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
prevent this let us all be stiâ—â—'d up to conform more and more to Jesus Christ who grew in wisdome 〈…〉 as well as in stature Let us write after Paul's copy Phil 3 12 13 14 Not as though I had already attained or were already perfect but I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth to those things that are before I press toward the mark c. Would you have God take away all your talents Take heed then of neglecting to increase them Then shall yee know if yee follow on to know the Lord. The path of the just is as the shining Light Hos 6.3 Prov. 4.18 that shineth more and more till it be perfect Day He saith one that hath the least saving acquaintance with God hath enough to make him thankful but he that hath the most hath not enough to make him idle 7. Neglecting to make use of Knowledge Against not making use of knowledge Hath not this been your sin Hath not the habit of knowledge layn dead in your Souls Hath it not been an useless and an unprofitable thing both as to your selves and others O that it may be your sin no more Be not satisfied with having Lights or Lamps Luc. 12.35 but Let your Lights be burning or shining Make use of your knowledge for the heating of your affections for the stirring up desires after God love to God delight in God hatred of sin fear of offending God c. As the Spouse He is altogether lovely Cant. 5.16 This is my Beloved Let the knowledge of wisdome be unto your Souls as Honey that is good and the Honey-comb Prov. 24.13 14 which is sweet unto the tast Make use of your knowledge for the guiding of your thoughts words and actions Let wisdome guide you in every step you take Prov. 6 3â— Ask of your knowledge continually what saith the Rule what doth the Word of God require Make use of your knowledge in bearing witness to truth for which you came into this World John 18.36 When you come to appear for an opposed truth let not your knowledge be to seek Make use of your knowledge for the preserving of your Souls from theoretical and practical miscariages Seeing yee know c. beware lest yee also be led away with the errour of the wicked If you will make use of your knowledge 2 Pet. 3.16 Prov. 2.11 12 16. you have Gods promise for preservation from snares in judgment and defilements in practice The Devil shall not undermine you by policy noâ— overcome you by power Make use of your knowledge for the good of others One great end of knowledge is to communicate knowledge And indeed as one well observes to know for our own and others good is the only good knowledge To reject the directions of knowledge as well as the means of knowledge is to reject knowledge Bur. on Hof 4.6 And hath not God therefore rejected you Is not God reckoning with his wicked because slothful servants for letting their Talents lie un-improved Yea is not this a greater judgment than any outward judgments you are under Is it not an evidence of a Souls being under a spirit of slumber to have no more use of its knowledge Isa â—9 10 then one asleep hath Not to use is all one as not to have knowledge He that hath not i.e. that doth not make use of what he hath shall have what he hath or seems to have taken away from him Chap. II. The miscarriages opposite to Believing God The Assenting Act of Faith 1. Against credulity Prov. 14.15 VAin Credulity Hath not this been your sin Have not you been so simple as to believe every word pretending to come from God Have not you been ready to be â—â—ken to false Teachers Mar. 4.24 mat 7.15 Jer. 23.16 mar 8.15 Though God hath said Take heed what you hear Beware of false Prophets Hearken not unto the words of the Prophets that prophesie unto you they make you vain they speak 〈◊〉 Vision of their own heart Take heed beware of the leaven of the 〈◊〉 harisees and of the leaven of Herod yet how fool hardy and venturous have you been O the sad consequences of this fool-hardiness Eve lost all by hearing one Sermon from the mouth of the Serpent Julian the Emperor sipt in his Apostasie by hearing Libanius the Sophister Let others yea your own harms make you to beware Faelix quem faciunt aliena pericula c. Prov. 9.18 â— Thes 5.21 O! come not any more neer the doâ—r of their house Knowest thou not that the dead are there and that their guests are in the depth of Hell Say not you must try all things Christians ought indeed to prove all things in the Apostles sense the Doctrines that Christs own Ministers teach them they must bring to the touch-stone of the Word But he that will adventure to tast of every box and glass in an Apothecaries shop may sooner meet with poyson than with nutriment Have not you been ready to receive and reject Doctrines before you have brought them to the touch-stone and ballance of the Sanctuary to be tryed Before you receive or reject a piece of gold you will go to the touch-stone to try whether it be good mettal or no and to the ballance to try whether it be weight or no But have you not dealt otherwise with the Doctrines you have heard Câ—ril on Job 12 11 Hath your ear tryed the words that have sounded therein The Original word for an ear as an excellent Expositor observes being of the dual Number signifieth a pair of ballances to note that we should not only hear but weigh But have not you received Doctrines upon trust Have not some given an absolute credence to the Church to a Synod to a Councel Have not others to this and the other singular person if a learned Man or a pious Man if a Pastor or a Teacher especially if pretending the spirit of Revelation But what faith the Apostle We beseech you brethren 2 Thess 2.2 that yee be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us not by spirit those that pretend prâ—phetical revelations nor word those that plead traditions nor letter those that urge forged records It was the Bereans commendation Acts 17.11 that they would not trust Paul upon his word but tryed his Doctrine by the Scriptures Have not you also rejected Doctrines upon trust It is as dangerous saith one to refuse as to receive what we have not examined 2 Chroâ— 12.8 Shephard's wholesome caveat for a time of liberty p. 3 Ash on 2 Chrâ— 30.8 1 Cor. 7 23. mat 23.10 No wonder that we that have been so ready
He that is not with me saith Christ is against me He that doth not accept of God doth refuse him That Chapman that will not take your Wares at your price in so doing he doth refuse them That Woman that dissents that will not consent that such a man should be her Husband refuseth to marry with him Are not you still unperswaded to have God himself for your Portion Lam. 3.24 Portio cujusque dicitur in quo felicitatem suam quisque collocat Calv. to place your happiness in him and absolute Soveraign to come under his government Is not this evident in the remaining deafness of the ears of your Souls Not to give ear to or not to obey the Word of the Lord is to reject it and to reject the Word of God is to reject God himself Psa 81.11 My people would not hearken to my voice and Israel would none of me Were you ever yet effectually called Did God ever yet speak in such a voice as could not but be heard as could not be withstood If yet your ears are deaf unto the calls of God if yet you are able to withstand the voice of God certainly you do still refuse him Do not your hearts remain obdurate Do the offers of God make any impression on them Is any savour of God to be found in them Alas Gods offers do not move or stirr them cordially to defire the enjoyment of him and subjection to him Do not our worthless thoughts of God still continue Do not we still think that God is not worth so much pains so many prayers so much hearing so much time so many sighs and tears c. Alas which of us accounts Gods offers the best bargains That which a man counts to be his best bargain O. Sedg c. p. 301 302. he will saith the same Author 1. Make all things to give way to that 2. Make that to fill up his desire 3. It will draw forth his choicest diligence and pains 4. He will be at some loss to gain it 5. He is peremptory and unmoveably earnest for the enjoyment of it 6. The fruition of it presents unto him the sweetest joy Do we thus account closing with God best Best of all Where then are our present cares to get God himself Where are our strong fears lest we miss of God Where are our full desires and peremptory and stedfast resolutions to be the Lords as well as to have God to be ours 〈◊〉 will we part with for God Whence comes in our sweetest joy To them that believe i. e. receive Christ or rather God in Christ He is precious Christ is precious and God in and through Christ is precious But where is the precious thought Who are restless without God To whom are Goods not good without God Peace not rest without God Life not a beeing without God all nothing without God Give me children or else I dye said Rachel Dost thou say Lord give me thy self or else I dye O that this may be your sin no more Yet consider and be wise O! Do not still stand out against him Though you refuse his Ministers yet do not any more refuse their Master Though you like not the messengers yet do not any more dislike the offers What shall I say to perswade you or rather whereby God himself may perswade you If you will continue still resolute that God shall not be a God to and over you verily God will resolve that you shall not be a people but he will make an utter end of you Jer. 3.1 5. Thou hast played the haâ—lot with many lovers yet return unto me saith the Lord. Will he reserve his anger for ever Acts 3.19 Hebr. 10.26 yet in the midst of judgement he remembers so much mercy as once more to offer himself unto you notwithstanding all your former refusals of him and if now you will but accept of him all that is past shall be forgiven you and God will receive you into his grace and favour and never any more upbraid you with your often refusals of him Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins your refusals of God in Christ of such sins the Apostle speaks in that place may be blotted out But if you will not how can you read without trembling that Word of the Lord If we sin wilfully after wâ— have received the knowledge of the truth there remains no more sacrifice for sins but a certain fearful looking for of judgement and fiery indignation Against closing with God hypocritically which shall devour the Adversaries 2. Closing with God hypocritically Beware lest your willingness to have God for your God still prove a consent not suited to the object of Faith in its absolute necessary respects and nature It is essential to God as the object of mans Faith saith a Worthy to be his supreme Lord and Rector Baxter's Apology p. 62 63. and his ultimate end and chiefest good and so must be apprehended and willed by all that indeed take him for their God As also to be perfect in Beeing Wisdome Goodness and Power and of perfect Veracity yea it is essential to the object of our Faith as such to be considered comparatively As that God be taken not only as our Good but our chief good to be preferâ—'d before every creature that he be taken not only as our Lord but as Soveraign Lord to be obeyed before all other Where these essentials are not in the apprehension of the object there is not truly Consent or Faith Consent hath relation to the Offer and if it be not the offered thing that is consented to but somewhat else under that name then it is not indeed Consent for there is no Relate without its Correlate The Civil Law saith Ignorantis non est consensus A God that is inferiour to Creatures in Râ—le or Goodness and Desireableness is not God indeed And therefore he that takes God in this sense for his God takes but the Name of God an Idol of his own brain and not God himself Hath not this been your sin Is it not still your sin Do not you seem to consent when you do not indeed and in truth consent You pretend you are heartily willing that God should be your God and that you do consent to have him But First Are not you still ignorant of the true God Ignorantly whom you say you consent to take for your God Ignorant Professours can only seem to be Consenters And are not you still ignorant Professours See Chap. 1. Secondly Are not you for having of God Without rejecting other Gods without rejecting of other gods Indeed had our hearts been alwayes chast and faithful we should not have needed to break we should only have tyed a knot Teates Scripture-Map of the wilderness of sin and way to Canaan p. 338. but because of our former wanton dalliance with and engagements unto other lovers we must solemnly renounce and
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
by it or attained by us But the glory of God will be visibly rather hindred the Gospel harmed and the good of souls hazarded O! see that for the future you do not unnecessarily pull sufferings upon your selves for your confession of your Faith Allegs Vind. of Godl p. 379. There is as an eminent Confessor well observes a suffering for our fault there is a suffering for our Righteousness without our fault and there is a suffering for our Righteousness through our fault Run not your selves upon trouble when you need not by unwary and imprudent managing and ordering your selves in the duties that confession of Faith engageth you to Be clear especially in those things which may be costly labour to see the Pillar of Fire and the Clâ—ud going before you Take heed of giving any just occasion to others to persecute you not onely because the event of so great a temptation is uncertain but also lâ—st you be a cause that others by shedding your blood become greater sinners then otherwise they would be 2. Vnpreparedness openly to acknowledge saith in God Against unreadiness to confess openly when called thereto 1 Pet. 3.14 15. when over he calls thereunto What the Apostle saith concerning Hope is true concerning Faith Be ready alwayes to give a reason both of the faith that is before you and of the faith that is within you of the grace as well as of the object of faith your own acquaintance with God believing of God consenting to have him for your God and relying upon him Though you are not bound saith the grand Casuist to render an account alwayes C. C. p. 64. yet you are bound alwayes to be ready at least with an habitual readiness though the outward action be not required at all times yet the inward habitude is But alas I have not you been strangers to an habitual inclination and disposition to this duty Have not you been without those principles of self-denyal and love to God that Spirit of faith patience and prayâ—â— that make souls ready for such work O that this may be your sin no longer Is not this one reason of the present Dispensations of Providence towards you to stir you up by the Rod that would not be stirred up by the Word to get to be ready not only to be bound but to die for Christ at Jerusalem The Apostle doth not say I will be bound or I will die Acts 21.13 but I am ready is be bâ—urd and to die All backwardness is sâ—ding back when our Saviour saith unto us Take up thy Gross and follow me 3. Refusing Against delaying actually to confess when called thereto Refusing or delaying actually to make an â—pâ—n acknowledgment of Faith in God whâ—n thereby God will be most magnifâ—â—d the Gospel best maintained and the good of souls best ministred to Hath not this been the sin of some of you Have not you actually declined that confession which you have been called to make Have not you deferd your testimony to another time and have not you hereby driven God away from you sure I am this cost many of the Martyrs especially in the Marian-Persecution very dear They did not make open acknowledgment of their Faith in God when God called them thereunto and what was the Issue God in respect of comfort left them and they were under worse torments then their Persecutors could have inflicted on them When Jonah had a Commission sealed him to go to Nineveh with a Message from God he withdrew himself and went another way but God in the midst of his security cast him into the Whales belly and when he was there God withdrew from him as if he meant never to own him more insomuch that he saith I am cast out of thy presence Jona 2.4 O that herein you would sin no more when ever God calls you thereto do not defer to exhibit an open oral confession of your Faith in God no See Christ confessed qu. 7 prop. 7. p. 69. c. not a moment longer when God calls you thereto do not defer to exhibit an open real confession of your Faith in God in an active way openly living up unto your Faith in God or in a passive way either by staying to suffer or by suffering in flying as the forementioned ends will best be promoted O! do not your Consciences tell you that if you had been more publick in your real confessions in an active way you had suffered less not only from God but from men Take heed of suffering any more upon this account 4. Dissembling in confession Against dissembling in confession C. G. p. 43. There is a time saith our Casuist for tho suspension of our confession but there is no time for simulation properly so called in our confession We may yea must deal prudently but not deceitfully Hath not this been your sin Hath not your conversation been in fleshly wisdom and not in godly simplicity and sincerity Have not you at least at sometimes gone about to cast a vail of deceit before the eyes of men Prov. 12.24 Isa 33.1 No wonder that such deceitful ones are under tribute no wonder that such treacherous dealings are dealt treacherously with Dissemble I beseech you no more either in your oral or in your real confessions 5. Denying Faith in God Hath not this been your sin Against denying Faith in God and hath not God therefore denyed you in this world O! take heed of denying your Faith in God once more lest Jesus Christ deny you in Heaven O! Do not once more deny your Faith in God either inwardly or outwardly either by word Mat. 10.33 or work whether explicitly or implicitly Even concealed smâ—thâ—red much more denyed truths will one time or other set the Conscience in a Flame Jer. 20.9 When Jeremiah said I will not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name What followeth Then his word was in my brest as a burning fire V. Caril on Job 6.10 shut up in my bones and I was weary with forbearing Let him not spare saith Jâ—b for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One q.d. If I had hid his word from men God might justly hide his merciâ—s from me or if I had concealed his words from others God might now justly reveal his wrath against me 6. Making shipwrack of Faith Hath not this also been your sin Against making shipwrack of Faith 1 Tim. 1.19 Rev. 2.5 Heb. 10.23 Veaning in the Farewel Sermons Have not you renounced the confession which you once made And hath not God departed from you not only for your departures from your faith in him but for your departures from your profession thereof O! remember from whence you are fallen and repent and do your first works What saith the Apostle Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering and what ever others do let us among whom upon whom in whom such mighty things have been done by God hold fast our Faith have we a mind to be without God again had we rather return to be Satans then continue to be the Lords yea the profession of our faith faith without profession will do no more for us then profession without faith and that without wavering this is both a man-like and a Christian act 〈…〉