that gave it Man though he hath a mortal body yet he hath an immortal Soul The Spirit of a man is the Candle of the Lord and when this Candle is once lighted it shall never go out It s carried away hence but it s carried to God that gave it The Souls of all men good and bad when they die do all go to God even those that go to the Devil are first carried to God by him to receive their Sentence to their everlasting state Sinners when they die go not to God as their Reward or Blessedness but to God as their Judge Sinners will say as Christ did Luke 23.46 Father into thy hands I commend my spirit but God will say to them who are ye away from me ye workers of iniquity I know you not Mat. 7.23 I am none of your Father ye are of your Father the Devil get you down to him Commend your Spirits to me what have you given up your Souls to the Devil and all your life long have they been serving of him and he been corrupting and depraving of them blinding them hardning them made them such a filthy and unclean thing and now do ye think to come off so to commend these filthy and unclean Souls to me away with them I 'le none of them If those that are sanctified by my Spirit and serve me with their Spirit come to me when they die I 'le take them to me I will acknowledge my self their Father they shall dwell with me but those that have served sin and the Devil while they lived let not them think to commend their Spirits to me when they die I 'le none of them Well but whether we must dwell with God or the Devil into the other World all Souls good and bad must pass when they go hence 2. There is an eternal Judgement So the Apostle tells us Heb. 6.2 of the Doctrine of eternal Judgment It is call'd an Eternal Judgement not as if the day of Judgment should last for ever in how long or how short a time that judgment shall be dispatched no man certainly knows the glorious God can make short work and will do so in that great and dreadful day It s called Eternal Judgment because it sentenceth men to their everlasting state and its the last judgment there shall never be another to all Eternity but the sentence of this Judgment shall stand for ever 2 Cor. 5.10 We must all stand before the Judgment Rom. 2.6 Who will render to every man according to his works to them that by patient continuance in wel-doing do seek for glory honour and immortality eternal Life but to them that are contentious and obey not the truth indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish to every Soul of them that do evil 3. In the Judgment to come the secrets of the heart shall be opened and judged Men shall be judged for their words men shall be judged for their deeds but not for these only but for the secrets of their hearts Eccl. 12.14 God shall bring every work to Judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or evil The Judgments of men are only over our Bodies and outward Acts they know not our hearts and therefore cannot be our hearts Judges But 1. God sees the heart I the Lord search the heart and try the reins Jer. 17.10 He seeth in secret and he that seeth in secret will reward openly Mat. 6.4 1. He seeth the good that is in secret the love and fear of his Name our inward desires and thirstings and breathings after him every holy thought every holy purpose the inward mournings of the heart under sin and temptation the inward strivings wrestlings of the heart against temptation and corruption our self-loathings and self abasings the integrity and uprightness of our hearts whilst men are censuring or reproaching or punishing us as hypocrites God sees the integrity that is in our Souls O Friends get an honest upright heart in the sight of God you shall never loose the benefit and blessedness of it God sees the sincerity of the upright and will certainly reward it 2. He seeth the evil that is in secret the proud heart the false and guileful heart are open before him Beware of playing the Hypocrite of satisfying your selves with Hypocritical Duties hypocritical Praying hypocritical Hearing or Professing God sees what that heart of thine is a doing while thy tongue is a praying or thine ear hearing thou mayst deceive men and thine own self but God cannot be deceived 2. The secrets of the heart shall be opened and judged in that Judgment of God 1 Cor. 4.5 Judge nothing before the time until the Lord come who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the Counsels of the heart and then shall every man have praise of God 1. The things of the heart are hidden and dark things The thoughts of the heart dark thoughts the Counsels of the Lord dark Counsels even the good things that are in the heart are to all others but dark things 2. In the day of Judgment these things of darkness shall be all brought to light the secrets shall be all made manifest What a sight will there be in that day when the hearts of all the World shall be seen as it were at one view What a blessed sight will there be when all the Beauty and inward Glory of the Saints all their Graces shall be seen What a black sight also will there be when all the filth and garbage that is in sinners hearts all the venemous brood all the Cockatrices eggs that ever have been hatch'd in those unclean hearts when all the wicked Counsels and Devices of their hearts all the Curses and Blasphemies all the Couzenage and Fraud of the heart all the wicked Plots and Contrivances of the heart against God or his Saints all the Adulteries and Filthiness of the heart all the Madness and Follies of the heart all the Malice and Spite and Rage of the heart when all these shall be presented at one view O what an odious sight will there be Sinners do not cheat your selves in your sinful ways with hopes of Secrecy for all must be brought to light If all that wickedness and hypocrisie if those filthy lusts and unclean thoughts that are in your hearts should be now seen by all this Congregation how would you be ashamed and how would you blush to look any body in the Face but because thy naughty heart and its naughty thoughts and desires cannot be seen thou mayest be a proud fellow of a froward heart of a dissembling lying heart and no body the wiser therefore thou lettest thy self alone to be as thou art as long as thou hast a secret covering for all thy ugly Conditions 't is well enough but do not cheat thy self thus all these hidden things of darkness must be brought to light thou must be turned inside outward and all the shame of
and so shift for thy self hope for the Victory hope in God for his help hope in Christ for his strength and in that hope stand against Temptations 3. The girdle of Truth ver 14. Having your loyns girt about with truth Look especially to this that you be armed with truth and uprightness of heart Whatever other Armour you seem to have what ever faith you have whatever hope you have whatever word you have to support you whatever Prayer you make to help you there 's no armour will hide an hypocritical heart from God or the Devil God strikes his dart into the false heart through the joints of thine armour And for the Devil he is gotten in already the Devil is already in thine heart if it be a false and hypocritical heart O get sincerity and uprightness before the Lord see that there be truth in your inward parts A sound heart will be the best shelter both against the Accusations and Temptations of all your adversaries whereas if there were no enemies from without a rotten heart will be its own ruine That rust and that moth which is bred within will eat thee out though there should be no Theif to assault thee from abroad 4. The breastplate of Righteousness Put them both together Truth and Uprightness of heart and righteousness of Life will be a mighty security against the Devil and all his whole Party The Psalmist would trust to no other Armour without that Psal 25.21 and that he will trust to Let integrity and uprightness preserve me for I wait on thee Faith without Truth Hope without Righteousness or Uprightness will never secure us Sincerity and Uprightness of heart is our best heart Armour the Hypocrites Faith will not save him the Hypocrites hope will perish with him 't is sincerity that will carry the day Be honest and plain hearted towards God Let there not be Guile and Unrighteousness found in you Prov. 10.4 He that walketh uprightly walketh surely Hic murus ahaeneus esto A good Conscience is a wall of brass against all the darts that are cast against us 5. The Sword of the Spirit Ver. 17. which is the word of God This was the weapon by which Christ conquered the Devil when he fought him hand to hand Mat. 4.3 It is written man shall not live by bread onely It is written thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God It is written thou shalt Worship the Lord thy God Be well versed in the Scripture and you have a sword by you to resist every Temptation Art thou tempted to Pride Remember it is written God resisteth the proud Art thou tempted to a Covetous worldly Life it is written take heed and beware of Covetousness Art thou tempted to Anger and the bitter expressions of it it is written if ye bite and devour one another ye shall be consumed one of another Art thou tempted to a carnal vain sensual Life it is written if ye live after the flesh ye shall die Art thou tempted to a cold Lukewarm indifferent temper or way it is written because thou art neither hot nor cold I will spue thee out of my mouth And so whatever the Temptation be have a particular word ready at hand which may be a sword to strike through it 6. The spirit of prayer Ver. 18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit Meet every Temptation with the Sword in your mouth and with a Prayer in your heart Believe and Pray Hope and Pray be True be Upright and pray the Lord rebuke thee The Lord strengthen and uphold me pray to him be true to him hope in him who was tempted himself and is able to succour them that are tempted Put on all this Armour and stand to your Armes be always up in Armes be alwayes ready to receive the Alarm Let that word be for an alarm to you and be ever in your ears Rise Sampson the Philistines are upon thee Rise Soul Sin is upon thee the World is upon thee thy Company are upon thee or that Word of Christ Mat. 26.46 Arise he is at hand that betrays me that ease that thou lovest those Pleasures that thou lovest that Money thou lovest that carnal Acquaintance that thou lovest whom thou never suspectest to be Enemies they have a design to betray thee of thy life to take away thine heart from God and they are ever at hand to betray thee however thou thinkest thou art armed take heed of being secure of what use is Armour to him that is asleep Remember Saul and his whole Army when they were asleep David came upon them and had them at his mercy for all their Arms and if he had hearkned to Abishai had smitten him dead in the place be never secure stand upon your Watch or you never stand to your Armes Never think you are out of danger you are in jeopardy every hour your Enemy the Devil is ever walking up and down and watcheth to devour you Therefore that Counsel is needful 1 Pet. 5.8 Be vigilant be sober for your adversary c. Be alwayes as the besieged in a Town that have their Enemy close at the Gates and the Walls they are upon their Guard night and day especially let the main fort the heart be still well watched and guarded Set fear for your Sentinel live in constant fear of a surprize fear will keep the Soul waking be conversant in the World in fear be amongst your carnal friends and acquaintance in fear eat and drink in fear pass the time of your whole warfare here in fear O this fearless secure heart how often hath it betray'd us into Mischief How often have our hearts been even choked up of the World and surfeited of carnal Pleasures and rob'd of its peace and spoil'd of its Treasuries and we have exchanged a sprightful lively chearful healthful Soul for a flat leaden earthly senseless frame before we were aware and all because we were secure and without fear Live in fear daily and in constant jealousie be jealous of your friends be jealous of your enemies be jealous of this world be jealous of every sin be jealous of your selves Let an holy jealousie dwell in your eye and let it keep you waking and watching After all your professing and praying and believing and hoping would you not loose your hearts at last and loose all you have hoped and laboured for then beware of Security if you would be in safety then be never secure but always stand with your loins girded and your lights burning Stand upon your watch Tower keep your doors shut but your windows open Let your eye observe the approaches and be ready and prepared for the assaults that your enemies are making daily upon you I never look you should be flourishing or conquering Christians till you will be perswaded to be jealous Christians fearing and watchful Christians and therefore what I said to you before I say to you again and again stand upon your guard
life of Christ begotten in them O what multitudes of lost souls are there among us if every soul be lost that makes light of sin What account dost thou make of it Thou sinnest dayly thou livest an idle and a careless and a sinful life thou art proud or covetous or a sensual flesh-pleaser and is not all this this sin Thou art a Liar a Promise-breaker a defrauder and is not this thy sin Thou art perverse and peevish and of a froward heart and is not this thy wickedness But what account dost thou make of all this Is it an heavy thing to thee to be thus sinful No not at all thou makest light of thy pride and light of thy covetousness and light of thy frowardness thou makest just nothing of them or at least but small matters Thou dost not feel them to be such a weight and burthen to thee but thou canst bear them and go out with them well enough Or if thou dost sometimes feel some smart or pain by them yet it is but such a light touch that what ever thou thinkest at present thou wilt quickly after them again at thy lying again at thy swearing again at thy froppish and froward carriages again It is such a deep sense of sin as will make us beware of it for the future that wil prove our recovery What shall we then think of them that make a mock of sin that make a sport of sin that take pleasure in iniquity Without all controversie these are lost souls and those that make but little reckoning of it that pass by their sins as small matters that are either not toucht at all or but lightly toucht for them so lightly that their sin hath still the power and dominion over them thou that art but such a one thou art a lost soul thy soul is lost and not recovered 4. Th sâ— that make light of Christ their recoverer Christ that is sent down as the Physitian of souls to seek and to save them that are lost hath ordinarily the same entertainment as the King in the Parable had amongst the Guests that he invited to his Feast Mat. 22.5 but they made light of it Here 1. There are some sinners that do make light of Christ Jesus Christ is worthy of all acceptation What is Jesus Christ He is the Son of God full of grace and truth Joh. 1. God equal with the Father the brightness of his Fathers glory the express image of his person and upholdeth all things by the word of his power Heb. 1.3 He is the Head of all Principalities and Powers the Prince of the Kings of the earth Rev. 1 5. What is Jesus Christ to sinners He is the everlasting Father the Prince of Peace Is 9.6 his name shall be wonderful What comes this Jesus into the world for To reconcile them to God to save them from their sins to die for the sins of the World and to wash them in his own bloud And to what end comes he to particular sinners wherefore is he preached to them wherefore is he offered to them To what end is it that sinners are so importunately invited to entertain and accept of him to be willing that he that was the Saviour might become their Saviour that he that was the Reconciler might become their Recoverer to recover them from the snare of the Devil and to bring them into the everlasting Kingdom This is that Jesus that by the Gospel is preached unto you Who could imagine that such a great and mighty and glorious one who is the everlasting King the God of all the earth who would think but he should be reverenced where-ever he come They will reverence my son said the King in the Parable Mat. 22.37 It might be well presumed they would however it proved in the issue Who could imagine that one that came upon such a gracious design to reconcile poor Rebels unto God to redeem poor Prisoners out of Prison to recover and raise the dead to life and ransom them from the Pit and give them an entrance into the everlasting kingdom who would think but Christ coming upon such a gracious and glorious design should have wonderful chearful entertainment Who would think but that the whole World should ring with acclamations of joy and praise at his appearing amongst them Who would think but when Christ comes to particular sinners and makes a free offer of himself to them to be theirs their Redeemer their Saviour but such an offer should be greedily catched at and readily embraced Doth the King of Glory come unto me Hast thou shed thy bloud and poured forth thy soul and laid down thy liâ—e and purchased pardon and an interest in Heaven for me And dost thou now come to give thy self and all that thou hast purchased to be mine What answer would any one think would be given by lost souls to such questions Wilt thou be mine Shall I be thine Art thou willing to be redeemed to be washed from thy sins to be healed of thy diseases Shall my bloud which is shed for the salvation of sinners shall my bloud be thine and the peace and reconciliation it hath made be thine Shall I come into that miserable soul of thine and dwell there and rule there and cast that Devil out that hath been thy destroyer and murderer Shall I love thee and delight in thee and bless thee with my salvation What answer would any one think that undone lost sinners should give to such questions What wilt thou come unto me love and bless me With all my soul Lord come in thou blessed Lord all that is within me shall rejoyce that thou wilt thus enter upon me and take me for thy possession and habitation This one would think should be the answer that sinners would give But behold such miserably foolish souls are sinners become that they make light of all this A cup of drink a carnal companion a lust a sensual pleasure is made more reckoning of than Christ and all his love As it is said of those Builders the Scribes and Pharisees Acts 4.11 It is true of all sinners this stone this pretious stone this corner stone this foundation stone upon which alone their hopes of salvation might be built this stone is set at nought by them Is 53.3 He was despised and rejected of men they made no account or reckoning of him but even tread under foot the Son of God And this is the general entertainment that Christ hath among the sinners of the earth so light do they make of him he comes to them but they will not receive him How often says he would I have gathered you Mat. 23.37 but you would not And what is the common case of sinners is it not thy case Art not thou one that makest light of Christ He hath been preached unto thee he hath come and tendered himself to thy soul That vile heart of thine sinner that dark hole where the Devil and Lust
heart broken and nothing but the bloud of Christ the lamb will ever melt this hardness or wash me from this uncleanness This will do it and therefore here I am come before the throne of thy grace and here I will stand and look and beg and hope till thou hear and answer me Help Lord for in thee I trust and look for thy salvation only 2. His word The word of God as it is food for souls so it is medicine or physick for souls And it hath in it a remedy for every disease 1. It is an awakening word to sleepy souls On these it thunders that it may awaken them Ministers must be as Barnabas sons of consolation so also as Boanerges sons of thunder And all their thunder bolts they are to have out of the word of God O how many trumpets have been sounded in your ears how many thunder claps have you heard how many thundring Sermons hast thou heard in thy time What and yet art thou asleep still Man what is that heart of thine made of What a dead sleep art thou in that art not yet awakened This world is all asleep asleep in their sins and therefore the Ministers of the word are to do as the Prophet was to do Is. 58.1 Cry aloud spare not lift thy voice like a trumpet and tell my people of their sins Our first work is to call unto them as the mariners to Jonah Arise sleeper carest thou not that you perish Awake thou that sleepest stand up from the dead This thunder is the voice of the Lord. Psal 29.6 c. The God of glory thundereth the voice of the Lord is powerful the voice of the Lord is full of majestie it breaketh Cedars it maketh the wilderness shake This word of the Lord which is his voice is a thundring voice It breaketh the Cedars the tall and mighty sinners and it shakes the wilderness shakes up those Beasts of the earth out of sleep This sleepy evil is the disease of sinners and it binds them up under a senselessness of all their other diseases till the voice of the Lord doth shake them up out of sleep 2. It is an enlightning word that giveth sight to the blind In this word is that eye salve Rev. 1.18 Wherewith sinners eyes are to be anointed that they may see This eye salve are the instructions of God 3. It is for the breaking and mollifying hard hearts In the word is revealed 1. The righteousness and severity of God Herein is the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men Rom. 1.18 And thus it is Gods Hammer whereby he breaks the rocks and Gods Axe Whereby he hews the blocks in pieces 2. The goodness and kindness of God And thus it is Gods oyl whereby he supples and dissolves and melts them into a plyableness to his will 4. It is for the changing the tempers and inward dispositions of sinners It is a transforming word we are changed into the same image 2. Cor. 3.18 a sanctifying word Joh. 17.17 Sanctify them by thy truth thy word is truth This is one of Christs medicines and this medicine is to be taken But what is it to take this medicine Why it is to hear the awakening word and to suffer it to work upon you to be awakened by it to receive the instructions of the word and so to be enlightned by it to be broken and mollified to be transformed and changed by it Now this is that which I exhort you to if you would recover let the word of God come let it have a free passage into your hearts and let it do its work upon you Be awakened when you hear an awakening word let it shake you up out of your sleep Awake sinners awake you that sleep hear the voice of the Lord and rouze you up out of that secure and sensless state Where is it that thou sleepest At the very mouth of the Lions Den on the top of a Mast I have heard of a drunken man riding in the night on full speed he knew not whither rode to the top of St. Vincents Rocks near Bristol and the horse and man tumbled down the horse was crushed in pieces the man caught by the boughs of a Tree and there fell asleep till morning It was a strange place to sleep in none but a drunken man could have ever slept in such a place In such a desperate sleep art thou as upon the brow of a Rock on the bough of a Tree whence thou art every moment in danger of dropping down into the deep Sleeping sinners this is the case of every one of you it is a wonder you have not broken your necks that you have not fallen into the deep before this day and yet here thou art asleep still Awake you that sleep and understand the danger you are in 2. Get those blind eyes of yours to be opened and receive the instructions of the Word Here we bring you eye-salve be anointed with it that you may see 3. Get those hard hearts to be broken and melted Gods hammer is lifted up lay that stony that hard heart of thine under it that it may be broken Gods Ax is a hewing come bring that knotty piece under it that it may be cut cloven asunder Consider the severity and kindness of God his severity if thou still continue in thine hardness if his Hammer do not break thee his Mill-stones his wrath and indignation will shortly grind thee to powder Consider his severity and consider his goodness and kindness what a wonder is it that after thou hast so long abused the goodness of God and hardned thy self against mercy that mercy should not have given thee off and let thee alone to perish without remedy It is a mercy of God that he is yet preaching to thee of his severity it is the mercy of God that he is yet hammering and hewing at that hard heart of thine God is so good and so kind to thee that he hath sent his Word once more to trie if any good may be done upon thee he is loth thou shouldst perish he would fain thou shouldst recover and live he hath pity upon thee he hath compassion upon that wretched soul of thine and thence is it that he continues to be dealing with thee for thy recovery O wonder wonder that such mercy should not melt thee that such goodness and kindness should not wound thee to the soul that thou shouldst abuse such strange grace that thou should yet resist and stand it out against such a God of compassion Wonder at thy self and be ashamed wonder and be confounded and blush and weep and fall down now at last and yield unto God What art thou hardned still a stone or a stock still Wilt thou go away as far from remorse as far from repentance as thou camest hither God forbid man God forbid that yet thou shouldst provoke the Lord farther against thee Thou hast