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<DATE>2009-08-06</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">42475068</BIBNO>
<VID>151194</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>A CONTRITE AND HUMBLE HEART WITH Motives &amp; Con&s;iderations to prepare it.</P>
<P>PARIS. M.DC.XCII.</P>
<P><HI>Permi&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters"> Superiorum.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>PSALM. L.</BIBL>
<P>A Contrite &amp; Humble Heart, O God, Thou wilt not de&s;pi&s;e.</P></Q>
<Q><BIBL>I. SAM. VII.</BIBL>
<P>Prepare your Hearts to God, &amp; Serve Him onely.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>_THe <HI>Subject</HI> which I treat of, is the Be&s;t of Hearts; a <HI>Contrite</HI> &amp; an <HI>Humble</HI> One. A <HI>Heart</HI> which is the Price of Hea|ven. An ine&s;timable Jewel, which de&s;erves our &s;elling all we have to purcha&s;e it. What di&s;advantages it may have &s;ufferd in my hand, who have prepar'd &amp; fash|ion'd it according to my
<PB REF="3">Fancy, I pretend not to ex|cu&s;e. As rough, &amp; as unpo|lisht as it is, the Jewel is entire: the interiour Value of it is the &s;ame within it &s;elf: And that's aboundantly &s;ufficient to attone for all. Be&s;ides, <HI>Contrition</HI> and <HI>Humility</HI> affect not the ad|vantage of a Modish Out|&s;ide: Plain Sincerity becomes them infinitely more. An humble Penitent who has an angry God to plea&s;e, &amp; trembles under his Almigh|ty Hand, has &s;omething el&s;e to think of. When a <HI>Mag|dalen</HI> once comes with penitentiall Tears to bathe her Saviour's feet, she quite forgets her Looking-gla&s;s;
<PB REF="3">&amp; comes, without con&s;ulting it. She brings her precious Ointments with her: But the&s;e are only for her Lord: They are not, either to <HI>adorn</HI> her &s;elf, or <HI>plea&s;e</HI> the Com|pany.</P>
<P>The <HI>Method</HI> I have fol|lowd, may perhaps &s;eem ar|bitrary, &amp; require a line or two, to ju&s;tifie it. I begin with the <HI>Love of God. 1.</HI> Becau&s;e it is the <HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> the <HI>Greate&s;t,</HI> &amp; indeed the <HI>Whole</HI> Duty of Man. <HI>2.</HI> Becau&s;e although the <HI>Practi&s;e</HI> of Repentance commonly begins with Fear, goes on with Hope, &amp; ends in Love; yet where
<PB REF="4">our Practi&s;e ends, our <HI>Theory</HI> begins; and what is <HI>la&s;t</HI> perform'd, is ge|nerally <HI>fir&s;t</HI> de&s;ign'd, and principally aim'd at. <HI>3.</HI> Be|cau&s;e there is no ground for either Hope or Fear, before we Know our Duty. When we know it, and con&s;ider well how little we ob&s;erve it; Then it is that we begin to tremble at the thought of our Appearance at the Bar: The Terrour of a <HI>Living God</HI> awakens us, and makes us &s;en&s;ible, how <HI>fearfull</HI> a thing <HI>it is,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hebr. <HI>10.31.</HI></NOTE> to fall in to his hands.</HI> For this rea&s;on, in the &s;e|cond place I shew the ge|nerall <HI>Motives of</HI> our
<PB REF="4"><HI>Fear:</HI> Which, to prevent De&s;pair, I counterballance with the <HI>Motives of</HI> our <HI>Hope:</HI> And, after all, becau&s;e Pre&s;umption is the greater danger of the two, (our Pride in|clining us to think Repen|tance ea&s;y, &amp; our Self-Love dayly tempting to Differr it,) therefore I have taken care to shew the <HI>Danger of Delay.</HI> The&s;e <HI>Preparations</HI> I thought proper for a <HI>Contrite</HI> &amp; an <HI>Humble Heart.</HI></P>
<P>When I de&s;cribe <HI>Con|trition,</HI> I enlarge much more upon the <HI>Re&s;olutions</HI> of Amendment, than the <HI>Sorrow</HI> due to Sin: be|cau&s;e
<PB REF="5">the&s;e Re&s;olutions are commonly the more neg|lected of the two. A little Melancholy, or a little Tenderne&s;s of nature, with no more than meerly Self-Love in the Ca&s;e, may oftentimes produce a &s;en&s;i|ble concern, and even Tears, when we reflect upon the danger we are in: Though all this while, our Darling Humours, our beloved Sins, are every jot as dear to us as ever. Some &s;light <HI>Thoughts</HI> we have, in <HI>generall,</HI> of doing &s;o no more: But the&s;e are only &s;uperficiall: They pro|duce not a &s;incere &amp; hearty <HI>Dete&s;tation</HI> of our Cri|mes:
<PB REF="5">They are to God, what our Compliments are to our Neighbours; The&s;e are <HI>Words of cour&s;e,</HI> &amp; Tho&s;e are <HI>Thoughts of cour&s;e;</HI> Both &s;ignifie ju&s;t nothing.</P>
<P>The&s;e two Sections of <HI>Contrition</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">91.</NOTE> have been printed apart, by One who <HI>&s;ign'd</HI> the Paper as his Act &amp; Deed; inviting others to <HI>take pen in hand,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Intro. Par. <HI>1.</HI> ch. <HI>21.</HI></NOTE> &amp; do the &s;ame. I &s;ign it not with my Hand; but only wish, my Reader &amp; my &s;elf may &s;ign it with our Hearts.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t four Sections of <HI>Humility</HI> I offer little or nothing of my own. It would not have become me
<PB REF="6">to pretend to much acquain|tance with &s;o rare a Vir|tue. And be&s;ides, in &s;uch a Matter, &s;o extremely di&s;agreable to our Corrup|ted nature, there was need of more Authority than mine.</P>
<P>I conclude with the <HI>Character of a Good Chri&s;tian.</HI> Having de&s;|crib'd his <HI>Heart,</HI> I thought it would not be ami&s;s to finish the remainder of his <HI>Character.</HI> In this al&s;o, I advance not a word of my own. Should I pre&s;ume to draw a <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> to the life, 'twould be in me as great a Vanity as if my Reader should pretend to
<PB REF="6">&s;it for the Picture. I pro|duce the <HI>Scripture</HI> chiefly, &amp; the <HI>Fathers;</HI> now and then a Modern Author: Any helping Hand was welcome in &s;o difficult a Piece.</P>
<P>No matter Who I am. I am a Son of the Church; &amp; Submitt my &s;elf entire|ly to Her.
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">S. Pacian B. of Barcelone.</NOTE> My Name is <HI>CHRISTIAN,</HI> &amp; my Sur|name <HI>CATHOLICK;</HI> the re&s;t I have leave to con|ceal. God's Honour &amp; my Neighbour's Good is All I aim at; And, as to either of the&s;e De&s;igns, I have no other Name, but what is altogether u&s;ele&s;s.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="notice">
<PB REF="7">
<HEAD>Advertisement.</HEAD>
<P>_I Have yet &s;omething more to &s;ay, which I had almo&s;t quite forgotten. It relates not, either to the generall De&s;ign of this little Tract, or to any con&s;iderable Part of it; but only to &s;ome few pages in the la&s;t Section of Humility Having there propo&s;ed one generall Motive of that Virtue, by &s;etting forth the great Enormity of <HI>Sin,</HI> I proceed to &s;everall aggravating Circum&s;tances of it, and among&s;t many others I undertake to prove, that there never was, nor ever can be, upon Earth, any Impiety, Di&s;loyalty, or Treachery, equall to that of a <HI>Sinner.</HI> This could not be perform'd, without an&s;wering the Objections of &s;ome people who &s;eem to be of another Mind: And my pre&s;ent Bu&s;ine&s;s is only to put my Reader in a way of ob&s;erving, who it is that &s;peaks; that he may not confound my Ad|ver&s;aries
<PB REF="7">words with mine. I have heard of a Man who opening the first Volume of S. Thomas of Aquine, &amp; lighting by chance upon the third article, <HI>Utrum Deus &s;it?</HI> He no &s;ooner ca&s;t his eye upon the fol|lowing words, <HI>Videtur quod non,</HI> but immediately he shutt it again, &amp; laid it by, as a book perni|cious &amp; not fit to be read. Tis a gro&s;&s;e mi&s;take, to imagine that every thing, which is &s;aid <HI>in</HI> an Author, is &s;aid by him. In Scripture it &s;elf, there is many a thing &s;aid, which the Scripture dos not &s;ay. For ex|ample: Tis &s;aid in Scripture, that <HI>There is no God;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. <HI>14.</HI> v. <HI>1.</HI></NOTE> and yet the Scripture dos not &s;ay &s;o: tis <HI>the Fool</HI> that <HI>&s;ays &s;o, in his Heart:</HI> And this is my Ca&s;e, in the three Arti|cles above mention'd. There are &s;e|verall things &s;aid in them, which I do not &s;ay. There are Things, al|luding to &s;ome Tran&s;actions, which I
<PB REF="8">had no inclination to &s;peak of; but, being Objected by Others, I could not avoid An&s;wering. As to the Matter of the Objections, I &s;ay no|thing my &s;elf; but only Argue a|gain&s;t Tho&s;e who are inclin'd to &s;ay too much.</P>
<P>Tis commonly &s;aid, that <HI>Lo&s;ers have leave to talk;</HI> Nor is it altogether without rea&s;on: VVhy should they not have it? They pay for what they have. But neverthele&s;s, how hard &s;oever it may be to gou|vern a man's Pa&s;&s;ion in &s;ome occa|&s;ions, 'tis certainly a very poor ex|cu&s;e, when there is nothing but the Temptation to attone for the Sin. Let a Man lo&s;e what he will, a judicious Stander by never likes Him the wor&s;e for being VVi&s;e enough to hold his Tongue: And when we have made the be&s;t we can of the matter, tis but an unbecoming thing, to be &s;o much tran&s;ported as &s;ome are. A
<PB REF="8">Man's Reputation, in this point, is as much at &s;take as his Money; and, of the two, 'tis better to &s;ave one, than lo&s;e both.</P>
<P>&V;pon &s;uch Thoughts as the&s;e, I have ever been re&s;erv'd &amp; moderate in &s;peaking of the Times. I hold my Tongue, as an Hone&s;t man <HI>may,</HI> &amp; a VVi&s;e man <HI>ought:</HI> I &s;ubmitt to Providence, as many a better Man dos: And, whatever my Thoughts may be, I keep them to my &s;elf.</P>
<P>For this Rea&s;on al&s;o (although it be no affront to the <HI>Creation,</HI> to &s;peak ill of the <HI>Chaos</HI> which preceded it) I have, even in tho&s;e Affairs which were forerunners of the
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">92.</NOTE> pre&s;ent Settlement, taken care to &s;ay nothing of my own. The <HI>Al|lu&s;ion</HI> is totally Theirs whom I di&s;pute with: The <HI>Application</HI> only, is Mine. I pretend to &s;ilence them by their own Principles; &amp; therefore am oblig'd to give them
<PB REF="9">fair Play. I pretend not, to argue from my own Ideas of things, but from theirs; &amp; should be very di&s;|ingenuous, if I did not repre&s;ent them their own way, according to their own liking. All this while, I know well enough what to think of the&s;e matters; but is it not my bu&s;ine&s;s, at pre&s;ent, to tell any man my Thoughts. VVhat&s;oever any man may de&s;erve, I accu&s;e no man. I endeavour to entertain my &s;elf with &s;uch Con&s;iderations as be|come a <HI>Contrite</HI> &amp; an <HI>Hum|ble Heart:</HI> I accu&s;e my &s;elf in the Sight of God: And, as for Tho&s;e who &s;o violently accu&s;e their Neighbours in the Sight of Men, I have &s;o much Zeal as to wish They would plea&s;e to call home their Thoughts, &amp; find them better Em|ployment. Mean time, there's no|thing but the Grace of God can calm the Spirits of Men: And
<PB REF="9">One might as well pretend to chide the VVinds and the VVaves in a Storm, as advi&s;e people in &s;ome occa&s;ions to be Silent. The only way of Dealing with &s;uch Per|&s;ons, is to let them run on quiet|ly, till the Humour begins to be out of breath. They take it kind|ly, that they are not contradicted; &amp; are afterwards more willing to hear Rea&s;on. Let them alone: Let them &s;ay what they plea&s;e of the <HI>Mote</HI> in their Brother's eye: Never interrupt them: VVhen they have done, Then is the Time, &amp; even then 'tis hard enough, with|out Offence, to mind them of a <HI>Beam</HI> in their own. According to this Method, I have in the <HI>Allu&s;ion</HI> given the Lo&s;ers leave to talk: And afterwards, in the <HI>Application,</HI> I make a Pa|rallel, which plainly shews, Their Crimes are greater, in the Sight
<PB REF="10">of God, than ever any Man's were, in the Sight of Men.</P>
<P>VVhen our Saviour heard the Clamours of the People again&s;t the VVoman whom they loudly accus'd of Adultery, He knew well enough what to think of the matter, but however He kept his Thoughts to him&s;elf. He &s;aw how violent they were; their &s;tones ready in their hands; &amp; them&s;elves in great ha&s;t to execute the &s;entence of her Death. All the while, the Scripture &s;ays, He &s;eem'd <HI>as if he heard them not.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo. <HI>8.</HI> v. <HI>6.</HI></NOTE> He contradicted nothing; question'd nothing; what&s;oever they objected, He gave all for granted. In the end, when <HI>they conti|nued asking him,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. <HI>7.</HI></NOTE> &amp; would not be quiet without an Answer, <HI>He &s;aid; He that is with|out Sin among&s;t you, Let him</HI> fir&s;t <HI>ca&s;t a &s;tone at her.</HI></P>
<PB REF="10">
<P>And now, pray give me leave to ask: Had the VVoman any rea|&s;on, to take it ill of our Saviour, becau&s;e he &s;aid nothing in her de|fence? Or had the People any ju&s;t cau&s;e to be offended at him, be|cau&s;e he minded them of their Duty? VVithout doubt She was pery well pleas'd to hear him &s;ay nothing again&s;t her: And, as for the People, they were confounded by their own principles, &amp; went away quietly, one by one, as &s;oon as our Saviour had putt them in mind of being greater Sinners them|&s;elves. In a word, Both Parties were pleas'd: The De&s;ign of his Ar|gument was a Charity to the One: And his VVay of Arguing was no Injury to the Other.</P>
<P>If I have not the &s;ame good Fortune, in plea&s;ing both Parties, 'tis none of my fault. My VVay of Arguing and the De&s;ign of my
<PB REF="11">Argument are Both exactly the Same. VVhat&s;oever my Succe&s;s may be, My Comfort is, I have done what I can to draw <HI>Good</HI> out of <HI>Evill;</HI> and He who &s;ees my Heart, I hope, will reward my Endea|vours. My Matter led me to it, whether I would or no, And 'twould have been an uncharitable thing, to &s;tep out of the way, when I thought my &s;elf in &s;uch a fair one, of Doing Good.</P>
<P><HI>Page</HI> 67. <HI>line</HI> 18. way. <HI>read</HI> may. p. 91. l. 22. witten. <HI>r.</HI> written. p. 140. lin. 11. (?) <HI>r.</HI> (.) p. 141. l. 7. <HI>have. r I have.</HI> p. 202. l. 10. Spri|tuall. <HI>r.</HI> Spirituall. <HI>p.</HI> 203. l. 10. de|depends. <HI>r.</HI> depends. p. 216. l. 10. has dishonour. <HI>r.</HI> has dishonour'd. <HI>p.</HI> 225. l. 23. <HI>his.</HI> r. <HI>is.</HI> p. 235. l. 22. not. <HI>r.</HI> not for. p. 280. l. 18. if we once. r. if once. p. 301. l. 14. bids always. r. bids us always. p. 331. l. 6. All is. r. All his.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="1" REF="11">
<HEAD>MOTIVES OF LOVE.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I. <HI>How much it imports us to Love God above All Things.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_WHen the Phari&s;ee askt our Saviour, <HI>VVhat is the Great Com|mandement in the Law?</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 22.36.</NOTE> Our dear Redeemer, who came to perfect the Old Law, who came to change the Law of <HI>Fear</HI> into a
<PB N="2" REF="12">Law of <HI>Love,</HI> who brought down fire from Heaven to enflame our Hearts, replyd: <HI>Thou shalt Love thy Lord thy God with all thy Heart,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 37.</NOTE> with all thy Soul,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 38.</NOTE> with all thy Mind. This is the Great Commandement.</HI></P>
<P>I fear that many of us litle think how <HI>Great</HI> it is. We litle reflect on the one &s;ide how great our <HI>Obliga|tions</HI> are to Love our God; &amp; on the other &s;ide how great are the <HI>Advantages</HI> which cannot fail to attend this Love. We litle con&s;ider how great our <HI>Ingratitude</HI> is, if we omit our <HI>Greate&s;t Duty;</HI> How great our <HI>Folly</HI> is, if we neglect our <HI>Greate&s;t Good.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<PB N="3" REF="12">
<HEAD>SECT. II. <HI>That the Love of God is our Greate&s;t Duty.</HI></HEAD>
<P>TO make it plainly appear that the Love of God above all things is the <HI>Greatest Duty</HI> of a Chri&s;tian, One would think it were enough to shew, that 'tis a Duty which compri&s;es all our other Duties; that it is the Total Sum of Chri&s;tiani|ty; &amp; that, without the lea&s;t hyperbole, it is the <HI>VVhole Duty of Man;</HI> becau&s;e all other Precepts what&s;oever only are &s;o many Branches of this <HI>Great Commandement,</HI> which is the Root of all the re&s;t.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Serm. de Orat. Domin.</NOTE> S. Cyprian calls it the <HI>Grand Epitome</HI> of all our Obliga|tions.
<PB N="4" REF="13">And were it nece&s;&s;a|ry, it were ea&s;y to demon|&s;trate that as God is there|fore infinitely Perfecter than all his Creatures, becau&s;e He really contains in his own E&s;&s;ence all Perfections what&s;oever; &s;o our <HI>Obliga|tion</HI> to Love him is incom|parably greater than all o|ther obligations, becau&s;e it eminently comprehends them all together.</P>
<P>This is enough to give us a confus'd Idea of our <HI>Duty</HI> at a di&s;tance. If we draw the pro&s;pect nigher, we shall find an infinite va|riety of pre&s;&s;ing motives which enforce our Obliga|tion. Every &s;ingle Excellen|cy of the Object we adore is all Divine&punc; No shadow there of any Blemish to ob|&s;cure
<PB N="5" REF="13">tho&s;e Charms which challenge our Affection: Nothing in our God but what is infinitely amiable, &amp; de&s;erving infinitely more than <HI>All</HI> the Love that we are able to return. Since therefore All and every one of his innumerable Excel|lencies are unlimited &amp; boundle&s;s; &s;ince they All &amp; every one de&s;erve a &s;ui|table E&s;teem; &s;ince they command our Love as much as they de&s;erve it: hence it follows clearly, that our Duty is as boundle&s;s as their Merit; &amp; that, as S. Ber|nard &s;ays, <HI>There is no other Mea&s;ure of our Love, than Loving without Mea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P>Among&s;t the numberle&s;s variety of tho&s;e divine Per|fections, which <HI>the Eye has
<PB N="6" REF="14">not &s;een,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.9.</NOTE> nor the Ear heard, nor have enter'd into the Heart of any man;</HI> there is One which we are more acquainted with; there's One which in a manner makes the re&s;t our own; &amp; which, of all, is the mo&s;t apt to make a &s;en&s;ible impre&s;&s;ion in a Generous Heart; I mean that of a <HI>True Friend.</HI> We read in <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticus,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">6.15.</NOTE> that <HI>There is nothing comparable to a</HI> True &amp; <HI>Faithfull Friend:</HI> and that, in the ballance of the Wi&s;e, <HI>He weighs much more than all the Gold &amp; Silver in the world.</HI> As there is nothing Better upon Earth than a <HI>True Friend,</HI> &s;o there is nothing more pre|tended to. And as the world deceives us mo&s;t, where we expect it lea&s;t; &s;o there is hardly any thing in which
<PB N="7" REF="14">it more deceives us, than in this. Of all, that read the&s;e lines, perhaps there is not one who has not been already very much mi&s;ta|ken in a <HI>Friend:</HI> and 'tis no wonder, if we always <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;o, till we rai&s;e our hearts above this World, &amp; fix them there, where we are &s;ure to find a <HI>True</HI> &amp; <HI>Faith|full</HI> One; who Loves us <HI>gra|tis; Always</HI> Lov'd us; Lov'd us even <HI>when we were his Ene|mies;</HI> and will for all Eter|nity continue the &s;ame Love, unle&s;s we prove <HI>&V;n|gratefull,</HI> &amp; refu&s;e to Love Him above all things, as He very well de&s;erves.</P>
<P>He Loves us <HI>gratis:</HI> Not for any Good He gains by it; or any litle Service we can do him. He cannot
<PB N="8" REF="15">&s;tand in need of any of tho&s;e Goods, which every moment He be&s;tows upon us.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">16.2.</NOTE> <HI>Thou art my God,</HI> &s;ays the P&s;almi&s;t; <HI>My Goodne&s;s extends not to Thee.</HI> When we have done all we can,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke</HI> 17.10.</NOTE> <HI>we are un|profitable Servants:</HI> We have done our &s;elves the great|e&s;t good we can imagine, but our God is not a jot the better for't.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Lib.</HI> 10. <HI>de Civ.</HI></NOTE> <HI>The Fountain,</HI> &s;ays S. Au&s;tin, <HI>is not better for our drinking at the Stream, nor the Sun the better for our walking by his Light.</HI> If I may u&s;e S. Paul's expre&s;&s;ion,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.14.</NOTE> <HI>He &s;eeks not what is Ours, but &V;s.</HI> He &s;eeks for nothing but our Love, &amp; even this Com|mand he lays upon us meer|ly for our Good:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Deut.</HI> 10.12.13.</NOTE> <HI>And Now,</HI> &s;ays He, <HI>what dos thy Lord thy God require of thee, but to Love
<PB N="9" REF="15">Him with all thy Heart; vvhich I command thee, this Day, for thy Good.</HI> Behold dear Chri&s;tians, a <HI>True</HI> &amp; Faithfull <HI>Friend!</HI> and &s;ee how you can an&s;wer it to your Good Nature, if you do not Love Him.</P>
<P>He <HI>always</HI> Lov'd us; al|ways thought of us; not only all of us in generall, but every one of us; &amp; Lov'd us with a Love E|ternall as Him&s;elf. He &s;ays, in the Prophet Jeremy;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">13.3.</NOTE> <HI>I have Lov'd Thee, with an Eternall Love; therefore with loving Kind|ne&s;s have I drawn Thee.</HI> And what more powerfull At|tractive can there be to <HI>draw</HI> us to Him; than that <HI>Lo|ving Kindne&s;s</HI> which from all Eternity took care of our Concerns, contriv'd our future Happyne&s;s, &amp; drew
<PB N="10" REF="16">a Scheme of all the nece&s;&s;a|ry means to bring us to it. Except him&s;elf, He hardly thought of any thing but Us; Our fir&s;t Creation, our Redemption, our Salvation, were always in his Eye; they were the Eternall En|tertainment of his mind; they were the Great De|&s;ign which gave occa&s;ion to the fir&s;t Production of this World, which we ungrate|fully preferr before Him, though He made it for us. <HI>Never for&s;ake your Old Friend,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eccli.</HI> 9.14.</NOTE> your New one will never be like Him.</HI> Alas! who can help it, if we will be &s;o <HI>ungratefull,</HI> &amp; for&s;ake &s;o ancient a Friend? we may be &s;ure it is impo&s;|&s;ible to find a New one comparable to him.</P>
<P>He Lov'd us, even <HI>when
<PB N="11" REF="16">we were his Enemies.</HI> Tis true; The fir&s;t Production of the Univer&s;e was Proof enough; &amp; no man can deny but that &s;o Great a Gift be|&s;towd upon us, for our U&s;e, aboundantly &s;ets forth the Greatne&s;s of his Love. But yet the whole Crea|tion of the World is no|thing to the con&s;tant Con|&s;ervation of it for our &s;akes, who have &s;o <HI>long</HI> &s;o <HI>much</HI> abus'd it. If the fir&s;t be&s;towing of a more than ordinary favour, without any previous merit on our &s;ide, be &s;uch an argument of more than ordinary Love; What is the con&s;tant repetition &amp; continuation of the Same &s;o long a time, although the longer we en|joy it, we demerit more &amp;
<PB N="12" REF="17">more, &amp; are as <HI>ob&s;tinate</HI> in our <HI>Ingratitude</HI> as He is <HI>con|&s;tant</HI> in his <HI>Kindne&s;s?</HI> Was there ever any <HI>true</HI> &amp; hear|ty <HI>Love,</HI> like this! S. Paul expre&s;&s;es &s;ome re&s;&s;emblance of it in a &s;econd Letter which he writes to the Co|rinthians, &amp; declares his readyne&s;s to &s;erve them, <HI>though</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>the more aboun|dantly I love you,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.15.</NOTE> the le&s;&s;e I am lov'd.</HI> We read it in the 12. chapter, which relates his Rapture into the third Hea|ven: and without all doubt this <HI>Love</HI> of his was copyed there from the divine Ori|ginall. If one &s;mall Spark of this cele&s;tial Love had &s;uch a wonderfull effect in the Apo&s;tle's brea&s;t; What can we &s;ay or think of that immen&s;e &amp; boundle&s;s Fire
<PB N="13" REF="17">of Everla&s;ting Love, which no Ingratitude of Man was ever able to extinguish! Though our God fore&s;aw how much it was in vain to court our Love, although He was not ignorant that his Affection for &s;o ba&s;e &amp; &s;o unworthy Creatures would be more de&s;pis'd the more he labour'd to endear us to him; though He knew before hand the unparal|lelld Ingratitude of Man; Neverthele&s;s He &s;ent his only Son to &s;ave us, He could not hold his Hand, He could not deny him&s;elf the Satisfaction of being in|finitely Kind. <HI>Be a&s;tonisht,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jerem.</HI> 2.12.</NOTE> O ye Heavens, at this!</HI></P>
<P>S. John, di&s;cour&s;ing of this Love, takes notice of no other motive of it than
<PB N="12" REF="18">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="13" REF="18">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="14" REF="19">our <HI>Gratitude;</HI> our indi&s;pen|&s;able Obligation to be Gratefull to &s;o <HI>Good</HI> a <HI>Friend.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Jo. 4.19.</HI></NOTE> We <HI>Love Him,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>becau&s;e He fir&s;t Lov'd &V;s.</HI> He dos not &s;ay, becau&s;e He's infinitely Good &amp; Perfect <HI>in him&s;elf,</HI> but becau&s;e He has been infi|nitely Good &amp; Kind <HI>to us.</HI> His rea&s;on I gather from the 12. v. of the &s;ame Chap|ter, where He &s;ays, <HI>No man has &s;een God any time;</HI> &amp; the 20. where he adds, <HI>How can a man Love God, whom he has not &s;een?</HI> If we had ever &s;een him <HI>Face to Face,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.12.</NOTE> as all the Ble&s;&s;ed Spirits do in Hea|ven, we should then have lov'd Him <HI>here</HI> as they do <HI>there;</HI> The very <HI>Sight</HI> of Him (although He never had been Kind) would have tran&s;ported us beyond all
<PB N="15" REF="19">thoughts of any thing but Him; it would have been impo&s;&s;ible to entertain the lea&s;t impre&s;&s;ion of any other Love, in Competition with Him. But becau&s;e this Hap|pyne&s;s is not to be expected here, where 'tis impo&s;&s;ible to <HI>&s;ee Him as He is:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Jo.</HI> 3.2.</NOTE> There|fore S. John, <HI>the Di&s;ciple whom</HI> JESUS <HI>Lov'd,</HI> Who by expe|rience knew that no im|pre&s;&s;ion &s;inks deeper in a Generous heart,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 21. <HI>v.</HI> 7.</NOTE> than the endearing Obligation of re|turning Love for Love, pleads nothing el&s;e but <HI>Gra|titude</HI> for the fullfilling of this Great Commande|ment; <HI>VVe Love Him,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Jo.</HI> 4.19.</NOTE> &s;ays he, <HI>becau&s;e He fir&s;t Lov'd us.</HI></P>
<P>There's nothing more ob|liging than the <HI>Love</HI> of a <HI>True Friend;</HI> &amp; nothing el&s;e obli|ges
<PB N="16" REF="20">us without it. What|&s;oever the interiour value of a Benefit amounts to, when we ca&s;t it up, the Obligation is not taxt by any other weight or mea&s;ure than his <HI>Love</HI> to whom we &s;tand indebted for it. In this Ca&s;e, <HI>Ingratitude</HI> of all crimes is the mo&s;t unpar|donable, a Crime &s;o ba&s;e, which Human Nature &s;o abhorrs, that even the Wor&s;t of men who are asham'd of nothing el&s;e, can never en|dure that any man should either <HI>&s;ay</HI> or <HI>think</HI> They are <HI>&V;ngratefull.</HI> Other &s;ins they publish to the World, but This They always labour to conceal. And though I &s;carce can think of any Wicked|ne&s;s &s;o infamous but Some have been &s;o Wicked as to
<PB N="17" REF="20">Glory in it; yet <HI>Ingratitude</HI> is &s;o <HI>&V;nworthy,</HI> carries &s;o much <HI>Ba&s;ene&s;s</HI> in the very Front of it, that I could never hear of any that were ever Proud of being thought <HI>&V;ngratefull.</HI> Rather than a Man should think They are &s;o, they in|vent a thou&s;and frivolous pretences to di&s;own the Obligation; they quarrell with the Benefit; revile the Benefactor; &amp; that they may deny a <HI>le&s;s</HI> Ingratitude they hide it with a <HI>greater.</HI> So asham'd they are to own this fault, that they had rather <HI>be</HI> a thou&s;and times ungratefull than be once <HI>e&s;teemd</HI> &s;o.</P>
<P>This is the Crime which many of us are &s;o Guilty of, although we as are as much <HI>unwilling</HI> to <HI>beleeve</HI> it, as we
<PB N="18" REF="21">are <HI>asham'd</HI> to <HI>own</HI> it. And One of the mo&s;t notorious aggravations of our great <HI>Ingratitude</HI> is this; that we not only are &s;o, but are in a manner quite in&s;en&s;ible of being &s;o. Becau&s;e our God is infinitely <HI>more</HI> our Friend than any Other can be, Therefore we regard Him infinitely <HI>le&s;s.</HI> We can|not without indignation ob&s;erve one man ungrate|full to another: <HI>The very Sto|ry of an ungratefull Action,</HI> &s;ays Seneca, <HI>puts us out of all Pa|tience, and gives us a loathing for the Author of it. That inhuman Villain, we cry, to do &s;o horrid a Thing!</HI> And yet when we ob&s;erve how horribly un|gratefull a poor mi&s;erable Creature is to our Creator, we take litle notice of it;
<PB N="19" REF="21">we regard it with a cold indifference, as if we were content it should be &s;o.</P>
<P>We cannot plead in our defence that we are igno|rant how much we &s;tand indebted to him for his Love: Alas! we all know well enough that there was never any <HI>Love</HI> like His: &s;o <HI>True,</HI> &s;o <HI>Ancient,</HI> &amp; &s;o <HI>Con|stant.</HI> If we plead Forgetfull|ne&s;s or Inadvertency; 'twill only make the matter wor&s;e by offering to mend it. <HI>He is the mo&s;t &V;ngratefull of all,</HI> &s;ays the Morall Philo&s;opher, <HI>who Forgets either the Benefactor, or the Benefit.</HI> And yet when we have made the be&s;t we can of an ill Cau&s;e, 'tis cer|tain that the <HI>true,</HI> if not the <HI>only,</HI> Rea&s;on why we are in&s;en&s;ible of our <HI>Ingra|titude,</HI>
<PB N="20" REF="22">is becau&s;e we &s;eldom call to mind, &amp; almo&s;t quite <HI>Forget,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Jo.</HI> 4.19.</NOTE> how <HI>Great</HI> our <HI>Obli|gation</HI> is <HI>to Love</HI> our <HI>God, be|cau&s;e He fir&s;t Lov'd us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>All the Ends of the VVorld,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;alm.</HI> 22.28.</NOTE> &s;ays the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>shall Remember, and be Converted to God.</HI> Let us <HI>Remember</HI> only What a <HI>Friend</HI> God is; how infinitely Bet|ter than the Be&s;t we have be&s;ides: Let us <HI>Remember</HI> on|ly <HI>This,</HI> and We <HI>shall</HI> be <HI>Con|verted:</HI> We shall be asham'd of our <HI>Ingratitude,</HI> and <HI>Love Him</HI> above all Things.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. III. <HI>That the Love of God is our Greate&s;t Good.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WHatever our <HI>Duty</HI> is&punc; the very word <HI>Com|mandement</HI>
<PB N="21" REF="22">is always odious to tho&s;e who love their <HI>Li|berty,</HI> &amp; makes it &s;o much harder to go down with them. But yet, if after &s;e|cond thoughts upon the matter, we di&s;cover that One rea&s;on, why it is our Greate&s;t Obligation, is be|cau&s;e it is our <HI>Greate&s;t Good;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 11.30.</NOTE> the <HI>Yoke</HI> will then &s;eem <HI>ea&s;y</HI> &amp; the <HI>Burthen light.</HI></P>
<P>Three things there are, which gain our Hearts, command our Inclinations, &amp; in a manner gouvern all our Actions; and the&s;e three things are, <HI>Honour, Pro|fit, Plea&s;ure.</HI> What&s;oever we call <HI>Good</HI> falls under one of the&s;e three Heads; tis ei|ther <HI>Honourable, Profitable,</HI> or <HI>Delightfull.</HI> All the&s;e three ac|company the <HI>Love</HI> of God;
<PB N="22" REF="23">&amp; none of them are ever be found without it.</P>
<P N="1">1. To begin with <HI>Honour:</HI> I take for granted, No man ought to judge that <HI>This</HI> or <HI>That</HI> is <HI>Honourable,</HI> becau&s;e the Generality of Mankind, by mi&s;take, is apt to value &amp; admire it; but before he gives his verdict, every man should fir&s;t con&s;ider well the merits of the cau&s;e. A Wife Man though he liv'd among&s;t a Multitude of In|fidells, &amp; &s;aw how much they honour &amp; adore fal&s;e Gods, he would not there|fore pre&s;ently conclude &s;uch Idols <HI>Honourable;</HI> but would rather laugh at tho&s;e who are &s;o blind as not to &s;ee how litle <HI>They</HI> de&s;erve it. The Que&s;tion is not, what we (by a vulgar er|rour)
<PB N="23" REF="23">are inclin'd to <HI>honour</HI> mo&s;t, but What it is that is mo&s;t worthy of it? And This upon a &s;trict enquiry will appear to be the <HI>Love of God. Honour,</HI> at all hands, is agreed to be, a <HI>Te&s;timo|ny</HI> of &s;ome Excellence; and Nothing can be truly ho|nourable, if it be not tru|ly <HI>Excellent.</HI> A man has no ju&s;t Title to his Honour (any more than what the common Duties of Civili|ty amount to) if he have not &s;omething in him more than ordinary, &s;ome Perfection to di&s;tingui&s;h Him, &amp; rai&s;e him to a Height more elevated than the lowe&s;t Rank of men.</P>
<P>The Qualities which ju&s;t|ly challenge men's <HI>E&s;teem,</HI> are <HI>VVi&s;dom, Justice, Power,</HI>
<PB N="24" REF="24">&amp; What&s;oever rai&s;es us to the Perfection of our Na|ture.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2.2. <HI>q.</HI> 47. <HI>a.</HI> 13.</NOTE> As for <HI>VVi&s;dom;</HI> S. Tho|mas of Aquine has demon|&s;trated that No man can be truly <HI>VVi&s;e,</HI> who dos not Love God above all things. <HI>He may be,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>a VVi&s;e Merchant, or a VVi&s;e Pilot,</HI> a Wi&s;e State&s;man, or a Wi&s;e. Generall; becau&s;e he may be <HI>Prudent in the choice of Proper Means well fitted to the</HI> Purpo&s;e &amp; <HI>De&s;ign</HI> of &s;uch Employ|ments: But 'tis impo&s;&s;ible to be a <HI>VVi&s;e Man</HI> without being <HI>VVi&s;e in order to the Pro|per End of</HI> MAN, the great De&s;ign of his Creation, which is nothing but the Knowledg &amp; the <HI>Love of God.</HI> A Magi&s;trate, who is crea|ted meerly for the <HI>Publick Peace,</HI> whatever he may be
<PB N="25" REF="24">in other things, if he be not <HI>VVi&s;e</HI> in order to <HI>that End,</HI> He is not a <HI>VVi&s;e Magi&s;trate:</HI> And &s;ince All Mankind was created to be happy in an Everla&s;ting Union with God, Whatever a Per&s;on may be in other Affairs, if he be not Wi&s;e in order to this End, He may be a Wi&s;e <HI>VVhat you plea&s;e,</HI> but he is not a <HI>VVi&s;e</HI> MAN.</P>
<P>As for <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> I would gladly know how any Man is thoroughly &amp; truly <HI>Ju&s;t,</HI> who is perpetually Guilty of the mo&s;t notorious in|ju&s;tice, we can think of. Such is the Man, who&ecirc;re he be, that dos not <HI>Love</HI> his Maker as he ought. Tis true; He only is <HI>inju&s;t</HI> to <HI>God;</HI> He only wrongs Him|&s;elf; he never wrong'd his
<PB N="26" REF="25">Neighbour, may be, all his Life. But what would you &s;ay of a Steward who <HI>only</HI> cheats his <HI>Ma&s;ter?</HI> Would you think him a <HI>Just Man,</HI> becau&s;e he never cheats his Fellow-Servants?</P>
<P>As for <HI>Power:</HI> I Confe&s;s it may be <HI>Great,</HI> in &s;ome par|ticular re&s;pects, but never can be <HI>Ab&s;olute,</HI> without the <HI>Love</HI> of <HI>God.</HI> I may &s;ay the &s;ame of <HI>Power,</HI> that S. Tho|mas &s;ays of Wi&s;dom. A Man without this <HI>Love</HI> may be a <HI>Powerfull Prince,</HI> a <HI>Power|full VVarriour,</HI> or the like: be|cau&s;e, without it, He may have all <HI>Power</HI> nece&s;&s;ary for the main De&s;ign of <HI>Gouvern|ment,</HI> or <HI>VVar,</HI> &amp;c. But &s;ince, without this <HI>Love,</HI> he nei|ther can <HI>Command</HI> his <HI>Pa&s;sions,</HI> nor <HI>Him&s;elf;</HI> 'tis evident He
<PB N="27" REF="25">has not all the <HI>Power</HI> nece&s;|&s;ary to attain the proper <HI>End</HI> of <HI>Man's</HI> Creation: in a word, He is no <HI>Powerfull</HI> MAN, who is not <HI>Ma&s;ter</HI> of <HI>Him&s;elf.</HI></P>
<P>Thus you may plainly &s;ee how the&s;e three Characters of <HI>VVi&s;e, Ju&s;t, Powerfull,</HI> which are the mo&s;t e&s;teem'd &amp; <HI>Honour'd</HI> in the World, are only Shadows, &amp; imperfect Semblances, if &s;eparated from the <HI>Love of God.</HI> You plainly &s;ee; that it not on|ly is the Greate&s;t <HI>Excellence</HI> of <HI>Man,</HI> mo&s;t <HI>Honourable,</HI> mo&s;t <HI>De&s;erving</HI> our, <HI>E&s;teem;</HI> but that, without it, there is hard|ly any Thing which <HI>truly is</HI> &s;o.</P>
<P N="2">2. As it is our Greate&s;t Honour, &s;o it is our <HI>Great|e&s;t Profit.</HI> S. Paul was &s;o &s;en|&s;ible
<PB N="28" REF="26">of this, that though the Fervour of his Zeal ap|pears in all his Writings, yet he never &s;peaks with greater Empha&s;is than when he has a fair occa&s;ion to di&s;cour&s;e upon this &s;ubject. <HI>Though I &s;peak,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.</NOTE> &s;ays he, <HI>with the Tongues of Men &amp; Angels, &amp; have not</HI> CHARITY, <HI>I am become like &s;ounding Bra&s;s, or a tinkling Cymbal. And though I have the Gift of Prophecy, &amp; under|&s;tand all My&s;teries, &amp; all Know|ledg: and though I have all Faith &s;o that I could remove Mountains, &amp; have no Charity; I am Nothing. And though I be&s;tow all my Goods to feed the Poor, &amp; though I give my Body to be burn'd, &amp; have not Charity; it</HI> PROFITS <HI>me no|thing.</HI> He has reckon'd up the greate&s;t <HI>Gifts,</HI> &amp; be&s;t <HI>Ad|vantages,</HI> that he could call
<PB N="29" REF="26">to mind; &amp; yet he &s;ays, They <HI>All</HI> are <HI>Nothing</HI> to our Purpo&s;e, without <HI>Love.</HI> On the other &s;ide, the &s;ame A|po&s;tle teaches us, that All things el&s;e are Profitable <HI>with</HI> it, though they never can be &s;o <HI>without</HI> it. <HI>VVeknow,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 8.28.</NOTE> &s;ays he, <HI>that All things work together for</HI> GOOD, <HI>to tho&s;e who</HI> LOVE <HI>God.</HI> The Secret of changing all things in to Gold has, in vain, long time been &s;ought for: but the my&s;tery of changing all the meane&s;t of our Ac|tions in to more than Gold, is much more ea&s;y to be found.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.31.</NOTE> <HI>VVhatever ye do</HI> &s;ays S. Paul, <HI>Do all to the Glory of God;</HI> &amp; every thing you do, will have more value in his &s;ight, than all the Gold &amp; Silver in the
<PB N="30" REF="27">World. The lea&s;t Degree of <HI>Love,</HI> the colde&s;t Act of <HI>Charity,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 10.42.</NOTE> even the Giving <HI>a Cup of cold water,</HI> for the Love of God, our Saviour tells us, <HI>shall in no wi&s;e loo&s;e its Reward.</HI> So true is that, of S. Au&s;tin; <HI>All things el&s;e are Profitable, with it; Nothing el&s;e is truly &s;o, without it.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. As it is our <HI>Greate&s;t Profit,</HI> &s;o it is our <HI>Greate&s;t Plea&s;ure:</HI> There is Nothing &s;o <HI>Delightfull,</HI> even in this World, as to <HI>Love God with all our Heart, with all our Soul, with all our Mind.</HI> Tis hard enough, I know, to make the World beleeve it: Be|cau&s;e although the Truth be, in it &s;elf, as clear &amp; bright as the Meridian Sun; Our Pa&s;sions rai&s;e a clou|dy Mi&s;t before our Eyes,
<PB N="31" REF="27">which intercepts the Sight of it. All Per&s;ons, who&s;e Affections are fixt upon the Plea&s;ures of this World, can hardly ever be per&s;ua|ded but that the <HI>Love of God</HI> is the Dulle&s;t, &amp; the mo&s;t In&s;ipid Thing imaginable. They ea&s;ily conceive, that Nothing is &s;o <HI>Honourable,</HI> as to be a <HI>Saint;</HI> And that it is but very litle <HI>Profit</HI> for a Man <HI>to gain the VVorld,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 16.26.</NOTE> &amp; loo&s;e his Soul:</HI> The <HI>Honour</HI> &amp; the <HI>Profit</HI> are agreed upon; But where's the <HI>Plea&s;ure?</HI> All that can be &s;aid upon this &s;ubject, They are unac|quainted with, They un|der&s;tand it not. He prea|ches in an <HI>unknown Tongue,</HI> who preaches the Love of God to tho&s;e who ne|ver Lov'd Him. <HI>The Language
<PB N="32" REF="28">of Love,</HI> &s;ays S. Bernard, <HI>is Barbarous, to tho&s;e who Love not.</HI></P>
<P>As &s;oon as ever they be|gin to <HI>turn</HI> their back upon the&s;e rotten Plea&s;ures, &amp; <HI>look</HI> towards Heaven; pre|&s;ently the&s;e Darlings of their Heart begin, as it were,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Conf. lib.</HI> 8.</NOTE> to <HI>pull them by the &s;leeve,</HI> as Saint Au&s;tin words it, <HI>&amp; whi&s;per in their Ear; Do you For&s;ake &V;s? And from this mo|ment shall we have your Company no more,</HI> FOR EVER? <HI>Shall we</HI> NEVER <HI>&s;ee you more?</HI> Thus they &s;ollicite, Thus they importune, &amp; tempt them, to differr the time of their Conver&s;ion. <HI>Do you think it po&s;sible</HI> to Live <HI>without</HI> the Plea&s;ures of this World? Ah Chri&s;tians! Tis not on|ly po&s;sible; it is the <HI>Great|e&s;t Plea&s;ure</HI> in the World to
<PB N="33" REF="28">Live without them. Tis true: The very Thoughts of <HI>Separation</HI> are like Thoughts of <HI>Death:</HI> But then we ought to reflect, that as we feel no pain when we are <HI>Dead,</HI> but all our pain is only whil&s;t we are in <HI>Dying:</HI> So we feel the pain of lea|ving worldly Plea&s;ures, whil&s;t we are <HI>Deliberating</HI> what to Do; But we are <HI>Dead,</HI> We feel no pain at all, when once we are <HI>Re|&s;olv'd</HI> upon't. <HI>You are Dead,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3.3.</NOTE> &s;ays S. Paul to the Colo&s;|&s;ians, <HI>and your Life is hidden with Chri&s;t in God. I am Dead,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2.19.20.</NOTE> &s;ays the &s;ame Apo&s;tle to the Galatians, &amp; <HI>the Life which I now live in the Flesh, I live by the Faith of the Son of God who Lov'd me.</HI> See the power|full Effects of Love! It
<PB N="34" REF="29">makes us as in&s;en&s;ible to all the <HI>Plea&s;ures</HI> of this World, as if our Inclina|tions were already <HI>Dead,</HI> &amp; quite Extinguisht in Us. <HI>Love is as Strong as Death.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Cant.</HI> 8.6.</NOTE></P>
<P>Tis this Victorious <HI>Love</HI> which frees us from the Tyranny of all tho&s;e <HI>Pa&s;|&s;ions,</HI> which <HI>divide</HI> the <HI>King|dom</HI> of our <HI>Heart:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 12.25.26.</NOTE> a King|dom <HI>brought to De&s;olation; where Satan ca&s;ts out Satan; &amp; How can this Kingdom stand?</HI> How is there any true <HI>Content</HI> and <HI>Satisfaction</HI> to be found in it? A Man who places all his Happyne&s;s in Humouring his Pa&s;sions, can never plea&s;e him&s;elf, till he has pleas'd them All: And &s;ince it is impo&s;sible to plea&s;e <HI>two Ma&s;|ters,</HI> how is't po&s;sible for any Man to plea&s;e <HI>&s;o many?</HI>
<PB N="35" REF="29">I might here appeal to each Man's private Con&s;cience for a farther Te&s;timony of this Truth; But, if a Sul|len Con&s;cience (even when it is upon the Wrack) re|fu&s;es to Confe&s;s, We have the Word of God, the be&s;t &amp; cleare&s;t Evidence, we can de&s;ire: <HI>The VVicked,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 57.20, 21.</NOTE> &s;ays He, <HI>are like the troubled Sea, when it cannot Re&s;t; who&s;e VVa|ters cast up Mire &amp; Dirt: There is no</HI> PEACE, <HI>&s;ays my God, to the VVicked.</HI></P>
<P>On the other &s;ide, when once the <HI>Love of God</HI> has full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of our <HI>Heart;</HI> when Chri&s;t <HI>Gouverns</HI> it by <HI>Faith,</HI> &amp; the Holy Gho&s;t by <HI>Charity;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gen.</HI> 1.2. <HI>Math.</HI> 8.26.</NOTE> when <HI>the Spirit of God</HI> begins to <HI>moue upon the face of the VVaters;</HI> it pre&s;ently <HI>Com|mands the VVinds &amp; the Sea,</HI> &amp;
<PB N="36" REF="30">there &s;ucceeds a <HI>Great Calm.</HI> In a word, As much as Li|berty is more agreable than Slavery, As much as Uni|ty is better than Divi&s;ion, As much as Peace, Content, &amp; Ea&s;e, are more <HI>Delightfull</HI> than perpetuall Di&s;turbance, Di&s;content &amp; Pain; &s;o much the <HI>Plea&s;ure,</HI> which at|tends the <HI>Love of God,</HI> is <HI>Great|er</HI> than the <HI>Plea&s;ures of this VVorld.</HI></P>
<P>Had it been po&s;&s;ible for our Creator to oblige us All to <HI>Love</HI> Him <HI>gratis,</HI> we might then have had more Colour for our Crime. And yet, it would have been no more than what He very well de&s;erves. He Lov'd us <HI>gra|tis,</HI> without any po&s;&s;ibility of Recompence: He hum|bled him&s;elf to repair our
<PB N="37" REF="30"><HI>Honour;</HI> He quitted Heaven to promote our <HI>Intere&s;t;</HI> He &s;ufferd torments to procure our <HI>Ea&s;e;</HI> And it would only be a Suitable Return, if we preferr'd his <HI>Honour, Intere&s;t,</HI> &amp; <HI>Plea&s;ure,</HI> far before our own. But, as our Kind &amp; Gracious God has or|der'd it to our advantage, we are All oblig'd to &s;eek our Own <HI>True</HI> Honour, In|tere&s;t, &amp; Plea&s;ure; &amp; de&s;|pi&s;e the <HI>Fal&s;e</HI> Appearances of <HI>Honourable, Profitable,</HI> &amp; <HI>De|lightfull,</HI> which the World en|deavours to delude us with.</P>
<P>When we have made the mo&s;t we can of &s;uch an Ob|ligation, 'twill amount to neither more nor le&s;&s;e than What we dayly &s;ee before our Eyes. Con&s;ider how the Ambitious, the Cove|tous,
<PB N="38" REF="31">&amp; the Voluptuous, love their Honours, Riches, Plea|&s;ures: Is it not plain, They <HI>Love</HI> them <HI>above all</HI> things? And why should not we <HI>Love God</HI> as well as World|lings <HI>Love</HI> the <HI>VVorld?</HI> They Love it <HI>with all their Heart,</HI> They <HI>de&s;ire</HI> nothing el&s;e but to enjoy it; <HI>with all their Soul,</HI> They have no <HI>pa&s;sion</HI> for any thing el&s;e; <HI>with all their Mind,</HI> They <HI>think</HI> of nothing el&s;e, but how to make a Figure in it. Has <HI>God</HI> le&s;s charms than the <HI>VVorld?</HI> Or is a <HI>Flattering Friend</HI> (well known to be our Greate&s;t Enemy) more amiable than the <HI>Be&s;t</HI> of Friends, mo&s;t True, mo&s;t Ancient, &amp; mo&s;t Con&s;tant, who has always Lov'd us better than we Love our &s;elves? Is it a
<PB N="39" REF="31">Greater <HI>Honour,</HI> for a Man to be the Divel's Slave, than be a Favourite of God? Is it a Greater <HI>Profit,</HI> to be cheated in the End, than be Eternally Rewarded? Or are tho&s;e <HI>Plea&s;ures</HI> which are always mixt with intervalls of di&s;content, anxiety, &amp; pain, greater than tho&s;e De|lights which are unchange|able, immortall, &amp; divine, which even in this Vale of Mi&s;ery begin our Heaven upon Earth? Ah Chri&s;tians! We have litle rea&s;on to di&s;pute the terms of &s;uch an Obligation, where the whole Advantage is entire|ly on our Side: So great Advantage, that we cannot <HI>truly</HI> Love our &s;elves,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 22.38.</NOTE> unle&s;s we <HI>Love our Lord our</HI> GOD, <HI>with all our Heart, with all our
<PB N="40" REF="32">Soul, with all our Mind:</HI> This is, not only our Greate&s;t <HI>Duty,</HI> but our Greate&s;t <HI>Good.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. IV. <HI>That the Love of God is the chief Grace of the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I <HI>Am come,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 12.22.</NOTE> &s;ays our Saviour, <HI>to Send Fire on the Earth; &amp; what do I de&s;ire but that it may be Kindled?</HI> This He <HI>de&s;ires;</HI> for This He <HI>came;</HI> and This we <HI>pray for,</HI> in the <HI>Service</HI> of the Church; <HI>Come Holy Spirit; Fill the Hearts of thy Faithfull, &amp; Kindle in them the Fire of thy Love.</HI></P>
<P>The Holy Gho&s;t came <HI>vi&s;ibly</HI> at fir&s;t; &amp; prov'd his Pre&s;ence by the Miracles He did. But yet a Spirit is
<PB N="41" REF="32">not naturally &s;en&s;ible; &amp; when He comes <HI>invi&s;ibly,</HI> He comes more like Him|&s;elf; nor have we any rea&s;on (when He dwells within us) to &s;u&s;pect that He <HI>is</HI> le&s;&s;e <HI>at home,</HI> becau&s;e He le&s;&s;e <HI>Appears abroad.</HI> Al|though we do not &s;ee the <HI>Fire</HI> de&s;cend, &amp; re&s;t upon our Heads; yet if the <HI>Love</HI> of God enflame us, if it burn within our Hearts, if it appear in our Devotion, in our Conver&s;ation, in our Actions; 'tis enough; we then may hope we have receiv'd the Holy Gho&s;t, &amp; that our Saviour verifies in us his Promi&s;e, which He made us, when He &s;aid, <HI>He shall be</HI> IN YOU.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 14. <HI>v.</HI> 17.</NOTE> He did not come in to the World, to vi&s;it the Apo&s;tles only,
<PB N="42" REF="33">and abandon their Po&s;terity: Our Saviour did not &s;end him to us, that he might immediately for&s;ake us, but that He might remain with us for ever, to the End of the World:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 14. <HI>v.</HI> 16.</NOTE> <HI>I will pray my Father,</HI> &s;ays He, <HI>that He may abide with you for ever.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Spirit</HI> of God <HI>shall be in &V;s.</HI> Tis a &s;olemn Promi&s;e of our Saviour him&s;elf: we cannot doubt of it, although we cannot but admire it with profound a&s;tonish|ment,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Kings.</HI> 3.8.27.</NOTE> like that of Solomon: <HI>VVill God dwell</HI> with us <HI>on the Earth!</HI> will the Spirit of God not only dwell here <HI>with</HI> us, but <HI>within</HI> us! <HI>If Heaven</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Thee, How much le&s;&s;e this Hou&s;e which I have builded!</HI> If we find that Salomon
<PB N="43" REF="33">was thus tran&s;ported when he lookt upon his Temple, &amp; compar'd it with the Maje&s;ty of God, to whom he built it; may not we admire much more the living Temple of the Holy Gho&s;t? <HI>If the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain</HI> the Spirit of God, <HI>How much le&s;&s;e this</HI> litle <HI>Hou&s;e</HI> of clay? Can we ima|gine that this litle Heart of ours is more capacious than Heaven? Or can our Heart contain our God, if Heaven cannot? Oh no: our God is infinite; He cannot be <HI>contain'd</HI> in either; &amp; yet He <HI>dwells</HI> in both. Hear the P&s;almi&s;t;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">122.1.</NOTE> <HI>To Thee I lift up my Eyes, O Thou that Dwelle&s;t in the Heavens.</HI> Hear S. Paul;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.16.</NOTE> <HI>You are the Temple of God, &amp; the Spirit of God Dwells in You.</HI> Com|pare
<PB N="44" REF="34">both Te&s;taments, the Old and New; &amp; if you &s;eriou&s;ly beleeve them both, conclude we have the &s;ame a&s;&s;urance that God dwells in <HI>Virtuous Souls,</HI> as that He dwells in <HI>Heaven.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The Kingdom of God is within you.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 17.21.</NOTE> Where&s;oever <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> re|&s;ides, the <HI>Court</HI> is there; &amp; where&s;oeuer the <HI>King</HI> gou|verns, there his <HI>Kingdom</HI> is. If the <HI>Almighty</HI> gouvern all the Pa&s;&s;ions, Motions &amp; Affections of our Souls; if once He be the Souvereign Monarch of our Hearts, if the <HI>Love of God</HI> give Law to all our Inclinations; the H. Gho&s;t is then as truly in us, as a King is in his King|dom, &amp; He is no otherwi&s;e in Heaven. This is that <HI>Heaven upon Earth</HI> which none can
<PB N="45" REF="34">under&s;tand but tho&s;e devout &amp; pious Souls, who by experience <HI>Ta&s;t &amp; See</HI> how <HI>&s;weet</HI> God's Kingdom is,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 33.9.</NOTE> where Chri&s;t gouverns by <HI>Faith,</HI> &amp; the Holy Gho&s;t by <HI>Charity;</HI> or (as S. Au&s;tin &s;ays) <HI>who&s;e King is Truth, who&s;e Law is Love.</HI></P>
<P>A <HI>Spirit,</HI> having no pro|portion with <HI>Place</HI> (if we beleeve Philo&s;ophers) is neither <HI>here,</HI> nor <HI>there,</HI> nor <HI>any where,</HI> of its <HI>&s;elf;</HI> but only by its <HI>Operation</HI> in a <HI>Body,</HI> which is in &s;ome <HI>Place.</HI> When Angels formerly appear'd with airy bodies, they were truly &amp; &s;ub&s;tan|tially pre&s;ent in tho&s;e hu|man Forms, which they in|habited, by operating there. Whatever the Airy Body <HI>&s;eemd</HI> to do, the Angel <HI>truly</HI>
<PB N="46" REF="35">did; the Angel <HI>mov'd,</HI> the Angel <HI>walkt,</HI> the Angel <HI>&s;poke,</HI> di&s;cour&s;t, conver&s;t with men. The Holy Gho&s;t is likewi&s;e truly &amp; &s;ub&s;tan|tially pre&s;ent in the Soul of a devout &amp; pious Chri&s;tian. He dwells in his Heart by <HI>operating</HI> there: His Heart becomes a <HI>Paradi&s;e</HI> on Earth: The <HI>Love of God,</HI> now planted in the <HI>middle</HI> of it, is the <HI>Tree of Life:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gen.</HI> 2.9.</NOTE> The Holy Gho&s;t him&s;elf becomes the Angel Guardian, of the Place, &amp; like the Cherubin defends it with a <HI>Flaming Sword:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gen.</HI> 3.24. <HI>Gal.</HI> 5. <HI>v.</HI> 25.</NOTE> He gives him Life, <HI>we Live by the Spirit;</HI> He gives him Motion, <HI>we VValk by the Spirit;</HI> He gives him Speech, <HI>Tis not You that Speak,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 10.20.</NOTE> &s;ays our Saviour to his Apo&s;tles, <HI>but the Spirit of God that Speaks in You.</HI></P>
<PB N="47" REF="35">
<P>So far you &s;ee the Parallell betwixt the Pre&s;ence of an Angel dwelling in an airy Body, &amp; the Pre&s;ence of the Holy Gho&s;t inhabiting in us. Only this difference there is. Philo&s;ophers are puzzled to explain the <HI>Virtue</HI> &amp; the <HI>Operation</HI> by which an Angel moves the Body it a&s;&s;umes; But Chri&s;tians, by the light of Faith, have this Advantage over them: They plainly read &amp; under&s;tand in Scripture, that the <HI>Virtue</HI> of the Holy Gho&s;t, by which He moves &amp; gouverns us, is <HI>Charity;</HI> &amp; that the <HI>Opera|tion,</HI> which <HI>with us</HI> He pro|duces <HI>in us,</HI> is the <HI>Love of God</HI> above all things. <HI>God</HI> the Holy Gho&s;t <HI>is Charity:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Jo.</HI> 4.8.</NOTE> He is the Con&s;ub&s;tantiall <HI>Love</HI> of God the Father &amp; the
<PB N="48" REF="36">Son. If <HI>Charity</HI> in&s;pire us; if the <HI>Love of God</HI> direct us, gou|vern us, &amp; influence the principall De&s;igns &amp; Actions of our Life; we then may rea&s;onably hope,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.12.</NOTE> <HI>we have not receiv'd the Spirit of this VVorld, but the Spirit which is of God.</HI></P>
<P>That <HI>Inclination</HI> which is predominant, &amp; gouverns all the re&s;t, is u&s;ually call'd the <HI>Spirit</HI> of a man. If this be Love of Honours, Ri|ches, Plea&s;ures of this World; Tis an Ambitious, a Cove|tous, a Carnall, or (to &s;peak them all at once) a <HI>VVorldly</HI> Spirit. But if it be the <HI>Love of God</HI> above all things, without any competition of Crea|tures; 'tis a Virtuous, a Di|vine, a <HI>Holy Spirit:</HI> Then it is that the <HI>Love of God is diffus'd in our Hearts,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 5.5.</NOTE> by the Holy Gho&s;t,
<PB N="49" REF="36">the</HI> HOLY SPIRIT <HI>which is given to us.</HI></P>
<P>S. Paul,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Acts.</HI> 19.1.2.</NOTE> when <HI>he came to Ephe&s;us,</HI> and <HI>found certain Di&s;ci|ples,</HI> demanded of them; <HI>Have ye receiv'd the Holy Gho&s;t, &s;ince ye beleev'd?</HI> And I am apt to think, it would not be ami&s;s to put the Que&s;tion, to the Chri&s;tians of our Age. You in who&s;e <HI>Minds</HI> Chri&s;t dwells by <HI>Faith,</HI> dos the Holy Gho&s;t dwell in your <HI>Hearts</HI> by <HI>Charity?</HI> Is your <HI>Love</HI> &s;uitable to your <HI>Creed?</HI> Do you <HI>Love</HI> God, as you <HI>Beleeve</HI> He de&s;erves? Do you <HI>Love</HI> Him <HI>above all things?</HI> Your greate&s;t <HI>Care,</HI> is it to plea&s;e your God? Your greate&s;t <HI>Grief,</HI> is it to have di&s;pleas'd Him? In all things, which de&s;erve De|liberation, do you fir&s;t
<PB N="50" REF="37">con&s;ult his Law, &amp; make it the Rule of all your Mea&s;ures? Examine well the whole Cour&s;e of your Life; your Actions, Hu|mours, &amp; De&s;igns. What is it that employs your Mind the mo&s;t? What Thoughts are tho&s;e which clo&s;e your Eyes at Night, &amp; open them next Morning? Are they fixt upon the <HI>Only Nece&s;&s;ary?</HI> Do they tend to <HI>Heaven?</HI> All things el&s;e, what are they? Are they <HI>Nothing</HI> in compari&s;on of <HI>That?</HI> If &s;o; you have receiv'd the Holy Gho&s;t; the <HI>Spirit</HI> of God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Io.</HI> 14. <HI>v.</HI> 17.</NOTE> <HI>whom the VVorld cannot receive.</HI> But if the Souvereign Inclination of your Hearts be <HI>Love</HI> of Honours, Riches, Plea&s;ures; if your greate&s;t Grief &amp; Trouble be your
<PB N="51" REF="37">di&s;appointment of Succe&s;s in the&s;e; if upon all occa&s;ions you con&s;ult your Inclina|tions &amp; the Maximes of the World: You then may an&s;wer, as the Ephe&s;ians did; Alas we are but litle acquainted with this <HI>Holy Spirit;</HI> we have &s;carce heard of him; we know not what He is: A <HI>VVorldly Spirit</HI> we have more acquaintance with; But, as for the Spirit of God, He is a Stranger to us. We &s;ay our Prayers, we frequent the Sacrements, we are in the common road of cu&s;tomary Duties: But our <HI>Ambitious Spirit,</HI> our impa|tient Love of Honour is &s;uch, that we are more concern'd for an Affront, than for a Mortall Sin: Our <HI>Avaritious Spirit,</HI> our in&s;ati|able
<PB N="52" REF="38">Love of Riches is &s;o violent, that we had rather hazard the lo&s;s of all the Heaven we pretend to, than expo&s;e the Trea&s;ure we po&s;&s;e&s;s: Our <HI>Carnall Spirit,</HI> our incontinent Love of Plea&s;ure is &s;o pa&s;&s;ionate, that we had rather quitt our Right to all the Eternall Joys above, than any way deny our &s;elves the rotten &s;atisfaction we &s;eek for here below: In short, we love this World &s;o much, that if we might but always have it at Command, 'tis All we ask; We wish no more; <HI>VVe have receiv'd the Spirit of this VVorld.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>.Cor.</HI> 2.12.</NOTE></P>
<P>I hope I may be pardon'd if I am a litle importune in pre&s;&s;ing home this Que&s;tion;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Acts.</HI> 19.2.</NOTE> <HI>Have you receiv'd the Holy Gho&s;t?</HI>
<PB N="53" REF="38">Eternity depends upon't: Your Choice of Heaven, or Hell; Your being Children of God, or of the Divel; Your being Sav'd, or Damn'd for ever: All This, (&amp; what is <HI>All</HI> if <HI>This</HI> be not?) All This depends upon the An&s;wer to this nece&s;&s;ary Que&s;tion.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 8.16.</NOTE> <HI>As Many as are led by the Spirit of God,</HI> &s;ays Saint Paul, <HI>They are the Children of God.</HI> Compute your Actions, Words, &amp; Thoughts; from Morning to Night; from Day to Day: Dos the <HI>Spi|rit of God</HI> direct &amp; <HI>lead</HI> you? Or the Spirit of this World? If the <HI>Spirit of God,</HI> You <HI>are the Children of God:</HI> If not, Hear what the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>If any Man have not the Spirit of Chri&s;t, He is none of his:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 8.9.</NOTE> He is not a Brother of Chri&s;t;
<PB N="54" REF="39">He is not an <HI>adoptive</HI> Son of his Eternall Father; He has a Father in Hell, but none in Heaven. Our Saviour plainly &s;ays,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 42.</NOTE> <HI>If God were your Father, You VVould</HI> LOVE <HI>Me</HI> above all things; but becau&s;e You do not,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 44.</NOTE> <HI>You are of your Father, the Divel.</HI></P>
<P>Let tho&s;e who, above all things, Love the World, <HI>Con&s;ider</HI> this, and <HI>Tremble.</HI> Let them not gaze in vain upon our Saviour a&s;cending to his Father: Let them be a&s;&s;ur'd <HI>his</HI> Father is not <HI>theirs;</HI> &amp; that, as certainly as He <HI>a&s;cended</HI> to his Father in Heaven, they shall in time (unle&s;s they &s;eriou&s;ly re|pent) <HI>de&s;cend</HI> to their's in Hell.</P>
<P>This was the Rea&s;on why our Saviour told the
<PB N="55" REF="39">Jews: <HI>VVhither I go,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 21.</NOTE> You cannot come:</HI> As if He should &s;ay; I go to my Father; If He were your Father al&s;o, then you might bear me Compa|ny: But,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.12.</NOTE> &s;ince you <HI>have receiv'd the Spirit of this VVorld;</HI> as long as you are gouvern'd by the Spirit of another Father; You may in due time follow him to Hell, But 'tis impo&s;&s;ible (without &s;incere Repentance)&punc; You should ever follow me to Heaven: <HI>VVhither I go, you cannot come.</HI> The Jews amaz'd to hear it, knew not what He meant. He told them the rea&s;on: <HI>I am from above,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 23.</NOTE> &s;ays He, <HI>I am not of this VVorld;</HI> The Spirit which gouverns all my Actions is from above; 'tis not the Spirit of this World; 'tis the Spirit of
<PB N="56" REF="40">my Father; therefore I go to him. But on the other &s;ide, <HI>You are of this VVorld,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> You are led by the Spirit of this World; and therefore <HI>VVhi|ther I go, You eannot come.</HI></P>
<P>Let us not flatter &amp; de|ceive our &s;elves with vain appearances of &s;uperficiall Piety which flote upon the Surface of our Souls; but &s;ound the very bottom of our Hearts, &amp; be a&s;&s;ur'd that if we find them <HI>chiefly</HI> fixt upon this World, or any Creature in it; We may &s;tand <HI>gazing</HI> with the <HI>Men of Galilee,</HI> We may contemplate &amp; admire the A&s;cen&s;ion of our Saviour; but all in vain; All this will be no Comfort to us; Whither He goes, we cannot follow Him. We cannot A&s;cend,
<PB N="57" REF="40">unle&s;s we fir&s;t receive the Holy Gho&s;t: nor can we receive Him, unle&s;s we fir&s;t prepare for His recep|tion.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. V. <HI>That we ought to prepare our Heart for this great Grace.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WHen our Saviour was upon the point of leaving his Apo&s;tles, after He had been <HI>fourty days</HI> di&s;|cour&s;ing with them con|cerning the <HI>Kingdom of God,</HI> The la&s;t &amp; mo&s;t important thing He recommended to their Care, was that They should <HI>prepare</HI> them&s;elves for the receiving of the Holy Gho&s;t:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Acts.</HI> 1.4.</NOTE> <HI>He commanded them that they should not depart
<PB N="56" REF="41">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="57" REF="41">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="58" REF="42">from Jeru&s;alem, but wait for the Promi&s;e of the Father.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Prepare your Hearts,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Sam.</HI> 7.3.</NOTE> &s;ays the Prophet; <HI>Prepare your Hearts to God, &amp; &s;erve Him only, and He will deliver you:</HI> Prepare your Hearts to entertain the Holy Gho&s;t, or el&s;e you never will receive Him. Prepare Materialls for <HI>the Temple of the Holy Gho&s;t:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.19.</NOTE> His Temple is not to be built &amp; finisht in a day: We mu&s;t have Time to carry on the Work, &amp; more than ordinary Preparations mu&s;t be made:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chron.</HI> 1.29.2.</NOTE> <HI>VVith</HI> ALL MY MIGHT, &s;ays the Royall Prophet&punc; <HI>I have</HI> PREPAR'D <HI>for the Hou&s;e of my God;</HI> becau&s;e, &s;ays he,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 1.</NOTE> <HI>the VVork is</HI> GREAT; <HI>&amp; the Palace is not for Man, but</HI> GOD.</P>
<P>Our Heart has been profan'd
<PB N="59" REF="42">with <HI>Idols:</HI> Our Ambition, A varice, &amp; Lu&s;t have had their &s;everall <HI>Altars</HI> in it; &amp; from time to time, accor|ding as occa&s;ion &s;erv'd, have offerd <HI>Sacrifice</HI> to Ho|nours, Riches, Plea&s;ures. Such a <HI>Temple,</HI> &s;o <HI>Profan'd,</HI> mu&s;t be demolisht; &amp; a New one built upon the Ruines of it.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">18.31.</NOTE> <HI>Make your &s;elves a New Heart, &amp; a New Spirit;</HI> &s;ays the Prophet Ezechiel. Although it be God's <HI>VVork,</HI> it is not only <HI>His</HI> but al&s;o <HI>Ours.</HI> As much as lies in us, we mu&s;t <HI>cooperate</HI> and labour with Him: And the more difficult it is, the more indu&s;triou&s;ly we mu&s;t en|deavour to effect it.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chron.</HI> 1.29, 2.</NOTE> <HI>VVith all our Might,</HI> with all our indu&s;try &amp; diligence, we mu&s;t <HI>prepare</HI> our Heart, that
<PB N="60" REF="43">it may be a Temple of the Holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>O that we had but VVings like a Dove</HI> (the wings of that <HI>Dove</HI> which once de&s;cended vi&s;ibly upon our Saviour) <HI>Then would VVe fly away,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 55.6.</NOTE> &amp; be at Re&s;t:</HI> Our Hearts would <HI>fly away</HI> from all things in this World, &amp; <HI>be at Re&s;t</HI> in Heaven. If once the <HI>Love of God</HI> enflame our Hearts, with ardent &amp; continuall de&s;ires of being happy with Him, We shall find that the&s;e <HI>De&s;ires</HI> are <HI>VVings</HI> by which our Hearts a&s;pire &amp; mount to Heaven. But if the Love of any thing in this World bind us to the Earth, We then shall find that our <HI>cele&s;tiall</HI> De&s;ires are clogg'd with <HI>earthly</HI> Pa&s;&s;ions; &amp; although we now &amp; then,
<PB N="61" REF="43">with a faint &s;igh, look up to Heaven, yet our &s;tron|ger Inclinations will always bear us down. He who is wholly di&s;engag'd from all the Charms of a deluding World, He only is at liber|ty; S. Au&s;tin &s;ays, <HI>The VVings of his &s;oul are Free;</HI> But if his Heart be any way <HI>en&s;nar'd</HI> with any other Love, <HI>He then has Birdlime in his VVings;</HI> He cannot <HI>fly away, &amp; be at Rest.</HI></P>
<P>The Apo&s;tles them&s;elves were not prepar'd for the receiving of the H. Gho&s;t, as long as they were &s;a|tisfied with being <HI>Happy</HI> in our Saviour's Company <HI>on Earth.</HI> If any Satisfaction here below could inno|cently challenge &s;o much place in their Affections,
<PB N="62" REF="44">&s;urely Innocence it &s;elf de&s;cending down from Hea|ven had the be&s;t &amp; cleare&s;t Title to their Love. And yet as long as they were of S. Peter's mind, and though<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> with them&s;elves,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 17.4.</NOTE> <HI>Tis Good for us to be Here;</HI> Tis Good <HI>to make</HI> our <HI>Tabernacles Here;</HI> &s;o long we find they were not fit for the Reception of the Holy Gho&s;t.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 16. <HI>v.</HI> 7.</NOTE> <HI>I tell you the truth,</HI> &s;ays our Saviour; <HI>Tis expedient for you that I go away.</HI> Becau&s;e you Love me with &s;o litle Re&s;ignation, &amp; are &s;o unwilling that I leave you; therefore <HI>'tis expedient for you</HI> that I now a&s;cend, to rai&s;e your Hearts above the World, &amp; carry them to Heaven with me. <HI>If I go not away,</HI> your Love will creep upon the Earth, the
<PB N="63" REF="44">Spirit of the World will &s;till po&s;&s;e&s;s your Hearts, the Spirit of God will find no habitation there,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 7.</NOTE> <HI>the Comfor|ter will not come: But if I depart,</HI> if I (whom you &s;o dearly love) a&s;cend, your Minds &amp; Hearts will follow me to Heaven, they will be rais'd above the reach of all things in this World, the Spirit of the World will have no dwelling there, You then will be prepar'd for the receiving of the H. Gho&s;t, &amp; when you are &s;o,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 7.</NOTE> <HI>I will &s;end Him to you.</HI></P>
<P>When the Holy Gho&s;t came,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Acts.</HI> 2.2.</NOTE> He <HI>fill'd All the Hou&s;e where they were &s;itting.</HI> Wher|ever He <HI>comes</HI> He <HI>fills</HI> the Hou&s;e; He takes it <HI>All</HI> to Him&s;elf; And 'tis no won|der,
<PB N="64" REF="45">being Infinite, He takes up &s;o much room. As God would cea&s;e to be <HI>Immen&s;e,</HI> If there were any Corner of the World in which He is not <HI>Pre&s;ent:</HI> So the Holy Gho&s;t would cea&s;e to be our <HI>Infinite</HI> and <HI>Souvereign Good,</HI> if any Cor|ner of our Heart have any thing lodg'd in it, that <HI>excludes</HI> Him. When once we have receiv'd the Holy Gho&s;t, our <HI>Heart</HI> is the <HI>King|dom</HI> of <HI>God.</HI> He is the <HI>Ab&s;o|lute</HI> and <HI>Only</HI> Monarch that commands it: He cannot Alienate the lea&s;t part of his Title to the Gouvern|ment: He cannot any way admitt of a Companion in his Throne. Our Heart is the <HI>Throne</HI> of the <HI>Mo&s;t High:</HI>
<PB N="65" REF="45">And, if we remember what became of Lucifer, I hope it will &s;uffice to make us &s;en|&s;ible, how dangerous a thing it is, to place a Creature in the Throne of God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 14.14.</NOTE> &amp; make it <HI>like the Highe&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>S. Au&s;tin, wondring at the overflowing mea&s;ure of Gods Holy Spirit in the Apo&s;tles Hearts, ob&s;erves that the rea&s;on why they were &s;o full of God, was becau&s;e they were &s;o empty of his Creatures: <HI>They were very Full,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>becau&s;e they were very Empty:</HI> becau&s;e they were &s;o <HI>Empty</HI> of the Spirit of this World, therefore they were &s;o <HI>full</HI> of the <HI>Spi|rit of God.</HI></P>
<P>O that our Hearts were <HI>Empty;</HI> O that they were
<PB N="66" REF="46">purg'd &amp; cleans'd like theirs from all <HI>inordinate</HI> affection to this World; We then should be <HI>prepar'd</HI> like Them, &amp; ready to receive the <HI>Full|ne&s;s</HI> of the Holy Gho&s;t. Tis a great Work; &amp; will require &s;ome time. Why are we then &s;o flow in un|dertaking it?
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Acts.</HI> 1.11.</NOTE> <HI>VVhy do</HI> we <HI>&s;tand Gazing?</HI> We <HI>gaze,</HI> we lift our <HI>eyes</HI> to Heaven: But yet we <HI>&s;tand;</HI> our <HI>feet</HI> are fixt upon the <HI>Earth.</HI> We preferr <HI>Heaven</HI> before Hell: of the <HI>two</HI> we had rather be <HI>there:</HI> But, of the <HI>three,</HI> (if it were po&s;&s;ible) we had rather be always <HI>here.</HI></P>
<P><HI>How long will you love Vanity?</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 4.2.</NOTE> &s;ays the P&s;almi&s;t. This World <HI>is</HI> nothing el&s;e but <HI>Vanity: How long will you Love</HI> it?
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 4. <HI>v.</HI> 16.</NOTE> Tis <HI>Vanity &amp; Vexation of Spirit:</HI> How
<PB N="67" REF="46"><HI>long</HI> will you delight in it? It flies before you <HI>like a Shadow:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">6. <HI>v.</HI> 12.</NOTE> How <HI>long</HI> will you run afterit? Alas! tis but a <HI>Shadow</HI> if you overtake it. <HI>The VVorld pa&s;&s;es away:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> 4.17.</NOTE> Tis an unkind, illnatur'd <HI>VVorld</HI> which <HI>pa&s;&s;es</HI> by us with a flattering &s;mile, &amp; will not &s;tay a moment with us. If it had ever been a true &amp; faithfull Friend to any man, We should have &s;ome pretence to ju&s;tifie our ex|pectation of its being Kind: But, &s;ince we <HI>know</HI> it never was &s;o to its greate&s;t Fa|vourites, We way be &s;ure it never will be &s;o to us. The Time will come, when we shall plainly <HI>&s;ee</HI> (although perhaps, too late) that <HI>All</HI> is <HI>Vanity;</HI> &amp; we shall love no more what we are now
<PB N="68" REF="47">&s;o fond of. The Love of all tho&s;e Trifles, which our Infancy was once much pleas'd withall, is now forgot: and we &s;o much contemn tho&s;e childish en|tertainments, that unle&s;s we &s;aw the &s;ame in other Chil|dren, we should &s;carce be|leeve we ever lov'd them. As when we advance in years, we &s;ee the folly of our Childhood; &s;o upon our Deathbed we as plainly &s;ee the folly of our Life: we then di&s;cover, that the Ho|nours, Riches, Plea&s;ures of this World, are only &s;o many &s;erious Trifles, which are <HI>therefore</HI> more ridiculous <HI>becau&s;e</HI> more &s;erious. When once the Period of our Time approaches: When we are upon the Borders of
<PB N="69" REF="47">Eternity: When we are, as it were, betwixt two Worlds, the End of this, &amp; the Beginning of the next which never will have end: Then it is that all our Joys begin to vanish out of &s;ight; they are the &s;ame to us as if they never had been pre&s;ent: Than it is that all our Mi&s;eries are every one in View, &s;uch Mi&s;eries as never can be <HI>pa&s;t,</HI> but will for all Eterni|ty be always <HI>pre&s;ent:</HI> When once that Hour comes, we shall be Wi&s;e enough to undervalue &amp; contemn what we &s;o dearly love: But then, I fear, We shall be <HI>VVi&s;e</HI> too late: Our u&s;ele&s;s <HI>VVi&s;|dom</HI> will not ri&s;e in Judg|ment <HI>for us,</HI> but <HI>against us.</HI> O let us <HI>now</HI> endeavour to
<PB N="70" REF="48">be <HI>VVi&s;e,</HI> &amp; di&s;engage our Hearts from all <HI>inordinate</HI> af|fection to this <HI>world;</HI> that we may be prepar'd for the receiving of this <HI>Grace,</HI> which is the be&s;t &amp; &s;ure&s;t Pledge of the Eternall <HI>Glory,</HI> which we hope for in the <HI>world to come.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="71" REF="48">
<HEAD>MOTIVES OF FEAR.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I. <HI>How much it imports us to remember the Day of Judgment.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_WHen the Di&s;ciples askt our Saviour what would be the <HI>Sign of his Coming</HI> and <HI>of the End of the VVorld?</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 24.3. <HI>v.</HI> 36.</NOTE> Our Saviour an&s;werd, that <HI>the Day &amp; Hour</HI> were not to be known before hand: that
<PB N="72" REF="49">his <HI>Coming</HI> would be like a Flash of <HI>Lightning,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 27.</NOTE> when they lea&s;t expected Him: <HI>Therefore,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 44.</NOTE> &s;ays He, <HI>be ready; for in &s;uch an Hour as you think not, the Son of Man</HI> will <HI>come:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 35.</NOTE> Heaven &amp; Earth shall pa&s;s away, but my VVords shall not pa&s;&s;e away.</HI> The World shall have an End. The Son of man shall Come to Judge the World. The Hour of his Coming shall &s;urpri&s;e us, when we <HI>think not</HI> of it. If we knew before hand, we should certainly <HI>prepare:</HI> And we have much more rea&s;on, &s;ince we do not know it.</P>
<P>But, alas! our Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elf has prophecied,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 38.</NOTE> that <HI>As in the days that were before the Floud, they were eating &amp; drinking, marrying &amp; giving in marriage, till the Day
<PB N="73" REF="49">that Noe entred the Ark;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 39.</NOTE> And Knew not, till the Floud came, and took them all away: So al&s;o, shall be the Coming of the Son of man.</HI> He told us how it would be: &amp; every day we &s;ee how true it is. We mind nothing, but <HI>eating &amp; drink|ing, marrying &amp; giving in mar|riage;</HI> We &s;eek for nothing but Diver&s;ion, Sport, &amp; Pa&s;time; We <HI>now</HI> Rejoyce; But <HI>then,</HI> when the World ends, our Joys will end with it; <HI>Then</HI> we shall Grieve; &amp; not only <HI>then,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 24.30.</NOTE> but <HI>for ever.</HI> THEN <HI>all the Tribes of the Earth shall mourn.</HI></P>
<P><HI>They shall All mourn.</HI> Not <HI>All</HI> the Ju&s;t; Not <HI>All</HI> God's Friends, Not <HI>All</HI> devout &amp; pious Chri&s;tians; who not only in their Bap|ti&s;m, but al&s;o during Life,
<PB N="74" REF="50">renounc'd the Vanities &amp; Plea&s;ures of this World: <HI>All</HI> the&s;e will have ju&s;t rea&s;on to abound with Joy, at the Approach of their &s;o long defir'd, &amp; everla&s;ting, Happyne&s;s:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 126.5.</NOTE> <HI>They &s;ow'd with Tears,</HI> but now <HI>shall reap with Joy.</HI></P>
<P><HI>All the Tribes of the Earth;</HI> All Tho&s;e who&s;e Hearts were always fixt upon the <HI>Earth;</HI> upon the Honours, Riches, Plea&s;ures of the <HI>Earth;</HI> THEY <HI>shall All mourn.</HI> And not without &s;ufficient Rea&s;on. For, 1. They shall &s;ee the fatall <HI>End</HI> of all their tran&s;itory <HI>Happyne&s;s;</HI> 2. They shall &s;ee the &s;ad <HI>Beginning</HI> of their everla&s;ting <HI>Mi&s;ery.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<PB N="75" REF="50">
<HEAD>SECT. II. <HI>That our La&s;t Day is the fatall End of all our tran&s;itory Happyne&s;s.</HI></HEAD>
<P>AS, on the one &s;ide, Nothing can be truly <HI>Little,</HI> which is Infinite; So, on the other, Nothing can be truly <HI>Great,</HI> which has an End.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Baruch.</HI> 3. <HI>v.</HI> 25.</NOTE> <HI>Our God is Great,</HI> &s;ays the Prophet, <HI>&amp; has no End.</HI> As if he had a mind to let us under&s;tand, that God him&s;elf, with all his other Attributes, would be but <HI>little,</HI> if He had <HI>one:</HI> that All this World is <HI>there|fore</HI> incon&s;iderable: and that the Next is there|fore to be valued above all things, becau&s;e it is a World <HI>without End.</HI> This is
<PB N="76" REF="51">the common Mi&s;ery, at|tending all our Happyne&s;s. All that is <HI>pa&s;t,</HI> is Nothing: All that we enjoy at <HI>pre&s;ent,</HI> is but one poor moment: All that is <HI>to come,</HI> is every mo|ment le&s;s &amp; le&s;s, approach|ing nigher to the finall period of its future Being; which is <HI>Nothing.</HI></P>
<P>The very Thought of <HI>this</HI> is &s;o afflicting, that it puts a &s;top to all our joys, &amp; makes us mi&s;erable in the full Carreer of our Felicity: We need no more, to damp our Spirits in the mid&s;t of our enjoyments, than the importunity of this unwell|come Thought; <HI>All This will shortly have an End.</HI> The Para|di&s;e of our fir&s;t Parents would have been to them no Paradi&s;e at all, had they
<PB N="77" REF="51">fore&s;een the <HI>End</HI> of it. And when God pleas'd to inter|dict the eating of the fatall fruit, He &s;eem'd to judge that nothing could be more effectuall to contain them in their Duty, than to let them know, that <HI>Death</HI> should put an <HI>End</HI> to <HI>All,</HI> if ever they pre&s;um'd to eat of it. As it was then their chief &amp; only comfort, to &s;urvey the va&s;t extent &amp; great variety of their Delights, and at the &s;ame time confi|dently &s;ay, <HI>All this is ours for ever,</HI> if we plea&s;e: So it had been impo&s;&s;ible for any ar|tifice of the malicious Ser|pent, to &s;urpri&s;e them, or prevail upon them, if He had not flatter'd them with &s;ome a&s;&s;urance, that they should not <HI>Die;</HI> but &s;till
<PB N="78" REF="52">be <HI>truly</HI> Happy, that is, happy <HI>without End.</HI></P>
<P>The Divel dos not now pretend to face us down, <HI>VVe shall not Die:</HI> He knows that &s;o notorious a Cheat would never pa&s;s upon us. But yet, for fear lea&s;t we should undervalue all the vain allurements of a mi&s;e|rable World, he whi&s;pers in our ear, We shall not Die <HI>&s;o &s;oon:</HI> he has not the impudence to tell us that the World will <HI>never</HI> end, but that it will not end <HI>&s;o &s;oon</HI> as we imagine:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 12.19.</NOTE> <HI>Thou ha&s;t many Goods,</HI> &s;ays the <HI>Rich Man</HI> in the Gho&s;pel, <HI>laid up for many years.</HI></P>
<P>This is, in short, the Sum of our Felicity on Earth. The Happye&s;t Man, that ever liv'd, could &s;ay
<PB N="79" REF="52">no more than this. He could not &s;ay, that he had <HI>All</HI> which he de&s;ir'd: he could not but ob&s;erve, by &s;ad experience, that he was &s;till un&s;atisfied, &amp; that his &s;mall po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions were no|thing to his Great De&s;ires. Nor could he &s;ay, that what he had would <HI>always</HI> be his own: He could not but be well acquainted with the truth of What <HI>Man</HI> is; <HI>He</HI> dayly <HI>Dies;</HI> He every moment is upon his journey to the Grave; <HI>He wa&s;ts away,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Job.</HI> 14.10.</NOTE> gives up the Gho&s;t, &amp; VVhere is he?</HI> However, he might &s;ay, to comfort his in&s;a|tiable Soul; Although thou ha&s;t not <HI>All</HI> that that thou can&s;t wish for, <HI>Thou hast</HI> MANY <HI>Goods;</HI> And, though thou can&s;t not po&s;&s;ibly
<PB N="80" REF="53">enjoy them <HI>always,</HI> yet they are <HI>laid up for</HI> MANY <HI>years:</HI> thy Palace is magnificent, thy Entertainment &s;plendid, thy Attendance numerous, thy Gardens are a Paradi&s;e of plea&s;ure &amp; delight, thy Honour equall to thy For|tune, &amp; thy Power equall to both; the World admires thee, courts thee, &amp; almo&s;t adores thee; is not this enough? <HI>Thou hast many Goods.</HI> And why should any melancholy apprehen&s;ions &s;eize thy Spirits, &amp; di&s;turb thy Mind with fearfull thoughts of loo&s;ing what thou ha&s;t? there is no dan|ger, whil&s;t thou liv'&s;t; &amp; thou art in the flower of thy age, ju&s;t ripe for plea|&s;ure, healthy, vigorous, &amp; like to live the&s;e <HI>many
<PB N="81" REF="53">years:</HI> And what ha&s;t thou to do, but <HI>take thy Ea&s;e, Eat, Drink,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 12.19.</NOTE> &amp; be</HI> as <HI>Merry,</HI> as if thou wert to live for ever?</P>
<P>Behold, the Be&s;t that we can make of the mo&s;t happy State we hope for here. We dare not look before us, lea&s;t we &s;ee the <HI>End</HI> of <HI>All</HI> our joys: We blindly dote upon the&s;e Darlings of our Pa&s;&s;ion, &amp; endeavour to forget the mi&s;ery of their Mortality &amp; ours. We are not able to &s;upport a &s;erious thought of our perpetuall decay; &amp; though we love our &s;elves above all things, yet we hate the very &s;ight of our condition; we can|not endure to look into our &s;elves; and as an idle Soli|tude is ever trouble&s;ome, becau&s;e we love no company
<PB N="82" REF="54">&s;o little as our own; &s;o the great rea&s;on, why the com|pany of any other per&s;on is &s;o plea&s;ing, is becau&s;e it hinders us from thinking of of our &s;elves.</P>
<P>The <HI>Greate&s;t</HI> &amp; mo&s;t <HI>Happy</HI> Man who&s;e Heart is fixt upon this World, would &s;oon be Melancholy if he had but lei&s;ure to reflect that every Moment le~ads him to the <HI>Period</HI> of his Happyne&s;s. The dolefull Pro&s;pect of a <HI>future</HI> Separa|tion is &s;o terrible, that he endeavours all he can to think of nothing farther than the <HI>pre&s;ent.</HI> All the bu&s;y Agitation of his mind, the Exerci&s;es of his body, &amp; the Pa&s;times of his Conver&s;a|tion, are delightfull to him chiefly upon this account;
<PB N="83" REF="54">becau&s;e they are <HI>Diver&s;ions;</HI> that is, becau&s;e they fix his mind upon the pre&s;ent mo|ment, &amp; divert him from the melancholy Thought, that <HI>All his Happyne&s;s mu&s;t have an End.</HI></P>
<P>If the bare thought of our approaching Period be &s;o dolefull, even at a di&s;tance, where Uncertain|ty gives room to make the mo&s;t we can of our Feli|city; if I &s;ay, the very <HI>Thought</HI> of it be &s;o afflicting; What will the Pre&s;ence of it be, when with our own eyes we shall <HI>&s;ee</HI> that <HI>fatall End</HI> which now we are &s;o much afraid to think of? We <HI>now</HI> are merry &amp; rejoyce; becau&s;e we banish from us the unea&s;y Apprehen&s;ion: But <HI>then</HI> All tho&s;e who will
<PB N="84" REF="55">be <HI>&s;ad</HI> Spectators of this dolefull Scene, will be no longer able to divert them|&s;elves from thinking of the Mi&s;ery, they <HI>&s;ee</HI> before them. <HI>Then All the Tribes of the Earth shall mourn.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 24.30.</NOTE></P>
<P>To clo&s;e the Eyes of any dying <HI>Friend</HI> we dearly love, is apt to move our tears; although our other Friends who yet &s;urvive, are &s;till a comfort to us. But when their <HI>Dearest Friend,</HI> the <HI>VVorld</HI> it &s;elf, begins to die; When <HI>All</HI> their Comfort, <HI>all at once,</HI> for&s;akes them; When the Sun &amp; Moon grow dark, &amp; the expiring World be|gins to clo&s;e its Eyes: THEN <HI>they shall All mourn.</HI></P>
<P>When once that di&s;mall <HI>Day</HI> is come, which the Prophet Zephaniah calls,
<PB N="85" REF="55">the <HI>Great Day of the Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ch.</HI> 1. <HI>v.</HI> 13.</NOTE> a Day of Calamity and Mi&s;ery, a Day of Darkne&s;s, a Day of Tribu|lation &amp; Di&s;tre&s;s:</HI> When Ca|taracts of Fire shall shower down upon their heads, as if the Stars them&s;elves fell from the Firmament: When in the la&s;t Convul&s;ions of its mortall Agony, the Earth trembles, and Hell it &s;elf lies gaping under their feet: Then they shall plainly &s;ee the meaning of that Vi&s;ion in the <HI>Revelations,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">10.5.6.</NOTE> which re|pre&s;ents an Angel <HI>&s;tanding</HI> with one foot upon the raging Sea, another on the trembling Land, <HI>lifting his hand to Heaven, &amp; &s;wearing by Him that lives for ever; Time shall be no more.</HI></P>
<P>Poor mi&s;erable Wretches! There was once a <HI>Time,</HI> when <HI>Honours</HI> Dignities &amp; Titles
<PB N="86" REF="56">recommended them to the admiring World, who&s;e eyes were dazled with the glory of their Greatne&s;s: They were follow'd, waited on, &amp; celebrated in their Generation: But <HI>now,</HI> alas! They shall be &s;o, <HI>No more.</HI> There was a <HI>Time,</HI> when they abounded in the over|flowing mea&s;ure of their <HI>VVealth;</HI> their Palaces were &s;umptuous; and All things &s;uitable to the a&s;piring Height of their Ambition: But now, <HI>No more:</HI> Their great Magnificence is buried in the ruines of the World; their Gold &amp; Silver melted down into the Earth, from whence it came; and All their Pride lies levell'd with the common Du&s;t, to which All Things return. There
<PB N="87" REF="56">was a <HI>Time,</HI> when all the &s;infull <HI>Plea&s;ures</HI> of the World attended them; when they deny'd their Pa&s;&s;ions no|thing that they askt; when they had full Command of All that they de&s;ir'd, &amp; rather cloy'd than &s;atisfy'd their brutall appetites: But now, <HI>No more.</HI> Their Ho|nours, Riches, Plea&s;ures, All are at an End: Their <HI>Time</HI> is at an End: Their <HI>Time shall be</HI> NO MORE.</P>
<P>When, as it happens frequently among&s;t the va|rious accidents of Human Life, We are depriv'd of &s;ome particular Enjoyment which we pa&s;&s;ionately love; though we lament &amp; grieve, yet we have &s;till &s;ome Com|fort left: Tis not a totall deprivation of <HI>All</HI> that we
<PB N="88" REF="57">enjoy: The Damage is &s;upported by &s;ome other Plea&s;ures &amp; Conveniences. If one Friend die; our other Friends &s;urvive. If one for&s;ake us; we may find another faithfull to us. Or, if they all abandon us; yet our misfortune is not uni|ver&s;all; We have always &s;omething left, which we can think upon without affliction, &amp; repo&s;e our wearied Thoughts. He that is dangerou&s;ly Sick of one or two di&s;ea&s;es, is not at the &s;ame time &s;ick of all the re&s;t. Whatever his con|dition is, he always has <HI>&s;ome</HI> hopes of being better: And although the&s;e hopes are very <HI>little,</HI> They are &s;till <HI>&s;ome little</HI> Comfort to a Man in Mi&s;ery. But when this
<PB N="89" REF="57">Dreadfull Day is come, which putts an end to Time, it putts an end to <HI>All</HI> their Hopes; <HI>All</HI> that they ever <HI>lov'd,</HI> or now <HI>de&s;ire,</HI> abandons them; their Inclinations are more lively than they ever were, &amp; <HI>All</HI> are di&s;appointed. <HI>Then All the Tribes of the Earth shall mourn;</HI> to &s;ee the fatall End of <HI>All</HI> their tran&s;itory Happyne&s;s. But, alas! this is not All: They shall have much more rea&s;on to la|ment &amp; grieve, when at the &s;ame time they behold the Sad Beginning of their Everla&s;ting Mi&s;ery.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<PB N="90" REF="58">
<HEAD>SECT. III. <HI>That our La&s;t Day is the Sad Be|ginning of our Everla&s;ting Mi&s;ery.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WE have &s;een the dread|full &s;ymptoms of an agonizing World; the terri|ble Convul&s;ions of expiring Nature; &amp; the finall End of <HI>All</HI> that Sinners love with &s;o much Pa&s;&s;ion: an End of all Ambition, Avarice, &amp; Plea&s;ure; an End of all their Honours, Riches, &amp; Amours; an End of politick De&s;igns, of ancient Fami|lies, of nuptiall Joys; an End of idle Conver&s;ations, Balls, &amp; Plays; an End of Beauty, Wit, &amp; Courage; an End of all their Fea&s;ting,
<PB N="91" REF="58">Drinking, &amp; Diverting; an End of all their Mirth, Delight, &amp; Pa&s;time; And, which of all things is mo&s;t terrible to a de&s;pairing Soul, an End of Sin, but not an End of the Sinner; an End of Plea&s;ure, but not an End of Pain; an End of Time, but not an End of their Eternity, which will eter|nally Begin, and never have an End. After Hundreds, Thou&s;ands, Millions, not of Years but Ages; if we may &s;uppo&s;e that Heaven &amp; Earth, with all that they contain, were chang'd into numerall figures; at the foot of the Account, what|ever it amounts to, you may find it witten, <HI>Here Eternity Begins.</HI> Moreover, if you multiply this number
<PB N="92" REF="59">by it &s;elf, &amp; by the &s;ame rule multiply the Product of it, All is Nothing to Eternity; Wherever this innumerable number ends, <HI>Eternity Begins.</HI></P>
<P>If <HI>All</HI> be Nothing to Eter|nity, What will the incon|&s;iderable number of tho&s;e years which Sinners prodi|gally &s;pend in Sin, What will it <HI>then</HI> appear to be? Will it not &s;eem incompa|rably <HI>le&s;&s;e</HI> than Nothing? And will not Sinners <HI>then</HI> have too much rea&s;on to lament, that for &s;o short a Moment, &s;o much le&s;&s;e than Nothing, they have for|feited the eternall Joys of Heaven, &amp; incurr'd the everla&s;ting Pains of Hell? <HI>VVhat is a man advantag'd,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 9.25.</NOTE> &s;ays our Saviour, <HI>if he gain the
<PB N="93" REF="59">whole world, &amp; lo&s;e him&s;elf?</HI> Alas! poor Souls, what Comfort is it to have gain'd the World, &amp; lo&s;t your Selves? to have lo&s;t all Hap|pyne&s;s, &amp; gain'd (If I may call it Gain) all Mi&s;ery, and <HI>All</HI> for <HI>Nothing.</HI></P>
<P>What Pains, &amp; by what Means, they are to &s;uffer, is a que&s;tion fitter for our Curio&s;ity than our Edifi|cation. Tis enough, to know as much of Hell, as the Apo&s;tle tells us of Hea|ven: <HI>Neither the Eye has &s;een,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.9.</NOTE> not the Ear heard, not has it en|tred into the Heart of any man,</HI> what un&s;peakable Pains &amp; Torments the Almighty has prepar'd in the <HI>next</HI> life, for tho&s;e who have in <HI>this</HI> offended Him. Tis enough that God is certainly as
<PB N="94" REF="60"><HI>Ju&s;t</HI> as He is <HI>God,</HI> &amp; there|fore infinitely Ju&s;t. Tis enough that the <HI>Enormity</HI> of Sin, which He &s;o patiently endures, is aggravated by the Greatne&s;s of his Maje&s;ty, &amp; therefore infinitely <HI>Infi|nite.</HI> It follows evidently hence, that All
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">All the mo&s;t effec|tuall &amp; mo&s;t proper Means</NOTE> which God's great Wi&s;dom can invent, All that his Ju&s;tice
<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>By the Eter|nall Rule of his Decree</HI></NOTE> can exact, &amp; All that his Omni|potence
<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Ac|cording to the rigour of the Sen|tence.</NOTE> can put in execu|tion will be All employd to punish tho&s;e who have offended him. It follows al&s;o that it is as much im|po&s;&s;ible for any man to comprehend the great exce&s;s of tho&s;e eternall Pains, as 'tis to under&s;tand God's Wi&s;dom, Ju&s;tice &amp; Omni|potence, All which are in|finitely rais'd above the
<PB N="95" REF="60">reach of human Rea&s;on. However we may ea&s;ily conjecture &s;omething, by con&s;idering God's Ju&s;tice in this World, &amp; judging thence, what it may be hereafter.</P>
<P>If the Ju&s;t them&s;elves are &s;o &s;everely punisht in this World, if it be true, as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;ays,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">34.19.</NOTE> <HI>Many are the A&s;&s;lictions of the Righteous;</HI> if even God's Friends, who are &s;o faithfull to him, undergo &s;uch punishments for little failings in their Duty; what will become of his Enemies, who for|feit all their Title to his Friendship, by their grie|vous Sins?</P>
<P>If in the days of over|flowing Mercy, which ap|pear'd &s;o eminently above
<PB N="96" REF="61">all his Works, he gave &s;uch &s;ignall in&s;tances of his avenging Anger; if even when his Pity (in a manner) held his hands, the Fury of His Wrath broke loo&s;e, &amp; with an univer&s;all Deluge laid the world &s;o deep in water, that among&s;t &s;o many millions not a &s;ingle Sinner could e&s;cape: what will be|come of mi&s;erable Sinners at the Day of Judgment, when the <HI>End of Time</HI> shall put an end to all his Good|ne&s;s, all his Kindne&s;s, all his Mercy, &amp; begin the Triumph of Eternall Ju&s;t|ice? When our God will be <HI>to us</HI> no longer Good, no longer Kind, no longer Mercifull, but only Ju&s;t; eternally, &amp; infinitely Ju&s;t?</P>
<P>Our Saviour Je&s;us will
<PB N="97" REF="61">not then appear as the Phy|&s;ician
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Tis too late to be Cur'd or Re|deem'd.</NOTE> &amp; Redeemer of our Souls, but only as the <HI>Judge</HI> of all our Actions: And even to his Friends
<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">As Judge he ap|points them that place.</NOTE> at his Right Hand, He will not shew him&s;elf in any other Quality: The very Sentence of their Happyne&s;s will be an Act of Ju&s;tice only
<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Not an Act of Par|don.</NOTE> not of Mercy: <HI>Our Lord,</HI> &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, <HI>at that Day</HI> will be a <HI>Righteous Judge.</HI> Tis true, 'twas no|thing but the mercifull A&s;|&s;i&s;tance of his Grace which heretofore enabled them to <HI>&s;ight,</HI> and <HI>finish</HI> well <HI>their Cour&s;e;</HI> But <HI>now,</HI> in the <HI>Rewarding</HI> of his Friends according to his Promi&s;e
<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">No longer inclind to Par|don.</NOTE> He's no longer Mercifull, if we beleeve S. Paul, but only RIGHT|EOUS and JUST.</P>
<PB N="98" REF="62">
<P>If <HI>at that Day</HI> He would b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Mercifull to any, He woul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;urely be &s;o to his Friends And &s;ince the Be&s;t &amp; Faith fulle&s;t of all his Servant find no Mercy
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Tis too late to ask for Mercy.</NOTE> at the Tryall, Can his Enemi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> expect it? Tis call'd th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Day of <HI>Judgment,</HI> to di&s;tin+guish it from all the&s;e othe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Days of <HI>Mercy:</HI> And if in <HI>the&s;e</HI> He shower'd dow<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Fire from Heaven, 'tis no wonder if in <HI>tho&s;e</HI> the Star<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> them&s;elves will &s;eem to fall&punc; If Sodom and Gomorrh were con&s;um'd, tis ea&s;y to beleeve that then the Earth will All of it be laid in Ashes But, alas! this univer&s;al<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Deluge of devouring Fire together with the Darkne&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> of the Sun &amp; Moon, the roarings of the Sea, and
<PB N="99" REF="62">howlings of the Wind &amp; Air, All this is but a Prelude to the Mi&s;ery of Sinners; This is only the <HI>Beginning of their &s;orrows;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 24.8.</NOTE> This is nothing but their Sum|mons to appear before the Bar; And 'tis the dreadfull Appprehen&s;ion of their Judgment &amp; Damnation which torments them with an agonizing Fear.</P>
<P>There was a Time, when Life was &s;weet; but now they hate it. There was once a Time, when the de&s;pair of Living was their greate&s;t Pain; but now, the Scene is chang'd, &amp; the de&s;pair of Dying is incom|parably more tormenting. <HI>In tho&s;e days,</HI> &s;ays the beloved Di&s;ciple, <HI>Men shall &s;eek Death,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Revel.</HI> 9.6.</NOTE> &amp; shall not find it, They shall
<PB N="100" REF="63">de&s;ire to Die, &amp; Death shall fly from them.</HI> There was a Time, when Sinners laught at all the Fears and Apprehen|&s;ions of this Day;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 3.4.</NOTE> but now the <HI>Time of laughing</HI> will be pa&s;t; nor will it be, as Salomon calls it, <HI>a Time to mourn:</HI> it will not be a <HI>Time,</HI> but an <HI>Eternity</HI> to mourn.</P>
<P><HI>Then All the Tribes of the Earth shall mourn.</HI> Not only Tho&s;e who whil&s;t they liv'd were thought to carry vi&s;ibly the mark of Reprobation in their foreheads; but al&s;o &s;uch as liv'd great Saints in the e&s;teem of men, &amp; died great Sinners in the Sight of God; shall then de&s;ire to die again, &amp; <HI>&s;eek for</HI> an Eternall <HI>Death, &amp; shall not find it.</HI> Then shall their con|ceal'd Abominations, all
<PB N="101" REF="63">their shamefull Actions, all their &s;ecret Works of Darkne&s;s, come to light. Then <HI>nothing</HI> shall be <HI>coverd,</HI> nothing &s;o indu&s;triou&s;ly <HI>hid,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 10.26.</NOTE> but</HI> what <HI>shall be reveal'd</HI> to all the World. Nor only Tho&s;e who took &s;uch care to hide their Sins from others, but even tho&s;e who formerly were u&s;'d to hide them from them&s;elves, shall clearly &s;ee the Malice of their palliated Crimes:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 24.30.</NOTE> <HI>Then they shall</HI> SEE; <HI>and Then they shall</HI> MOURN.</P>
<P>We <HI>now</HI> are willing to live peaceably &amp; quietly within our &s;elves; We do not much delight in the remor|&s;es of a guilty mind; and therefore we contrive &s;ome kind of Con&s;cience for every thing we do. We are
<PB N="102" REF="64">unea&s;y at the thought of everla&s;ting pains; &amp; there|fore, if we ever take our &s;elves to task, we rake to|gether all we can to make a favourable judgment of our State. As the Examen rather is de&s;ign'd to plea&s;e our &s;elves, than God, tis gene|rally very &s;uperficial. We look upon our Actions all in gro&s;&s;e, without enquiring much into the drift &amp; cheif de&s;ign of them: We look upon the outward shew; the approbation, &amp; e&s;teem of men; The example of &s;ome, who pa&s;&s;e for good &amp; virtuous, and yet have often done the &s;ame as we do; Our being free (as we &s;uppo&s;e) from many faults which we ob&s;erve not in our Selves; Our great
<PB N="103" REF="64">abhorrence of &s;ome certain Sins, which we ob&s;erve in others; Our being punctually &amp; religiou&s;ly preci&s;e in &s;ome &s;mall matters, &s;ome exte|riour mortifications, &s;ome particular devotions, which we take a fancy to: And thus we frame a fal&s;e Idea of the mi&s;erable State we shall be found in, when we come before the Bar. We <HI>now</HI> are proud, &amp; wil|ling to excu&s;e our &s;elves: but <HI>then</HI> the Te&s;timony of our clearer &s;ighted Con|&s;cience will confound &amp; humble us. Our Pa&s;&s;ions blind us <HI>now;</HI> we &s;ee not what we truly are: But <HI>then</HI> the Sun of Ju&s;tice will ari&s;e, &amp; &s;catter all the darkne&s;s which conceals us from our &s;elves. The pier|cing
<PB N="104" REF="65">rays, the All-di&s;co|vering beams of <HI>Truth</HI> will break like lightning through the Clouds of our affected ignorance, when once the <HI>Son of Man</HI> appears, to judge the World.</P>
<P>If there were any po&s;&s;i|bility of cheating his All-&s;eeing Wi&s;dom; of calling back the time of his indul|gent Mercy; or e&s;caping from the hands of his All|mighty Power: Were there any po&s;&s;ibility of this; or were there any Friend from whom the Guilty might expect the lea&s;t a&s;&s;i&s;tance; it would be &s;ome litle Comfort.</P>
<P>They had <HI>once</HI> a true &amp; faithfull Friend, who dearly lov'd them; came from Heaven to in&s;truct them,
<PB N="105" REF="65" MS="y">&amp; conduct them thither; liv'd a painfull &amp; laborious life among&s;t them; &amp; al|though neglected, &s;corn'd, &amp; per&s;ecuted by them, yet continued con&s;tant in his Love, &amp; to redeem them, paid their Ran&s;om with the price of his own Bloud. But <HI>now</HI> their be&s;t and only <HI>Friend</HI> becomes their greate&s;t Enemy. He lov'd them once: But Love &s;o <HI>long</HI> neglected &amp; &s;o <HI>much</HI> abus'd, is now quite chang'd into a mor|tall &amp; eternall Hatred. He invited all of them to come to <HI>Him</HI> whenever they had need of his A&s;&s;i&s;tance;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 11.28.</NOTE> <HI>Come to me All you that labour:</HI> But <HI>now,</HI> alas! it is too late to come: His Patience now is &s;pent; &amp; in the Fury of his everla&s;ting indignation He
<PB N="106" REF="66">for ever banishes them from Him:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 25.41.</NOTE> <HI>Go from Me ye accur&s;ed.</HI> Go <HI>Ambitious</HI> Souls, &amp; leave your honourable Titles all behind you; go &amp; &s;eek the be&s;t preferment you can find among&s;t <HI>the Divel &amp; his Angells:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid. v.</HI> 41.</NOTE> Go <HI>Infatiable</HI> Mi&s;ers; go, &amp; take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of that Mi&s;e|ry which you have pur|chas'd with the lo&s;s of your beloved Trea&s;ure: Go <HI>Voluptuous</HI> Wretches; you who formerly have wisht your Flames might ever burn; Go <HI>now,</HI> &amp; Burn for ever, in the everla&s;ting Flames of Hell.</P>
<P>Behold, the dreadfull Sentence, we mu&s;t All expect,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 21.36.</NOTE> unle&s;s we follow his Advice who <HI>then</HI> will be our <HI>Judge: VVatch there|fore,</HI> &s;ays He, <HI>&amp; Pray always;
<PB N="107" REF="66">that you may then be accounted worthy to e&s;cape, &amp; &s;tand before the Son of Man.</HI> Alas! Our dear Redeemer takes no plea&s;ure in Condemning us. <HI>No Man,</HI> &s;ays S. Au&s;tin, <HI>who de&s;igns to &s;trike us, bids us have a Care.</HI> Our Saviour often warns us, often calls upon us, often <HI>bids us Have a care.</HI> S. Paul exhorts us in his Name:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 13.11.</NOTE> <HI>Tis Now the Hour for us to Ri&s;e from &s;leep:</HI> Tis <HI>now</HI> the Hour to go with tears of true Repentance to the Throne of Grace; that <HI>then</HI> we may appear with Confidence &amp; Joy before the great Tribunal his Ju&s;t|ice: Tis <HI>now</HI> the Hour to hearken to Him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 11.28.</NOTE> <HI>Come to me All you that labour;</HI> that <HI>then</HI> we may be &s;ure to hear him call us to Him, <HI>Come ye
<PB N="108" REF="67">Ble&s;&s;ed;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 25.34.</NOTE> Come &amp; reap the Fruit of all your labours; Come &amp; Take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of tho&s;e Everla&s;ting Joys, which were <HI>prepar'd for you, from the Foundation of the VVorld.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="109" REF="67">
<HEAD>MOTIVES OF HOPE.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I. <HI>How unrea&s;onable a thing it is for any Sinner to De&s;pair.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_THe greate&s;t Mi&s;tery of Chri&s;tian Mora|lity con&s;i&s;ts in the equall ballancing of <HI>Hope</HI> &amp; <HI>Fear,</HI> betwixt God's <HI>Mercy</HI> &amp; his <HI>Ju&s;tice;</HI> that we may neither be &s;ecure in Sin, becau&s;e he
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<PB N="110" REF="69">is &s;o Mercifull; nor yet de&s;pond, becau&s;e he is &s;o Ju&s;t. <HI>Pre&s;umption</HI> &amp; <HI>De&s;pair</HI> are the two Rocks 'twixt which all Chri&s;tians ought to &s;teer an even cour&s;e; &amp; &s;o avoid the One as not to dash upon the Other. Tis perhaps the greate&s;t Secret of the Divel's Art. He fir&s;t inclines us to <HI>Pre&s;ume;</HI> And we no &s;ooner &s;ee the danger of it; but he tempts us to <HI>De&s;pair.</HI> Thus he commen|ces; Thus he finishes his work.</P>
<P>I mu&s;t confe&s;s The greate&s;t part of Mankind being &s;o in&s;en&s;ible, &s;o &s;tupid, &s;o immer&s;t in wordly cares &amp; plea&s;ures, is enough to ju&s;tifie the pious zeal of tho&s;e who frequently pro|claim the menaces of an
<PB N="111" REF="69">offended Maje&s;ty, &amp; with the formidable noi&s;e of Hell, Damnation, &amp; everla&s;ting Torments labour to awake &amp; rou&s;e them from the Lethargy of &s;in. But, when they are awake, &amp; looking round about them, take a pro&s;pect of their mi&s;erable State; when every horrid Crime appears in its own dreadfull shape; when Mul|titudes of pa&s;t offen&s;es croud into their minds, and overwhelm their heavy thoughts with a de&s;pairing expectation of no le&s;&s;e than everla&s;ting Mi&s;ery: Alas! poor Souls, it is not now a &s;ea&s;onable time to mag|nifie the motives of their Fear. If ever Comfort &amp; Encouragement were nece&s;|&s;ary to allay the pains &amp;
<PB N="112" REF="70">anguishes of a de&s;pairing Soul; Now is the time. What shall we &s;ay? Tell them, they need not fear? Oh no: The malice of their grievous &s;ins is infinite; The danger of their lamen|table State is greater than they can imagine: Let but their Hope be equall to their Fear, they cannot fear too much. How then shall we encourage their expiring Hope? I'l tell you how.</P>
<P>If God were only <HI>Ju&s;t,</HI> &amp; were not al&s;o <HI>Powerfull</HI> and <HI>Mercifull,</HI> a Sinner then might lawfully de&s;pair: But when God's <HI>Power</HI> and <HI>Mercy</HI> both concurr to comfort the de&s;ponding Heart of an afflicted Penitent, What can he wish for more? There are but two condi|tions
<PB N="113" REF="70">requi&s;ite to qualify the Per&s;on, upon who&s;e a&s;|&s;i&s;tance we depend, that we may &s;afely hope, &amp; with a loving confidence a&s;&s;ure our&s;elves of his Pro|tection. The fir&s;t is; that he <HI>can</HI> relieve us, if he will: the &s;econd; that he <HI>will</HI> relieve us, if we plea&s;e. <HI>VVill,</HI> without Power, &s;ig|nifies but little: Power, without Will, &s;ignifies much le&s;s: But when they <HI>both</HI> meet in the per&s;on of a <HI>Friend,</HI> to whom we always have a free acce&s;s; who certainly <HI>can</HI> help us, if he will; &amp; no le&s;s certainly <HI>will</HI> help us, if we plea&s;e: Then, let our <HI>pre&s;ent</HI> mi&s;ery be never &s;o great, let the ap|proaching danger of our <HI>future</HI> ruine every day &s;eem
<PB N="114" REF="71">greater; we may with trembling hearts expect the helping Hand which <HI>can</HI> and <HI>will</HI> deliver us; but all our Fear can never exclude our Hope; it cannot rob us of that comfort, &s;atisfaction, &amp; joy, which &s;o much Confi|dence in&s;uch a <HI>Friend</HI> in&s;pires.</P>
<P>If when a Sinner &s;trugles with his Chains; endeavours to break loo&s;e; and more he &s;trugles, more he finds him&s;elf engag'd; (which the All-&s;eeing Wi&s;dom fre|quently permitts, to hum|ble a proud Soul:) If then the&s;e two great Truths were &s;ettled in his Mind, to wit, that God <HI>can</HI> free him, if He will; &amp; that He <HI>will</HI> not fail to free him, if he plea&s;e; O! with what plea&s;ure would he relish
<PB N="115" REF="71">the a&s;&s;urance of this loving Confidence! with how much tran&s;port of a joyfull mind; would he recite tho&s;e words of S. Paul,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.12.</NOTE> <HI>I know in whom I have beleev'd;</HI> I know in whom I put my tru&s;t; I know, &amp; <HI>am per&s;uaded, He is able</HI> to deliver me. I am a&s;&s;ur'd, He is not only <HI>Powerfull</HI> but <HI>Mercifull;</HI> and therefore I am certain He both <HI>can</HI> and <HI>will</HI> a&s;&s;i&s;t me.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. II. <HI>That God can help us if he will.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>DIvinity</HI> and boundle&s;s <HI>Power</HI> are &s;o much the &s;ame, that no man can deny the one, &amp; own the other. There is no Truth &s;o evi|dent, in which the World
<PB N="116" REF="72">&s;o univer&s;ally agrees, as God's Omnipotence. Eve|ry body knows that Nothing is impo&s;&s;ible to God. Tis one of the fir&s;t Truths which a Philo&s;opher de|mon&s;trates, or a Chri&s;tian beleeves. <HI>Almighty</HI> is his Na|me; the Name we know him by; the Name He an&s;|wers to, when ever we call upon Him.</P>
<P>What need I then di&s;|cour&s;e upon a Truth, which every body knows? The rea&s;on is, Becau&s;e although we <HI>know</HI> it well enough, We very &s;eldom, hardly ever, <HI>think</HI> of it.</P>
<P>We all <HI>know</HI> Nothing is impo&s;&s;ible to God: and that the lamentable State of a poor Sinner cannot be &s;o de&s;perate, but that He can
<PB N="117" REF="72">retrieve him. And yet how little do we <HI>think</HI> of this, when we are tempted to de&s;pair? Do we not then behave our &s;elves as if we doubted of it? I am afraid that, at the be&s;t, we pray like him, of whom S. Mark makes mention; <HI>Lord,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ch.</HI> 9. <HI>v.</HI> 22.</NOTE> If <HI>Thou</HI> CANST <HI>do any thing, have compa&s;sion on us, &amp; help us.</HI> I fear we often are incredu|lous, and have ju&s;t rea&s;on to repeat <HI>with tears</HI> his hum|ble prayer; <HI>Lord, I beleeve,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 23.</NOTE> help Thou my unbelief.</HI></P>
<P>If David, that great Saint <HI>according to God's heart,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Sam</HI> 13.14.</NOTE> who looking back to take a view of all his pa&s;t iniquities, &s;aw at a di&s;tance only &s;ome few Sins, which he had long &s;ince washt away with penitentiall tears; if
<PB N="118" REF="73">He could &s;carce &s;upport the terrour of that melancholy pro&s;pect,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 38. <HI>v.</HI> 3.4.6.10.</NOTE> as he &s;ays him&s;elf, &amp; <HI>all day long went mourning</HI> for his Sins; if his <HI>heart panted,</HI> &amp; his <HI>&s;trength fail'd</HI> him; if had <HI>no re&s;t,</HI> becau&s;e he was <HI>over head in his iniquities,</HI> which <HI>like a heavy burden</HI> were <HI>too hea|vy for</HI> him; If He, I &s;ay, were thus perplext with <HI>Fear,</HI> &amp; almo&s;t ready to <HI>De&s;pair</HI> of his Salvation; Have not I Ju&s;t cau&s;e to apprehend much more the Danger of &s;uch Doubts in greater Sinners, who are almo&s;t &s;urfeited with Sin, before they &s;e|riou&s;ly begin to look be|hind them &amp; compute the terrible arrears of all their pa&s;t Offences?</P>
<P>I mu&s;t confe&s;s, the diffi|culties which occurr in the
<PB N="119" REF="73">conver&s;ion of a Sinner, are in&s;uperable, if compar'd to the weak &s;trength of our corrupted Nature; and if the po&s;&s;ibility of working our Salvation be con&s;ider'd only with regard to human Frailty, there appears no hope of compa&s;&s;ing &s;o great a Work. Such is the Igno|rance &amp; Blindne&s;s of our <HI>&V;nderstanding;</HI> Such is the Malice &amp; Perver&s;ne&s;s of our <HI>VVill;</HI> Our <HI>Inclinations</HI> are &s;o prone to liberty; &amp; the Re&s;traint of our unrea&s;o|nable <HI>Humours</HI> is &s;o &s;en&s;ibly unea&s;y to us; that a tho|rough Reformation of our Lives is far above our &s;in|gle &s;trength. Without the Grace of God, we neither have the Wi&s;dom to con|trive it, nor the Courage
<PB N="120" REF="74">to begin it, nor the Power to perform it.</P>
<P>But yet this Darkne&s;s of our <HI>Rea&s;on,</HI> though we can|not of our &s;elves di&s;pell it, may be di&s;&s;ipated by a lively Faith in Him <HI>who enlightens every man that comes in to the</HI> World:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 1.9.</NOTE> This Depravation &amp; Corruption of our <HI>VVill,</HI> (although it be to us alone impo&s;&s;ible) may by the &s;weet &amp; forcible impul&s;es of a powerfull Grace be chang'd &amp; rectified: This ob&s;tinate Rebellion of our Appetite again&s;t the Rule of Rea&s;on, &amp; the Precepts of a Chri&s;tian life, (though we have often found our Selves unable to reduce it to the terms of ju&s;t Obe|dience) may ea&s;ily be con|querd by Omnipotence.</P>
<PB N="121" REF="74">
<P>If Sin have &s;o much blinded us, that we can hardly &s;ee our Danger: If the Noi&s;e of Wordly vanities have made us almo&s;t deaf to all good coun&s;ell: If the Habit of our Sins have lam'd us, &s;o that we can &s;carcely move a foot towards Heaven: If we are <HI>blind, deaf, lame,</HI> nay even <HI>dead</HI> to God &amp; all that's good, (no Per&s;on can be in a wor&s;e condition than this) All this is nothing to the <HI>powerfull</HI> hand of God: Such miracles as the&s;e were his familiar Exerci&s;e on Earth: <HI>The blind &s;ee, the deaf hear,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 11.5.</NOTE> the lame walk, the dead are rais'd to li&s;e.</HI> All this our God can ea&s;ily perform, in favour of us, when&s;o&ecirc;re He plea|&s;es.</P>
<PB N="122" REF="75">
<P><HI>Lord, if thou wilt,</HI> &s;ays the Leprous man,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 8.2.</NOTE> <HI>thou</HI> CANST <HI>make me clean.</HI> Let the di&s;ea&s;es of a &s;infull Soul be ever &s;o inveterate, &s;o deeply rooted in the heart, He clearly and di&s;tinctly comprehends the nature of them all: He knows exactly the propor|tion &amp; virtue of his Reme|dies: And all of them obey the word of his Command; <HI>I will,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 8.3.</NOTE> &s;ays He, <HI>Be thou cleans'd;</HI> (when once God &s;ays the <HI>word,</HI> the <HI>work</HI> is done) <HI>im|mediatly his Lepro&s;ie was cleans'd.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Create in me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 50.</NOTE> O my God, Create in me a clean Heart.</HI> I ask not any thing but what is ea&s;y to Thee. Alas! it is to me impo&s;&s;ible: but Thou, my God, can&s;t do it with more ea&s;e than I can ask it. Behold my mi&s;ery with pity
<PB N="123" REF="75">&amp; compa&s;&s;ion. Behold me indigent &amp; naked, cloath'd with nothing but the horrid &s;curf of my Uncleanne&s;s. Behold me <HI>blind, deaf, lame;</HI> &amp; almo&s;t <HI>dead</HI> with a con|tagious lepro&s;ie of Sin, which covers me from head to foot, &amp; has not left a &s;ound part in me. Con&s;cious of my unworthyne&s;s, after &s;o long neglecting my con|dition, after &s;o long con|fiding in my own weak &s;trength, after &s;o long de&s;|pairing of my health, be|cau&s;e I <HI>thought</HI> I could do any thing, &amp; <HI>found</HI> I could not cure my &s;elf; Con|&s;cious, I &s;ay, of my Un|worthyne&s;s, I &s;carce pre|tend to ask for <HI>Mercy:</HI> I only ca&s;t my &s;elf upon my knees &amp; face pro&s;trate be|fore
<PB N="124" REF="76">thy Feet, expo&s;ing &amp; laying open all my grie|vous di&s;tempers, which, every one of them (though I am humbly &s;ilent) every one &s;peaks loudly my ne|ce&s;&s;ities, &amp; begs with all the moving eloquence of Mi&s;ery thy pity &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;t|ance. I know my Sins pro|voke thy <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> whil&s;t my Mi&s;ery appeals to thy Al|mighty Power: But thy faithfull &s;ervant David tells me, that the I&s;raelites pro|vokt Thee al&s;o; &amp; never|thele&s;s, not for their &s;ake, but <HI>for thy Name's &s;ake</HI> Thou wa&s;t pleas'd to <HI>&s;ave them;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 106.8.</NOTE> that Thou might'&s;t make thy mighty Power known.</HI> This is the fir&s;t Foundation of my Hope: I know the Credit of thy <HI>Power</HI> is engag'd in their be|half,
<PB N="125" REF="76">who tru&s;t entirely in it, firmly expect it, &amp; de|pend upon it: And there|fore, in this po&s;ture, I pre&s;ent my &s;elf with loving Confidence before thy Feet, re&s;olving there to expect with all Humility &amp; Pati|ence when thou shalt plea&s;e to ca&s;t an eye upon me, and either find the Benefit of being cur'd, or (which appears to me impo&s;&s;ible) die in the hands of an om|nipotent Phy&s;ician. Ah my dear Je&s;us! This is all that I can do: And even This I cannot do without thy Grace: But, when I have done This, my Comfort is, that Thou can&s;t do the re&s;t: <HI>Lord if Thou wilt,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 8.2.</NOTE> Thou canst make me clean.</HI></P>
<P>Dear Chri&s;tians, let us
<PB N="116" REF="77">pau&s;e a while, &amp; with a &s;e|rious attention behold this Leper at our Saviour's feet: Behold the lively Image of a Sinner, &amp; the perfect Model of a Penitent: Behold both what we are, &amp; what we ought to be: In his Di&s;ea&s;e, we &s;ee our Mi&s;ery; in his Behaviour, we &s;ee our Duty: in his Di&s;ea&s;e, we &s;ee the &s;ad ef|fects of Sin; we &s;ee the &s;trong temptations &amp; a&s;|&s;aults of a mo&s;t terrible De&s;pair: In his Behaviour, we &s;ee the fruits of true Repentance, we &s;ee the vic|tory of a triumphant&punc; Hope, &amp; the great comfort which attends a loving Confidence in God's Omnipotence.</P>
<P>O what a Comfort is it to an humble Penitent, to
<PB N="127" REF="77">be a&s;&s;ur'd that as God <HI>gives</HI> him All he <HI>has,</HI> &s;o He <HI>can</HI> give him All he <HI>wants!</HI> If we are almo&s;t quite op|pre&s;s'd with tho&s;e aridities &amp; de&s;olations of Mind, which none can know but by experience; S. Paul tells us,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.8.</NOTE> <HI>God is able to make all Grace abound in us:</HI> If we labour under the perpetuall vio|lence of importune tempta|tions; the &s;ame S. Paul a&s;&s;ures us,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Hebr.</HI> 2.18.</NOTE> <HI>God is able to &s;uccour tho&s;e that are tempted:</HI> If our temptations are &s;o &s;trong, &amp; we &s;o negligent that af|ter &s;ome re&s;i&s;tance we re|lap&s;e into our Sins; if we ri&s;e again, &amp; yet fall; if we renew our Re&s;olutions, &amp; when we think our &s;elves &s;ecure&s;t, are &s;urpris'd &amp; fall again; S. Paul a&s;&s;ures
<PB N="128" REF="78">us,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 14.4.</NOTE> <HI>God is able to make us &s;tand:</HI> If having tried all ways we can imagine, we are at a lo&s;&s;e, &amp; know not either what to think or what to ask;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 3.20.</NOTE> the &s;ame Saint tells us, <HI>God is able to do exceeding aboundantly, above all that we can ask or think.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Is any thing too hard for God?</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gene&s;.</HI> 18.14.</NOTE> Can any thing be hard to him who&s;e <HI>Power</HI> is infinite, &amp; who&s;e <HI>VVill</HI> is his Power?
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Sam.</HI> 2.6.</NOTE> <HI>Our Lord kills, &amp; makes alive; brings to the grave, &amp; rai&s;es up:</HI> His Power accompanys our Souls as far as the Gates of Hell it &s;elf, &amp; brings them back again. Although your Soul quite overgrown with &s;in, may be (perhaps) in the All-&s;eeing Eye of God, a much more horrid object than the foule&s;t Divel in
<PB N="129" REF="78">Hell; Neverthele&s;s go con|fidently with the Leper to our Saviour; croud in among&s;t the multitudes that follow Him; ca&s;t your &s;elf down upon your knees &amp; face; Say, with a truly <HI>contrite</HI> truly <HI>humble</HI> heart,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 8.2.</NOTE> <HI>Lord if thou wilt, thou</HI> CANST <HI>make me clean:</HI> Then shall you hear him graciou&s;ly return that comfortable an&s;wer; <HI>I will; Be thou clean:</HI> Then shall you be tran&s;|ported with exce&s;s of joy, to find &amp; feel the truth of what I now advance; to wit, that God not only <HI>can</HI> relieve us if he will, but al&s;o <HI>will</HI> relieve us if we plea&s;e.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<PB N="130" REF="79">
<HEAD>SECT. III. <HI>That God will help us if we plea&s;e.</HI></HEAD>
<P>ALthough God's <HI>Power</HI> be the fir&s;t Foundation of our Hope; his <HI>Mercy,</HI> always ready to a&s;&s;i&s;t us, is the principall, if not the only, <HI>Motive</HI> of it. This was the comfortable Medi|tation with which the Royall Prophet counter|ballanc'd all his Fears;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 26.3.</NOTE> <HI>Thy Mercy,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>Thy loving Kindne&s;s is always before my eyes.</HI> Without this comfort he would never have &s;uppor|ted the remor&s;es of his Con&s;cience;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.4.</NOTE> his <HI>Sin</HI> was <HI>ever before him:</HI> His continuall Apprehen&s;ions and fright|full
<PB N="131" REF="79">Thoughts would cer|tainly have driven him into a deep De&s;pair,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 26.3.</NOTE> had not God's <HI>Mercy</HI> al&s;o <HI>always</HI> been <HI>before him.</HI> The very thought of God reviv'd his drooping Spirits: he could not &s;o much as think of Him, without thinking of his Mercy: to be <HI>God,</HI> &amp; to be <HI>Mercifull,</HI> were to him one &amp; the &s;elf &s;ame thing:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">59.17.</NOTE> <HI>my God is my defence,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>&amp; the God of my Mercy.</HI> If he lifted up his eyes to Hea|ven, with enflam'd de&s;ires of being happy there; he ador'd that Mercy which pre&s;erv'd the Angells, &amp; rewarded them with Glo|ry: <HI>Thy Mercy, O Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">36.5.</NOTE> is in the Heavens.</HI> If he lookt down, &amp; took a pro&s;pect of this vale of mi&s;eries; he admir'd,
<PB N="132" REF="80">to &s;ee God's Mercy &s;toop &s;o low, to &s;ee it mo&s;t ap|pear where there is mo&s;t occa&s;ion for it, to &s;ee it &s;uperabound where Sin abounds:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">33.5.</NOTE> <HI>The Earth is full of his Mercy.</HI> If he lookt before him he beheld God's Mercy &s;tart|ing fir&s;t, preventing, &amp; fore|running all his good de|&s;igns &amp; entrepri&s;es:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">59.10.</NOTE> <HI>His Mer|cy will prevent me.</HI> If he lookt behind him, he beheld the &s;elf &s;ame Mercy following him, promoting, carrying on, &amp; perfecting his good Endeavours:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">23.6.</NOTE> <HI>His Mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life.</HI> Which way &s;oever he ca&s;t his eye, he &s;aw him&s;elf de|fended &amp; &s;urrounded with God's Mercy; him&s;elf the Center, Mercy the Cir|cumference:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">32.10.</NOTE> <HI>Him that trusts
<PB N="133" REF="80">in God, Mercy shall compa&s;s him about:</HI> Thus did this Saint, who once had been a Sin|ner, Thus did he comfort &amp; encourage his afflicted Soul, when ever the remem|brance of his Sins oppre&s;s'd his Mind: And thus may we, in imitation of him, Thus may we al&s;o an&s;wer all the trouble&s;ome &s;ugge&s;|tions of our panik Fears; confronting Sin with <HI>Grace,</HI> Ju&s;tice with Mercy, Fear with <HI>Hope</HI> &amp; loving <HI>Confidence</HI> in him, who&s;e Mercy &s;till is infinite,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">100.5.</NOTE> &amp; always will be &s;o; <HI>His Mercy is Everla&s;ting.</HI></P>
<P>All this, you'l &s;ay, is little comfort to a Sinner, who is day &amp; night ob&s;e&s;st with all the terrifying Spectres of a guilty Con|&s;cience. Every body knows,
<PB N="134" REF="81">that God is infinitely Mer|cifull. But yet the Word of God a&s;&s;ures us, &amp; it is a fundamentall Truth which every Chri&s;tian is acquain|ted with;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 22.14. <HI>Math.</HI> 7.14.</NOTE> That <HI>few are cho&s;en</HI> among&s;t many which are <HI>call'd;</HI> that the <HI>Gate which leads to Life is &s;trait &amp; narrow;</HI> &amp; that there are but <HI>few who find it:</HI> &s;o that all the &s;plen|did Appearance of God's Mercy, when 'tis well examin'd &s;eems to vanish out of &s;ight, or shrink into a little compa&s;s, if compar'd with the innumerable num|bers of tho&s;e Reprobates,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 9.22.</NOTE> who are <HI>prepar'd</HI> and <HI>fitted for De&s;truction.</HI> Is not this enough to make a Sinner tremble? A Sinner who is con&s;cious to him&s;elf of being much more guilty in the &s;ight of
<PB N="135" REF="81">God, than many millions of tho&s;e Souls who are al|ready gone before him, &amp; already &s;uffer the eternall flames of Hell?</P>
<P>The&s;e Thoughts, I mu&s;t confe&s;&s;e, are Terrible. To him who&s;e eyes are open by God's grace to &s;ee the malice of his Sins, &amp; &s;ee Death, Judgment, &amp; Damna|tion attend; Such thoughts as the&s;e, to &s;uch a man, are terrible beyond expre&s;|&s;ion. But however, if a man be more afraid than hurt, where is the harm of all his Fear? Are we not All oblig'd to <HI>humble</HI> our proud hearts <HI>under the powerfull hand of God,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.6. <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.12.</NOTE> and <HI>work out our Salvation with Fear &amp; Trembling?</HI> Is not our obligation to <HI>fear,</HI> con&s;i&s;tent with our
<PB N="136" REF="82">greater motives, greater obligations to <HI>hope?</HI> Tis one of the mo&s;t dangerous mi&s;takes that we are &s;ubject to. We &s;eem to fancy that our <HI>Fear</HI> de&s;troys our <HI>Hope;</HI> &amp; that we cannot <HI>hope</HI> un|le&s;s we cea&s;e to <HI>fear.</HI> We take the&s;e two Affections of the Mind for mortall Enemies, becau&s;e their hu|mours are &s;o oppo&s;ite. But, as that Friendship is the greate&s;t, which no diffe|rence of Humour can di|vide: So, if we examine well the matter, we shall find that <HI>Fear</HI> &amp; <HI>Hope</HI> are &s;uch in|&s;eparable Friends, they can|not po&s;&s;ibly &s;ub&s;i&s;t without each other's company; The Separation of the one, is certainly the Death &amp; Ru|ine of the Other. <HI>Fear,</HI> with|out
<PB N="137" REF="82">Hope, degenerates into <HI>De&s;pair. Hope,</HI> without Fear, is now no longer Hope, but dangerous <HI>Pre&s;umption.</HI> If now &amp; then our Minds are troubled &amp; perplext with Fear; We mu&s;t not there|fore pre&s;ently conclude, that we have lo&s;t our Hope: No, no; We should have lo&s;t it, if we did not fear.</P>
<P>If the Con&s;ideration of God's Ju&s;tice make a Sin|ner tremble; he may law|fully de&s;ire to be deliver'd from the unea&s;yne&s;s, the pain, &amp; the anxiety, which are the trouble&s;ome Com|panions of his Fear: But, as for <HI>Fear</HI> it &s;elf, 'tis an e&s;&s;entiall Duty of a Chri&s;|tian, which cannot upon any terms admitt a Di&s;|pen&s;ation.
<PB N="138" REF="83">If the un&s;earch|able De&s;igns and Secrets of God's Providence are apt to fill our Souls with appre|hen&s;ions &amp; fears; this only helps us to perform the one half of our Duty, without prejudicing the perform|ance of the other: for the more we <HI>fear</HI> his <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> &s;o much more we <HI>ha&s;ten</HI> to the shelter of his <HI>Mercy.</HI></P>
<P>This was the only Re|fuge which the Royall Pro|phet had recour&s;e to, <HI>in his days of trouble,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 77.2. <HI>v.</HI> 9.</NOTE> when <HI>his Soul refus'd to be Comforted. Has God,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>forgotten to be gracious?
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 8.</NOTE> Has He shut up, in Anger, all his tender Mercies? Is his Mercy clean gone for ever? Doth his Promi&s;e fail for evermore?</HI> Oh no; His promi&s;e can|not fail: He can no more
<PB N="139" REF="83">deceive, than be deceiv'd. He has &s;ign'd his promi&s;e more than once in Scrip|ture: And with a &s;olemn Oath He has deliver'd it. A <HI>Promi&s;e</HI> &amp; an <HI>Oath</HI> which, by Commi&s;&s;ion from Him|&s;elf, his Mini&s;ters are order'd to make u&s;e of.</P>
<P>When Sinners are dejected with Temptations of De&s;|pair:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ezek.</HI> 33.10.</NOTE> When their <HI>Tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ions &amp;</HI> their <HI>Sins</HI> lie heavy upon them: When they begin to <HI>pine away</HI> with Fear, &amp; melancholy Thoughts of never being able to recover: What shall we &s;ay, to com|fort them?</P>
<P><HI>Say to them,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ezek.</HI> 33.11.14.</NOTE> &s;ays the Pro|phet: <HI>If the wicked turn from his &s;in;</HI> if he repent; if he amend,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 15.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; walk in the Statutes of Life; He shall &s;urely live,</HI> (&amp;
<PB N="140" REF="84">what can be more <HI>&s;ure,</HI> &s;ince God him&s;elf is pleas'd to &s;ay it?)
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 15.</NOTE> <HI>He shall &s;urely live; He shall not die.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 16.</NOTE> None of the &s;ins he has committed, shall be</HI> ever <HI>mention'd to him;</HI> he shall hear of them no more; they shall not ri&s;e in judgment again&s;t him: God him&s;elf has promis'd,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 16.</NOTE> <HI>He shall &s;urely live; He shall not die?</HI></P>
<P><HI>Say to them</HI> again; and &s;ay it boldly, in his Name who&s;e Ju&s;tice makes them tremble:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ezek.</HI> 33.11.</NOTE> <HI>As I live, &s;ays the Lord God, I have no plea&s;ure in the Death of the wicked; but that the VVicked turn from his way, &amp; Live. Return,</HI> &s;ays He, <HI>Return from your evill ways: VVhy will you die?</HI></P>
<P><HI>VVhy will you Die?</HI> As who should &s;ay; you <HI>may</HI> live if you <HI>will;</HI> I always am at
<PB N="141" REF="84">hand, prepar'd to help you, if you heartily repent; you know, you may recover, if you have a mind to it; you know, that if you die, it is becau&s;e you <HI>will: As I Live have no plea&s;ure in your Death,</HI> and therefore I have rea&s;on to complain, <HI>VVhy</HI> WILL <HI>you Die?</HI></P>
<P>Dear Chri&s;tians, What can we wish for more? We know that God <HI>can</HI> help us <HI>if</HI> He <HI>will.</HI> Whether He <HI>will</HI> or no, we need no farther proof, than his own Word. We have his Word: We have his Oath: He cannot take his own Great Name in vain; And He has &s;worn by his own Life, <HI>He has no plea&s;ure in our Death;</HI> He dos not, of him&s;elf, de&s;ire it; <HI>but that we return &amp; live. O! we
<PB N="142" REF="85">are happy;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">O bea|tos, quo rum caus&acirc; Deus jurat! O mi|&s;eros, &s;i nec juranti Domi|no cre|dimus!</NOTE> for who&s;e &s;ake God &s;wears! But O! how mi&s;erable are we; if, when God him&s;elf is pleas'd to &s;wear, we can't beleeve Him!</HI></P>
<P>If Deeds are better proof than Words, Let us pa&s;s from what He has &s;aid, to what He has done. What has. He <HI>done</HI> for Sinners? Or rather, What has He <HI>not done?</HI> For them He came from Heaven; for them He lived a pain full life on Earth; for them He died upon the Cro&s;s.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 9.13.</NOTE> <HI>I came not,</HI> &s;ays He, <HI>to call the Ju&s;t, but Sinners;</HI> He came, becau&s;e 'twas nece&s;|&s;ary he should come: And therefore for their &s;akes, for whom it was mo&s;t ne|ce&s;&s;ary, for them he prin|cipally came. He never was &s;o kind to any, as to Sin|ners.
<PB N="143" REF="85">All his Conver&s;ation was in their Company, He made it his chief bu&s;ine&s;s to oblige them, He follow'd them from place to place, He thought of nothing el&s;e but how to gain their love, He came with a de&s;ign to enflame their hearts, He brought down fire from Heaven with him, &amp; wisht for nothing more than that this fire might burn. His more than ordinary Kind|ne&s;s was in all occa&s;ions &s;o vi&s;ibly remarkable, that He was taken notice of, &amp; pointed at. The Phari|&s;ees were &s;candaliz'd to to &s;ee't. And in tho&s;e days, it was his great Reproach; He was too much <HI>a Friend to Publicans &amp; Sinners.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 11.19.</NOTE> All this while, alas! they little un|der&s;tood
<PB N="144" REF="86">his Bu&s;ine&s;s upon Earth. His great Compa&s;&s;ion of their Mi&s;ery, was the occa&s;ion of his coming: And &s;ince their Indigence fir&s;t brought him from abo|ve, it was no wonder the Relieving of it was his chief Employment here be|low. He came as a Phy&s;i|cian to his dying Friends, whom He mo&s;t dearly lov'd; &amp; therefore took mo&s;t care, &amp; was the mo&s;t concern'd, for tho&s;e who were mo&s;t dangerou&s;ly &s;ick. Thus did our God behave him&s;elf to Sinners. Thus did he love his Enemies; and treat them as his deare&s;t Friends. Thus did He <HI>live</HI> to &s;erve them, till at length He <HI>died</HI> to &s;ave them.</P>
<P>S. Paul concludes from
<PB N="145" REF="86">hence,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 5.10.</NOTE> We now have <HI>much more</HI> Hope than ever. <HI>For if when we were Enemies, we</HI> then <HI>were reconcil'd to God;</HI> undoubtedly we <HI>now</HI> have <HI>much more</HI> rea&s;on, <HI>being re|concil'd,</HI> to hope <HI>we shall be &s;av'd.</HI> If <HI>then,</HI> before he &s;ent his only Son, God lov'd his <HI>Enemies</HI> &s;o dearly as to &s;end him: We may well conclude, that &s;ince He came among&s;t us, &s;ince He interpos'd betwixt us &amp; his Father's Anger, &s;ince He died to reconcile us to Him, &s;ince He <HI>ro&s;e again,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 8.34.</NOTE> &amp; at the <HI>right hand</HI> of his Father is our <HI>Advocate</HI> in Heaven, <HI>making interce&s;sion for us;</HI> &s;urely <HI>now</HI> our humble Supplica|tions, joyn'd with <HI>his,</HI> &amp; offer'd <HI>in his Name,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 14. <HI>v.</HI> 15.</NOTE> will for his &s;ake be <HI>much more</HI> ea&s;ily
<PB N="146" REF="87">receiv'd. If <HI>then</HI> a Contrite &amp; an Humble Heart was al|ways &s;o agreable, He never would de&s;pi&s;e it; Will He <HI>now</HI> refu&s;e it? If the To|tall Sum of all the horrid Crimes of Mankind during &s;everall Ages, if the Malice of them All together, could not any way divert the cour&s;e of overflowing Mer|cy; if it could not hinder Him from &s;ending Je&s;us to redeem the World; How can we think, the Greatne&s;s of our Sins can hinder Him from having Mercy on us, when we heartily repent?</P>
<P>Let us therefore, once for all, humbly confe&s;s, &amp; own our Fault. The Truth is; We are proud, &amp; willing to excu&s;e our &s;elves. We are willing to lay the
<PB N="147" REF="87">blame of our Impenitence at our Creator's door, &amp; &s;ay; He will not pardon us; He will not give us Grace; He will not &s;ave us: When, if we well examine, we shall find the blame is always ours; We will not repent; We will not comply with his Grace; in a word, We will not be &s;av'd.</P>
<P>All we can &s;ay, in our defence, is that our &s;ins are <HI>great,</HI> God will not look upon &s;uch grievous <HI>Sinners</HI> as we are. I cannot, &s;ay they are not <HI>great,</HI> or that we are not grievous <HI>Sinners:</HI> But, that <HI>therefore</HI> God will never look upon us, is as <HI>fal&s;e</HI> as the Word of God is <HI>true.</HI> He hates the Sin, but loves the Sinner: He hates
<PB N="148" REF="88">the Lepro&s;ie, but loves the Leper:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Aug. Conf. lib.</HI> 8. <HI>cap.</HI> 3.</NOTE> And, as a <HI>Mercifull Father,</HI> He <HI>rejoyces more, at the Repentance of one Sinner, than the Innocence of ninety nine who do not &s;tand in need of it.</HI></P>
<P>Let us therefore, once again, humbly acknowledg, &amp; confe&s;s our Fault. We only <HI>pretend</HI> our Lepro&s;ie is &s;o inveterate, God will not &s;uffer us to come into his &s;ight, He will not cure us, He will not make us clean. The <HI>Truth</HI> is; we are &s;o negligent, &s;o &s;tupid, &s;o in|&s;en&s;ible of our condition, that though we now &amp; then are terrified to &s;ee the Dan|ger of it, neverthele&s;s we will not make our Supplica|tions to Him as we ought, We will not be cur'd, We will not be cleans'd.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="149" REF="88">
<HEAD>DANGER OF DELAY.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I. <HI>Hew apt we are to differr Repen|tance.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_THat we are, All of us, &s;ome time or other, betwixt this &amp; Death, oblig'd under pain of Eternall Dam|nation to rou&s;e our &s;leepy &s;ouls from the bewitching Lethargy of Sin; is an im|portant
<PB N="150" REF="89">Truth, which no man can di&s;pute. We All are fully &s;atisfied, that if we live in the &s;tate of Sin, if our Affections are crimi|nall, if our Hearts are di|vided betwixt Heaven &amp; Earth; we mu&s;t, before we Die <HI>Repent</HI> and <HI>Mend,</HI> or we are lo&s;t for ever.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 12.3.</NOTE> <HI>&V;nle&s;s</HI> we <HI>repent,</HI> we <HI>shall All perish.</HI></P>
<P>This we agree upon: Our difficulty lies not in the <HI>knowing,</HI> but in the <HI>per|forming</HI> of our Duty. When we di&s;cour&s;e with our Selves in generall terms, <HI>what it is</HI> we ought to do; the De|bate &s;oon comes to an I&s;&s;ue: But, as we de&s;cend to the particulars of <HI>when</HI> and <HI>how;</HI> We come not &s;o ea&s;ily to a Re&s;olution, about the <HI>Time.</HI> We &s;uppo&s;e that we
<PB N="151" REF="89">are able, at our plea&s;ure, to change our Hearts, &s;ub|due our Pa&s;&s;ions &amp; reform our Lives: But our Hearts, at pre&s;ent, are otherwi&s;e engag'd; our Pa&s;&s;ions are youthfull, and very impor|tune; our way of Life, though none of the be&s;t, is &s;uitable to the common Maxims of the World; And what ha&s;t, I pray, to do ju&s;t <HI>now,</HI> what may be done as ea&s;ily another time, when ever we plea&s;e? Be&s;ides, the pre&s;ent Circum&s;tan|ces are very particular: An abrupt Di&s;engagement would now go very much again&s;t the hair: We had better, for a time, con|tent our Pa&s;&s;ions, &amp; bring them to a compo&s;ition: When <HI>this</HI> or <HI>that</HI> Bu&s;ine&s;s
<PB N="152" REF="90">is over, that we may more freely attend to the work of our Salvation; when our Company changes; when we meet with a Con|juncture of more favour|able circum&s;tances; O! then we'l begin the New Man; bid Adieu to the follies of this World; &amp; from that in&s;tant date the beginning of our journey towards Heaven.</P>
<P>Thus the Colour of Pie|ty gives a reputation to the Delu&s;ion: We cover the po|pular Cheat with an agre|able di&s;gui&s;e: And betwixt gratifying our Inclinations, on the one &s;ide, with a criminall conde&s;cendance, &amp; pacifying the remor&s;es of our Con&s;cience, on the other &s;ide, with a plau&s;ible
<PB N="153" REF="90">pretence of future amend|ment at a more convenient time; We make Virtue, in appearance, &s;ub&s;cribe to our Vices, &amp; counterfeit God's Hand to one of the wor&s;t Temptations of the Divel.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. II. <HI>How dangerous it is to differ Repentance.</HI></HEAD>
<P>TIs clear, we are not Ma&s;ters &amp; Di&s;po&s;ers of our Time: only He, who was the fir&s;t Author of Time, who now con|&s;erves it, &amp; who will one day put a finall period to all Time; He I &s;ay, &amp; only He, di&s;po&s;es of it as he plea&s;es.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, the Changing
<PB N="154" REF="91">of our Hearts is far above our &s;ingle &s;trength; we are not able, by our &s;elves, &s;o much as to <HI>begin</HI> &s;o great a Work, how then shall we be able to <HI>perform</HI> it, at our lei&s;ure, when&s;oever we plea&s;e? S. Gregory a&s;&s;ures us (&amp; we know it well enough) that <HI>God who promi&s;es to</HI> PARDON <HI>us,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ho.</HI> 12. <HI>in Ev.</HI></NOTE> if we Repent; has never promis'd us the</HI> TIME <HI>of our Repentance.</HI></P>
<P>Tis true: we cannot but confe&s;s, (to the great shame of our Ingratitude,) that our Creator loves us far above our merit. If we look back from hence as far as the fir&s;t Creation, &amp; car|ry our &s;erious thoughts through all the &s;teps of Providence, we meet with nothing but remarkable in|&s;tances
<PB N="155" REF="91">of his good wishes towards us. Nay, if we yet look farther back from the fir&s;t moment of this World into Eternity, We find Him, before the beginning of all Time, entertaining his Thoughts with the pre|meditation of our wellfare; And in the fir&s;t page of his Eternall Accounts, we find the great De&s;ign of Man's Redemption, that &s;tupen|dious My&s;tery of Mercy &amp; Ju&s;tice, the Incarnation of our Lord &amp; Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t; who held nothing &s;o dear, no obligation &s;o important, as our Sancti|fication; even to the degree of laying down his Life for the advantage of that &s;acred Intere&s;t. See here, the Mo|tives which we have to
<PB N="156" REF="92">think He loves us! Yet give me leave to tell you, He is not &s;o fond of us, but that He can be angry at us, when He finds his Love neglected. Witne&s;s all tho&s;e mi&s;erable Chri&s;tian Souls, who <HI>once</HI> were happy in the &s;ame Te&s;timonies of his Affection: Who thought, as we do, to reform their lives at a more convenient &s;ea&s;on: Who &s;uppos'd, as we do, that God's <HI>extraordi|nary</HI> Grace would never fail to be at hand, when ever they pleas'd to have occa|&s;ion for it. Alas, poor Souls, they now are lodg'd in the flames of Hell for all Eternity; and know, too late, that though God never fails to be&s;tow his <HI>extraordi|nary</HI> Graces, where He finds
<PB N="157" REF="92">a faithfull corre&s;pondency of our Endeavours with his mercifull A&s;&s;i&s;tance; yet He often shuts his Hand, if we withdraw ours. He dos not <HI>fir&s;t</HI> de&s;ert us: Yet, if de&s;erted by us, 'tis no wonder if He treat us upon equall terms, &amp; &s;o de&s;ert us.</P>
<P>Wonder not, that God who is &s;o infinitely good, can find in his heart to Ab|andon thus a Sinner, who &s;tifles the remor&s;es of his Con&s;cience, who re&s;i&s;ts the frequent in&s;pirations which invite him to Repentance, who has always &s;omething el&s;e to do when he thinks of his Duty, always is &s;o rude, &s;o &s;cornfully uncivill, in receiving all the Emba&s;&s;ys of Peace which Heaven &s;ends
<PB N="158" REF="93">him; that every trifling Object which &s;alutes his Fancy, every mi&s;erable creature which a &s;illy Pa&s;|&s;ion recommends to him, is &s;ure to have the prefe|rence, &amp; be the fir&s;t ad|mitted.</P>
<P>How often dos God court us, when we are alone, as it were carefully managing that favourable occa&s;ion, when it may be pre&s;um'd we are at lei&s;ure for his entertainment? But, alas! we are perhaps never le&s;s alone, than when we are alone: The Common Ene|my of Mankind is then mo&s;t bu&s;y to prevent the advantage of &s;uch a happy circum&s;tance. How often dos He apply him&s;elf to us, when any &s;uddain Acci|dent
<PB N="159" REF="93">has cro&s;s'd our incli|nations, when we have been di&s;&s;appointed in our intri|gues, when we begin to find our labour lo&s;t in the pur|&s;uit of what we hunted af|ter, when we &s;it down an|gry &amp; affronted at the con|fu&s;ion of our mi&s;take, almo&s;t ready to fall out with the World for having cheated us: then it is that He takes hold of this conjuncture; begins in a loving manner to expo&s;tulate with us; to exprobrate to us how trea|cherous a Friend we find the World to be; on the contrary, how con&s;tant &amp; faithfull a Friend He has been to us, from all Eter|nity to this moment; how ready He is, notwith&s;tan|ding all that's pa&s;t, to re|ceive
<PB N="160" REF="94">us with open arms in|to favour again, if we re|turn &s;incerely to Him. And how do we hearken to all this? Why, truly, it pa&s;|&s;es away like a little Fit of melancholy; we were <HI>then</HI> in an ill humour; we are <HI>now</HI> glad 'tis over; &amp; &s;o we think no more on't. What ever God &s;peaks to our Hearts, is all out of doors: Our Hearts are shut again&s;t him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Apoc.</HI> 3.20.</NOTE> all the time; <HI>He &s;tands at the door, and knocks;</HI> and we neglect Him, letting Him <HI>&s;tand</HI> &amp; <HI>wait</HI> our lei&s;ure; We approve the Friend|ship of the World before his; And though we may have &s;ome &s;light thoughts of hearing Him &s;ome other time, yet for the pre&s;ent we flatly deny Him En|trance,
<PB N="161" REF="94">&amp; refu&s;e Him Audi|ence.</P>
<P>Let us now Con&s;ider a little; What pittifull Worms we are, who thus contemn the Almighty; Who He is, whom we affront; What trifles we preferr before him: And we shall not won|der if at length He leave us, &amp; de&s;ert us with a Re|&s;olution never more to of|fer us the&s;e <HI>extraordinary</HI> Fa|vours: <HI>I go away,</HI> &s;ays He,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 21.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; you shall Seek me, and you shall Die in your Sins.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. III. <HI>Rea&s;ons why Delay is &s;o Dangerous.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THat I may di&s;cover, yet more clearly, the Extravagance of Sinners
<PB N="162" REF="95">who differr the entire Con|ver&s;ion of their Hearts from time to time, upon a vain Pre&s;umption of choo&s;ing their own time, when they plea&s;e; I &s;uppo&s;e, as a funda|mentall Principle,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5. <HI>v.</HI> 5.</NOTE> that <HI>God gives Grace to the humble, and re&s;i&s;ts the Proud.</HI></P>
<P>He who values him&s;elf upon being Wi&s;e enough in the management of his &s;alvation; Who neglects the time which God's great Mercy offers him; Who pre&s;umes He can, when&ecirc;re he plea&s;es, choo&s;e the time of his Conver&s;ion; Such a Per&s;on, if ever he approach the Throne of Grace, comes in a di&s;po&s;ition directly oppo&s;ite to Reconciliation; he carries <HI>Pride</HI> barefac't in the very Front of him; and
<PB N="163" REF="95">the Addre&s;s, he pre&s;ents, is endor&s;t with the very &s;ame fault which he begs pardon for.</P>
<P>A true Convert comes trembling, with a Heart truly <HI>humbled</HI> under the Om|nipotent Hand of an of|fended Maje&s;ty; And &s;uch a Penitent will always find Favour; A Contrite &amp; <HI>Humble</HI> Heart God never will de&s;pi&s;e; All his former Of|fences will pa&s;&s;e for no|thing;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ezek.</HI> 33.16.</NOTE> <HI>None of his &s;ins He com|mitted shall be mention'd to him;</HI> In the Day of his Conver|&s;ion his Impiety shall never hurt him; What time &s;oever God shall plea&s;e to mark out to him, if he manage that, he is &s;ecure.</P>
<P>But if a Sinner carele&s;sly reject God's in&s;pirations, &amp;
<PB N="164" REF="96">from time to time neglect the opportunities He mer|cifully offers him; if he behave him&s;elf as if he thought his Time of Re|conciliation were entirely at his own di&s;po&s;ing; and, upon this account, when he thinks fit, pre&s;ents him|&s;elf before the Throne of Grace; His very Coming <HI>in this manner</HI> is an Act of <HI>Pride,</HI> a Pride by which he dangerou&s;ly pre&s;umes upon a more than ordinary Fa|vour, &s;uch as he knows has been denied to many thou|&s;ands, who are damn'd for ever, for le&s;s Sins than his, &amp; le&s;s neglect of the Al|mighty; a Pride, which is the greate&s;t provocation that can be imagin'd, in as much as it abu&s;es all his in|finite
<PB N="165" REF="96">Goodne&s;s, Longani|mity, &amp; Patience, not only to the utmo&s;t degree of contempt, but even to an impudent a&s;&s;urance of obtaining Mercy when we plea&s;e, although we have &s;o <HI>much,</HI> &s;o <HI>often,</HI> &amp; &s;o <HI>long,</HI> contemn'd it. This is a &s;ufficient Rea&s;on, why God may abandon &s;uch <HI>proud</HI> Pe|nitents as often as He plea|&s;es: and this Rea&s;on is at|tended with a &s;ort of Ob|ligation (if a man may term it &s;o) incumbent upon Providence, if not always, at lea&s;t generally &amp; for the mo&s;t part, to treat them according to their merit.</P>
<P>This Obligation ari&s;es from two Titles. God is the the <HI>Creator</HI> of Man, &amp; the <HI>Redeemer</HI> of Sinfull man. The
<PB N="166" REF="97">fir&s;t gives Him the Prero|gative of being the &s;upreme and univer&s;all, Lord and Ma&s;ter of the Univer&s;e; under which Character it belongs to him to give Law to all the parts of it, &amp; take &s;uch methods as may with a &s;mooth &amp; ea&s;y, yet &s;trong &amp; &s;teddy influence promote &amp; carry on the great De&s;ign of the Cre|ation. Hence comes the Obligation of &s;upporting the Credit, &amp; maintaining the Authority of his Gou|vernment, which &s;inks im|mediatly &amp; falls to nothing, if his too great Indulgence <HI>always</HI> tolerate the open violation of his precepts, joyn'd with all the indig|nities, affronts, and in&s;o|lences, of a haughty Sub|ject,
<PB N="167" REF="97">that will not be re|claim'd but when he plea&s;es, will not take the advantage of tho&s;e favourable Op|portunities which are &s;o often offer'd him, but dif|ferrs the <HI>only nece&s;&s;ary</HI> Bu&s;i|ne&s;s of his life from time to time, upon a proud Pre|&s;umption of being receiv'd at any hour when&s;o&ecirc;re he plea&s;es. Nothing under Hea|ven can in this occa&s;ion keep up the Spirit &amp; vi|gour of Di&s;cipline among&s;t us, and place the Fear of God before our eyes, but a ju&s;t &amp; &s;evere Punishment, &s;uch as becomes the Indig|nation of an angry God abus'd, affronted, &amp; con|temn'd; which is, to treat us as we treat Him, leave us as He finds us, &amp; flatly
<PB N="168" REF="98">refu&s;e us Audience when we make our &s;upplications to Him.</P>
<P>This Motive which ari&s;es from the Title of <HI>Creator</HI> is aboundantly &s;ufficient; but yet the Title of <HI>Redeemer</HI> is a far more powerfull induce|ment to the &s;ame rigour of Ju&s;tice. The Creation of the World was but a &s;mall Expence: A Word <HI>&s;aid,</HI> &amp; the whole Work <HI>done.</HI> But the Redemption of &s;infull Man, the Extraction of him out of the profound Aby&s;s of <HI>Sin</HI> and <HI>Malice,</HI> was a more laborious Ma&s;terpiece of Mercy &amp; Ju&s;tice; it co&s;t him his de&s;cent from Hea|ven, a painfull life for ma|ny years upon Earth, &amp; the la&s;t drop of his mo&s;t pre|cious bloud upon the Cro&s;s.
<PB N="169" REF="98">Having redeem'd us from the Divel, at &s;o dear a rate, &amp; having paid the utmo&s;t price of our Salvation, He has a &s;trict Right to the Honour and Reputation of his Mercy;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 42.8.</NOTE> He is <HI>Lord</HI> of All, <HI>and his Glory He will not give to Another.</HI> He is our Lord &amp; Ma&s;ter; by <HI>Redemp|tion</HI> All of us are His; He has paid the full Di&s;charge of our Account; but He will not apply the Value of this Payment to tho&s;e per&s;ons who&s;e <HI>Pride</HI> will either Chal|lenge the Credit, or Share it with Him; He be&s;tows it only where it may be evident, if not to all the World, at lea&s;t to every Sinner's Con&s;cience who receives the benefit, that nothing but the Power of Grace could work &s;o
<PB N="170" REF="99">wonderfull a Re&s;urrection, &amp; free him from the Ser|vitude of Sin.</P>
<P>He who made our Hearts, cannot but know the tem|per of our Inclinations. He cannot but &s;ee how partiall &amp; unequall we are in our Judgments. If any thing be ami&s;s with us, we pre|&s;ently begin to murmure &amp; repine within our &s;elves, as if God only were the Author of our failings. But if we &s;ucceed in any thing, that &s;eems prai&s;eworthy, either in the Sight of God or Man, we pre&s;ently a&s;|&s;ume the reputation of it to our &s;elves. Our Faith teaches us the contrary: And we &s;eem to beleeve it. But yet, I know not how it is, our Pride which co|mes
<PB N="171" REF="99">into the World with us,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">S. Ber. de ord. vit. &amp; mor in&s;tit.</NOTE> <HI>That Vice which is the first we fight with, &amp; the last we conquer,</HI> is &s;o apt to work upon our Judgment, that if we examine well, we cannot but ob&s;erve, we always are a great deal more inclin'd to magnifie our own Endeavours, than to admire the Power of Grace. If God should never treat us as we merit; if He never should abandon tho&s;e who from his Goodne&s;s take occa&s;ion to abu&s;e it; We should grow in&s;en&s;ible of our ne|ce&s;&s;ities; We should forget our Obligations to the <HI>Grace</HI> of our Redeemer; We should behave our &s;elves as if we thought that <HI>All is done by our High Hand,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Deut.</HI> 32.27.</NOTE> &amp; not by</HI> the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of <HI>our Lord.</HI> This
<PB N="172" REF="100">is one Rea&s;on, &amp; a ju&s;t one, why He is oblig'd (as I may &s;ay) in honour, if not always, at lea&s;t ge|nerally, &amp; for the mo&s;t part, to refu&s;e them Au|dience in a Time of their own choo&s;ing, Who du|ring the time which He thought proper for their purpo&s;e, never would vouch|&s;afe to hearken to Him.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 8. <HI>v.</HI> 21.</NOTE> <HI>I go away,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>&amp; you shall Seek me, &amp; you shall Die in your Sins.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. IV. <HI>That we ought to begin immediatly, without Delay.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>HE who has promis'd</HI> PAR|DON <HI>to tho&s;e who Repent,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Greg. Hom</HI> 12 <HI>in Evan.</HI></NOTE> has never promis'd</HI> TRUE RE|PENTANCE
<PB N="173" REF="100"><HI>to tho&s;e who differ<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> it.</HI> A man mu&s;t be a Stran|ger to the ordinary Cour&s;e of Providence, who dos not know that there are cer|tain Times in which our God is kinder &amp; more fa|vourable to us; when Clouds of Anger di&s;appear; when Heaven &s;eems to &s;mile upon us; &amp; the Al|mighty &s;eems to meet half way the Prayers &amp; Addre&s;|&s;es of his people. Tis not that God is liable to any shadow of Incon&s;tancy: He always is inclin'd to Mercy, and nothing but our Sins can force him to the Rigour of his Ju&s;tice. Sometimes He showers down his Gra|ces in a plentifull aboun|dance; vi&s;its &amp; in&s;pires us with good <HI>Thoughts,</HI> good
<PB N="174" REF="101"><HI>Inclinations</HI> to amend our lives; &s;trongly &amp; &s;weetly moves us; frequently &amp; importunely pre&s;&s;es &amp; &s;olli|cites us to true Repen|tance. But, if we &s;light his favours, He withdraws them from us: Mercy neg|lected &amp; abus'd gives place to Ju&s;tice: And all tho&s;e <HI>great</HI> and <HI>extraordinary</HI> Graces, which before abounded, are denied us; that we may, by this means, grow &s;en|&s;ible of their Nece&s;&s;ity &amp; our Dependency, their Power &amp; our Weakne&s;s.</P>
<P><Q>What Wi&s;e man is there in the World,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chri&s;t. Direc|tory. p.</HI> 2. <HI>c.</HI> 7. &sect; 3. <HI>&amp; n.</HI> 35.</NOTE> who rea|ding This, will not fear the <HI>differring</HI> of his Con|ver&s;ion, though it were but for one day? Who knows, whether this shall
<PB N="175" REF="101">be the <HI>la&s;t</HI> day, or no, that ever God will call him? God &s;ays, <HI>I call'd,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Prov. Ch.</HI> 1.</NOTE> &amp; you refus'd to come; I held out my hand, &amp; you would not look towards me; and therefore I will</HI> FORSAKE <HI>you in your Ex|tremity.</HI> He dos not &s;ay, how many times He <HI>call'd;</HI> or how long He <HI>held out his hand.</HI> God &s;ays, <HI>I &s;tand at the door, &amp; knock:</HI> but He &s;ays not, how often.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid. n.</HI> 37. <HI>A. D.</HI> 1673.</NOTE> Al|mighty God is ready &amp; bountifull to <HI>knock</HI> and <HI>call;</HI> but yet he binds him&s;elf to no <HI>time</HI> or <HI>&s;pace,</HI> but comes &amp; goes at his plea&s;ure. And they who take not their times when they are offer'd, are ex|cu&s;ele&s;s before his Ju&s;tice, &amp; do not know whether ever it shall be offer'd
<PB N="176" REF="102">them again, or no: for that this thing is only in the Will &amp; Knowledg of God alone; who takes Mercy where it plea&s;es him be&s;t, and is bound to none. And when the pre|fixt time of calling is once pa&s;t, Wo be to that par|ty; for a thou&s;and Worlds [perhaps] will not purcha&s;e it again.</Q></P>
<P>This Rea&s;on is aboun|dantly &s;ufficient to make us manage carefully the <HI>work</HI> of <HI>our Salvation with fear</HI> &amp; <HI>trembling;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Phil.</HI> 2.12.1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.6.</NOTE> and <HI>humble our &s;elves under the powerfull hand of God;</HI> without pretending to any <HI>ab&s;olute</HI> Security of our admittance when&s;o&ecirc;re we plea&s;e. We are certainly damn'd, if we never ask pardon; probably it may
<PB N="177" REF="102">be yet time enough, if we ask it now; And in con|currence of a <HI>certain</HI> ruine on the one &s;ide, with a <HI>probability</HI> of &s;afety on the other, No Wi&s;e man will loo&s;e time to deliberate upon the choice.</P>
<P>Some will &s;ay, perhaps, Tis a &s;evere Ca&s;e, to Re|nounce all worldly Affec|tions, &amp; Deny them what's mo&s;t dear to them; to de|clare war again&s;t the mo&s;t violent of Pa&s;&s;ions; &amp; to undergo the hardship of perpetuall &s;ervice in the engagement; if we have no <HI>ab&s;olute</HI> &s;ecurity of ma|king peace when ever we de&s;ire it. Had we an a&s;&s;u|rance of our Pardon, when|&s;o&ecirc;re we ask it; it were &s;ome encouragement to
<PB N="178" REF="103">undertake a thorough Re|formation of our lives. But, to renounce All, upon a a hazard of gaining No|thing, is too cold an invi|tation to encounter &s;o painfull &amp; laborious a Task.</P>
<P><HI>O Man!</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">9.20.</NOTE> &s;ays S. Paul to the Romans, <HI>who art Thou, that</HI> thus <HI>replye&s;t again&s;t God?</HI> Who are you, that dare pre&s;ume to article with Him, in this manner? Is it not enough, to have &s;o frequently tran&s;gre&s;t his Laws, &s;o much contemn'd his Menaces, &s;o long abus'd his Patience? Is it not enough to have idoliz'd the objects of your Pa&s;|&s;ion? to have &s;et up your Single &s;elf in oppo&s;ition to all the dictates of Duty &amp; Obedience? to have af|fronted
<PB N="179" REF="103">the Omnipotent Hand, which (had not his Mercy held it) had long &s;ince &s;unk your mi&s;erable Soul to the Aby&s;s of Hell? Is not this enough, unle&s;s the &s;ame Pride, which be|gan your Mi&s;ery, accom|pany al&s;o the Petition of your Pardon? Remember that <HI>God re&s;i&s;ts the proud,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.5.</NOTE> &amp; gives Grace</HI> only <HI>to the humble.</HI> Re|member that he is a very <HI>proud</HI> Beggar, who will not ask an alms except he be a&s;&s;ur'd before hand of re|ceiving it; And that God is &s;o far from receiving the in&s;olent Reque&s;t of &s;uch a proud Petitioner, that (on the contrary) He openly declares he <HI>hates</HI> him:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eccli.</HI> 25.4.</NOTE> <HI>My Soul,</HI> &s;ays He, <HI>Hates a proud Beggar.</HI></P>
<PB N="178" REF="104">
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<P>Ah Chri&s;tians! We mu&s;t (if we hope for Salvation) we mu&s;t come in another di&s;po&s;ition. We mu&s;t not loo&s;e time upon the debate, whether or no we have a certain pro&s;pect of &s;ucce&s;s. We mu&s;t <HI>work our Salvation with fear &amp; trembling;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Phil.</HI> 2.12.1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.6.</NOTE> and <HI>humble our &s;elves under the power|full hand of God.</HI> In this Con|juncture we have nothing el&s;e to do, but fly in all ha&s;t to the <HI>Throne of Grace:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Hebr.</HI> 4.16.</NOTE> Every Moment is pre|cious: Every Moment of Delay encrea&s;es the Dan|ger.</P>
<P>The prodigall Son, who&s;e imitation our Saviour re|commends to us, propo&s;ing him as a great example of an humble Penitent, did not loo&s;e time in &s;tudying
<PB N="181" REF="105">whether his Father would receive him or not; he did not before hand enquire into his Father's humour; how he &s;tood affected to him? whether he were ready to admitt him? or deter|min'd never more to look upon him? But, imme|diately,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 15.17. <HI>v.</HI> 18.</NOTE> at his fir&s;t <HI>coming to him&s;elf,</HI> he &s;aid; <HI>I will ri&s;e, and go to my Father, &amp; &s;ay to him, Father, I have Sinn'd.</HI> So far was he from any <HI>ab&s;olute</HI> a&s;&s;urance of his pardon, &amp; &s;o &s;en&s;ible of his unworthy|ne&s;s; he did not &s;o much as offer to demand a per|fect reconciliation, but left him&s;elf entirely to his Father, to di&s;po&s;e of him, &amp; do with him what he pleas'd: <HI>Father,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 19.</NOTE> I am not worthy to be call'd your Son.</HI></P>
<PB N="182" REF="106">
<P>Alas! What can we do in this condition? We mu&s;t redouble our prayers which we have heretofore &s;o of|ten huddled over, with as much indifference &amp; cold|ne&s;s, as if we were <HI>afraid</HI> le&s;t God should <HI>hear</HI> us, &amp; <HI>a&s;si&s;t</HI> us with his Grace to <HI>take up our Cro&s;&s;e,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 16.24.</NOTE> deny our &s;elves, &amp; follow Him.</HI></P>
<P>If after a month, a year, or more, we find no great effect of Mercy; we mu&s;t &s;till per&s;ever firm in our Endeavours: The more we <HI>fear</HI> God's Anger, the fa&s;ter we mu&s;t <HI>fly</HI> to the Protec|tion of his Goodne&s;s. We mu&s;t not &s;ink under the ap|prehen&s;ions of our Repro|bation, but without di&s;|puting our De&s;tiny, we mu&s;t re&s;olve, either to ob|tain
<PB N="183" REF="106">pardon, or die in the demanding of it.</P>
<P>If the Almighty &s;eem to take no notice of us; if He &s;eem as it were to com|mand us out of his &s;ight; we have nothing el&s;e to &s;ay, but, <HI>Lord, whither shall we go?</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 6. <HI>v.</HI> 68.</NOTE> What way is there to fly from thy Anger, but by the &s;peedie&s;t recour&s;e we po&s;&s;ibly can make to the shelter of thy infinite Good|ne&s;s? We know, we de|&s;erve an Eternall Bannish|ment from thy Pre&s;ence: We know, we often have refus'd Thee Audience: We know, it was our common An&s;wer, <HI>Go,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Prov.</HI> 3.28.</NOTE> and Come again</HI> another time: &amp; therefore we know, we have no rea|&s;on to complain, if now we are for&s;aken &amp; abandon'd
<PB N="184" REF="107">by Thee. But this is only what we de&s;erve; 'tis only what we ju&s;tly <HI>Fear:</HI> Thou neverthele&s;s commande&s;t us to <HI>Hope</HI> otherwi&s;e; And 'tis in complyance with this Command,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 4.18.</NOTE> that we <HI>Hope even again&s;t Hope.</HI> We come not to di&s;pute about our Hea|ven or our Hell; We come not to capitulate upon the Articles of our Salvation; We only <HI>fear</HI> as we have rea&s;on, and <HI>hope</HI> as we ought; &s;o that, &s;etting a|&s;ide the whole &s;ollicitude of that Affair, we leave it en|tirely to thy Mercy. We come with a Contrite &amp; Humble Heart; full of no|thing but a &s;incere Sorrow for all our pa&s;t Offences, joyn'd with a hearty Re&s;o|lution never to offend Thee
<PB N="185" REF="107">any more: Except it may be an Offence for Sinners, &s;uch as we are, to con|tinue in thy Pre&s;ence; Which cannot be: No, no; though we should &s;ee thy Sword of Ju&s;tice drawn again&s;t us, &amp; thy Omni|potent Hand &s;tretcht out to &s;trike us dead at thy Feet, We will not quitt the place,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Job.</HI> 13.15.</NOTE> <HI>Although Thou kill'&s;t us, we will</HI> &s;till <HI>Trust in Thee.</HI></P>
<P>This is the Humble Heart, which charms our God; the Heart which He cannot refu&s;e;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 50.</NOTE> Such <HI>a Contrite</HI> &s;uch <HI>an Humble Heart He never will de&s;pi&s;e.</HI> This is the only di&s;|po&s;ition that can make amends for the abu&s;e of &s;o much Goodne&s;s; &amp; for the differring our Con|ver&s;ion &s;o long, upon a
<PB N="186" REF="108">proud <HI>Pre&s;umption</HI> of Amend|ment when we pleas'd. Such an Humble Heart, as this, gives God no rea&s;on to be jealous of his Honour: His Hand appears manife&s;tly in the management and <HI>prepa|ration</HI> of it:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ex od.</HI> 8.19.</NOTE> <HI>The Finger of God is here.</HI> Such a Convert, as this, will never chal|lenge any share in the Ho|nour of his Conver&s;ion; but, admiring the Benefit, will re&s;ign the Honour, &amp; humble him&s;elf &s;o much the more in his pre&s;ence Who made him what he is. But God <HI>will</HI> always have the <HI>Honour</HI> of the work; He <HI>will</HI> be Mercifull when He thinks fit, &amp; not allow proud Man to di&s;po&s;e of his Mercy; He <HI>will</HI> take his own time, and con|found
<PB N="187" REF="108">the pre&s;umptuous <HI>Pride</HI> of tho&s;e, who (as if they were God's Ma&s;ters, rather than his &s;ervants,) make no doubt but they can choo&s;e a <HI>Time</HI> conveni|ent, when they plea&s;e.</P>
<P>Sinners, Deceive not your &s;elves. Think not that God is always equally di&s;pos'd to hear us, when|&s;oever we appoint our time of Audience. He will not &s;uffer us to pretend to the honour of beginning our Conver&s;ion, &amp; challenging his. Greate&s;t Graces, at our lei&s;ure. Tis true; He died to &s;ave us: But, though He died for our <HI>Benefit,</HI> He died for God's <HI>Honour;</HI> and will not part with any share of this Ho|nour, to humour a <HI>proud</HI> Pe|nitent.
<PB N="186" REF="109">
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<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 42.8. 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.5.</NOTE> He is <HI>Lord</HI> of All, <HI>and his Glory He will not give to Another.</HI> He <HI>Re&s;i&s;ts the Proud, and</HI> only <HI>to the Humble He gives Grace</HI> in this World, <HI>Glory</HI> in the next.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="189" REF="110">
<HEAD>A CONTRITE HEART.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I. <HI>Sorrow for our Sins.</HI></HEAD>
<P><Q>_O My God!
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Anton. das Chagas.</NOTE> God of my Soul, my Life, my Heart, &amp; All that is within me! I have &s;inn'd, &ocirc; my God; I have offen|ded Thee; I have done ill before the Face of Hea|ven &amp; Earth. Neither the
<PB N="190" REF="111">Stars of Heaven, nor the grains of Sand upon the Earth, are equall to the boundle&s;s number of my grievous &s;ins.</Q></P>
<P>Ah my dear God! my <HI>Maker,</HI> my <HI>Pre&s;erver,</HI> my <HI>Re|deemer,</HI> &amp; my <HI>Only Benefactor,</HI> how it grieves me to have <HI>So</HI> offended Thee!
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> <Q>I am much more troubled at my great Ingratitude, than at the greatne&s;s of the Torments I de&s;erve.</Q></P>
<P>O that I could bewail, with Tears of bloud, the ba&s;e Unworthyne&s;s of my behaviour to my <HI>only</HI> mo&s;t Obliging, mo&s;t Endearing, mo&s;t De&s;erving <HI>Friend!</HI> A <HI>Friend</HI> who <HI>always</HI> lov'd me, even when I lov'd my &s;illy <HI>Humours</HI> &amp; his mi&s;erable <HI>Crea|tures</HI> more than <HI>Him;</HI> who
<PB N="191" REF="111">always <HI>Lov'd</HI> me, even when I was his mo&s;t <HI>&V;ngratefull Enemy;</HI> And notwith&s;tand|ing All, &s;till <HI>Made</HI> me what&s;o&ecirc;re <HI>I VVas,</HI> &s;till <HI>Gave</HI> me what&s;o&ecirc;re <HI>I Had,</HI> and &s;till <HI>Invited</HI> me, nay even <HI>Courted</HI> me, with dayly in|&s;pirations of his Grace, to <HI>Love</HI> Him above All Things. O that my Eyes were living Fountains of continuall Re|pentance, to bewail my ba&s;e Unworthyne&s;s!</P>
<P>And yet although my bleeding Heart should bur&s;t out at my Eyes, my <HI>Grief</HI> would nere be equall to my Grievous <HI>Sins;</HI> the <HI>Guilt</HI> of which is <HI>infinite,</HI> and infi|nitely greater than I'm able to conceive. Though I should weep with Tears of bloud in every corner of
<PB N="192" REF="112">the Earth where I have &s;inn'd; All that would ne|ver wash away the <HI>Guilt</HI> or <HI>Scandall</HI> of my Crimes. There's nothing but the bleeding Sacrifice of the <HI>&V;n&s;potted Lamb of God;</HI> There's nothing but the Bloud of JESUS dying for my &s;ake upon the Cro&s;s; There's nothing el&s;e can reconcile me to the Souvereign Ma|je&s;ty which I have <HI>&s;o</HI> pro|vok't; There's nothing el&s;e can wash out the deep Stains of my un&s;peakable ingratitude.</P>
<P>This is that <HI>Mercy</HI> of my God, which the admiring World has Rea&s;on to call <HI>Great:</HI> That <HI>Mercy</HI> which is truly <HI>Great,</HI> not only in it's &s;elf, but <HI>Great</HI> to all that are Partakers of it. <HI>Have Mer|cy
<PB N="193" REF="112">on me, O God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 50.</NOTE> according to Thy</HI> Great <HI>Mercy. VVash</HI> my poor &s;oul <HI>from it's Iniquity, &amp; Clean&s;e it from it's Sins. Sprinkle me</HI> only, with the bloud of JESUS, <HI>&amp; I shall be Cleans'd; VVash me</HI> with it, <HI>&amp; I shall be whiter than Snow. Ca&s;t me not away from Thy Face;</HI> but look upon <HI>a Contrite &amp; an Humble Heart,</HI> which (for the &s;ake of Thy <HI>Beloved Son,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 17.5.</NOTE> with whom Thou art well Pleas'd</HI>) I hope <HI>Thou wilt not de&s;pi&s;e;</HI> but that Thou wilt <HI>have Mercy on me, O God, according to Thy</HI> Great <HI>Mercy.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. II. <HI>Re&s;olutions of Amendment.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I <HI>Have &s;aid: Now I Begin.</HI> Alas!
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 76.</NOTE> How often <HI>have I &s;aid</HI> So, &amp; as often broke my word!
<PB N="194" REF="113">And what Hope have I <HI>Now</HI> to keep it, more than any other Time? When I renew the dolefull memory of my Relap&s;es, how I tremble at the very Thought! To think how often, in a luke|warm Fit of Piety, I have <HI>imagin'd</HI> I was <HI>Now</HI> be|ginning to <HI>amend</HI> my Life; And yet how <HI>Soon,</HI> how <HI>Ea&s;ily,</HI> how <HI>Shamefully</HI> hath every <HI>&s;uddain</HI> Pa&s;&s;ion, every <HI>&s;infull</HI> Inclination, every <HI>&s;illy</HI> Humour overcome my be&s;t &amp;&punc; firme&s;t Re&s;olutions! Proud as I was, I <HI>wonderd</HI> always at my <HI>weakne&s;s,</HI> &amp; could &s;carce <HI>beleeve</HI> it, though <HI>I Saw</HI> it. Proud as I was, &s;till went on in the &s;ame road; Still <HI>fancyd</HI> it was <HI>ea&s;y</HI> to <HI>Reform</HI> when <HI>I Re&s;olv'd</HI> upon't; And &s;till excus'd
<PB N="195" REF="113">my &s;elf, by laying all the fault upon my <HI>Neighbours,</HI> my <HI>Employments,</HI> or &s;ome other <HI>Circum&s;tances</HI> of my Life. And yet, what <HI>Place</HI> &s;oever I have liv'd in, what&s;oever <HI>Bu&s;i|ne&s;s</HI> I have been employd in, what&s;oever <HI>Circum&s;tances</HI> have attended me through all the &s;everall changes of my Fortune; I have <HI>always</HI> been the &s;ame <HI>Frail Creature,</HI> always equally unfaithfull to my word. What <HI>Hope</HI> then have <HI>I Now</HI> to keep it, more than any other Time?</P>
<P>Mu&s;t <HI>I De&s;pair?</HI> Yes, yes: 'Tis ab&s;olutely <HI>Nece&s;&s;ary</HI> for me to <HI>De&s;pair</HI> of my <HI>own</HI> Strength, that I may &s;e|riou&s;ly <HI>begin</HI> to <HI>Hope</HI> in no|thing el&s;e but <HI>Him</HI> who <HI>gives Grace to the Humble,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.5.</NOTE> &amp; re&s;i&s;ts the Proud.</HI> And may I
<PB N="196" REF="114">by his Grace <HI>Per&s;ever</HI> all my Life, <HI>improving</HI> each day more &amp; more, <HI>in This De&s;pair,</HI> which is the Rea&s;on why <HI>I Hope</HI> more <HI>now</HI> than any other Time.</P>
<P>O that I had long &s;ince <HI>De&s;pair'd</HI> entirely of my <HI>own</HI> &s;ufficiency, &amp; plac't my <HI>Confidence</HI> in nothing but the powerfull a&s;&s;i&s;tance of his <HI>Grace;</HI> I should not then have been &s;o <HI>Negligent</HI> &s;o <HI>openly Expos'd</HI> on every &s;ide, to the continuall &s;urpri&s;es of my <HI>Pa&s;sions.</HI> I should then have carefully <HI>employd</HI> the pre|cious moments of my <HI>Time,</HI> either in <HI>Studying</HI> how to <HI>Meet</HI> my &s;everall <HI>Dangers,</HI> or <HI>Foreca&s;ting</HI> how to <HI>Avoid</HI> Them. I should then have <HI>Prayd</HI> as heartily, as men do in a Storm; who every moment
<PB N="197" REF="114">fear to &s;ink, &amp; every mo|ment lift their trembling Hands &amp; weeping Eyes to Heaven; the &s;ame <HI>angry Heaven</HI> whence They ju&s;tly apprehend their fatall Ruine. Ah my God! how &s;eldome have <HI>I Prayd</HI> &s;o! And how often have <HI>I Askt</HI> Thy Grace <HI>as Carele&s;ly</HI> as if <HI>I had no need</HI> of it!</P>
<P>My <HI>Re&s;olutions,</HI> like my Prayers, hitherto have only been in <HI>Generall terms:</HI> That <HI>now I would Reform my Life; I would no longer be a Slave to Pa&s;|&s;ion &amp; Humour; I would</HI> now <HI>Begin to be a Saint; And, O! how I have been asham'd to Think of all my Follies!</HI> Alas! <HI>This</HI> very <HI>Pride</HI> which made me thus <HI>Asham'd,</HI> was That which made me <HI>Fancy,</HI> 'twas an <HI>Ea&s;y</HI> matter to <HI>Amend;</HI> &amp;
<PB N="198" REF="115">therefore made me <HI>Carele&s;s</HI> in ob&s;erving the <HI>Particular Occa|&s;ions</HI> of my Greate&s;t Sins, the <HI>Remedies</HI> which ought to be <HI>applyd,</HI> &amp; the <HI>Impediments</HI> which ought to be <HI>remov'd.</HI> But &s;ince the &s;ad experience of my weakne&s;s makes me wi&s;er, I am <HI>now re&s;olv'd</HI> it shall be the <HI>chief Bu&s;ine&s;s</HI> of my Life, to <HI>watch</HI> and <HI>&s;tudy</HI> all the <HI>Motions</HI> of my <HI>Heart:</HI> What <HI>Pa&s;sions</HI> are predomi|nant; what <HI>Inclinations</HI> Se|cond them; by what <HI>Ap|proaches</HI> They gain ground; &amp; by what <HI>Means,</HI> in This or That <HI>particular</HI> Occur|rence, They may be re|&s;i&s;ted, weakned, &amp; &s;ub|dued.</P>
<P>A Ma&s;ter Workman needs but now &amp; then apply his Rule, becau&s;e his <HI>Habit</HI>
<PB N="199" REF="115">guides his skillfull <HI>Hand.</HI> But I, Unskillfull as I am, who only <HI>now Begin</HI> the ne|ce&s;&s;ary Art of Living well, &amp; have &s;o many years con|tracted an ill habit of neg|lecting all tho&s;e Holy Precepts; I mu&s;t <HI>now,</HI> not only in my <HI>Morning-Recollec|tion</HI> carefully <HI>Fore&s;ee</HI> each Dan|ger I am like to meet with in the <HI>Day;</HI> But <HI>frequently Renew</HI> tho&s;e pious Re&s;olu|tions; In <HI>All</HI> occa&s;ions <HI>Con|&s;ult</HI> the Eternall <HI>Truth</HI> Which came from Heaven to in|&s;truct me; And <HI>Examine</HI> &s;e|riou&s;ly, if the <HI>Employment</HI> of my Thoughts, Words, Actions, &amp; De&s;ires, be <HI>&s;uitable</HI> to &s;o Divine a <HI>Rule.</HI></P>
<P>All This I am <HI>Re&s;olv'd upon,</HI> in Pre&s;ence of my God, &amp; the whole Court of Hea|ven.
<PB N="200" REF="116">Help me, All ye Ble&s;|&s;ed Spirits,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 15.7.</NOTE> who are <HI>Joyfull</HI> witne&s;&s;es of the&s;e my Holy Re&s;olutions; A&s;&s;i&s;t me <HI>now</HI> to make an humble Offering of them All <HI>before the Throne of Grace;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Hebr.</HI> 4.16.</NOTE> And joyn your Better prayers with mine, to beg a <HI>Ble&s;sing</HI> for Them; without <HI>which,</HI> although I dayly <HI>water</HI> Them with pe|nitentiall Tears, They ne|ver will <HI>Encrea&s;e,</HI> &amp; bring forth Fruit. <HI>I have &s;aid: Now I Begin.</HI> Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy <HI>Great</HI> Mercy; For <HI>Such a Change comes</HI> only <HI>from the Right Hand of the Highe&s;t.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 76.11.</NOTE></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="201" REF="116">
<HEAD>AN HUMBLE HEART.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I. <HI>The Nece&s;sity and Advantages of Humility.</HI></HEAD>
<Q><P>_ALl our Saviour's Life &amp; Conver&s;a|tion upon Earth,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">S. Aug. lib. de ver. rel&punc;</NOTE> was a continuall in&s;truction for the mo|delling of ours. But above all things He particularly recommended to us the
<PB N="202" REF="117">example of his great Hu|mility:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 11.29.</NOTE> <HI>Learn of me,</HI> &s;ay's he, <HI>becau&s;e I am humble of Heart; and you will find re&s;t for your &s;ouls.</HI></P>
<P>The nece&s;&s;ity of this incomparable Virtue is &s;o great,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodri|guez. Par.</HI> 2. <HI>Tr.</HI> 3. <HI>ch.</HI> 1.</NOTE> that 'tis impo&s;&s;ible without it to make any progre&s;s in a Sprituall life. Our Pride corrupts and ruines all our virtuous Actions, unle&s;s Humility begin, continue, &amp; con|clude them.</P>
<P>S. Gregory &s;ays,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodri|guez. ch.</HI> 2.</NOTE> True virtue never grows in any Soul, but when 'tis nou|risht by its proper <HI>Root,</HI> which is Humility. This plain compari&s;on expre&s;&s;es very well its <HI>nature,</HI> and its <HI>properties.</HI> 1. A flower fades &amp; withers when 'tis
<PB N="203" REF="117">parted from its root. 2. The root is never better, than when hidden in the earth, and trampled under foot. 3. A Tree is longer-liv'd, and yields more fruit, ac|cording as the root of it is deeper, and lyes lower under ground.</P>
<P>How much our <HI>Faith</HI> de|depends upon Humility,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 3.</NOTE> the Apo&s;tle tells us, when he &s;peaks of <HI>ca&s;ting down imaginations;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.5.</NOTE> every high 'thing that exalts it &s;elf again&s;t the knowledge of God;</HI> and <HI>cap|tivating every thought to the Obe|dience of Chri&s;t.</HI> Man's Rea|&s;on is but weak, and &s;ub|ject to mi&s;take; &amp; there|fore a &s;ubmi&s;&s;ive Spirit is requir'd: the want of which has been the fir&s;t beginning of all here&s;ies,
<PB N="204" REF="118">and verified S. Paul's pre|diction,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.1.2.3.7.</NOTE> that <HI>in the la&s;t days dangerous times will come: be|cau&s;e Men will be Proud; de&s;pi&s;ers of good people; &amp; ever learning, but never coming to the know|ledge of Truth.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;ame Humility which guides our Faith, encou|rages our <HI>Hope:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. c.</HI> 10.11.</NOTE> becau&s;e the more we fear our weakne&s;s &amp; diffide in our own &s;trength, the more we have recour&s;e to God, in whom we place our confidence: and thus <HI>when we are weak,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.10.</NOTE> &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>we are &s;trong.</HI> That is to &s;ay, when once we rightly under&s;tand our &s;elves, &amp; being thoroughly convinc't of our infirmity, we &s;eriou&s;ly begin to hope in nothing but the a&s;&s;i&s;|tance
<PB N="205" REF="118">of God's Grace: then 'tis that He him&s;elf begins to take in hand the management of our affairs; provides for us in all our &s;pirituall wants; &s;upports, &amp; guides us, by a &s;peciall providence, in all our pious under|takings. Tis with us, as 'tis with Beggars who expo&s;e their ulcers and their mi&s;eries: the more they lay them open in the publick view, the more they move our pitty, &amp; obtain more almes of Cha|ritable per&s;ons: So the more &s;incerely we con|fe&s;s, &amp; with profound humility acknowledge, our extreme nece&s;&s;ities, expo&s;ing them in pre|&s;ence of our God, the
<PB N="206" REF="119">more we move him to compa&s;&s;ionate our mi&s;e|rable State, &amp; to be&s;tow upon us more aboun|dantly the riches of his Grace.</P>
<P>Humility, as it encou|rages our Hope &s;o it im|proves our <HI>Charity.</HI> An hum|ble Man perpetually con&s;i|dering his innumerable faults &amp; imperfections, the more he &s;ees his great un|worthyne&s;s, the more he wonders at God's patience, &amp; is more inclin'd to love his Goodne&s;s above all things.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P. Cra&s;|&s;et. T.</HI> 2. <HI>Con.</HI> 14.</NOTE> Nothing makes me better under&s;tand how good God is, than when I &s;ee with how much pa|tience he endures a man, who is not able to endure him&s;elf. Tis He who is
<PB N="207" REF="119">offended: I am the of|fender. I, all Wickedne&s;s: &amp; He, all Holyne&s;s. As wicked as I am, I can't endure my &s;elf: As holy as He is, He &s;uffers me with patience. I only &s;ee a &s;mall part of my faults, and hate my &s;elf: He &s;ees them all, and yet He dos not cea&s;e to love me. I have &s;uch a horrour of my &s;elf, when I con&s;ider how incon&s;tant &amp; how frail I am: &amp; yet I can't per|ceive that God has any horrour of me. On the contrary, the more I humbly own my wicked|ne&s;s, the more obliging &amp; endearing proofs He gives me of in&s;uperable Goodne&s;s.</P>
<P>Our Humility pre&s;erves
<PB N="208" REF="120">&amp; guards our <HI>Cha&s;tity.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 3.</NOTE> Saint Bernard dos not fear to &s;ay, that <HI>even the Purity of the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin her &s;elf, had never been agreable to God, without it.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Corn. a Lap. in c.</HI> 1, <HI>ad Rom.</HI></NOTE> Be&s;ides it is not only nece&s;&s;ary to <HI>pre&s;erve</HI> our Cha&s;tity; but is the the be&s;t and mo&s;t effec|tuall remedy, that can be, to <HI>procure</HI> it. Luxury is the punishment of pride: and Cha&s;tity the triumph of humility. S. Hierome &s;ays, <HI>tis hard to find a Heretick that loves Cha&s;tity; although in his di&s;|cour&s;es he may &s;eem to prai&s;e it, &amp; pretend to practi&s;e it.</HI> The rea&s;on is,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.5.</NOTE> becau&s;e <HI>God gives grace</HI> only <HI>to the humble, &amp; re&s;i&s;ts the proud:</HI> and where there is no <HI>Grace,</HI> there is no <HI>Cha&s;tity,</HI> but all Con|cupi&s;cence. Hence comes
<PB N="209" REF="120">the common &s;aying of our Novelli&s;ts, that <HI>Cha&s;tity is impo&s;sible:</HI> &amp; 'tis no won|der that they <HI>think</HI> &s;o; for it <HI>is</HI> &s;o, <HI>to the Proud,</HI> and Gracele&s;s; who can nere be truly cha&s;t, till they are truly humble. They are <HI>given up by God to</HI> all <HI>un|cleane&s;s,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 1.24.</NOTE> through the lu&s;t of their own hearts:</HI> and 'tis but ju&s;t, that if the Soul re|fu&s;es due &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to God, the Body should be found, by his permi&s;&s;ion, as untractable &amp; di&s;obedi|ent to &s;uch a Soul. <HI>Be|cau&s;e,</HI> &s;ays S. Gregory, <HI>by Pride they preferr them&s;elves before Men: by Luxury they &s;oon become like Bea&s;ts.</HI></P>
<P>A man might ea&s;ily go through all other virtues,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 3.</NOTE> and ob&s;erve Humility as
<PB N="210" REF="121">nece&s;&s;ary for the acquiring and pre&s;erving of them All. But what has been already &s;aid, &s;uffices to convince us, that the mo&s;t compendious method of a&s;piring to Perfection, is to make it our chief bu&s;i|ne&s;s, to be <HI>truly humble.</HI></P>
<P>Tis enough to add,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P. Cra&s;|&s;et. T.</HI> 1. <HI>Lund.</HI> 3 <HI>de l' A|vent.</HI></NOTE> that All our virtues &amp; good actions, without Humi|lity, will never &s;ave us: &amp; that all our &s;ins &amp; im|perfections, with true Humility, will never damn us: For as &s;oon as ever we are truly humble, all our vices leave us, &amp; immediately all virtues take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of our heart. My &s;oul! why are we then di&s;courag'd? Why do we de&s;pair? Why are
<PB N="211" REF="121">we, now &amp; then, &s;o me|lancholy when we think of all our imperfections &amp; faults? If therefore we have rea&s;on to de&s;pair: have we not <HI>therefore</HI> rea&s;on to be humble? Let us be <HI>&s;o</HI> then: &amp; we shall have no longer any rea&s;on to de&s;pair. Let us but humble our &s;elves in pre&s;ence of our God: we shall &s;oon obtain all that we <HI>have not;</HI> we shall be able to do all that we <HI>cannot;</HI> &amp; we shall receive all that we <HI>de&s;erve not.</HI> You cannot fa&s;t? At lea&s;t you can humble your &s;elf. You cannot weep for your &s;ins? Humble your &s;elf, becau&s;e you cannot. You have not Time enough, nor Health enough, to &s;ay much prayers? However,
<PB N="212" REF="122">you may be as humble every jot, as if you had. Do what you can, you always pray with much di&s;traction? Be content, &amp; humble. You are now &amp; then &s;urpris'd, and fall into &s;ome &s;in? Have pa|tience: take more care another time: &amp; be more humble ever after.</P></Q>
<P><HI>An Humble Heart God never will de&s;pi&s;e.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 50.</NOTE> And is not This enough to shew us the <HI>Ne|ce&s;sity</HI> &amp; great <HI>Advantage</HI> of Humility? How comfort|able is the Thought of it, to them who&s;e Want of health, or other Circum&s;tances, will not &s;uffer to make u&s;e of corporall Au&s;terities, in Satisfaction for their Sins! What Comfort is it to them, to reflect that &s;till
<PB N="213" REF="122">they have a Refuge left them in the Sanctuary of this Virtue. Tis the <HI>only One</HI> they have, if we beleeve an ancient Father of the Church.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. John. Cl&iuml;ma. Reca|pitul. Ar.</HI> 35.</NOTE> <HI>VVhoever has committed grievous Sins; &amp; has a Body weak &amp; Sickly; Let him tread the foot&s;teps of Humility: In all things Let him fellow, where the Spirit &amp; the Impul&s;e of that Vir|tue lead him: Tis the only way He has to &s;ave his Soul.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. II. <HI>Fir&s;t Degree of Humility.</HI></HEAD>
<Q><P>THe fir&s;t Degree,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 5.</NOTE> is to have a mean <HI>opi|nion</HI> of our &s;elves; to <HI>think</HI> our &s;elves contemptible; &amp; <HI>judge</HI> that we de&s;erve to be de&s;pis'd by all the
<PB N="214" REF="123">World. The Knowledge of our &s;elves, our Weakne&s;s &amp; our Mi&s;ery, is no Hu|mility; but only is the nece&s;&s;ary Means to come to this Degree of it.</P>
<P>A per&s;on truly humble,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 3.</NOTE> always has before his eyes his <HI>own</HI> defects &amp; imper|fections: in others he con&s;iders chiefly the per|fections &amp; virtues which he finds: &amp; thus he always is per&s;uaded that his neigh|bours are much better &amp; more perfect than him&s;elf. He loves them with re&s;|pect &amp; tenderne&s;s. He is not angry at his being valued le&s;&s;e than they; but glad to &s;ee them <HI>All</HI> preferr'd before him.</P>
<P>His Sins,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid. P&s;.</HI> 50.</NOTE> which <HI>ever are before him,</HI> make him &s;en|&s;ible
<PB N="215" REF="123">that he de&s;erves the wor&s;t of punishments: &amp; therefore what&s;oever hap|pens to him, he e&s;teems it infinitely le&s;&s;e than his iniquity de&s;erves. He ne|ver thinks him&s;elf affron|ted. What&s;oever wrong is done him; he receives it as a favour, in compa|ri&s;on of what he has ju&s;t rea&s;on to expect. He &s;uf|fers all, in &s;ilence, upon this account: And far from breaking out into complaints, he only calls to mind that humble &s;aying, of the Prophet Micah,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">7.9.</NOTE> <HI>I will bear the in|dignation of my God, becau&s;e I have &s;inn'd again&s;t him.</HI></P>
<P>The harde&s;t mea&s;ure we can &s;uffer in this life;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. Ch.</HI> 7.</NOTE> the greate&s;t &amp; the mo&s;t
<PB N="216" REF="124">&s;evere humiliations we can think of, are incom|parably le&s;&s;e than what is due to any &s;ingle crime, which we committ again&s;t the Maje&s;ty of God. Can we imagine, all the World is able to dishonour him <HI>too much,</HI> who has disho|nour God him&s;elf? And is't not ju&s;t that having &s;lighted &amp; neglected his Creator, he him&s;elf should be de&s;pis'd by <HI>All,</HI> and live for ever after in di&s;grace?
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 2.3.</NOTE> Remember that a Sinner is a <HI>Child of wrath,</HI> an Enemy of God, a Mon&s;ter of deformity, condemn'd to everla&s;ting flames: Remember this; and you will shrink be|low the feet of all the World; becau&s;e you will
<PB N="217" REF="124">be then convinc't, that how&s;oever you are hum|bled &amp; oppre&s;s't, a Man who has but once offen|ded God, de&s;erves to &s;uffer more.</P>
<P>Although my Con&s;ci|ence accu&s;e me not,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ibid.</HI> 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.4.</NOTE> <HI>Though I know nothing of my &s;elf,</HI> &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, <HI>yet I am not hereby ju&s;tified; but he that judges me, is God.</HI> When we con&s;ider well, how doubt|full our condition is, &amp; how we always are un|certain of our being ju&s;ti|fied: This, this alone, without all other motives, which are numberle&s;s, is of it &s;elf aboundantly &s;uf|ficient to humble us. What Chri&s;tian is there, that would dare to shew his face? or Man that would
<PB N="218" REF="125">not rather wish to &s;ink into the bowells of the Earth, to hide him&s;elf? if this reflection once had made a deep impre&s;&s;ion in his mind, <HI>My Crimes are cer|tain, but my Pardon is uncertain.</HI> Nothing can be more unea&s;y to a Soul, that would be &s;av'd, than this Uncertainty. But yet there's nothing in the World of greater u&s;e for the acquiring and pre&s;er|ving of Humility. There's nothing can refrain us more from <HI>Cen&s;uring</HI> our Neigh|bours, or <HI>De&s;pi&s;ing</HI> even tho&s;e who &s;eem the great|e&s;t Sinners; than to think, that We our &s;elves are far from having any certainty of being in the State of Grace; &amp; that, this very
<PB N="219" REF="125">moment we may be, for ought we know, in equall danger of the everla&s;ting flames of Hell.</P></Q>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. III. <HI>Second Degree of Humility.</HI></HEAD>
<Q><P>THe Second Degree,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 13.</NOTE> is when we <HI>love</HI> to be neglected, and <HI>de&s;ire</HI> to be de&s;pis'd. As hard as it ap|pears, if we were once well grounded in the fir&s;t Degree, the way would then be short &amp; ea&s;y to the &s;econd. If we had but once a mean <HI>opinion</HI> of our &s;elves; if once we truly <HI>thought</HI> our &s;elves contemp|tible; if once our <HI>judgment</HI> were convinc't that we de&s;erve to be de&s;pis'd by
<PB N="220" REF="126">All the World; it would not then be difficult to <HI>&s;uffer</HI> their contempt: We then should even <HI>wish</HI> for &s;uch occa&s;ions of impro|ving our humility: they would be always very wellcome to us, &amp; afford us, every day, new joy &amp; con&s;olation. <HI>Tis certain,</HI> &s;ays S. Bonaventure, <HI>that we naturally</HI> love <HI>to &s;ee our &s;en|timents approv'd, &amp; our opinions followd. VVhich if it be true, as our experience too often teaches us, why are we &s;o unea&s;y when we &s;ee our neighbours undervalue us? Tis que&s;tionle&s;s, becau&s;e we are not, in our judgment, thorough|ly convinc't that we de&s;erve to be de&s;pis'd; for if we were, we should be glad to &s;ee our neigh|bours follow our opinion.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 14.</NOTE></P>
<P>The Di&s;po&s;itions which
<PB N="221" REF="126">make way to this Degree, are, 1. to shun as much as may be, all occa&s;ions of prai&s;e. 2. To &s;uffer patiently the humours and in&s;ults of others. 3. To take no plea&s;ure in our being celebrated and ad|mir'd.</P>
<P N="1">1. The Avoiding all occa&s;ions of prai&s;e,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> is re|commended to us by the great example of our Sa|viour, &amp; the univer&s;all practi&s;e of the Saints. Our Saviour fled from tho&s;e who thought to choo&s;e him King. He shewd his Glory on mount Thabor to no more than three of his Di&s;ciples; and im|mediatly charg'd them not to &s;ay a word on't. When|&s;oever his great Charity
<PB N="222" REF="127">appear'd in doing mira|cles, his great humility appear'd no le&s;&s;e in his commanding &s;ecrecy.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Fr. Sales. p.</HI> 3. <HI>c.</HI> 5.</NOTE></P>
<P>Humility affects not to appear in her own likene&s;s. She forbears expre&s;sions which di&s;cover her. She de&s;ires, not only to con|ceal all other Virtues, but particularly, to conceal her &s;elf.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P. Cra&s;|&s;et. T.</HI> 1. <HI>Mar.</HI> 3. <HI>de l'A|rent.</HI></NOTE></P>
<P>Tis a dangerous thing to &s;peak of one's &s;elf; either well, or ill: if <HI>well,</HI> 'tis to appear <HI>de&s;erving;</HI> if <HI>ill,</HI> 'tis to appear <HI>humble.</HI></P>
<P>An humble man had rather hear another &s;ay,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Fr. Sales. p.</HI> 3. <HI>c.</HI> 5.</NOTE> <HI>that he is mi&s;erable, incon&s;iderable, good for nothing;</HI> than be heard to &s;ay it of him&s;elf. At lea&s;t, he never con|tradicts it. Who&s;oever
<PB N="223" REF="127">&s;ays it, he <HI>beleeves</HI> it firmly and is therefore <HI>glad</HI> that others are of his opinion.</P>
<P N="2">2. If we &s;eriou&s;ly con|&s;ider'd,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 14.</NOTE> that the e&s;teem of men, is <HI>generally,</HI> if not <HI>always,</HI> an Occa&s;ion of Pre&s;umption &amp; Pride; &amp; that the Saints them&s;elves, who by Gods Grace were more &s;ecure from danger, always fled from &s;uch temptation, even with aver&s;ion &amp; horrour: we should certainly conclude, that what&s;oever may con|tribute to the humbling of us, &amp; inducing us to have a mean opinion of our &s;elves, should be re|ceiv'd with <HI>patience,</HI> &amp; embrac't as u&s;efull means of purcha&s;ing, pre&s;erving, &amp; encrea&s;ing our Humi|lity.
<PB N="224" REF="128">The opportunities of practi&s;ing this Virtue are &s;o frequent every day, that if we did but care|fully foreca&s;t to profit by them, we might almo&s;t make it our continuall Exerci&s;e.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>B. III. ch.</HI> 49.</NOTE> It happens, &s;ays the Devout Kempis, <HI>that what is plea&s;ing to others, shall go well forward; that which thou wishe&s;t, shall not &s;peed: That which others &s;ay, shall be heard; what thou &s;ay&s;t, shall be nothing regarded: Others shall ask, &amp; shall receive; thou shalt ask, &amp; not obtain: others shall be great in the prai&s;e of men; but of thee there shall be no &s;peech: to others this or that shall be committed; but thou shalt be ac|counted fit for nothing. At this, Nature is apt &s;ometimes to be troubled; and 'tis much, if thou
<PB N="225" REF="128">art humble enough, to bear it</HI> patiently <HI>with &s;ilence.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> To be charm'd &s;o little with E&s;teem &amp; Ho|nour, as to <HI>take no plea&s;ure</HI> in them, is a third &s;tep to the height of this Degree; much harder than the other two. For as Saint Au&s;tin very well ob&s;er|ves, <HI>although it may be ea&s;y for a man to live without prai&s;e, when it is denied: tis hard enough for any man, to take no plea&s;ure in it, when 'tis freely offerd him. A proud man,</HI> &s;ays S. Gregory, <HI>rejoyces even when he knows that his admirers are mi&s;taken in him. For he cares not what his Life is in the &s;ight of God, but only values the appea|rance of it in the &s;ight of Men. And therefore he his puft up with the lea&s;t applau&s;e: He fancys he
<PB N="226" REF="129">has reap't the fruit of his endea|vours: He de&s;ires no more: He aims at nothing el&s;e.</HI> But, on the contrary, an humble man is &s;o aver&s;e from the applau&s;e of Men: that he's unea&s;y with it. He's afraid there is no reall ground for it: or el&s;e he fears the lo&s;&s;e of his Reward in Hea|ven, by receiving of it here; &amp; trembles at the apprehen&s;ion of exchang|ing, for a little popular E&s;teem, the Crown of everla&s;ting Glory, which he hopes for. Salomon &s;ays,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Prov.</HI> 27.21.</NOTE> <HI>As gold is tried by the furnace, &s;o is a man by his prai&s;e.</HI> S. Gregory adds; <HI>if he grows vain by hearing it, he's like fal&s;e gold, which &s;uffers by the fire: but if the hearing of it makes him tremble, lea&s;t it may
<PB N="227" REF="129">be prejudiciall to his &s;oul before the Souvereign Judge; 'tis like a fire which only &s;erves to purify, &amp; give him a new lu&s;tre.</HI> We should be &s;o grounded in the knowledg of our&s;elves, that when we are com|mended, we may always have before our eyes our ba&s;e Unworthyne&s;s; and be &s;o much the more asham'd, to think, we are &s;o far from being what we <HI>&s;eem</HI> to be; that we fall short of being, even what we <HI>should</HI> be.</P>
<P>By the&s;e three Steps we come at la&s;t to the Degree of <HI>loving</HI> &amp; <HI>de&s;iring</HI> to be un|dervalued &amp; de&s;pis'd:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 15.</NOTE> We become, not only hum|ble in our <HI>Judgment,</HI> but our <HI>Heart.</HI> The fir&s;t degree, which is Humility of <HI>Judg|ment,</HI>
<PB N="228" REF="130">was not to be found in J. C. as S. Bernard well ob&s;erves: becau&s;e He knew him&s;elf too well, to have a mean <HI>opinion</HI> of him&s;elf, or <HI>think</HI> him&s;elf contemp|tible, or <HI>judge</HI> that He de|&s;erv'd to be de&s;pis'd by all the World. But the &s;e|cond Degree, the true humility of <HI>Heart,</HI> was the Humility of our Redee|mer. He <HI>took plea&s;ure</HI> in de|&s;cending, &amp; becoming Man: He <HI>lov'd</HI> to be neg|lected, &s;corn'd, &amp; ridi|cul'd: He heartily <HI>de&s;ir'd</HI> to undergo all injuries, in&s;ults &amp; outrages. Be|hold the Example of our Ma&s;ter. See the Le&s;&s;on which he came to teach us.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 11.29.</NOTE> <HI>Learn of me,</HI> &s;ays He, <HI>becau&s;e I am humble of</HI> HEART.</P>
<PB N="229" REF="130">
<P>A true Di&s;ciple of Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> is dead to all things in this world; he hates it, &amp; dete&s;ts it; he de&s;ires not to be valued &amp; e&s;teem'd in't; but embraces all Hu|miliations with the &s;elf &s;ame pa&s;&s;ion, which worldly per&s;ons have for Honour &amp; E&s;teem; and is as <HI>glad</HI> to meet with all occa&s;ions of appearing incon&s;iderable &amp; contemptible, as they are <HI>overjoyd</HI> to meet with opportunities of &s;eeming Great.</P>
<P>To know if we are true Di&s;ciples of our Ma&s;|ter,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 16.</NOTE> &amp; have perfectly ac|quir'd this Virtue; we mu&s;t, <HI>by this Rule,</HI> examine well the di&s;po&s;ition of our <HI>Heart,</HI> &amp; &s;ee if we rejoyce as much at being under|valued
<PB N="230" REF="131">valued &amp; de&s;pis'd, as others do at being ho|nour'd &amp; applauded.</P>
<P>This Examen is the Touch&s;tone of Humility.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> For 'tis agreed upon by all, that <HI>Virtue</HI> is imperfect in us, till we practi&s;e it with &s;atisfaction &amp; <HI>plea&s;ure.</HI> If we find the lea&s;t re|pugnance in the practi&s;e, when occa&s;ion &s;erves; &amp; u&s;e much preparation to &s;urmount the difficulty of it; 'tis indeed the way to acquire &s;uch Virtue, but it al&s;o is a certain mark, we have not yet acquir'd it in perfection. A Ma&s;ter of an Art, as Ari&s;totle &s;ays, has &s;uch a habit of it, that he u&s;es no deli|beration, but performs the operations of it with
<PB N="131" REF="131">&s;uch ea&s;e, he &s;carce knows what he's doing when he dos his work. And Philo|&s;ophers tell us, that in &s;urpri&s;ing Accidents, we act not by <HI>Reflection,</HI> but by <HI>Habit.</HI> For which rea&s;on, 'tis in vain to examine, what our Inclinations are (&amp; whether we are <HI>truly Humble,</HI> or no) by what we do with preparation &amp; lei&s;ure: We mu&s;t care|fully examine, what we &s;uddainly are apt to do, without deliberation.</P></Q>
<P>However,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. Chr.</HI> 17.</NOTE> if by this Examen we ob&s;erve, that notwith&s;tanding our En|deavours to improve, we frequently are <HI>importun'd,</HI> &amp; &s;ometimes <HI>overcome,</HI> by Pride &amp; Vanity: if we are yet &s;o far from taking plea&s;ure in
<PB N="232" REF="132">the practi&s;e of Humility, that we are hardly able to &s;upport in &s;ilence the Un|ea&s;ine&s;s we &s;uffer in it: Let not this di&s;courage us: But on the contrary, the more we &s;ee our weakne&s;s, let it humble us the more; &amp; let us learn from thence</P>
<P><Q>to u&s;e our utmo&s;t dili|gence in laying a more firm Foundation of <HI>Chri&s;|&s;tian</HI> Humility, which is <HI>Humility of Heart.</HI> Tis not a thing impo&s;&s;ible. For, by the grace of God, we may be able, &s;ays S. Au&s;tin, not only to imitate the example of the Saints, but al&s;o of the Souvereign Ma&s;ter of the Saints. He invites us all to imitate his Virtue; &amp; can we fancy He invites us to a thing
<PB N="233" REF="132">impo&s;&s;ible? <HI>Learn of me,</HI> &s;ays He, <HI>becau&s;e I am Humble of</HI> HEART. And S. Hierom very well ob&s;erves, that tho&s;e words of our Sa|viour, <HI>If thou wilt be Perfect,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 19.21.</NOTE> come &amp; follow me,</HI> are a manife&s;t conviction, that by his Grace, (which al|ways is at hand,) we have it in our power, to be Perfect, if <HI>we will.</HI></Q></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. IV. <HI>An Objection An&s;werd.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IF <HI>Charity</HI> incline us to de&s;ire our neighbour's Good,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. cb.</HI> 29.</NOTE> &amp; to contribute what we can to their Sal|vation; why should our <HI>Humility</HI> de&s;ire that all the World may undervalue us?
<PB N="234" REF="133">Without their thinking well of us (in &s;ome capacity, or other) we shall never do them any good; they never will confide in us; they will not hearken to us; we shall have no credit with them. Is't not there|fore rea&s;onable, even by the Rule of common Cha|rity, that we should rather &s;eek their Kindne&s;s &amp; E&s;teem, than their Aver|&s;ion &amp; Contempt?</P>
<P><Q>S.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> Gregory an&s;wers. Tis one thing, to de&s;ire our neighbour's <HI>E&s;teem;</HI> another, to rejoyce at his <HI>Profit.</HI> Tis a Crime to covet Reputation for it's own &s;ake, &amp; rejoyce at being Great in the opinion of men. But yet, to wish as much of it, as may be
<PB N="235" REF="133">nece&s;&s;ary for &s;o good an End, as that of &s;erving Souls &amp; gaining them to Chri&s;t; is an effect of Charity. And thus 'tis lawfull to de&s;ire our neighbour's good opinion &amp; e&s;teem, <HI>&s;o far</HI> as may enable us to do them good: becau&s;e we <HI>thus</HI> de&s;ire it, only for their &s;ervice, &amp; the greater glory of our our God, with a &s;incere and totall di&s;engagement from the charmes of Pride &amp; Vanity. If any man, who naturally <HI>hates</HI> a Po|tion, or a Pill, upon oc|ca&s;ion procures it, &amp; <HI>de&s;ires</HI> to take it; we may be a&s;&s;ur'd, that &s;uch a man takes phy&s;ick, not Phy&s;ick &s;ake, but purely for his Health. So when a
<PB N="236" REF="134">man, who by an extraor|dinary grace of the Al|mighty, <HI>hates</HI> the applau&s;e &amp; honour of this World; when &s;uch a man procures, <HI>de&s;ires,</HI> &amp; manages with care, the good Opinion of men; becau&s;e it may be u&s;efull to him in their &s;ervice; we may be a&s;|&s;ur'd he only &s;eeks God's Honour, not his own.</Q></P>
<P>However,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> this great Truth is generally much abus'd; &amp; under the pre|tence of it, we only cover our Ambition, &amp; di&s;gui&s;e our Vanity. Wee covet Honours, &s;eek Preferments, &amp; intrude our &s;elves into Employments, letting &s;lip no opportunity of <HI>being</HI> or <HI>appearing.</HI> Great; &amp; all this while, we plead; tis only
<PB N="237" REF="134"><HI>Charity,</HI> to qualifie us for the better &s;ervice of our Neighbours. <Q>We have therefore need of no &s;mall circum&s;pection to di&s;cern the cheat. The way to know it, &s;ays S. Gregory, is to examine all <HI>occa&s;ions,</HI> where our Reputation is a thing <HI>indifferent,</HI> &amp; <HI>u&s;ele&s;s</HI> to our neighbour. If in the&s;e, we care not for the good Opinion of men; we may &s;uppo&s;e, that when we are concern'd for't, it is only for our neighbour's &s;ake, &amp; not our own.</Q></P>
<P>S.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> <HI>Gregory</HI> thus untys the knot; but S. <HI>Francis</HI> cutts it with more ea&s;e, &amp; much more clearly takes away the difficulty.</P>
<P>What&s;oever the <HI>Occa&s;ions</HI>
<PB N="238" REF="135">are,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> He roundly an&s;wers: that our <Q><HI>Charity</HI> begins at home: that if it inclines us to de&s;ire our <HI>Neighbour's</HI> &s;pirituall good; with much more rea&s;on it inclines us to de&s;ire our <HI>Own:</HI> that if our Reputation may be u&s;efull to our neighbour; our Di&s;graces &amp; Humi|liations (incurr'd without our fault) may prove more beneficiall to our &s;elves. If when I preach, &s;ays he, or when I prac|ti&s;e any virtue which is edifying, I am pleas'd with prai&s;es, which en|danger my Salvation; be|cau&s;e their good Opinion of me, helps them to im|prove by my in&s;truction, &amp; example: How much rea&s;on have I, for my
<PB N="239" REF="135">own &s;ake, to rejoyce a great deal more, when (having done my be&s;t) I &s;till am undervalued &amp; de&s;pis'd; becau&s;e, by this means, I my &s;elf am more acceptable to God, and more &s;ecure of my Eter|nall Happyne&s;s?</Q></P>
<P>Our Saviour him&s;elf,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See R. ch.</HI> 29.</NOTE> who&s;e Charity inclin'd him to de&s;cend from heaven, &amp; to &s;acrifice his life for Sinners; knew that many unbelieving Souls were lo&s;t by undervaluing &amp; de&s;pi|&s;ing him; He knew that many millions of them would have been conver|ted, if they had admir'd &amp; honour'd him as he de|&s;erv'd; &amp; yet He never &s;ought for <HI>wordly Honour</HI> as a means to <HI>&s;ave them;</HI> but al|though
<PB N="240" REF="136">though their Souls were dear to Him, his honour was not.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 6.38.</NOTE> As <HI>He came from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of him that &s;ent him:</HI> So He came to &s;eek the Honour of his Father, not his own. <HI>I honour my Father,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 8.49.50.</NOTE> &s;ays He; <Q><HI>I &s;eek not my own glory.</HI> Tis enough that whil&s;t I only &s;eek his Honour, He takes care of mine; &amp; that al|though I never &s;eek my own,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 50.</NOTE> yet <HI>there is One that</HI> always <HI>&s;eeks &amp; judges it;</HI> &amp; always will be &s;ure to do me ju&s;tice. Let us follow the Example of our Sa|viour.</Q> Let us make it the cheif Bu&s;ine&s;s of our life <HI>to do the will of him that &s;ent us,</HI> not our <HI>own.</HI> Let us honour our Father in Heaven. Let <Q><HI>his</HI> Honour <HI>only</HI> be the
<PB N="241" REF="136">Object of our care, &amp; never let us mind <HI>our own,</HI> but re&s;t content that He him&s;elf takes care of it.</Q> Let no appearance of our Neighbour's <HI>Profit</HI> cheat us into an Ambition of being popular; but let us faith|fully, in all things, do our Duty for the Love &amp; Ho|nour of our God; &amp; as for mens opinion of us, let us leave it to his Pro|vidence. His Honour, here below, is left (as I may &s;ay) to our di&s;cretion: He committs it to our care: He forces not our <HI>Liberty,</HI> but only offers the a&s;&s;i&s;|tance of his <HI>Grace,</HI> &amp; lets us <HI>Honour</HI> him, &amp; &s;erve him <HI>as we plea&s;e.</HI> Shall God thus tru&s;t his honour in &s;o bad a hand as ours? &amp; shall
<PB N="242" REF="137">not we be &s;atisfied, to tru&s;t our honour in &s;o good a hand as His?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. V. <HI>Third Degree of Humility.</HI></HEAD>
<Q><P>THe Third,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rodr. ch.</HI> 30.</NOTE> &amp; La&s;t Degree is the <HI>Humi|lity of Saints,</HI> who are <HI>mo&s;t humble</HI> in the &s;ight of God, when they are mo&s;t e&s;teem'd &amp; celebrated by the World.</P>
<P>When a Per&s;on, full of faults &amp; imperfections, has a <HI>mean opinion</HI> of him&s;elf; <HI>e&s;teems</HI> him&s;elf no better than he is; &amp; is <HI>content</HI> to be reputed &s;uch as he e&s;teems him&s;elf; We may <HI>commend</HI> him, &s;ays S. Ber|nard; but have little rea|&s;on
<PB N="243" REF="137">to <HI>admire</HI> him. Who admires to &s;ee a poor man have a <HI>mean opinion</HI> of his riches? <HI>think</HI> him&s;elf no richer than he is? &amp; re&s;t <HI>content</HI> that others think &s;o too? but if a <HI>Rich man</HI> rank him&s;elf among&s;t the <HI>poor,</HI> &amp; treat them with re&s;pect, as if he were the lea&s;t con&s;iderable of them all; This very well de|&s;erves our admiration.</P></Q>
<P>By this de&s;cription of the third Degree, we plainly &s;ee, that the Humility of Saints &amp; the Humility of Sinners is the &s;ame <HI>in Sub|&s;tance,</HI> though they differ <HI>in Perfection.</HI> Tis true: we wonder not, to &s;ee a man &s;tand <HI>&s;teddy</HI> upon even ground. But when we &s;ee the &s;ame man &s;tand as <HI>firm</HI>
<PB N="244" REF="138">upon a lofty pinnacle; we gaze, &amp; wonder at him. All this while, the <HI>Man's</HI> the <HI>&s;ame;</HI> though we admire him <HI>more,</HI> becau&s;e the <HI>place</HI> is <HI>higher</HI> &amp; the difficulty <HI>grea|ter.</HI> So 'tis in our pre&s;ent ca&s;e. Humility is either of the <HI>Judgment,</HI> or the <HI>Heart.</HI> The third Degree is com|prehended in the Fir&s;t, &amp; Second. But however we admire much more an hum|ble <HI>Saint;</HI> becau&s;e his emi|nent <HI>degree</HI> of Sanctity is <HI>higher,</HI> &amp; the difficulty of his being humble, there|fore <HI>&s;eems</HI> much <HI>greater.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;ay <HI>&s;eems</HI> greater: be|cau&s;e I am not apt to think it <HI>is</HI> &s;o; upon &s;econd thoughts. My rea&s;on, in short, is This. Humility of <HI>judgment</HI> &amp; of <HI>heart,</HI> are
<PB N="245" REF="138">chiefly grounded in the <HI>Knowledg</HI> of our &s;elves, &amp; <HI>Love</HI> of God. The Fir&s;t in|duces us to have a mean opinion of our &s;elves: the more we <HI>know</HI> our &s;elves, the more we think our &s;elves contemptible, the more we <HI>judge</HI> that we <HI>de|&s;erve</HI> to be <HI>de&s;pis'd</HI> by all the World. The Second makes us <HI>glad</HI> to be neglected, &amp; <HI>de&s;ire</HI> to be contemn'd: And as the <HI>Love of God</HI> encrea&s;es in our hearts; the more we have &amp; &s;corn the tran&s;i|tory honour of this world; the more we <HI>love</HI> to follow the Example of an humble God; the more we hear|tily <HI>de&s;ire</HI> to be agreable to none but him; as being every day more &s;en&s;ible of this great Truth; <HI>He</HI>
<PB N="246" REF="139">only <HI>is approv'd;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.18.</NOTE> whom God commends.</HI></P>
<P>Let us only lay the&s;e no|tions right together. 1. The <HI>Knowledg</HI> of our &s;elves &amp; <HI>Love</HI> of God, is that which makes men <HI>Saints.</HI> No Per|&s;on ever was a Saint <HI>without</HI> them: No man ever was a Sinner <HI>with</HI> them. And the more this Knowledg and this Love encrea&s;e, the Greater is the Sanctity. 2. This <HI>Knowledg</HI> &amp; this <HI>Love,</HI> is that which makes men <HI>Humble.</HI> Knowledg helps them to be humble in their <HI>Judgments:</HI> Love a&s;&s;i&s;ts them to be humble in their <HI>Hearts.</HI> The more they Know &amp; Love, the greater is the <HI>a&s;si&s;|tance</HI> of God's <HI>Grace,</HI> which is the only means of making all things ea&s;y to us. Why
<PB N="247" REF="139">then may we not conclude? Whoever is a <HI>Saint,</HI> the <HI>greater</HI> Saint he is, the <HI>ea&s;yer</HI> 'tis for him to be humble.</P>
<P><HI>Sinners</HI> indeed have much more matter for Humility to work upon. Their Weak|ne&s;s, their Corruption, &amp; the Mi&s;ery of their deplo|rable condition, are incom|parably wor&s;e. But, which is wor&s;t of all, they are &s;o mi&s;erably <HI>blind,</HI> as not to know their mi&s;ery. A Beggar, in his drink, ima|gines he's a Prince: &amp; is as proud as if he were. Tis true; he's mi&s;erably poor: but &s;ince he knows it not; what &s;ignifies it? He's as proud, as if he were the riche&s;t man alive. Tis &s;o with Sinners. They are drunk with Self-love,
<PB N="248" REF="140">Pride, &amp; Vanity. They <HI>little</HI> know, &amp; much <HI>le&s;s</HI> think, how Poor, how Mi&s;erable, how Contemptible they are. And we may very well apply to them tho&s;e words of the Apocalyp&s;e: <HI>Becau&s;e Thou &s;ay&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ch.</HI> 3.17.18.</NOTE> I am rich, &amp; have need of nothing; &amp; know&s;t not that thou art wretched, &amp; mi&s;e|rable, &amp; poor, &amp; blind, &amp; naked:</HI> Therefore <HI>I coun&s;ell thee, to annoint thy eyes, that thou may&s;t See.</HI> This is the generall Rea&s;on why Humility is harder to be found in Sin|ners, than in Saints. The Fir&s;t have <HI>more</HI> to humble them: but the more they have, the <HI>blinder</HI> they are, &amp; the le&s;s they know it. The Second have <HI>le&s;s</HI> to hum|ble them; but the le&s;s they have, the <HI>more</HI> their eyes
<PB N="249" REF="140">are <HI>open</HI> by God's Grace, &amp; the <HI>more clearly</HI> they di&s;|cover what's enough to make them <HI>fear</HI> &amp; <HI>tremble</HI> all their life.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. VI. <HI>Fir&s;t Rea&s;on why the greate&s;t Saints are the mo&s;t humble.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I Shall only add two Rea|&s;ons more: becau&s;e all Saints (I &s;peak of &s;uch as are now living) are com|pris'd in the&s;e two Cla&s;&s;es: They are either &s;uch as <HI>have been</HI> Sinners heretofore; or &s;uch as <HI>may be</HI> &s;o here|after.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t Rea&s;on is &s;o univer&s;all, that it com|prehends them both: but more particularly Tho&s;e
<PB N="250" REF="141">who have pre&s;erv'd the In|nocence of their Bapti&s;mall Grace.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>D. Sp. ch.</HI> 26.</NOTE> <Q>Tis gatherd from that Oracle of Scripture; <HI>work out your Salvation with Fear &amp; Trembling:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Philip.</HI> 2.12.13.</NOTE> For it is God who works in you to will &amp; to do; according to his plea&s;ure.</HI> See the un&s;earchable Aby&s;s of the Almighty's Judg|ments! where tis dange|rous to dwell too long, &amp; &s;earch too curiou&s;ly, le&s;t it ca&s;t us into an ex|ce&s;s of Fear. Tis enough, that none are &s;av'd, but who <HI>per&s;ever</HI> to the End; &amp; that the greate&s;t Saints can never be a&s;&s;ur'd of their <HI>Per&s;everance.</HI> Tis <HI>a &s;peci|all Gift</HI> which the Apo&s;tle chiefly points at, when he &s;ays;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 9.18.16.</NOTE> <HI>God has mercy on whom he will have mercy. It is
<PB N="251" REF="141">not of him that wills, or him that runs; but of God that shews Mercy.</HI> And again:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 2.8.9.</NOTE> <HI>By Grace you are &s;av'd: &amp; that not of your &s;elves: it is the Gift of God: Not of works; le&s;t any Man should boa&s;t.</HI> Alas! how is it po&s;&s;ible for any Saint to be a&s;&s;ur'd of his con|dition for the <HI>future,</HI> &s;ince he is not certain even of his <HI>pre&s;ent</HI> State? Who can &s;ound the bottom of our Heart? Or rather, Who can &s;ound the Heart of God, &amp; tell us what He thinks of our condition? Who is He, that can a&s;|&s;ure us, We are good enough to be Rewarded by Him? <HI>wo be to that Life, how innocent &s;oever,</HI> &s;ays S. Au&s;tin,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 19.12.</NOTE> <HI>which He Judges without Mercy. VVho is He,</HI>
<PB N="252" REF="142">&s;ays David, <HI>that can under|&s;tand his failings? Clean&s;e me from my &s;ecret faults,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 143.2.</NOTE> O Lord:</HI> and <HI>enter not into judgment with thy &s;ervant; for in thy &s;ight shall no man living be ju&s;|tified;</HI> if once Thou judg|e&s;t him according to the utmo&s;t rigour of thy Ju&s;|tice. Who is there that dos not tremble, when he hears the Ju&s;t &amp; Holy man, whom God him&s;elf was pleas'd to prai&s;e, confe&s;s that, all his life time, God was &s;uch a <HI>Terrour</HI> to him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Job.</HI> 31.23.</NOTE> he was hardly able <HI>to endure it?</HI> Who can, without trem|bling, hear the Prophet I&s;aiah tell us;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">64.6.</NOTE> <HI>we are all unclean; &amp; all our righteous works, like filthy Rags?</HI> Or hear S. Hierom, in the
<PB N="253" REF="142">life of S. Hilarion, tell us how that ble&s;&s;ed Saint was terrified at the approach of Death; &amp; to encou|rage his departing &s;oul, &s;aid to him&s;elf; <HI>Go forth, my Soul; what are thou Now afraid of? Thou ha&s;t &s;erv'd thy God the&s;e three&s;core &amp; ten years; &amp; do&s;t thou tremble Now to ap|pear before him?</HI></Q></P>
<P>Let us therefore <HI>fear</HI> &amp; <HI>tremble</HI> in the way to Hea|ven. Never let us fancy, we are &s;o advanc't in Vir|tue; that we need not <HI>fear.</HI> The greate&s;t Saints were never &s;o <HI>Pre&s;umptuous,</HI> as to banish from their thoughts the <HI>Fear</HI> of God.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Philip.</HI> 2.12.</NOTE> <HI>They workt out their Salvation with Fear &amp; Trembling.</HI> They were always full of Fear: &amp; this <HI>Fear</HI> always <HI>Humbled</HI> them. They
<PB N="254" REF="143">were not <HI>Blinded,</HI> as we are, with <HI>Pa&s;sion</HI> &amp; <HI>Humour;</HI> but, as they improv'd in Grace, they every day di&s;cover'd more &amp; more their &s;ecret Imperfections.</P>
<P>The Property of <HI>Grace</HI> is to <HI>enlighten</HI> the Under&s;tan|ding, as well as to <HI>enflame</HI> the Heart. It makes us <HI>Know</HI> our Mi&s;ery, &amp; <HI>Love</HI> our God, who only can deliver us. The&s;e two Ef|fects of Grace were lively repre&s;ented on the Day of Penteco&s;t, by that my&s;te|rious Fire which re&s;ted on the heads of the Apo&s;tles. Fire gives Light &amp; Heat: &amp; as the Fire encrea&s;es, it affords more <HI>Heat</HI> &amp; greater <HI>Light.</HI> So, Grace <HI>Enlightens</HI> and <HI>Enflames</HI> the <HI>Minds</HI> &amp; <HI>Hearts</HI> of Saints, with <HI>Know|ledg</HI>
<PB N="255" REF="143">of them&s;elves, &amp; <HI>Love</HI> of God: &amp; as their Grace improves, this <HI>Heat</HI> and <HI>Light</HI> encrea&s;e: They di&s;|cern more <HI>clearly</HI> the innu|merable dangers that &s;ur|round them; &amp; become more <HI>Humble under the Almighty Hand of God.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.6.</NOTE></P>
<P>S. Paul compares the dif|ferent States of <HI>Sin</HI> &amp; <HI>Grace,</HI> to Light and Darkne&s;s, <HI>Night</HI> and <HI>Day.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom</HI> 13 12.13.</NOTE> The Night</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>is &s;pent; the Day is at hand. Let us ca&s;t of the works of Darkne&s;s, &amp; put on the armour of Light. Let us walk hone&s;tly, as in the Day.</HI> A Traveller be|nighted, walks he knows not where. He hardly &s;ees his <HI>Hand;</HI> much le&s;s his <HI>Feet.</HI> He &s;ees perhaps, &s;ome <HI>Stars</HI> shine through the clouds, who&s;e &s;parkling light
<PB N="256" REF="144">&s;erves only to amu&s;e him, &amp; mi&s;lead him to a Preci|pice. But when the ri&s;ing Sun appears, the Stars im|mediatly vanish out of &s;ight; our Traveller no longer gazes there; but has a much more u&s;efull pro&s;pect, of the Earth below him; where he plain|ly &s;ees the Ground he go's upon, the Ri&s;ings, the De&s;cents, the Inequalities, &amp; Precipices of it. Sinners, like benighted Travellers, march blindly on; mind little what they <HI>Do;</HI> &amp; much le&s;s where they <HI>Go.</HI> However, now &amp; then, they practi&s;e &s;ome <HI>good actions,</HI> either out of cu&s;tom, or good nature; &amp; amu&s;e them&s;elves with &s;ome few &s;emblances of virtue, who&s;e dim lu&s;tre &s;eems perhaps
<PB N="257" REF="144">more <HI>&s;parkling</HI> in the <HI>Darkne&s;s</HI> of that <HI>Night,</HI> which hides them, even from them|&s;elves. But tis not &s;o with Saints. Their <HI>Night is &s;pent;</HI> their <HI>Day</HI> appears. The Sun of Ju&s;tice <HI>Ri&s;es in their Hearts.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.19.</NOTE> Their <HI>Virtues,</HI> like the <HI>Stars,</HI> (which only shine in <HI>Dark|ne&s;s</HI>) di&s;appear immediatly. The Clay which they are made of; the Corruption of their Nature; the Enor|mity of Sin; the Power of their Pa&s;&s;ions; &amp; the Weak|ne&s;s of their Rea&s;on: The&s;e are Motives of Humility, which <HI>Now</HI> they <HI>clearly</HI> &s;ee, &amp; <HI>dayly</HI> have before their eyes. Be&s;ides all This; they plainly &s;ee an infinite va|riety of Artifices &amp; Di&s;gui|&s;es of Self-love, which ea&s;ily a&s;&s;umes all shapes,
<PB N="258" REF="145">&amp; counterfeits all Virtues, even Charity it &s;elf. And therefore they &s;u&s;pect the be&s;t of all their Actions; trembling at the very thought of them, for fear they may be &s;ecretly cor|rupted by Self-love. But, above all, the importunity of Pride, which never cea&s;es to attack them; but con|tinually endeavours to &s;ur|pri&s;e them (notwith&s;tan|ding all the&s;e motives of humility) is that which &s;eems the mo&s;t extravagant of all their faults; &amp; hum|bles them the mo&s;t.</P>
<P>Behold the Mi&s;ery of Man! And, what can be more mi&s;erable, if the Sight of &s;o much mi&s;ery &s;uffices not to humble him! the greate&s;t Saint, who is not
<PB N="259" REF="145">con&s;cious to him&s;elf of any forfeiture of his fir&s;t Inno|cence, has no A&s;&s;urance of his being ju&s;tified.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>D. Sp. ch.</HI> 27.</NOTE> <Q>He may be in the State of <HI>Grace;</HI> but whether &s;o, or not. He cannot tell. And, which is wor&s;e, although he knew it, He has no a&s;|&s;urance of <HI>Per&s;evering</HI> one &s;ingle moment. He who Stands, may Fall: &amp; He who is a Saint, may prove a Sinner. Nothing but God's Grace is able to &s;upport him, to the End: and the Continuance of this Grace requires &s;o faithfull &amp; &s;o punctuall a Cooperation with it; that a very &s;mall Omi&s;|&s;ion oftentimes &s;uffices to deprive him of it. His Per&s;everance is, as it
<PB N="260" REF="146">were, a Chain of Graces, linkt together, &amp; conti|nued to the utmo&s;t period of his life:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Tho.</HI> 1.2. <HI>q.</HI> 114.9.</NOTE> &amp; this is more than He can Merit. All that he can do, is to be always <HI>vigilant</HI> &amp; <HI>faithfull</HI> in the <HI>&V;&s;e</HI> of every &s;ingle Grace God offers him. One Grace, well us'd, draws on another; This, a third; &amp; That, a fourth: but if he trip the lea&s;t in his Fidelity, the <HI>Chain</HI> immediatly breaks. And this is that great <HI>Diligence</HI> which the Apo&s;tle recom|mends &s;o earne&s;tly to all good Chri&s;tians:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.10.</NOTE> <HI>&V;&s;e Di|ligence,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>to make your Calling &amp; Election &s;ure. For</HI> IF YOU DO, <HI>you shall never fall.</HI></Q> I mu&s;t confe&s;s, this Saying is extremely comfortable;
<PB N="261" REF="146"><HI>if we do:</HI> But, <HI>if we do not,</HI> what becomes of us? If all our life, we <HI>&V;&s;e</HI> &s;uch <HI>Diligence;</HI> the Apo&s;tle tells us, we <HI>shall never fall:</HI> But, <HI>if we do not;</HI> what remains, but that the greate&s;t Saint among&s;t us will be &s;ure to fall? Con&s;ider this; &amp; Tremble, Who&s;o&ecirc;re you are. A&s;&s;ure your &s;elf, the more you are a <HI>Saint,</HI> the more you'l <HI>tremble,</HI> &amp; the more you'l <HI>&s;ee,</HI> how terri|ble a truth This is; which is one Rea&s;on why the grea|te&s;t Saints (who are the mo&s;t convinc't of it) are always the mo&s;t <HI>Humble.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="section">
<PB N="262" REF="147">
<HEAD>SECT. VII. <HI>Second Rea&s;on why the greate&s;t Saints are the mo&s;t humble.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I Have &s;aid enough of Saints, who have pre|&s;erv'd their Innocence. The Second Rea&s;on only has re|gard to Saints, who by their Crimes have lo&s;t it heretofore; &amp; <HI>now</HI> are truly Penitent. If They who <HI>Know Them&s;elves</HI> the be&s;t, are there|fore the mo&s;t Humble, becau&s;e they <HI>Doubt</HI> the mo&s;t of their <HI>Per&s;everance.</HI> Surely The&s;e who <HI>Know</HI> mo&s;t clear|ly the <HI>Enormity of Sin,</HI> which they are guilty of, have much more Rea&s;on to be Humble; becau&s;e they <HI>Doubt</HI> much more, of their ob|taining <HI>Pardon.</HI></P>
<PB N="263" REF="147">
<P><HI>There is a great deal of difference</HI> &s;ays S. Jerome,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. ad Salv.</NOTE> <HI>betwixt a Man who&s;e Ve&s;&s;el is entire, &amp; richly laden, when he &s;ails into the Port of Bli&s;s: &amp; Him who, after Shipwrack, after Swimming for his life, rides naked on a Plank; &amp; after being dasht, a hundred times against the rocks, at length is ca&s;t upon the Sands, half-dead, &amp; almo&s;t bruis'd to pieces.</HI> If a man, who &s;ails in a &s;ound Ve&s;&s;el, never is &s;ecure from Storms which may ari&s;e, but always <HI>doubts</HI> of his ar|rival at the Port: we may be &s;ure his Ca&s;e is much more <HI>doubtfull</HI> &amp; more terri|ble, who has already &s;uf|ferd Shipwrack; &amp; has no|thing left him, but a Single Plank, to bear him up.</P>
<P>Tis true: it happens now &amp; then (&amp; 'tis a comfort|able
<PB N="264" REF="148">Ob&s;ervation of a Holy Man,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Abb&eacute; Jean. Entre|tien.</HI> 7.</NOTE> who&s;e Name is fa|mous in our pre&s;ent Age) <Q>it happens now &amp; then, that He,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 8.27.</NOTE> <HI>to whom the winds &amp; &amp; &s;ea obey,</HI> is pleas'd to make them for a time &s;o calm &amp; quiet, that a Man who &s;wims upon his plank with indu&s;try &amp; courage, meets at length, by Pro|vidence, another Ve&s;&s;el, better than his own; &amp; &s;ails with much more Comfort, much more Joy, into the Haven, than he would have done if he had never &s;ufferd Ship|wrack in a Storm. S. John Climacus, in his 15. De|gree, inquires <HI>which of the two is Greater in the &s;ight of God; he who died by &s;in, &amp; ro&s;e again to life by Grace? Or
<PB N="265" REF="148">he who never died the &s;pirituall death of Sin?</HI> And an&s;wers, that <HI>whoever Thinks the Inno|cent more happy of the two, is much mi&s;taken.</HI> The Rea&s;on is: becau&s;e All Sanctity is founded in <HI>Humility</HI> &amp; <HI>Charity.</HI> Whoever <HI>Loves</HI> God be&s;t, &amp; is mo&s;t <HI>Humble,</HI> is the Greate&s;t Saint. It happens oftentimes that <HI>He to whom a little is forgiven,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luc.</HI> 7.47.</NOTE> Loves but little:</HI> &amp; it happens now &amp; then, that He <HI>Loves</HI> be&s;t, who is mo&s;t mer|cifully pardon'd,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 43.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; forgiven mo&s;t.</HI> We read in Scripture &s;everall examples of this nature. <HI>Zachary</HI> as &s;oon as he had done &s;ufficient Pennance for his incre|dulity, immediatly had his Speech re&s;tor'd him; &amp; not only that, but he
<PB N="266" REF="149">was al&s;o honour'd with the Gift of Prophecying; which we do not read he had before. The <HI>Prodigall</HI> receiv'd much greater fa|vours and care&s;&s;es from his Father, than he ever had experienc't before he left him. <HI>Lazarus</HI> him&s;elf, (who was the <HI>Figure</HI> of great Sinners) never had the honour to be enter|tain'd, at Table, with the Son of God; before he was, by miracle, rais'd from the Grave. S. <HI>Peter</HI> had not confidence, be|fore he &s;inn'd, to ask our Saviour, Who he was that would betray him? But, when he had washt away his &s;ins with Tears, he was permitted to be more familiar with his
<PB N="267" REF="149">Ma&s;ter, and was made the Souvereign Pa&s;tor of his Church. From whence tis ea&s;y to conclude, that Sinners may <HI>&s;ometimes,</HI> by Pennance, grow more <HI>Per|fect</HI> than tho&s;e Saints who having kept their Inno|cence, <HI>Love</HI> God le&s;s fer|vently, &amp; &s;erve him, with more coldne&s;s &amp; in|difference. <HI>Behold,</HI> &s;ays Saint Ambro&s;e, <HI>the great Goodne&s;s of our God! How liberall &amp; generous He is, to whom He plea&s;es to be mercifull! He's not contented to re&s;tore what they have lo&s;t. He grants them over &amp; above, &s;uch Gra|ces, &amp; &s;uch Favours, as they never dir&s;t have hop'd for.</HI> Thus, as the Apo&s;tle &s;ays,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 5.20.</NOTE> <HI>where Sin abounded, Grace abounds much more:</HI> becau&s;e, the more
<PB N="268" REF="150"><HI>Sin Humbles</HI> them, the more they are <HI>Exalted.</HI> When a Penitent, whom Sin had blinded, once begins to See, &amp; to di&s;cover <HI>clearly</HI> the Enormity of his offen|ces, he has much more rea&s;on to be humble all his life, than if he had been always innocent. He looks upon him&s;elf no better than a Criminall repriev'd, who is upon his good behaviour for his pardon; &amp; per&s;uades him|&s;elf that he can never give &s;ufficient proof of his Fi|delity, &amp; the Sincerity of his Repentance. All his <HI>Exerci&s;es</HI> of continuall <HI>Pen|nance</HI> never make him Vain; but only &s;erve to humble him the more: becau&s;e he looks upon them, only
<PB N="269" REF="150">as the Remedies of his Di&s;ea&s;es; &amp; &s;uch Remedies as he mu&s;t u&s;e till Death; which is the only End, he hopes to &s;ee, of his Di&s;tempers. The Employ|ment of his Thoughts is the Con&s;ideration of his grievous Sins, which he perpetually laments; Where &ecirc;re he goes, he never leaves the dolefull Me|mory behind him;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Micah.</HI> 6.14.</NOTE> <HI>His hu|miliation is always in the midst of him.</HI> Since therefore He, who hates the Proud,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.5,</NOTE> <HI>gives Graces to the Humble;</HI> is't not lawfull to inferr, that Sinners may <HI>&s;ometimes</HI> ar|rive to a more eminent Degree of Sanctity, than many of tho&s;e Saints, who never <HI>fell</HI> quite down, but yet <HI>walk &s;lowly</HI> in the way to Heaven?</Q></P>
<PB N="270" REF="151">
<P>This happens, <HI>now &amp; then</HI> 'tis true: but &s;uch Exam|ples are as <HI>rare,</HI> as they are <HI>great.</HI> They are effects of more than ordinary Grace, which God grants only <HI>when</HI> and <HI>where</HI> he plea&s;es. S. <HI>Peter</HI> never would have <HI>wept</HI> &s;o <HI>bitterly,</HI> if Je&s;us had not mercifully <HI>turn'd</HI> &amp; <HI>lookt upon him.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luk.</HI> 22.61.62.</NOTE> Lazarus</HI> had never ri&s;en from the grave, if Je&s;us had not come him&s;elf, &amp; call'd him forth <HI>with a loud voice.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 11.43.</NOTE> The <HI>Prodigall</HI> had never come back to his Fa|ther, if he had not fir&s;t <HI>come to him&s;elf.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 15.17.</NOTE> Alas, poor Wretch! he follow'd <HI>Swine</HI> before; &amp; if he might <HI>have fill'd his belly with their husks,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 16.</NOTE> he would have been con|tented. See the blindne&s;s of a Sinner! But as &s;oon
<PB N="271" REF="151">as ever <HI>he came to him&s;elf,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 17.</NOTE> his eyes were open; &amp; the opening of his eyes was that which brought <HI>him to him|&s;elf.</HI> He <HI>Saw</HI> the great Enor|mity of his offences; <HI>I have &s;inn'd,</HI> &s;ays he;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 18.</NOTE> <HI>I have &s;inn'd again&s;t Heaven; &amp; before</HI> my Father's face;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 19.</NOTE> <HI>I am not worthy to be call'd</HI> his <HI>Son.</HI> The Idea of his Sins was now &s;o ter|rible, &amp; made &s;o deep im|pre&s;&s;ion in him; that it humbled him, not only in his <HI>Judgment,</HI> but his <HI>Heart.</HI> It humbled him &s;o much, that he not only <HI>thought</HI> him|&s;elf unworthy, but <HI>de&s;ir'd</HI> to be receiv'd accordingly; &amp; beg'd his Father not to entertain him as a <HI>Son,</HI> but <HI>as one of</HI> his <HI>hired &s;ervants.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 19.</NOTE></P>
<P>When once the Grace of God enlightens us, &amp; by
<PB N="272" REF="152">a miracle of Mercy breaks through the impenetrable Darkne&s;s which our Pa&s;|&s;ions cloud our Rea&s;on with; this <HI>Light</HI> di&s;covers clearly to us the Enormity of Sin; &amp; as this Light encrea&s;es, we di&s;cover dayly more &amp; more. This Light is followd with a Sacred <HI>Heat</HI> that &s;oftens the obdu|rate coldne&s;s of our Tem|per; by which means, the terrible Idea of our Guilt makes, every day, a deeper &amp; more &s;en&s;ible <HI>Impre&s;sion</HI> in our Hearts. And This is the Second Rea&s;on, why the Greate&s;t Saints are the mo&s;t humble: becau&s;e, the grea|ter Saints they are, the more They <HI>&s;ee</HI> the great Enormity of Sin; the more They <HI>feel</HI> the Terrour of
<PB N="273" REF="152">their Guilt; the more They <HI>doubt</HI> of their obtaining <HI>Par|don;</HI> &amp; the more They <HI>fear</HI> and <HI>tremble</HI> all their life.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>I. <HI>The Enormity of Sin.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe humble Penitent; who&s;e words I lately cited, thus de&s;cribes his <HI>coming to him&s;elf.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Entre|tien.</HI> 7.</NOTE> <Q>Whil&s;t I pur&s;ued, &s;ays he, the wandring Errours of my Heart, I <HI>drunk iniquity like water,</HI> &amp; not only that,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Job.</HI> 15.16.</NOTE> but was &s;o hardned, &amp; &s;o <HI>blind,</HI> that what&s;o&ecirc;re I read, or heard, of Sin, made no impre&s;&s;ion; &amp; in&s;teed of working my Conver&s;ion, only &s;erv'd to render me more Guilty, &amp; more inexcu&s;able. At
<PB N="274" REF="153">length, the happy Time arriv'd,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.3.</NOTE> in which it pleas'd the <HI>Father of</HI> all <HI>Mercies,</HI> &amp; <HI>the God of all</HI> our <HI>Comfort,</HI> to be&s;tow a favourable <HI>look</HI> upon me: and the fir&s;t Glance pre&s;ently di&s;per&s;t the Darkne&s;s of my Soul. The very Dawning of that Light di&s;cover'd to me the Infernall Mon&s;ter, in who&s;e company, I had &s;o long liv'd unconcern'd. I &s;aw, and was immediately &s;eizd with &s;o prodigious <HI>Fear</HI> and <HI>Trembling</HI> at the Sight, that I am confi|dent, as long as I have breath to live, I never shall recover it.</Q></P>
<P>S. Ifidore of Damiette de&s;cribes this Mon&s;ter in &s;urpri&s;ing terms:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> <HI>Some think,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>that the Devil was the
<PB N="275" REF="153">Father of Sin: &amp; others on the contrary maintain, that Sin was the Father of the Devil. Be it how you plea&s;e,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>I leave you to imagine, either what a Father it mu&s;t be of &s;uch a Son; or what a Son we may expect of &s;uch a Father.</HI> This, I mu&s;t confe&s;s, is Black enough: But all it's Blackne&s;s only &s;erves to leave us in the Dark. We are not yet, one jot the nigher Knowing, what Sin is. And all that we can gather from <HI>it,</HI> is that we are never like to have it painted to the Life, unle&s;s an <HI>Angel</HI> undertake to draw it, &amp; the <HI>Devil</HI> &s;itt for the Picture.</P>
<P>The Philo&s;opher was in the right of it, when being askt the que&s;tion, <HI>what God is?</HI> he took a Day; then
<PB N="276" REF="154">two; then three; &amp; after all, ingenuou&s;ly confe&s;s'd, the more he thought of it, the more he found him&s;elf unable to expre&s;s it. If a man should ask me the like que&s;tion; <HI>what a Sinner is?</HI> I should not be asham'd to own, I am not able to de&s;|cribe the one, no more than he was to expre&s;s the other.</P>
<P>If God be the Supreme &amp; Souvereign <HI>Good,</HI> if <HI>with Him</HI> all things el&s;e are good, if nothing el&s;e be good <HI>without Him;</HI> We may, in proportion, &s;ay the &s;ame of <HI>Sin.</HI> Tis the Supreme &amp; Souvereign <HI>Evill,</HI> All things el&s;e are evill <HI>with it,</HI> Nothing el&s;e is <HI>&s;o</HI> to us <HI>without it.</HI></P>
<P>If it be true, that All
<PB N="277" REF="154">good comes from God, as from the Fir&s;t &amp; Univer|fall Cau&s;e of All; The &s;ame is true of <HI>Sin,</HI> which is the Fir&s;t &amp; Univer&s;all Root of all our Evills. God made Heaven: <HI>Sin</HI> made Hell. He made the Earth: <HI>Sin</HI> made it mi&s;erable. He created Ang|ells in his Paradi&s;e <HI>above: Sin</HI> threw them <HI>down.</HI> He created Man &amp; Woman in our Paradi&s;e <HI>below:</HI> &amp; <HI>Sin</HI> immediately ca&s;t them <HI>out.</HI></P>
<P>Con&s;ider all the Tor|ments of the Damn'd, the cruell Pains of tho&s;e Eter|nall Flames, the never|cea&s;ing Anguishes of their de&s;pairing Rage, &amp;c. <HI>All</HI> This, &amp; <HI>More</HI> than All that you are able to con|ceive, is only Part of the Effects of <HI>Sin.</HI> Twas <HI>Sin</HI> pre|par'd
<PB N="278" REF="155"><HI>All</HI> this, &amp; <HI>More</HI> than this, for Them &amp; Us.</P>
<P>If what you only know by <HI>Faith</HI> make no impre&s;&s;ion: if you are more &s;en&s;ible of what we &s;uffer <HI>here,</HI> than what they &s;uffer <HI>there:</HI> Con&s;ider the Revolt of all the Ele|ments again&s;t us. Fire which once was only made to &s;erve us, <HI>now</HI> becomes the fatall in&s;trument our angry God makes u&s;e of to de&s;troy &amp; punish us: the very Air we breath, infect's us with Di&s;ea&s;es: &amp; the Earth, we walk on, trem|bles, opens, buries us alive. All This had never been, if Man had never Sinn'd.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider all the Mi&s;eries, which Famine, Plague, &amp; War involve us in: the Poverty of half the World;
<PB N="279" REF="155">with all the Hunger, Thir&s;t, Cold, Sickne&s;s, &amp; De&s;|pair, which Follow it: And after all, the Civil War of Pa&s;&s;ion again&s;t Rea&s;on; which, if well examin'd, will be found the Greate&s;t &amp; mo&s;t Painfull of our Mi&s;eries; from whence pro|ceed our Ignorance &amp; Ma|lice; and from thence all Immoralities, Corruptions, &amp; Scandals, which we meet with in the World: All This had never been; if Man had never Sinn'd.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider all the &s;ad Di&s;|a&s;ters, You or Yours have mett with; all the Lo&s;&s;es you have &s;ufferd, in your Family, E&s;tate, or Friends; &amp; all the Cro&s;&s;es you have born with &s;o much Pain: Whatever you have under|gone,
<PB N="280" REF="156">you never had been &s;ubject to; your Heart had never ak't; if Man had ne|ver Sinn'd. Accur&s;ed Sin! the only fir&s;t Beginning, &amp; fir&s;t Cau&s;e of all our Mi&s;chiefs, both in this World &amp; the next!</P>
<P>My God!
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Jo.</HI> 3.2.</NOTE> if once we <HI>Saw</HI> Thee <HI>as Thou art,</HI> we could not po&s;&s;ibly be Tepid &amp; In|different; the very <HI>Sight</HI> of &s;o much Goodne&s;s would, in &s;pight of all our Pa&s;|&s;ions, force us to Admire, Adore, &amp; <HI>Love</HI> Thee <HI>above all</HI> the World. Accur&s;ed Sin! if we once we could but <HI>See</HI> Thee <HI>as Thou art;</HI> the very <HI>Sight</HI> of &s;o much <HI>Ma|lice</HI> would not &s;uffer us to <HI>Love</HI> Thee any longer; it would be <HI>impo&s;sible</HI> for either World, or Flesh, or Devil
<PB N="281" REF="156">to prevail again&s;t us; we should <HI>Hate</HI> Thee <HI>above all things;</HI> we should then ab|horr, dete&s;t, abominate Thee evermore. Accur&s;ed Sinner! &s;uch <HI>Goodne&s;s:</HI> &amp; &amp; Thou not <HI>Love</HI> it! &s;uch <HI>Malice:</HI> &amp; Thou not <HI>Hate</HI> it!</P>
<P>If the Eternall Source of all our Good be infinite in <HI>Goodne&s;s:</HI> what's the Fir&s;t &amp; Everla&s;ting Root of all our Evills? Is't not infinite in <HI>Malice?</HI> Que&s;tionle&s;s it is. Be&s;ides; God is not only <HI>infinite</HI> in Goodne&s;s; He is infinite in Wi&s;dom, infinite in Ju&s;tice, infinite in all Perfections what&s;oever. So is <HI>Sin.</HI> It is not only <HI>infinite</HI> in Malice; it is al&s;o infi|nite in Folly, infinite in all the Notions we can
<PB N="282" REF="157">frame of it. The Treache|ry, Di&s;loyalty, Impiety, Ingratitude, Pre&s;umption, Pride, &amp; In&s;olence; All This, &amp; More than all that we can think of, All is <HI>infinite.</HI></P>
<P>According to the Prin|ciple which I have here laid down, if any man should ask me, <HI>what a Sinner is?</HI> I should not know what other Name to Give him: SINNER is his only Name: &amp; I can think of nothing like <HI>Him,</HI> but the Man related in S. Mark.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ch.</HI> 5.2.</NOTE> <HI>He</HI> is po&s;&s;e&s;st with an <HI>&V;nclean Spirit:</HI> po&s;|&s;e&s;st with the Devil; &amp; which is wor&s;e; po&s;&s;e&s;st with <HI>Sin,</HI> the Father of the Devil. He is &s;o unruly in his Pa&s;&s;ions, Inclinations, &amp; Humours;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 3.</NOTE> that <HI>No Man
<PB N="283" REF="157">can bind Him: No, not with Chains.</HI> The Laws of God are his <HI>Fetters;</HI> but the&s;e <HI>He breaks in pieces;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 4.</NOTE> neither</HI> is it po&s;&s;ible for <HI>any man</HI> to <HI>tame Him.</HI> If you ask his <HI>Name;</HI> the Gho&s;pel &s;ays 'tis <HI>Legion,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 9.</NOTE> becau&s;e He <HI>is Many. Sin,</HI> and <HI>Sinner,</HI> are two Names, like that of <HI>Legion:</HI> Every Mor|tall Sin, is <HI>Many</HI> Sins: and every Sinner, is as <HI>Many</HI> Sinners. Tis impo&s;&s;ible to number all the Aggravati|ons of a Mortall Sin: They are as numberle&s;s as the Perfections of our offended God: &amp; therefore I shall only mention tho&s;e which are the mo&s;t Notorious, the mo&s;t Obvious to com|mon Sen&s;e, &amp; &s;uch as are mo&s;t Odious betwixt Man &amp; Man.</P>
<PB N="284" REF="158">
<P>A Sinner, Every &s;inner, is in every mortall Sin, not only guilty of <HI>one</HI> Crime, but of a <HI>Legion</HI> of Crimes. He is a <HI>Treacherous</HI> Soul|dier, who De&s;erts his Ge|nerall: a <HI>Di&s;loyall</HI> Subject, who Rebells again&s;t his King: an <HI>Impious</HI> Son, who Dethrones his Father: an <HI>&V;ngratefull</HI> Villain, who Be|trays his Benefactor: a <HI>Pre|&s;umptuous</HI> Slave, who Abu&s;es his Deliverer: a <HI>Proud</HI> Ser|vant, who De&s;pi&s;es his Ma&s;ter: an <HI>In&s;olent</HI> Crimi|nall, who Offends before his Judge's face. All&punc; the&s;e are Crimes we have a Hor|rour of, when we ob&s;erve them only betwixt Fellow-creatures, betwixt Man &amp; Man. All the&s;e are <HI>infinitely</HI> Greater, betwixt Man &amp;
<PB N="285" REF="158">God. And every Mortall Sin includes the utmo&s;t Aggravations of them All.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>II. <HI>The Treachery of a Sinner.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WHen the Prophet Na|than had a mind to open David's eyes, &amp; make him &s;en&s;ible of the Enor|mity of his Offence; He fir&s;t began, by way of pa|rable, to tell him of a cer|tain <HI>Man,</HI> who was <HI>exceeding Rich in herds &amp; flocks,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 12.2.</NOTE> &amp; yet was &s;o inju&s;t, &s;o cruell, as to rob <HI>a poor man</HI> of <HI>his little Lamb,</HI> the only Lamb he had. He told the Story in pathetick terms, which though they were but few, &s;uffic'd to make him have a horrour of &s;o cruell an Inju&s;tice.
<PB N="286" REF="159">David little thought, he was the Per&s;on aim'd at in the parable. The indigna|tion he conceiv'd, was &s;uit|able to the Good nature &amp; the Zeal which always had appear'd in him. He pre&s;ently pronounc't the Sentence of no le&s;s than Death, upon the <HI>Man</HI> that had been guilty of &s;o barbarous a Crime: <HI>As the Lord lives,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 5.</NOTE> &s;aid he, <HI>the Man that has done this, shall &s;ure|ly die.</HI> Upon this; the Pro|phet pre&s;ently lett fall the mask,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 7.</NOTE> &amp; &s;aid; <HI>Thou art the Man.</HI></P>
<P>If Parables be lawfull, upon &s;uch occa&s;ions; I beg the leave, to tell you one. There was a <HI>Generall,</HI> the mo&s;t Endearing, mo&s;t De|&s;erving, &amp; mo&s;t Ju&s;t that ever liv'd. He had a Stan|ding
<PB N="287" REF="159">Army under his Com|mand for &s;everall years: an Army which He gene|rou&s;ly rais'd, &amp; paid, Him&s;elf: an Army which He cherisht, as a Ma&s;ter would his Family. He rais'd it meerly for his Country's &s;ervice; more for their ad|vantage, than his own; and with no wor&s;e De&s;ign, than to &s;ecure the Publick Peace from either forreign or dome&s;tick Enemies. He rais'd Them out of No|thing; They &s;ub&s;i&s;ted by his Service; Their E&s;tates were the Preferments He be&s;towd upon them. They were punctually payd; well arm'd; well cloath'd; and No convenience wanting, which a rea&s;onable Souldier could require. The Camp
<PB N="288" REF="160">was his Delight: His Fel|low-Souldiers were his Com|pany: Their Exerci&s;es were the chief Diver&s;ion He took plea&s;ure in. His Cou|rage He had shewd abound|antly in former Wars, where He expos'd his Life in their Defence: He ne|ver Commanded any thing but what He did Him&s;elf: They never &s;ufferd any hardship, which He did not fir&s;t endure: and in the greate&s;t Dangers, where Death lookt mo&s;t Terrible, He always was the Fir&s;t to meet it, at the head of them, &amp; look it boldly in the Face. If any thing were able to endear a Soul|dier's heart, He wanted no accomplishment: He always shewd him&s;elf as <HI>Brave,</HI> as
<PB N="289" REF="160">He was <HI>Good</HI> and <HI>Ju&s;t.</HI> There never was a Man that lov'd his Souldiers more than He: Nor ever was a Generall, in all appearance, more be|lov'd. No men could shew more &s;igns of being glad to &s;erve him with their lives &amp; fortunes. Their Fidelity was written in their fore|heads: You might read it in their looks: Their Ac|clamations shewd it, in his Pre&s;ence; Their Addre&s;|&s;es, in his Ab&s;ence. The Profe&s;&s;ions, Prote&s;tations, &amp; &s;olemn Oaths, which they &s;o frequently repeated, were &s;uch evidence, as any man (though not &s;o <HI>Good</HI> as He) might venture to rely upon. When fir&s;t the unexpected noi&s;e of an ap|proaching Enemy began to
<PB N="290" REF="161">fill the Land, They &s;eem'd as firm as ever. They were All in readyne&s;s to march at fir&s;t Command. They never shewd more cheer|fullne&s;s, than when they went to meet the Forreign Power which di&s;turb'd their Peace. Nor is it any won|der that they were &s;o cheer|full. They were well in|form'd of the condition of their Enemies: They knew their weakne&s;s: in a word, They knew that they were &s;ure to <HI>Conquer,</HI> if they would but <HI>Fight.</HI> Their Generall, who had &s;ome &s;ecret rea&s;ons to mi&s;|tru&s;t them, could not &s;o di&s;&s;emble his concern, but they ob&s;erv'd it. They a&s;|&s;ur'd Him of the contrary. They made Him fresh Pro|fe&s;&s;ions,
<PB N="291" REF="161">Prote&s;tations, &amp; Oaths, that they would faithfully &s;tand by Him, to the utmo&s;t moment of their Lives. He heard: And, even to the la&s;t, was wil|ling to beleeve. But yet the dolefull pro&s;pect, which He had, of &s;o inhuman <HI>Treachery,</HI> where He had plac't &s;uch Confidence; was an Affliction &s;o &s;urpri&s;ing &amp; &s;o &s;en&s;ible; it made Him bleed with grief, to think of it. His Fears immediatly prov'd true. The day of Battell was no &s;ooner com|ing, but they almo&s;t All de&s;erted Him, &amp; &s;erv'd his Enemy.</P>
<P>Sinner, who&ecirc;re Thou art, that read&s;t this Parable, if Thou ha&s;t any &s;park of Honour left, or any thing
<PB N="292" REF="162">of common Ju&s;tice, or Good nature in Thee; I am confident, Thou can&s;t not but conceive &s;ome hor|rour of &s;o ba&s;e a <HI>Treachery.</HI> However, have a care of being &s;o &s;evere, as David was, in giving &s;entence. Have a care, I &s;ay, of calling God to witne&s;s, that <HI>the men who have done this,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 12.5.</NOTE> de&s;erve <HI>to die.</HI> Remember, what the Prophet &s;aid; <HI>Thou art the Man.</HI> Remember the Apo&s;tle's words;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 2.1.</NOTE> <HI>O Man, who&ecirc;re Thou art that judge&s;t, Thou condemnst thy &s;elf; Thou do&s;t the &s;ame.</HI> And I dare boldly add; Thou do&s;t incomparably <HI>more.</HI> In every mortall &s;in, which Thou art guilty of, thy <HI>Treachery</HI> is infinitely wor&s;e.</P>
<P>If once We Sinners were &s;ufficiently &s;en&s;ible, of what
<PB N="293" REF="162">we are our &s;elves, We then should be more mo|derate in cen&s;uring, &amp; railing at, the crimes of Others. If we find our &s;elves tran&s;ported with an unbecoming Zeal, which we too often shew too much of; Let us call our Anger home, &amp; find Em|ployment for it there. The Ca&s;e is ours. Tis <HI>we</HI> who <HI>are the Men:</HI> Tis <HI>we,</HI> who are the <HI>Traytors:</HI> We our &s;elves, who are the <HI>Treacherous</HI> Souldiers, that <HI>de&s;ert</HI> in time of <HI>Battle.</HI> If we offer to compare our <HI>Generall</HI> with theirs; we cannot but con|fe&s;s, that Ours is infinite|ly more Endearing, more De&s;erving, &amp; more Ju&s;t. When we, in former wars, had been defeated by the
<PB N="294" REF="163">common Enemy, &amp; taken pri&s;oners by the Devil; God him&s;elf de&s;cended to a&s;&s;i&s;t us, &amp; to rally up our &s;cat|terd Forces. He immediatly cloath'd us; arm'd us; punctually payd us; taught us all our Exerci&s;es; train'd us up to all the hardship of a Souldiers life. Whatever He commanded us to <HI>do</HI> or <HI>&s;uffer,</HI> He <HI>endur'd</HI> and <HI>did</HI> Him&s;elf: in every danger He was always at the <HI>head</HI> of us: and every drop of his mo&s;t Sacred bloud, He freely <HI>Sacrific'd</HI> to &s;erve us. See the <HI>Standing Army</HI> which our God has mercifully rais'd, to fight for <HI>Heaven</HI> again&s;t the Powers of <HI>Hell.</HI> The Devil with a <HI>forreign Army</HI> of &s;uch <HI>Spirits</HI> as him|&s;elf, endeavours to &s;ur|pri&s;e
<PB N="295" REF="163">us. He would never venture to attack us, if he had not &s;ome <HI>intelligence</HI> among&s;t us. All our <HI>Pa&s;sions, Inclinations,</HI> and <HI>Humours</HI> are his Friends. With the&s;e He always keeps a private cor|re&s;pondance: and by their A&s;&s;i&s;tance, which they un|der hand a&s;&s;ure him of, He ventures to invade us, even when our God him&s;elf is at the head of us. Before the <HI>Day of Battell</HI> comes, we never shrink the lea&s;t: We march on cheerfully: We know that we are &s;ure to conquer, if we will but fight. Tis true: Our <HI>Gene|rall,</HI> who &s;ees the bottom of our Hearts, has rea&s;on to &s;u&s;pect our Con&s;tancy. Yet, we a&s;&s;ure him of the contrary with new Pro|fe&s;&s;ions
<PB N="296" REF="164">of Fidelity: We &s;o|lemnly declare, that we will rather Die than Yield: We take the <HI>Sacrement</HI> upon it: And yet, after all, the <HI>Hour</HI> of Tryall, the fir&s;t Mo|ment of <HI>Temptation,</HI> is no &s;ooner come, but we imme|diatly <HI>De&s;ert</HI> our God, &amp; <HI>Serve</HI> the Devil. Was there ever any <HI>Treachery,</HI> &s;o ba&s;e, &s;o horrid, &s;o extravagant as <HI>This!</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>III. <HI>The Di&s;loyalty of a Sinner.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THis is not All. The <HI>God</HI> we thus <HI>De&s;ert,</HI> not only is our <HI>Generall;</HI> but He is al&s;o <HI>King</HI> of all the World. We are not only <HI>Souldiers</HI> to our Generall; but we are al&s;o <HI>Subjects</HI> to our King:
<PB N="297" REF="164">And every Sinner is, in every Sin, as much <HI>Di&s;loyal</HI> to the One, as he is <HI>Trea|cherous</HI> to the Other.</P>
<P>Tis a shame to &s;ee, how <HI>ea&s;ily,</HI> how <HI>clearly,</HI> we di&s;co|ver all the Malice &amp; In|ju&s;tice of Rebellion in our Neighbours: &amp; how <HI>little</HI> we ob&s;erve it in our &s;elves. If any of our Neighbours, one day, preach up Loyal|ty, Obedience, Non-Re&s;i&s;t|ance; &amp;, the next day, take up arms again&s;t their Sou|vereign: If, to day, they humbly offer their Addre&s;|&s;es to their lawfull Prince, with all expre&s;&s;ions of their Duty, Con&s;tancy, &amp; Re|&s;olution to &s;erve Him; &amp; perhaps, the next day, call a forreign Power in, to head their Faction again&s;t him:
<PB N="298" REF="165">If, to day, they &s;wear Allegeance; &amp; the next day, break their Oath: How &s;candaliz'd we are! what Liberty we take, of &s;aying what we plea&s;e! how Violent we are in our Invectives again&s;t Rebells!</P>
<P>All this while, <HI>we are the Men: we do the Same:</HI> And, which is wor&s;e, we do a great deal <HI>more</HI> in every Mortall Sin. Our Pa&s;&s;ions, Inclinations &amp; Humours, like &s;o many factious Com|mon-Wealth-Men, always are endeavouring to &s;ub|vert the Gouvernment of <HI>Rea&s;on;</HI> which is, in effect, the Gouvernment of God him&s;elf, who made us <HI>Ra|tionall.</HI> He <HI>made</HI> us out of Nothing: Therefore, we are All <HI>Entirely</HI> His. He, every
<PB N="299" REF="165">moment of our Life, pre|&s;erves us from returning back to Nothing: There|fore we are <HI>Always</HI> His. We cannot po&s;&s;ibly be any Body's el&s;e but His: He cannot give us over to ano|ther <HI>Maker</HI> or <HI>Pre&s;erver.</HI> Tis impo&s;&s;ible for <HI>God</HI> to Ab|dicate his <HI>Right</HI> of Gou|verning the World. His Title to the Monarchy of all the Univer&s;e, is as Un|alterable &amp; Unque&s;tionable as the <HI>Deity</HI> it &s;elf. There's no Appearance of Appeal from Him who is E&s;&s;enti|ally <HI>Supreme,</HI> in <HI>Heaven</HI> as well as <HI>Earth.</HI> No Dei&s;t ever had the Face to &s;ay, His <HI>Right</HI> de&s;cends <HI>originally</HI> from the <HI>Mobile,</HI> who gave it Him <HI>upon</HI> &s;uch <HI>Terms</HI> as they thought Fit, &amp; &s;uch as
<PB N="300" REF="166">He agreed to: Upon which account, unle&s;s He <HI>Gouvern</HI> as they plea&s;e to under&s;tand the <HI>Contract</HI> betwixt Him &amp; Them, They &s;till re&s;erve the Power to <HI>Depo&s;e</HI> his Ma|je&s;ty, &amp; &s;ett another in his Place. No, no: As <HI>weak</HI> as human Rea&s;on is, it never was &s;o <HI>blind,</HI> as to &s;ub&s;cribe to &s;o much Bla&s;phemy as This.</P>
<P>And yet, the Common Outcry of our <HI>Pa&s;sions</HI> is for <HI>Liberty</HI> &amp; <HI>Priviledges of the Subject:</HI> They perpetually complain of <HI>Slavery</HI> &amp; <HI>Arbitrary Power:</HI> They are Mortall Enemies to any Gouvernment, in which they have no <HI>Voice.</HI> The Pa&s;&s;ion which we call <HI>Predominant,</HI> is that which heads the Faction: And, although there be no Co|lour
<PB N="301" REF="166">for the Crime, they openly Rebell:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 19.14.</NOTE> <HI>we will not have this Man,</HI> &s;ay they, <HI>Reign over us.</HI> Our Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t Commands us All to follow his Example; not to &s;ett our Hearts upon the Riches, Plea&s;ures, Ho|nours, of this World; but to be always ready, for his &s;ake, to &s;uffer Poverty Affliction &amp; Di&s;grace: <HI>we will not have this Man reign over us.</HI> He bids always be upon our Guard, &amp; make it our chief Bu&s;ine&s;s to ob&s;erve the Motions of our Enemy: He bids us Mortify our Pa&s;sions, Di&s;engage our criminall Affections, and Avoid all dangerous Oc|ca&s;ions of Sin: in short, He bids us Love Him above all things, &amp; our Neigh|bour
<PB N="302" REF="167">as our &s;elves: <HI>we will not have this Man reign over us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>This Man!</HI> And Who is He? Tis He who is true <HI>God</HI> as well as <HI>Man.</HI> Tis He <HI>who mea&s;ures out the waters,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;ay.</HI> 40.12.17.</NOTE> in the Hollow of his Hand: who mea&s;ures out the Heavens with a Span: Before whom all the Nations</HI> of the Earth <HI>are Nothing; even le&s;s than Nothing.</HI> Tis He whom all his Creatures <HI>wait upon,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 104.</NOTE> that He may feed them in due Sea&s;on:</HI> who <HI>gives them, &amp; they Gather;</HI> who <HI>opens his Hand, &amp; they are fill'd;</HI> who <HI>takes away their Breath, &amp; they return to Du&s;t.</HI> Tis He, who <HI>&s;itts in the Heavens, &amp; laughs at the Kings &amp; Rulers of the Earth:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2.</NOTE> who <HI>makes their Devices of no effect:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 33.</NOTE> who <HI>breaks them with a Rod of iron;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 2.9.</NOTE> &amp; dashes them in pieces like a Potters Ve&s;&s;ell:</HI> He
<PB N="303" REF="167">who is the <HI>Lord of All;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 47.</NOTE> mo&s;t High; mo&s;t Terrible;</HI> and GREAT KING <HI>over all the Earth.</HI> This <HI>King</HI> we openly <HI>Rebell</HI> again&s;t, in every Mortall Sin.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>IV. <HI>The Impiety of a Sinner.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe <HI>Duty</HI> which we ow to Parents, is a Virtue which we commonly call <HI>Piety:</HI> And every Breach of &s;uch a Duty may be properly call'd <HI>Impious.</HI> Tis a Virtue by it &s;elf; who&s;e Character, compar'd with other <HI>morall</HI> Virtues, is as different from them, as 'tis eminent above them. Her Autho|rity extends to all of them: And when they are obedi|ent to her orders, when they &s;erve her, when they
<PB N="304" REF="168">wear her Livery; we call them by her Name. Tis thus we call all Virtues <HI>Pious,</HI> &amp; all Vices <HI>Impious.</HI></P>
<P>The Rea&s;on is, becau&s;e our God not only is a <HI>Ge|nerall</HI> to his Souldiers, &amp; a <HI>Monarch</HI> to his Subjects; But He al&s;o is a <HI>Father</HI> to his Children. We are All of us his Children. He's a Father to us All. Each virtuous Action of our life is more or le&s;s a <HI>Duty</HI> which we ow to &s;uch a Father; and is therefore <HI>Pious.</HI> On the con|trary, in every Offence, we Sin again&s;t our <HI>Father,</HI> &amp; are therefore <HI>Impious.</HI></P>
<P>When&s;oever we offend our God, we &s;in again&s;t our <HI>Generall.</HI> We ba&s;ely break the Promi&s;es of our Fide|lity, which once we made
<PB N="305" REF="168">&s;o &s;olemnly in Bapti&s;m, &amp; &s;ince &s;o frequently re|new'd: We treacherou&s;ly <HI>De&s;ert</HI> him, even in the very moment when we should begin the Battle. When|&s;oever we offend our God, we &s;in again&s;t our <HI>King.</HI> We break the &s;acred Oaths of our Allegeance, which we &s;eal'd &s;o often with the Sacrament: We trample under foot all Tyes of Loyalty, &amp; openly <HI>Rebell</HI> again&s;t Him. When&s;oever we offend our God, we &s;in again&s;t our <HI>Father.</HI> We are <HI>Impious,</HI> even beyond expre&s;&s;ion; we <HI>Dethrone</HI> his Maje&s;ty; we <HI>Banish</HI> him from our <HI>Heart;</HI> we <HI>&V;&s;urp</HI> the Gou|vernment <HI>of it</HI> our &s;elves, &amp; manage it again&s;t <HI>Him.</HI></P>
<P>When the <HI>Scribes murmur'd</HI>
<PB N="306" REF="169">at our Saviour,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 15.2.</NOTE> for <HI>receiving Sinners, &amp; eating with'em:</HI> He told them of the <HI>Prodigall Son,</HI> who was not only <HI>Receiv'd,</HI> but Fea&s;ted by his <HI>Father;</HI> after he had &s;o unkindly left Him, after he had <HI>wa&s;ted all his Sub&s;tance</HI> in a forreign Country; after <HI>he began to be in want,</HI> feed <HI>Swine,</HI> &amp; long for <HI>busks to fill his belly with.</HI> His chief De&s;ign in telling of the Parable, (as we may judge by the occa&s;ion) was not to <HI>accu&s;e</HI> the <HI>Son,</HI> but to <HI>excu&s;e</HI> the <HI>Father,</HI> &amp; by con|&s;equence <HI>Him&s;elf.</HI> His prin|cipall intention was to ju&s;|tify the Father's Mercy Tenderne&s;s &amp; Kindne&s;s to his <HI>Son:</HI> &amp; therefore twas not proper to exaggerate his fault. Twas fitter for the pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, to &s;ett
<PB N="307" REF="169">forth his great Contrition and Humility; who not|with&s;tanding all his former Folly Brutishne&s;s &amp; Blind|ne&s;s, yet at length <HI>came to him&s;elf;</HI> repented;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 17.</NOTE> &amp; return'd with &s;uch a <HI>contrite,</HI> &s;uch an <HI>humble</HI> heart, to ca&s;t him&s;elf before his Father's feet.</P>
<P>A willfull <HI>Fool;</HI> A &s;winish <HI>Brute;</HI> &amp; <HI>Both</HI> &s;o <HI>Blind</HI> as not to &s;ee their Mi&s;ery; is the <HI>Idea</HI> of a Sinner, &amp; the whole Idea, which the Scripture gives us, in this Parable. There's no Ingra|titude, Pre&s;umption, Pride, or In&s;olence appears, from the beginning to the end of it. The Treachery &amp; the Di&s;loyalty, which I have lately &s;poken of, have no room there: Much le&s;s the great <HI>Impiety</HI> which now I
<PB N="308" REF="170">am about to &s;peak of. He was no De&s;erter, Rebell, or U&s;urper. True it is; He left his Father, when he went to &s;eek his Fortune: but we do not read, that he De&s;erted Him in time of Battle. He return'd again without his Father's leave: but yet we do not read, that he appear'd in Arms again&s;t Him, &amp; by Force oblig'd Him to Submitt. He envy'd not his Father's Power &amp; Authority. His great Ambition only was to be as happy as his <HI>hired &s;er|vants.</HI> He de&s;ir'd no more than to be one of'em. He came &amp; humbly &s;aid;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 15.21.</NOTE> <HI>Fa|ther, I am not worthy to be call'd your Son.</HI> He did not <HI>impiou&s;ly</HI> tell him; <HI>Father, You are not worthy to be Ma&s;ter of your Hou&s;e.</HI>
<PB N="309" REF="170">We do not read; He &s;ent a Me&s;&s;enger, with peremp|tory Orders to his Father's Palace, to Command him to be gone by &s;uch an Hour. What would you have &s;aid; Suppo&s;e our Prodigall had been &s;o <HI>Impious</HI> as This?</P>
<P>Ah Sinner! Let not too much Zeal tran&s;port Thee. Call thy Anger home: The Ca&s;e is thine: <HI>Thou art the Man.</HI> In every Mortall Sin, which we con&s;ent to, We are All as <HI>Impious,</HI> &amp; infi|nitely <HI>more.</HI></P>
<P>Our Heavenly <HI>Father,</HI> is He not our <HI>King?</HI> Our <HI>Heart,</HI> is it not his Throne? Was it not He who <HI>Made</HI> it <HI>for Him&s;elf?</HI> And is it not <HI>his Right</HI> to <HI>Gouvern</HI> it, &amp; Guide it to the Happyne&s;s for which He made it?</P>
<PB N="310" REF="171">
<P>As often as we <HI>Value</HI> any Honour Intere&s;t or Plea&s;ure, any Pa&s;&s;ion Inclination or Humour, <HI>more</HI> than his <HI>Commandements;</HI> So often we <HI>&V;&s;urp</HI> the <HI>Empire</HI> of our <HI>Heart;</HI> we &s;way the <HI>Scepter; Gouvern</HI> as we plea&s;e; &amp; <HI>Banish</HI> Him from <HI>thence.</HI> And is not This as much as if we &s;aid; <HI>Father, You are not worthy to be Ma&s;ter of your Hou&s;e?</HI></P>
<P>As often as the Devil tempts us, or our Wickedne&s;s in|clines us, to <HI>pre&s;err</HI> our <HI>Self,</HI> or any other <HI>Thing</HI> before Him, If we freely give Con&s;ent; &amp; &s;uffer any Crea|ture to po&s;&s;e&s;s the <HI>Chief Place</HI> in our <HI>Heart;</HI> So often we are every jot as <HI>Impious,</HI> as if we <HI>&s;ent Him peremptory Orders to be Gone, that very Hour.</HI></P>
<PB N="311" REF="171">
<P>I tremble whil&s;t I write. Each Line encrea&s;es my De&s;pair of ever being able to expre&s;s the Malice of a Mortall Sin. The more I amplify, the more I &s;ee how much I am to blame, for undertaking &s;o impo&s;|&s;ible a Thing.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="5" TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>V. <HI>The great Ingratitude, Pre&s;ump|tion, Pride, &amp; In&s;olence, of every Sinner.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I Have &s;aid enough to shew that every Sinner is a <HI>treacherous</HI> Souldier, a <HI>di&s;loyall</HI> Subject, &amp; an <HI>impious</HI> Son. I now de&s;ign to shew, This is not All: but that He al&s;o is a mo&s;t <HI>ungratefull</HI> Villain who betrays his Be|nefactor; a <HI>pre&s;umptuous</HI> Slave
<PB N="312" REF="172">who abu&s;es his Deliverer; a <HI>proud</HI> Servant who de&s;|pi&s;es his Ma&s;ter; &amp; a Cri|minall &s;o <HI>in&s;olent</HI> as to offend before his Judge's face.</P>
<P>A mo&s;t ungratefull <HI>Villain.</HI> A meer Up&s;tart, rais'd from le&s;&s;e than Du&s;t. An empty Thing, extracted out of No|thing. That &s;uch a <HI>Thing</HI> as this, &amp; &s;o <HI>exalted</HI> as it is, should be &s;o &s;tupid, &s;o in&s;en&s;ible of all his Obligations, &s;o un|mindfull of the Favours he receives, &amp; &s;o illnatur'd to his greate&s;t Benefactor; who continually <HI>makes</HI> him all <HI>he is;</HI> who dayly <HI>gives</HI> him all <HI>he has;</HI> to whom he ows, the bread he eats, the air he breaths, the ground he goes upon, the hand he moves, the very life he &s;pends in Sin, &amp;
<PB N="313" REF="172">all the Time allowd him to repent! Can &s;uch a Crea|ture; &s;o oblig'd; by &s;uch a <HI>Benefactor;</HI> be &s;o ba&s;ely &amp; &s;o horribly <HI>ungratefull,</HI> to <HI>betray</HI> Him; &amp; preferr be|fore Him the unrea&s;onable &s;atisfaction, of a &s;illy Hu|mour? of a shamefull Pa&s;|&s;ion? of a &s;infull Inclina|tion? Open (once for all) thy Eyes, Blind Sinner; &amp; confe&s;s, that no <HI>Ingra|titude,</HI> but that of Judas, can compare to thine.</P>
<P>A <HI>Slave;</HI> (I wish he were &s;o, to his Ma&s;ter) A Slave to Pa&s;sion &amp; Humour; A Slave to Sin &amp; Mi&s;ery; A Slave condemn'd to wor&s;e than Galleys, during Life, &amp; afterwards to the Eter|nall Flames of Hell,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.9.</NOTE> where <HI>neither Eye has &s;een, Nor Ear has
<PB N="314" REF="173">heard, nor has it</HI> ever <HI>entred into the heart of</HI> any <HI>Man,</HI> what Torments God's great Ju&s;tice <HI>has prepar'd for tho&s;e</HI> who dare <HI>abu&s;e</HI> his Mercy. A vile Slave, <HI>deliver'd</HI> from the mi&s;chief of <HI>all</HI> This; by God him&s;elf; de&s;cending from his Glory; living here a poor &amp; painfull life; &amp; laying down the &s;ame, with every drop of his mo&s;t pre|cious bloud, to pay the the ran&s;om of this Wretch: That &s;uch a Slave; deliver'd &s;o; by &s;uch a Hand; should offer to abu&s;e the Mercy which <HI>once</HI> &s;av'd him, &amp; <HI>&s;till</HI> holds him by a &s;lender thred, from falling into everla&s;ting Mi&s;ery!</P>
<P>A <HI>Servant;</HI> I should have &s;aid, A mi&s;erable In&s;ect, full of &s;infull putrefaction;
<PB N="315" REF="173">A vile Spawn of Man's ori|ginall Corruption; A Worm, who&s;e very Crawling on it's fellow-du&s;t is more Pre|ferment than it can de&s;erve. That &s;uch a Thing as This, should be &s;o proud as to de&s;pi&s;e the <HI>Ma&s;ter</HI> of the World! So <HI>Great,</HI> &s;o <HI>VVi&s;e,</HI> &s;o Infinitely <HI>Perfect,</HI> &amp; &s;o every way <HI>De&s;erving,</HI> as He is! This Vermin has in|deed a <HI>Soul;</HI> an <HI>Angell</HI> once, by Grace; but now, by Sin, a <HI>Devil</HI> black as Hell it &s;elf;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Gen.</HI> 3.5. <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 14.14.</NOTE> a <HI>Lucifer</HI> that will be <HI>knowing Good &amp; Evill,</HI> will be <HI>like the Highe&s;t,</HI> will pretend to Gouvern in his Ma&s;ter's Hou&s;e, <HI>de&s;pi&s;e</HI> his Orders, &s;light his Menaces, neglect his Admonitions. <HI>Be a&s;tonisht,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jer.</HI> 2.12.</NOTE> O ye Heavens, at this.</HI></P>
<P>A mo&s;t in&s;olent <HI>Criminall;</HI>
<PB N="316" REF="174">A Criminall &s;o <HI>in&s;olent,</HI> as to offend before God's Face; in pre&s;ence of his Generall, his King, his Father, his Deliverer, his Benefactor, &amp; his Ma&s;ter; and be&s;ides all this, in pre|&s;ence of his <HI>Judge;</HI> before the very <HI>Bar,</HI> where he continually is upon his <HI>Tryall</HI> for his everla&s;ting <HI>Life</HI> or <HI>Death.</HI> Our Saviour &s;ays, that Who&s;o&ecirc;re <HI>beleeves not,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 3.18.</NOTE> is condemn'd already.</HI> We may &s;ay the &s;ame of every Sinner: In the very moment he of|fends, <HI>He is condemn'd already.</HI> His <HI>All-Seeing</HI> Judge is always <HI>VVitne&s;s</HI> of his Thoughts Words Actions &amp; De&s;ires: and He no &s;ooner is a <HI>Cri|minall,</HI> but He is <HI>Tryd</HI> &amp; <HI>Judg'd.</HI></P>
<P>This <HI>In&s;olence</HI> of his, in &s;ome
<PB N="317" REF="174">re&s;pect, exceeds all other Aggravations of his Crime. Tis an Extravagance of which we hardly find the lea&s;t Example betwixt Man &amp; Man. We often hear of Souldiers that De&s;ert: But when&s;o&ecirc;re they go, they &s;teal away: We never hear that they acquaint their Generall with &s;uch De&s;igns. We often hear of Subjects that con&s;pire again&s;t the Gouvernment: but never hear them talk &s;uch mat|ters loudly, in the hearing of their Prince. We often hear of Murders, Robbe|ries, &amp; many other Outra|ges, committed in the World: But when the Pri|&s;oner once was brought to Tryall, did you ever hear, He either Robb'd, or Mur|der'd,
<PB N="318" REF="175">at the Bar? No, no, &s;uch In&s;olence was never heard of, betwixt Man &amp; Man. And yet this very <HI>In|&s;olence</HI> is infinitely le&s;s than <HI>Ours,</HI> which we are always guilty of, in every Mor|tall Sin.</P>
<P>I &s;ay no more. I tremble at the very thought of ha|ving &s;aid &s;o much; when I reflect, how All that we can either &s;ay or think, will n&ecirc;re convert us with|out <HI>Grace.</HI> There's nothing but the Grace of God can make a deep <HI>Impre&s;sion</HI> of it in our Hearts.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="6" TYPE="subsection">
<PB N="319" REF="175">
<HEAD>VI. <HI>Our Saviours Idea of Sin: &amp; the Impre&s;sion it made upon Him.</HI></HEAD>
<P>OUr Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t be&s;t knew the great <HI>Enormity</HI> of Sin: &amp; we may judge how great it is, by the <HI>Impre&s;sion</HI> which it made upon Him; when the ap|proaching Hour of his Pa&s;|&s;ion laid before his Eyes the terrible <HI>Idea</HI> of it.</P>
<P>Twas the fir&s;t bloudy Scene of all his Sufferings. <HI>He began to be Sorrowfull &amp; very heavy.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 26.37.</NOTE> A Deluge of Grief broke in upon his Soul; quite overwhelm'd his Heart; &amp; lay &s;o heavy upon his fearfull Thoughts, He was not able to con|ceal it any longer, &amp; &s;up|port
<PB N="320" REF="176">the pre&s;&s;ing weight of his Affliction, all alone, in &s;ilence. His three mo&s;t Dear &amp; mo&s;t Familiar Di&s;|ciples, were &s;urpris'd &s;o much, to &s;ee this &s;uddain alteration in their deare&s;t Lord; They were not able to enquire the Cau&s;e, but like Job's three Friends they &s;tood a&s;tonisht, &amp; &s;poke not one word to Him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Job.</HI> 2.13.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e they &s;aw his Grief was very Great.</HI></P>
<P>Our Saviour could hold no longer; but broke out into this dolefull expre&s;|&s;ion;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 26.38.</NOTE> <HI>My Soul is exceeding Sor|rowfull, even unto Death.</HI> Ah my dear Di&s;ciples! if you knew, as well as I do, all the Motives of my Grief; you would not wonder that the very Thought of
<PB N="321" REF="176">them makes me look pale, &amp; shews you the face of Death in my countenance. The violent pangs of my afflicted Soul are &s;o sharp &amp; piercing, that, did not my Divinity &s;upport me &amp; pre&s;erve my life, I should immediatly, this very mo|ment, dy upon the place. <HI>Stay a while, and watch with me.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 26.38.</NOTE> You, who love me be&s;t, who have been always mo&s;t familiar with me, Be not <HI>now</HI> &s;o unkind as to leave me in this &s;ad condition all alone: <HI>Stay a while, &amp; watch with me,</HI> till my Storm of Grief blow over.</P>
<P>Dear Chri&s;tians, Let us &s;tay a while; &amp; with the&s;e three Di&s;ciples, not only admire but &s;earch into the cau&s;e of this great alteration
<PB N="322" REF="177">in the Soul of our Redee|mer. How was it po&s;&s;ible that <HI>now</HI> He should begin to fear &s;o much that Death, which all his life He had &s;o much de&s;ir'd? His Love for Man, &amp; his De&s;ire of dying for us, were con|ceiv'd by the operation of the Holy Gho&s;t; they came into the World with him; &amp; ever after &s;o employ'd his Thoughts, He &s;carce could talk of any thing el&s;e. Among&s;t his Di&s;ciples, his common Di&s;cour&s;e was of his <HI>Sufferings,</HI> the <HI>Cup</HI> he was to drink, his <HI>Obligation,</HI> his <HI>Readyne&s;s,</HI> his <HI>Impatience,</HI> to fullfill the Prophecies. <HI>I have,</HI> &s;ays he,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 12.50.</NOTE> <HI>a Bapti&s;m to be baptis'd with; &amp; how am I &s;traitned, till it be accomplisht?</HI> When the time drew nearer, He re|doubled
<PB N="323" REF="177">his de&s;ires of dying for us:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 22.25.</NOTE> <HI>with De&s;ire I have de|&s;ir'd to eat this Pa&s;&s;eover with you.</HI> <Q>And why? (&s;ays S. Chry|&s;o&s;tom) Becau&s;e it is a preparation to my Pa&s;&s;ion, which I have &s;o long, &s;o earne&s;tly de&s;ir'd.</Q> He knew, from the beginning, every Torment; every de|gree of it: Often reflected on each Circum&s;tance apart; &amp; as often took delight in viewing all of them toge|ther. Upon mount Thabor, when the Glory of his Ble&s;|&s;ed Soul shin'd through his body, like the Sun through a tran&s;parent cloud, upon the dazled eyes of his Di&s;|ciples; giving them a glymp&s;e of the Eternall Glory we expect hereafter: Our Saviour <HI>&s;eem'd</HI> to be as
<PB N="324" REF="178">much delighted with the pro&s;pect of his Pa&s;&s;ion, as with all the joys of Hea|ven: and as, upon another occa&s;ion,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 4.31.34.</NOTE> when <HI>his Di&s;ciples pray'd him</HI> to <HI>eat;</HI> He told them, <HI>My meat is to do the will of Him that &s;ent me, &amp; finish his work;</HI> So when they de&s;ir'd Him to &s;tay and <HI>make Taber|nacles,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 9.30.33.</NOTE> it was his joy &amp; de|light to <HI>talk with Moy&s;es &amp; Elias of his Decea&s;e,</HI> his Pa&s;&s;ion <HI>which he should accomplish,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 31.</NOTE> at Hieru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>Ah Chri&s;tians! you have rea&s;on to admire, &amp; won|der that the <HI>God of all</HI> your <HI>comfort</HI> is now heavy &amp; di&s;|con&s;olate:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.3.</NOTE> But you will <HI>fear</HI> and <HI>tremble,</HI> more than wonder, if you &s;eriou&s;ly reflect that all his <HI>Grief</HI> pro|ceeded <HI>chiefly</HI> from the ter|rible
<PB N="325" REF="178"><HI>Idea</HI> which He had of <HI>Sin;</HI> not <HI>his</HI> but <HI>ours.</HI> S. Hie|rome &s;ays,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apud D. Tho. In Cat.</NOTE> <HI>His</HI> greate&s;t <HI>Grief proceeded not from fear of &s;uffering, becau&s;e He came to Suffer; But He</HI> cheifly <HI>griev'd for Judas, for the Scandall of the Apo&s;tles, and the Reprobation of the People,</HI> &amp;c. ...</P>
<P>This agrees exactly with our Saviour's words,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 23.27.28.</NOTE> to tho&s;e who follow'd Him to Calvary; when turning <HI>to the women who lamented Him,</HI> He <HI>&s;aid, Daughters of Hieru|&s;alem, weep not for me</HI> only, <HI>weep</HI> al&s;o <HI>for your &s;elves, &amp; for your children.</HI> Weep not for me; My torments will be short: weep for your &s;elves; your torments (if you do not <HI>weep,</HI> repent, &amp; mend) will be Eternall. Alas! the Torments which I willing|ly
<PB N="326" REF="179">&amp; freely &s;uffer for your &s;ake, are Nothing to the Pains of Hell, which you for ever will endure, un|le&s;s by penitentiall tears, mixt with my bloud, You wash away your Sins.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 31.</NOTE> <HI>If they do thus, in the green wood; what will they do, in the Dry?</HI> If I, though Innocent, &s;uffer thus for your Sins: You, who are Guilty, what are you like to &s;uffer for your own? If I, who am true God, the only beloved Son of my Eternall Father, who never once offended Him; if, becau&s;e I interpo&s;e be|twixt you &amp; his Ju&s;tice, I am thus &s;everely treated; what will become of mi&s;e|rable Creatures, grievous Sinners, who &s;o often have offended Him, if they do
<PB N="327" REF="179">not joyn their tears with mine; if they are not afflicted with me for their Sins, for which I dy upon the Cro&s;s?
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Levit.</HI> 23.29.</NOTE> <HI>Every Soul who upon this day is not afflicted, shall perish. Every Soul who</HI> thinks <HI>upon this Day,</HI> and <HI>is not afflicted</HI> with his dying Saviour; is not heartily afflicted for tho&s;e Sins, for which He dies; <HI>shall</HI> certainly <HI>perish.</HI></P>
<P>Neither does it contra|dict, what commonly is &s;aid; that One great Dif|ference betwixt our Sa|viour &amp; his Martyrs was, that by a miracle of Grace He gave them that undaun|ted Courage, which by a greater miracle He now re|fus'd to him&s;elf. Tis true: He freely &s;ufferd in him|&s;elf the <HI>Naturall</HI> Fear of
<PB N="328" REF="180">Death; to shew him&s;elf True Man as well as God; to let us &s;ee at once the Weakne&s;s of our Nature, &amp; the Power of Grace; and comfort us, by making it appear that &s;uch <HI>Infirmities of Nature</HI> are not Sins, as long as <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> gouverns them, &amp; <HI>Re&s;ignation</HI> &s;ubmitts to the will of God. But yet there is another greater Difference betwixt his Ca&s;e &amp; theirs. Martyrs, who die for God's &s;ake, are Secure of their Succe&s;s; they are &s;ure not to &s;uffer in vain; they are certain to po&s;&s;e&s;s All that they de&s;ire, &amp; to enjoy eternally their God to whom they Sacrifice their Lives. This is the rea&s;on why our Martyrs look Death boldly in the face;
<PB N="329" REF="180">with open armes receive it; &amp; go to meet it with the &s;ame a&s;&s;urance, as if they went to Heaven. Let the Body &s;uffer all the wor&s;t of Pains; the Soul is un|concern'd,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Anima de Deo &s;uo &s;em|per &s;e|cura. S. Cypr.</NOTE> the <HI>Soul</HI> is <HI>&s;ecure of God,</HI> the Soul is in Hea|ven before hand. When Man dies to enjoy God, he is &s;ure he shall enjoy him. But (alas!) it is not &s;o when Je&s;us dies for Man. He dies to gain his Love; &amp; at the &s;ame time knows that he will prove ungrate|full. He dies to enjoy him in Heaven; &amp; fore&s;ees he will be damn'd for all Eter|nity. The lively appre|hen&s;ion of his torments all together was enough to make him <HI>Sorrowfull, even to Death;</HI> but however, if he
<PB N="330" REF="181">have promis'd him&s;elf the Eternall Salvation of all tho&s;e dear-bought Souls for which He died, the joyfull a&s;&s;urance of &s;o happy a Suc|ce&s;s, would have eas'd the burthen of his Grief; His torments, all of them, would have been well come upon that condition. But to &s;weat bloud in vain; to be &s;courg'd to no pur|po&s;e; to &s;pend the la&s;t drop of his &s;acred veins to no effect; was an Affliction not to be &s;upported, with|out praying his Eternall Fa|ther to have pitty &amp; com|pa&s;&s;ion on Him:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 26.30.</NOTE> <HI>Father, if it be po&s;&s;ible,</HI> di&s;pence at lea&s;t with this part of my Sen|tence; Let me die; But do not let me die in vain.</P>
<P>Tis &s;aid of <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> in the
<PB N="331" REF="181">Book of <HI>Gene&s;is;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">45.15.</NOTE> He ki&s;s'd all his Brethren, &amp; wept over</HI> every one of <HI>them.</HI> I may &s;ay the &s;ame of Je&s;us in the Garden of Geth&s;emane: He <HI>griev'd</HI> for All is brethren, &amp; <HI>wept</HI> over <HI>every one of them,</HI> in parti|cular. He &s;aw before his eyes the Sins of every per|&s;on in the World; the Graces which he would from time to time be&s;tow upon us; the neglect of all his Offers; &amp; abu&s;e of all his Favours. He fore&s;aw every Temptation which we yield to; &amp; <HI>griev'd</HI> to &s;ee it. He fore&s;aw each pro|fanation of the <HI>Sacrament,</HI> which we frequent unwor|thyly, and <HI>fainted</HI> with grief, when He thought how of|ten his mo&s;t precious Bloud would by our fault become
<PB N="332" REF="182">the Poy&s;on of our Souls. He fore&s;aw in the whole cour&s;e of our Lives, where, when, &amp; how, we would re&s;i&s;t, &amp; render ineffec|tuall, all the Directions, Admonitions &amp; Exhortati|ons of his Mini&s;ters; and <HI>fell into a bloudy Sweat</HI> at the very thought of our Ingra|titude, by which the chief means of attaining Ever|la&s;ting Happyne&s;s &s;erve only, in the end, to ju&s;ti|fie our Sentence of Eternall Mi&s;ery.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;aiah.</HI> 35.4.6.</NOTE> <HI>He bore our Griefs;</HI> He <HI>carried our Sorrows;</HI> He took <HI>upon him the Iniquities of us All;</HI> and every one of our mo&s;t grievous Sins appear'd to him in a more hideous shape, than ever it ap|pear'd to any Creature.</P>
<P>Mortall Sin is as <HI>Bad</HI> as
<PB N="333" REF="182">God is <HI>Good.</HI> It &s;eparates us from our God, &amp; leaves our Souls as <HI>Empty</HI> as our God is <HI>Great.</HI> So that as God is infinitely Good, the Ma|lice of a Mortall Sin is infi|nitely Evill. As none of us can under&s;tand the infinite <HI>Goodne&s;s</HI> of the one; &s;o none of us are able to conceive the infinite <HI>Malice</HI> of the other. Chri&s;t him&s;elf, as God, could <HI>comprehend</HI> them Both: as Man, He com|prehended neither. But yet the clear &amp; full <HI>Idea</HI> He had of it was <HI>proportion'd</HI> to his Beatifick Vi&s;ion of God's E&s;&s;ence, &amp; by con&s;equence the <HI>perfecte&s;t</HI> that ever was. His cleare&s;t <HI>Sight,</HI> &amp; ardent <HI>Love</HI> of God, were in a manner infinite: So were his <HI>Knowledge</HI> &amp; his <HI>Hatred</HI> of all
<PB N="334" REF="183">Mortall Sin. And the <HI>Im|pre&s;&s;ion</HI> this <HI>Idea</HI> made upon him, was the <HI>chief,</HI> if not the <HI>only,</HI> Rea&s;on why our Saviour could not hold from telling his Di&s;ciples; <HI>My Soul is exceeding Sorrowfull,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 26.38.</NOTE> even unto Death.</HI> His Soul was overwhelm'd with &s;uch a Deluge of Affliction, that his Grief, not being able to contain it &s;elf within the Bounds of Nature, violently forc'd it &s;elf through all his Pores, in Tears of Bloud.</P>
<P>Ah my dear Je&s;us! when shall I be able to make &s;uch a perfect Act of true Con|trition for my Sins, as Thou ha&s;t made for mine! When shall I be able to &s;ay, <HI>My Soul is exceeding Sor|rowfull even unto Death!</HI> When
<PB N="335" REF="183">shall I lament my grievous Sins in Tears of Bloud! <HI>Give me,</HI> at lea&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jerem.</HI> 9.1.</NOTE> <HI>water to my Head, &amp; Fountains to my Eyes.</HI> No Contrite Heart, but Thine, bleeds otherwi&s;e than at the Fyes: and 'tis (I hope) enough for me, if I can be &s;o &s;orry for my Sins, as to lament them all the days I have to live, &amp; rather <HI>Die</HI> than ever <HI>Sin</HI> again.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="7" TYPE="subsection">
<HEAD>VII. <HI>The Saints Idea of Sin. How much it humbles Them.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THere's Nothing but the Grace of Je&s;us Chri&s;t can make us Saints. There's Nothing el&s;e can make us <HI>clearly See</HI> and <HI>hear|tily
<PB N="336" REF="184">Dete&s;t</HI> the Malice of our Sins. The greater share we have of this great Grace, the more we <HI>&s;ee</HI> it &amp; <HI>dete&s;t</HI> it; &s;o much more we <HI>fear</HI> and <HI>tremble</HI> at the very thought of it; &amp; as our Grace encrea&s;es, we grow every day more <HI>humble</HI> by remembring it.</P>
<P>To make this out, I need not write the lives of all the Saints. A <HI>Pattern</HI> is enough to judge of all the <HI>Piece:</HI> e&s;pecially &s;uch a one as S.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Deg.</HI> 5.</NOTE> John Climacus, an an|cient Father of the Church, has left behind him. He a&s;&s;ures us,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ar.</HI> 20.</NOTE> his Relation <HI>is no Fable:</HI> He affirms that, what he &s;ays,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Art.</HI> 2.</NOTE> He <HI>&s;aw</HI> with his own eyes: &amp; that He was <HI>a whole month</HI> in their Com|pany.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ar.</HI> 27.</NOTE></P>
<PB N="337" REF="184">
<Q><P>Draw near, &s;ays he, all You who have provok't the wrath of God by your Offences: Come, &amp; Hear the Wonders He was pleas'd to let me <HI>See,</HI> for my Edi|fication: Be attentive to my words, all You who have a mind to reconcile your &s;elves to God, by a &s;incere Conver&s;ion.</P>
<P>When I was, &s;ays he, in the <HI>Monastery of Penitents;</HI> I &s;aw Men &s;o extremely <HI>humbled</HI> with the grievous weight of their Offences, that their cries &amp; prayers to God, would even move the &s;tones them&s;elves. With heads bow'd down, &amp; eyes upon the ground, I heard them &s;ay: <HI>we con|fe&s;s, O Lord, we confe&s;s that we de&s;erve to &s;uffer all cha&s;ti&s;ements &amp;
<PB N="338" REF="185">afflictions; becau&s;e our Sins are &s;uch, that should we Summon all the &V;niver&s;e to weep for us, the Tears of all the world would never make &s;ufficient Satisfaction. There remains one only thing we ask, one only thing we pray for; that Thou never may&s;t</HI> correct us in thy Anger,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 6.1.</NOTE> nor cha&s;ti&s;e us in thy great di&s;plea&s;ure; <HI>but a little &s;pare us, through thy infinite Mercy. Tis enough, O Lord, that Thou deliver us from tho&s;e inexplicable Torments hidden in the Center of the Earth. VVe dare not ask a full &amp; perfect Pardon: we, who have not kept the holy Laws of our Profe&s;&s;ion; but have broken them again, when Thou hadst given us</HI> the mo&s;t endearing <HI>Marks of Love &amp; Mercy, in forgiving of our Sins.</HI></P>
<P>Who ever &s;aw them
<PB N="339" REF="185">Laugh? Who ever heard among&s;t them any idle Talk? Who ever could ob&s;erve that any Pa&s;&s;ion tran&s;ported them? Or any Anger mov'd them? Alas! they hardly knew what Anger was: their great Affliction and continuall Grief had now extinguisht in them all Emotions of Re&s;entment. There was never known the lea&s;t ap|pearance of Di&s;pute: the lea&s;t lashing out in Di&s;|cour&s;e: the lea&s;t Sign of Vainglory. There was no Jollity of Fea&s;ting: no Concern for the body: no Love of ea&s;e &amp; plea|&s;ure: no Thought of Wine: no U&s;e of fruits: no Care for delicacies plea&s;ing to the palate. The
<PB N="340" REF="186">De&s;ire of all &s;uch things was quite extinct. And after all, there was not to be found the lea&s;t Cen|&s;oriou&s;ne&s;s, or lea&s;t ap|pearance of an Inclina|tion to Judge their neigh|bours.</P>
<P>Some of them, now &amp; then, would knock their brea&s;ts; and, as if they were already at the Gate of Heaven, <HI>Open us,</HI> &s;aid they, <HI>O Judge of Mankind, Open us the Gate of Happyne&s;s, which we have shat by Sin.</HI> Others would &s;ay,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 1.79.</NOTE> <HI>Give light to us, O Lord, who &s;itt in Darkne&s;s, in the Shades of Death; &amp; guide our &s;teps into the way of Peace.</HI> Others again; <HI>will the Almighty look upon as any more? Is't po&s;sible to pay our Debts, &amp; &s;atisfy for our Of|fences?
<PB N="341" REF="186">will our God, once more, afford us any Comfort? we are laid in chains of Sin; And shall we one day, hear him &s;ay, Come forth?</HI></P>
<P>They always had their Hour of Death before their eyes; &amp; &s;ometimes they would &s;ay to one another; <HI>what will then become of us? what Sentence will our God pronounce upon us? what will be our End? shall we be then call'd home from Banishment, to which we have been hitherto condemn'd for our Offences? Shall &s;uch Cri|minalls, as we, find any favour then? Such Sinners as we are? Such mi&s;erable wretches, coverd with Confu&s;ion &amp; Darkne&s;s? Have our Prayers mounted to the Throne of God? Or have they been rejected, as they well de|&s;erve? If well receiv'd, how far
<PB N="342" REF="187">have they prevail'd? Have they obtaind a full Di&s;charge, or only Part? Alas! they could not have much force, proceeding from &s;uch mouths, &s;o &s;infull, &s;o impure, as Ours.</HI></P>
<P>At other times, They thus di&s;cour&s;t their fears &amp; doubts: <HI>what think you Brethren? Do you think that we advance? Do you think that we obtain the effect of our Demands? Do you think that God will once again receive us? Do you think He'l open us the Gates of Heaven? VVho can tell, (&s;aid the Nini|vites;) who knows, but God may change the Sentence which He has pronounc't again&s;t us? Though perhaps He will not free us from the rigorous Cha&s;ti&s;ements which we have de&s;erv'd: How|ever, Let us labour all we can, &amp; Do whatever we are able. If
<PB N="343" REF="187">He open us the Gate of Heaven, we are Happy: if He dos not, He is Ju&s;t: &amp; therefore never let us cea&s;e to ble&s;s Him. Doubt|full, as we are, of what may be our De&s;tiny, we mu&s;t con|tinue all our life, &s;till knocking at the Door. Perhaps our Impor|tunity, our Con&s;tancy, &amp; our Per&s;everance may find Admittance, in the End.</HI></P></Q>
<P>Behold the Language of the Saints! Con&s;ider how their Fear &amp; Trembling <HI>humbles</HI> them, in Pre&s;ence of their angry God. Con&s;ider the <HI>Idea</HI> which They have of Sin: how different it is from what we generally have. Con&s;ider the <HI>Impre&s;sion</HI> which it makes upon them, &amp; compare it with our Stu|pidne&s;s, our Hardne&s;s, our In&s;en&s;ibility. Conclude with
<PB N="344" REF="188">shame &amp; &s;orrow, that this Difference twixt them &amp; us proceeds not from their having been much greater <HI>Sinners</HI> than we are; but from our being much le&s;&s;e <HI>Saints</HI> than They.</P>
<Q><P>When any of the&s;e Pe|nitents drew nigh the hour of Death; how Ter|rible, how Lamentable was the Spectacle! The&s;e Ble&s;&s;ed Criminalls, when any one of their Compa|nions was upon the point of leaving them; They All &s;urrounded him, with aking hearts, &amp; weeping eyes, to ask him; <HI>How do you find your &s;elf, Dear Brother; Dear Companion in our Mi&s;eries &amp; Sufferings? what &s;ay you, Now? what do you hope? what do you think? Have you
<PB N="345" REF="188">obtain'd what you have labour'd for, with &s;o much pain? Or is your labour lo&s;t? Are you arriv'd at the Port? Or are you not? Have you a full A&s;&s;urance of your Happyne&s;s? Or have you only an uncertain Hope? Do you find your &s;elf in perfect Liberty of Mind? Or are you yet in Trouble &amp; Anxiety? Have you heard al|ready, in the Secret of your Soul, a voice, which tells you; Your</HI> &s;ins are forgiven <HI>you?
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 9.2. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 9.17.</NOTE> Or do you &s;eem to hear that for|midable Sentence;</HI> The wicked shall be turn'd into Hell? <HI>what &s;ay you, Brother? Tell us, we conjure you, Tell us Now &s;incerely; that by knowing what Condition you are in at pre&s;ent, we may gue&s;s, what State we may be in, one Day, our &s;elves.</HI></P>
<P>To the&s;e Demands, &s;ome
<PB N="346" REF="189">of the&s;e dying Penitents made an&s;wer:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 66.20.</NOTE> <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed be God who has not turn'd away my Prayer nor his Mercy from me.</HI> Others, in a dolefull tone replyd:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 124.4.</NOTE> <HI>Can our Soul go over the Stream of waters, which</HI> are like to <HI>overwhelm us?</HI> This they &s;aid, not being yet a&s;&s;ur'd of their Salvation; but con&s;idering with <HI>fear</HI> and <HI>trembling</HI> what might happen to them in the terrible Accompt which <HI>now</HI> was nigh at Hand. And others an&s;wer'd more uncomfortably: <HI>wo be to the Soul that has not kept inviolably all the Laws of it's Profe&s;sion. See; the Hour is come; the only Hour in which we shall begin to know our State for all Eternity.</HI></P></Q>
<P>The&s;e Ble&s;&s;ed Penitents, for one Relap&s;e, did <HI>Pen|nance,</HI>
<PB N="347" REF="189">the <HI>&s;evere&s;t</HI> they were able to invent: And we, for numberle&s;s Relap&s;es, many of them wor&s;e than theirs, Do <HI>none</HI> at all. The&s;e Penitents <HI>Per&s;ever'd</HI> in the &s;ame Au&s;terities till Death; their <HI>Pennance</HI> had no End: We &s;till Per&s;ever in our Sins; our Pennance never begins. Their <HI>Fear &amp; Trem|bling,</HI> their profound <HI>Humi|lity,</HI> went hand in hand with all their <HI>Pennance</HI> &amp; <HI>Per&s;everance:</HI> Our <HI>Confidence &amp; &V;nconcern'd|ne&s;s,</HI> our extravagant <HI>Pre&s;ump|tion,</HI> always keep an equall pace with our <HI>Tepidity</HI> &amp; <HI>Slothfulne&s;s.</HI> Dear Chri&s;tians, give me leave to ask, Why all this <HI>difference</HI> twixt them and us? A thou&s;and years, betwixt their Age, &amp; this which now we live in,
<PB N="348" REF="190">have they alter'd the <HI>Al|mighty?</HI> Has He le&s;s <HI>Autho|rity</HI> to punish us? Or we, le&s;&s;e <HI>Obligation</HI> to <HI>Obey</HI> Him, <HI>Honour</HI> Him, &amp; <HI>make</HI> Him <HI>Sa|tisfaction,</HI> if we do not? Is our God <HI>le&s;s Ju&s;t,</HI> becau&s;e we more abu&s;e his Mercy? Or <HI>more Mercifull,</HI> becau&s;e we le&s;s regard his Ju&s;tice? Alas! Our <HI>Blindne&s;s</HI> is the only Rea&s;on: We are blin|der than They were: And therefore we are more <HI>&s;ecure,</HI> more <HI>unconcern'd,</HI> more <HI>proud,</HI> more <HI>tepid,</HI> &amp; more <HI>&s;lothfull.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Je&s;u,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 18.38.</NOTE> Son of David, have Mercy on me.</HI> Thou Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour of the World,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo.</HI> 1.9.</NOTE> <HI>who enlightne&s;t every man that comes into it;</HI> Open <HI>once,</HI> my eyes; &amp; keep them <HI>ever</HI> open; that I may continually <HI>See</HI> and <HI>Love</HI> thy Goodne&s;s, Wi&s;|dom,
<PB N="349" REF="190">Mercy, Ju&s;tice; &amp; by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of &s;o great a Grace, perpetually <HI>See</HI> and <HI>Hate</HI> the Malice of my Sins. There's nothing but thy Grace, that can <HI>enlighten every man that comes into the world:</HI> There's nothing el&s;e can <HI>Clear</HI> my Under&s;tanding, &amp; <HI>Enflame</HI> my Heart: There's nothing el&s;e can make me truly <HI>Contrite,</HI> truly <HI>Humble. Je&s;u, Son of David,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 18.38.</NOTE> have Mercy on me,</HI> a <HI>Sinner,</HI> who am not in <HI>the way,</HI> nor going on, but <HI>&s;itting by the way-&s;ide,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 35.</NOTE> begging</HI> thy A&s;&s;i&s;tance. Here I <HI>&s;itt,</HI> &amp; wait thy <HI>pa&s;sing by:</HI> My <HI>Blind|ne&s;s</HI> hinders me from doing any more: And even when I <HI>hear</HI> Thee <HI>pa&s;&s;e,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 36.</NOTE> I know not how to follow Thee. The Croud of all my Pa&s;&s;ions, Inclinations &amp; Humours,
<PB N="350" REF="191">and the Multitude of my Engagements Cares &amp; Trou|bles, make a noi&s;e about me; &s;uch a one (I fear) as will not let Thee hear me. When I offer to cry out for help, they try to &s;top my mouth,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 39.</NOTE> &amp; bid me <HI>hold my peace:</HI> and therefore I cry out <HI>&s;o much the more;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 39.</NOTE> Je&s;u, Thou Son of David, have Mercy on me.</HI> Thou need'&s;t not <HI>&s;tand</HI> to <HI>ask</HI> me what I want, or <HI>what I will that Thou should&s;t Do unto me;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 41.</NOTE> Thou, who know&s;t my Wants &s;o infi|nitely better than my &s;elf. The only Favour, which I humbly beg,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 41.</NOTE> is <HI>that I may receive my Sight.</HI> Say only, to my Soul, as once Thou &s;aid&s;t to that <HI>Blind Man</HI> who was a Figure of me; Say, <HI>Receive thy Sight;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 42.</NOTE> Thy Faith has
<PB N="351" REF="191">&s;av'd Thee:</HI> Say but this, (Thy words are powerfull, &amp; make them&s;elves prove true) Say only This; &amp; then <HI>immediatly</HI> I shall <HI>receive my Sight, &amp; follow Thee.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 43.</NOTE> I then shall follow thy Example. I shall follow thy Di&s;ciples, &amp; thy Saints. I then shall do fit Pennance for my Sins: &amp; shall Per&s;ever in it to the End. I then shall &s;tudy how to punish every Pa&s;|&s;ion Inclination &amp; Humour which induc't me to Offend Thee. I shall then be truly <HI>Contrite,</HI> truly <HI>Humble;</HI> I shall <HI>Glorify Thee</HI> all my life;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 45.</NOTE> <HI>and all the People, when They See</HI> the Happy Change, shall <HI>give</HI> the <HI>Prai&s;e to God.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="352" REF="192">
<HEAD>THE CHARACTER OF A GOOD CHRISTIAN.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I. <HI>The Perfection of his Duty,</HI></HEAD>
<Q><P>_WHoever &s;eriou&s;ly profe&s;&s;es the Re|ligion of Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>D. Sp. P.</HI> 1. <HI>c.</HI> 3</NOTE> and takes the Gho&s;pel for the Rule of that Divine Religion, making it his Bu&s;ine&s;s to
<PB N="353" REF="192">acquire that Sanctity which Je&s;us Chri&s;t de|mands of his Di&s;ciples; is a <HI>Chri&s;tian.</HI> The <HI>Gho&s;pel</HI> was not only writt for tho&s;e we call <HI>Religious.</HI> We are, All of us, Religious per&s;ons; of the Be&s;t &amp; Fir&s;t of all Religions, which is that of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. We have a <HI>Rule,</HI> a <HI>Habit,</HI> &amp; a <HI>Foun|der:</HI> We have <HI>Vows</HI> &amp; <HI>Exer|ci&s;es.</HI> Chri&s;t fir&s;t in&s;tituted &amp; e&s;tablisht our Religion: He's the <HI>Founder</HI> of our Or|der. Innocence &amp; Sanctity make up the <HI>Habit,</HI> we re|ceive in Bapti&s;m. Our Promi&s;es of abrenouncing all the Pomps &amp; Works of Satan, are our <HI>Vows.</HI> The Gho&s;pel is our <HI>Rule.</HI> Our Prayers, Pennances, &amp; generally all Good Actions, are our <HI>Exerci&s;es.</HI></P>
<PB N="354" REF="193">
<P><HI>Do you think the Gho&s;pel was not written,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> &s;ays S. Ba&s;il, <HI>every jot as much for married per&s;ons, as for Monks? &V;ndoubt|edly 'tis by this Rule, that Both are to be Judg'd. Tis well, if married people can obtain God's pardon for the faults committed in that State. In all things el&s;e, they are as much oblig'd to live like Saints, as the</HI> Religious <HI>are. The Tyes of marriage, &amp; Engagements of the world, will never ju&s;tify an idle Life; or any way Di&s;pen&s;e with the laborious Task of living like a Chri&s;tian. Tis lawfull to live in the world; but not, to live according to the Maximes of it. On the contrary; the more we are expos'd to the Temptations of the Devil, &s;o much more we are oblig'd to u&s;e our utmo&s;t Care &amp; Vigilance.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Beleeve not,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> &s;ays S. Chry|&s;o&s;tom,
<PB N="355" REF="193"><HI>that God expects from wordly Men a Sanctity quite dif|ferent from that of Monks. Tis true, indeed, that Tho&s;e may marry, &amp; The&s;e may not: But in all things el&s;e, the Ca&s;e is equall. They have Both receiv'd the &s;ame Laws; &amp; Both are &s;ub|ject to the &s;ame Punishments. VVhen Je&s;us laid his Cur&s;e upon the Rich, &amp; tho&s;e who lead a jolly life in Sen&s;uality &amp; Plea&s;ure; when He &s;poke of the Evangeli|call Beatitudes; He &s;poke, not only to</HI> Religious, <HI>but to all the Faithfull; and without the lea&s;t exception. He was never heard to &s;ay; that the Religious Man shall &s;uffer for his Sins, but not the Secular. The difference we fancy in this point, is only an Invention of Men; it is not groun|ded in the word of God, who equally obliges All, that will
<PB N="356" REF="194">be &s;av'd, to keep his Laws. S. Paul, addre&s;sing his di&s;cour&s;e to married per&s;ons, dos not He require of them as great a share of Sanctity as we can find in the mo&s;t perfect Monks? what Di&s;engagement he pre&s;cribes to all of us! what Mo|deration in our Cloaths, our Diet, &amp; our &V;&s;e of Riches!</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Tim.</HI> 6.8.</NOTE> Having Food, <HI>&s;ays he,</HI> &amp; Raiment, Let us be contented. They who are married,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.29.30.31.</NOTE> <HI>Let them</HI> be as if they were not: &amp; They who u&s;e the world, as if they us'd it not: <HI>what more can we expect from tho&s;e we call</HI> Religious? <HI>Let us there|fore never &s;ay, that wordly Men are either</HI> not oblig'd <HI>or el&s;e</HI> not able <HI>to ob&s;erve the Rules of Chri&s;tianity; and that</HI> Reli|gious <HI>only can attain to &s;uch &s;ublime Perfection. There is No|thing &s;o pernicious as this fal&s;e
<PB N="357" REF="194">Opinion. It maintains the greate&s;t part of Libertins in their di&s;orders, &amp; encourages imperfect Souls to lead a loo&s;e &amp; lazy Life. A&s;&s;ure your &s;elves Our God requires, of All, one &s;elfsame Sanctity. The</HI> Means, <HI>of our arriving to it, may be</HI> different; <HI>but yet Religious Per&s;ons have no other</HI> Aim <HI>than we have. They de&s;ign</HI> to &s;ave them&s;elves, <HI>and &s;o do we. They are not to be &s;av'd, but by the</HI> narrow way; <HI>&amp; we shall never be &s;av'd, by walking in the</HI> broad <HI>one.</HI></P>
<P>Hence it follows clear|ly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> that the Gho&s;pel being preach't &amp; made for All, we All are bound to fol|low it; we All mu&s;t la|bour to acquire the Sanc|tity demanded by it; we mu&s;t All be thoroughly per&s;uaded, that it is the
<PB N="358" REF="195">only way which leads to Heaven, and that every other way is &s;ure to end in everla&s;ting Death. Tis true; the methods &amp; the Exerci&s;es, which are us'd &amp; follow'd in Religious hou&s;es, to arrive to &s;uch Perfection, are quite dif|ferent from what is u&s;ually pre&s;crib'd to Wordly Per|&s;ons: But their <HI>Virtues</HI> al|ways are the <HI>&s;ame,</HI> al|though their <HI>Exerci&s;es</HI> are not. The&s;e two things we commonly confound; to wit, the <HI>Exerci&s;es</HI> &amp; the <HI>Virtues</HI> of a Chri&s;tian. We imagine, for example, that a <HI>mode&s;t</HI> &amp; a homely <HI>Dre&s;s</HI> is only fit for Cloi&s;|ters; where they always wear a certain <HI>Habit,</HI> poor &amp; plain. We fancy that the
<PB N="359" REF="195"><HI>Recollection</HI> which is practis'd in Religious Hou&s;es is a thing peculiar to their Character; becau&s;e we find, that only They have certain Hours allotted them for keeping &s;ilence. We imagine al&s;o that a <HI>Penitentiall</HI> life belongs to none but them; becau&s;e They fa&s;t, &amp; practi&s;e &s;e|verall Au&s;terities com|manded by Superiours. Tis a great mi&s;take. The&s;e <HI>Virtues</HI> all are <HI>Evangelicall:</HI> We find them in the Gho&s;pel, which is <HI>ours</HI> as much as <HI>theirs:</HI> They are pre&s;crib'd to <HI>all Men</HI> by the <HI>Common Rule</HI> of Chri&s;tianity: And, though we have not (as <HI>Religious</HI> have) &s;o great Advantages to make the practi&s;e of them Uniform
<PB N="360" REF="196">&amp; Ea&s;y; Neverthele&s;s we All are indi&s;pen&s;ably ob|lig'd to <HI>have</HI> them, &amp; to <HI>practi&s;e</HI> them. Our <HI>Mode&s;ty,</HI> our Moderation,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Phil.</HI> 4.5.</NOTE> mu&s;t <HI>be known to All,</HI> as well as theirs. Our <HI>Recollection</HI> of Mind mu&s;t be pre&s;erv'd amid&s;t the Multitude of our Employments. We are equally oblig'd to <HI>Mor|tify</HI> &amp; Circumci&s;e our Heart, &amp; to Extinguish in it, all our Sen&s;uall De|&s;ires.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>The&s;s.</HI> 5.17.</NOTE> The Precept of <HI>Con|tinuall Prayer,</HI> is as much for us, as them. We are not bound to &s;ing in Choire at certain Hours as they do: but our Heart mu&s;t be, as much as theirs, <HI>conti|nually united</HI> to our God, by <HI>Loving</HI> of Him above all things. Though we have
<PB N="361" REF="196">not made a <HI>Vow of Poverty;</HI> yet we mu&s;t be, as well as They, entirely <HI>di&s;engag'd from</HI> all the <HI>Riches</HI> of the Earth, &amp; never <HI>&s;ett our Hearts</HI> upon them, whil&s;t we <HI>u&s;e</HI> them. Though we have not <HI>Vow'd Obedience,</HI> we are All oblig'd, as much as They, to be at|tentive to the Precepts of our <HI>Founder</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &amp; punctually ob&s;erve <HI>the lea&s;t of</HI> his <HI>Commandements.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 5.19.</NOTE></P></Q>
<P>Behold the <HI>Duty</HI> of a <HI>Christian!</HI> See how Gene|rous, how Noble, how He|roicall his <HI>Re&s;olution</HI> is, of making good the full Sig|nification of his Name! He meets with an infinity of Ob&s;tacles: but notwith&s;tan|ding all, He is re&s;olv'd to <HI>Sacrifice</HI> and <HI>Save</HI> him&s;elf: He
<PB N="362" REF="197">is re&s;olv'd to u&s;e all <HI>Violence,</HI> what ever may be requi&s;ite, to make his way to <HI>Heaven,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 11.12.</NOTE> &amp; to <HI>take it even by force.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. II. <HI>His Contempt of the VVorld.</HI></HEAD>
<Q><P>HE always looks upon him&s;elf,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Chry|&s;o&s;tom. Hom.</HI> 24. <HI>in Ep. ad Hebr.</HI></NOTE> as a meer Stranger in this World; &amp; the continuall Remem|brance of his being <HI>So,</HI> is the Foundation &amp; Root of all his Virtue. He takes little plea&s;ure in employing of his bu&s;y thoughts about this Life, &amp; the Affairs relating to it: but is like a banisht Man, who lives unea&s;y in a forreign Coun|try; always looking home|ward with extreme Im|patience,
<PB N="363" REF="197">to &s;ee the Ble&s;|&s;ed Place which gave him Birth; and always doing all he can, to lay all things in readyne&s;s for his Return. He never is dejected with Adver&s;ity, nor puft up with Pro&s;pe|rity, which happen to at|tend his Fortune here; but pa&s;&s;es unconcern'dly by, without regarding either; &amp; without the lea&s;t &s;top in his way, pur&s;ues his jour|ney, like a Traveller, who longs to be at Home, &amp; thinks of nothing el&s;e but how to make ha&s;t thither. And this is the Rea&s;on why our God ob|liges him to &s;ay, in his dayly Prayer, <HI>Thy King|dom come;</HI> that he may al|ways have before his eyes,
<PB N="364" REF="198">the happy Day which is to be his La&s;t, &amp; gene|rou&s;ly &s;corn to value any tran&s;itory Honour, Pro|fit, Plea&s;ure, which he meets with upon Earth.</P>
<P>A <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> by the&s;e noble &s;entiments of true &amp; &s;olid Wi&s;dom mounts to &s;uch a height above the reach of all this World,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Chry|&s;o&s;tom. Hom.</HI> 15. <HI>ad Popul. Anti|ochen.</HI></NOTE> that He is hardly capable of feeling, much le&s;s of ad|miring, what&s;oever pa&s;&s;es in it. He is like a man who from the top of an a&s;piring Mountain takes a view of All below him, &amp; can hardly See the Towns &amp; Cities, which appear like Molehills; where the numerous In|habitants like &s;warms of Ants, run up &amp; down, &amp;
<PB N="365" REF="198">follow eagerly their little Trade, of hoarding up a petty Trea&s;ure, which is nothing to his purpo&s;e. All his <HI>Trea&s;ure</HI> &amp; his <HI>Heart</HI> are both in Heaven. There his Loving Eye is gene|rally fixt; And if he now &amp; then look down upon the Riches, Glory, Pow|er, Honour, of this mi|&s;erable World, they all &s;eem trifling matters; All &s;uch Things are little, incon&s;iderable, &amp; con|temptible, to Him.</P>
<P>And yet, He cannot ju&s;t|ly be accus'd of Pride,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Chry|&s;o&s;tom. Hom.</HI> 11. <HI>in ep.</HI> 1. <HI>Cor.</HI></NOTE> becau&s;e he thinks the wi&s;e&s;t Politicians are but <HI>Fools;</HI> their Riches, <HI>Shadows;</HI> all their Plea&s;ures, <HI>Dreams;</HI> &amp; all their Titles, Digni|ties, and Honours, only
<PB N="366" REF="199"><HI>Childrens Baubles.</HI> No; it can|not ju&s;tly be accounted Pride: Tis certainly the greate&s;t Wi&s;dom to <HI>&s;ubmitt</HI> our Judgments, &amp; con|form them, to the Eter|nall Truth of God him|&s;elf; &amp; judge of things, as they are truly in them|&s;elves. Or otherwi&s;e we mu&s;t allow that Salomon him&s;elf was guilty of Pre|&s;umption &amp; Arrogance; when, after a full Tryal, after long &amp; &s;ad Expe|perience, He pronounc't that All the World is <HI>Va|nity of Vanities, &amp; nothing el&s;e but Vanity.</HI></P>
<P>He labours all he can to make his Soul become a Heaven upon Earth;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Chry|&s;o&s;tom. Hom.</HI> 16. <HI>in Epi&s;t. ad Heb.</HI></NOTE> &amp; failes not to &s;ucceed in &s;uch a noble entrepri&s;e.
<PB N="367" REF="199">The Heaven which we &s;ee, &amp; &s;o admire, is but an Embleme of his Happyne&s;s. As Heaven is enlightned by the ri&s;ing Sun; his Soul is more enlightned by the Grace of God, the Sun of Ju&s;tice, which ari|&s;es, without &s;etting, in his Heart. As Heaven al|ways is the &s;ame; &s;till beautifull &amp; bright within it &s;elf, although the mid|night Darkne&s;s &s;eem to alter &amp; ob&s;cure it; &s;o his Soul is &s;till the &s;ame, 'tis always ea&s;y &amp; content within it &s;elf, although He live ob&s;curely, in di&s;|grace or poverty, &amp; &s;eem a mi&s;erable man to tho&s;e who little under&s;tand the Secret of his Happyne&s;s. As Heaven is &s;o high above
<PB N="368" REF="200">the Winds and Storms, that the mo&s;t violent di&s;|turbance of the Air can never reach it; &s;o the Soul of a good Chri&s;tian, even when the World combines to make him &s;uffer mo&s;t, receives no harm at all. His Trea&s;ure is in Heaven, &amp; his Heart is with it. He's above the reach of all that they can do. His Heart is rais'd to &s;uch a height, that when He takes a pro&s;pect of the Earth below, He &s;ees no difference twixt Men &amp; Pi&s;mires. Neither are the Poor the only Objects that &s;eem little in his Sight; but Kings them|&s;elves, &amp; Generalls of Ar|mies, Politicians, U&s;urers, &amp; what you plea&s;e, &s;eem
<PB N="369" REF="200">every jot as little &amp; con|temptible as They. The Difference of Poor &amp; Rich makes no impre&s;|&s;ion upon Him; no more than when He &s;ees, among&s;t a Swarm of little Pi&s;mires, &s;ome creep loaded, others empty.</P>
<P>What can Men do to &s;uch a Man as This,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Chry|&s;o&s;tom. Hom.</HI> 5. <HI>ad Popul. Antio.</HI></NOTE> &s;up|po&s;e they have a mind to make him mi&s;erable? Will they rob him of his mony? All his Riches are in Hea|ven. Will they Banish him from home? He has no other <HI>Home</HI> but Heaven; &amp; it is not in their Pow|er to Banish him from thence. Will they lay him fa&s;t in Chains? His Con|&s;cience will &s;till be free: And, for his part, He fears
<PB N="370" REF="201">no other Chains but tho&s;e of Sin. Or will they kill him? When they have done this, They have no more to Do; And even then, His Soul will Live for ever, his body one day Ri&s;e again.</P>
<P>A Man,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Chry|&s;o&s;tom. lib.</HI> 2. <HI>ad Theod. lap&s;um. c.</HI> 3.</NOTE> who lives not but for Je&s;us Chri&s;t, is quite above the reach of all misfortunes that can threaten him. Provided that He will not freely &amp; deliberately hurt him&s;elf, No man alive can have the lea&s;t advantage over Him. He's invincible at all Arms. The Lo&s;s of his Goods is no Affliction to him, becau&s;e he well con&s;iders, that we All bring Nothing with us, at our Birth; &amp; that we All
<PB N="371" REF="201">shall carry Nothing with us, at our Death. The vain de&s;ires of Reputation &amp; Honour cannot &s;eize his Heart; becau&s;e he knows that all our Conver&s;ation ought to be in Heaven. All the injuries &amp; outra|ges He meets with, are not able to provoke him: He's a <HI>Chri&s;tian:</HI> And, be|ing truly &s;uch, He fears but one great Danger of one only Lo&s;s; the Dan|ger of offending God, &amp; Loo&s;ing of his Favour, All things el&s;e, as Ba|ni&s;hment and Poverty, with all the greate&s;t &amp; mo&s;t dangerous Extremi|ties, He values not at all: &amp; even Death it &s;elf, which others think &s;o Ter|rible, is always mo&s;t agre|able,
<PB N="372" REF="202">mo&s;t comfortable, &amp; mo&s;t wellcome, when|&s;o&ecirc;re it comes.</P></Q>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. III. <HI>His De&s;ire of Heaven.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe Scripture generally repre&s;ents a Chri&s;tian, as a Per&s;on di&s;engag'd &amp; &s;eparated from the World. <HI>If you were of the world,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S. Jo.</HI> 15.19.</NOTE> &s;ays our Saviour, <HI>the world would love his own: but becau&s;e you are not of the world, &amp; I have cho&s;en you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Jo.</HI> 2.15.</NOTE> He <HI>loves not the world, nor the things that are in the world:</HI> Becau&s;e, <HI>if any man love the world, the Love of</HI> God <HI>is not in him.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom.</HI> 12.2.</NOTE> He is <HI>not conform'd to the world, but trans|form'd by the renewing of his Mind,
<PB N="373" REF="202">that He may prove what is the good the acceptable &amp; perfect will of God.</HI> He <HI>u&s;es the world,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.31. <HI>Gal.</HI> 6.14. <HI>Colo&s;s.</HI> 3.3. <HI>Jam.</HI> 1.27. 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.11.</NOTE> as if he us'd it not. The world is crucifyd to him, &amp; He to the world.</HI> He is <HI>Dead, &amp; his Life is hid with Chri&s;t in God.</HI> His <HI>Religion pure &amp; undefil'd</HI> is that by which He <HI>keeps him&s;elf un|&s;potted from the world.</HI> He <HI>ab|stains from all De&s;ires which war again&s;t the Soul,</HI> becau&s;e He is <HI>a Stranger &amp; a Pilgrim</HI> in the World. But that which mo&s;t inclines him to De&s;ire the Happyne&s;s of Heaven, is his <HI>Knowing</HI> that, as long as He is here,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.6.</NOTE> <HI>He's Ab&s;ent</HI> from his God.</P>
<Q><P>No wonder He &s;o much <HI>De&s;ires</HI> to be in Heaven:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>D. Sp. Par.</HI> 2. <HI>Ch.</HI> 21.</NOTE> All his Comfort is his <HI>Hope</HI> of being there. The <HI>Gate</HI> &s;o &s;trait; The <HI>way</HI> &s;o
<PB N="374" REF="203">narrow; The continuall <HI>Violence</HI> &s;o nece&s;&s;ary to be us'd; The <HI>Cro&s;s</HI> he dayly bears; The <HI>Self-Denyall</HI> which he always practi&s;es; The <HI>Pennance</HI> without which <HI>we All shall perish,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luke.</HI> 13.3.</NOTE> if we do not mortify our Pa&s;&s;ions, curb our Humours, &amp; re&s;i&s;t our Inclinations: All this, putt together, is enough to make a Chri&s;tians Life, &s;o painfull, trouble&s;ome, &amp; di&s;agreable,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.19.</NOTE> that <HI>if in this life only, He had Hope,</HI> He would <HI>of all Men be mo&s;t mi&s;erable.</HI></P>
<P>Tis no wonder there|fore He &s;o much <HI>De&s;ires</HI> the <HI>Sight</HI> of God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> which only can deliver him from all the mi&s;eries He labours under.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ch.</HI> 22.</NOTE> Tis the great Af|fliction of the Ju&s;t; to &s;ee
<PB N="375" REF="203">them&s;elves &s;o far from <HI>Sion,</HI> &s;eparated from their God, &amp; bani&s;ht from their Heavenly Jeru&s;alem. Al|though the Riches of the World were all their Own, They &s;till would think them&s;elves Unfor|tunate, becau&s;e their Trea&s;ure is is not <HI>here;</HI> 'tis only to be found <HI>hereafter.</HI> They as earne&s;tly <HI>De&s;ire</HI> the Happyne&s;s of Heaven, as a Hart long hunted <HI>thir&s;ts</HI> for Water. Tis a <HI>Duty</HI> indi&s;pen&s;ably incumbent upon all true Chri&s;tians <HI>to De&s;ire it</HI> above All Things.</P>
<P>Hear S. Au&s;tin:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid. Ch.</HI> 21.</NOTE> <HI>He who finds him&s;elf at Ea&s;e on Earth; who is contented to live always Here; And finds his greate&s;t Joy &amp; Satisfaction in this world; will never enter Heaven.</HI> If you
<PB N="376" REF="204">ask the Rea&s;on; He re|plys: <HI>becau&s;e He has not</HI> in his Heart the <HI>Love of God, whoever dos not Sigh,</HI> &amp; above all things Wish, <HI>for the Enjoyment of Eternall Life. Exa|mine well your Heart. If God should promi&s;e you a long Life upon Earth; &amp; tell you&punc; You shall here enjoy whatever you can wish for; Riches, Plea&s;ures, Honours, Health, Pro&s;perity, &amp; what you plea&s;e be&s;ides, shall every where at|tend you: Only, You shall never See me; You shall never have a Share with Me in Heaven: would you be Content? whoever is in &s;uch a Di&s;po&s;ition, dos not yet begin to Love Him</HI> above All Things.</P>
<P>Hear the Royall Pro|phet:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid. Ch.</HI> 22.</NOTE> Hear the Language of his <HI>Love. As the Hart pants after water,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 42.1.2.3.</NOTE> &s;o my Soul pants after Thee, My God. My Soul is
<PB N="377" REF="204">thir&s;ty for Thee,</HI> O Thou <HI>Living God,</HI> the only Life &amp; Comfort of my Soul. <HI>My Tears have been my</HI> Entertain|ment <HI>Day &amp; Night;</HI> &amp; tis the only Ea&s;e of my im|patient Grief, to have the Liberty of weeping in thy Ab&s;ence. <HI>VVhen shall I appear before my God?</HI> When once that happy Day appro|aches,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 17.15.</NOTE> <HI>when</HI> I once <HI>Behold thy Face, I shall be Satisfyd:</HI> but never shall be &s;atisfyd till then. Tis this,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;.</HI> 27.4.</NOTE> &amp; only this <HI>One Thing I</HI> always <HI>have De&s;ir'd of</HI> Thee; <HI>that I may Dwell in</HI> thy <HI>Hou&s;e</HI> for ever, <HI>&amp; behold thy Beauty.</HI></P>
<P>All God's <HI>Children</HI> &s;ay the &s;ame:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> they dayly pray to their Eternall <HI>Father,</HI> that his <HI>Kingdom come:</HI> And their <HI>De&s;ire</HI> of Everla&s;ting
<PB N="378" REF="205">Life, (though &s;ometimes out of Mind) is <HI>always</HI> in their Heart. By this, they <HI>Pray</HI> ince&s;&s;antly. By this, they are attentive to <HI>God's Pre&s;ence,</HI> in the mid&s;t of tho&s;e Employments &amp; Af|fairs, which otherwi&s;e would ea&s;ily divert them from the <HI>Thought</HI> of Him. By This, they frequent|ly <HI>Recall</HI> their wandring Thoughts, <HI>Renew</HI> their de|caying Fervour, <HI>Enflame</HI> their cooling Love, <HI>En|courage</HI> their de&s;ponding Hearts, &amp; <HI>March</HI> a great deal <HI>faster</HI> towards Heaven. <HI>VVhen the Scripture commands us,</HI> &s;ays S. Au&s;tin, <HI>to Pray Always; we are not therefore oblig'd to be always on our knees, or always &s;inging P&s;alms in Choire: we only are oblig'd to
<PB N="379" REF="205">have continually, in the Bottom of our Heart, a true De&s;ire to leave this Earth &amp; enter into Heaven. This continuall De&s;ire mu&s;t &s;till per&s;ever in our Heart. VVe always mu&s;t lament, &amp; &s;igh; and &s;ay; I am a Captive &amp; a Pilgrim; I am far from Home; I am not with my God.</HI> Tis true, (S. Au&s;tin adds,) a Ju&s;t Man may divert him&s;elf &s;ome|times; &amp; &s;pend &s;ome hours, in &s;uch Employ|ments as appear quite dif|ferent from <HI>Gaining Heaven.</HI> Tis, alas! the Servitude of his Captivity, which thus obliges him to work for the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> whil&s;t he is a Slave to <HI>Pharaoh</HI> But however, in the mid&s;t of all his <HI>Slavery,</HI> He never can forget the <HI>Land of Pro|mi&s;e;</HI> He laments, He &s;ighs,
<PB N="380" REF="206">He always wishes to be There: And Thus He <HI>al|ways Prays</HI> to God that He will plea&s;e to grant him the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of that Sou|vereign Good, which only can Suffice to make Him <HI>truly</HI> &amp; <HI>for ever</HI> Happy.</P></Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="206">
<HEAD>THE CONTENTS</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Motives of Love.</HEAD>
<ITEM>&sect;. 1. <HI>How much it imports us to Love God above All Things.</HI> pag. 1</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 2. <HI>That the Love of God is our Greate&s;t Duty.</HI> 3</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 3. <HI>That the Love of God is our Greate&s;t Good.</HI> 20</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 4. <HI>That the Love of God is the chief Grace of the Holy Ghost.</HI> 40</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 5. <HI>That we ought to prepare our Hearts for this great Grace,</HI> 57</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Motives of Fear.</HEAD>
<ITEM>&sect;. 1. <HI>How much it imports us to remember the Day of Judgment.</HI> 71</ITEM>
<PB REF="207">
<ITEM>&sect;. 2. <HI>That our La&s;t Day is the fatall End of all our tran&s;itory Happyne&s;s.</HI> 75</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 3. <HI>That our La&s;t Day is the &s;ad Beginning of our Everla&s;ting Mi&s;ery.</HI> 90</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Motives of Hope.</HEAD>
<ITEM>&sect;. 1. <HI>How unrea&s;onable a thing it is for any Sinner to De&s;pair.</HI> 109</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 2. <HI>That God can help us, if He will.</HI> 115</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 3. <HI>That God will help us, if we plea&s;e.</HI> 130</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Danger of Delay.</HEAD>
<ITEM>&sect;. 1. <HI>How apt we are to Differr Repentance.</HI> 149</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 2. <HI>How dangerous it is to Differr Repentance.</HI> 153</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 3. <HI>Rea&s;ons why Delay is &s;o Dangerous.</HI> 161</ITEM>
<PB REF="207">
<ITEM>&sect;. 4. <HI>That we ought to begin immediatly, without Delay.</HI> 172</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>A Contrite Heart.</HEAD>
<ITEM>&sect;. 1. <HI>Sorrow for our Sins.</HI> 189</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 2. <HI>Re&s;olutions of Amendement.</HI> 193</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>An Humble Heart.</HEAD>
<ITEM>&sect;. 1. <HI>The Nece&s;sity &amp; Advanta|ges of Humility.</HI> 201</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 2. <HI>Fir&s;t Degree of Humility.</HI> 213</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 3. <HI>Second Degree of Humility.</HI> 219</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 4. <HI>An Objection an&s;wer'd.</HI> 233</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 5. <HI>Third Degree of Humility.</HI> 242</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 6. <HI>Fir&s;t Rea&s;on why the great|est Saints are the mo&s;t humble.</HI> 249</ITEM>
<PB REF="208">
<ITEM>&sect;. 7. <HI>Second Rea&s;on why the great|e&s;t Saints are the mo&s;t Humble.</HI> 262</ITEM>
<ITEM>I. <HI>The Enormity of Sin.</HI> 273</ITEM>
<ITEM>II. <HI>The Treachery of a Sinner.</HI> 285</ITEM>
<ITEM>III. <HI>The Di&s;loyalty of a Sinner.</HI> 296</ITEM>
<ITEM>IV. <HI>The Impiety of a Sinner.</HI> 303</ITEM>
<ITEM>V. <HI>The great Ingratitude, Pre|&s;umption, Pride, &amp; In&s;olence of every Sinner.</HI> 311</ITEM>
<ITEM>VI. <HI>Our Saviours Idea of Sin: &amp; the Impre&s;sion it made upon Him.</HI> 319</ITEM>
<ITEM>VII. <HI>The Saints Idea of Sin: How much it humbles them.</HI> 335</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>The Character of a Good Chri&s;tian.</HEAD>
<ITEM>&sect;. 1. <HI>The Perfection of his Duty.</HI> 352</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 2. <HI>His Contempt of the VVorld.</HI> 362</ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect;. 3. <HI>His De&s;ire of Heaven.</HI> 372</ITEM>
</LIST>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="208">
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
