he slew a man he that Sacrificeth a Lamb as if he cut off a dogs neck Though the Sacrificing of Oxen and Lambs were good and commanded by God himself yet because they failed in the manner of performing them they were no more acceptable to God than the killing of men or cutting off a dogs neck which things were forbidden by the Law and abomination to the Lord. 3. Failing in the manner of performance makes God not only to reject our duties but to pronounce a woe and a curse against the performers of them Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord negligently Though it be the work of the Lord that work which the Lord appointeth to be done yet notwithstanding if it be done negligently not after a right manner cursed is he that doth it 4. It is the right manner of performing duties that obtaineth a blessing from God It may be thou hast heard much and prayed much and fasted much and yet hast found little good or benefit thereby Examine whether thou hast not been dead and dull formal and perfunctory in them doing them as if thou didst them not If so no marvail that thou hast received so little good by them As therefore thou wouldst be loth to pray in vain or hear in vain or fast in vain as thou wouldst be loth to lose the things which thou hast wrought see to it that thou be as carefull of the manner as of the matter of them how thou dost them as that thou dost them Do what thou dost with all thy soul yea and with all thy might and then thou maist expect a plentiful and gracious return For the right manner of performing good duties take these few directions I. Be sure you take Christ with you both for assistance and acceptance 1. For assistance For without me saith Christ you can do nothing That is without Union with Christ and Communion with him you cannot perform any acceptable service unto God You may fall upon the duty of prayer and attend upon the Ministry of the Word but without assistance from Christ you can neither do the one nor the other as you should Whensoever therefore you set upon any good duty in the first place beg strength and assistance from Christ and rest and lean upon him for his help go not to pray or hear but in the strength of the Lord. 2. Take Christ with you for acceptance both of your persons and services Christ is the beloved Son of God with whom he is so well pleased that likewise in him he is well pleased with all those that come to God by him and look for neither audience nor acceptance but upon his account alone The truth is as our persons are vile and wretched and all as an unclean thing so our Services even our most holy Services are all polluted and tainted with the corruption of our natures and therefore they are odious and abominable in the sight of God who may justly reject both us and them and will do it unless covered with the worthiness of our Lord Jesus Christ but in him we shall not fail to obtain gracious acceptance Whensoever therefore we go unto God in prayer or in any other ordinance let us carry Christ with us in the arms of our faith Plut arch in the life of Themistocles reports that it was the usual custome of some of the Heathens namely the Molossiaâ—s that when they would seek the favour of their King they took his Son in their arms and so went unto him And questionless it would be the wisdom of Christians in seeking the face and favour of God who is the King of Heaven and of earth to take the holy Child Jesus with them without whom they may not see his face II. Stir up thy self and all thy strength put forth thy self to the uttermost strive to be lively active and stirring in Spirit Get the Spirit of faith and of power this will be oyle to the wheels and wind to the Sails which set all a going let this be wanting and thy best services will be lifeless and dead Services in which the Lord takes no delight There is a threefold strength we should labour to put forth in all our holy duties 1. Strength of Intention 2. Strength of Affections 3. Strength of Body 1. We must intend our work as if it were for our lives for so it is whether it be the work of praying hearing meditating or the like We must put forth the strength of our intention as well as of our attention not giving way either to drowsiness of body or distractions of mind But oh what light matters are apt to steal away our minds and thoughts in the performance of holy duties If one of our superiours were talking with us he would expect that we should mind what he saith and not turn aside to talk with every one that passeth by us But when God is speaking to us in the ministry of his Word or we are speaking unto him by prayer how ordinarily do we turn aside to every vain thought and trifling business which offereth it self to us Intend God more earnestly and this will fire your thoughts 2. Strength of affections is required in every good duty Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do do it with thy might saith the Wise man This may especially be applyed to the duties of Gods worship and service that we do them vigorously with all the strength of our affections Which the Apostle requireth where he bids us be fervent in spirit serving the Lord. The word in the Greek notes an ebullition or boyling up of our spirits to the height There is nothing in the World more unbecoming the Worship of God than flatness of spirit and coldness of affection when a man serves God as if he served him not It was Davids commendation that the zeal of Gods house did eat him up Which expression sheweth the vehemency of his zeal and strength of his affections as in reforming Gods house so in performing the duties of his Worship and service For this was Iacob honoured and called Israel because he prayed with the strength of his affections and is therefore said to wrestle with God in prayer whereby he prevailed As thou desirest to prevail with God in Prayer thou must with Iacob wrestle with him putting forth the strength of thine affections which will be a special means to keep away vain wandring thoughts So long as honey is boyling hot flies will not venture on it So if the heart and affections be boyling hot in prayer vain thoughts are not apt to enter in 3. Strength of body must likewise be put forth in every good duty For Col must be worshipped as with our spirits so with our bodies And blessed is the strength which is put forth in the service of God Carnal men are apt to lay out the strength of their bodies upon their lusts Why then should not we be as ready to
praise and the glory of his happy change saying Not unto us not unto us but unto thy name be the praise and the glory of this great work Quest. Doth Regeneration admit any degrees Answ. Yes verily For Regeneration may be considered in the beginning and progress of it or in the consummation and perfection of it It is begun and increaseth in this life it is consummate and perfect in the life to come In this life there is spirit mixed with flesh that is grace with some corruption of nature as is evident by the Apostles complaint in these words When I would do good evil is present with me For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my mâ—mbers So that sin and corruption doth remain in all the regenerate as long as their souls remain in their mortal bodies it remains though it doth not raign in them It is in this life cast down but not cast out And this God in great wisdom is pleased to permit to keep us humble and low in our selves and to drive us unto Jesus Christ that as long as this flux of blood runneth we should alwayes be desirous to touch at least the hem of his garment But at death that corruption will be utterly consumed and body and soul clean freed from it insomuch as at the resurrection when body and soul shall be again united the regeneration begun in this World will be manifested to be most perfect Whereas in this life the most regenerate are imperfect through the Reliques of sin and remainder of corruption which will abide in them so long as they abide and continue in this World Now seeing the work of Regeneration is imperfect in the very best here in this life and that there remains flesh and corruption in them so long as they remain in this World Do not thou look too high I mean after a greater measure and degree of grace than here is to be had Many there are who being regenerate by the spirit of God and so brought out of the state of nature into the state of grace presently look for a freedom from all sin and corruption which because they find working and stirring in them thereupon question the work of Regeneration and truth of grace in their souls But let such know that they look for more than here is to be found or than God expects from them For God doth not expect or require of us here freedom from sin and corruption but that we should endeavour to subdue and mortifie it more and more according to the measure of grace and strength which we have received from him He doth not require of us that we be without sin but that sin do not rule nor raign in our mortal bodies according to that of the Apostle Let not sin raign in your mortal bodies Neither doth the Lord require of us exact and perfect righteousness which is impossible to our corrupt nature but only that we strive and labour after it that we sincerely endeavour to serve him after the directions of his Word And that for our failings and imperfections we do in an humble confession bewail the same and then beg the pardon and forgiveness of them in and through the merits of Jesus Christ. And this God will accept of for he esteemeth more of our affections than of our actions and accepteth the will for the deed according to that of the Apostle If there be a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not CHAP. IV. Of the Parts of Regeneration and Causes concurring thereunto HAving shewed you what regeneration is and how it doth admit degrees I shall shew you the Parts of Regeneration which are two 1. Mortification 2. Vivification Mortification is implyed under the phrases of casting off and crucifying the old man and destroying the body of sin This is a duty expresly enjoyned in these words mortifie your members which are upon the earth By members on the earth he meaneth all sorts of lusts and sins whereunto a natural man is given as is evident by the particular instances which he himself reckoneth up in the words following as fornication uncleanness c. These must be mortified that is put to death It is not enough to curb and hold in sin but the life of it must be let out And indeed it is not possible to put on the new man till the old man be cast off Therefore there is a necessity of mortification first before vivification For the bringing in of one form presupposeth the putting out or destroying of the other Wherefore after Mortification followeth Vivification 2. Vivification is the begetting of the life of grace in us whence we live in holiness and righteousness It is set forth in Scripture by Gods quickning us and by our walking in newness of life Vivification then implyeth a new spiritual life which God by his spirit worketh in us which is clean contrary to our former natural corrupt course of life For the effects of this life are holiness and righteousness and all manner of good works Now it is absolutely necessary that this part of regeneration namely Vivification be added to Mortification which is the other part even as necessary as that Christ being dead should be raised Where had been the benefit of Christs death if he had not risen from the dead And what can be imagined to be the profit of mortification without vivification It is therefore the accustomed course of Sacred Scripture to infer the following of holiness upon the flying of sin the doing of good upon eschewing of evil Now the things which God hath joyned together let no man put asunder Let us therefore prove our regeneration not only by ceasing from sin but following holiness and working righteousness Content not thy self to say I am not what I was unless thou canst also add I am what I was not It will be but little boot to thee to say I am no drunkard nor swearer nor covetous nor a walker after the flesh unless thou canst also say By the grace of God I now walk after the spirit in faith and love and holy obedience watchfull unto and endeavouring after a fruitfulness in every good work Thou art not unjust thou sayest but doest thou shew mercy Thou art no longer earthly but art thou heavenly minded Thou art no longer contentious or quarrelsome but art thou a peace-maker Thou hast no longer fellowship with the ungodly but art thou a familiar of the Saints Thou wilt not now curse or swear or lye or scoff but dost thou pray and bless Dost thou hear and read and meditate on God Dost thou study thine heart and govern thy thoughts and affections Dost thou bridle thy tongue set a watch
how uncertain thou art of being out of Hell till the next morning Surely this consideration is enough to amaze any poor Christian who is indeed Regenerate but maketh some question thereof in himself How much more should it amaze and startle thee who art yet in thy carnal and sinfull estate and stir thee up without any farther delay to escape for thy life and make out in hast after thy Redemption from this dreadful condition I would ask thee this question Whether if thou shouldst put off thy seeking after the great work of Regeneration and conversion till another year week or day thou art sure to be then on this side the grave or on this side hell Certain it is thou hast no assurance of thy life for one day longer Nay I dare boldly say thou thy self knowest and believest as much Ah sinner what folly yea what madness is it then for thee wilfully to live one day longer in such an estate in which if thou shouldst dye thou art without hope of recovery undone for ever Obj. Haply thou wilt say though I am not sure to live another day yet I am likely being in good health and strength of body Answ. How many as strong and healthfull as thy self have suddenly by death been snatched away And why maist not thou be as soon taken away having no Lease of thy Life who then but a fool or a mad-man would adventure his eternal happiness upon such an hazard Oh therefore as thou tenderest the everlasting good of thy precious soul put not off this great and weighty work a day longer for who knoweth what a day may bring forth Hadst thou been taken away in the state thou art in how sad had thy case been where hadst thou been at this hour Certainly thou art not able to conceive the dreadfulness of that misery thou shouldst now have been in And hast thou lived all this while in so great danger and wilt thou live in it still God forbid Hath a miracle of mercy kept thee out of hell so long and wilt thou yet continue securely in such danger of it Oh ungratefull wretch Questionless if thou hadst any ingenuity in thee thou wouldst be ashamed thus to abuse the patience and long-suffering of God towards thee which should have led thee to repentance Thou shouldst rather take up a resolution and say though I have hitherto abused the patience and long-suffering of God I will abuse it no more Though I have often slighted and rejected the gracious invitations of Jesus Christ yet through the grace of God I will reject them no more but close with them and give up my self unto Christ from henceforth to be ruled and governed by him God hath allotted to every man who lives in the bosome of the Church a certain day of grace and time of repentance which whosoever neglects can never be saved Ah sinner as therefore thou wouldst not neglect thine own Salvation neglect not the day of grace neither let slip the season of mercy but as the Apostle exhorteth To day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts Behold now is the accepted time now is the day of Salvation if that be once past there is no recovering it CHAP. VII Sheweth the miserable and dreadfull condition of the Vnregenerate in their life-time HAving given you some Motives to quicken up your desires and endeavours after the work of Regeneration I come now to shew you the Means on your part to be performed for the better attaining thereunto which may be brought to these two general heads 1. The Embracing some truths 2. The Practising some duties The Truths to be embraced are these 1. That every man in his state of unregeneracy is in a miserable state and dreadfull condition 2. That there is hope of mercy for the greatest sinners That you may the better understand the miserable condition of men in their state of Unregeneracy I shall shew you their miseries 1. In this life 2. At death 3. After death Their miseries in this life are briefly these I. They are Servants to sin and slaves to their lusts making it their main work and design to serve their sinfull flesh with its affections The baseness of this slavery under sin will appear the more if we shall consider 1. What it is we do inthrall thereby even our precious souls which at first were created after the Image of God and fitted for his noble service and communion with himself Now for this immortal Being to be a drudge to base pleasures and profits to the vain and vile things of this World is a most sad degeneration 2. What are the fruits of this spiritual bondage and slavery 1. At the best a little seeming pleasure or profit that lasts but for a moment which the Apostle calls the pleasures of sin for a season they are but of little worth and but of short continuance And sure it must needs be a point of folly eagerly to pursue these sinfull lusts and pleasures which are but light and temporary which do but appear and vanish to the hazard of those durable riches and eternal pleasures which are at Gods right hand 2. Another fruit which usually follows upon our slavish subjection to our lusts is death eternal according to that of the Apostle the wages of sin is death and that eternal as appeareth by the opposition of eternal life for saith the Apostle The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life So that as eternal life followeth an holy life so eternal death followeth a sinfull life This is the reward sinner that thy God whom thou servest will pay thee at last thou must dye the death Oh the folly and madness of this sensual enslaved World Surely were there nothing in sin but the present slavery it were enough to disswade any ingenuous spirit Who would be a slave a slave to a lust at the command of every unclean motion at the beck of every brutish affection But if the vileness of the work will not deterr thee will not the dreadfulness of the wages neither which is eternal death and condemnation Oh consider this you who make so light a matter of sin and take such pleasure in obeying the lusts thereof II. All men in the state of unregeneracy are servants and slavos to the Devil Which necessarily followeth upon the former for such as are in subjection to their lusts must needs be under the bondage and slavery of Satan in that the chief power he hath over us is by lust to allure us unto sin I know all men are apt to say that they hate and defie the Devil and abhor to be his slave or servant but yet in the mean time they obey his sinfull commands and thereby declare themselves to be his servants for as the Apostle speaketh Know ye not that to whom ye yield your selves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey And saith the
sins subjects to yield a voluntary subjection of our selves unto the commands of sin Q. How may we know when corruption is mortified in us A. When it is not only restrained and kept from such ordinary breakings out into actual sins but the lusts and motions that issue from it are a grief to us yea we hate and detest them and groan under the burden of them we watch against them fight against them earnestly desiring to be delivered from them crying out with the Apostle O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sin and corruption For the more profitable pressing this so necessary and difficult a duty I shall 1. Shew you some Motives and arguments to enforce the same 2. Some Means whereby it may be effected 3. The Manner how it ought to be performed The Reasons forcing this work of Mortification upon the Regenerate are these 1. After Regeneration there remaineth a body of sin and corruption in the best which if we endeavour not by the help of Gods Spirit to mortifie and subdue will gather strength and become mighty to the great hinderance of our duty and darkning all our comfort 2. Corruption doth not only remain in us as long as we live in this World but it is alwayes in continual work either stirring us up to evil or keeping us from that which is good or defiling our best actions In which respect saith the Apostle the flesh lusteth against the Spirit And from his own experience he cryeth out I see another Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin which is in my members so that I cannot do the good which I would but rather do the evil which I hate How doth it then concern us daily and hourly to fight and strive against these lusts which are continually working and warring in our members hindering and spoiling all our duties breaking our peace undermining all our hopes and comforts and seeking our lives we must either kill or be killed 3. By a conscionable performance of this duty we shall be freed from those hainous and scandalous sins into which other mens lusts do carry them Should corruption have its way and course without resistance in the best of us it would soon break forth into the most loathsome and disgracefull sins that are committed by the very worst of men as we see in David Solomon and others Is it not then needfull for us to keep down and withstand the first motions and risings of sin in our hearts before it break forth into such wicked and disgracefull acts which will blast our credit and reputation and bring a scandal upon our Religion and profession 4. Mortification of sin was one special end of Christs death who dyed to save his people from their sins not to save them in their sins but from their sins as from the guilt and punishment so from the power of them And indeed whom Christ delivers from the damnation of sin he first delivers also from the dominion of sin Whom he intends to save from hell he first saveth them from iniquity he saves their souls by killing their sins If thou findest any lust to remain unmortified in thee bearing rule in thine heart and sway in thy life thou hast just cause to question thy interest in Christ and his salvation They that are Christs have Crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts II. The Means whereby the work of Mortification may be effected by us are these I. When thou feelest corruption working in thee and stirring thee up to evil then call to mind and lay to heart the ensuing considerations 1. Consider the shortness of the pleasure of sin with the length of the punishment following thereupon without true and unfeined repentance The one for a moment the other everlasting The pleasure is but short but the punishment is for ever and ever The torments of the damned in hell are intensively most grievous in themselves but that which mainly and infinitely adds to the greatness of them is because they are eternal They are tormented day and night for ever and ever The Worm is alwayes gnawing and the fire continually burning therefore called unquenchable fire Oh what a folly must it then needs be yea and madness beyond admiration for the short fruition of these perishing pleasures and transient contentments here to implunge our selves into everlasting burnings Oh how terrible is the thought of eternity in those tormenting flames where the damned would think themselves happy if after they had endured them so many thousand years as there are Sands on the Sea-shore or Stars in the Firmament they might then be assured of enlargement But when all that time is past and innumerable millions of years and ages are run out they are as far from an end as at their first entrance Why wilt thou then purchase a little sensual delight at so dear a rate for a moments pleasure to incurr everlasting woe and misery O the fire of hell if thou wouldst send down thy thoughts thither would burn up thy Lusts which otherwise will be the fuel to burn thy soul. 2. Consider thy extream folly in gratifying thy sinfull Lusts thereby thou hast chosen and preferred thy fleshly pleasure thy carnal content before the glory of God the everlasting joyes of Heaven and the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Oh monstrous madness and unconceivable folly at which the Angels blush and Heaven and Earth cannot but stand amazed 3. Call to mind and consider some of the threatnings in Gods Word as against sin in general so against that particular Lust which thou findest most working and stirring in thee and unto which thou findest strongest inclinations in thy self First Call to mind and consider sâ—me of the threatnings against sin and sinners in general Upon the wicked saith the Psalmist God shall rain fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest this shall be the portion of their cup. And saith the Apostle Indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil Secondly When thou findest any inclination in thy self to a particular sin as unto drunkenness seriously consider that of the Wise man who hath woe who hath sorrow who hath contentions c. they that tarry long at the Wine they that go to seek mixt Wine When thou findest any inclination or temptation unto uncleanness seriously weigh that of the Apostle Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate shall inherit the Kingdom of God And again Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge When thou findest any inclinations unto Covetousness call to mind that of the Prophet Isaiah Wo unto them that joyne house to house and lay field to field till there be no place and that of the Apostle The love of money is the root of all evil which while some have
coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves thorow with many sorrows As God hath in his Word denounced severe threatnings against many sins so a serious consideration of them will be a special means to mortifie the same and keep them at least from raigning in us 4. Call to mind the fearfull judgements God hath executed upon sinners as the drowning of the old World the raining fire and brimstone from Heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah the rejection of the Iews the destruction of those famous Churches of the Corinthians Galathians Ephesians with divers others Consider likewise the remarkable judgements of God executed upon notorious sinners in thine own dayes for their swearing sabbath-breaking whoring drinking and the like which through Gods blessing may prove a special Means to keep down all sinfull lusts and inordinate affections that they break not forth into outward gross acts 5. Consider the deceitfull nature of sin which allureth thee with shews of pleasure profit credit ease and the like but in the end it bites like a Serpent and stingeth like an Adder and then thou wilt perceive how thou art beguiled and deceived Horrour of Conscience and hellish torment is all it will pay thee instead of the pleasure it promiseth thee loss instead of profit even the loss of Heaven and happiness shame and disgrace instead of credit anguish instead of ease tribulation and anguish shall be upon every soul of man that doth evil Iacob complained of Labans deceit about his wages and what wilt thou think of thy wages when the pay-day comes The wages of sin is death wilt thou not then say the Serpent hath beguiled me this sin hath deceived me Be not such a fool as to take the word of a known deceiver away with it crucifie it for it intends thee mischief Be undeceived betimes how dreadfull will it be if nothing but fire and â—â—â—mstone will bring thee to thy wits If thou wilt noâ— see the treachery of sin till it be too late to escape it 6. When thou feelest corruption working and stirring in thee entising thee to sin seriously consider the manifold sufferings and bitter death of our blessed Saviour Iesus Christ on the Cross whereof our sins were the cause These were they that lay heavy upon his soul and made him exceeding sorrowfull even unto death These were the thorns which pricked his Temples the whips which scourged his innocent body and the nails which fastned his hands and feet to the Cross. And can we love our sins which kil'd our Saviour we complain of Iudas and of the Iews for Crucifying him and seem to hate them upon that account But behold the Iudas in thy heart and in thy life thy sins these are the betrayers and murderers Oh never leave looking up to a Crucified Christ till thou feel and find both arguments enough to engage thy heart against them and vertue flow from him to the Crucifying of them To this end reason thus with thy self Hath Christ paid for my Redemption his most precious Blood and shall I sell my soul to sin again for this fleshly pleasure or base profit what is this but to Crucifie the Lord of life afresh For know assuredly so many sins as thou committest wittingly and with delight so many thorns dost thou again fasten upon his head so many nailes dost thou drive into his hands and feet so many spears dost thou thrust into his heart Certainly a serious consideration of these things cannot but be a special means to set thee heartily upon this work of Mortification 7. Consider how frail and mortal thou art subject to death every moment and woe be unto thee if thou dye before thy sins be slain How darest thou adventure upon thy Lusts and the pleasures of sin when as thou maist suddenly be taken out of the Land of the living and cast into hell while thou art acting thy wickedness Even then when thou art blessing thy self in thy pleasures or the gains of unrigâ—â—eousness thou maist hear that voice Thou fool 〈◊〉 night thy soul shall be taken from thee Didst thou but seriously consider as the cerrainty of thy death so the uncertainty of the time thereof thou wouldst not but be afraid of sinning once more lest God should strike thee dead in the very act and thou have no time left for repentance Oh pray with the Psalmist that God would teach thee to number thy dayes and this will make thee apply thine heart unto Wisdom 8. Consider that sin will be thy destruction and nothing besides it can harm thee It is not in the power of all the men and Devils in the World to destroy the soul of any man Temptations can do nothing but by the advantage of corruption 't is that wounds mortally our immortal spirit and brings it into that cursed state where though it never dyeth yet is it alwayes dying though never quite dead yet ever in the pangs of death Oh what prodigious cruelty must it then needs be for such things of nought to betray thy precious soul to an eternal loss when if thou wouldst be perswaded to secure this enemy Sin thou mightest live and be blessed in spite of men and Devils And wilt thou yet be in league with it wilt thou let it live Shall not thy soul be avenged of such an enemy as this Arise arise set upon thy sins upon them all let not thy soul spare any one of them give no quarter to them let not any iniquity lodge in peace with thee one night more lest thou be a dead man before the morning Thus have I commended to thee several considerations to restrain thee from sin which by the help of God may serve to imbitter the sweetest bait that draws thee to it and to cool the heat of the most furious inticements When therefore thou feelest corruption working and stirring in thee call to mind the forementioned considerations fix thy thoughts on them let them not go off untill they begin to have a powerfull influence upon thy soul. II. Another means on our part to be performed for the mortifying our sinfull Lusts is carefully to eschew all occasions of sin and temptations thereunto He who will dally with occasions of sin is in danger of falling He who will venture upon temptations unto wickedness is not far from commission of it Observe therefore what occasions and opportunities what means and company have at any time given advantage to thy Lust to exert and put forth it self and flie from them as from Hell This is a point of true spiritual wisdom to see sin afar off in the occasions of it and by eschewing the one to prevent the other III. Observe the first working of corruption in thine heart and carefully suppress the same not suffering it to get the least ground Do not say thus far it shall go and no farther Give sin an inch and it will soon take an ell as the proverb is Lustfull thoughts have
offering up a Morning Sacrifice of Prayer and thanksgiving Lord we acknowledge our great unworthiness to come into thy presence to present our Prayers and supplications unto thee But though we are unworthy yet Christ is worthy We beseech thee therefore for his sake to look graciously upon us to pass by our unworthiness and to strengthen our weakness To this end as we draw near unto thee so be thou pleased to draw near unto us enabling us to pray as with humility and sincerity so with zeal and fervency of spirit and with faith in Jesus Christ looking for audience and acceptance in and thorow him Blessed Lord God we cannot but acknowledge thou didst at first create us in a blessed and happy estate even after thine own image endowing us with true knowledge holiness and righteousness But we soon fell from that state of innocency and blessedness in the loynes of our first Father Adam and implunged our selves with him into a dreadfull gulf of sin and misery For O Lord besides the guilt of Adams sin we have contracted from him a Mass of corruption which hath poysoned our very natures polluted and defiled all the faculties of our souls with all the parts and members of our bodies So that we may more truly in regard of our spiritual uncleanness cry out Vnclean Vnclean than the Leper under the Law in regard of his bodily uncleanness And O Lord to this corruption of our natures we have added many many actual sins of our own which as they have been hainous in their quality so in their number and multitude have far exceeded the hairs of our heads and the sands on the Sea-shore which cannot be numbred The which we have committed through the whole course of our lives from our infancy to this present time So that we are now grown old in sin and overgrown with corruption Though the time thou hast allotted us here to live is very little even as a moment to Eternity yet alas how little of this little have we lived to thee our God or to the good of our own souls having mis-spent the greatest part of our dayes in vanity and pleasure We have continued ignorant of thee how much means of knowledge have we had and yet how little knowledge have we gotten oh how little have we done for our souls or the other World We have not considered what is like to become of us hereafter How little care and pains have we taken to make sure for Eternity we have taken the course to undo our selves for ever We have broken every one of thy most holy and righteous Laws ten thousand thousand times Yea we have sinned against thy Gospel in slighting the offers of grace Though thou hast sent unto us Ambassadour after Ambassadour to wooe and beseech us to abandon our sins and to receive Jesus Christ yet alas how have we slighted thy messengers and turned a deaf ear to all thy gracious invitations Though we are willing to take Christ for our Saviour to preserve us from hell and damnation yet alas how unwilling are we to take him for our Lord and King to yield obedience and subjection unto him Lord we cannot but acknowledge our great unthankfulness under those manifold favours and mercies thou hast in a plentiful measure conferred on us as also our unprofitableness under thy Fatherly chastisâ—ments laid upon us in love and for our good our discontentedness at our present state and condition And oh how careless and negligent have we been in the discharge of the duties of our places callings and relations Oh the multitude of worldly and covetous thoughts of proud and ambitious thoughts of wicked and prophane thoughts of wanton and unclean thoughts yea and of blasphemous and atheistical thoughts that lodge in the hearts of most of us and there revel it day and night And O Lord we cannot but acknowledge the deadness of our hearts the distractions of our minds in the performing holy duties We are active and lively about our worldly businesses but oh how dull and flat are we in our religious exercises praying as if we prayed not and hearing as if we heard not Lord make us truly apprehensive of our sins and misery that we may humble our selves under a sense of them and turn unto thee by true and unfained repentance Turn us O God and we shall be turned draw us and we will run after thee And O Lord whilest we are returning unto thee meet us we pray thee in the way and like a tender Father embrace us with the arms of thy mercy Our sins we confess are many and hainous yet we know and believe thy mercies are far more and the merits of Jesus Christ are far greater and therefore we are resolved to adventure our souls as upon the mercies of theâ— our God so upon the merits of Jesus Christ into whose arms we here cast our selves Oh be pleased to make us partakers both of the merit of Christs death in freeing us from the guilt of sin and of the virtue of Christs death in freeing us from the power and dominion of sin that it may not rule and raign in us as formerly Lord work in us a loathing and a true hatred of every sin especially of such we have been most addicted to and have most delighted in To this end convince us what a folly yea madness it is for the short fruition of a momentany pleasure here to implunge our selves into everlasting burnings Oh convert every unconverted soul among us bring us to Christ make us adventurers for the other World let us be resolved henceforth for an holy and righteous life instruct us in thy wayes and teach us thy Sâ—atutes Break the power of our sins subdue our rebellion and make us willing to be the Lord's Change our evil natures and give us another Spirit Help us sincerâ—ly to choose thee as our portion to love and fear and trust in thee and to walk humbly with thee all the dayes of our life Help us to set our affections on things abovâ— and no longer on this earth let us dye daily to sin and this World let us exercise our selvâ—s in keeping a good Consâ—iâ—nce towards God and men let us work out our Salvation with fear and trembling and give all diligence to make our calling and election sure and let not our labour herein be in vain Keep us O Lord from our iniquities keep us from the way of lying from all unrighteous and unjust dealing from wrath and evil speaking let us be true temperate peaceable and mercifull as the children of our heavenly Father Help us to be serious and savoury and tender and watchfull and hold us on constantly in our holy course to the end of our dayes Lord take us into thy keeping and protection this day keep us from all danger especially from sinning against thee To this end make us watchfull both against the occasions of sins and temptations thereunto Keep us we pray thee