that it improves and refines it If I search all the Volumes of the ancient Heathen Philosophers men who ransackt Nature and tryed what Nature would discover of God and anatomized the Law written upon mens hearts If I peruse all the Lessons and Rules of Morality they gave and prescribed to Mankind I find them all deliver'd in this Book much purer and much clearer than those Philosophers were able to propose them The Sacred Writers whoever they were for ought I see were men of very noble and generous spirits for their great endeavor is to instruct and edifie mankind and to teach them such delights as are fit for a rational Soul to embrace I see they exhort men to live like themselves like persons capable of conversing with God I see they are all for preservation of humane Societies and to this end they speak against all that 's evil and encourage Justice and Peace and Unity and Charity and Obedience to Governors and all that 's good and holy and condemn al Hypocrisie commend upright dealing and sincerity of heart and proscribe even those sins which the world can take no notice of sins of thoughts sins of the heart and sins of secresie and urge a hearty unfeigned love to our Neighbor Their great care and sollicitude is that men may not be kept unacquainted with themselves and though they liv'd in different Ages at different Times and were of different Educations yet they all agree in their great endeavor and design to purifie mens hearts and to keep their Consciences void of offence towards God and towards men They would have God worship'd and honour'd like a God in Spirit and in Truth and require the cream and marrow of our endeavours our dearest and tenderest love to be given to him which indeed is a worship fit for him that is our Supreme Ruler and Governor in whom we live and have our Being They condemn all Sensuality which makes men live like Beasts and all impatience and discontent which makes their Lives miserable and all Pride and Haughtiness which makes their near Neighbors hate and despise them and all base Selfishness which makes them uncompassionate They prescribe the greatest Cordials against Crosses and Afflictions for they promise a better life after this a life of everlasting joy and bliss and suppose there were no such life yet would the fancy of it be mighty pleasing in distress and calamities and serve to bear us up under the greatest burthens and should we find nothing of that nature when we come to dye to be sure there would be no body to laugh at us They represent God as infinitely merciful to wretched men and willing to accept of those that repent and turn and sincerely fear him and to make them everlastingly happy and yet that men may not presume and turn the grace of God into wantonness they represent him just withall that will take vengeance on those who provoke his patience and mock his compassion and abuse his mercy into contempt of his Laws They represent him as a very reasonable Master that layes upon his servants no more than they are able to bear and expects returns answerable to the favors he bestows on them and such services as are in some measure proportionable to the means he hath afforded them which is no more but what we expect from our servants All which is highly rational and I must needs imagine since no men that ever liv'd in the world could give the world such exact Rules for the improvement and advancement of a rational Soul as these Writers do that they must have had some Divine Spirit to guide them To exalt the Soul and to elevate it above Sense and Earth and Dross and Dung and to make it fit to be admitted to familiarity with its Maker seems to be the very drift and design of this Book and if it were not Divine or Inspired it might however deserve the reputation of maintaining the greatest and most generous designs that ever were carried on by mankind But sure its original is more than humane and the persons who deliver these things had certainly a Divine Commission When I look either upon Moses and the Prophets in the Old or upon Jesus and his Apostles in the New Testament Men who were the chief Promulgers of the Truths deliver'd in these Books methinks there appears something extraordinary in them and I cannot but see the Finger of God that did direct and help them If I believe any thing that I never heard or saw my self I have the greatest reason in the world to believe that that Moses whom both Jews and Heathen call the great Leader and Captain General of the Jews was inspired from above when he gave his Law to the whole Nation of the Jews That he wrought those stupendious miracles which are recorded in Scripture the Jewish Nation hath firmly and constantly believed ever since they were wrought and how 600 000 men before whom they were wrought and who did feed upon many of those Wonders and who have delivered the real performance of those Miracles down to their Posterity and so imprinted it on the hearts of their Progeny that neither Sword nor Fire could ever make them deny it How I say this vast multitude of men could be
Earth they enjoy a perpetual Sun-shine we are allow'd no more but Moon-light we see as it were through a Glass darkly they face to face their light like that of the Sun never lessens ours like that of the Moon is sometimes greater sometimes less and sometimes we have none at all How often doth the afflicted Beleever walk in darkness God hides the Light of his countenance from him and he is troubled sometime he is all joy by and by all darkness again sometimes he is like St. Paul wrapt up into the third Heaven sometimes like Men that see God's wonders in the deep he goes down again to the depths and his Soul melts because of trouble how cleer are the apprehensions sometimes he hath of the love and mercy of God! and he seems to be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the depth and breadth of the love of God how often on the other side is a vail drawn over all these bright Conceptions and he groveling in the dust What flouds of Consolation doth God sometimes pour out upon his Soul whereas at other times those comforts come down in drops which use to come in showers how great sometimes is his strength against temptations how weak his courage at another how chearfully sometime can he cry out I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me how mournfully is he forced to express himself at another I see a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bringing me into captivity to the Law of Sin Behold O my Soul the vast number of the Stars and Lamps of Heaven how wise how powerful is that God that made them who can look upon those curious Lights without admiring their Creator Behold they rise and goe down at his command and do not fail one minute of their appointed time how should this teach thee obedience how chearfully shouldst thou run at the command of thy God these glorious Stars though their number be vastly great yet they never clash or disagree one with another how should this engage thee to unfeigned charity and peaceableness how should this put thee upon promoting peace and concord and agreement among thy neighbors and doe not these Stars put thee in mind how e're long thou shalt shine as the Stars in the firmament for ever Happy hour Blessed day when thou shalt be cloathed with splendor and immortatity when thou shalt see night no more and shalt need no candle neither light of the Sun but the Lord shall give thee light and thou shalt reign with him for ever Come down lower O my Soul I have not done yet with Gods wonderful Works reflect upon the Air in which all sensitive Creatures breathe without this Air the whole Creation would dye it 's this that keeps Men and Beasts and all Plants and Herbs alive and is not the Holy Spirit of God O my Soul the very same to thee that the Air is to all creatures without this spirit of God to enlighten to move and to direct thee thou hast the name that thou livest but thou art dead it 's this spirit must give thee life it 's he that must warm thee into a practical Love to God it 's he must teach thee how to pray it 's he must help thy infirmities and bear witness with thy Spirit that thou art a Child of God beg this rich gift at the hands of God and thou shalt have it seek it and thou shalt find it knock at Heaven Gate for it and God will open and grant thee thy hearts desire Behold O my Soul how vain and foolish these men are that will not believe the Being of Angels or of Spirits because they never saw any can they see the Air and why do not they question whether there be such a thing as Air or no this Air supports all Creatures so doth thy God much more The Eyes of all do wait upon him and he gives them their meat in due season he opens his hand and fills the desire of every living thing Psal. 145.15 16. When this Air yields to all gross Bodies and lets them pass without opposition how doth it read to thee Lectures of Patience and Humility in that flexibility thou mayst see the sinfulness of thy inexorable temper the odiousness of thy revengeful desires and reviling again when thou art reviled and giving the offender as good as he brings the Air reproves thee when thou art deaf to all entreaties to be reconciled to him that hath injured thee when thou wilt not yield to the humble supplication of distressed creatures and when thou opposest thy own humour to all the rational perswasions of wiser men than thy self Look upon the Fire 0 my Soul and behold how differently it acts upon Bodies it meets withal how it consumes the Hay and Stubble and cleanseth and purifies Gold and Silver doest thou not see here as in a Glass how thy God destroys the workers of iniquity and advances and encreases and purifies the desires and affections of a devout and religious Soul thou seest how hard and black Iron is when it is not near the Fire and how bright and tractable it becomes in the fire and is not this the true picture of a sinner while he is a stranger to the Law of God he hardens his heart as Flint and Adamant no threatenings pierce him no promises prevail with him no judgements fright him no providences move him no mercies melt him he feeds upon Gods Blessings as Swine do upon Acorns without minding the hand that throws them down he hears Sermons but they awake him not he is intreated and he slights the invitation he is reproved and laughs at the reprehension but when that Holy Fire the love of God enters into his heart how flexible how tractable doth he grow how doth the love of God constrain him to avoid sin and to bid defiance to all the works of Darkness he that before scorn'd to hear the glad tidings of the Gospel how doth he now submit to Christs easy yoak he that before thought such a duty unfit and improper for a person of his quality how cheerfully doth he now bow and yield to it he that before had a thousand excuses why he could not do what Christ enjoyns him how doth he now lay all those idle apologies by he that before was churlish becomes now affable and courteous he that before was apt to be very angry at the least affront now bears it more quietly he that before put off the Eternal God with the meanest of his endeavours now is willing to give him the fat and strength of his affections he that before could hear Ministers call to him and call again without effect now cries out Sirs what must I do to be saved he that before could not be perswaded to walk in the strait way now runs in the way of God's Commandments Blessed Fire which consumes not but illuminates never suffers the heart to be harden'd
but purifies it doth not straiten the Soul but elevates it doth not clog it but refines it doth not confound it but sublimes it destroys the dross but preserves the Gold and burns away all unclean and inordinate passions and all immoderate cares of this world but raises the Soul above the world and engages it to fly above those things which serve only to fill mens hearts with anguish and vexation Let this object rest a little O my Soul and look upon that Earth thou walkest on this is the place our Bodies must necessarily rest in but when thou seest that center of of all heavy Bodies forget not to think who it is that is thy proper Center and Resting-place This is a groaning bleeding dying Saviour think O my Soul on Solomon what pains that Monarch took to find Rest for his Soul He gave himself to Wine laid hold on folly made him great Works built him Houses planted him Vineyards made him Gardens and Orchards and planted trees in them of all kind of Fruits got him Servants and Maidens procured great possessions of great and small cattel gather'd Silver and Gold got him Men-singers and Women-singers and all the delight of the Sons of Men and whatsoever his eyes desired he kept it not from them Eccl. 2 3 4. c. He withheld not his heart from any joy yet behold when he looked on at the works his hand had wrought he found it was nothing but vanity and vexation of Spirit in all this his Soul found no rest till it came to learn this great lesson Fear God and keep his Commandements and then Peace and rest did flow in upon his Soul with a Spring-tide God is thy rest indeed O my Soul and when thou canst hide thy self in the wounds of thy Great Redeemer then then thou art safe and the Gates of Hell are not able to prevail against thee Canst thou see how plentifully the Earth provides for Mankind and forget what provision God makes for thee that thou may'st not miss of the Crown of Righteousness hereafter and when thou seest how all things the Earth produces praise their Creator in their way and shew forth his Glory canst thou be silent or forbear to be perpetually extolling the goodness of that God that hath given thee a tongue on purpose to speak those praises whereof other creatures make but a dumb shew thou seest how this Earth produces Gold and Silver and if this Earth be so Glorious what will Heaven be if the House which God vouchsafes to his enemies be so splendid what will his own Palace be where none but himself and his Servants shall dwell for ever if the outward Court be so magnificent what must the Presence-Chamber of the King of Kings be if Gold and and Silver by their glittering dazle the eyes of spectators here what will the beatifical Presence of Almighty God doe which is beyond all the shine and luster that Gold and precious Stones afford From the Earth 0 my Soul launch out into the Waters how useful are the Lessons suggested to issue by this Element canst thou look upon water and not reflect on the grace of God which hath appear'd to all men how this washes the Souls of Believers from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit how it quenches the fire of sinful Lusts in men how it takes away mens thirst and greediness after there sublunary comforts how it cools the Soul under the greatest heat of misery how it makes many of one mind as the innumerable Atomes of Flower goe together in water to make up one loaf of Bread and unites millions of Men under one Head the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold the Springs and Fountains which like Pearls adorn the curious Fabrick of the Earth canst thou call them Fountains and doth not that name put thee in mind of the Fountain of life the Fountain of Wisdom the Fountain of living Waters and the Fountain open'd for the House of Juda and Jerusalem for Sin and for Uncleanness doe but think what riches flow from that everlasting Spring Thy God is the very Fountain of all Beings in him and to him and through him are all things he depends on no Causes he hath need of no assistance nothing can hurt him but all things depend upon him he is the beginning of all things without a beginning the end without end the great Cause without a cause infinite unlimited immense and incomprehensible Refresh thy self O my Soul in this never-fading and inexhaustible Fountain admire him serve him love him desire him despise all other things in comparison of him for he alone can supply all thy wants and necessities content thy affections here and fill thee with everlasting comforts hereafter III. It wonderfully supports men under afflictions for our impatience lies in our minds and when the disease begins then its fit the cure should begin but which way should the mind be cur'd but by Consideration it's this must answer all the objections that Flesh and Bloud suggest to the mind it 's this must silence all the arguments which seem to justify our murmures against the dismal providence we meet withal and the thoughts which cause our discontent must be expell'd by thoughts of our demerits and Gods justice and without all peradventure that man shall be able to bear his tribulation better that thus reasons the case with himself why art thou cast down O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me hath thy God a hand in this affliction or hath he not if he hath not where is his Providence if he hath why dost thou grumble Doth not thy God know better what is expedient for thee than thy self Is he all wise and doth not he know what medicines are fittest for thee thou art his creature and may not he do with his own what he pleases thou hast sinn'd against him and must not he correct thee thou hast affronted him and must not he use his Rod thou hast forsaken him and must not he shew his displeasure against thy ingratitude dost not thou correct thy Child when he is stubborn and dost thou let thy Servant goe without chiding that doth neglect the business thou hast recommended to his care may be thou hast serv'd thy God and led a sober life but was it a life so blameless that it had no defects and must not those defects endure that fiery Tryal that they may be burnt away Hast thou receiv'd the good at the hand of the Lord and shalt not thou receive the evil also how long hath God spared thee who might long ago have poured out the vials of his wrath upon thee hast not thou reason to thank him for chastising thee but now who might have done it much sooner Alas why shouldst thou think he doth thee wrong by sending this cross upon thee who hast deserved no less than damnation are not Rods gentler than Scorpions and drops of Gods anger more tolerable than flouds of his
it if thou art not heartily resolv'd to part with it why dost thou complain what makes thee cry out O wretched creature that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death what makes thee wish that what thou hast done against God were undone what makes thee afraid of offending God why dost thou weep why dost thou watch against thy corruptions what makes thee angry with thy self for displeasing God what makes thee breathe and pant after Christ as the wounded Hart pants after the Water-brooks what makes Christ so sweet and sin so bitter to thee what makes thee asham'd of looking up to Heaven whence is it that all the preferment and riches of this World cannot tempt thee to sin wilfully whence is it that thou delightest not in the company of sinners but thy delight is chiefly in them that fear the Lord If these be not signes of Grace what character of mercy wouldst thou have hath not thy God said that he 'l love those that do love him if thou lov'st him not why art thou restless till thou enjoyest him if thou lovest him not why dost thou desire him why art thou willing to follow him through misery and the greatest troubles to be forever with him thou hast infirmities to wrestle withal but hath not thy God promis'd thee that he 'll bruise Satan under thy feet shortly thou canst not totally master such a corruption but dost not thou fight against it thou meetest with temptations but dost not thou grapple with them Satan follows thee but dost not thou resist him thy Conscience terrifies thee but hast not thou the Cross of Christ to fly to if God had a mind to kill thee would he have shewn thee all these things if God were gone from thee would not his Spirit be gone too if thou hast not the Spirit of God what mean thy longings after God what means thy love to a Spiritual life why dost thou pray so earnestly for the fruit of the Spirit why art thou altogether for a clean Heart and for renewing of a right Spirit within thee are not these signs that Gods Spirit warms thy affections and makes intercession for thee with groanings which cannot be uttered God seems to go away that thou mayst cry more earnestly after him and clouds his comforts that thou mayst sue for them with greater importunity he lets thee sink a little that thou mayst cry with a louder voice Lord save me or else I perish and falls asleep in the Ship that thou mayst take the greater pains to wake him He sees thou grow'st weary of his favour he therefore darkens it that thou mayst be at some trouble to recover it and having recover'd it set a greater price upon 't he withdraws himself for awhile that at his return thy joy may be fuller and bids his gracious influences stop awhile that when they flow in upon thee again they may fill all thy faculties with greater gladness thou canst not perform thy Duties with that alacrity and chearfulness thou desir'st but hast not thou reason to bless God that thou dost in good earnest desire to doe better was Heaven purchas'd in a moment or Sin conquer'd in an hour is not the way to life a race where men must run on till they reach the mark Go on O my Soul go on the farther thou proceedest in Gods ways the sweeter thou wilt find them the more thou strivest the more thou'lt conquer and the oftner thou dost address thy self to God the more thy dullness and weariness will vanish and the more thou lookest upon the everlasting recompence the greater mind thou wilt have to go on from strength to strength O my Soul hope in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God IV. It disposes a man to be a worthy receiver of the Lords Supper Indeed I doe not see how without it a man can receive any benefit by that blessed Sacrament for it being an Ordinance designed chiefly to impregnate the Soul with very strong longings and breathings after a crucified Saviour with a deep sense of the incomprehensible 1ove of God in Christ Jesus and with earnest resolutions to love and to obey him before all the dictates of Flesh and Bloud and of our carnal Interest it is not to be conceiv'd which way the Soul should arrive to all this without considering the end nature and advantages of this Sacrament and its probable a man may then be affected with this sublime mystery when he rowzes his Soul some such way as this Dost thou rightly understand O my Soul what this great and tremendous Ordinance means Behold thou art going to feast with that God who stretches out the Heavens like a Curtain and layes the beams of this chambers in the waters and makes the clouds his chariot and rideth upon the wings of the wind What Feast with so Glorious a God and come without a Wedding-Garment What Sup with him who dwelleth in the Heavens and not purify thy self even as he is pure Can two walk together except they be agreed what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness What concord hath Christ with Belial What agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols This is the great Ordinance O my Soul which must either promote thy everlasting happiness or aggravate thy everlasting condemnation how happy mayst thou be if this Sacrament charms thee into a fervent love to thy dear Redeemer but how wilt thou escape if thou neglect so great a Salvation Here are the greatest engagements the greatest motives to a life as becomes the Gospel of Christ here God adjures thee to use the words of the Church By Christs agony and bloody sweat by his cross and passion by his death and burial to bury thy unclean desires and inordinate affections and to dedicate thy self and all thou hast to his service Here is represented the greatest love that ever was vouchsafed to men here the Son of God appears all bloudy to fright thee from thy sins here Christ is as it were crucified before thine eyes that looking upon him whom thou hast pierc'd Thou mayest mourn as one that mourns for his onely Son Here Christ appears laden with all the blessings of Heaven here the ever-blessed Trinity seems to use its utmost endeavours to perswade thee into a Heavenly conversation here the desert of sin is discover'd in the wounds and torments of an infinite God and hither thou comest O my Soul to renew thy Baptismal vow hither thou comest to enter into a solemn Covenant with God and faithfully to promise him to resign thy self entirely to him to fall out with him no more to defile thy Garments no more to dishonour to betray him no more to be faithful to him to vindicate his Glory to esteem his friends as thy friends and his enemies as thy enemies and to live up to those laws which he hath sealed with his
the same manner all other exceptions nay be answer'd and the sinner finding that the reasons he formerly thought invincible are so easily dash'd and blown away is most likely to hearken to the far stronger arguments of God and his own Conscience the rather because he retired on purpose to have a clearer sight of his ways than before he had and since God doth vouchsafe him so distinct a prospect of his Folly and preposterous Love he justly thinks that not to yield to God's reasonings is to mock him and savours of such ingratitude as admits of no excuse Indeed without retirement our Thoughts and Considerations flow at large like Water in the Sea and we can make no great observations concerning them but in retirement they are much like Water in a Weather-Glass and by them we may guess what temper our souls are in whether hot or cold more exactly than men do at the warmth or coldness of the weather by the rising and falling of the liquor in those Glasses In such retirements a Holy awe and reverence seizes on the Soul and when I see men can retire to drink to play to sleep and to debauch themselves I see no reason but they may I am sure they have greater reason to do it retire to consider the good and welfare of their immortal Souls I have already proved that Consideration must be frequent and consequently this retirement must be so too not that a man must never reflect on his actions or mind whether they be good or bad but when he retires No Consideration is either occasional or a solemn and set Duty either a habitual guide or an extraordinary remembrancer the former as it is universally useful and a great means to prevent sin in a true Believer to check him when he would commit it to engage him to repentance when he is fallen to direct him what he must do and to encourage him to those Duties which are proclaim'd in his Ears as necessary to Salvation so it is a necessary companion where ever we are or what ever we are doing and these occasional Considerations need no retirement but then where the stream of man's life must be turn'd or the actions of the day reviewed how far they have been agreeable to the will of God how far they have been contrary to it or where a strict mortification of sin must be used or where a long neglected duty must be made a familiar guest in thy Soul in a word where the work to be done is of some more than ordinary difficulty there those occasional reflections will not serve turn but more solemn considerations must be called in and these solemn considerations are properly the things which require retirement and as its fit they should be used once a day at least so he doth truly mind the interest of his Soul that some time every day retires and considers how he hath behaved himself that day towards God and Man whether his heart hath not been too much carried out after the comforts of this world what incroachment they have made upon his love to God and how they will fill the garden of his Soul with weeds if he do not stop their progress betimes and root them up what company he hath been in that day what he hath done in his Closet what his thoughts words desires actions affections have been that day whether he hath not been more concern'd for the trash and perishable riches of this life than the Glory of God and the Salvation of his Soul and how necessary it is for him having had a fall that day to be more careful and cautious and circumspect the next This Consideration is the pulse of the Soul which while it is beating it 's a great sign that there is life in the Soul and a good argument that God will increase and enlarge that life And as edification and progress in goodness ought to be the real design of retiring from the World so it doth necessarily import that men ought to chuse the liveliest hours or the hours when their Spirits are most active and freest from drowziness for so great a work When men are drowzy and sleepy Considerations may often come in but they are so weak and faint that they leave the Soul as cold as they found it and put it into the circumstances of that man in the Gospel who took Men for walking Trees saw something but knew not what to make of it or what name to give it While I am discoursing thus methinks I see the sensual Reader smile retirement thinks he this were to make my self a prisoner in the soft times of Peace and to deprive my self of that freedom which God and Nature have given me This were to goe into a Monastery and submit to the se verities of a Convent this at the best can only befit a Priest but can be no qualification of a Gentleman indeed if Gentlemen had no Heaven to gain no Hell to avoid if God had made them Beasts as too many doe make themselves we should not be displeased at this rambling talk but it 's an old trick where men have an aversion from a Duty to represent it in a dismal dress and to take off the burthen from their own Shoulders and to bind it upon others If they could satisfy God with these shufflings as easily as they doe their own Consciences they were safe but that the great day must decide and when the Archangel shall sound his Trumpet to gather the dead from all parts of the world and God who prescribed to all Men but one way to happiness shall make a strict examination how every one hath observed the Rules and Statutes of that way it will appear that this retirememt in order to a serious pondering of our actions was a duty incumbent on some people else besides Ministers He that retires upon this account doth indeed imprison himself but it is that he may attain to true and perfect liberty triumph over the slavery of sin lead his corruption captive and free himself from the dreggs and dross which corrupted Nature hath brought upon him Little doth the sensual man think what felicity he robs himself of by scorning this retirement Here Heaven would look more beautiful to him than in a croud here he might in a manner with St. Stephen see the Heavens open and his Saviour standing at the right hand of God here he might truly enjoy himself and look with pity on those men who like Spirits which are sometimes seen in Mines with great labour doe nothing at all to any purpose and when they have tired and wearied themselves in the world like Flies burn themselves in that candle about which they have been hovering Come sinner prepare thy Pencil mingle the richest Colours thou canst get Draw thy sinful careless life give it a beautiful Virgins face Draw all the charms that thy fancy can find out here Draw the Adoration the world pays unto her there
Soul Is this giving all diligence to make my calling and election sure when I am infinitely more concerned how to secure a small sum of Money than I am to secure those Treasures which fade not away Will God give a reward to Men that stand yawning and stretching themselves in his Vineyard unresolv'd whether they shall work or no A reward indeed they shall have but such a reward as hypocrites receive a reward from which Good Lord deliver us And am I so stupified that nothing of all this can move me neither the Glory of God nor the interest of my Soul nor all that can be said against my want of Zeal and fervency of Spirit Were these reason laid home by serious consideration it would rowze the Soul from her slumber and make her see how dangerous her rest is and how deer that sleep will cost her she is for the present lull'd in if it be not suddenly dispell'd and scatter'd but want of consideration makes the careless sinner fancy God such a one as himself one that is pleas'd with his indifferency in Religion as well as himself this is it makes him entertain very gross absurd and unreasonable conceits concerning that all Wise most Excellent and most lovely Being despise a Treasure of infinite value trample on the pearl of price and forget what the hope of God's calling is and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance is in the Saints Had the Covetous but a Heart to think with himself vain foolish man How loath am I to confess my self guilty of this vice How do I deceive my self with the fair names of good Husbandry and Frugality but will these delusions stand the fire Will these Paper Walls be proof against everlasting burnings if there be such a sin as covetousness and that sin so odious to God and his Holy Angels as Christ and his Apostles make it and so great an impediment to everlasting happiness as the Scripture represents it it must needs be worth knowing whether I am infected with this plague especially since my behaviour and actions look as if I were why should the Apostle call this sin Idolatry but because it makes men set their affections on the World more than upon that which is to come and more on their Riches Estate or Incomes than upon God and everlasting Glory whereby God is robb'd of his Honor and that high Esteem and Love which is God's due as he is God is given to be creature which in Gods sight is Lighter than nothing and vanity and is not this my case How is my Soul fix'd upon this World How close doth my heart stick to the profits and advantages it affords How is my Soul bound up with my Corn and Wine and Oyl How do I fancy that all my happiness is gone when these outward comforts are gone Did sin ever grieve me a quarter so much as a temporal loss Did offending a Gracious God ever cost me the tenth part of the Tears I shed for being deprived of a little shining Clay How hearty is my joy under the blessings of Gods left hand How little am I affected with the blessings of his right How far greater satisfaction doth my thriving in the world give me than my thriving in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ How loath am I to honour God with my substance How unwillingly how grudgingly do I part with any thing considerable for Charitable uses How loath am I to part with any of this worlds Goods for Gods service How happy do I count my self when Religion doth cost me nothing How loath am I to be any at charges for Heaven How doth it grieve me when I spend any thing upon Religion How do I dote upon these sublunary vanities How far greater pains do I take to be rich than to be happy for ever How can I dispense with a sin for profits sake How little of my desires and breathings hath God and a bleeding Saviour How dull am I under the most lively descriptions of the joys of Heaven How dull under the stupendous offers of Grace and Mercy How dead under the joyful message of pardon How dull when tempted by all the ravishing arguments of Gods love to love him above all What means my unwillingness to take God for my greatest portion What means that quickness sagacity and wisdom when my Riches Plenty or worldly prosperity is concerned and that strange dumpishness when God courts and beseeches my Soul to lay hold on Eternal Life Are not these evident signs that the World draws and attracts my Heart most powerfully God sees my Heart is not upright with him he sees I am afraid to take up with him alone he sees how covetousness hath possess'd my Soul and can I cherish this root of an evil in my Breast and not tremble at the danger my Soul is in Am I by the Apostles verdict an Idolater and do I make light of so great a guilt if no Idolater must expect a Crown of Glory alas what can I look for but Eternal Darkness when I read that it 's easier for a Camel to enter through the eye of a Needle than for a rich man who sets his heart on his Riches to enter into Heaven am not I frighted with the expression I find how this sin deprives me of a Holy communion with God and shall I loose my greatest comfort and support and satisfaction for it If any man love the World the love of the Father is not in him and can I be contented without the love of God if God be not my friend what doth the friendship of the whole World signify When my Soul must leave this Tabernacle and appear before Gods Barr O God I shall have so many witnesses against me that I shall not know what to say or whether to betake my self for refuge the Poor will accuse me because I have not open'd my Hand and Heart to them my own Conscience will accuse me because I have not been a good Steward of the means God gave me the Ministers of God will accuse me because whatever was laid out upon my Pride and Lust was thought too little and the least kindness I shew'd to those that wait at Gods Altar too much The Devils will accuse me because having a Soul so great so noble so precious I did employ it chiefly in scraping a little Dross and Dung together nay the Lord Jesus will accuse me because his example of contentedness and Heavenly mindedness would not allure me into imitation God will accuse me because having furnish'd me with all the motives and encouragements imaginable to mind Heaven more than Earth I preferr'd this Earth before all the joyes of Heaven and how shall I bear up under all this weight Would the poor deluded Worldling but let such thoughts sink into his Heart what a damp would it strike on his strong desires after the World and how would it make his immoderate love
to these sublunary Riches break into longings after a nobler Inheritance but neglecting this he Serpent-like feeds on Dust and prepares for anxiety discontent and vexation of Spirit and for a miserable death like a Hog lies rooting in the Earth and buries his Soul in a Chest of Money despises all admonitions to Charity and like the Smiths Dog can hear the hammering and beating of his Master and endure the sparks flying about his ears without being stirr'd or concern'd at it Hypocrisie is a sin which the painted Christian does not easily part withal yet would he reflect like a person that hates to sow pillows under his own Elbows can I read Christ's discourses against the Pharisees and not ask my own heart whether the Pharisees temper be an emblem of my complexion Have I no self-end in any Religious Duty What is it puts me many times upon doing good applause from Men or the love of God Do not I pretend God's Glory sometimes when I aim at nothing but mine own Do not I draw nigh to God with my Lips when in my heart and conversation I deny him Do not I by pretending to please God neglect my Duty to my neighbor Am not I more severe in pressing the lesser concerns of Religion than I am in urging the greater Doe not I commend that in a rich or great man which I can reprehend in my inferiors or meaner persons Do not I require those Duties of other men which my self am loath to practise Do not I applaud my self for my own sanctity while I despise others whom I fancy not so Holy as I am Am not I more curious to know other mens conditions than mine own Am not I more zealous in publick than I am in private Am not I Religious for filthy lucre's sake Do not I make a gain of Godliness and use Religion as a cloak to cover my secret sins Do not I make Devotion a scaffold to erect my own credit and profit by What is hypocrisie if this be not Though I can hide it from the sight of Men can I conceal it from him who knows my down-sitting and my up-rising and understands my thoughts afar off Can I remember the fate of Judas and not think of a serious repentance Can I hear the Son of God call so often Woe Woe to ye Hypocrites and hug the sin in my bosom Shall I harbor a Snake there which will sting me into endless gnawings of Conscience How shortly will all these delusions be discover'd Before I am a few days older God may summon me and lay open all my deceits and juglings in Religion Do I think to blind the Eyes of him in whose Book all my Members are set down Is the portion of Hypocrites no discouragement What promise in the Gospel can I lay hold of during this condition They all run to the upright in heart and must I go without these Cordials Must I see others run away with these Treasures while my self can expect nothing but Gods curse and anger Must I see others go to possess the Promis'd Land while I must stay behind in a Wilderness Must I see others gather Manna and feed upon the rich clusters of Canaan while my own Soul must perish for want of that Bread of Life Lord who shall abide in thy Tabernacle who shall dwell in thy Holy Hill He that walks uprightly and works righteousness and speaks the Truth in his Heart And must I have no seat in yonder Mansion No House in that Jerusalem which is above No habitation in that City which hath foundations whose Maker and Builder is God O my Soul stay not here in Mesheck dwell no longer in the Tents of Kedar Away and hate this Garment spotted by the Flesh. Such serious thoughts would check Hypocrisie but the vain man hardens his Heart against them locks them out will give them no entertainment and that makes him serve God to please the Devil and turn Religion into a meer shew and formality burn in Words and freeze in Deeds and like that Son in the Gospel say I goe Sir but he goes not From the Premisses we may easily guess what to think of other sins viz. that the great cause of them is want of consideration and therefore the Holy Ghost likens men that live in any sin or indulge themselves in any transgression to a Horse that rushes into the Battel and considers not what he doth ventures among Swords and Arrows and the greatest dangers without recollecting what will be the issue of it Jer. 8.6 Consideration is the Bridle that must govern our sense and appetite take that away and the Beast runs away with the Rider and hastens him into a thousand inconveniences CHAP. VI. Of the various advantages of serious consideration it 's that which makes a man master of all Christian Duties it helps a man to improve sublunary Objects into Heavenly Contemplations It 's the greatest support under afflictions disposes a man to be a worthy receiver of the Lords Supper Prepares him for an Angelical Life on Earth makes him prudent and discreet in Secular affairs and businesses THough in the preceding Chapters we have already in a great measure discover'd what Men may hope for from Consideration and of what use it is to a truly serious and Christian life yet we must not leave so rich a subject thus without giving an account of some other positive advantages which do render it very desirable to a rational man And 1. It hath most certainly a very great influence upon all Christian Duties whatever qualification Christ or his Apostles require or recommend it 's by consideration of the excellency and dignity of that Duty that Men must expect to arrive to it The first and great Commandment is Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and will all thy Soul and with all thy mind But he shall never be master of this Duty that doth not frequently and seriously consider the immense and stupendous love of God to him and indeed then I may hope to be acquainted with a sincere and cordial love to God when I give leave to such considerations as these to impregnate my understanding O my God can I think of so great so holy so infinite so merciful so munificent a Being and forbear to be enamour'd with thee whence are all my Mercies but from thee thou art the Spring the Fountain of them all Whatever Blessings are convey'd to me by the hands of Second Causes they come originally from thee and thou mov'st and order'st those Second Causes to come in to my assistance By thee have I been upheld ever since I was born when I lay in the shades of nothing thou didst awake me into a Being gavest me a rational Soul a Soul capable of admiring adoring and worshiping thee and ever since thy mercies have follow'd me and thou hast been a pillar of a Cloud unto me by day and a pillar of Fire by night what Parts