15 16. And these are hard speeches against him To say that he was not able or willing to save Men because of the greatness of their sins or to say that they were discouraged by his Word from Repentance because of the heinousness of their offences These things I say shall then be confuted He comes with ten thousand of his Sâ—ints to confute them and to stop their mouths from making objections against their own eternal damnation Here is Adam the destroyer of the World heâ—e is Lot that lay with both his Daughters here is Abraham that was sometimes an Idolater and Jacob that was a Supplanter and Ruben that lay with his Fathers Concubine and Judah that lay â—ith his Daughter-in-Law and Levy and Simeon that wickedly slew the Sechemites and Aaron that made an Idol to be Worshipped and that proclaimed a Religious Feast unto it Here is also Rahab the Harlot and Bathsheba that bare a Bâ—stard to David Here is Solomon that great Backslider and Manasseh that man of Blood and a Witch Time would fail to tell you of the Woman of Canaans Daughter of Mary Magdalen of Matthew the Publican and of Gideon and Sampson and many thousands more Alas alas I say what will these Sinners do that have through their unbelief eclipsed the glorious largeness of the mercy of God and gave way to despair of Salvation because of the bigness of their sins For all these though now glorious Saints in Light were sometimes Sinners of the biggest size who had sins that were of a notorious hue Yet now I say they are in their shining and heavenly Robes before the Throne of God and of the Lamb Blessing for ever and every that Son of God for their Salvation who dyed for them upon the Tree admiring that ever it should come into their Hearts once to think of coming to God by Chirst But above all blessing God for granting of them light to see those incouragements in his Testament without which without doubt they had beâ—n daunted and sunk down under guilt of Sin and Despair as their fellow sinnâ—rs have done Bâ—t now they also are all Witnessâ—s for God and for his Grace against an unbâ—lieving World for as I said they shall come to convince the World of their Speeches their hard and unbelieving words that they have spoken concerning the mercy of God and the merits of the Passion of his blessed Son Jesus Christ. But will it not think you strangely put to silence all such thonghts and words and reasonings of the Ungodly before the Barr of God doubtless it will yea and will send them away from his presence also with the greatest guilt that possibly can fallen upon the Consciences of Men. For what will sting like this I have through mine own foolish narrow unworthy undervaluing thoughts of the love and ability of Christ to save me brought my self to everlasting ruine 'T is true I was a horrible sinner not one in a hundred did live so vile a life as I but this should not have kept me from closing with Jesus Christ I see now that there are abundance in Glory that once were as bad as I have been but they were saved by Faith and I am damned by Unbelief Wrâ—tch that I am why did not I give glory to the Redeeming Blood of Jesus Why did I not humbly cast my Soul at his blessâ—d foot stool for Mercy Why did I judge of his ability to save me by the voice of my shallow reason and the voice of a guilty Conscience Why betook not I my self to the holy Word of God Why did I not read and pray that I might understand since now I perceive that God said then He giveth liberally to them that pray and upbraideth not Jam. 1.5 'T is rational to think that by such Cogitations as these the unbelieving World will be torn in pieces before the Judgment of Christ Especially those that have lived where they did or might have heard the Gospel of the Grace of God. Oh! that saying It shall be more tolerable for Sodom at the Judgment than for them will be better understood See Luke 10.8 9 10 11 12. This Reason therefore standeth fast Namely That Christ by offering mercy in the first place to the biggest Sinners now will stop all mouths of the impenitent at the day of Judgment and cut off all excuse that shall be attempted to be made from the thoughts of 〈◊〉 greatness of their sins why they caâ—â— not to him I have often thought of the day of Judgement and how God will deal with sinners at that day And I believe it will be managed with that sweetness with that equitableness with that excellent Righteousness as to every sin and circumstance and aggravation thereof that men that are damned before the Judgment is over shall receive such conviction of the righteous Judgment of God upon them and of their deserts of Hell fire that they shall in themselves conclude that there is all the reason in the world that they should be shut out of Heaven and go to Hell-fire These shall go away into everlasting fire Matt. 25.46 Only this will tare That they have mist of Mercy and Glory and obtained everlasting damnation through their unbelief But it will tare but themsâ—lves but their own Souls they will gnash upon themselves For in that Mercy was offered to the chief of them in the first place and yet they were damned for rejecting of it They were damned for forsaking what they had a propriety in for forsaking their Own Mercy And thus much for the Reasons I will conclude with a word of Application The APPLICATION FIrst Would Jesus Christ have Mercy offered in the first place to the biggest sinners Then this shews us how to make a right judgment of the heart of Christ to Men. Indeed we have advantage to guess at the goodness of his Heart by many things as by his taking our nature upon him his dying for us his sending his Word and Ministers to us and all that we might be saved But this of beginning to offer mercy to Jerusalem is that which heightens all the rest for this doth not only confirm to us that Love was the cause of his dying for us but it shews us yet more the depth of that Love He might have dyed for us and yet have extended the benefit of his death to a few as one might call them of the best-conditioned sinners to those who though they were weak and so could not but sin yet made not a trade of sinning To those that sinned not lavishingly There are in the World as one may call them the moderate Sinners the sinners that mix Righteousness with their Pollutions the sinners that though they be sinners do what on their part lies some that are blind would think so that they might be saved I say it had been Love great Love if he had dyed for none but such and sent his love to such But that he should
High Priest God's Sacrifices accepted and God's Eye and God's Heart perpetually Psâ—l 76.1 2. Psal. 122.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. 1 King. 9.3 But Thirdly We are to consider Jerusâ—lem also in her Decays for as she is to considered she is the proper object of our Text as will be fâ—rther shewed by and by Jerusâ—lem as I toId you â—as the place and feaâ— of God's Worship but now decayed degâ—nâ—rated and apostatizâ—d The Word the Rule of Worship was rejected of them and in its place they had put and set up their own Traditions They had rejected also the most weighty Ordinances and put in the room thereof their own little things Mat. 15. Mark 7. Jerusalem was therefore now greatly backslidden and become the place where Truth and true Religion was much defaced It was also now become the very sink of Sin and seat of Hypocrisie and gulf where true Religion was drowned Here also now reigned Presumption and groundless Confidence in God which is the bane of Souls Amongst its Rulers Doctors and Leaders Envy Malice and Blasphemy vented it self against the Power of Godliness in all places where it was espied As also against the Promoters of it yea their Lord and Maker could not escape them In a Word Jerusalem was now become the Shambles the very Slaughter-shop for Saints This was the place wherein the Prophets Christ and his People were most horribly persecuted and murdered Yea. so hardned at this time was this Jerusalem in her Sins that she feared not to commit the biggest and to bind her self by Wish under the guilt and damning evil of it saying when the had murdered the Son of God His Blood be upon us and our Children And though Jesus Christ did both by Doctrine Miracles and Holiness of Life seek to put a stop to their Villanies yet they shut their eyes stopt their ears and rested not till as was hinted before they had driven him out of the World. Yea that they might if possible have extinguished his Name and exploded his Doctrine out of the World they against all Argument and in despite of Heaven its mighty hand and undeniable proof of his Resurrection did hire Souldiers to invent a Lye saying His Disciples stole him away from the Grave on purpose that Men might not count him the Saviour of the World nor trust in him for the Remission of Sins They were saith Paul contrary to all Men For they did not only shut up the Door of Life against themselves but forbad that it should be opened to any else Forbidding us saith he to preach to the Gentiles that they might be saved to fill up their sin alway Matt. 23.35 chap. 15.7 8 9. Mar. 7. â— 7 8 Mat. 3 7.8 9. Joh. 8.33 41. Mat. 27.18 Mar. 3.30 Luk. 265. Mat. 23. 37. Luk. 13 33 34. Psal. 2.22 23. Chap. 4.10 Mat. 27.25 Chap. 20.11 12 13 14 15. 1 Thes. 2.14 15 16. This is the City and these are the People This is their Character and thâ—se are their Sins Nor can there be produced their parallel in all this World. Nay what World what People what Nation for Sin and Transgression could or can be compâ—red to Jerusalem Especially if you joyn to the matter of fact the Light they sinned against and the Patience which they abused Infinite was the Wickedness upon this account which they committed After all their abusings of wise Men and Prophets God sent unto them John Baptist to reduce them and then his Son to redeem them but they would be neither reduced nor redeemed but persecuted both to the Death Nor did they as I said stop here the Holy Apostles they afterwards persecuted also to Death even so many as they could the rest â—he drove from them unto the utmost Corners Secondly I come now to shew you what it was to preach the Gospel to them It was saith Luke to preach to them Repentance and remission of Sins in Christs Name Or as Mark has it to bid thâ—m repent and believe the Gospel Mar. 1.15 Not that Repentance is a cause of Remission but a sign of our hearty reception thereof Repentance is therefore here put to intimate that no pretended Faith of the Gospel is good that is not accompanied with it And this he doth on purpose 'cause he would not have them deceive themselves For with what Faith can he expect remission of Sins in the Name of Christ that is not heartily sorry for them Or how shall a man be able to give to others a satisfactory account of his unseigned subjection to the Gospel that yet abides in his impenitency Wherefore Repentance is here joined with Faith in the way of receiving the Gospel Faith is that without which it cannot be received at all And Repentance that without which it cannot be received unseignedly When therefore Christ says he would have Repentance and Remission of Sins preached in his Name among all Nations it is as much as to say I will that all men every where be sorry for their sins and accept of mercy at Gods hand thorow me lest they fall under his wrath in the Judgment For as I said without Repentance what pretence soever men have of Faith they cannot escape the wrath to come Wherefore Paul saith God commands all men evâ—ry where to repent in order to their Salvation because he hath appointed a day in the which he will Judge the World in Righteâ—usness by that man whom he hath ordained Acts 17.30 And now to come to this Clause Beginning at Jerusalem That is that Christ would have Jerusalem have the first offer of the Gospel 1. This cannot be so commanded because they had now any more right of themselves thereto than had any of the Nations of the World for their Sins had divested them of all self-deservings 2. Nor yet because they stood upon the advance ground with the worst of the Sinners of the Nations Nay rather the Sinners of the Nations had the advancâ—-ground of them For Jerusalem was long before she had added this Iniquity to her sin worse than the very Nations that God cast out before the Children of Israel 2 Chron. 33. 3. It must therefore follow that this Clâ—use Bâ—gin at Jerusalem was put into this Commission of meer Grace and Compassion Even from the overflowings of the Bowels of Mercy For indeed they were the worst and so in the most deplorable condition of any People under the Heavens Whatever therefore their relation was to Abraham Isaac or Jacob however they formerly had been the People among whom God had placed his Name and Worship they were now degenerated from God more than the Nations were from their Idols and were become guilty of the highest Sins which the People of the World were capable of committing Nay none can be capable of committing of such pardonable Sins as they committed against their God when they slew his Son and persecuted his Name and Word From these Words therefore thus explained we gain this
may see that indeed you are the Sons of Love. Love your Saviour Yea shew one to another that you love him not only by a seeming love of Affection but with the love of Duty Practical Love is best Many love Christ with nothing but the lick of the Tongue Alas Christ Jesus the Lord must not be put off thus He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them saith he he it is that loveth me Joh. 14.21 Practical Love which stands in Self-denial in Charity to my Neighbour and a Patient enduring of Affliction for his Name This is counted Love. Right Love to Christ is that which carries in it a provoking Argument to others of the Brethren Heb. 10.24 Should a Man ask me how he should know that he loveth the Children of God The best answer I could give him would be in the Words of the Apostle John By this saith he we know we love the Children of God when we love God and keep his Commandments 1 Joh. 5.2 Love to God and Christ is then 〈◊〉 when we are tender of his Name and then we shew our selves tender of his Name when we are afraid to break any the least of his Commandments And when we are here then do we shew our love to our Brother also Now we have Obligation sufficient thus to do for that our Lord loved us and gave himself for us to deliver us from Death that we might live through him The World when they hear the Doctrine that I have asserted and handled in this little Book to wit That Jesus Christ would have Mercy offered in the first place to the biggest Sinners will be apt because themselves are Unbelievers to think that this is a Doctrine that leads to Looseness and that gives liberty to the Flesh but if you that Believe love your Brethren and your Neighbours truly and as you should you will put to silence the ignorance of such foolish Men and stop their mouths from speaking Evil of you And I say let the love of Christ constrain us to this Who deserveth our Heart our Mouth our Life our Goods so much as Jesus Christ who has bought us to himself by his Blood to this very end that we should be a peculiar Peâ—â—le zealous of good Works There is nothing more seemly in the World than to see a Christian walk as becomes the Gospel nor any thing more unbecoming a Reasonable Creature than to hear a man say I believe in Christ and yet see in his Life Debauchery and Profaneness Might I such men should be counted the basest of men such men should be counted by all unworthy of the Name of a Christian and should be shunned by every good man as such who are the very Plague of Profession For so it is written We should carry it towards them Whoso has a Form of Godliness and deny the power thereof from such we must turn away It has oft-times come into my mind to ask by what means it is That the Gospel Profession should be so Taunted with Loose and Carnal Gospellers And I could never arrive to better Satisfaction in the matter than this Such men are made Professors by the Devil and so by him put among the rest of the Godly A certain Man had a fruitless Figg-Tree planted in his Vineyard but by whom was it planted there Even by him that sowed the Tares his own Children among the Wheat Luke 13.6 Matt. 13.37 38 39 40. And that was the Devil But why doth the Devil do thus Not of love to them but to make of them Offences and Stumbling blocks to others For he knows that a loose Professor in the Church does more mischief to Religion than ten can do to it that are in the World. Was it not think you the Devil that stirred up the Damosel that you read of in Acts 16. to cry out These are the Servants of the Most high God that shew unto us the way of Salvation Yes it was as is evident For Paul was grieved to hear it But why did the Devil stir up her to cry so But because that was the way to blemish the Gospel and to make the World think that it came from the same hand as did her Sooth-saying and Witchery Ver. 16.17 18. Holiness O Lord becomes thy House for ever Let therefore whoever they be that profess the Name of Christ take heed that they Scandal not that Profession which they make of him since he has so graciously offered us as we are Sinners of the biggest size in the first place his Grace to Save us HAving thus far spoken of the riches of the Grace of Christ and of the freeness of his Heart to imbrace the Jerusalem-sinners it may not be amiss to give you yet as a caution an intimatimation of one thing namely That this grace and freeness of his Heart is limited to time and day the which whoso overstandeth shall perish notwithstanding For as a King who of Grace sendeth out to his Rebellious People an offer of Pardon if they accept thereof by such a day yet beheadeth or hangeth those that come not in for mercy until the day or time be past So Christ Jesus has set the Sinner a day a day of Salvation an acceptable time but he who standeth out or goeth on in Rebellion beyond that time is like to come off with the loss of his Soul 2 Cor. 6.2 Heb. 3.13 16 17 18 19. chap. 4.7 Luk. 19.41 42. Since therefore things are thus it may be convenient here to touch a little upon these particulars First That this Day or Time thus limited when it is considered with reference to this or that man is oft-times undiscerned by the person concerned therein and always is kept secret as to the shutting up thereof And this in the wisdom of God is thus to the end no man when called upon should put off turning to God to another time Now and to Day is that and only that which is revealed in Holy Writ Psal. 50.22 Eccles. 12.1 Hâ—b 3.13 16. And this shews us the desperate hazzards which those men run who when invitation or conviction attends them put off turning to God to be saved till another and as they think a more fit season and time For many by so doing defer this to do till the day of God's patience and long-suffering is ended and then for their Prayers and Cryes after mercy they receive nothing but mocks and are laughed at by the God of Heaven Prov. 1.20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29. Isa. 65.12 13 14 15. chap. 66.4 Zech. 7.11 12 13. Secondly Another thing to be considered is this namely that the day of God's grace with some men begins sooner and also sooner ends than it doth with others Those at the first hour of the day had their Call sooner than they who were called upon to turn to God at the sixth hour of the day yea and they who were hired at third hour had their Call sooner than