Though I am blind yet mine eyes are good Those that had the lepresse in the head were to be judged unclean Is it nothing to you still to remain useless unto others Is it nothing to you to be even in such times as these without an interest in God strangers from the life of God through ignorance Eph. 4.18 so as none of Gods ofters of himself do yet prevail with you Is it nothing to you to continue prepared for ruine Hos 1.14 The people that understand not shall not only stumble but fall i. e. 〈◊〉 â—ally perish O ye ignorant Professions Rev. 6.17 the great day of Gods wrath is coming and how will ye be able to stand O that you would yet know the things that belong to your peace Luc. 19.42 before they be hid from your eyes 3. Against Eryour Errour Take heed not only of not apprehending but of mis apprehending God and the things of God Hath not this been your 〈◊〉 Have not your apprehensions concerning God been very erroneous Have not some Professors thought That there is no God nor Devil nor Heaven nor Hell but what is within us and that â—n and grace were equally of God and agrecable to his will O! Be not alwayes deceived concerning the Providence of God his Worship his Minisiry his House his Discipline in his house Brook's Satans wiles Rom. 1.28 c. Is it nothing to you to be under the Gentiles heavy and dreadful Plague to be given up to a reprobate mind a mind void of judgement a mind disallowed rejected and abhorred of God a mind that all have cause to be ashamed of 1 cor 3 11 12 13 14 15. Is it nothing to you to suffer loss in Gods resiuing fire Is it nothing to you still to entertain that wâ—orish woman that hath caâ— down many wounded many yea slain many many strong men many great men many learned men yea many Professing men 2 Thes 2.10 11 12. Is it nothing to you to be still in danger of Gods sending upon you strong delusions or aâ— the Greek hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the efficacy of errour that you should believe a lye the lye of lyes viz. Popery that you may be damned Ah Souls Can you seriously consider these hints and those you have in the Gospel-glass chap. 9. and not dread and stand upon your guard against every Errour in Religion True hatred is to the whole kind It is sad to frown on one Errour and to smile on another Gideon had seventy sons and but one bastard Judg 8.13 and yet the bastard destroyed all the rest One turn may bring a man quite out of his way Ah Lord said one this mercy I humbly beg that thou would rather take me and do any thing with me than to give me up to those sad Errours to which thousands have married their Souls and are in a way of perishing eternally Jam 1.16 O! Do not erre my beloved Brethren Take heed therefore of pride of that proud Curiosity I have already cautioned you against The meek or humble as the word signifieth will he guide in judgement the meek will he teach his way Psa 25.9 The same Author tells of a man who seeing in a Vision many snares of the Devil spread upon the earth sate down musing and said within himself Who shall pass through these Whereunto he heard a voice answering Humility shall pass through them To persist wilfully in Errour is Diabolical It were best we never erred next to that that we amend our Errours Take heed of being cententious against the truth Rom. 2. â— and disâ—bedient to the truth when made known unto you yea take heed of a voluntary sluggishness and an assected laziness as to searching out of Truth which cannot but expose a man to Errour for Truth doth commâ—â—dy keep so much State 1 Tim. 6.10 as not to reveal her self to any but those who studiously seek her Take heed also of Covetousness In a word be careful to subdue all your inordinate affections for they are of great force to sway the Judgement 4. Vnteachableness Against Unteachableness Take heed of unwillingness to get clear and right apprehensions of God Hath not this been your 〈◊〉 Have not you been not only ignorant and erroneous but unwilling to be instructed Have not you been not only destitute of Aliâ—d est ne 〈…〉 but opposite to the saving knowledge of God Light hath been offered but have not you shut your eyes against it And if some light hath broke in upon you Rom. 1.19 you have not liked to retain God in your knowledge Have you not wilfully rejected knowledge and hath not God therefore rejected you Hos 4.6 See Bâ—â— on the place Have not you caâ— off the knowledge of God witâ— contempt and despite as the word signifyeth Have not you cast off the means of knowledge And hath not God therefore took away the means of knowledge Have not you thought that you must busie your heads about some other matters and that you may do well enough without this knowledge if you do but know how to trade and to mannage your worldly businesses Have not you rejected the knowledge of that Truth especially that should have brought you to the true worship of God as those Priests did the knowledge that they must worship God at Jerusalem for fear of losing their estates Hath not God therefore in an extraordinary manner rejected you So much is noted thinks Tremellius by the redundancy of a letter in the word for Gods rejecting not found elsewhere in all the Scripture Have not you even studied to be ignorant of God Baâ—â—â—â—oughâ— on Hâ—s 4 1. Have not you therefore been for unteaching Priests and humane inventions in the worship of God which kept out of the Land of Israel the knowledge of God No wonder that God hath a controversie with the Land no wonder that God is contending with English Professors in a way of judgement no wonder if there be no peace in England to him that goeth out and cometh in 2 chron 15 3.5 but great vexations upon all the Inhabitants God vexing us with all adoersity So it was with Israel in the like case Israel was without the true God i. e. the true worship of God and without a teaching 〈◊〉 and in those times there was no peace c. No wonder â—â—at God hath made us to see 〈…〉 seeing we would not see No wonder that God is departed from us seeing we have said at least in our hearts Job 〈…〉 see Bâ—â—â— on Job 22. â—â— Depart for we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes Your Ignorance hath much incented God against you but your Vnteachableness much more O! dequaint now thy self with him I beseech you now now that the hand of God is out against your selves in some kind or other now that the hand of God â— much heavier
getting Assurance Against want of Assurance which is called by some Divines Sensus Fidei the feeling or perceiving of Faith by others Flos Fidei the very lustre and eminency of Faith When God requires all the Act of Faith he doth not only require that we know him and believe him and consent to have him and relye upon him but he requires that we know that we do so It is true Assurance is not such a duty as concerns all men at all times and immediately it concerns only some and those in an order and mediately Though therefore it is not the sin of Vnbelievers not to know that God is their God for that cannot be known by them such are not bound immediately to be perswaded of an interest in God unless we will say that they are bound to be perswaded of a lye God being the God of Believers only yet it is the 〈◊〉 of Believers â—ickman's discourse concerning the spirits â—ealing up believers page 76 77. to let their interest in God to hang hovering and in dispute It must be confess'd that Gods not evidencing the direct Acts of Faith unto Believers is not their sin for God may refuse to evidence them out of Soveraignty or for the meer tryâ—l and exercise of grace and nor for the Believers sins but yet for a Believer to be regardless of getting Assurance is his sin yea if God refuse for any long time to evidence the direct Acts of Faith he may thank some sin or other He that bids us Work out your salvation and make your calling and election sure would not so let us be at uncertainties concerning our selves did not we sleight some Ordinance or omit some Duty or give way to some Lust And is not this your sin still Do not you still want that feeling or perceiving of Faith which is not meerly humane and subject to falshood and delusions but from Gods Spirit perswading the Soul that it doth know believe consent to and crust in God and therefore infallible for the Spirit can no more inwardly pâ—rswade a soul of then he can externally bear witness to any thing that is false It is a good rule laid down by a late worthy in our Israel Burges's Resâ—nings c. Part 1. fol. 20 21. 〈◊〉 in all the Acts of Faith whether they be direct or reflect the firmness and certainty doth more depend upon Gods spirit confirming us then upon the clearness of the Arguments But which of us can say that we know infallibly we are believers from Gods spirit perswading us of the truth of our faith It is true no Man hath such perfection of degrees of assurance in an ordinary way Doâ—little in Morning Exercise at Criple gate â—â—â—m 12. p. 3 â— 307. as that one degree more cannot be added to the former and yet as one well reasoneth there is not any repugnancy in asserting an infallible assurance and denying a perfect assurance for I infallibly know that there is a God and that this God is good and just and yet I have not a perfect knowledge of a Deity or of his goodnes and justice for in this life we know but in part Is not your want of assurance that God is your God evidenced still in your Not being â—et above the tormenting fear of death not yet despising the perishing viâ—ities of this World not yet slighting the censures of the ungodly Hickman in supra p. 135 to page 155. remaining still without an holy boldness in prayer not yet taking comfort in Word and Sacraments not yet abounding in praise and thanks giving not yet kindly mourning for your sins nor watching against them and not yet disregarding cavils against the Truth Is not God contending with you upon thiâ— account God hath often called upon you in the Ministry of the Word to give all diligence to make sâ—â—e thâ—â— you are believers and that God is your God upon your saith in him but though God hath spoken in your prosperity you have not heard Jer. 〈…〉 And is not he â—â—ing his Rod to make way for his Word to enter into your hearts Is not he depâ—iving you of all your outward delights Causing all your desirable things to perish at his rebuke that they may not hinder you any longer from making suâ—e what cannot be taken away from you that your hearts may not be taken up any longer with other enjoyments and thereupon want either time or will to pursue the one thing necessary Are not the Childs Babies taken away to make it learn its Lesson Hath not God made a Thorn to grow up with every Flower the Star Wormwood to fall into every estate you are in that you may yet at length say it is not good to be so busie to secure these bitter-sweets and careless of securing an interest in the unmixed chief good Is not God bringing you into life-threatning dangers that you might not only hear with the hearing of the ear but see with your eyes the necessity of having your interest in God cleared up unto your souls 2 Carelesness of preserving assurance Against carelesness to keep Assurance Non minor est virtus quam quaerere paâ—ta â—ueri when gotten It was your duty to be as carefull to keep as to gain assurance When you had gained assurance you should have remembred that you took God to be your God to rule you and make you happy in the enjoyment of himself not to make you rich and great in this World and that therefore Gods people being in the hands of the Midiamites will not evidence that the Lord is not with them Judg. 6.13 Hâ—â—â—bman c. p. 183. to 193. Dâ—ut 26 10 11. though Gideon say If the Lord be with us why then is all this befallen us You should have remembred that sincere not perfect faith in God interests souls in him and that therefore frailties and infirmities do not dissolve the union you should have been very thankfull for the first fruits of the Heavenly Canaan Psal 85. 8. Eccl. 5. 4 5 6. you should have been very careful not to return unto folly you should not have deferd to pay your vows unto God yea you should have brought forth such fruit after assurance as you either did not or could not before assurance But have not you been careless of discharging your duty herein Have not you forgotten the termes of the Covenant you have entred into with God Have not you been unthankful even for an Heaven upon Earth Have not you been guilty of wilful Relapses Have not you refused or delayed to pay your vows Have not you done as little for God as you might have done had the light of his countenance been never lifted up upon your souls And is not God therefore angry with you Is not he greatly displeased with you That is his meaning when he saith he hath no pleasure in such fools Mat. 13.12 Hath not he taken away what you
they do not necessarily and infallibly conclude that a Man hath faith Conclude not for your selves by finding the antecedents of Faith 2 There are some things which faith only doth produce yet because it d th not produce them always a Man must not therefore negatively conclude from the absence of them the absence of faith 3 There are some things which faith only doth produce not as essential properties but as magnificent Testimonies Conclude not against your selves for the want of such effects of faith Be sure that you do not any longer try your selves by uncertain qualifications that belong not to every Believer at all times and none but believers but try your selves by sine infallible marks by the essential properties and effects of Faith in God Set not about this work without hearty cries to God for his spirit to irradiate the grace you are searching after and by witnessing with your spirit to put you out of doubt It is a vain thing for you to go about this work much more to think to go through with it by any strength of your own And be sure that you take heed of provoking God to withdraw from you in this work Cantâ— 4.4 5 6 7. Do not refuse the Light of Assurance when offered Hereupon Christ withdrew from the Spouse but put your selves in a disposed an I prepared way to receive the evidencing Light of the Spirit who will not affine you whether you will or no. Do not make use of Signs in a prejudicial way to those direct and immediate Acts of Faith Burges c. page 56 57. whereby you close with God While you are poring and digging into your own heart to finde faith there forget not to exercise applicative Acts of Faith When ever you would go down into your own hearts and take a view of your own graces first close with God himself in Christ and afterwards begin afresh upon the encouragement you have from the fight of grace within you to act Faith upon God with a redoubled strength 2 Pet 1 9 Mat 25 29 He that lacketh these things i. e. that doth not use them so not to use Talents is not to have them is blinde and soon forgetteth all the grace he hath If God do not appear presently do not murmur and repine against him While Job thought that God wronged him God ceased not to scare him with dreams and terrify him with visions but when he justified God God appeared for him But for a more full handling of the miscarriages about self-examination which you should mourn for and take heed of I shall refer you to the twentieth chapter of the Gospel-glass 4 Resting in an imaginary Assurance Against an imaginary assurance Presumption is mainly the work of a strong fancy What the â—ich Believer hath by propriety and in possession the same hath the presumptuous Professor in a dreaming fancy and imagination He pretends to be as knowing as bel eving as confident as the true Believer he never doubted of his Interest in God none more â—ocond and merry then he is thereupon Hath not this been your sin And is not God therefore contending with you Because we have built our house upon the Sands is not God razing all our sandy Foundations Psal 66.10 Psal 25.8 Because we have been careless of trying our selves is not God trying us as silver is tryed May not we even say God and upright is the Lord that will teach sinners his way that by the Thunder-claps of his Righteous Judgements is resolved to awaken us out of those foolish dreams in which if we should die we were undone for ever O that we may be dreamers no longer O take heed of presuming once more that God is your God either because he made you so he did the Devils Gods making you puts you into the relation of creatures unto God and God of a Creatour unto you but not of a chief-good and supream Lord. He is your Creatour Psal 17.14 whether you will or no but so he is not your God Or because you prosper in every thing and are not in trouble and distress as other men The more you have of a portion in this life the more cause you have to sear that God is not your portion Or because Christ hath died for you to purchase an interest in God So he hath if you will consent to have him for your chief good and Sovereign Lord other wise not O! how great will your confusion be when your Gold shall be found Dress your Wine to be Water your Graces to be Corruptions And you your selves appear no better then the mad Athenian Burges Resining paâ—t 1. Serm. 6. Serm. 30. and 118. who thought all the Ships on the Sea were his Take heed of such a confidence of an interest in God as hath ignorance and self-love for its procreant causes as is grounded on a meer natural light or some false reasonings as is wrought without any serious deep humiliation for being without God preceding it and easily without any opposition as leaves the soul idle in the Work of God without love to and encouragement in God as is not attended with an holy fear and humility and as is not destroyed by sin but crosses Such a confidence is a presumptuous confidence and not assurance Even hypocrites may have some experimental knowledge Sern â—â— 3. and yet not assurance of Faith they may know that they are enlightned and have other common gifts of the Holy-Ghost that sin is imbittered to their souls that they do assent to scripture Truths that they have some desires after God and Christ that they do at sometimes and in some things trust in God and yet they want saving Faith and therefore cannot know they have it O! take heed of thievishly fingering the Kings Coin without a Warrant Christ told the Jews that they were of their father the Devil John 8.54 though of his Father they said he is our God they made their boasts and brags that God was their God but God and Christ disowned them Chap. VI. The miscarriages opposite to confession the external Act of Faith in God Against positive confession without a call 1. RAsh adventuring upon positive confession without a Call from Heaven Hath not this been the sin of some and have not all Professors smarted for it The Acute Author of Christ Confessed who as the Publisher observes hath cut by a thread in clearly and judiciously determing the present grand Cases of the times gives a three-fold Answer to this Question At what times are we priviledged from and by consequence not called unto positive confession of Christ Christ confessed p. 65 66. 1 When the engagements for self-safety are not preponderated by or in an equal poize with those for our Saviours glory 2. When the interest both of the confession and Confessor will be visibly prejudiced 3. When the ends of confessing Christ cannot manifestly be promoted
doctrine Have not you turned round as wheels with the times and places where you lived Have not you been up and down now of this mind then of that embracing and following those opinions and ways which the times have smiled upon Have not you been whirld about by the times as chaff by the wind Have not you been wavering Jam 1 6. as a wave of the Sea which is never standing still if there be any wind stirring Have not some of you been carried quite round about the Card and Compass as the Clouds of the Aire are from one quarter of the Heaven to another Hebr 13.9 Have not you been thus carried about with divers and strange Doctrines with Doctrines differing from the truth and strange to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament Are not you yet unestablished yea are not you careless in seeking after establishment Are not you stil even indifferent whether you pray to God to establish you as David did yea or no Whether you enjoy the Sacrament of the Lords Supper that heart-establishing Ordinance duly administred yea or no Whether you continue fellowship with established Christians yea or no Do not you still stagger at the promises of God viz. that God will be a Sun and a Shield and no good thing will be with-hold from them that walk uprightly that Babylon is fallen is fallen i. e. shall as certainly fall and that utterly as if she were so fallen already that there shall be a resurrection of the dry bones c Do not you stil dispute the promises in your thoughts Do not you stil doubt whether God will be as good as his word and that because of the difficultie that lie in the way All staggering at the promises of God is from unbelief Rom 4 20 Brinsley c. p 98 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief Is not this also a matter of just and deep Lamentation to see so many Professors some of which were formerly looked upon as sober and stayed Christians now reeling and staggering like drunken Men to and fro carried this way and that way as the wind blows should any of you whilst your selves stand safe upon the shore see others though strangers much more if friends tossed upon the waves among rocks and quick sands ready to perish every moment might it not be presumed that it would affect the flintieâ— heart among you and can you see the souls of your brethren and sisters thus tossed to and fro without any trouble to your own souls But alas who stands fast and safe upon the shoar Are not all your hearts unsetled And what will yee not pity your own unstable souls Is it nothing to you to be under Reubens reproach Gen 49. 4 Jam 1 8 Vnstable as water thou shalt not excel A double minded Man is unstable in all his ways Are not you in danger of being utterly ruined in this hour of temptation that is come upon all the World Col. 2.8 Ne sit qui vos depraedetur Beza in loc mar 3 5 to try them that dwell upon the Earth Are not you in danger of being spoyled of being made a prey O! your unbelieving staggerings grieve the heart of your Lord. The Holy Ghost speaking of the unbelieving Jews tells us Jesus was grieved for the hardness of their hearts And shall they not grieve your hearts It is a wonder that God hath spared you so long O faithless and perverse Generation How long shall I be with you How long shall I suffer you O! sin no more in this kind O that henceforth yee be no more children tessed to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrine Eph. 4.14 Brinsley c. 206 c. Hebr. 13.9 1 Thes 1.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Col. 2.2 by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lye in wait to deceive O! Be not carried about with divers and strange Doctrines for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace Be restless till the Word come unto you in much assurance Be restless till you have attained unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God c. Seek heart-establishment from God for yourselves and others as Peter doth Now the God of all grace c. make you perfect 1 Peter 5 10â— Psa 51.12 stablish strengthen you And David Stablish me with thy free Spirit Neglect neither the Word nor Sacrament administred after the right order O! Hebr. 10.25 Forsake not the assembling of your selves together as the manner of some is Trees stand sâ—â—er in the Wood or Grove where they have company than in the Field where they stand alone 4. Resting in a Dead Faith Hath not this been your sin Against resting in a Dead Faith Manton on Jam. 2.17 Have not you satisfied your selves with a Faith that is but the carkass of saving believing The Apostle in making mention of a dead faith alludeth to a corps or a dead plant which have only an outward similitude and likeness to those which are living Saving belief is an assent wrought in the Soul by the sanctifying Spirit and built upon a Divine Testimony But is not our belief the effect of natural reason White 's Directions p. 91 92 c. 1 John 5 1 further enlightned at most by the assistance of the Spirit Do not we remain unsanctified notwithstanding our believing Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God Have we any further assurance of what we believe than that which Reason suggests Were ever the things believed evident to any spiritual sense within us Faith is the evidence of things not seen Hebr 11 1 Is not our belief grounded only upon an humane testimony We call that a Divine Testimony White c p. 95 96 c. saith one of the Western Worthies which is given by the Spirit of God to that Spirit which is within a regenerate person For saith he unto any testimony two things are required First The manifesting and presenting that which is to be credited or believed Secondly An ability in him to whom it is witnessed to understand it otherwise the proposing any thing by discourse to a beaâ— that wants reason to understand speech or the relating of any thing to a man that hath reason in the Greek tongue who understands no language but English is no testimony no more than it is to a deaf man that cannot hear Wherefore to make a Divine testimony there must be both Gods testifying unto man and also a mind in him able to understand that Revelation First The Spirit of God must reveal and manifest unto a man that Truth that is to be believed as the light discovers any visible object Next There must be in that man a light planted in his heart which the Apostle calls 1 Jo 5 20 An understanding to know him that is
true as the light or visnal-faculty is planted in the eye or else he cannot comprehend that light that shines unto him The evidence then which a true believer hath of any truth of God which he embraceth is the manifesting of that truth unto the Spirit not only by a form of words to the natural understanding but beyond that by a kind of demonstration unto the spiritual mind as the evidence of any object to the eye is by the shining of the light upon it which makes it to appear to be such as it is This kind of testifying or evidencing things Rom 8 16 in a spiritual way the Apostle calls The witnessing of Gods Spirit with our Spirit mentioning expresly two Spirits whereof if either be wanting there can be no Divine testimony But is not our belief grounded upon the testimony of Reason upon the consonancy of Scripture-revelations to right Reason And is not the testimony of reason an humane testimony Yea Do not we believe upon an humane testimony when we believe any thing written in the Scriptures for the testimony of the Scriptures If that we believe the Scriptures themselves upon the general consent of the Church or upon the probability and reasonableness of the things therein delivered or upon the observation of the truth of those writings in most things which all make up but an humane testimony This the same learned and judicious Divine proves thus White c p 98 99 The assent unto one thing for another is built upon that to which we first give our assent as a stone in a wall though it lyes immediately upon that stone that is next under it yet it is indeed supported by the foundation which bears up all the building We say we do believe but is not our Assent without sutable impressions upon our hearts and without a sutable carriage in our lives Doth the reality of Gods being believed Baxter's Divine Lise on John 17 3 make us look upon our selves and all things as nothing without God as nothing in comparison of God and to let the beeing and reality of our love desire and endeavours be let out upon the most real and transcendent Beeing Doth the belief of Gods Vnity contract and unite our stragling affections and call them home from multifarious Vanity Doth the belief of Gods Immensity and Incomprehensibility fill our Souls with admiration Doth the belief of Gods Eternity draw our Souls from transitory to eternal things Doth the belief of Gods Simplicity make us in love with holy simplicity Doth the belief of Gods Invisibility make us mostly esteem and value things invisible Doth the belief of Gods Immutability beget in us unchangeable resolutions for God Doth the belief of Gods Almightiness sill us continually with holy fear and promote trusting in him Doth the belief of Gods Wisdome make us delight in the wisdome which is from above and to choose God for our Teacher and Counsellour Doth the belief of Gods Goodness fill our Souls with a superlative love unto God and industrious desires to be conformâ—d to his goodness in our measure Doth the belief of Gods Holiness cause us to have most high and honourable esteems of holiness in the creature and to fall in love with it and wholly conform our selves to Gods holiness in Christ Doth the belief of Gods Truth and Faithfulness make us resolved for duty and an holy life seeing the commands of God are serious and the promises and threats true The true and sound assent to any Divine Revelation as an holy truth includeth a correspondency in the believer to the thing believed Such an assent descends from the understanding to the affections and so to the conversation True Faith and right Obedience cannot be separated for he that believes the truth of Gods promises fill'd with such things as he doth most want must needs desire the good contained in them and seeing God hath declared the effect of his promises attainable only in wayes of obedience if he neglect that means it is manifest he doth not desire the end Certainly if our assent doth not cannot act no more than a dead body can rise and walk it is but a dead faith The Apostle doth not say as one well observes Faith is dead without works Manton on Jam 2 20. but Faith without works is dead I here is a difference between these predications as there is between those A man without motion is dead and a man is dead without motion Works are not the cause that give life to Faith but yet they are the effects that argue life in Faith Faith is not alwayes alike lively but yet it is alwayes living and operation is the necessary effect of life O! What cause have we to repent of our dead Faith And what Shall it alwayes remain dead Take heed I beseech you not only of setting no your rest in a Knowledge but in a Faith falsely so called Take heed of pleasing your selves any longer with the name of Faith and remaining destitute of the vertue of Faith for the crucifying your lusts and corruptions and conforming your hearts and lives to the Commandements of God To assent to truth with the neglect of goodness or with lazy desires after goodness is but a vain Faith That assent that doth not now subdue sin Gen. 23.4 will not suppress fear when you come to dye What! will ye not yet bury your dead out of your sight Chap. III. The Miscarriages opposite to Consenting to have God to be your God the third Act of Faith 1. Against resusing God REfusing God Beware of still refusing to have the true God to be a God unto you and a God over you to have him to be your Portion and Soveraign To be God Gen. 17.1 7. Rom. 9.5 implies to be enough unto all to be an all-sufficient and self-sufficient good and to be over all and above all to be an all-commanding good Ephes 4.6 To refuse God is to refuse to place our happiness in him and to come under his government Hath not this been your sin God hath offered himself to be your chief good and absolute Soveraign but have not you refused such offers Yea do not you still refuse them There are many degrees of refusing as one well observes Although we may be free of some of them Ob. Sedgwick's Fountain opened c. chap. 6. yet are not we comprized in some one or other of them Are not some guilty of refusing by way of presumptuous persecution Are not others by way of malicious opposition Are not others by way of scornful derision Are not others by way of open though not malicious resistance And if we be not guilty of any of these refusings yet are not we guilty of refusing by way of dissent or unperswasion Are not we yet unperswaded to accept of God upon his own tearms Certainly there is no medium 'twixt Faith and Infidelity 'twixt receiving of God and refusing of God